The El Paso Matters Podcast

Lack of communication and coordination between different levels of government led to confusion and delayed a response to contain the measles outbreak in the El Paso area. El Paso Matters Health Reporter Priscilla Totiyapungprasert joins the El Paso Matters Podcast to discuss her investigative reporting on how the government response increased the risk of measles exposure in El Paso. You can read Priscilla's reported at elpasomatters.org.

Nearly seven months after elected officials in Doña Ana County approved a large tax break for the massive and controversial Project Jupiter data center campus, New Mexico journalist Heath Haussamen joins the El Paso Matters Podcast to talk about his reporting on the lack of transparency and ongoing questions about Project Jupiter's water usage, electricity consumption and economic impact on the Borderland. You can read Heath's reporting at haussamen.com.

AI technology that would have seemed like magic to students a generation ago is now in use in classrooms every day in El Paso. But whether students benefit from using artificial intelligence for schoolwork remains an open question. On this episode of the El Paso Matters Podcast, education reporter Claudia Lorena Silva discusses her reporting on how students are using artificial intelligence in El Paso schools, the different approaches to AI across districts and what the upsides and risks are of widespread AI use in education. You can read Claudia's reporting at elpasomatters.org.

In early 2019, a trail camera captured a beaver sitting at the Rio Bosque wetlands park at dawn. It wasn't the first time the park's managers had seen signs of a beaver at the park -- a kind of sanctuary for wildlife in El Paso's urban landscape -- but it's the first time a beaver made the park it's home and began developing beaver dams and changing the park's landscape. El Paso Matters reporter Priscilla Totiyapungprasert joins the podcast to share her experience reporting on El Paso's celebrity beaver. You can read Priscilla's reporting at elpasomatters.org.

As Meta Platforms continues to construct a $10 billion data center in El Paso, the region's investor-owned utility El Paso Electric is advancing its own plan to develop an onsite power plant for Meta's data center. El Paso Matters reporter Diego Mendoza-Moyers and editor Pablo Villa talk about El Paso Electric's plan to deliver electricity to Meta's facility, potential impacts to El Pasoans' utility bills and broader concerns that have fueled public backlash to the project. You can read Diego's coverage of data center issues in El Paso at elpasomatters.org.

We're back. Our journalists talk primary election results in El Paso and preview November's midterm election. You can read El Paso Matters' coverage of the recent primary election at elpasomatters.org.

On this episode of the El Paso Matters Podcast, reporter Diego Mendoza-Moyers speaks with Andy Vargas, a veteran of the tech and finance industries and a managing partner of the El Paso-based investment firm No Border Ventures. Vargas has been critical of the subsidies local governments granted Meta in exchange for the tech giant developing a data center in Northeast El Paso. He offers his thoughts on the deal and his own vision for economic development in the borderland. You can read Diego's reporting on data center developments in the El Paso region at elpasomatters.org.

Nov. 18 is now Eddie Guerrero day in El Paso, Texas, a celebration of the native El Pasoan's life and impact on wrestling fans worldwide. El Paso Matters editor -- and WWE superfan -- Pablo Villa joins the El Paso Matters Podcast to talk about Guerrero's legacy and how the regional lucha libre scene carries on today. You can read Pablo's feature on Eddie Guerrero at elpasomatters.org.

The natural gas utility Texas Gas Service wants to raise El Paso household gas bills by around 25 percent. El Paso Matters reporter Diego Mendoza-Moyers talks through different aspects of the rate request. You can read Diego's reporting at elpasomatters.org.

Voters in Socorro Independent School District rejected a ballot proposition during the Nov. 4 election that would have provided more revenue for the cash-strapped district. The decision could affect how SISD navigates its way out of a financial bind and whether it can avoid a state takeover. El Paso Matters education reporter Claudia Silva joins the podcast to discuss why voters rejected Proposition A and what it means for the future of the school district. You can read Claudia's reporting at elpasomatters.org.

As Texas voters prepare to decide on a ballot proposition in early November that would allocate $20 billion to shore up the state's water supply, El Paso Water Vice President Gilbert Trejo joins the El Paso Matters Podcast for a wide-ranging discussion on the water situation in El Paso. You can read El Paso Matters' coverage of water issues in El Paso at elpasomatters.org.

Meta Platforms, the technology giant that owns Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, is building a $1.5 billion data center project in El Paso. Public anxiety about data centers and their water and electricity usage has escalated in arid communities throughout the southwestern U.S. like El Paso. El Paso Matters journalists Diego Mendoza-Moyers and Pablo talk about the resources the data center will use, the city's incentive deal with Meta and how the project will impact El Pasoans' utility bills. You can read Diego's reporting at elpasomatters.org.

The city of El Paso will hire a new director for the city's animal services department likely early next year. The next director will be the sixth person since 2015 to lead the department, which has faced public criticism along with leadership turnover over the last decade. El Paso Matters Senior Reporter Elida Perez discusses the challenges the department has faced and the search for a new leader. You can read Elida's reporting at elpasomatters.org.

Unlike the other major metro areas in Texas, El Paso is more spreading out than truly growing. And new projections published this week by Texas’ state demographer show, even in the most optimistic scenario, our population is likely to grow at a much slower pace than it did in the 1990s or in the 2000s. Bob Moore, the founder and CEO of El Paso Matters, joins the podcast to talk about his reporting on El Paso's stagnating population growth and what the city's elected officials can do to staunch the outflow of people from El Paso and reverse the city's demographic trends. You can read Bob's reporting at elpasomatters.org

The massive Project Jupiter data center campus was first unveiled at a public meeting in Las Cruces, New Mexico on Aug. 26. Nearly four weeks later, the Doña Ana County Board of Commissioners approved incentives for the project despite major debate among the community and concerns about the campus' water and electricity consumption. The project -- among the biggest private investments ever made -- now will move forward later this year. El Paso Matters Assistant Editor Pablo Villa and Reporter Diego Mendoza-Moyers discuss the project, the contentious vote and what listeners should expect going forward. You can read Diego's recent reporting on Project Jupiter at elpasomatters.org.

Two people living in El Paso who received "Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals" - DACA - were recently arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and set for deportation despite their protected status. But an immigration judge terminated their removal proceedings. Cindy Ramirez, editor of El Paso Matters, joins the podcast to discuss their cases and what will come next amid the Trump administration's expanded immigration enforcement regime. You can read Cindy's reporting at elpasomatters.org.

An Austin-based company is proposing to invest an almost-inconceivable $165 billion to build a huge data center campus in Santa Teresa, New Mexico near El Paso. El Paso Matters reporter Diego Mend0za-Moyers talks through the proposal, which has raised intense concern and skepticism among residents. You can read Diego's reporting at elpasomatters.org.

City planners in El Paso proposed a couple of policies at the most recent city council meeting that were designed to increase the number of housing units in the city and reduce parking requirements, The big, overarching goal is to increase the supply of housing so affordability here improves, and also increase the density of the historic core of El Paso, make it more walkable and ultimately slow the trend of urban sprawl in the city. El Paso Matters Senior Reporter Elida Perez joins the El Paso Matters Podcast to discuss the policies and how city council representatives voted. You can read Elida's reporting at elpasomatters.org.

As climate change and drought pressure El Paso's water supplies, pecan farmers in one of the nation's biggest pecan-growing hubs are testing out new techniques to sustain agriculture in the face of heat and increasingly salty groundwater. El Paso Matters reporter Diego Mendoza-Moyers speaks with Orlando Flores, the county extensions agent with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, about agriculture in the El Paso area and how farmers manage water shortages. You can read Diego's recent reporting on the regional pecan industry at elpasomatters.org.

El Paso Matters recently published new information uncovered about the timeline leading up the Walmart mass shooting on August 3, 2019 and the immediate aftermath and investigation. El Paso Matters CEO Bob Moore joins the podcast to discuss what his reporting showed and why El Paso Matters is publishing new information six years after the worst mass shooting in El Paso's history. You can read Bob's reporting at elpasomatters.org.

A few notes from reporter Diego Mendoza-Moyers on the rate increase El Paso Electric is pursuing. You can read Diego's coverage on elpasomatters.org.

Despite an increasing stormwater fee that El Paso Water customers pay to fund flood-control projects, segments of the city still experience periodic flooding and inundation. El Paso Matters reporter Diego Mendoza-Moyers and assistant editor Pablo Villa discuss Diego's recent interview with a top El Paso Water executive about flash floods and what the utility is doing to limit flooding. You can read Diego's reporting at elpasomatters.org.

Nearly six months after President Donald Trump was sworn into office, his administration has created a new immigration enforcement regime throughout the U.S. that has led to an increase in deportations and a major decline in the number of migrants attempting to enter the country through the southern border with Mexico. On this episode of the El Paso Matters Podcast, host Diego Mendoza-Moyers talks with El Paso Matters CEO Bob Moore and the outlet's editor Cindy Ramirez about their recent reporting on immigration-related issues in El Paso and what to expect going forward. You can read Bob and Cindy's reporting on immigration at elpasomatters.org.

In a new era of college athletics where schools will now directly pay their college athletes, there are new challenges and opportunities for a mid-tier school like the University of Texas at El Paso. ESPN 600 radio hosts Steve Kaplowitz and Adrian Broaddus join El Paso Matters staffers Diego Mendoza-Moyers and Pablo Villa to explain how UTEP will manage directly paying its athletes, and how the school might fare in the years ahead as it transitions to the Mountain West Conference. You can read Pablo's reporting on NIL and local athletics at elpasomatters.org and listen to Steve and Adrian at krod.com.

Star quarterback Jake Fette, a senior at Del Valle High School in El Paso, is a top-five player at his position in the nation. After committing to play at Arizona State University a year ago, Fette is among the highest-profile athletes from the borderland to navigate the new collegiate sports environment where the best players get paid top dollar -- a major shift from a handful of years ago, when compensating athletes could land a school in deep trouble. El Paso Matters editor and reporter Pablo Villa talks through his coverage of Fette's recruitment journey, and the shift that other top El Paso high school athletes are having to navigate compared with past generations of El Paso athletes. You can read Pablo's coverage at elpasomatters.org.

As funding comes together to advance the I-10 deck park in Downtown El Paso, Paso del Norte Community Foundation CEO Tracy Yellen joins the show to discuss why the project should be a priority for the city to construct. El Paso City Council Rep. Chris Canales follows in the second half of the episode to discuss his skepticism of the project. You can read El Paso Matters' reporting on the deck plaza at elpasomatters.org.

El Paso Independent School District's board of trustees on Tuesday approved the retirement of Superintendent Diana Sayavedra, who accepted a voluntary separation agreement, weeks after an election created a new majority on the district's board. The trustees have said little about why they ousted Sayavedra. But her exit comes as the district wrestles with a budget deficit and a plan to close numerous aging schools amid dwindling enrollment. El Paso Matters Education Reporter Claudia Silva joins the podcast to talk through Sayavedra's dramatic departure.

Two brothers in El Paso decided to buy an abandoned Boeing aircraft with visions of renovating it. Months later, they're still figuring out what to do with it.

Voters selected new school board members to represent areas in El Paso and Socorro Independent School districts. The new faces are set to govern EPISD, where administrators are planning to close eight school campuses next year, and at SISD as teacher layoffs are impending for the financially-challenged school district. El Paso Matters education reporter Claudia Silva discusses what the school board election could mean for public education in El Paso amid declining student enrollment and inadequate state funding. You can read Claudia's reporting and listen to a previous episode about public education in El Paso at elpasomatters.org.

People directly affected by the August 3, 2019 shooting at an El Paso Walmart faced the gunman in court this week. Some victims forgave the shooter -- even hugging him -- while others spoke of their broken families still left mourning nearly six years later. The shooter now will spend the rest of his life in a Texas state penitentiary after El Paso's district attorney chose not to seek the death penalty in the case. You can read reporting about the end of the most significant criminal case in El Paso's history at elpasomatters.org.

A deck park that would span five blocks and cover I-10 in Downtown El Paso is estimated to cost $207 million to build. City officials are starting to form plans to fund the project and philanthropists are expected to put up tens of millions of dollars. El Paso Matters Reporter Diego Mendoza-Moyers discusses with assistant editor Pablo Villa updates from this week about the project, and what to expect going forward. You can read Diego's reporting at elpasomatters.org.

Public school districts in El Paso are wrestling with several big challenges, from declining student enrollment to inadequate funding, and bills making their way through the Texas Legislature are likely to impact the state's education system as well. With local school board elections on the horizon, we welcome El Paso Matters education reporter Claudia Silva on the podcast to explain what led to the financial problems school districts are dealing with, and what to expect for public education in El Paso going forward. You can read Claudia's reporting on the city's education system at elpasomatters.org.

Texas' highest criminal court recently blocked the execution of David Leonard Wood, an El Paso man who has been on death row for 32 years after a jury in 1992 convicted him of murdering at least two young women and burying their remains in the desert. El Paso Matters founder and CEO Bob Moore comes on the show to discuss why the court halted the long-planned execution, his experience covering this story for decades and what it means for criminal justice in El Paso. You can read Bob's reporting on the Wood case at elpasomatters.org.

El Paso Matters health reporter Priscilla Totiyapungprasert comes on the debut episode of the El Paso Matters Podcast to talk about the ongoing West Texas measles outbreak, and what it means for the El Paso region. You can read Priscilla's reporting on measles at elpasomatters.org.