The El Paso Matters Podcast

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 Propositi...

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 us...

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...

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...

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 --...

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 Trum...

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 t...

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...

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'...

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 rea...

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...

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 sc...

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...

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 plaz...

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 numero...

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 boar...

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 p...

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 exp...

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 t...

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...

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.