Attend Public Meeting about EPISD Proposed School Closures

The Capital Facilities Master Plan meeting is on Monday, December 8 at 6 PM in the Austin High School Gym. We need our Central area folks to come out for this meeting and weigh in on the issues that matter to us. The Board of Managers commissioned a study of the facility needs and issues throughout the district, including the fact that we have too many classrooms for too few kids. Based on that analysis, they have developed several options for the public to weigh in on. Options including closing schools, improving schools, changing school boundaries...

The options document can be found at:
http://www.episd.org/file_mgr/facilities/master_plan/1.00%20EPISD_DRAFT_OPTIONS_REPORT_Nov_3rd_2014.pdf

Be forewarned that it is a lot of info to digest and it is put together by engineers who don't seem particularly concerned if the public understands the information. For our area, the options being presented can be found in the following sections.

Planning Area B.H.1: (High schools)
Planning Area B.M.1: (Middle schools)
Planning Area B.E.2. (Elementary schools)

One proposal is to close Alta Vista Elementary. It is not because there are too few students there but because the condition is not great, which in my opinion is more a function of decades of neglect rather than a poor quality building. 

I have served on the steering committee. The public process has been clunky at best but I think this is a good opportunity for us to weigh in about the following issues:
1. the condition of our historic schools and the need to maintain them,
2. any other facility needs that we think need to be addressed in our area,
3. the need to really work to make Austin High shine again, including improving their magnet program, and 
4. Anything else that we think should be a priority for the district as it pertains to our area.

Thank you.

Susie Byrd
EPISD Board Trustee in Waiting

Rep. Byrd's Office Donates Tree in Honor of Margaret Tolbert

Representative Susie Byrd's District 2 Office recently donated a new tree for Newman Park in memory of Margaret H. Tolbert who passed away on September 23, 2012.  The tree is a lovely Italian Stone Pine selected by City of El Paso Arborist, Brent Pearson.  

Mrs. Tolbert's son, Jim, has served on the Newman Park Neighborhood Association board since the inception of the association which he helped to found.  He has been the board President and now serves as Secretary.  He currently is a candidate for the District 2 seat as Ms. Byrd's term will soon expire.  

You can give the gift of a tree through the City's Memorial Tree Program.

The Tolbert family gratefully acknowledges the gift of the tree and thanks Rep.Byrd and her Assistant, Judy Gutierrez.

Byrd Breakfast to Host Balliew

John Balliew, the newly appointed President and CEO of El Paso Water Utilities/Public Service Board, will speak at Rep. Susie Byrd’s breakfast this Thursday morning, January 31, at 7:30 a.m. at Tierra Del Sol Restaurant on Alabama and Hamilton.  Mr. Balliew will discuss the drought, water conservation and his vision for the future of EPWU.  Read more about John Balliew.

Gun control/safety is controversial to say the least.  The Mayor’s office issued this announcement about a gathering tomorrow at City Hall:

“Come join a group of concerned citizens urging Mayor John Cook to come out in support of President Obama's Gun Safety proposals, and encouraging him to join Mayors Against Illegal Guns. Help us make the statement that not all of Texas is in lockstep with the NRA!

Wednesday, January 30, 11:00 am. Meet on 1st floor, then proceed to:

10th floor of City Hall
2 Civic Center Plaza
El Paso, TX 79901
Info: Pat Delgado 740-3962”

Speaking of City Hall, keep up with all the departmental moves to new locations downtown ahead of the demolition of the City Hall Building.  Go here for relocation information.

Make plans now for the official Dedication of Our New Newman Park Sign, Saturday, February 9 at 10:30 a.m. Tom Lea Institute Founder, Adair Margo, Neighborhood Services Coordinator, Mark Weber, and other dignitaries will be on-hand for this celebration.  Cake, chai tea and coffee will be served. 

The grant for the sign came through Neighborhood Services of the Community & Human Development Department.  Mr. Todd Jones of Wright & Dalbin Architects, Inc. designed our sign.  (BTW Fred Dalbin, a principal of Wright & Dalbin, is a Newmanista.  His wife, Pat, is the Public Art Program Coordinator for the City of El Paso.)  El Paso Graphics did the amazing tile work.  JJT Construction Services, LLC (Mr. Jose Torres, owner) was the contractor.

Check out events and hikes at your Franklin Mountains State Park.   Do the Peak Fitness Challenge.  Walk, bike, run Scenic Drive on all Sundays from 7 a.m. until Noon.  All vehicular traffic is prohibited on these Scenic Sundays.

Vaya con Dios!

¡Hola Vecinos!© is an emailed newsletter for the people and businesses in the Newman Park neighborhood of El Paso, their friends and other interested persons. It is written and published by Jim Tolbert who takes sole responsibility for the content of the letter. To subscribe or unsubscribe, just reply to this letter or email jimhtolbert@elp.rr.com.

Please visit www.newmanpark.blogspot.com and www.elpasonaturally.blogspot.com.

The mission of the Newman Park Neighborhood Association is to improve the quality of life in the Newman Park neighborhood through care and attention to the park and surrounding areas, and to build a community network of care, watchfulness and concern for each other and our beautiful desert environment.

This is Volume 8 and Number 3 published on January 29, 2013

New EPWU CEO John Balliew To Speak at Byrd Breakfast

CITY REPRESENTATIVE SUSIE BYRD

COMMUNITY MEETING

Susie Byrd with John Balliew at Skateboard Park Dedication, May 2012

GUEST SPEAKER

John Balliew, President and CEO

El Paso Public Water Utilities

Date:                     Thursday, January 31, 2013

Time:                     7:30 A.M.

Location:                4201 Alabama, Tierra Del Sol Restaurant (Map)

EL PASO, TEXAS – Representative Susie Byrd will host a community meeting at 7:30am at Tierra Del Sol Restaurant. Guest speaker will be John Balliew, the newly appointed President and CEO of El Paso Public Water Utilities.  Mr. Balliew will discuss the drought, water preservation and his vision for the future of EPWU.

Byrd Seeks to Curb Predator Loans

Susie Byrd to present ordinance to curb the harmful effects of payday loans and auto title loans

on El Paso consumers

On Thursday, December 6^th at the Special City Council Meeting that starts at 9:30am, Susie Byrd will urge the Mayor and Council to begin the process of adopting an ordinance whose intent is to curb the harmful effects of payday loans and auto title loans for El Paso consumers.

“The State of Texas has failed to protect consumers from high cost loans that trap them in a cycle of debt where they continue to pay fees and interest but never pay off the loan. Many cities are stepping up to protect Texas consumers. El Paso should join them,” says Susie Byrd, City Council Representative for District 2.

          

According to the Texas Fair Lending Alliance, “The average Texas borrower pays $840 or more for a $300 loan and around $1,000 per month in fees alone for a $4,000 auto title loan. Borrowers often pay these fees month after month without reducing the loan principal.”

The proposed ordinance modeled after similar legislation passed in Dallas, Austin and San Antonio would require:

• Limiting payday loans to 20% of the borrower's gross monthly income.
• Limiting auto title loans to the lesser of 3% of the borrower's gross annual income or 70% of the vehicle value.
• Limiting loans to no more than four installments or three rollovers or renewals (a rollover or renewal is defined as an extension of consumer credit made within seven days of the previous extension of credit).
• Requiring the proceeds from each installment or renewal to reduce the loan principal by 25%.
• Requiring that every contract be written in a language the borrower can understand, or be read in its entirety to any borrower who cannot read.
• Requiring the lender to provide to the borrower a form created by the city, which references non-profit agencies that provide financial education and agencies with cash assistance programs, and contains general information regarding extensions of consumer credit.

Skate Park Crowns Piedras Corridor

El Paso Skate Park Association Director, Paul Zimmerman, talks to reporters after the dedication ceremony last Friday.

Last Friday, skateboard enthusiasts, Mayor Cook, Rep. Susie Byrd, EPWU officials and police officers came together to dedicate the new Van Buren skateboard park and storm water dam just off Piedras.  Rep. Byrd had seen similar skate parks so, when the PSB/EPWU was working on plans to upgrade the old Van Buren dam, she approached CEO Ed Archuleta with the idea to build a dual purpose open space park. Archuleta quickly agreed. John Balliew, EPWU's Vice-President of Engineering and Operations, went right to work overseeing the skate park dam project. With suggestions from El Paso Skate Park Association Director Paul Zimmerman, the project was completed as a dual purpose storm water dam and skate park. The park crowns the Piedras business corridor and joins public parks from Memorial to Newman to Grandview that enhance recreation for Central El Pasoans especially residents in the Newman Park, Central and Manhattan Heights Neighborhood Associations. Because of Rep. Byrd's vision, many are beginning to ask whether the park wouldn't be better named the Susie Byrd Open Space Park.

EPWU CEO Ed Archuleta points out some engineering details of the skate park dam to Rep. Susie Byrd.

Skateboarder takes one of the first "rides" at the dam.

El Paso Skate Park Association video. Engineers build great dams. But, can they do this?

New Van Buren Dam Basin Includes Skatepark

El Paso Water Utilities will dedicate an innovative project that protects a Central El Paso neighborhood from flood water while providing a recreational opportunity for skateboarders. The dedication of the Van Buren Dam and Skatepark will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, May 18. Parking is available at the end of Monroe Avenue west of North Piedras Street. City Rep. Susie Byrd along with members of the El Paso Skatepark Association approached EPWU asking what could be done at the facility to accommodate skaters. In response to the request, EPWU incorporated a design modification to allow for skate ramps. “This project not only increases flood protection for the community, it gives an added recreational venue at the same time,” said EPWU Vice President of Operations and Technical Services John Balliew. “We’re happy to see those principles work hand in hand.” El Paso City Council has requested that EPWU develop dual-use stormwater facilities that protect neighborhoods from flooding while adding to the quality of life. Several existing ponds are under design to make them available for soccer. Facilities that marry a stormwater function with a recreational function are clearly marked with signage informing users that areas are subject to flooding in heavy rains.

Special City Council Meeting This Wednesday

Representative Susie Byrd encourages her constituents and the general public to attend a special City Council meeting that will address the proposed Quality of Life Bond that is to be placed on a ballot on November 2012. The public's concerns and recommendations are important in finalizing the specifics of the bond initiative. The meeting will take place at City Hall, Two Civic Center Plaza, Council Chambers, 2nd floor on Wednesday, April 18 at 1 p.m. (Directions to City Hall)

The agenda and topics to be discussed by the City Council are as follows:

 Presentation, discussion and action on the proposed 2012 Quality of Life Bond election for November 2012:

• Results of citywide Call for Projects and general community Outreach from November 2011 thru March 2012
• Results of polling efforts and processes utilized in other communities undertaking similar efforts per PDNG and DMD Contract - Ric Horrow, Horrow Sports Ventures
• Staff analysis of community priorities
• Preliminary financial recommendations based on bond capacity and debt service limitations
• General direction from City Council on next steps to call for the election in November 2012.

Event: SPECIAL MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EL PASO

Location: CITY HALL, TWO CIVIC CENTER PLAZA, COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 2ND FLOOR

Date: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2012

Time:  1:00 P.M.

The meeting will be streamed online and will be made available for viewing on the city's website and on Time Warner Cable Channel 15.

Portland Street Pocket Park Ribbon Cutting This Saturday

On Saturday, April 14, 2012 Representative Susie Byrd will host a ribbon cutting ceremony and community event to celebrate the Portland Street Pocket Park. 

In 2004, voters approved $2 million to be used for open space enhancements in District 2. The Portland Street Pocket Park is the last of the open space enhancement projects. The project was inspired by the redevelopment of an historic gas station by Rod Davenport. Next to the redeveloped gas station was a vacant and abandoned street easement that collected trash and dirt and was a nuisance to the neighborhood. Working with the residents of the area, most notably members of the Manhattan Heights Neighborhood Association, the abandoned street easement was turned into a neighborhood pocket park.

"Manhattan Heights is one of El Paso's great treasures, an historic neighborhood featuring distinctive architecture and great community facilities. I'm excited that both the public sector, private sector and area residents are continuing to invest in making this a great neighborhood," said Susie Byrd.  

Following the ribbon cutting, Rod Davenport and the Horseless Carriage Association will have vintage cars and a horseless carriage on display. Partial street closures will be in effect to accommodate the display.  Light refreshments will be served.

April 14^th; 10AM to 12PM

Ribbon cutting will take place at 10:00 AM

Intersection of Elm and Portland (Map)

2012 Quality of Life Bond

The City of El Paso is soliciting ideas for the 2012 Quality of Life Bond. You can find more information on the bottom of the City's home page. Representative Susie Byrd wrote this to all of us:

Hello,

The City of El Paso wants to bring a Quality of Life Bond Election to the voters for consideration in November of 2012. We are in the process of soliciting ideas and priorities from constituents about the projects they would like to be considered for the bond election. As you know, we fund the repair of existing infrastructure (streets, facilities, etc) using Certificates of Obligation that are authorized by the City Council. For new quality of life projects that would require new capital and new investment in operations, we take those items to the voters for their approval. The last Quality of Life bond initiative was authorized by the voters in 2004.

There is a lot of demand out there for new projects so the next couple of months will be spent prioritizing those projects and determining what projects will be included on the list for the voter’s consideration. Can you take some time to either email me your ideas or provide your comments online at www.elpasotexas.gov (there is a submission form and additional information about the bond election towards the middle of our home page)?

It is our hope to be able to fund a signature project for Downtown, one that will flip the switch for Downtown and our economy. There are several ideas floating around including: an arena, a trolley project, further improvements in the streetscape of Downtown... What do you think? What else should be considered?

There will also be new projects made throughout the city to improve the quality of life in neighborhoods. I’m hoping the focus for these dollars will be in building new parks, recreational facilities and libraries for those neighborhoods that are underserved. District 2 residents, please give me some ideas about priorities for our district. I’ve been cataloguing requests over the years, waiting for this very moment. I’ll need your help figuring out what needs to get on the list.

District 2 proposals listed in order of how often I get requests are:

• Rec center towards the southern part of the district to serve neighborhoods between Grandview Park and Memorial Park
• Soccer fields throughout district, but particularly in Lower Dyer neighborhood, maybe a soccer complex on Airport land
• New park at Radford (PSB purchased the land in this area that was identified as having inadequate park access and is willing to let us use the part that they don’t need as a park)
• Pave remaining alleys
• Skate park towards southern part of the district
• Quiet Zone in Five Points neighborhood
• Trowbridge street improvements to slow traffic
• Convert Monroe and Van Buren to two way traffic to slow traffic

So let me know what you know. I’ll keep you posted as the process unfolds.

Hope all is well.

Susie Byrd

City Council Representative, District 2

City to "Fix" Memorial Park Tennis Courts

Recently the City of El Paso finished re-doing the tennis courts at Memorial Park. The courts were in desperate need of repair. Unfortunately, the work done on them was sub-standard and frequent tennis players began to complain about the poor quality of the courts. Now the City is fixing the situation. In an email to Neighborhood Association Presidents, Representative Susie Byrd wrote:

Please share [message from Alan Shubert, City Engineer below] with your association. This project was mismanaged and not built appropriately. The City is fixing. They are also correcting for the mismanagement to make sure it does not happen again.

Also, I’ve received some complaints from neighbors in the immediate vicinity about the fact that people can turn on the lights and that some folks are staying out there past the time the park closes. We are fixing that too. There will be a timer that shuts down the lights at 10pm.

Susie

Here is Alan Shubert's email message to Debbie Hamlyn, Assistant City Manager, regarding the Memorial Park tennis courts:

The Engineering and Construction Management Dept. and the Parks and Recreation Dept. have been working since early November on issues that have arisen with the installation of the new tennis courts at Memorial park. In the time since we were advised about the problems with the court construction we met with independent professional engineers, contractors and suppliers to investigate what alternatives were available to resolve the problems. They made several suggestions which we took into consideration in deciding on the best approach. Subsequently, we looked for procurement options to allow us to hire a contractor in a timely manner.

The tennis courts will be overlaid with 2” of HMAC (Hot Mix Asphaltic Concrete), separated from the concrete and expansion joints with a geotextile fabric. We have chosen Hellas, a nationally experienced firm in the construction and re-construction of tennis courts to perform the work. They have built many successful projects in the City of El Paso for EPISD, YIST, Ft. Bliss, and recently competed one at Clint. They are scheduled to begin work in early January. The duration required for the work is 8 weeks. The first two to three weeks will involve the placement and compaction of the asphalt. A four week period of no activity is necessary, to allow volatile gases in the asphalt to evaporate so they can come back in and place the acrylic and color layers. Play will be allowed to resume in early March.

I apologize for the delay, but the logistics have been difficult to work out with the holiday and the end of the year approaching. I will be happy to meet with each of you to discuss further if you desire. Please forward this to anyone else who might be interested

R. Alan Shubert, P.E., City Engineer

Byrd Gets Park Olympics Trophy

Rep. Susie Byrd, Chuy, Jim Tolbert, Judy Gutierrez

This past Saturday Representative Susie Byrd received the coveted traveling trophy won by the Newman Park Neighborhood Association Fighting Chihuahuas at the 2nd Annual Park Olympics. Newman Park Neighborhood Association President Jim Tolbert presented her and her Assistant, Judy Gutierrez, with the prize. They will display it proudly at the El Paso's District Two office at City Hall during the coming year. Although Chuy, the trophy, will be up for grabs again next year, Las Vegas odds makers are already saying that the Mexican mongrels are the odds-on favorites to win again.

Ellen Smyth: Portrait of Caring and Service

Ellen Smyth speaks at Rep. Susie Byrd's monthly breakfast.

Ellen Smyth listens and takes notes. She doesn't get defensive when someone mentions a concern nor does she try to explain away a problem. She takes notes. Literally. That's what she was doing at the most recent breakfast meeting hosted by Rep. Susie Byrd. As Director of the City's Environmental Services, she didn't just come to tell about the new jobs her department was taking on. She came to listen.

Beginning this month, Environmental Services adds Animal Services to its existing divisions which include air monitoring, recycling, sustainability, landfills, code enforcement, building inspections and more. Environmental Services does everything from vector control to tattoo parlor inspections to monitoring air for biochemicals and other potentially lethal hazards as part of the City's responsibilities to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Ms. Smyth handed out the brochure Know What to Throw and discussed the City's recycling program. Although glass and grass are not yet recyclable, Environmental Services will be taking the first steps toward composting by purchasing a chipper. She hailed the success of the curbside recycling program. Prior to the program only about 10% of the City's trash was diverted to recycling - now it is 18% and growing. Attendees of the breakfast asked questions about flow control which has been postponed until 2014. Ellen mentioned that Ft. Bliss wants City trash as part of its goal to have all of its power come from renewable resources.

People voiced some concerns and mentioned some problems. Ms. Smyth took notes and wrote down locations. She's a problem-solver not a justifier - a breath of fresh air when too often some in governmental services can't be bothered by the people they serve.

For more information, visit www.recycleelpaso.org and the Environmental Services web page.

Joyce Wilson Sees Streamlining as Key to El Paso's Success

City Manager Joyce Wilson recognizes Judy Gutierrez for 15 years of service to El Paso

"It's like pushing an elephant up the mountain," City Manager Joyce Wilson said as she described the burdensome rules and regulations that often hold down El Paso and its economy. "This is the most regulated environment I've ever been in," she told central El Paso residents who attended Council Representative Susie Byrd's monthly breakfast this morning at Tierra del Sol.

When it comes to delivering needed services within the restraints of a tough economy, Wilson is the expert as the past few years have well demonstrated. She intends to do more through streamlining department processes, being more customer-friendly and utilizing technology. The City Manager wants a growing economy but a safe and healthy economy as well.

Ms. Wilson recognizes the frustrations with business licenses and the 5th Floor of City Hall in general - frustrations voiced by many candidates in the current City Council elections. Wilson sees a need for offering multi-year licenses while discontinuing licenses for businesses such as shoe shining. She wants to cut back on inspections such as those on restaurants with proven good records while focusing more on those places of business with repeat offenses. Providing better cashier services and doing more business electronically are just two more ways to make doing business with the City more efficient and customer-friendly.

In addition, Wilson sees the need for constant feedback and evaluation. Even her own recent organizational changes are being evaluated for unintended structural consequences. The City will soon hire booking officers so that police will spend more time on the beat and less time with paper work. Just one booking officer means being able to afford 5 or 10 more full time police officers. The City is looking at more solo patrols and a "311" service to take on the bulk of the current 70-80,000 calls to 911 monthly!

Although Joyce Wilson does not see a major change in direction with a new City Council with 2 or 3 new members, she does see the need for that new Council to do more strategic planning especially in the light of even more cuts in funds from the State and the Federal governments. Maintaining the level of services and quality of life which El Pasoans expect becomes more difficult with the current financial restraints especially if nobody wants to raise taxes.

Representative Byrd was out of town so her Legislative Aide, Judy Gutierrez, hosted this morning's breakfast. Joyce Wilson surprised Judy by presenting to her a pin, certificate and letter recognizing Judy's 15 years of service to the City of El Paso. For 6 years Judy worked with the police department in 911 services. She then worked for 3 years in Economic Development where she became noticed by Mayor Caballero's assistant, Susie Byrd, who hired Gutierrez as her assistant after a brief phone conversation. Residents of District 2 have since benefited from Judy's service and Judy has become well-known, well-respected and much loved throughout the District and the City of El Paso.

Byrd Books Mack-Harvin for Breakfast Meeting

Press Release--Dist 2 Community Meeting--Feb 3 2011

Close Scenic Drive at Wheeling?

A drug-related accident at Scenic Drive and Wheeling in December 2009 caused extensive damage to this car

The City of El Paso is now considering closing the intersection of Wheeling at Scenic Drive since the extended curb is forcing vehicles to make unsafe wider turns.

Representative Susie Byrd has sent out this message regarding the intersection of Wheeling and Scenic Drive:

In response to high speed coming off of Scenic Drive onto Wheeling, the City added an extended curb that forces a sharper turn and as result slows down traffic making a right turn off of Scenic onto Wheeling. We did before and after speed studies and determined that the fix was working in terms of the goal of slowing down traffic. We also found that fewer people were making this turn after the curb extension was installed.

But the neighbors and the users of that street alerted us that they felt the curb extension created a new hazard that warranted us reconsidering the curb extension. Several neighbors and users of the street pointed out that cars were often turning too wide off of Scenic and into Wheeling and into the other lane, creating a possibility where one car going down in a too wide turn might hit a car going up. The potential hazard is made worse because of the steep grades which make it difficult to see traffic in the other lane until you are right up on them.

Based on these concerns, the Traffic Department went out and did a visual audit of the street conditions and the turning movements. In traffic design, they try to build a road where 85% of drivers are going to behave in ways that create a safe street condition. We all know that no matter how you design a street or how many speed humps you put in, it won’t account for the 16 year old with a new car or a driver with a six pack in him. That is why traffic engineers use 85%. The visual audit revealed that 50% of the time people making the right turn off of Scenic into wheeling were staying within their lane and 50% of the time people were veering into the other lane of oncoming traffic. This means that the curb extension is only creating a safe condition 50% of the time, which is well below their threshold for safe street design. Some of this concern is mitigated by the fact that there are very few people who drive down Wheeling but it is still a concern.

Based on the Traffic Department’s review of current conditions and conditions prior to the curb extension, the Traffic Department is going back to their original approach to solving the speeding. As many of you remember, their original recommendation was to close off Wheeling from Scenic by extending the rock wall across the street. In response to neighborhood concerns about blocking an area of connection in the street network, they went with the curb extension instead.

After many traffic studies and after having tried an alternative solution, I think we need to consider closing the street. We would leave open access for bikes and walkers. My question for the neighborhood is this: we have had several meetings on the issue where we have shared traffic counts and traffic speeds and looked at the various options. Everyone knows how the street works both pre and post curb extension.

Do you think we should have one more meeting before they implement the closure? If so, let me know and we will work on it as soon as possible.

Susie

You can contact Representative Byrd by emailing her or calling her office at 541-4416.

Susie Byrd's Office Spearheads Scenic Drive Clean-up on May 2

Click map to enlarge

District 2 of the City of El Paso (Susie Byrd) is sponsoring a massive clean-up of Scenic Drive this Sunday, May 2, beginning at 7 a.m. on the east side (Richmond entrance) and at 8 a.m. on the west side (Rim Road/Robinson entrance). Keep El Paso Beautiful and the Newman Park Neighborhood Association are co-sponsors.

The clean-up will include picking-up litter along the drive as well as “off road” trash stuck on plants and debris scattered down the slopes. Keep El Paso Beautiful is providing bags and gloves. Those who wish to participate may pick-up a bag at either end of Scenic Drive. Filled bags will be collected at both ends and the City of El Paso Environmental Services will collect them after the event.

Volunteers include individuals, several Scout troops, members of the Unitarian Universalist Community of El Paso and the Trans-Pecos Chapter of the Texas Master Naturalists. All El Pasoans are welcome to help.

Representative Byrd pledges: “I'll buy breakfast for the person who collects the most bags of trash.”

Scenic Drive is closed to motorists every Sunday morning so that walkers, runners, bikers, skateboarders and skaters can come out and enjoy the mountain and the spectacular view. Scenic Sunday hours are 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. April – September and 7 a.m. to Noon October – March.

Get Ready to Scramble: Easter Egg Hunt April 3

On your mark, get set . . .

Children 12 years and younger are invited to bring their own Easter baskets and come to the Newman Park Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 3 beginning promptly at 10 a.m. The event is sponsored by the Newman Park Neighborhood Association and is made possible by the generous support of Michael and Becky Friesenhahn and the office of Rep. Susie Byrd.

Radio talk show host and Newmanista, Lisa Degliantoni, tells us:

"The annual Newman Park Easter Egg hunt is one of the anchor events for the neighborhood association for the year and children and their parents come from all over the city to participate. We hide more than 500 eggs, we do big basket giveaways and we make everyone feel welcome, if they live in the neighborhood or not. Newman Park is particularly well-suited for an Easter Egg hunt too as the main lawn is a wide open space and once we yell "Go!" you can see all these kids fanning out all over the park and with the mountain on the right and the view of Mexico, it's such a fantastic picture."

You can hear the Lisa D Show weekdays from 1-2 p.m. www.talkradio1150.com.

Rep. Byrd Posts 2010 Breakfast Schedule

Sheriff Wiles at a 2009 Breakfast Meeting

City Representative Susie Byrd

BREAKFAST MEETINGS

2010 CALANDAR

Tierra Del Sol Restaurant 4201 Alabama 7:30 A.M.		Memorial Park Library 3200 Copper 10:00 A.M.
February 4 Guest: Veronica Escobar County Commissioner, Precinct 2		February 20 Guest: Kim Forsyth, Senior Planner Traffic Engineering
March 4 Guest: Dr. Tony Payan, Assoc Professor of Political Science at UTEP		March 20 Guest: Katherine Palafox Keep El Paso Beautiful
April 1 Guest: Tom Fenton Editor, El Paso Inc.		April 17 Guest: Edgar Fino, Transportation Engineer Supervisor Texas Department of Transportation
May 6 Dinah Kilgore, Executive Director Chief Appraiser, Central Appraisal District		May 15 Guest: John Cook Mayor, City of El Paso
June 3 Guest: Karl Rimkus, Senior Env. Scientist Environmental Services		June 19 Guest: David Cuthbertson FBI Special Agent in Charge
July 1 Guest: Joyce Wilson City Manager		July 17 Guest To Be Announced

Contact Info:

Susie Byrd, 2 Civic Center Plaza, 10^th Fl., El Paso, TX 79901

Administrative Assistant: Judy Gutierrez/541-4416

UTEP to Sponsor War on Drugs Conference

We have all seen those news stories about people who witness a violent crime and do nothing. There are plenty of reports of someone being molested and no one coming to the rescue. Such stories tug at our consciences. In a way that is what is happening to all of us in El Paso now. We stare at the hideous violence in Juarez. Is there nothing that we can do?

In her blog entry, War on Drugs: Is It Working?, our City Representative Susie Byrd says it best:

"So it is easy to seal ourselves off from the violence in Juarez, not cross over. Bemoan the daily headlines and trust the law enforcement agencies that it will not spill over. But as citizens of El Paso, as citizens of the United States, we should not let our sense of security distance us from the violence in our sister city, from the violence begat from an insatiable hunger for illegal drugs in the United States and the laws that have created irresistible profit margins for greedy thugs with guns. The violence in Juarez is our problem. This region, El Paso and Juarez, have sat perched at the edge of a great renaissance. The insecurity in Juarez has unraveled economic gains in our region. Momentum is lost. Worry sets in.

We can't really afford to just stand by."

The University of Texas at El Paso is sponsoring a two day conference on the U.S. war on drugs beginning with a reception this coming Sunday night. Scholars, journalists, politicians and others will discuss the American drug war policy since its inception under President Nixon, its broad consequences and possible alternative strategies. For more information, go to http://warondrugsconference.utep.edu/.