Smart Code Meeting Tonight

SMART CODE MEETING TONIGHT

Information Meeting about Smart Code sponsored by Rep. Susie Byrd's office

Where: Sunset High School (formerly Houston School) Auditorium

When: Thursday, May 9, 2013

Time: 6:00 pm

Five Points Smart Growth Presentation

Great American Clean-up This Saturday

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Neighborhood News Winter 2013 Newsletter

Below is the Winter 2013 Neighborhood Newsletter from El Paso's Neighborhood Services.  Be sure also to read their brochure online.

Neighborhood News Winter 2013 by jimhtolbert434

Information Technology Hiring Fair

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City of El Paso Job Opportunities

Neighborhoods May See Increase in Parking Citations

Code Inspectors to Issue Parking Citations

El Paso, Texas – Code Enforcement inspectors now have the authority to issue parking tickets, the City of El Paso Environmental Services Department announced.

An ordinance amendment to Title 12 adopted earlier this month by City Council empowers inspectors to issue parking citations. Fines will vary depending on the parking violation. Before the change only police officers could issue citations for all parking violations.

Though the ordinance amendment is now effective, the Environmental Services Department will provide a short grace period before the citations are issued to allow for public outreach.

Code enforcement inspectors will begin issuing parking citations in January 2012.  In the meanwhile, they will continue to issue warning notices for parking violations while patrolling neighborhoods within the city limits.

“Every day our code enforcement inspectors encounter parking violations and they leave warning notices. Unfortunately, sometimes notices are not enough to change public behavior,” Environmental Services Director Ellen Smyth said. “Now, our inspectors will be able to respond to the violations by ticketing vehicles, particularly those obstructing the public’s access to sidewalks, blocking driveways or parked on unapproved surfaces, such as lawns.”

The public may report violations by calling 915-599-6290. 

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

Districting Commission Changes Date

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If you are interested in giving input regarding the redistricting of our City Council districts and planned to attend the meeting on November 16th, note the change to November 30th.

Help Choose New District Boundaries

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Register Your Child Now for Archaeological Summer Day Camp

The El Paso Museum of Archaeology has announced their schedule for children's summer day camps. It is best to register your child as quickly as possible. You can find a registration form by clicking here.

Dear Friends of Archaeology,

Our archaeology summer day camp dates for children age 7 to 12 are now set. I have attached the registration form. Please forward this to anyone who might be interested.

We have only twelve spaces per camp.

We must receive payment and completed registration form to hold a space for a child.

The El Paso Museum of Archaeology Announces:

2011 Archaeology Summer Day Camp

9 am to Noon, Tuesdays through Fridays on the following dates:

Ages 7 to 9 years/ Grades 2-4:	Ages 10 to 12 years/ Grades 5-7:
June 28 to July 1	July 12 to 15
July 26 to 29	August 9 to 12

The El Paso Museum of Archaeology will hold their annual archaeology day camp for children seven to twelve years old this summer. Children must have completed first grade and be at least seven years old. Camps fill quickly; those interested should contact the museum as soon as possible. The choice of dates is subject to availability.

The camp registration fee is $55 for El Paso Museum of Archaeology members and $70 for non-members. Registration is accepted on a first-come first-served basis as attendance is limited to twelve students per camp. For information and the camp registration form contact the museum at 915-755-4332 or guidamr@elpasotexas.gov.

Archaeology Summer Day Camp is an interactive, hands-on course held on the museum’s grounds and in the galleries with a field trip (to be announced). The program is designed to educate participants about the science of archaeology, its tools, and the prehistory of the Americas, especially the El Paso-Juárez region, from the Ice Age to European contact. Campers will learn respect and appreciation for prehistoric, historic and contemporary Indian people.

The museum is seeking volunteers with experience teaching elementary and middle school students to assist with archaeology summer camp. Training for volunteers will be held in early June.

To download a registration form and to see camp photos, visit our website:

http://www.elpasotexas.gov/arch_museum/kids_corner.asp and

http://www.elpasotexas.gov/arch_museum/daycamp.asp

For more information contact Marilyn Guida at 915-755-4332 or guidamr@elpasotexas.gov.

All the best,

Marilyn

My work schedule is Tuesday through Saturday

Marilyn Guida

Curator of Education

El Paso Museum of Archaeology

4301 Transmountain Road

El Paso Texas 79924

915-755-4332

Newmanistas Lose Friend

The City of El Paso and the General Services Department lost one of its own last week with the passing of Mr. Gregory G. Reynolds, the Department’s Land Management Superintendant.

Greg was the Land Management Superintendant who oversaw grounds work at Newman Park as well as other City parks. He was always very responsive to our requests and valued neighborhood feedback.

Greg arrived in El Paso only recently after being hired by the City on May 3, 2010. Prior to coming to El Paso, Greg had an illustrious and distinguished land management career in both the private and public sector. He served in a variety of management positions with several private-sector companies, was a consultant, and provided park and field management leadership at the local government level to many agencies, including several municipalities in Texas and school districts throughout the country.

He began his career working as a consultant from 1995-1998, providing contracted grounds maintenance for school districts in Atlanta, Georgia and Hamilton County Tennessee.

Following his school district contract work, Greg transitioned to municipal park land and athletic field management. He served as the City of Pearland Parks Superintendant and Urban Forester from 1999 to 2001 before returning back to the private sector as Vice President of Operations for Service Corporation International. While at Service Corporation International, he provided executive oversight to cemetery operations and turf management in the multi-state markets of Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Florida and Alabama.

Greg returned to Texas municipal park land management from 2004 through 2007, where he served in a variety of capacities as the City of Midland’s Assistant Manager of Parks, the City of Del Rio’s Parks and Recreation Director, and the City of Gillette’s Parks Superintendant. Prior to being hired by the City of El Paso, Greg served in the state of California’s second largest school district as the San Diego Unified School District’s Landscape Services Manager.

Greg Reynolds’ family will be honoring his memory and celebrating his life on Saturday April 2, 2011 at 11:00 at Mulkey-Mason Funeral Home located at 740 S. Edmonds Lane, Lewisville, Texas 75067 (972) 436-4581.

Greg will be cremated as he wished. His family will take him to his beloved White River in Arkansas where he spent many wonderful times and where his father’s ashes were spread less than a year ago.

In lieu of flowers, Greg’s family has requested that donations be made to either the American Heart Association or the American Diabetes Association in his memory.

Vulnerable Road User Ordinance Goes Into Effect March 1

The Vulnerable Road User Ordinance was passed on December 7, 2010 and scheduled to take effect March 1, 2011.

This Ordinance is intended to provide protection of Vulnerable Road Users.

WHO IS A VULNERABLE ROAD USER?

Pedestrian, runner, physically disabled person, highway construction/maintenance worker, tow truck operator, utility worker, person on horseback, a person operating equipment other than a motor vehicle, including, but not limited to a bicycle, hand cycle, horse-driven conveyance, or unprotected farm equipment, a worker with legitimate business in or near the road or right-of-way, or stranded motorist or passenger.

WHAT MUST A DRIVER DO

An operator of a motor vehicle passing a Vulnerable Road User operating on a highway or street shall:

Vacate the lane being used by the Vulnerable Road User if two or more lanes exist

Pass the Vulnerable Road User at a safe distance, three feet if the operator’s vehicle is a passenger car or light truck and six feet if the vehicle is larger than a light truck to include commercial motor vehicles

Operators of Motor Vehicles making a left turn at an intersection, alley, or private road or driveway shall yield right of way to a Vulnerable Road User

The operator of a motor vehicle may not overtake a Vulnerable Road User traveling in the same direction and subsequently make a right turn in front of the Vulnerable Road User unless the operator is safely clear of the vulnerable road user

An operator may not drive a vehicle in a manner that cause intimidation, harassment or threatens a Vulnerable Road User.

DEFENSE TO PROSECUTION

It is a defense to prosecution under this section that at the time of the offense the Vulnerable Road User was acting in violation of the law.

QUICK REVIEW

The operator of a motor vehicle must create a safe environment for a Vulnerable Road User by giving them space on the road and yielding the right of way.

FINE FOR VIOLATION OF ORDINANCE NO. 017466

Fine up to $500

Susie Byrd Will Host Director of El Paso's Office of Management and Budget

Representative Susie Byrd will host her bi-weekly community meeting this Thursday July 2 at 7:30 a.m. at Tierra Del Sol Restaurant, 4201 Alabama.

This week, Rep. Byrd will host David Almonte, Director of the city’s Office of Management and Budget. Mr. Almonte will speak to audience members on the city’s upcoming budget presentations, presenting important information on how the city plans to deal with a large deficit.

According to David Crowder with the Newspaper Tree: “The proposed El Paso city budget for fiscal 2010 starting Sept. 1 shows a $3.6 million or 1.13 percent decrease in spending from last year’s $315.8 million in local taxes, fines and fees.” You can read Crowder’s story in full here.

Mr. Almonte’s important discussion of the city’s finances comes at a very critical time and all of us are invited to hear him.

You will be getting those taps on the door soon. Even if you have previously given to the Association, please do so again. Our dues are yearly. They are just $15 per household. You can also print out the document that you previously got in email and send it in with your check. (Please fill it out again even if you have done so once before. It will help us be sure that we have your contact information correct and up to date.) If you need me to re-send that application document, just respond to this email.

¡Vaya con Dios!

¡Hola Vecinos! Midweeker Edition© An official emailed newsletter of the Newman Park Neighborhood Association is written and published by Jim Tolbert. To subscribe or unsubscribe, just reply to this letter or email jimhtolbert@elp.rr.com.

Follow me (elpasonaturally) on Twitter.

Please also see our neighborhood blog updated almost daily: www.newmanpark.blogspot.com. Also (and here comes the shameless plugs) please visit www.elpasonaturally.blogspot.com and

This is Volume 3 and Number 31 published on July 1, 2009.

"We have to commit ourselves to audacity and reckless aspiration" - Susie Byrd's Inaugaration Speech June 22 2009

Along with Steve Ortega, Carl Robinson, John Cook and others, Susie Byrd was sworn in last night for a second term as the District 2 Representative on the City Council of El Paso. Here is the video of her inspirational address. Below is the text of her speech including her open, personal remarks.

"I want to start off by thanking my husband, Eddie Holland. He lets me be who I want me to be, a city council representative for the neighborhoods that raised me. He doesn’t always quite get why I want this job, but he knows I love it so he does whatever he can to make it work. My kids, Hannah, John and Eddie, are right there with him, cheering me on. And then there is my dad and my mom and my brother John who are always there to pitch in when we can’t quite manage the avalanche of community meetings and baseball practices and soccer games and flamenco and cello lessons.

"I love you guys.

"There were many people--friends, neighborhood leaders, business leaders--who helped me during this election. Ester Perez, my campaign treasurer, made endless phone calls to rally the troops. Mr. Jorge Almada, the president of the Central Neighborhood Association, campaigned full time. He called me often with this advice: don’t take the election for granted and please, Susie, please, quit putting wood on the fire. Judy Gutierrez and Rene Leon managed one of the busiest political offices in town while I was out stumping and knocking on doors.

"There is one person who has always been at my side that I can never thank enough—Commissioner Veronica Escobar. Since our wild ride during the Caballero administration, Vero and I have braved the strange waters of El Paso politics together. Whether it was digging through campaign finance reports, harassing reporters about the stories that need to be told, brainstorming about the best way to build momentum for an important issue or knocking on hundreds and hundreds of doors in support of a great cause or a great candidate, Vero has always been front and center, not just for me, but for many others, ready to give her time and willing to lend her tremendous leadership and inexhaustible talents to make this city great. I am lucky to have her as a friend, and I am proud to call her my county commissioner.

****

"A couple weeks ago, I walked to Ruli’s for lunch from the museum. Rulis is a café just across from the plazita downtown. Out walks Paul Foster. We say hello, ask how things are going. I have to put this moment in context: the national and global economy is recovering--we hope--from a nerve-wracking tailspin; our sister city Juarez is threatened by overwhelming violence and instability. But it is in this moment that Paul responds to my greeting by gesturing across the park to the Anson Mills Building and saying, 'We open this fall.'

"The Anson Mills Building was built in a moment of audacious city building. Gorgeous, towering buildings came charging out of the ground, defining El Paso as a major metropolis with greatness on the mind. Built in 1911, the building was only the second concrete-frame skyscraper in the United States and one of the largest all-concrete buildings. The nation took note of an El Paso on the move.

"Somewhere in the last half century, we lost our way. We began to bleed talent and optimism. Our daring and confidence began to wane. Poverty defeated us and created a feast for a business and governance model built on cheap labor and little or no competition. Our place on the U.S./Mexico border and the culture, the language and people of this place began to weigh on us as a burden. The buildings and the neighborhoods that defined us as exuberant and fearless in the early 1990s became boarded up and abandoned, replaced with nameless, placeless miles and miles of anywhere USA.

"But sure enough, steady enough, today, we reclaim our heritage and the confidence that built this city. And we do this even in the midst of great economic uncertainty.

"Two young Karam brothers claim a 1920s cold storage warehouse on Florence, risking a small fortune on building Downtown lofts. TVO and La Fe claim two vacant downtown city blocks to build 90 units of new housing, willing to fight decades of government policy and business culture that make it easy and cheap to build at the fringes and pretty painful and expensive to build in the center city. A small non profit called Preservation Alliance claims a small broken down historic home on Portland Avenue that had been vacant and burned out and occupied by vagrants, willing to bet that they can breathe new life into our most enduring neighborhoods, one home at a time.

"I am more and more convinced that we will only find a new El Paso, a stronger El Paso, a more prosperous El Paso, in the wisdom and audaciousness of old El Paso. Yes, sure, this means investing in old buildings and old neighborhoods, but it is more than that. It means investing in a different path. It means shedding decades of policies, practices and business models that got us where we are today. It means that we should no longer accept “but we are a poor city” as an excuse to do nothing or as an excuse to just keep on doing things the way we have always done them. It means that timid, half steps are no way to defeat poverty and create in El Paso a magnet for talent and economic dynamism.

"Each of us, in ways in big and small, have a role to play, but we have to commit ourselves to audacity and reckless aspiration. We have to believe that our city--this piece of land in the desert, captured by borders and sliced in half by rugged mountain—is worth loving and fighting for."

In Spite City Promises Mayfield Wildscape Again Assaulted by Contractors

In spite of assurances from the City Manager's office and the Streets Department, Mayfield Wildscape is again under assault by contractors hired by the City of El Paso to do work in the alleyway between Savannah and Frankfort Avenues.

Dug up pavement and concrete now litter the site as do plastic soda bottles that quenched the thirst of workers.

Above shows the dumping and debris.

Here are JAR Construction workers walking away as I take photos:

El Paso's Mayoral Candidates

There's a whole slew of candidates who want to be elected Mayor of El Paso on May 9th including the incumbent, John Cook. As always, Newspaper Tree has the "scoop" with videos of comments by each candidate.

Go to Mayoral nuggets: A quick look at the candidates on Newspaper Tree.

My big question: Are there any "green" candidates for Mayor? Not once were any of the words "environment", "open space" or "sustainability" used. We already know that John Cook is running as far away from impact fees as he can. He has also deemed as "potheads" those who agree with Beto O'Rourke that there should be a new debate on the American drug war policy.

What's the Best Leadership for Tough Economic Times: Joyce Wilson

El Paso is fortunate to have the calm, steady, conservative, no-nonsense leadership of City Manager, Joyce Wilson. Ms. Wilson spoke this morning at Mayor Pro-Tem Susie Byrd's monthly Thursday public meeting.

To be sure El Paso is not as touched by the economic downturn as are other cities throughout the country. Our housing market is relatively stable and there have been no significant declines in property evaluations. Wilson did say that sales tax collections are down as are bridge revenues. The latter were down as much as 20% in January from the previous year and 10 to 15% overall for the start of 2009. Fortunately, Wilson premised the current fiscal year budget on higher energy costs and the cost of gasoline and other fuels have actually decreased by 50% over the last three quarters.

There has been a construction slow-down but that has also had a favorable effect on the City budget. Contractors are bidding city projects more competitively.

Our steady-handed City Manager said that, in spite of the worldwide and national economic crisis, she would keep capital improvement projects on schedule and pursue IT improvements so El Paso could catch up with other places technologically. She happily reported that as much as $21Million dollars from the stimulus package for transportation is coming our way and would help to complete the loop around El Paso.

As she contemplates the budget process for the next fiscal year, Joyce promises not to take any draconian measures. Her assumption is that the economy will not turn upward until the end of the year or into next year. Therefore, she will start the budget process at $10Million dollars less than the current year without compromising police and fire protection as well as streets, infrastructure and IT improvements. By budgeting conservatively, Ms. Wilson will prevent El Paso from overspending in a bad economy and will position El Paso to gain a stronger footing should the economy begin to improve before the end of the year.

The City Manager next commented about the PSB and stormwater management. In spite of what critics say, she pointed out, the PSB is accountable to the people of the City of El Paso through the elected City Council. On March 31 the PSB will go before City Council for approval of a master drainage plan and capial improvements.

Wilson lauded the PSB's for its quick and effective development of a stormwater management plan and for putting into place the groundwork to reduce future risk of flooding.

A variety of topics were touched on through questions by the audience. Concern that the drug wars in Juarez might spill across the border was on the minds of many. Ms. Wilson explained that all levels of law enforcement (city, state and federal) are in communication about the violent situation across the border and that they are also in touch with their counterparts in Mexico.

Wilson assured everyone that she and law enforcement officials feel comfortable that we will not have a spillover of violence into our city. However, if we do, Wilson said that "response will be very fast, very swift and very strong."

It's good to know that, in good times or bad, El Paso has Joyce Wilson's strong, steady hands and her wisdom guiding us.

City Manager, Joyce Wilson, Takes Action on Escarpment

Yesterday I wrote our City Manager, Joyce Wilson, about the damage done to and littering of our Mayfield "Park". Here is what I wrote:

"Ms. Wilson,

I am writing you as a board member of the Newman Park Neighborhood Association.

There is a lovely natural escarpment that has graced our neighborhood for decades. Neighbors often fondly refer to it as “Mayfield Park” even though it is not an actual city park. (It is, however, city property.) This escarpment sits at the western end of Savannah, Frankfort and Memphis Avenues. Mayfield Terrace and then the Franklin Mountains describe its western boundary. It is home to mesquite, Palo Verde, creosote, quail and desert sparrows to say the least. Foxes frequent it and even our Franklin Mountain female cougar has been spotted there. It has been visited by serious birdwatchers. It is a lovely place.

Recently the City replaced water and sewer lines in the alleyway between Savannah and Frankfort. City workers and the contractors that the City hired littered the area with their lunch bags, plastic grocery sacks, drink cartons, plastic water bottles and so forth. Chief Justice David Chew, his wife, Mandy, and Judge Chew’s sister, District Court Judge Linda Chew, all pitched in to clean up the litter. Additionally, the workers crushed brush and broke tree limbs with their backhoes and dirt movers.
They simply plowed through without any consideration to the natural beauty of the escarpment.

Since workers littered and molested landscape at this project, you know that they are doing so on all other projects all over the City. You know that those who supervise are complicit.

With all of El Paso’s great efforts to make this a more beautiful city and to
encourage people to pick-up and clean-up, allowing (through neglect and failure to supervise) city workers and hired private contractors to litter and to destroy natural landscapes seems to be sending a mixed message and to be counter-productive to any program to make El Paso a cleaner and more attractive city.

Is there a possibility that a policy can be drafted that requires workers and their supervisors to use litter bags and to be mindful of natural surroundings with failure to do so resulting in some significant penalty? Can a similar policy be written that requires private contractors to do the same with failure to do so resulting in being taken off the official list of City contractors for a significant period of time? What I have in mind is not just a memo to department heads and supervisors, but a serious, deliberate, protracted effort and program to make workers, supervisors, department heads, contractors, etc. responsible to the environment. Mere memorandums about the problems will not result in a genuine shift in values.

As always whenever I write a message such as this, I volunteer to do whatever I can to assist the City in dealing with these issues. I assume that, if I’m “complaining”, I should be willing to pitch in and be part of the solution whatever time that it takes. For nearly twenty years now, the Chews and Bob and Jeanne Foskett have been good stewards of Mayfield “Park”. They have kept it clean and cared for. Mr. Foskett has even created lovely, natural signs telling hikers and walkers the names of some of the trees and shrubs. I’m sure that the Newman Park Neighborhood Association under its Park Partner Agreement can help maintain this beautiful setting. If all of us together can get creative, we can find ways to love this place and all other such open, natural spaces in our neighborhoods throughout El Paso.

Thank you for all the great work that you are doing for the City of El Paso. I am very grateful to you and very appreciative of your leadership."

She responded:

"Thanks for bringing this problem to my attention. I will follow up with City engineering staff to determine who was the contractor on this particular project and what oversight we provided. I also will have someone to go out and look at the site and assess whether or not the contractor can be made to repair any damage to the natural area. We can include provisions in our contracts to ensure that contractors who do business with the city also do not violate any environmental codes and policies such as you describe. I will make sure we are doing so as a matter
of practice going forward, if we do not already specify this in our agreements. The same applies to City employees. We have administrative policies governing all sorts of conduct and behavior and I can work with HR to formally address these expectations as well.

I concur that we must set the standard if we are going to be assertive in enforcing compliance with our environmental codes, as well as encourage our citizens to be attentive to our community’s appearance and cleanliness, as well as its natural spaces.

Best to you for 2009. Thanks for the efforts you and the association are making on behalf of the City and your neighborhood."

Now that is leadership!

Storm Detention Pond Gets Makeover

The storm detention pond beautification project is moving along. New trees and other plants have been planted; new sidewalks have been put in; a rock facade will add beauty to an old retention wall. Let's just hope that vandals will leave the plants alone. (After new trees were planted at Newman Park this spring, a couple were pulled out of the ground.) Let's also hope that graffiti thugs will also stay away or be caught if they commit their vile vandalism.

Ciclovia Is Back in 2008: Month Long Event Celebrates Fitness and Fun in El Paso

The Parks and Recreation Department just issued this press release:

"The City of El Paso Parks and Recreation Department will be “Taking the Parks to the Streets” with the second annual Ciclovia from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. each Sunday in October. (Actual dates are October 5, 12, 19, and 26.) East El Paso will be the location for the Ciclovia as the event will coincide with the booming population in the area providing a fun, festive, family oriented event each Sunday in October.

Bogota, Columbia began the Ciclovia in 1987 by reserving selected streets for pedestrian use only. Now, nearly a million people fill the roads of Bogota every Sunday morning. Ciclovia is a temporary urban space in which neighbors regularly interact with one another and their community through exercise. Streets are closed off to car traffic so that pedestrians, cyclists, rollerbladers and walkers can take over.

El Paso, Texas was the first large city in the United States to host a Ciclovia in May of 2007. The city received awards for Ciclovia last year from the Governor’s office and the Texas State Senate as over 5,000 people participated."

Scenic Sundays was an extremely popular event. Of those who responded to a recent poll on this blog an overwhelming 63% participated most or every week in the 2008 Scenic Sunday program. Whether the City can continue to pay for the program is a matter of concern. According to Open Space Coordinator Shamori Whitt, "the Parks Department does not have the funding to take [Scenic Sundays] on internally. Police absorbed their expenses this year and cannot afford to the same for an entire year."

Mayor Pro-Tem and District Representative Susie Byrd says:

"We didn't track the number of users of the event. I do have a bunch of emails from folks who definitely appreciated it. It is not budgeted for next year. I would like it to be a year round event but the costs for policing it are very expensive. I'm working with police right now to develop a more realistic budget without compromising safety. Once we get that worked out, I would like to look for sponsors for an annual event."

Anyone want to be a sponsor? Contact Representative Byrd.

The Adoration of the Chihuahua

I am sure that all of you are familiar with the classic painting by the 17th Century French painter, Nicolas Poussin: The Adoration of the Golden Calf. You are probably also familiar with the story of the golden calf in the Biblical Book of Exodus (Chapter 32). The image of the golden calf readily came to mind as I gawked at the City of El Paso's striped Chihuahua - a sculpture that sits on the first floor of the City building. It is a gift from the City of Chihuahua and is entitled Dada Can. The artist is Edgar Palomino González. It was part of a recent Chihuahua Dog Parade - an exhibition of colorful Chihuahua sculptures in the City of Chihuahua. You can see a collection of these sculptures here.