Max Powers

Martin Paredes Is Hurting For Cash

With city council races to be over and done within the next two or three months, Martin Paredes is getting desperate.

He has published two self-congratulatory blogs.

Who do you think he wrote those posts for?

His boss...a particular residential developer who shall remain nameless.

Martin is trying to prove his continued worth to his boss so he continue to get paid well past election season.

If Martin needs some money he can send a PayPal link to me, and I'll throw him a few bucks.  

 

Bowling for El Paso

You want to talk about good intentions gone bad, look no further than the whole public housing/affordable housing racket.  It is an ugly marriage between poverty and wealth.  While there may be a few good stories to tell, the biggest thing it has created is a constituency.  A constituency divided into two groups: recipients and developers.

But it is what it is, and elected officials have to thread the needle between the two groups.

Locally this racket is manifested by the HACEP. 

Here the residents and developers that benefit from these policies work together or work against each other.

In this particular case, we are looking at residents and a developer working against each other.

So what happens? And what does one group do to get the upperhand? 

They enlist the support of an elected official.

Who is the elected official in question? City Representative Cortney Niland.

Who are the residents in question? Folks living in Sherman Apartments.

Who is the developer?  No other than Bobby Bowling the 24th.  Or is it 14th?  Doesn't matter.

As things stand now, instead of having Sherman Apartments renovated, Niland is looking to help Bowling instead. 

Again, Max finds all of this housing policy to be toxic.  I am not going to defend one side or the other.  

What I do find interesting is the math. 

Yes, residents that benefit from HACEP do not have money to give to political campaigns, like say a Bobby Bowling. 

But what they do have are votes.  I do not know exactly how many people in Niland's district benefit from the HACEP, but I am sure it is enough to tilt an election. 

Bobby Bowling may give Niland a check for $5,000, but it does not matter when you have an organized constituency that can turnout 5,000 votes against you. 

Niland is supposed to destroy her opponent Josh Dagda.

But Niland is not supposed to destroy herself, which she may end up doing.

El Paso Wish List: Franklin Mountains Visitor Center...Parte Dos

Well it looks like State Rep. Marisa Marquez has done something right again.

As the only El Pasoan on a budget-writing committee in the Texas Legislature she's managed to get somethings for El Paso in the House version of the budget.

There's money for UTEP, some court and other stuff I do not care about that much.

What I do care about is the Franklin Mountains Visitor Center.

That's in the House version of the budget.

Granted, it's a long way between now and until Governor Abbott signs an appropriations bill, but hey, take good news when you can get it.

Unlike the proposed Cultural Center the City can't figure out, the Visitor Center will have long-term meaningful value for generations to come as folks can learn more about the area's geography and geology.   The mountains have been here longer than humanity, which is longer than culture itself.

Besides that it will also encourage the novice to want to go outside more.   I know the outdoors can be intimidating, not because of the outdoors itself but because of all the more seasoned folks with The North Face pants and Camelbaks.  The Visitor Center will serve as an icebreaker. 

So here's to continued hoping.

 

 

Cruz Is In Control

I try not to talk about the national stuff only because everybody else is.

That being said, I do not understand why so many people are cutting U.S. Senator Ted Cruz's presidential ambitions short. 

For Cruz, it is a "now or never" moment.  He either runs for president now or never.

Why never?

2016 is an open-seat race.   That does not happen very often, and Republicans have a good shot.  If a Republican wins, Cruz has to postpone White House dreams by, more than likely,  8 years. 

To wait another 8 years in Senate casting all those votes opens you to all shorts of questions later down the road.

It is not just the votes over the eight years that will hurt you.

They call it "flavor of the month", not "flavor of the last decade" for a reason.

Cruz is the flavor of the month.  He knows he cannot sustain that for eight years because just as the sunrises, there too will be another conservative star that will rise and outshine him.

Oh, and in the event he loses, he still keeps his Senate seat.

Those are just the practical reasons.

Then there is the fact a relatively unknown, at least to most of the public, Texas Solicitor General defeated a well-financed Lt. Governor for a U.S. Senate seat.

So we shouldn't be surprised that he is running.

We should be surprised if he hadn't.

 

 

 

 

Mary Gonzalez and Cesar Blanco: Amores Perros

We all know that State Rep. Mary Gonzalez and State Rep. Cesar Blanco get along quite well.

Well, here is the latest between those two or shall I say three?

State Rep. Gonzalez with State Rep. Cesar Blanco and unknown.

Peanut butter jar has not been found...yet.

Veronica Escobar Speaks

Given the recent agreement reached between UMC and El Paso Children's Hospital, County Judge Veronica Escobar, who allegedly was close to all the negotiations between UMC and EPCH,  feels comfortable enough to let everyone know how awesome everything is...even though no one from UMC and EPCH really feels like talking.

I say allegedly because short of praying and sacrificing lamb, I cannot imagine she contributed much.

Now Escobar spoke to El Paso Inc. about this deal and basically kicked this can down the road.

When asked if EPCH could independent again, she says:

“I wouldn’t rule that out, but I don’t think it will happen in the next five or six years."

In other words, it should not affect her electoral future, and if there is problem, it will be somebody else's...County Judge Vince Perez's problem or failed County Judge candidate Vince Perez's problem.

Now UMC has basically taken over EPCH, but per Escobar the rent issue is being renegotiated.

So let us get this straight.

UMC which has basically taken over EPCH, because EPCH could not pay its bills, still will charge EPCH rent, which really means it is charging itself rent.  

So what happens when EPCH..err...UMC cannot pay the rent?

Make sense?

I didn't think so.

But the best part of the El Paso Inc. article is not from Escobar.

The best part is from the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce Board Chair, Gary Borsch. 

His position would suggest he knows something about business, but he's money quote in the article suggests he does not or at least does not understand how EPCH is, or was, supposed to work.

Per Borsch on the UMC-EPCH agreement:

“They expect Children’s Hospital to be operated in a profitable and efficient manner.  There may be good years and bad years, but with better oversight from UMC and some sharing of expenses and other efficiencies, Children’s will be a viable financial entity.”

Say whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?

EPCH is, or was, a non-profit.  It's not meant to turn a profit.  Somebody at the Chamber needs to let Borsch know that.

Either way, both Borsch and Escobar were probably better off by not saying anything.

Then again they spoke to El Paso Inc. which probably has about two more readers than this blog.

 

 

 

 

Cos' Part of El Paso Is In Fact A Mile-High

Before Beto O'Rourke was elected to Congress, he preached the gospel of, "Hey, let's take a step back and reconsider our current drug policy."  Sure Beto was not the first to preach that, but surely he was probably the first public official here locally to preach it.

It appears what some in these parts thought was a crazy idea being spouted by Beto is now becoming mainstream.

Recently, State Representative Joe Moody filed legislation to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana.

Just as of last week, State Representative Marisa Marquez (DDD-El Paso) filed legislation to legalize medical marijuana. 

Now just because I think Marquez has a glorious rack, some of you think I am shill for the Forma Group.  I did not know appreciating a woman's up-tops made you a shill for anybody.  I thought that just made you a dude.

Anyways, here is Marquez, her rack and folks suffering for all sorts of medical ailments that could benefit from medical marijuana:

 

Honestly, I can see one day Beto, Marquez and Moody meeting-up, but not at Escobar's favorite joint. 

I see them meeting up at a Whataburger and asking the big questions like "Can you land a 787 on Claudia Ordaz's forehead?" or "If the Rio Grande has no water, is it still a rio or just a glorified arroyo?" or "If a train departs at 11PM, does Mary Gonzalez come?"

We can only wonder.

 

El Paso Hispanic Cultural Center: Getting It Done

As things are now, the Center that will be either cultural or culturally Hispanic, will not happen or if it does, it will be utter shit.

A big mistake was establishing a committee to a committee.  Or wait, I do not think that that committee needs to report to the other committee or something like that. 

But I digress.

I am sure you have heard the phrase "design by committee".   It does not suggest anything good.   In El Paso there is a perfect example of something designed by committee - San Jacinto Plaza.

If San Jacinto Plaza has demonstrated anything, it demonstrates that alleged community input is shit.

What is the opposite of design by committee?  What Paul Foster would have done with San Jacinto Plaza.  He fronts the money, he designs the place, and in a few months time you have a great phucking Plaza.

Design by committee aside, then there is the issue of money.  Like with San Jacinto Plaza, the City has a budget.  Like with San Jacinto Plaza, it ain't enough money.  But unlike with San Jacinto Plaza, the City will not be able to pour money down the drain. 

So what's El Paso to do!?!?

Five words:

Alejandra.

De.

La.

Vega.

Foster.

El Paso's  and Juarez's own Alejandra De La Vega Foster could come in with about $2o million, and tell council, "Here's the money, it's there if you want it.  But it won't be there if that brown-noser Hector Gutierrez or that slimeball Reyes or anybody else have anything to do with it."

I can see it now..."The Alejandra De La Vega Foster Centro Cultural de Paso Del Norte."

Win-win.

 

Dagda vs Facebook

One of the neat things about social media is that it allows you to express yourself to the world.  One of the bad things about social media is that it allows you to express yourself to the world. 

We are in something of a transition period of a generation having been born into a world dominated by social media and the current generations that have caught onto either halfway or on the tail-end of their life.

For the younger generation social media faux pas will not matter.  Because everyone in their generation will have made a social media faux pas at one point or another. 

But for the here and now, that generation does not really vote or they at least do not form a significant majority of voters which is unfortunate for City Representative candidate Josh Dagda.

 

That being said, come on, Josh, that's a weak attempt at humor.

If you are going to make a menstruation joke and get flak for it, make it land.

Here's one, "I know some people trust County Judge Veronica Escobar to resolve the situation between UMC and EPCH, but me, personally, I do not trust anything that bleeds for five days and doesn't die...wait never mind she started menopause."

Boom.

You're welcome.

 

 

 

 

The Tiguas' Groundhog Day

The Tiguas are at it again.

Tilting at windmills with their new legislative effort to legalizing gaming.

The ugly truth is that the Tiguas know this legislative effort will fail. 

So why do it?

Just to be in the mix again.  Just as the County Judge and County Commissioners, Mayor and City Representatives, are all making trips to Austin during the legislative session.

The Tiguas, not wanting to seem politically irrelevant, are joining the fray.  Now everybody has to talk to the Tiguas...again.

Given how many times the Tigua leadership has gone through this exercise before, it has become habit forming.

You would think the maybe the Tigua leadership instead of spending money in Austin would stay at home and try to devise more practical solutions.

But that's not as fun as going out to drink in Austin.