Max Powers

El Paso County Throwing Away Money...

...on Martin Paredes.

Y'all may remember that Martin Paredes was at one time a vendor for the City of El Paso.

Well, he is also vendor for El Paso County.

So you want to know how much the County has paid Paredes?

Ta-da!

Not good enough?

Well, here are the invoices Martin sent to the County: Download Cognent-County of EP

You are probably wondering, "What the hell does Martin do for us?"

Per the County via an open records request:

Cognent has provided Website hosting and maintenance service to the Far West Texas/El Paso Region Regional Coordinated Public Transportation Plan.

So since 2009, you, Juan(a) Taxpayer, have paid Martin Paredes over $10,000 to host a website.  

I am sure Jaime Abeytia - a resident of El Paso County - could do it for half of what Martin charges.

Taxpayer considerations aside, you gotta wonder how a certain home builder feels about this.  If Martin is hosing the County, I can only imagine how much he is charging a home builder.

 

 

 

When Josh Dagda Had Nice Hair

There was a time when City Representative candidate for District 8, Josh Dagda, had nice hair like me.

Something happened along the way.

Now his hair sucks.

What?

You don't believe me when I say Dagda had nice hair?

Here's proof!

James Valenti's Authority

I have something in common with UMC CEO James Valenti.

Both he and I went to the same medical school.

Which if you are wondering, "What school was that?", then you did not get the joke. 

Anyways. 

The point I am making is that neither Valenti nor I are doctors or for that matter nurses.

Why does that matter?

Well, recently I went to the hospital with a friend, and any time a doctor or nurse wanted to talk about my friend's health, the doctor and/or nurse would ask my friend if it was okay for them to discuss that health information in front of me.

"What the phuck, Max?  What are you talking about?  You are getting boring."

Patients.....see what I did there?

I bring this up because yours truly submitted an Open Records Request to the El Paso County Hospital District, otherwise known as the University Medical Center, requesting any and all emails sent to and from Mr. Valenti's UMC email account to "[email protected]".

And who does "[email protected]" belong to you???

Your County Judge...Veronica Escobar. 

Nearly ten business days later the El Paso County Attorney's office got back to me and said:

For tracking purposes this request has been assigned number HM 15-034.  Some of the information you have requested includes patient names, identifiers or other protected information.  Generally the District redacts such information in these types of requests.  Alternatively, the District would seek a determination from the Attorney General.  Can you please verify that you are not seeking patient information and that appropriate redactions may be made to the information you've requested?  We must have clarification of this before we can complete processing your request.

Which has got me thinking.

And I do not like when that happens.

Assuming that information shared between Valenti and Escobar does not involve her or her family, does Valenti have the authority to share patient information with any elected official?

Or is this just a ruse to redact the shit out of these emails? 

Mind you, I went to the same law school as Valenti.

So he and I may not know these things. 

But in any event, only one of us is making...or potentially making...a mistake(s).

Or it could be much ado about nothing.

Some you of all may know better than me.

 

 

A Crazy Idea and the Armendariz-Razavi Connection

Long time ago when I worked for then-State Representative Norma Chavez, I had all sorts of crazy ideas. 

At the time, I had a severe case of hectorlopezitis.

One of these ideas I ran by the government affairs person for the City of El Paso. 

That person? Rick Armendariz.  

And the plot does not thicken.

Over some schwarma - mind you schwarma although great, is not a Persian dish - Mr. Armendariz wanted to talk about politics, while I was more interested in the possibility of Juarez and El Paso creating one airport.

I am sure many of you have flown on American.   As you know, before you can go to Hell, you have to switch planes in DFW.   That airport happened because the FAA forced Dallas and Fort Worth to make it happen.  That's right.  This is one of the few times bureaucrats in Washington got it right.  A  few million people, and billions of dollars later, Dallas-Fort Worth is where it is at today.

So that being said, albeit different circumstances, why not an El Paso-Juarez International Airport?

Well, I'll have you know Mr. Armendariz thought the idea was silly.

Of course later that day, I curled up in a ball and cried in my apartment.   Actually no.  It was not that funny, it was a lot more depressing.  I just went home and watched "Fight Club"...a lot.

But anyways...back to that crazy idea.

Well, it turns out, it is not all that crazy.

Pretty soon folks in beautiful San Diego will be able to take sky-bridge over the border into Tijuana International Border.  

That's right. 

A bi-national- which may become pan - international airport.

So next time you are delayed at DFW, Love Field or Houston, you can thank Mr. Armendariz for killing the El Paso-Juarez International Airport. 

 

 

 

Canutillo ISD Trustee Armando Rodriguez Should Apologize

Canutillo ISD Trustee Armando Rodriguez, should issue a public apology to Rick Armendariz and Mark Smith at the next week Canutillo ISD board meeting for spreading false statements about them at a past school board meeting.

Since we know who Max really is, it is the right and just thing to do. 

Armando could say:

"I want to take this moment to apologize to Rick Armendariz and Mark Smith for spreading untrue rumors about them at recent public meeting.  I also want to apologize to the Board and to the public for allowing this Board to become part of a political gossip mill.   I am deeply sorry to all."

And voila! 

Happiness for all.

That being said, if Armando wants to make things interesting he can mention that I am behind Max.

And if really really wants to make things even more interesting at the next public meeting he can say not only I am behind Max, but that I part of Forma.  At the point he's gonna really have to back up his statement, and then the fun begins.

 

Ignorance is Bliss

Just a couple of days ago, State Representative Cesar Blanco, quoting figures from the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, told the El Paso Times that Fort Bliss has had a $25 billion economic impact in El Paso.

That got me thinking. 

And so I thought. 

And as I thought I remembered.

I remembered earlier this year that El Paso Times ran an article stating that El Paso's 2014 GDP was roughly $32 billion.

I am no economist, but something tells me that Fort Bliss' $25 billion impact is NOT an annual thing. 

But we won't know because neither Blanco or the El Paso Times' Marty Schladen provided any context to that $25 billion.

Why does it matter?

When something's importance is being overstated, things - in this case policy - will be steered towards that direction.  Meanwhile, other understated items get ignored. 

 

BRAC-off

El Paso leaders love talking about how great Fort Bliss is for the local economy, but then run to Austin seeking money because either Fort Bliss is growing too fast or Fort Bliss might get up and leave.

In other words because a federal government agency may expand or contract, the state government needs to pony up money just in case of either event.

One government subsidizes another. 

Makes sense, right? 

In an El Paso sorta way?

 

 

 

 

El Paso Children's Hospital Prognosis: Still The Same...Parte Deux

El Paso Inc.'s David Crowder has a great Q&A with El Paso Children's Hospital CEO Mark Herbers.

When I say "great", I mean to say that Crowder's questions were great. 

Herbers' answers?  Not so much...for you. 

Herbers isn't exactly restoring confidence when asked if EPCH will make it and responds:

Oh, absolutely. If it doesn’t, it will be because the community doesn’t support it. This is probably the first children’s hospital I’ve been involved in that was not formed and built from major philanthropic donations. Most children’s hospitals receive a huge infusion and endowment and capital contribution of millions of dollars to get started.

Translation:

If this thing fails, it's because you guys didn't give us enough money.  But who I am kidding?  This town is poor and every other place I have been to has at least more than one billionaire who needs a tax-write off.

You think I am being silly. 

But keep on reading, and Herbers drops this other gem:

Mature children’s hospitals rely heavily upon philanthropic community support.

Translation:

Where all da' rich people at?  Every other place has a lot of rich people.  Ted Houghton's and Bobby Bowling's nickels ain't cutting it.

While Herbers' statements do not restore much confidence about the fate of EPCH, at least he is not throwing that red herring that County Judge Veronica Escobar likes to throw out about Medicaid reimbursements to explain EPCH's financial woes.

But then Escobar cannot say, "The only way EPCH can survive is on the charitable contributions of high-net worth individuals."    For her that would mean admitting ideological defeat. 

 

 

 

City of El Paso Budget Shortfall

Given the City of El Paso's most recent budget woes I thought I would help the City find areas where it can cut spending.

Martin Paredes has claimed that the City of El Paso is a client of his.

As you may or may not know, Martin Paredes owns Cognent Inc. 

Don't ask me what his company does.

The way though Paredes boasts of his client, the City of El Paso, I thought the guy was making money hand over fist.

But an open records request proved me wrong.

If you want see how much Martin has invoiced the City: Download Cognent_ORR_04-13-2015

It looks like the City stopped doing business with Martin some time ago.

And for the work he did do, it amounted to little over $3,500.00 over the course of 2 years.

If every penny counts, then you cannot gloss over what Martin invoiced the City.

But given that he is no longer doing business with the City, that may explain a lot of his bitterness.

He's just a bitter vendor.

 

 

Cos' This Is What It Sounds Like When A Cholo Whines

Jaime Abeytia and I had a moment.  

It was like Hemingway and Fitzgerald in Paris.

Like this, but pathetic

Jaime fancies himself a street smart cholo.  

Hey, 1 out of 3 ain't bad, right?

So he is mad at me for calling him a "pathetic man child" and not agreeing with him.

Really.

If you are looking for a total time waste, check out Jaime and I's very own Parisian moment:   Download Preview of “Gmail - Conversación con The Lion Star”

I can't blame Jaime for being mad at me though.

He doesn't have such glorious chest hair as I.

Also because it was not too long ago Jaime was so excited about returning to his blog, he had to let me know about it: