Table of Contents
This is a weekly news roundup that gives you a quick look at developments in government, politics, education, the environment and other topics across El Paso.
PDN Health Foundation awards $2.3 million in grants
The nonprofit Paso del Norte Health Foundation has awarded grants to 10 organizations in El Paso, Las Cruces and Chihuahua, Mexico, that support healthy living for children and adults. The grants, totaling more than $2.3 million, will support nutritious meals, physical activity, home gardens, teacher training and culinary education programs. The organisations that received funding are:
- Dessert Spoon Food Hub The prize is A food introduction and education program will be conducted for 300 students in kindergarten through fifth grade in El Paso to improve food knowledge and fruit and vegetable intake.
- Kelly Hunger Relief Center It will provide case management and nutrition education to at least 425 food insecure adults in El Paso, San Elizario, Fabens and Tornillo.
- La Semira Food Centre Intended To It will train 300 educators to teach gardening and culinary skills to 3,000 students, provide technical assistance in maintaining school gardens, and provide culinary programs to 1,000 community members in Las Cruces and New Mexico.
- Paso del Norte Child Development Center to manage Implemented the Sequential Oral Sensory Feeding program for at least 45 new El Paso patients with eating disorders and their families.
- Mustard Seed Cafe The El Paso café will teach healthy eating and gardening classes to at least 660 participants and provide portioned, plant-based meals.
El Paso lawyer receives lifetime achievement award
El Paso attorney Carlos Cardenas has been awarded the Reinaldo G. Garza Lifetime Achievement Award by the Texas State Bar Section of Hispanic Affairs.
Cardenas was honored for his work with the El Paso Bar Association, the Texas Commission on Access to Justice, his work as Fellows Chair of the Texas Bar Foundation and for founding the El Paso Access to Justice Fair.
of Texas lawyer receives award Cardenas was recognized for his “long-term commitment and significant accomplishments in addressing concerns and issues affecting the Hispanic community and for his dedication to advancing diversity and access to justice in the practice of law.” Cardenas received the award on June 20 at the Texas State Bar Annual Conference in Dallas.
The award is named in honor of the first Mexican American to serve on a federal court. Garza was appointed by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 and by President Jimmy Carter in 1979 to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
EPCC Board Appoints New Director to Fill Vacancy
The El Paso Community College Board of Trustees recently appointed Jesus Mendez, 62, president of Win Supply Co. of West El Paso, Vinton, Texas, to the vacant 4th District seat.
Mendez, an El Paso native, said he looks forward to applying his 33 years of experience as a business owner and to working with and supporting the university's board and administration in their mission to serve students. He wrote in his application that he wants to make higher education affordable for students throughout the region.
The entrepreneur was one of eight people who applied for the job opening that arose after Cristina Sanchez resigned May 22 and was appointed earlier this month to fill the remaining term of longtime County Attorney Jo Ann Bernal, who retired in June.
EPCC trustees interviewed five applicants who live in District 4, which borders the U.S.-Mexico border and includes homes in the Willows, South El Paso, parts of Kern Place, Sunset Heights and the Riverside and Del Valle high school communities, and considered their professional backgrounds, leadership experience and commitment to the college's goals, vision and mission.
The unpaid regents set university policy, hire and fire the president, set tax rates and approve the budget.
Mendez completed his education at EPCC and the University of Texas at El Paso, is certified in welding from Western Technical College and has been a licensed irrigation technician for over 30 years.
According to the university, Mendez served as vice president of Common Scents Investment Group for 17 years and has been active in the El Paso Independent School District PTA for the past 12 years.
The businessman, who is married and has one daughter, was sworn in June 22. He will serve out Sanchez's term, which ends in May 2025. The next EPCC board elections will be held on May 3, 2025 in the 4th, 5th and 6th districts.
Foster appointed to ERCOT Board selection committee
Gov. Greg Abbott has appointed El Paso businessman Paul Foster to the selection committee for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas board of directors, whose term will end at the governor's discretion.
Selectmen members appoint the 12-member board of directors that oversees ERCOT, an independent, not-for-profit corporation that serves more than 27 million Texas customers, or about 90 percent of the state's electricity needs.
Foster, a former chairman of the ERCOT board of directors, currently serves as CEO of Franklin Mountain Investments and Franklin Mountain Energy and serves on the board of directors of WestStar Bank in El Paso. He previously served as chairman of the board of directors for Western Refining Co.
Related: El Paso is lagging behind in state board appointments and representation.
Additionally, Mr. Foster is a former Chairman of the University of Texas/Texas A&M Investment Management Company and the Board of Regents of the University of Texas System. He is also a former member of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the Texas Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors and the El Paso Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
The program offers adults the opportunity to earn a diploma.
The El Paso Community College Board of Trustees on Wednesday approved a $100,000 contract with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to help design a program to help high school dropouts earn diplomas and college credentials.
Thirteen faculty members from EPCC worked with faculty from four other community colleges in the state to develop the Opportunity High School Diploma Program, which is currently being reviewed by business partners. The design phase will wrap up in September.
The program incorporates core high school curriculum such as math, civics, science and communications, as well as vocational and technical training to support adults who want to continue their education or prepare to enter the workforce.
Texas 2036, a nonpartisan public policy think tank, 3.15 million Texans As of 2022, 100 people aged 18 or older (about 14% of the population) did not have a high school diploma.
Steve Smith, EPCC vice chancellor for leadership and workforce education, said the college has spoken with several area school districts about the possibility of offering the proposed program, and he said local school districts are excited about the prospect.
“We have a significant number of individuals who have attended high school but have not graduated, and they can not only enroll in a high school program, but also simultaneously complete a career and technical education program,” he told trustees at the June 26 board meeting.
He said the program will be offered at the EPCC campus, but could expand to district facilities if enrollment is high enough.
The motion passed 4-0. Board members Jesús Méndez, Nina Piña and Belén Robles were not present at the meeting.
