Let's Get Caught Up on Everything - Arenas, Arrests and Apologies

I've been out for a week and now I'm back.  No more waiting for comments to post - they will go right up again. 

Here's what has been going on.

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Downtown Arena

In a very convoluted and hard to follow article this weekend, El Paso Times' reporter Cindy Ramirez confirmed my suspicions on the proposed downtown arena.  You can try to read her piece HERE.

I told you that YOU would be paying for this arena and the county has already started moving toward sewing up their end of the deal.  I suspect that Brian Kennedy (the guy who runs the County Coliseumm) saw the writing on the wall and moved to cover his ass for the next few years via a revision of his contract.  The details of that contract revision are rather unimportant compared to the bigger picture here.  The picture you're going to be paying for.

The way I see it, the county has already made some kind of deal with someone to redirect taxpayer dollars away from the Count Coliseum and to a downtown arena.  A downtown arena, mind you, that we don't know much about.  We do know that it has been proposed by PRIVATE citizens in meetings not open to the public.  Now we see that public dollars are going to be invested in this private plan and I'm right back where I was a couple of weeks ago - taxpayers will build some conglomeration of private citizens an arena from which they will profit greatly.  That's just not right.

What's going to happen once again here is that taxpayer money will be spent without taxpayers having a single word of say on what gets built.  You'll be financing someone else's dream with zero input on how it comes out.  Would you normally do that with your money?  I doubt it.

Believe me when I say that the city and county government already know exactly what the plan is and what they need to do to fund it.  The next move will be for the city to do something with its contract on the civic center, which is run by Bill Blaziec.  Once that deal is done they will have paved the way for the financing through the city and county (your tax dollars being loaned to people you probably don't like) and they will likely quietly slide it into a vote with little or no fanfare.

If there's one thing the folks at the city and county have learned, it's that they shouldn't make a big deal out of anything otherwise they will face push-back on that item.  This whole arena thing smells of something being pushed right under you nose in order to avoid too much attention.  Remember - this a $100,000,000 hit to El Paso taxpayers and all the players from the architects to the people running concessions have already been hand picked.  You're looking at essentially a huge $100,000,000 no bid contract using your tax dollars as the slush fund. 

I hope you enjoy your new, empty arena.  Anybody want to guess how much your taxes are going to go up?

By the way - I hear nothing but crickets from many of my friends on this deal.  It seems that just about everybody that is somebody (I'm a nobody) is roped in on this.  Usually I hear something from my connected friends about these types of projects and everybody - I mean everybody is completely mum on this.

I guess should say this - if you guys want an arena, great.  You need to plead with your city reps for a bond election.  Don't let them do this through a certificate of obligation (CO).  Make them put it to a vote and go forward with a plan you understand and like. 

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Garcia Goes Down

Superintendent Lorenzo Garcia is accused of what many people thought he was doing - ripping us off.  The warning siren was sounded a long time ago by many people, but none more than Dan Wever.  Wever was ridiculed, insulted and dismissed when he tried to tell all of us what was going on.  It turns out that Wever was right, his naysayers were wrong. 

A good amount of people owe all of us an apology for propping up this indicted superintendent when it was strongly evident that he had many problems from the beginning.  We need to do something different when we hire these people.  We need our school board to be accountable for what goes on under their direction as well.  Every single one of them should resign.  A new election should be held where voters can vote in qualified watchdogs instead of sheepish lapdogs. 

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Niland's Biggest Issue

The El Paso Times has dropped the ball again.  Today they published a "Q&A" with Representative Cortney Niland over her suggestion that we open up a "rate case" against El Paso Electric.  Great... that's an easy score.  Everybody hates the electric company (not just El Paso Electric, but their local electric company no matter where they are located) and it's an easy sell of a story.  However, they've missed an important story connected to Rep. Niland. 

Spanish language news has reported on Niland's extremely controversial idea to make the "free bridge" no longer free.  This was one of Niland's first "revenue generating" plans that are aimed at taxing services instead of people.  The bridge is a service. 

How the El Paso Times has failed to report Niland's controversial proposal is beyond me... it's stinks of laziness or plain stupidity.  If the free bridge was no longer free - it would literally cause riots in the streets.  Although, it would generate significant revenue for the City of El Paso. 

You have to like the fact the Rep. Niland didn't get into office and just sit on her ass until the next election.  She's actually coming up with revenue generating proposals left and right.  Good for her.

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What's That Smell Mr. Perry?

I know that many of you hate it when I cuss, but I have to use the following description because it's what every political consultant in the country said the second they saw Governor Perry's prayer event. 

Perry shit the bed.  

That was the dumbest thing he could have done.  Americans love a presidential candidate that has a belief in God, however they don't like one that acts as if he was anointed by God to preach to them.  You can not overestimate the amount of damage he's done to himself with that idiotic move.  He turned off many Americans and he won't ever turn them back on. 

I think Perry kind of got into that Palin/Bachman mentality of believing a little too much in their own hype and just drove the bus off the cliff because he had no doubt he land at the bottom unscathed.  He started believing his own crap and just go carried away.

Goodbye Mr. Perry.  Hello Mitt Romney.

Comments

[Old Fart]

A downtown arena has been a item that resurfaces from time to time. When Dover, Kohl & Associates briefed the ASARCO clean up plans and possible uses of that property, an arena was one of the three possible ideas in their concept drawings. Believe someone in the audiance that night, at the downtown library, mentioned an arena was something downtowners wanted for their area.

There is a lot of flux in the planning that's going on right now, especially because of the ASARCO clean up

An arena has come up three for four times in the past. The Starback group proposed one for Basset Center. If you go down there, you can quickly see there is no debth to that property. Downtown supporter quickly presented a counter proposal for their area.

The County later presented another proposal which the public didn't like.

There was an earlier proposal presented for somewhere along Interstate 10 on the Westside. Again questions about who would pay for it versus who would benefit, showed it wasn't a good deal.

It would seem the key issue would be, will the city take it to the public in a "bond issue?" If it goes to a "bond issue" vote I could live with that. Voters would get to decide if it made economic sense.

Now if the city and county tries to get around voters using the famious "certificates" stunt, then yes I would certainly worry.

Have you noticed the city has not briefed the public on a study for a short "street car" line between downtown and UTEP. Believe the cost using the old "street cars" is between $88 to $92 million. Again, if the city would take that to a public vote, would voters approve it? Especially for the cost and very limited area served?

With the ongoing ASARCO clean up, there is a lot of flux going on now. Suspect the downtown people are trying to get their oar in the water early.

That was an interesting El Paso TIMES article. Plus appreciate you, David K, for being alert and starting the public debate on this issue. It's certainly need and Thanks!

[Thomas]

The Man is back and is firing on all eight.I only disagree with you on Mitt Romney.Allowing ghost LLC to channel money to you to run for President isn't cool.I would have vote for old Mitt if he had not shown that he is cut from the same crap we have in Washington now.Old Mitt need to clean this up and give back the money if he wants my vote.

[David K]

Thomas,

Not a Mitt Romney fan, just giving my opinion that he's now alone in front... No Perry to quibble with.

I don't know who I like, but I wish Fred Thompson would give it a go.

[Texaswoman]

Your price tag for the arena is construction only I presume. M&O is not included.
For $100,000,000 over 30 years you would be looking at a 3 cent per $100 increase. If funded by property taxes. If you are talking HOT taxes there would be no property tax increase providing previously HOT tax funded projects are not passed on to the tax payer.

[Texaswoman]

Now as far as Niland and the Electric Company. The franchise fee is passed on to the rate payer. Should come from profits. As it is we pay to use the very right of way that we own.

As far as building capacity EE can only provide 74% of the electricity needed which means 1/4 of of our electrical capacity has to be purchased on the open market. A costly proposition for sure and at times an impossible task.

[G. Rosiles]

The free bridge, as I recall, is free thanks to an bi-national treaty/agreement. So, Mexico will NEVER agree to a change that has to be approved at the federal level. This is not a new/original/brilliant idea. If remember correctly, a couple of years ago Cook was pondering the same thing.

Is this as good as she can do? Why didn't she go and sit on so and so's office for a day to understand the issues on international bridges?

Where are her plans to create new jobs by focusing on the small business owners? That was the main point of her rehearsed speech.

BTW, a totally racist perspective that does not check with some of the things I heard from her on the campaign forums. How does this idea support businesses in El Paso??

G. Rosiles

[Bowie Bear]

Well I for one as a small business owner would gladly pay an extra .50 cents to get my goods over from Juarez faster. 4 hour delays costs our company 72 hours of turnaround time on Fridays. .50 cents is nothing. I'd also venture to say that the Mexican Government would welcome the extra income in light of the mass exodus of small business leaving Juarez.

ANY RELIEF IN ELECTRIC IS WELCOME AND NEEDED WITH THE RECENT RATE HIKE.

It's great to see fresh perspective on council.

Keep digging Ms. Nyland

[Maria]

Apologies...regarding Garcia...it wouldn't be from the same old farts that defended Larry Medina and Gilbert Sanchez would it? If so, they dont need to apologize for their support of Garcia..their ignorance was obvious especially when these people kept inviting Luis Aguilar back over and over and over and over to speak...when no one wanted to hear his BS either...

[Gossip Girl]

I watched the board president and the interim superintendent on Ch 7 Extra Sunday night. Nothing they said gave me hope that anything will change. The board president made the point that the majority of the board was not there when this contract was signed in 2006, but how about any contract renewal-extensions for Garcia. Were you there then? Were you there when the cheating at Bowie happened? Were you at the board meeting when Garcia was served with a restraining order to stay away from his family? Do you not hear the talk about how he conducts himself with his empolyees? Do you not see that he pisses off most all the teachers?

And for the interim superintendent, she is a proud graduate of the same school of rhetoric whereby no question is answered when asked. She sounded just like Garcia at the jailhouse steps when asked questions by reporters. Where was she when all this was happening under her nose?

The board should be decertified and the state should take over the district and we should start all over again.

[SMALLER IS BETTER]

SPLIT THE DISTRICT UP AND LET A FEW LOCAL PRINCIPLES BE SUPERS OVER THE 3 SMALLER DISTRICTS. BIGGER IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER AND THINGS COULD BE WATCHED MORE CLOSELY. LET CORONADO,FRANKLIN, LA BOWIE, LA HIGH, AND LA YEFF JOIN CANUTILLO DISTRICT. SPLIT THE REST OF EPISD INTO AT LEAST 2 GROUPS. LET PRINCIPLES SWAP OUT AS SUPERS EVERY SO MANY YEARS.

[sick of EPISD]

I just love how the current EPISD Board President makes such a point that "none of us were on the board when this happened". Some of you were. This same board gave Garcia $250,000 contract authority without having to obtain board approval. Think that is ripe with corruption? Take care of your buddies - break up a contract to not exceed $250k and have fun. No board oversight. Demand your EPISD Board do its job.

[Diana]

G. Rosiles, you are totally ignorant.

As for EPISD, their board president is nothing but a power-hungry fool. Maybe they were not on board when he was hired, but they sure as hell extended his contract and sang his praises. And her response about the $1,000 cell phone allowance was insulting to every tax payer in the EPISD. She should be stoned with cell phones.

[Old Fart]

Interesting point made by "Texaswoman" who said: "Your price tag for the arena is construction only I presume. M&O is not included.
For $100,000,000 over 30 years you would be looking at a 3 cent per $100 increase. If funded by property taxes. If you are talking HOT taxes there would be no property tax increase providing previously HOT tax funded projects are not passed on to the tax payer."

"Texaswoman" could you give more detail and clarity to your numbers? Specifically:

1. Just how much money towards paying off the bond debt will HOT, or Hotel Occupacy Tax, money bring in per year? Don't forget that County's deal with one entity runs until 2018. So what is the combined amount available between both the City and County? Isn't there a deal with the Sun Bowl approved by voters that must be met?

2. What is the yearly cost for "Operations and Maintenance," and will ticket sales fully cover those costs?

Interesting post "Texaswoman," so please give us more details on your thinking.

[west voter]

You are incorrect about Shapleigh and Garcia. Shap said nothing about contracts. His accussations were about TAKS test cheating at Bowie. The indictments have nothing to do with TAKS at all. I defend no one but please do not give Shap credit for something he had nothing to do with and never mentioned at all.

[David K]

west voter,

Sorry, Shapleigh is the one the go the FBI started in their investigation on the TAKS stuff. They found this other issue while investigating Shapleigh's claim. Where there was smoke, there was fire and Shapleigh knew it.

[G. Rosiles]

Bowie Bear,

The wait times at the bridges have nothing to do with number of agents available; that is just what they claim. They could make it very efficient if they really **wanted** to do it. They don't do it because this is how they justify their existence (i.e., job security).

More objectively, there is a finite number of lanes at the bridges. A simple engineering analysis will show that more agents does not mean faster crossing, there is simply no where you can place them.

The Mexican Government is not going to accept this, it would be one more thing to give away to the U.S.A., and believe me they don't need the money. It is ridiculous to make a connection with the "Mexodus" because the toll money collected on the Mexican side is federal money that does not stay or comes back to Juarez.

How is this going to provide a relief of the rate hike? This statement would suggest that we are passing part of El Paso's electric bill to Mexico (?) and then pass the savings to El Paso residents as a subsidy (???) ... then I stand by my statement that this is a racist idea ...

...then I don't get it, what would the FREE BRIDGE toll be used for? Relief or DHS agents?

The bottom line is that this is a Federal issue were a City Representative has no influence or business. One question that comes to mind: How will the City funnel the money to the Federal government to pay the extra agents? Is there an easy way for a City to give money to DHS to hire a pay agents? At the end isn't that paradox?

Diana, yes I am ignorant. Following Penn's statement: I do not know.

G. Rosiles

[dont care about the bridge]

i thought the treaty between us & mexico said that one bridge (BOTA) had to be a "free bridge" - never to collect any tolls. now - they can raise the bridge tolls on all the other ones if they want.