Marijuana use, litter problems spike at scenic mountain spots

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EL PASO – The Franklin Mountains feature some of the Borderland’s most prominent scenic areas. With great views overlooking El Paso’s valleys, Downtown and Juarez, Mexico, it is a popular destination for El Pasoans and travelers alike. Runners and cyclists share the road with residents and tourists along the Rim Road route to Scenic Drive, where you can stand in one spot and see three states and two nations. Families and friends stroll through Tom Lea Park. There, an obelisk marks the southernmost point of the Rocky Mountains in the U.S.

But not everyone appreciates the view and moves on.

China’s tougher recycling laws put squeeze on Borderland’s blue bins

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El Pasoans are mixing too much trash with their curbside recycling, so officers from the city’s Environmental Services Department are checking bins to insure residents are in compliance. The crackdown comes as recycling costs have skyrocketed due to contaminated materials. Last year China, which is considered the world’s largest consumer of recyclables, told the World Trade Organization that it no longer will accept any sub-standard solid waste, including soiled popular recyclable items like plastic and paper. The new policy went into effect on Jan. 1 and is having a big impact on U.S. recyclers.

Natassia Paloma feeling at home in return to El Paso to anchor KTSM newscast

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After a broadening of horizons tour around Texas, the newest primetime anchor at NewsChannel 9 was ready to come home. Natassia Paloma, 30, is an El Paso native and a UTEP graduate who returned to her hometown to introduce her son Nathan to her biggest inspiration, her grandmother Palmira. “I definitely want him to be raised in the way I was raised. I was raised very humble and raised to be aware of people are going through,” Paloma said. “To really feel with your heart so I want my son to be raised in this culture and I want him to be bilingual and I want to raise him around the people in here.“

Palmira was instrumental in Paloma’s path to become a journalist.

Rubin Center offers a place for UTEP art faculty to display their work

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EL PASO – Art History Major Alejandra Valdez recently spent an hour at the DoArt Faculty exhibit on the UTEP campus where she had the chance of seeing for the first time the work of her instructors. She said the experience was “inspiring.” “I felt inspired,” said the 21-year-old Valdez. “I found that some of my professors participated in the exhibit. My art appreciation professor Alexandra McGovern displayed some pieces, my art history professor supervised a description of an art piece that a student wrote and even my advisor Terri Bauer was involved,” she added.

Love JRZ dando un giro a la otra realidad Juarence

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La asociación Love JRZ comenzó hace tres años combatiendo la publicidad que los medios le daban a Ciudad Juárez como “La Ciudad Más Peligrosa Del Mundo”, por medio de eventos y campañas publicitarias para unificar a los Juarences y cambiar la imagen de la ciudad. Entre estos proyectos, trajeron conciertos anuales en el centro, crearon campañas donde involucraban la participación ciudadana entre otros. A pesar de la inseguridad, Luis Fernando Rodríguez, el presidente de Love JRZ y socio fundador de la empresa de publicidad Big Media, creó la asociación civil Love JRZ en el 2015. A si mismo, Big Media fueron los proveedores de recursos económicos para impulsar esta asociación.. “Originalmente la idea era hacer como una bandera algo que fuera bonito, que fuera diferente, no nomas que dijera ¡Arriba Juárez!.

Fire department program delivers free vaccines to keep flu from spreading

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The El Paso Fire Department is promoting community wellness through its Vaccinations for Health program to fight the flu. The department sponsored seven events this spring, extending additional dates due to the high demand for vaccinations, officials said. Last month, five events were open to the public at the Safety & Health Outreach Center, in Central El Paso. The Vaccinations for Health program is a collaboration between the El Paso Fire Department and the El Paso Department of Public Health, according to the company’s mission statement. “We started the outreach in actual clinics in October 2014, but three years before that, there was a lot of administrative work, getting the money, outlining how the program was going to be delivered,” said El Paso Fire Department Deputy Chief Robert Arvizu.

Group hike to Wyler Aerial Tramway challenging, but popular on the last Sunday of each month

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A group of 64 people braved steep terrain, dodged cacti and high altitude as they climbed to the Wyler Aerial Tramway at Franklin Mountains State Park to hike the trails leading to the to the top of Ranger peak recently. The hike is open to everyone but might be challenging for some, said Paul Hanson, a park employee. “Fit people do great on it but some people come out and taken about two hours to make it to the top, but it’s always a good accomplishment when they make it up there,” Hanson said. There are other ways to prepare for a hike like this. “It’s one of the steepest trails in town.

What your service worker wants you to know is really annoying

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Customers sometimes make service workers angry by intentionally or non-intentionally doing one of the following pet peeves in their job. Are you one of these people? As a consumer, you might be doing one of these annoying things that make workers cringe without you realizing it. 1. MONEY ON THE COUNTER

Most cashiers find people who place the money on the counter instead of handing it in as extremely rude.

Broken records highlight Michael Saruni’s early track career

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The 2018 indoor campaign was a breakout season for UTEP distance runner Michael Saruni. As a sophomore, the Kenya native has a national title and has broken several facility, school, and world records. “I prepare well and focus every time out. Nothing to fear just go for it,” Saruni said. “I have nothing to complain about, it’s been great.

El Paso voter turnout small, but strongly behind sending Veronica Escobar to Congress

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Former El Paso County Judge Veronica Escobar won a landslide victory in the March 6 Democratic primary for Texas’ 16thCongressional District. Escobar took more than 61 percent of the vote in a six-person race. Second-place finisher Dori Fenenbock, the former El Paso Independent School District board president, had 22 percent of the vote. “Words cannot describe how humbled and grateful I am. I am privileged to be your Democratic nominee, privileged to be your candidate,” Escobar wrote to supporters the day after the election.

Fast and subtle, police using partially marked cars to target aggressive drivers

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EL PASO – Roadside signs might declare friendly driving is the Texas way, but not everyone seems to get the message. That’s why the El Paso Police Department has been using partially marked vehicles to track down aggressive drivers, said Robert Gomez, public information officer for EPPD. Aggressive driving includes speeding, changing lanes without signaling and tailgating another vehicle. “The officers who are assigned to these vehicles are required to take training on what to look out for when they’re out there,” Gomez said. EPPD began introducing the cars, then known as “road rage” vehicles, to their fleet of traffic vehicles in 2004 as part of a pilot program.

El Paso basketball brothers scoring a lot of college teams’ interest

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Just a few years after turning out two future NFL players who were brothers, an El Paso high school is gaining attention from college basketball scouts looking at another set of standout siblings. Burges High School basketball players Jawaun and Tristen Newton are the talk of the town and also with college coaches as they are hot prospects for Division I teams.

When the Newtons started playing for the Mustangs together, they finished 86-11 in their career – a whopping 90 percent winning percentage – and have won several district titles and have reached back-to-back regional tournaments. Jawaun, who is 6’3″ is a senior and Tristen, who is one year younger, is a 6’4″ junior. The brothers began playing together on the varsity squad in 2015. Burges was known as a football school prior to the Newton brothers’ arrival.

Vendors shop health foods to El Pasoans browsing farmers market

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Farmer’s market vendors said they set up booths in El Paso in response to efforts trying to stem preventable diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease – the leading causes of death in the county. “We cater to a lot of people that have diabetes, cancer, and high blood pressure,” said Ulises Cordova, owner of The Green Ingredient, a business that sells health food at a local gym. “We teach them how to eat right and give them different alternatives.”

Heart disease and cancer are the leading causes of death in El Paso County, according to the 2013 El Paso Community Health Assessment. Cordova and his wife started The Green Ingredient after several family members contracted cancer. They have been vendors at the Saturday El Paso Downtown Art and Farmers Market for the past 5 years.