A loyal and helpful reader sent this in:
[P] Last Texas Legislative Session — there was a bill to reduce the property tax increase rollback trigger from the current level of 8-percent — down to the range of 4-percent. Of course all the local governments used our local legislative delegation and lobbyists to oppose the legislation. I always felt the local blogs like your’s — were good vehicles to let readers’ and posters know — they could provide ‘citizen’s input’ directly to governmental leaders outside El Paso. That direct ‘citizen’s input’ lets those legislative leaders outside El Paso know — that unlike what our local legislative delegation says — people want controls over tax increases — and resent some of these costly transportation projects like the street cars, BRIO bus routes, and little used bike lanes — while they must put up daily with shitty, uneven, potholed streets with badly faded roadway stripping.
[P] The blogs like your’s — have taken the place of the old local call in talk radio shows which are no longer on the air. The Times is a shell of its former self — plus the INC is a once a week newspaper — which like the Times pushes and agrees with what the city and county, to include UMC and Children’s Hospital — always does. Even though the TV stations from time to time do good reports — their reporting is uneven as they jump from story to story — and daily give emphasis to auto wrecks and local people-on-people violence Other than the blogs — today there is no vehicle for ‘citizen’s concern and input.’
[P] Finally, the blogs can be used — to let concerned citizens know about voter driven initiatives — like that Westside Lost Dog Trail petition — etc. By simply providing a link to a website those petition supporters may have — you provide a powerful vehicle for information dissemination. And if those petition supporters — would post a copy of their petition — that readers can download and send in — they vastly can increase their petition success rate.
[P] Hope these thoughts help. In addition, City Councilman Rivera and Councilwoman Hernandez — send out informative e-mail newsletter each week. Ask them to put you are their e-mailing list as It can give you a ‘heads up’ alert on some of the city’s issues.
elpasospeak 
It is noted that your ‘loyal and helpful reader’ seems to care little about the “little used bike lanes” but does care about the little used ‘Westside Lost Dog Trail’.
To each his own.
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Disagree with you Anonymous. In the case of those in support of the Lost Dog Trail, they went out and did something about it! It’s good to know there are people engaged like that in El Paso who go out and take action. My hat is damn well off to them!
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I agree old fart. The work on Lost Dog was a great service to the community.
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The bike lanes cost money and are an inconvenience to drivers because they narrow lanes. The Lost Dog Trail is part of our disappearing natural beauty.
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Anonymous. I’ve been searching for the rare and highly elusive white nosed coatimundi for decades now in our area based on some reported sightings by locals in the 1930s. I finally saw one. It was crossing the bike lane on Stanton early one morning. So far no bikes though. I’ll keep you posted.
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I saw one when I was about 17 at dawn down the valley near Ysleta getting ready to hunt dove. I had to go to the library to figure out what it was, but was able to identify it from pictures. 🙂 That was 63 years ago and haven’t seen one since except in nightime motion cameras.
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Just hang out by the bike lanes.
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