It’s Saturday.
What’s on your mind?
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak
City of El Paso debt=$2,670,400,000, county and school district debt=$1,600,000,000. Total $4.27 billion. Your share $19,350
It’s Saturday.
What’s on your mind?
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
Our city leaders (which becomes more of an oxymoron every day), have announced our first case of COVID-19. We know he is a 40-year-old male who traveled to California. No info on which side of town he lives on, where he has shopped in the last couple of weeks, what local events he may have attended in that timeframe or whether his work may have put him in contact with the general public. I understand privacy concerns, but none of that info would have exposed exactly who this individual was. But it would help folks with possible exposure to understand whether their risk has increased to a point where they should self-quarantine. Politicians and the media are screaming we don’t have enough tests. What is the point, if that information isn’t going to be used to notify people about the likely points of exposure. El Paso’s first Zika case a couple of years ago was three houses down from me. That changed my outdoor behavior (greater use of mosquito repellent) because we shared the same mosquitoes. Once again, the city didn’t tell me (they just announced it was on the west side), the family did.
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I agree. The lack of information about the local case is unacceptable. Some of the obvious questions could be answered without violating the person’s privacy. As a result, the city and county are not helping at all. This is typical El Paso mismanagement.
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And now the YWCA is announcing it will provide childcare for the kids displaced by school closures since working parents won’t have the babysitting services our schools normally provide. Given that the whole point of closing schools was to prevent the spread of infection that could occur when kids congregate in large groups, doesn’t this defeat the purpose of school closure? The same thing is about to happen over at Sunland Park. You can’t watch the Derby from the stands, but the Casino will be open. I know our local officials like to copy the rest of the world, but the inconvenience they are causing by closing stuff and then turning around and letting the same people congregate elsewhere is just plain stupid.
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Neither El Paso county nor Texas state governments have any control over Sunland Park. It is in New Mexico. Either the Fulton family would have to voluntarily close the Casino temporarily or the State of New Mexico would have to order it closed. They are putting profits over people. That’s no surprise, but it is disgusting.
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It is funny that you can be in the clubhouse watching the horses and not even have to sit next to anyone. But you go over to the Casino and it is elbow to elbow and you have to even wait for a one-armed bandit to become vacant.
What is funny is what they are doing now before it has hit. what will happen when it does hit?
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Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino
Lose your money and your life.
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Have you tried a quarantini? It’s a regular martini but you drink it alone in your house 🙂
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The point is that if you are simply going to move gatherings from one place to another there is zero point in the economic disruption of closing venues down. I believe closures make sense in slowing the pace of infection, but the way we are doing things here isn’t going to do that.
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“We” are not doing things wrong. Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino is doing things wrong. I don’t know off anyone who is moving an event or gathering from one location to another. Sunland Park’s greed is putting lives at risk.
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i Prefer tequila, thank goodness I have plenty😉
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A surefire defense against infection, especially when combined with lime juice, Cointreau, simple syrup, salt and sugar and consumed in quantity. Better than a border wall.
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I will attempt to reply without the same stupidity of this last post regarding the YWCA. Where do you expect these parents to leave their children? Do you think the entire city can stay home for 3 weeks? How about the Doctors and Nurses that have children and can not stay home because they are taking care of sick patients? The YWCA has been contacted by Hospitals directly requesting help in taking care of the children of their staff that can not stay home. The YWCA has worked hard to follow protocols of the CDC and insure the safety of the children and their staff.
How about the children of our first responders? Should all of the police officers remain at home because they have an infant and a 5 year old at home with nobody to care for them, leaving our City vulnerable?
The YWCA team and staff has worked tirelessly to insure cleanliness and good health practices to help take care of the children of this community. Instead of criticizing, how about you just say Thank you and send in a donation!!! Why a donation you ask? Because while this situation most likely will cause a huge financial strain on the YWCA, the Transitional Living Center is the only 24×7 Center in El Paso that cares for and houses women and their children that have escaped sexual assault and domestic violence. Where do you suggest they should go? The YWCA has a staff at the center 24×7.
So instead of criticizing I will pray that with all of the safety procedures and protocols in place that all children and staff remain healthy. I say thank you to The YMCA as well that is also trying to assist in taking care of the children in El Paso during this pandemic.
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My point was that prior to making a decision to close schools, the school districts should have considered one basic question: will the choices working parents make to solve the childcare problem increase the risk of spread? The YWCAs aren’t simply being offered to the children of healthcare workers and first responders. They are being advertised as an option for all working parents which means that we are now going to be packing kids into 6-7 facilities instead of having them in school where a higher adult to child ratio, desk position and thoughtful scheduling to reduce crowded hallways might be a better option. Chances are other childcare options will end up packed to the gills as well, and lots of homes will also open as makeshift daycares. It isn’t stupid to make this observation. It is common sense. Closing schools won’t lower the risk if packing kids into other, smaller daycare situations is the solution. All we end up doing is making it harder for working families to get through this. The bottom line is that if you aren’t eliminating group interaction, you aren’t lowering risk so there is no point in the closure. And while we are on the point of stupidity and the YWCA, the social distancing recommended distance is 6 feet. Teaching kids, whose legs are short, to heel bump (as was discussed on KVIA this morning) isn’t a smart social distancing strategy.
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The City has no plan for dealing the financial impact of COVID-19. Sales tax revenue and hotel tax revenue are going to drop as will income at the airport.
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Is there a nearby virtual reality i can go to?
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No, but there is a fantasyland. It’s called City Hall.
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