The August 14, 2021 city council agenda had this item on it:
The city is required by state law to publish certain notices.
According to Christy Drake-Adams, legal counsel for the Texas Municipal League:
[Texas Government Code] Section 2051.044 provides that a newspaper used to convey official notices must as a general matter:
(1) devote not less than 25 percent of its total column lineage to general interest items;
(2) be published at least once each week;
(3) be entered as second-class postal matter in the county where published; and
(4) have been published regularly and continuously for at least 12 months before the governmental entity or representative publishes notice.
The Times meets these requirements.
But so do other newspapers in El Paso.
Take a look at the agenda item and you will see that the city is making this deal with the Times being a “sole source”–the only ones that can provide the services.
The deal calls for the city to pay up to $1.8 million dollars to the Times over the next three years. According to the agenda item the price per line of print is being increased 85% above their prior rate.
The deal requires the Times to certify that they are the “sole source” that can provide the publishing.
Might this be why we see so little objective reporting from the Times when it comes to city business?
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
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