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El Paso Zoo welcomes new giraffe, Maj. Gen. Greer’s funeral set, YISD leader’s contract [1]
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Date: 2025-02-07
This is your weekly news roundup, which takes a quick look at some developments in government, politics, education, environment and other topics across El Paso.
El Paso Zoo Giraffe Family Grows; Benito’s One Year at Africam
It’s a boy for Gigi and Juma, expanding the El Paso Zoo’s giraffe family.
The six-foot calf was born in late January, and its gender was revealed this week on social media. A name for the calf, who is in a private area and not yet on exhibit, will be announced in the coming weeks.
“Both Gigi and her calf are doing well, and our staff is providing around-the-clock care to ensure their health and well-being,” El Paso Zoo Director Joe Montisano said in a news release.
The new calf is the second to be born at the zoo: Obi was born in April 2023 and was to be transferred to the Dallas Zoo to join a herd of female giraffes under a breeding program.
See Also Watch: Benito the giraffe healthy, a ‘flirt’ in new Africam Safari home The 4-year-old male giraffe was transferred from a public park in Ciudad Juárez to a wildlife preserve in Puebla, Mexico. His caretakers continue sharing video updates of Benito’s new life.
Last week, the Africam Safari celebrated the one-year anniversary of the arrival of Benito, the giraffe who was transferred from a public park in Ciudad Juárez to the wildlife preserve in Puebla, Mexico, after a public outcry over his living conditions.
“Every day, we have seen him get stronger, grow and shine brighter than ever,” Africam posted on Facebook. “We are excited for everything that lies ahead of him and our herd of giraffes!”
Edward Greer, a retired Army major general who lives in Northeast El Paso, will celebrate his 100th birthday on March 8. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters)
Funeral Services Set for Retired Maj. Gen. Edward Greer
Services for Edward Greer, a trailblazing Army officer who died Jan. 29, will take place Friday, Feb. 21, in El Paso. Greer, a retired major general, was 100.
Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Funeraria del Angel Restlawn, 8817 Dyer St. , with memorial services at 1 p.m. Graveside service with full military honors will be at 2:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21, at Fort Bliss National Cemetery West Shelter, 5200 Fred Wilson Ave.
Former Mexican Diplomat to El Paso Named Ambassador to Jordan
Jacob Prado González, Mexico’s former consul general in El Paso, is now his country’s ambassador to Jordan.
Prado was consul general in El Paso from 2011 to 2016, after serving in a similar role in Kansas City, Missouri.
Jacob Prado González, right, Mexico’s ambassador to Jordan, addresses Mexicans living in the Middle East country at an event on Jan. 30. (Photo courtesy of Mexico’s Embassy in Jordan)
A member of Mexico’s Foreign Service since 1992, Prado was appointed ambassador to Jordan – a strategic Middle East nation – in December.
He came to El Paso as Ciudad Juárez was emerging from several years of drug violence, and urged El Pasoans to visit and support their sister city. He also hosted numerous events in El Paso promoting Mexican culture.
Ysleta ISD Superintendent’s Contract Extended, Some Benefits Removed
The Ysleta Independent School District Board of Trustees voted unanimously Jan. 29 to remove several benefits from Superintendent Xavier De La Torre’s contract, which was extended by one year to June 2030.
Xavier De La Torre, superintendent of Ysleta ISD, left, and Cruz Ochoa, Board of Trustees president, listen during a meeting of the Board of Trustees on June 12, 2024. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters)
The removed benefits include short-term and long-term disability insurance; term life insurance; and compensation to offset his federal tax liabilities, which would have cost taxpayers about $100,000 a year, YISD Communications Director Tracy Garcia-Ramirez told El Paso Matters.
The district has paid De La Torre nearly $300,000 in these benefits since they were added to his contract in January 2023, Garcia-Ramirez said.
The vote came after a closed-door session where the board evaluated the superintendent. The evaluation was not released, but trustees in open session heavily praised De La Torre.
Related El Paso school board seats up for grabs in key May 3 election Here’s what seats are up for vote in EPISD, SISD and YISD in the May elections, how decisions school boards make impact you, and what you need to run for trustee.
While most superintendents can negotiate their salary and qualify for raises based on their annual evaluations, De La Torre gets a pay increase any time the school board approves raises for administrators, according to his contract.
In June, the YISD Board of Trustees approved a $408.2 million budget with a $17.2 million deficit for the 2024-25 school year and didn’t give employee raises – meaning De La Torre also did not get a pay raise at that time.
De La Torre is paid over $451,000 a year and is among the highest earning superintendents in the state. He last got a raise in 2023 when the board approved a 3.65% pay hike for teachers, nurses and librarians, 4% for paraprofessionals and 2% for administrators.
De La Torre has been leading YISD since 2014.
City Protests El Paso Electric Proposed Rate Increase
The City of El Paso on Monday intervened in El Paso Electric’s rate increase application, a move that was widely expected and will allow the city to scrutinize the utility’s request to hike household power bills by more than $22 per month.
El Paso Electric submitted the rate change application to the Public Utility Commission of Texas late last month. El Paso Electric in recent years has spent $1.55 billion on capital investments such as a new gas-fired power plant unit, upgraded distribution and transmission wires and various repairs at its power plants, among other investments detailed in the utility’s 5,000-page rate application. In Texas, a monopoly utility makes money by investing in capital assets, and then at least every four years the utility conducts a rate review and asks for approval from regulators to lift rates to recoup the invested money from customers, plus an authorized profit margin.
El Paso Electric argues it needs to collect $85 million of additional revenue annually to recover cash the utility has spent since 2021 plus a 10.7% rate of return.
Also intervening in the rate filing are Freeport McMoRan, which operates a copper refinery in El Paso, business advocacy group Texas Industrial Energy Consumers and the University of Texas at El Paso. Over the coming months, intervenors will likely hire utility experts and present testimony to the PUC to make their case that El Paso Electric’s proposed rate increase is too big or unnecessary.
The utility is seeking to boost average household electric bills by more than 23% – far more than the proposed increase on commercial or industrial customers. That means the city, which is acting on behalf of residential ratepayers, may have conflicting interests with different intervenors who are advocating in favor of other customers, such as businesses. It will likely be a year or more before the PUC approves the rate hike and customers start seeing higher bills.
UTEP College of Science Dean Kirken to Retire
Robert A. Kirken, dean of the College of Science at the University of Texas at El Paso, recently announced his retirement effective this June. He had been with UTEP since 2005 and dean since 2013.
Robert A. Kirken, dean of the College of Science at the University of Texas at El Paso. (Courtesy UTEP)
Kirken, professor and former chair in the Department of Biological Sciences, and director of UTEP’s Border Biomedical Research Center, declined an opportunity to talk about his time at UTEP and his future plans.
According to a UTEP message, Kirken advanced Hispanic representation in STEM fields, and helped develop new undergraduate and graduate degree plans. He also managed the growth in enrollment and degree completion, and established a comprehensive undergraduate advising center that led to a reduction in academic probation and suspension rates.
The university has honored him for his faculty mentorship and his ability to attract more than $10 million in philanthropic gifts, which helped expand the BBRC, as well as over $74 million in extramural grants.
Kirken earned his bachelor’s degree in biochemistry in 1986 from Olivet College in Michigan, and his Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from Wright State University in Ohio five years later. He started his academic career in 1998 as an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Houston Medical School.
The institution shared that it would appoint an interim dean after it consults with college leaders, and will launch a national search in the fall for a permanent successor.
City sets opening date for Mexican American Cultural Center
The city’s long awaited Mexican American Cultural Center will open its doors to the public March 22.
The El Paso Mexican American Cultural Center adjacent to the Main Library at Cleveland Square Park in Downtown, Jan. 17, 2024. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters)
The MACC, 201 W. Franklin Avenue, is the last signature bond project approved by voters in the $473 million 2012 quality of life bond. The other signature bond project, the La Nube STEAM Discovery Center opened in August. Voters in November decided they did not want the city to proceed with the long-delayed Downtown arena.
The grand opening celebration for the MACC will have activities such as guided tours of the facility, hands-on activities, two new exhibits and food trucks, among other activities and will also celebrate the renovations to the adjacent Cleveland Square Park. The center aims to celebrate the Mexican American community through art, dance, cooking and theater.
The MACC, located in the state-designated Downtown Arts District, is a three-story, 41,000-square-foot cultural center located as part of the Main Library and the El Paso Museum of History.
The MACC was first budgeted at $5.75 million, but grew to about $16 million after community pushback and then community feedback for what was wanted out of the center.
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