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New health headquarters debuts, Canutillo ISD deal cleared, Main Library to reopen [1]

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Date: 2025-04-04

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.

Health Department Opens Northeast Headquarters, Mobile Clinic

Joy Leos of the El Paso Department of Public Health stands inside the city’s new mobile health clinic on April 3, 2025. (Priscilla Totiyapungprasert / El Paso Matters)

The El Paso Public Health Department unveiled its new headquarters and mobile clinic Thursday at 9566 Railroad Drive. The building was used for COVID-19 testing, immunizations and food inspections as it underwent renovations.

In addition to the laboratory and community clinic, the upgraded 31,200-square-foot building now houses administration and other department programs, including epidemiology and 211 call center, said public health director Dr. Vinny Taneja.

The department is now located down the street from one of its partners, the city’s Office of Emergency Management, to prepare for potential disasters and outbreaks, Taneja said.

“Right now in West Texas there’s a measles outbreak, so we’ve been already sort of planning and training and exercising for all these things to make sure the health department is ready to respond,” he said.

READ MORE Where to get the measles vaccine in El Paso

The federal American Rescue Plan Act, also known as the COVID-19 stimulus package, funded the $8.5 million in renovations. The city also used stimulus funding to launch a new mobile health clinic.

The mobile health clinic will travel throughout El Paso and rural areas, starting with childhood and adult immunizations. The city can work with places of worship, schools, organizations and private businesses to host pop-up clinics, said Joy Leos, health training and promotions manager for the public health department. The department also applied for the Healthy Texas Women grant from the state to add women’s health and reproductive services, from pap smears to cervical screenings, to the mobile clinic, she said.

“A lot of times, we need to go to the community, and we can’t just sit back and wait for them to come to us,” Leos said. “We can’t be like the magic wand and bring every single service out here, but we’re going to do our due diligence to be able to bring as many as we can up here.”

Texas Tech Health El Paso purchased the previous administrative building at 5115 El Paso Drive for its dental school, a city spokesperson said.

The Canutillo Independent School District recently purchased the Johnny Bean Horse Farm at Artcraft and Upper Valley roads. A new middle school will be built at the site. (Angela Saavedra / El Paso Matters)

TEA Dismisses Complaint on Canutillo ISD Horse Farm Purchase

The Texas Education Agency has closed its investigation into a complaint that the Canutillo Independent School District did not follow contract procurement protocols when it purchased a 51-acre horse farm for $6.6 million in November.

The investigation stems from a complaint submitted to the TEA by Canutillo ISD Trustee Beanne Barnes after Superintendent Pedro Galaviz “mistakenly” signed a contract for the purchase without first getting final approval from the Canutillo ISD school board as required.

Barnes told El Paso Matters she submitted the complaint “out of concern.”

In December, about a month after the contract was signed, the board voted to ratify the agreement to buy the Johnny Bean Horse Farm at 6201 Strahan Drive off Artcraft and Upper Valley roads.

The TEA’s Compliance Review Unit sent the district a notice March 28 informing it that it was in compliance with the Texas Education Code and that the investigation was closed.

“The TEA Compliance Review Unit has determined that the school entity has addressed the reported concerns that were within the jurisdiction of the TEA and no further action will be taken at this time,” the notice stated.

The TEA can reopen the investigation if it receives new evidence or a similar complaint, according to the notice.

The purchase was made under the $387 million bond approved by voters in May 2024 to build new schools and upgrade existing facilities throughout the district. A middle school is slated to be built at the former horse farm.

The Main Library at 501 N. Oregon St. in Downtown is set to reopen this April after receiving nearly $6 million in renovations from the 2012 quality of life bond. (Cindy Ramirez / El Paso Matters)

El Paso Main Library to Reopen After Renovations

The city’s Main Library will reopen to the public at 10 a.m. Thursday, April 10 after undergoing extensive renovations.

The library, at 501 N. Oregon St., was renovated while the city built the Mexican American Cultural Center that opened March 22. The two share building space.

The four-story library first opened in 1954 and received about $5.9 million in renovations from the 2012 quality of life bond.

The improvements include enhanced spaces for print collections, reading nooks, private study rooms, a new glass-enclosed main entrance, expanded work areas, Friends of the Library Bookstore, quiet room, new furniture and café area.

The new schedule is 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 1-6 p.m. Friday and Sunday.

A 12,500-seat amphitheater at the Cohen Entertainment District in Northeast El Paso is being planned under a partnership with the city of El Paso and entertainment venue developer Venu, formerly Notes Live. (Courtesy city of El Paso)

Northeast Amphitheater Footprint to Expand

The Northeast El Paso amphitheater will be built on 20 acres instead of 15 if the City Council approves the expansion later this month.

The city on Tuesday introduced an ordinance that aims to expand the land it will give to Venu Holding Corp., formerly Notes Live, for the $80 million, 12,500-seat amphitheater.

The original $31 million economic development agreement called for the city to convey 15 acres of land for the amphitheater, but if approved, will now convey 20 acres at the site of the former Cohen Baseball Stadium off Cohen Avenue and U.S. Highway 54.

The purchase and sale agreement has been amended five times to extend the inspection period since the city first entered into the deal in July. The last extension was given March 3. The current amendment extends the deadline to inspect the land to April 15. The delays in finalizing the title transfer are related to concerns over an unexploded ordnance map at the Cohen Entertainment District.

Venu is a 6-year-old company based in Colorado Springs that plans to build amphitheaters nationwide through public-private partnerships. As part of the agreement, the company will build and own the amphitheater funded largely by selling expensive lifetime fire pit suites to investors.

The company expects to close the land deal with the city by or before April 30, according to its annual report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Its first amphitheater opened in Colorado Springs in August 2024 and has similar venues planned in Tennessee, Oklahoma and Texas.

The public hearing for the amended agreement will be April 15, when the council will vote whether to approve it.

The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso. (Photo courtesy of TTUHSCEP)

Study: Economic Impact of TTHEP Grows Across Region, State

The ripple effects of work accomplished at and through Texas Tech Health El Paso had a regional economic impact in 2024 of more than $864 million – a 36% increase from fiscal year 2021, according to the Texas Tech University Rawls College of Business in Lubbock.

Additionally, the information released last month by TTHEP showed that total household income created from research, students, employees, operations and university-related visitors generated almost $283 million in the region and $420 million in the state.

The report also included that 4,542 jobs were created in the region and 5,044 in the state because of TTHEP, and that the annual contribution to the Texas workforce by TTHEP graduates was almost $419 million. Another key finding was that for every dollar the state invested in TTHEP, it received almost $8.76.

The TTU Rawls College of Business based its findings on 2024 data.

Richard Lange, president of TTHEP, said the report reaffirms the institution’s critical role in the community’s economic growth and physical wellbeing.

TTHEP is made up of the Foster School of Medicine, the Hunt School of Nursing, the Francis Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and the Hunt School of Dental Medicine.

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[1] Url: https://elpasomatters.org/2025/04/04/el-paso-news-health-department-canutillo-isd-main-library-northeast-amphitheater/

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