Valley Interfaith and Allies Block Substandard Border Housing Bills
Valley Interfaith and EPISO teamed up to successfully oppose two bills that would have undermined the Model Rules for Development that govern real estate development in counties that border the Texas-Mexico border. The Model Rules for Development have been a critical tool that our organizations fought for over 30 years ago and which have limited the development of substandard housing lacking access to sewer and clean water lines, drainage and roads.
EPISO/Border Interfaith Challenges Candidates with 3 Key Questions
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The El Paso Interreligious Sponsoring Organization (EPISO) and Border Interfaith held its first in-person candidate accountability session Sunday since the pandemic.
The six El Paso County Commissioners Court candidates remaining in the May 24 primary runoff election for Precincts 2 and 4 were invited to the session where they were asked to state their position on policies such as colonias, education and economic development programs....
The incumbent for Precinct 2, David Stout, and Judy Gutiérrez, a candidate for Precinct 2, both attended the meeting.
Sergio Coronado and David Adams, are both candidates for Precinct 4, and they were in attendance.
"I thought it was a great meeting. I wish more organizations, people would take the time to inform themselves, of what their candidates are willing and wanting to do for the people... how you’re [candidates] aligning to my needs," Coronado said.
[Photo Credit: KFOX 14/CBS4]
Precinct 2 & 4 Candidates Feeling Confident After Attending Community Meeting, FOX News 14 [pdf]
San Antonio Express-News: South Side community Finally Getting Paved Roads
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...When developers platted Highland Oaks in 1959 there were no rules or regulations in place regarding roads. County officials rejected pleas from residents to have the roads fixed. Officials said the streets had been improperly built and were never properly deeded to the county, making the roads private. The county maintained that position even after a 2015 Express-News Editorial Board investigation revealed the county had accepted the roads as part of a settlement in a lawsuit 30 years ago.
In 2016, after continued media scrutiny and intervention by COPS/Metro Alliance and the Southside Independent School District, county commissioners had a change of heart. Commissioners decided to inventory all roads in the county that might be in a similar situation to begin tackling the problem.....
South Side Community Finally Getting Paved Roads, San Antonio Express-News [pdf]
San Antonio Express News Calls on County Commissioners to Keep its Promise to Highland Oaks Residents and COPS/Metro
Citing the public safety hazard to children that current road conditions pose, the San Antonio Express-News urged the Bexar County Commissioners court to keep the momentum going on stalled road renovations.
Read moreValley Interfaith Leverages Candidate Pledges on Indigent Health, Job Training and Colonia Infrastructure
250 leaders with Valley Interfaith assembled at Holy Family Church in Edinburg to challenge candidates for Hidalgo County Judge to commit to working with them on health, job training and colonia infrastructure. Specifically, leaders challenged candidates to commit to raising the income eligibility to qualify for the County's indigent health care program, to restore funding for long-term job training program VIDA and to install necessary lighting, streets and drainage in surrounding unincorporated neighborhoods.
Read moreEPISO & Border Interfaith Extend Water Lines into Colonia Island
Over 20 years ago, a developer in the City of El Paso bought acreage in an undeveloped plot of land, an "island" landlocked by, but not included within, El Paso's municipal boundaries. The developer recorded the purchase with the County, but then — unbeknownst to anyone — illegally partitioned the land and sold the reduced-sized lots to low-income families without providing certificates of occupancy.
Read moreEPISO, Successful in Tackling Water & Sewage, Fights for Infrastructure as Funds Dry Up
In radio coverage about the Texas governor zeroing out the Colonia Initiative Program's nearly $860,000 budget, a story about the success of the El Paso Interreligious Sponsoring Committee (EPISO) emerged.
Read moreValley Interfaith Confronts Candidates on Light, Ambulances, Drainage, Workforce Development and Tax Abatements
The night before early voting began, undecided voters from Valley Interfaith congregations held a nonpartisan accountability assembly with candidates for Cameron County judge and Commissioner positions in Precinct 1 and Precinct 4. Said Valley Interfaith leader Tina Ramirez-Tetecatl: "We selected questions through house meetings and talking about issues around the parishes."
Leaders asked candidates to respond yes or no to questions about investments in light posts, workforce development program VIDA, ambulance services into the colonias and the creation of a unified county drainage district. In order to pay for these requested expansions, Valley Interfaith asked candidates whether they would deny tax abatements to companies seeking to expand in Cameron.
Read moreCOPS / Metro Leaders of Bexar Co. Colonias Fight for Paving
When Maria Bernal's baby stopped breathing after midnight, she called 911. The child turned blue as she waited 90 minutes for ambulances to arrive; the ambulances were stuck in the sand.
Over 250 families live in Highland Oaks, an unincorporated corner of Bexar County, cut off from essential services because they have no streets -- only sand. Schools stopped sending buses to Highland Oaks because they, too, would get stuck.
Read more