The El Paso Matters Podcast

Meta Platforms, the technology giant that owns Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, is building a $1.5 billion data center project in El Paso. Public anxiety about data centers and their water and electricity usage has escalated in arid communities throughout the southwestern U.S. like El Paso. El Paso Matters journalists Diego Mendoza-Moyers and Pablo talk about the resources the data center will use, the city's incentive deal with Meta and how the project will impact El Pasoans' utility bills. You can read Diego's reporting at elpasomatters.org.

The city of El Paso will hire a new director for the city's animal services department likely early next year. The next director will be the sixth person since 2015 to lead the department, which has faced public criticism along with leadership turnover over the last decade. El Paso Matters Senior Reporter Elida Perez discusses the challenges the department has faced and the search for a new leader. You can read Elida's reporting at elpasomatters.org.

Unlike the other major metro areas in Texas, El Paso is more spreading out than truly growing. And new projections published this week by Texas’ state demographer show, even in the most optimistic scenario, our population is likely to grow at a much slower pace than it did in the 1990s or in the 2000s. Bob Moore, the founder and CEO of El Paso Matters, joins the podcast to talk about his reporting on El Paso's stagnating population growth and what the city's elected officials can do to staunch the outflow of people from El Paso and reverse the city's demographic trends. You can read Bob's reporting at elpasomatters.org

The massive Project Jupiter data center campus was first unveiled at a public meeting in Las Cruces, New Mexico on Aug. 26. Nearly four weeks later, the Doña Ana County Board of Commissioners approved incentives for the project despite major debate among the community and concerns about the campus' water and electricity consumption. The project -- among the biggest private investments ever made -- now will move forward later this year. El Paso Matters Assistant Editor Pablo Villa and Reporter Diego Mendoza-Moyers discuss the project, the contentious vote and what listeners should expect going forward. You can read Diego's recent reporting on Project Jupiter at elpasomatters.org.

Two people living in El Paso who received "Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals" - DACA - were recently arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and set for deportation despite their protected status. But an immigration judge terminated their removal proceedings. Cindy Ramirez, editor of El Paso Matters, joins the podcast to discuss their cases and what will come next amid the Trump administration's expanded immigration enforcement regime. You can read Cindy's reporting at elpasomatters.org.

An Austin-based company is proposing to invest an almost-inconceivable $165 billion to build a huge data center campus in Santa Teresa, New Mexico near El Paso. El Paso Matters reporter Diego Mend0za-Moyers talks through the proposal, which has raised intense concern and skepticism among residents. You can read Diego's reporting at elpasomatters.org.

City planners in El Paso proposed a couple of policies at the most recent city council meeting that were designed to increase the number of housing units in the city and reduce parking requirements, The big, overarching goal is to increase the supply of housing so affordability here improves, and also increase the density of the historic core of El Paso, make it more walkable and ultimately slow the trend of urban sprawl in the city. El Paso Matters Senior Reporter Elida Perez joins the El Paso Matters Podcast to discuss the policies and how city council representatives voted. You can read Elida's reporting at elpasomatters.org.

As climate change and drought pressure El Paso's water supplies, pecan farmers in one of the nation's biggest pecan-growing hubs are testing out new techniques to sustain agriculture in the face of heat and increasingly salty groundwater. El Paso Matters reporter Diego Mendoza-Moyers speaks with Orlando Flores, the county extensions agent with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, about agriculture in the El Paso area and how farmers manage water shortages. You can read Diego's recent reporting on the regional pecan industry at elpasomatters.org.

El Paso Matters recently published new information uncovered about the timeline leading up the Walmart mass shooting on August 3, 2019 and the immediate aftermath and investigation. El Paso Matters CEO Bob Moore joins the podcast to discuss what his reporting showed and why El Paso Matters is publishing new information six years after the worst mass shooting in El Paso's history. You can read Bob's reporting at elpasomatters.org.

A few notes from reporter Diego Mendoza-Moyers on the rate increase El Paso Electric is pursuing. You can read Diego's coverage on elpasomatters.org.