I-10 Deck Plaza, dream come true or nightmare?
The I-10 Deck Plaza project, to some, it's a dream come true, to others, it's a nightmare waiting to happen, knowing that it will be a heavy burden to us taxpayers.
No matter how huge the donations givenor the funds provided by other agencies, the problem is still the same. Who's paying for the maintenance? Is it going to attract tourists or just a place for locals to go? Are tourists actually going to make plans to visit or are they going to admire it as they drive by El Paso?
Now let's talk about the construction that will take place if approved, I-10 is a major interstate that provides passage to endless commercial vehicles as well as local traffic. How's that traffic going to be handled?
What about an alternative location where the cost will
be less and all can benefit? An aquarium or a rainforest restaurant, now that would be a great addition and will attract both tourists and locals.
What's good for the goose is not always good for the gender.
Ramon Valenzuela
East El Paso
El Paso veterans deserve a safe place for help
As a retired U.S. Army sergeant major and ranger with five combat tours and three Bronze Stars, I know what a threat environment looks like. But I never expected to encounter one while seeking help for alcohol detox through the Department of Veterans Affairs in El Paso.
When you suffer from alcoholism, PTSD, and traumatic brain injuries, your brain doesn't just 'relax' in an atmosphere like that. It goes straight to threat-con delta.
Sitting down to eat, surrounded by linebacker-sized sheriffs and private security, with violent criminals within arm's reach, standing in line against the wall in the hallway as other groups walk by, really enhances the jail experience. Hyper-vigilant, every sudden noise or spilled coffee feels like an incoming round, and the nervous system screams for survival and fight while your body is actively shaking off alcohol withdrawal.
That facility is structured the way it is because people in power seem to think they can counsel the criminal out of a cartel. Individuals claim psych problems to get transferred out of county jail into what is a softer holding facility, mixing with vulnerable patients of all ages. That is incredibly neglectful to people who need acute medical care.
While my experience exposed a careless and dangerous placement system by the Veterans Administration, I know I am far from alone. El Paso desperately needs a safe, dedicated, and respectable option for Veterans needing acute, short-term inpatient care for mental health and substance abuse.
Our veterans answered the nation's call when it mattered most. When they ask for help to heal and keep them alive, they deserve a secure place to do it — not a theater of constant hypervigilance.
Andrew C McCaughey
East El Paso
Winning becomes a habit, so does losing
Legendary football coach Vince Lombardi observed that winning is a habit. UTEP President Heather Wilson would do well to revisit his words in their entirety, particularly the part about losing.
Under Wilson’s leadership, UTEP’s accrediting body placed the university on warning status in 2023. She clashed with the university’s leading grant recipient, a conflict that culminated in his departure and cost UTEP a once-in-a-generation scholar whose contributions and prestige are not easily replaced. Meanwhile, the university’s most visible and potentially lucrative athletic programs have become synonymous with chronic losing, embarrassing not only the institution but the El Paso community and the university's alumni.
These are not isolated disappointments. They reflect a troubling pattern of failed leadership, squandered opportunities, and institutional mediocrity. That Wilson once served as secretary of the Air Force makes her record at UTEP more concerning. Someone entrusted with leading an entire branch of the U.S. military should be capable of leading a public university toward excellence.
Leadership is ultimately measured by results, not titles, credentials, political connections, or carefully crafted public relations. Wilson has much to answer for.
Lombardi understood that just as winning becomes a habit, so does losing. And when losing becomes institutionalized, accountability must begin at the top.
Paul Martinez
East El Paso
New name for Bridge of the Americas?
Given its current condition, it’s right to rename the Bridge of the Americas for Donald J. Trump.
It’s long past its prime, decaying rapidly. Noxious gases pour from it, fouling the air. It’s loud and unpleasant, propped up by business leaders who sell out their own community. It needs replacing soon.
Jack Loveridge
Central El Paso
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: LETTERS: I-10 Deck Plaza dream come true or nightmare?
