El Paso Remembers 11/23/71

El Paso– David Sanchez looks down at his sneakers and the Made in China label and recalls what he was doing on November 23, 1971, the day China was seated in the U.N. Security Council. “It was a glorious day. I was shopping downtown when I saw a crowd gathered by a t.v. in front of a store and the news was being broadcast.”

Many El Pasoans tell us that they will spend the day celebrating this great day in history at Walmart and other retailers purchasing much needed household goods, many of which were undoubtedly made in China.

Not Saying Bless You Will Result In Fine

EL PASO –Practicing bad manners by refusing to say “bless you” when someone near you sneezes could get you in trouble, and not just with Mom.Starting this week, the police could become involved, too.

The City Council on Tuesday voted 7-0 to adopt a new ordinance that makes it a Class C misdemeanor for an able-bodied person with the ability to speak, to neglect to say “bless you” when someone near them sneezes.

Violators of the new ordinance could be fined up to $500.

“I know this sounds silly, but there are a lot of inconsiderate people around us every day,” said Lori Bug, a Sun Metro passenger who uses a wheelchair. “Many times, I have seen a constable ask someone to say bless you but that person won’t do it.”City officials said that they didn’t have specific figures on the numbers of complaints they received about this problem, but that based on customer service calls, they could tell this was a “significant problem.”

Under the new ordinance, persons will be required to ask violators to say “bless you” if someone sneezes.  If that person refuses to say “bless you”, the person is instructed to call the police. Police have been instructed to make such calls a top priority.

“I just can’t believe that this is such a big problem. … I can’t believe here are people who wouldn’t say bless you. Just the other day, I saw an old man say “salud” but not “bless you” said Robert Cat, a UTEP student who rides the bus to school every day. “This is just an issue of being brought up right by your mom.”Members of the City Council were equally incredulous.

“If you don’t know to say “bless you” or to have tax payers subsidize billionaires, then you’re an idiot,” said South-West city Rep. Beto O’Rourke.

Signs announcing the new ordinance are expected to start going up city-wide this week, said officials.

Socorro Middle School Student To Become New Superintendent

EL PASO — Members of the school board of the Socorro Independent School District on Tuesday briefly introduced its newly appointed 12-year-old district superintendent  who was chosen unanimously over several current superintendents from different cities, several local assistant superintendents, former board presidents, current and retired educators and past candidates for the position.After interviewing 13 candidates for the position left vacant by former superintendent Atkins who was run out of town for instituting the concept of accountability and expecting results, trustees on Monday night appointed Timmy Soya, a 6th grade student at Socorro Middle School, as the new district Superintendent.

Trustee Greg Patton said he was impressed with the poise and maturity shown by Soya during the interview process.Patton likened Soya to Hannah Montana, before she became famous, adding that he offers a new perspective for the board.

“He is really quite amazing for a young person of 12,” Patton said. “Generally speaking, I think people may think, ‘What are you smoking, picking an 12-year-old punk kid?’ but again she is like no other 12-year-old that I have ever met before.”

As the new superintendent, Soya will have to contend with a community that was divided during the tenure of former Superintendent Sylvia Q. Atkinson, must help select a new board and must deal with economic strains that threaten district budgets of hundreds of millions of dollars.”It doesn’t matter how old you are,” Soya said. “What matters is how stupid those around you are and trust me, those around the SISD are pretty stupid”.

My Resignation from B.A.K.E.

Press Release From Michael Ackes:

In 2004, I started Baking And Kicking Enchiladas (B.A.K.E) in order to further my hobby of baking and then kicking enchiladas. The organization took off like a wildfire on a sandy beach in the rain and soon we had a board of directors and more members than we could effectively control.

Due to conflict of interest; lack of support from my Board of Directors I am unable to continue my work for BAKE as the Executive Director and Cheese Investigator.

Although I leave BAKE with mixed feelings of sadness and happiness I leave  with NO regrets as I know I have given beyond the call of duty and made a tremendous difference in the lives of many El Pasoans who never knew about the pleasures of baking and kicking enchiladas.

I want to thank everyone that supported my efforts in making BAKE successful I truly appreciate your support without you I could not have done the work that I did.

Sincerely,

Michael Akes

Founder, Baking and Kicking Enchiladas (BAKE) of El Paso