El Paso runoff voter registration deadline nears; Texas appeals DNA testing order in 1987 killings

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 and the region. Register to Vote in El Paso City Council Runoff Elections The deadline to register to vote – or update your voter registration information – for the El Paso City Council runoffs is Thursday, Nov. 12. Three of four city representative races on the ballot were undecided in Tuesday’s election, when none of the candidates in those races received more than 50% of the votes in their respective districts to win outright. The races in the runoff are: District 1 incumbent Alejandra Chávez facing Sam Armijo; District 6 incumbent Art Fierro facing Jesse Moreno; and District 8 incumbent Chris Canales facing Matthew Guzman. Registered voters in those districts can cast ballots even if they didn’t vote in the Nov. 3 election. Only District 5 incumbent Ivan Niño won his race outright Tuesday, defeating political organizer Richard Genera for the seat. To be eligible to vote, you must be a citizen of the United States and must be 18 years old by Election Day, Saturday, Dec. 12. Early voting runs from Monday, Nov. 30, to Tuesday, Dec. 8. The deadline to apply for a ballot by mail is Dec. 1. Information : El Paso County Elections Department State Appeals Order for DNA Testing in 1987 Northeast El Paso Serial Killings The Texas Attorney General’s Office is appealing a ruling that the state Department of Public Safety conduct DNA tests on evidence from a 1987 serial killing spree in Northeast El Paso. David Leonard Wood, now 67, was convicted of capital murder charges and sentenced to death in 1992 for the deaths of six girls and young women whose bodies were found buried in the Northeast desert. READ MORE : Judge grants David Leonard Wood’s request for DNA testing in 1987 Northeast El Paso killings He has been on death row for 34 years. His most recent execution date in 2025 stayed two days before he was scheduled to die by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, with no explanation for the ruling. Judge Dick Alcala, who is serving as the El Paso trial court judge for Wood’s appeal, issued the order for the DNA testing Oct. 18. The Attorney General’s Office, which is acting as the prosecution in the Wood case, appealed the ruling to the Court of Criminal Appeals on Oct. 21, which delayed the testing pending the appellate decision. ‘A Pivotal Choice’ Brings Together Faith, Advocacy Leaders on El Paso’s Future “A Pivotal Choice: A Community Conversation on the Common Good and the Future of El Paso” next week will bring together faith and advocacy leaders to discuss what role community members should play in decisions about artificial intelligence and data centers, immigration enforcement and detention centers, and taxes and economic development. “We hope the community will look to understand these issues from a deeper moral perspective as we work to claim a place at the table where these decisions are being made,” Dylan Corbett, executive director of Hope Border Institute, told El Paso Matters on Thursday. The event centers on topics discussed in Pope Leo XIV’s “Magnifica Humanitas,” which addresses protecting human dignity in the age of artificial intelligence. “Magnifica Humanitas,” Latin for magnificent humanity, is Pope Leo’s first encyclical letter published in May. In it, he warns against allowing AI and technology to reduce human beings to data, statistics, productivity or economic performance and raises concerns about private corporations and tech giants influencing governments. The pope also reinforces that the dignity of migrants and other vulnerable people must remain central to government decisions. Citing the 41% of El Paso County voters who turned out for the midterm election, Corbett said that people are feeling insecure about their future but also motivated to participate and make change happen. “That can’t be the end of the story,” Corbett said. “It has to be the beginning of the story.” The Hope Border Institute, Estrella del Paso and La Mujer Obrera lead the discussion at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11, at Cafe Mayapan, 2000 Texas Ave. The event is free and open to the public. Free food and refreshments will be available. Panel speakers include Corbett, Diocese Auxiliary Bishop Tony Celino, who serves as board chair of the Hope Border Institute, Estrella del Paso Executive Director Melissa Lopez, and La Mujer Obrera Executive Director Lorena Andrade. Information : Hope Border Institute on Instagram Energy Department Grants $1 Million to UTEP’s Planned Mining Engineering Program The planned fall 2027 launch of a mining engineering degree plan at the University of Texas at El Paso got a financial boost recently after the U.S. Department of Energy gifted $1 million to the program as part of the PROSPECT Planning Prize. The energy department’s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation announced Oct. 26 that it granted that amount to 16 institutions to develop their plans to train the next generation of workers in the mining, material science and critical materials fields. The PROSPECT initiative, or Providing Opportunities for Specialized Education in Critical Technologies, is a $100 million program meant to restore America’s energy dominance, rebuild domestic supply chains and cut reliance on other countries for critical minerals. “America has abundant natural resources, but we need the skilled workforce to turn those resources into economic drivers that will grow our economy and create new jobs,” said Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Commission on Colleges and Universities, formerly the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, have approved UTEP’s Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering. It will be the only mining engineering program in the state. Once established, the mining program should graduate up to 100 mining engineers annually. They will enter an in-demand field that faces a critical national shortage. According to the energy department, the U.S. will require an estimated 6,000 new mining engineers over the next decade. “UTEP is building one of the nation’s premier mining engineering programs,” said George Luxbacher, UTEP professor of practice and mining engineering program lead. The university was founded in 1913 as the State School of Mines and Metallurgy. It last offered a mining engineering degree in 1964, with the last graduate in 1968. De Wetter’s Gift to Fox Cancer Center to Benefit Patients During Chemo Treatments Charles and Lori de Wetter and the de Wetter Family Foundation donated $100,000 last week toward an infusion bay that will be part of the planned Steve and Nancy Fox Cancer Center that should open on the Texas Tech Health El Paso campus in 2028. An infusion bay is a private space where patients can receive their hours-long, intravenous  treatments of chemotherapy and other medications in a comfortable setting with a television and space for supportive family and friends. The sponsored bay is the latest for the cancer center, 300 Rick Francis St. It will be operated in partnership with University Medical Center of El Paso, TTHEP’s primary teaching hospital. At this time, there are two other named infusion bays. TTHEP announced the de Wetter family’s gift Oct. 29 in the Medical Education Building Event Center. It will be added to the institution’s Building Hope Campaign, which has reached more than $52 million. The money will be used for construction, equipment and to support the center. “We wanted to make a meaningful contribution that would have a direct and lasting impact on patients and their loved ones,” said Charles de Wetter, who added that he and his wife’s families have had members who died from cancer. This is the latest contribution from the de Wetter family. In 2021, the foundation made a $150,000