I think we’ve just about talked the Shapleigh-Margo race to death. In case anyone is interested in local observations from El Paso, there are two good pieces on a Web site called Newspaper Tree, both under the byline of Sito Negron. One article has an overview of the race along with links to interviews with both candidates and to their fundraising letters. The other report deals with the hot issue of whether Margo appealed to Tom Craddick and former Secretary of Commerce Don Evans to intervene with the Texas Tech Board of Regents to hold up funding for the med school until after the election, to make Shapleigh look bad. The El Paso Times also weighed in with a story about the controversy.
This is how the paper describes itself:
“Newspaper Tree, El Paso’s Original News Source, was founded by Anthony Martinez in August of 2003. Under his care, the newspaper developed a reputation as tough, irreverent and aggressive in pursuit of the public’s right to information about decisions made by those in power.
“NPT carried on the tradition in 2004, when Vanessa Johnson became publisher. Adding writers and emphasizing the use of public records law, NPT continued to grow as a critical news source for El Paso policy-makers and those interested in the public realm.
“NPT has taken another step in 2005 and into 2006, opening an office and continuing to expand its range of stories and information, as its readership has grown.
“We are located in the Abdou building in the heart of Downtown El Paso, at 109 N. Mesa (corner of Mesa and Texas), on the 7th floor.
“Newspaper Tree is named after the cottonwood – or some say ash – tree in Pioneer Plaza that was used for community postings and news in the 19th and early 20th centuries.”
