An FBI raid on Ramapo City Hall Wednesday led to seized hard drives and documents relating to alleged corruption in the city, including the building and financing of Provident Bank Park. From Newsday: FBI spokesman Jim Margolin confirmed the raid, but would not answer questions. A law enforcement source with knowledge of the investigation said […]
Tag Archives | city hall
Construction begins on new El Paso ballpark
With City Hall imploded and its debris almost gone, construction has begun on a new downtown El Paso ballpark for the relocating Tucson Padres (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League). Debris from City Hall is still being removed (that chore should be completed by the end of the week), but in the meantime crews are installing […]
El Paso City Hall goes down, making way for new ballpark
El Paso’s City Hall was imploded yesterday by a series of detonations, as the city takes down a landmark of sorts to make way for a new Triple-A ballpark. The 34-year-old building took about 10 second to collapse after the charges were detonated. A crowd of 100 or so was on hand to see the […]
Fed judge spanks El Paso ballpark opponents; petitions to be considered today
It appears there’s little gas left in the tank for new-ballpark opponents in El Paso, as a federal judge fines the group $5,000 for basically wasting the court’s time in trying to move a lawsuit from state to federal court. In addition, it doesn’t look like there’s much chance two petitions challenging the ballpark funding […]
Judge hears plea to put El Paso ballpark to vote
A U.S. District Court judge heard arguments alleging the process to move ahead with a new downtown El Paso ballpark was the result of racial prejudice, with a decision expected before the end of the month. The lawsuit, filed by former Mayor Ray Salazar, David Ochoa and Jesús Ochoa (no relation), asks Judge David Guaderrama to […]
El Paso: No federal issues at play in ballpark lawsuit
A lawsuit filed to halt a new El Paso ballpark on the grounds city officials violated the Voting Rights Act is being challenged by city attorneys as not being within the legal purview of the federal government. The lawsuit says ballpark planning should be shut down because city officials — including city manager Linda Wilson […]
El Paso mayor: I can still scuttle ballpark deal
El Paso Mayor John Cook says he may veto a proposed deal for a new Triple-A downtown ballpark, and there’s a chance the City Council may lack the votes to override it. Cook, an opponent of building a new ballpark for the relocating Tucson Padres (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League), has the power to veto […]
Petition to halt El Paso ballpark submitted, but may be too late
Another set of petitions designed to stop construction of a new El Paso ballpark has been submitted, but organizers may be too late to stop the process. Petition-drive organizers submitted enough signatures to force the El Paso City Council to consider an ordinance that would halt the demolition of City Hall to make way for […]
Effort to thwart new El Paso ballpark falls short
A petition drive to put the issue of a new El Paso ballpark directly to voters — and changing the deal with the potential owners of a Triple-A team retroactively — came up short. Organizers, who also put together an “Occupy City Hall” movement in recent days to also express their displeasure, needed to come […]
Will El Paso ballpark spur downtown development? Insiders of mixed mind
One rationale for building a $50-million ballpark in downtown El Paso for the relocating Tucson Padres (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League): to spur economic development. Will it work? The city is moving ahead with a plan to build a new ballpark at the current City Hall location and finding a new home for local government […]
El Paso opponents: We want ballpark on fall ballot
Opponents of a new El Paso ballpark for a Triple-A team want to force approval of the project on the fall ballot, as they’ve gathered over 2,300 signatures on the issue. The ballpark is already tentatively on the ballot in the form of a proposal to raise the city’s hotel/motel occupancy tax by two percentage points […]
El Paso approves ballpark for Triple-A team
The El Paso City Council moved forward on a new-ballpark plan for a Class AAA Pacific Coast League team, signing a term sheet with MountainStar Sports Group LLC. With the passage, the council directed the city manager to move forward on a term sheet, detailing the ballpark construction and funding plan. With that term sheet in hand, MountainStar Sports […]