Latest news with #Juarez
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Paramount, a proud Latino suburb, thrust into center of Trump crackdown
Jessica Juarez walked along Alondra Boulevard with a trash bag full of spent gas canisters, her voice hoarse as she helped clean her community with other residents Sunday morning. The volunteers were parents and neighbors in Paramount, armed with plastic bags, latex gloves and face masks. An acrid odor lingered in the air the day after law enforcement fired gas canisters and flash bang grenades at protesters on Alondra Boulevard. Read more: LAPD officers in riot gear clash with protesters in downtown L.A. "I'm proud of our community, of the strength we showed," Juarez, 40, said. "It's like they put so much fear into Paramount, and for what? These guys didn't even clean up after themselves." Paramount was thrown into the national spotlight over the weekend as the Trump administration on Saturday said it would send 2,000 National Guard troops into Los Angeles after a second day in which protesters confronted immigration agents during raids of local businesses. Tension rose again Sunday in the Los Angeles area as protesters faced off with federal and local authorities in downtown L.A. Read more: 2,000 National Guard troops will be sent to L.A. amid clashes over immigration raids Paramount, a small city of 54,000 in southeastern Los Angeles County, is known for how its residents and government officials worked in the 1980s to transform their hometown from a blighted 'rust belt' community to one that gained national awards. The city's website says that crime in Paramount, where more than 80% of residents are Latino, has fallen to all-time lows. Residents say the chaotic clashes between federal immigration authorities and protesters on Saturday left them shaken. Scorch marks in the intersection outside the Home Depot on Alondra Boulevard show where flash bang grenades went off. Multiple police agencies responded to the city over the weekend. By Sunday morning, a group of camouflaged National Guard troops were stationed in a business park with armored vehicles where a Department of Homeland Security office is located. Union organizers and local residents Ardelia Aldridge and Alejandro Maldonado helped organize a cleanup effort in the neighborhood. "It's solidarity Sunday," Aldridge said. The images of Paramount shrouded in smoke and flanked by police in riot gear were a far cry from the close-knit community that was once named an "All-America City" and received a special commendation from the L.A. County Board of Supervisors for its turnaround. "The whole community is just praying that things stay peaceful and the community moves forward," Mayor Peggy Lemons said in an interview on Sunday. "Paramount was all about a community of blue-collar workers who are doing their best to get by every day," Lemons said. "Today there are people who are angry about the federal government coming into their city," she said. "That comes from fear." On Saturday, federal officers fired smoke canisters at protesters near the business park, and that putrid green smoke descended onto the nearby residential community. "What else do you call it but an attack on Paramount and the people who live here?" Maldonado said. "People in the community were standing up to unjust immigration policies." In many ways, Paramount became the starting point for the escalating federal response that has brought the National Guard. "It really does seem like they wanted to pick a fight with the little guy," Aldridge said. There's a palpable fear in the community, Pastor Brian Warth at Chapel of Change said as a band played an upbeat song during Sunday service. He watched Saturday afternoon as police fired tear gas and then was out on Sunday morning to help clean up Alondra Boulevard. He understands that some people may have got out of hand during the protest but believes that people who were outside the business park simply wanted answers. "And we still don't know what's going to happen next," he said. "I'm pleased and shocked to see people here today," he said about Sunday service. "There's a real unknowing feeling. God is good. Paramount is good." Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Paramount, a proud Latino suburb, thrust into center of Trump crackdown
Jessica Juarez walked along Alondra Boulevard with a trash bag full of spent gas canisters, her voice hoarse as she helped clean her community with other residents Sunday morning. The volunteers were parents and neighbors in Paramount, armed with plastic bags, latex gloves and face masks. An acrid odor lingered in the air the day after law enforcement fired gas canisters and flash bang grenades at protesters on Alondra Boulevard. 'I'm proud of our community, of the strength we showed,' Juarez, 40, said. 'It's like they put so much fear into Paramount, and for what? These guys didn't even clean up after themselves.' Paramount was thrown into the national spotlight over the weekend as the Trump administration on Saturday said it would send 2,000 National Guard troops into Los Angeles after a second day in which protesters confronted immigration agents during raids of local businesses. Tension rose again Sunday in the Los Angeles area as protesters faced off with federal and local authorities in downtown L.A. Paramount, a small city of 54,000 in southeastern Los Angeles County, is known for how its residents and government officials worked in the 1980s to transform their hometown from a blighted 'rust belt' community to one that gained national awards. The city's website says that crime in Paramount, where more than 80% of residents are Latino, has fallen to all-time lows. Residents say the chaotic clashes between federal immigration authorities and protesters on Saturday left them shaken. Scorch marks in the intersection outside the Home Depot on Alondra Boulevard show where flash bang grenades went off. Multiple police agencies responded to the city over the weekend. By Sunday morning, a group of camouflaged National Guard troops were stationed in a business park with armored vehicles where a Department of Homeland Security office is located. Union organizers and local residents Ardelia Aldridge and Alejandro Maldonado helped organize a cleanup effort in the neighborhood. 'It's solidarity Sunday,' Aldridge said. The images of Paramount shrouded in smoke and flanked by police in riot gear were a far cry from the close-knit community that was once named an 'All-America City' and received a special commendation from the L.A. County Board of Supervisors for its turnaround. 'The whole community is just praying that things stay peaceful and the community moves forward,' Mayor Peggy Lemons said in an interview on Sunday. 'Paramount was all about a community of blue-collar workers who are doing their best to get by every day,' Lemons said. 'Today there are people who are angry about the federal government coming into their city,' she said. 'That comes from fear.' On Saturday, federal officers fired smoke canisters at protesters near the business park, and that putrid green smoke descended onto the nearby residential community. 'What else do you call it but an attack on Paramount and the people who live here?' Maldonado said. 'People in the community were standing up to unjust immigration policies.' In many ways, Paramount became the starting point for the escalating federal response that has brought the National Guard. 'It really does seem like they wanted to pick a fight with the little guy,' Aldridge said. There's a palpable fear in the community, Pastor Brian Warth at Chapel of Change said as a band played an upbeat song during Sunday service. He watched Saturday afternoon as police fired tear gas and then was out on Sunday morning to help clean up Alondra Boulevard. He understands that some people may have got out of hand during the protest but believes that people who were outside the business park simply wanted answers. 'And we still don't know what's going to happen next,' he said. 'I'm pleased and shocked to see people here today,' he said about Sunday service. 'There's a real unknowing feeling. God is good. Paramount is good.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
El Paso in the 1920s: Hail breaks up Army dance, it's costly to bury a mule :Trish Long
Here's a collection of brief articles from the El Paso Times during the 1920s. These short stories give a picture of El Paso during that decade, from Army dances to the cost of a funeral for a mule and a constable challenged to a duel: March 11, 1920: The weather god was unkind last night and treated the El Paso army recruiting office roughly, breaking up its street dance in Cleveland Square an hour after the start with a barrage of hail. The unusual meteorological denouement came after cold winds, rain splashes and chilly temperature had already thinned out the attendance, but the hail, as large as peas, drove not only the last dancer from the street but sent the musicians to cover, breaking off a fox trot in the middle of a very melodious bar. Colonel Gohn, recreation officer of the southern department, was present with Major King, under whose direction the dance was given, and a number of officers from Fort Bliss and district headquarters. Although the hail did not last very long it was very effective in permanently ending the festivities, and the musicians of the Seventh and Eighth cavalry and the Eighty-second field artillery adjourned to a soft drink emporium and hoped for better luck next time. It is probable another dance will be arranged for next week. March 21, 1922: A special switchboard in the El Paso telephone exchange manned by an operator who can speak both English and Spanish would result in a material increase in the number of telephone patrons in Juarez, Paulino N. Guerrero, Juarez customs collector, will tell the Chamber of Commerce in making a request today that a suggestion of such improved service be laid before the telephone company. Under the present system, numbers must be asked for in English. Many Juarez people who want phone service cannot speak English, Mr. Guerrero says. He will also suggest that Spanish-speaking conductors be placed on the Juarez street cars. More: El Paso Diablos documentary in the works, share your memories, photos Oct. 16, 1924: Dan Cupid and El Paso divorce courts split even yesterday. Five marriage licenses were issued and five petitions for divorce were filed. Petitions for divorces were filed by the following: Guy Thompson vs. Carmine Thompson; Amelia Landa vs. Ernesto Landa; Jacinto Santos vs. Clara R. Santos; Frank Kantz vs. Tupe Rodriguez Kantz; Eva A. Desmond vs. H.P. Desmond. Marriage licensees were granted to the following: Gabino Vasquez and Josepfina Lopez; James P. Dod and Mary Carr; Antonio Stuart and Carmen Martinez; Lorenso Perez and Genoveva Martinez; Hartwell L. Alison and Katherine S. Martin. ... Alleging, that his wife, Carmine Thompson, refused to agree with him and that she complained about everything he did, which resulted in his being unable to sleep, Guy Thompson filed suit for divorce in the thirty-fourth district court yesterday. Thompson further alleges that due to the constant "nagging" of his wife he was unable to sleep, which interfered with his working regularly. 151 men sign up, elect officers, hear speeches and then dance Feb. 11, 1925: The first El Paso chapter of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Stablemen and Helpers was organized here last night with 151 members. The applicants were installed as brothers by J.L. Hauswald, local organizer for the A.F. of I. Immediately after the obligations had been taken, William J. Moran assisted in the installation of the officers elected by the new union. The officers are: president, James W. Sullivan; vice president, Salvador Borrego; secretary and treasurer, Ramon Telles; recording secretary, Jesus Yriarte; conductor, Albert S. Mease; warden, Lorenzo Munos. Trustees elected were: William Dickson (three years), Jack Christie (two years) and Tomas Olivas (one year). The new organization staged a dance and served a luncheon. Mr. Hauswald explained that the purpose of the new brotherhood is to "give the public better service." During the luncheon, short addresses were made by W.J. Moran, R.L. Riter, president of the Central Labor union; Pedro Gonzalez, secretary of the executive board of the Juarez local union; Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Christie, Mr. Telles and Mr. Borrego. In addition to the 151 members, all of whom attended the dance and luncheon, the wives and sweethearts of the men were present. Nov. 9, 1926: A mule is worth more dead than a man! At least, it costs the county more to bury one than it does a human being, county commissioners discovered yesterday. They authorized payment of $6 to N. Molina for burying a mule and a horse, while the rate for burying a pauper is only $2.25. Animal burying fees are fixed by the state. The pauper burials are let on competitive bids. This was one reason suggested why it costs more to bury a mule than a man. Aug. 10, 1929: J.W. Winebrener, El Paso constable, had a chance to "shoot it out" here yesterday. The constable was challenged to a duel, and the would-be duelist wasn't drunk. Winebrener arrested Juventia Garcia, 706 S. Kansas street. Garcia's wife said he had been whipping her. Garcia's brother-in-law accompanied the arrested man and the constable to Judge A.J. Wilson's justice of the peace court, where assault charges were filed. "I'd like to shoot it out with both of you," Garcia told the officer and his brother-in-law. "I'm sorry, but I don't have an extra gun," Winebrener told Garcia, "and I could hardly let you have mine." Trish Long may be reached at tlong@ This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: 1920s: Hail, phone service in Spanish, Mule burial tales: Trish Long
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Yahoo
Former Pflugerville High School employee sent sexual messages to student, police say
A former Pflugerville High School employee was charged in connection to sending sexually explicit social media messages to a male student, police said. Marissa Juarez, 27, was charged with online solicitation of a minor, a third-degree felony. It is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Juarez was an administrative assistant at the school, according to an arrest affidavit released on Tuesday. Her last day of work at the school was April 28, said Tamra Spence, a district spokeswoman. Spence would not say whether Juarez had been terminated or had resigned. She had worked at the district since August 2024, Spence said. Pflugerville police began investigating after a school district sergeant saw Juarez and the male student on a security camera sharing a hug and a kiss in a school parking lot, according to an arrest affidavit released on Tuesday. What is criminally negligent homicide? Texas man guilty in fatal high school stabbing The male student told police that the kiss seen on the security camera was the first one he and Juarez had ever shared and that he never communicated with her on social media, the affidavit said. He later told police he had shared one message with Juarez on Instagram about getting her a hoodie. When police interviewed the student and his mother the next day, his mother showed the investigator 55 screenshots of sexually explicit messages on Snapchat between the student and Juarez, the affidavit said. Some of the messages discussed a plan for them to have sex at the student's home while his mother was on vacation. In an interview with police, Juarez denied knowing about the Snapchat account and also denied any online communication with the male student, the affidavit said. Juarez, however, sent several messages to the male student "with photos and videos of her face which are plainly seen," according to the document. It said Jurarez also denied kissing the male student and said she didn't text or talk to him. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Ex-Texas school employee charged with online solicitation of a minor
International Business Times
09-05-2025
- International Business Times
Female Pflugerville ISD Staff Member Charged with Sexting, Kissing Student in Incident Caught on Camera
A former Pflugerville ISD employee is facing multiple felony charges after being accused of grooming a high school student. Marissa Juarez, 28, is facing charges of child grooming and online solicitation of a minor - both third-degree felonies - stemming from an arrest on May 2. She bonded out of jail on May 4, as reported by KVUE. Juarez Discussed Sexual Fantasies with Student, Spoke of Marijuana Use, Kiss They Shared on School Grounds According to an arrest affidavit, Juarez frequently communicated with a Pflugerville High School student on the social media platform Snapchat, with many of the messages describing explicit sexual fantasies. Juarez also talked about potentially using marijuana with the minor, and a kiss they shared at the school on April 22, that police said had been caught on camera. Juarez Fired in the Wake of the Allegations According to Pflugerville ISD, Juarez was an administrative assistant with the district and was hired in August district said as soon as the allegation was reported, Juarez was placed on administrative leave "and the matter was promptly referred to law enforcement for investigation." Juarez is no longer employed by Pflugerville ISD. "The safety and well-being of our students is our highest priority," a spokesperson for the school district said. "We are fully cooperating with law enforcement authorities as they continue their investigation. Due to the ongoing nature of the legal process and privacy considerations, we cannot provide further details at this time," the statement continued.
