Just wanted to send a quick kudos.
The publication of stories and reporting is awesome! There is so much great info here that I feel like a resident of Marfa. It’s the highlight of my day when new articles come out. Please keep up the good work, and I’m buying one of those [Print is Not Dead] hats too.
Matt Garcia
New Braunfels, Texas
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Dear Editor,
How do we, as a peaceful community, allow our local law enforcement to act well beyond their duties of “to protect and serve”?
Our police department is giving Marfa a most unfavorable reputation across Texas. On any given day, at any given time, there is someone pulled over on U.S.-90 or U.S.-67. It has also become obvious that they target out-of-towners, especially drivers with Mexican plates.
Does anyone feel safer with vehicles constantly pulled over? Does anyone like to be followed by law enforcement at night, coming out of restaurants and bars? Are minor traffic violations our most pressing issue in Marfa? I, for one, feel much less safe in Marfa than I did years ago.
Again, I ask, how do we, as a peaceful community, allow our public servants to act in such a manner? It seems our local law enforcement has lost sight of the meaning of “to protect and serve.”
Manu Fresno
Marfa
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Dear Editor,
On behalf of the Marfa Athletic Booster Club, we would like to sincerely thank everyone who participated in and supported the 5th Annual Marfa Shorthorns 5K Stampede. Thanks to the incredible enthusiasm and generosity of our community, this year’s event was a great success.
It’s because of events like this and the people who make them happen that our student-athletes are able to thrive both on and off the field. We’re especially proud of our Marfa cross-country team, who showed up and showed out with true Shorthorn spirit.
We would also like to recognize our top finishers:
— First Place Female and new women’s champ: Seiko Dejima, with a time of 24:54
— First Place Male and overall winner: Edward Orona of Alpine, with a time of 18:55
Congratulations to our winners, and heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped organize, volunteer, or simply showed up in support. We can’t wait to see you all again next year!
Go Horns!
Sincerely,
Lori Flores — President
Roxye Lara — Treasurer
And all of the Marfa Athletic Booster Club crew
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Presidio County needs leadership, not self-interest
Judge Portillo often tells us that when making tough choices, we should ask: “Do I want it, or do I need it?” Yet when it came to approving a pay raise for himself and his staff — even while admitting the county budget is failing — he decided his raise was a “need.”
By that same measure, Marfa’s golf course is not a luxury. It is a need for our community. It attracts visitors, generates steady tax revenue, hosts tournaments, creates jobs, brings families together, and offers healthy, outdoor recreation in a place where options are limited. Defunding it would not strengthen Presidio County — it would weaken both our economy and our quality of life.
Meanwhile, Judge Portillo has directed county funds toward projects and perks that benefit a select few rather than the people he was elected to serve:
• $48,000/year for grant writers — These grant writers have not produced enough returns for the county. Reports back to Commissioners Court have been sparse and vague. Meanwhile, a true “need”— an Elections Officer to handle the increasingly complicated voting process — remains unfunded, leaving already overburdened staff in the Clerk’s and Tax Assessor’s offices scrambling during every election.
• Luxury travel on taxpayer dollars – When traveling to Washington, D.C., to lobby for the International Bridge, Judge Portillo chose — on one occasion — the Waldorf Astoria, one of the most expensive hotels in the capital at more than $900 per night. For perspective: a single night at that hotel could cover the golf course’s water bill for over a month or fund multiple community programs. In one of the poorest counties in Texas, this kind of spending is indefensible.
• $250,000 to consultants to assess the courthouse for repairs needed and plan a scope of work with no results yet –– Judge Portillo authorized a quarter-million-dollar contract with McKinstry to assess the courthouse and annex for urgent repairs. The planning work was completed, but instead of moving forward with fixing the problems, he politicized the issue and launched a smear campaign, dragging the process out until it landed on the November 4 ballot. Taxpayers now wait while needed repairs go undone — a waste of both time and money.
• A failed push for a regional law enforcement center in Presidio –– Judge Portillo lobbied for a new facility despite the fact that the county struggles to maintain the law enforcement resources we already have. His personal grant writers (the same $48,000/year group) submitted a proposal, but even Congressman Tony Gonzales saw through it and declined to fund the request. The county’s real needs — better support for current staff and infrastructure — were ignored in pursuit of this vanity project.
• Efforts to defund veterans services and emergency management –– Judge Portillo attempted to eliminate both the Veterans County Service Officer and the Emergency Management Coordinator, saying the county did not “need” these roles. But veterans rely on that officer to help them access benefits they’ve earned, and emergency management is crucial in a county that faces wildfires and power outages. These are not luxuries — they are essential protections.
• Prioritizing Presidio over Marfa –– Judge Portillo repeatedly chooses to spend his time in Presidio rather than in Marfa, the county seat. By doing so, he avoids the daily oversight of county business and instead devotes energy to projects that benefit Presidio specifically. The result is a county judge who represents personal priorities, not countywide needs.
Judge Portillo’s pattern is clear: his wants get funded. Our needs do not.
The Marfa Golf Course is not just a “want.” It is a need for our residents, our visitors, and our local economy. If this county can afford raises, luxury hotels, and high-priced consultants, then surely it can afford to keep open a golf course that serves far more people and delivers far more benefit.
It’s time for our leaders to honor their own words. Presidio County doesn’t need politics as usual. We need fair leadership — and we need to keep our golf course.
And finally, a word of thanks to Judge Portillo. By threatening to defund the golf course, he has brought us together as a community to start asking tougher questions about where our money goes and what our leadership is really delivering. His actions have awakened a broader awareness, inspiring more residents to look closely at the progress — or lack thereof — that his time in office has produced. In that sense, he has done one thing we can all agree was needed: he reminded us of the power of a united and watchful community.
To be fair and respectful citizens, we now extend an open invitation to Judge Portillo: join us for a community discussion about these points — and any others he wishes to address. We can be found most days at the Marfa Golf Course, and we will gladly host him there at a time that fits his schedule. All we ask is for reasonable notice so that the people he serves can make time to meet with him face to face.
Signed,
Mario Ontiveroz, Eddie Pallarez, Eddie Barraza, Ronnie Ontiveroz, Craig Roberts, Chuck Simpson, Yvonne Zubiate and numerous other area golfers.
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Letter to the Editor:
The decision to defund Marfa’s golf course and Vizcaino Park has generated anger, finger-pointing and plenty of blame. But what concerns me most is not simply the loss of these parks — it is the lack of foresight and accountability among all county commissioners in handling the budget process, and the way this episode exposes the persistent inequities between North and South Presidio County.
Let’s be clear: the county faces a $400,000 budget deficit, caused by a drop in revenues. Budgeting is never easy, but whether in a household or in government, basic needs must come first. Roads, safety, and public health are essentials; recreation, while valuable, comes after.
The budget-drafting process takes place over the course of many months. In fact, when commissioners approved the deficit-ridden 2025 budget, they were already beginning the process for 2026. They received a draft of the 2026 budget six months ago — ample time to work together on addressing the ongoing shortfall and to consider fair reductions across departments. Instead, they allowed the conversation to stall until the last minute, leaving only one last-minute option on the table: cutting the county’s only two funded parks. Now, commissioners are blaming the county judge and the two colleagues who voted in favor of the cuts, as if the parks were “targeted.” In truth, what happened reflects a failure of collective leadership — a failure to distribute responsibility fairly and to approach the deficit with solution-focused balance.
And yet, what has drawn the most outrage is not the structural inequities that divide our county, but the closure of a golf course. That is telling.
Marfa has long enjoyed two county-funded parks outside city limits and its municipal parks board has around $200,000 on hand to reimagine and maintain their facilities. (Vizcaino could be potentially taken over by the City of Marfa, but there hasn’t been movement forward since 2023.) This is in sharp contrast with Presidio, home to about 60% of the county’s voters and zero county-funded parks or subsidies. Its parks scrape by on a bare-bones budget supported by meager income from rentals, pool attendance and donations from within the community. That imbalance has gone unaddressed for years.
And these inequities don’t even take into account our smaller population sectors — the rural communities, ranches and settlements scattered across the county. They, too, are part of Presidio County and receive even less consideration when resources are distributed. The focus on Marfa’s loss obscures the reality that many communities have never had meaningful investment to begin with.
While I believe in the importance of outdoor spaces being paramount to community health, the truth is that parks are abundant in Marfa and almost nonexistent elsewhere in Presidio County. Adding Presidio to the county parks budget would be a step toward fairness, but it would still not resolve an approximately $400,000 deficit. We must face the reality of tough decisions — and we must demand equity in how those decisions are made.
The loudest anger over losing a golf course, while silence lingers around South County’s lack of investment and the struggles of smaller communities, only highlights how deep the divisions remain. If we are serious about the future of Presidio County, then accountability must be shared by all commissioners, and equity — not entitlement — must guide our choices.
Christina Hernandez
Lipan Apache, resident of Presidio County
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Editor,
Here’s how Marfa School Board President Teresa Villarreal Ontiveros Nunez greeted me in line at the Dollar General on Sunday: I hear you’re talking trash about me.
No, I explained to her, but in light of her daughter’s alleged criminal legal troubles at Marfa ISD, it would be in the best interest of our students, parents, teachers, administrators, and school property taxpayers for her to step down.
If you know Teresa, it devolved from there.
And yes, earlier last week I told several board members and the acting interim superintendent that board leadership needs to change.
My family has been a part of the Marfa ISD family for 37 years. My three children graduated with honors from MHS. I was honored to have served on the board of trustees for seven years and as board president for four years. I speak from experience, both as a parent and as a public servant.
If only this was the only matter surrounding the school board president, Marfa ISD, and her family. In 2021, the school board president seats her brother on the board, and we all know how that turned out.
As for the state of Marfa ISD, student population is at an all-time low and district finances are in a tailspin.
Her ill-conceived $57 million bond issue failed miserably in 2022.
If there’s a bright light that shines through the dark cloud of this school board president’s actions, it is the Marfa educators who day in and day out put politics and all these other distractions aside to teach our children well. We owe them so much gratitude in these times. I can’t begin to thank them for what they do.
It’s time for a change in board leadership at Marfa ISD.
Sincerely,
Robert Halpern,
Marfa ISD trustee 2009-2016,
Board president 2011-2015
Marfa
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Dear citizens of Marfa, I am writing this in response to last week‘s letter about current school board president Teresa Nuñez. I strongly disagree with the actions of her being called to step down from the Marfa ISD school board.
Last week’s letter to the editor, even though not stated, boldly accuses Mrs. Nuñez of being a shady person due to the fact of the bad decisions from her family. She has done nothing wrong but upheld her position on the school board, yet she is being criticized and blamed for the actions of others.
I strongly believe that every single board member at Marfa ISD, its administrators, its faculty and its staff at both campuses have each student’s best interest at heart. Her position is on the school board yet she is being criticized and blamed for the actions of others.
People tend to automatically blame the school board or the school administration for issues that are beyond their control which they could not prevent, yet all the blame is towards the school board and its president and interim superintendent, Mr. Alferez. These individuals are doing the best they can to educate our children to the best of their ability with the limited resources that they have due to funding.
I’m basically saying that if every single person in a position on a board or in an organization is blamed for family members’ bad decisions then nobody would have jobs. Nobody would be asked to stay at their position, but I do not think that people are looking at that way. It is basically a witch hunt and they are going after only one person‘s head — a person that did nothing wrong but uphold her position on the school board.
I strongly ask that those that are judging Mrs. Nuñez for others actions really step back and look at the big picture, because we all have that family member that makes bad decisions, but it doesn’t mean people should be asking for positions to be resigned from or step down from for actions that they weren’t even a part of.
Once again, I’m very grateful for the school board, for the administration, for the teachers and for the staff for doing everything they can for our children and I stand behind every single one of y’all. But especially right now, I am behind the school board and Teresa Nuñez and hope that those that are judging see that what’s being done to this poor lady is wrong and she gets to keep her position as president of the Marfa ISD school board.
David Gomez
Marfa
Dear Editor,
I read a discussion that blew up on Facebook about the City of Alpine’s search for a new city manager. There was scuttlebutt that Alpine native Pete Gallego was not shortlisted for that position for his alleged lack of qualifications. (If true, all I can say is, “Wow!! Really?!”)
If there is any truth to this, council should publicly justify the parameters used for Pete’s exclusion from the shortlist.
Serving as a Texas state legislator for 10 years and then representing us in Washington D.C. as a U.S. congressman, Pete developed valuable lifelong connections across the width and breadth of the country in general, and Texas, in particular.
While serving in Austin, State Rep. Pete Gallego served as chairman of the Appropriations Committee, from which he delivered tens of millions of dollars for Sul Ross State University’s growth and betterment, an institution for which he would eventually serve as president.
Pete provided the funding to make U.S. 67, leading from Alpine to Ft. Stockton, safer for all travelers by “straightening it out;” having TXDOT cut a path through the caliche hills. If you remember, U.S. 67 used to wind dangerously up and around the caliche hill, causing quite a few fatal car accidents over the years.
With U.S. 67 widened and straightened, travel is now safer for everyone. That’s thanks to our Alpine native Pete’s knowledge of local history and determination to improve our lives. These are but a few examples of the potential value Pete is bringing to our community.
As far as the day to day running of the city, there is extensive precedent for the city hiring assistant city managers to lighten the city manager’s work. Pete’s real value is his well established political connections across the state for funding. You can have all the plans and projects you can dream up, but without access to finance, nothing will come of them, unless the six city councilors are daydreaming about deepening their hands into the pockets of local property owners/tax payers.
When my father, Dr. Rangra, served on the City Council, they had turned their attention towards fixing our city’s sewer system after solving and guaranteeing standard water pressure throughout Alpine. At that time, the council was looking at a six million dollar tab that would address all our sewer issues. Through critical financial connections, like those Pete brings with him, the city was able to secure $6 million in funding from the Texas Water Development Board, of which $3 million wouldn’t need to be repaid because it would be converted into a grant.
BTW, if you’re wondering why we still have sewer problems, it’s because, for reasons not even the legendary Oracle of Delphi could penetrate, the City Council voted 3-2 to reject funding from the Texas Water Development Board. As a result, 13 years later, we’re still wandering around, hat in hand, looking for funding while our sewer remains stagnant. I’m sure, perhaps, one of the sitting councilmembers can tell us why. Let me give you another example of how the right political connections benefit a small city like ours.
Ciro Rodriguez, when he was our U.S. congressman, and Pete, when he was Appropriations Committee chair in Austin, provided funding directly to the city, enabling it to build new sidewalks, stretching out from the truck stop on U.S. Highway 90 East, straight through past the post office. The importance of these sidewalks for our citizens confined to motorized wheelchairs means they can partake in our festivities like Gallery Nite and Fourth of July Celebrations and visit their friends and family with a degree of independence that cannot be undervalued. If it’s true that Pete was not considered to be at the helm, a collective short sightedness couldn’t see the incredible asset Alpine potentially had in hand.
With Kind Regards,
Amit Rangra
Alpine