On the Senator's Desk:
Senator Shapleigh traveled to Chihuahua, Mexico to meet with state and federal leaders about strengthening cross border coordination in an effort to bring greater stability and prosperity to the Border Region. Senator Shapleigh met with the Secretary of Chihuahua's Office of Commercial Development and Tourism, Secretary of Industrial Development and the Director of Medicine.

Also, on Thursday afternoon, Senators participated in a conference call with the Lt. Governor about the evacuation efforts for Hurricane Rita. With the hurricane heading towards Texas' eastern coastal area, residents in Beaumont are being evacuated via airplane. El Paso,one of the destinations for these evacuees, could see several thousand people looking for refuge.

Those who visited:
On Wednesday, Diana Ramirez, a graduate of Eastwood High School, and her uncle visited the Capitol Office in Austin to meet the Senator. While Senator Shapleigh was not in the office, Diana was able to see an award winning photograph she took of her uncle for the Paseneo Arts Festival Photography Contest. The contest is an annual photography contest where local students submit photographs of their lives in El Paso and the winning photos are displayed in Senator Shapleigh's office in Austin. Diana said of her photo, "I chose my uncle, the man in my photographs, as my subject matter because he has a face with character. In my opinion, he is a good representation of our area of Texas."

Upcoming Events:
The 2005 class of Community Scholars, under the direction of Alexa Burdett (a scholar from Bel Air High School) will be hosting “Band Aid,” a hurricane relief fundraising event that includes area bands.

DATE: Sunday, September 25, 2005
TIME: 3:00 - 8:00 p.m.
LOCATION: Bel Air High School Parking Stadium/Parking Lot
COST: Entrance is $3 for adults, $1 for children ages 3 to 12; Music, Food, and Games will be available for a fee as well.