the three C's, minus 1

Used to be this region was known for the three C's: copper, cattle, and cotton. And while the cattle and cotton industry are far less important now than they were, say 50 years ago, they still exist to some extent. The copper industry is officially dead. And while there is a bit of nostalgia attached to the old copper smelter that has called el paso home for more than 120 years, I'm happy that the city can finally move away from an old industry that hurt the community more than it helped. My hats off to you asarco, you put up a good fight. RIP.

More info here.

tales of smelting and rehab

Well, the city got a big kick in the nards yesterday. Everyone remember the monster copper smelter that looms over my neighborhood? The TCEQ decided to grant them the air permit. You can read about it here. And while I know the fight isn't over, I've vowed to pack it all up and move back to chicago if the smelter fires up again. I guess we'll try to make the best of it and pray for the next year & a half. We have certain obligations we're stuck in, so it wouldn't be feasible before then. Of course, if the city can somehow shut them down for good I'd be happy to stay. I'm not holding my breath though. I thought this was in the bag.. Whatever.

In happier news, I dug out a picture of our project house for your enjoyment. It's hard to see some of the finer points of this home, but the exterior was actually in decent condition compared to the inside. The original red brick has been painted which is a major bummer. We briefly contemplated somehow trying to strip the paint off, but this would blow our timeframe and probably the budget. I've read several articles that account the ills of trying to sandblast or even powerwash painted brick. So we ain't going there. Painting brick is a major no-no, but we'll try to make do the best we can. Alot of the paint is brittle and lifted off the brick, so some scraping should help get some of it off. I've heard water based paints allow water vapor to pass through. If you use an oil based paint you run the risk of trapping moisture and accelerating the wear & tear of the brick. Forget where I read that and what the difference is to masonry paint. We still haven't decided on color although we have been looking at the sherwin williams arts & crafts pallete. It's kind of hard to choose, as I think it's easier to pick colors for a wood shingle home than a brick home. Specifically when the brick has to be painted. For some reason it's really easy to make a brick home look tacky if you get too crazy on the body color. We'll try and go for something earthy and subtle. Not sure yet, that's lower on the priority list.

The iron bars are coming down which will reveal some of the few original windows left. It's kind of hard to see in the pic, but they're nice prarie style sashes. We're still trying to hunt down some sashes for the upstairs windows, but have had little luck. We're still looking at a few options, including having them custom made. They're a little hard to find simply because of the size of these bad boys, 52" x 66". We're also lucky to have the original sashes in the bay window dining room. The rest of the windows will be replaced with a vinyl prarie style design. I know vinyl windows are a dirty word to most house bloggers, but trust me when I say they look 10 times better than the aluminum crap that's there now. I'll try and dig up some before pics from the inside.. :)

Stand against ASARCO

They say a picture's worth a thousand words. I sure hope so. There was a demonstration today to photograph protesters at the foot of the Asarco smelter to put in the hands of the governor. Many hope this will help sway the reopening of this environmental hazard in the community's favor. It was great to see many people from my neighborhood and the surrounding area at the rally.

The local copper smelter has been a part of this city's existence for the last 120 or so years. It helped spur it's rapid growth, but as the community grew so did the health dangers literally in their backyard. My neighborhood is situated in the shadow of one of the tallest smokestacks in the world. The smelter has been closed down since the 90's. However, the community is in danger once again as Asarco is seeking to regain permission to start up operations this fall. For those of you who haven't seen this monolith, it is huge. And it is equally out of place in the middle of an international community of 3 million people. Hopefully the TCEQ (which will be ruling on this issue) will vote in favor of the community. Our livelihoods and the positive momentum of the region depends on it.

More info about the rally HERE.