ABC-7 Listens: 02.07.16

big cost. a cost not everyone believes the city should take on. rick cabrera explains in abc-7 listens. the city of philadelphia spent more than 17 million dollars on the pope’s visit last year. he was there 3 days. he’ll be in el paso zero days … but there will still be a cost. “just wondered about the city spending $1m on the pope’s visit. i can see the need for control of highways, but $1m? “i’m also wondering abou spending taxpayer money for a religious event. “separation of church and state??? what do you think?” hector i’m sure the first thing officials would say is … the money isn’t being spent on a religious event … but on security and the safety of citizens. as for the 1 million dollars … we’ve been told that will go toward staffing, overtime, supplies, equipment, extra security, signage and barricades. if you’re wondering … with so few people in south el paso … why police can’t principally deploy existing resources to handle the situation … police have said they must be in place handle a crowd or an emergency. jon also has separation of church and state on his mind. “now that the schools have shut down for a religious event i shouldn’t hear any negative comments about someone or a ball team praying at school or prior to a game or event. “the cit leadership has really been disappointing leading up to this event. el paso deserves better. “i’m embarrassed to say i live in this city. sad!!!” clint and canutillo are the only local school districts not closing on february 17th. to our knowledge … no school district is encouraging their students to attend … which would certainly bring the separation of church and state into question. the school districts instead cited things like … attendance, loss of funding, access to the schools, the availability of substitute teachers and of course safety. rick cabrera. abc-7 listens. the death toll is rising after an earthquake in