EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) —  Following widespread neighborhood concerns first reported by KTSM 9 News on Friday, residents of the Montana Vista area came face-to-face with developers of the proposed “Pecos West” transmission line project on Saturday morning, May 9 during a community meeting held at the Montana Vista Community Center.

The multi-million dollar project, spearheaded by power grid developer Grid United, aims to build a massive transmission line connecting the El Paso area to southeastern New Mexico.

While developers tout the project as a crucial link to prevent grid bottlenecks, families living in the path of the proposed line continue to voice mounting frustration and distrust over how the land acquisition is being handled.

On Friday, Grid United released a statement to KTSM insisting their one-on-one land negotiations were conducted out of respect for private property rights. But at Saturday’s community gathering, residents and advocates made it clear they aren’t buying it.

“People are afraid. I’m not afraid. I’m angry,” said Armando Rodriguez, president of the Union of Montana Vista Landowners, who previously said that developers had been quietly approaching his neighbors for months with varying buyout offers.

Only about a dozen residents and advocates attended the weekend meeting, but they loudly questioned why the company spent the past year approaching landowners individually rather than addressing the community as a whole. 

During the exchange, project officials admitted they have already acquired about 50 percent of the properties in the impacted area. Grid United later clarified to KTSM that the exact number fluctuates frequently, just like the proposed route.

Community organizers argued that the company’s isolated approach leaves residents vulnerable and misinformed.

“When a company like this turns up and says, ‘We’re going to buy your property.’ We must ensure that community members understand that they have the right to say no, or that they have the right to negotiate a higher value,” said Veronica Carbajal, an organizer with the Sembrando Esperanza Coalition.

Carbajal highlighted that the lack of widespread notification and a standardized compensation formula is creating deep unease.

“They’ve already bought properties, but they have not established notification to every resident that will be impacted, nor have they set up a formula for compensation,” Carbajal said. “So what we can see online through the title transfers is that there is a very wide distinction between how much people are being paid. We don’t want the community to be divided. We also want people to understand that this is voluntary. They do not have to sell if they don’t want to.”

A major point of contention at Saturday’s meeting was the threat of eminent domain. Grid United explained that, as a private company, they do not possess eminent domain authority, insisting that if a landowner refuses to sell, the company will simply find an alternative route.

“At Pecos West we’re very landowner-first approach,” said Alexis Marquez, Pecos West community relations manager. “So if a landowner does not want (the transmission line) on the property, then we would find alternative routes.”

But Rodriguez remains highly skeptical that the developers would simply walk away from targeted plots.

“A corporation as big as you, a multi-million dollar corporation, I find it hard to believe that you would invest money into something this big and just walk away if the family said, ‘No, I don’t want to sell it,’” Rodriguez told officials during the meeting. “The question is: Are you really serious about what you’re saying here? Or is this just another dog and pony show?”

Project leaders conceded they need to adjust their efforts in engaging and informing the community, promising more meetings to come. However, residents emphasized that trust is currently broken and will only be rebuilt with concrete action.

El Paso County Commissioner Jackie Butler, who helped organize the meeting, said the County has no power to halt the proposed project, but she said she has been communicating with project officials and is trying to connect them with community advocacy organizations. 

“I learned very quickly that the County does not have any authority or permitting process to stop these kinds of projects. And so that’s when I started connecting Pecos West to community members so that they could get directly involved,” Butler said. “My questions to Pecos West have been, Why do you have to come through our community? And even if you have to build through our region, you should go around it.” 

Moving forward, the residents in attendance made it clear they do not intend to sell their property. They are demanding Grid United bring all impacted neighbors to the table as a collective before any more land is purchased.

If the project continues to move forward, construction is not expected to begin until the mid-2030s.

Phoebe Bridgers played her first solo show in three years on Friday night at The Liberty in Roswell, New Mexico. And if reports are to be believed, the singer’s next album/creative era could truly be out of this world.

The intimate, 13-song set at the 400-capacity venue served as Bridgers’ first solo performance since May 2023 when she opened for Taylor Swift at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium. According to posts from several attendees, Bridgers described the evening (which strictly forbid all recording devices) as a “test” for her third album (and follow-up to 2020’s excellent Punisher).

In addition to hits like “Motion Sickness” and “Kyoto,” Bridgers debuted three to four new songs. One attendee described the new music, which included one track tentatively-titled “This is Gonna Kill Me,” as “very sad folk.” Harmonica arrangements were also featured prominently across the new music, provided by Christian Lee Hutson, who served as part of Bridgers’ band.

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Reddit user BSismyname said that the “new songs sounded f**king great and also very sad.” They also mentioned that at least one song might be about Bridgers’ much-publicized relationship with Bo Burnham, and another number detailed the death of her father from just a couple years ago. The Burnham song supposedly also made lyrical references to watching movies on the couch (Bridgers is set to make her acting debut this fall in the A24 crime drama Primetime alongside Robert Pattinson).

Musically speaking, though, one of the biggest takeaways was less to do with the song’s respective subject matter and more to do with Bridgers’ performance. The phoebe daily X/Twitter account reported that during the show, Bridgers “experimented with new vocal techniques.” In further describing those same techniques, BSismyname said that Bridgers was “more ‘on her voice,’” and that she sounded “less breathy and with more power.” However, BSismyname said that the largest difference is the overall “atmosphere” facilitated by this new smattering of music.

The word “atmosphere” also carried some extra weight given everything surrounding the show. The venue was decorated with neon-colored alien imagery, including a large banner/mural on the stage. Several pieces of merch also featured similar alien imagery and iconography, and there was at least one song with even more celestial references (“Now I can’t see any stars in the sky/When a dream comes true, a fantasy dies”). And if aliens/space aren’t a theme, why else would Bridgers return at a venue in Roswell, New Mexico?

While there wasn’t any official word on an album title or a release date for this new music, many attendees did leave with one special gift. Those who chose to store their phones in Yondr pouches at the show were gifted a card that could be “combined to make up the artwork for Bridgers’ next release” ( either a single or the album proper). Similar imagery depicted on the cards were also featured on certain pieces of merch.

Part of the reason for Bridgers’ solo “absence” was her work with boygenius (her indie supergroup with Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus). After debuting in 2018, and then undergoing a hiatus, the trio spent much of 2023 touring and promoting The Record. Boygenius, however, then returned to the shelves with their indefinite hiatus in October 2023.

Below, check out the full setlist and some accompanying photos of the merch and puzzle pieces. In the meantime, keep watching the heavens and stay tuned for more announcements as they come.

Phoebe Bridgers at The Liberty on May 8th Setlist:
Motion Sickness
Garden Song
Kyoto
Moon Song
Funeral
“Chinese Satellite
**Four New Songs**
Scott Street
Graceland Too
I Know The End

Os fãs receberam esse card!!! 🚨🚨🚨 pic.twitter.com/lYy3y8qWVp

— Phoebe Bridgers Brasil (@pbridgersbrasil) May 9, 2026

setlist for phoebe bridgers’ first show of 2026!! pic.twitter.com/O3ISotGbOx

— SITA (@raspberhrriies) May 9, 2026

🎙️Merch from tonights show includes new lyrics!

”Now I can’t see any stars in the sky
When a dream comes true, a fantasy dies”

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”But we’re gonna be alright, me and you” https://t.co/92tzjyHeQ8

— phoebe daily (@sourcebridgers) May 9, 2026

MORE NEW MERCH!! pic.twitter.com/ILEHJdUaQV

— phoebe daily (@sourcebridgers) May 9, 2026