Mon, Jul 06, 2009
 Myrna Membrila 
Jorgensen Brooks Group Counselor Mechanical Komatsu Equipment Co Resident Field Mechanic Administrative & Professional Tucson Urban League CEO/President Finance and Accounting Charles E. Gillman Company Accounting Specialist Trades/Construction RANCHO RESORT MAINTANANCE POSITION Sales and Marketing Everready Glass Sales Reps Tucson RegionLOCAL CONNECTIONS
KGUN anchor misses peaks near El Pasoarizona daily star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 09.23.2007
Since 2005, Myrna Membrila has held the weekend anchor spot for the KGUN 9 News Team, coming to the Old Pueblo from El Paso where she was an award-winning reporter focusing on border issues.
But despite her success and prominence, Membrila says she came to Tucson with a "heavy heart," having to say goodbye to her family, the Franklin Mountains, quality Mexican food and the beautiful people of El Paso.
Fortunately, in Tucson, she found the beautiful Catalina Mountains, quality Mexican food and plenty of beautiful people.
She took a few minutes to talk about all things Tucson and El Paso:
Q. Some people, including my editor, have argued that El Paso is too close to Tucson to count as a news-from-home profile. Now's your chance to prove them wrong.
A. Well, that may be true. The one interesting thing is that I am closer to home working two states away than if I were working in Dallas.
Q. But that just means Texas is big. Certainly, Tucson and El Paso aren't interchangeable?
A. It's a world of difference. It may not be physically far from home, but it is different. I love the desert. I grew up in the desert, but over there we don't have saguaros.
Q. Plus, we've got more heat, right? What would Tucson be without its heat? We wouldn't get to compare the Old Pueblo with more humid places or just have an 'out' to complain for the sake of complaining.
A. It is hot here. El Paso is hot, and it's hotter here. It is a stifling heat. The minute you walk out the door you feel like you are in an oven.
Q. In your KGUN 9 bio you say you miss the Franklin Mountains in El Paso, but our mountains aren't too shabby. Have they made you feel more at home?
A. (The Catalinas) are prettier, they are taller, they are more massive. The Franklin Mountains in El Paso are 3,000 feet.
Q. The border literally cuts through El Paso. Whereas here, we're a stone's throw away. Do you see Tucson as a border town?
A. Here's the difference: El Paso is 80 percent Hispanic. Everywhere you go in El Paso you hear people speaking English and Spanish. The border runs through El Paso. Right through the middle of the town. Here, you have to drive 45 minutes.
Q. What's the coolest thing in Tucson?
A. The plane boneyard (at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base). I love it. My father is a retired air-traffic controller, so I grew up around planes. The boneyard is just cool. It makes me smile.
● Contact Josh Brodesky: 807-7789; jbrodesky@azstarnet.com.
|
|
