Why is El Paso in a different time zone?

TEX-ARCANAAlthough origin of setup unclear, locals are satisfied

It makes sense that El Paso remains the only major Texas city in a different time zone than the rest of the state.

After all, it's closer to San Diego than to Houston and a community without much trace of a Texan accent.

"We actually like being on a different time zone because it's one less hour a day to deal with people in the other parts of Texas," quipped state Rep. Joe Pickett, D-El Paso.

Other Texans can joke about El Paso being stranded behind the times but, "We wouldn't change it," Pickett said.

The community's business partners across the river in Juarez, Mexico, and across the state line in Las Cruces, N.M., make it easier to conduct commerce when everyone is living with the same clock.

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Pickett, a frequent traveler to the state Capitol in Austin, likes the fact that he can get home quicker.

"It takes me an hour and a half to get to Austin, and it only takes me 30 minutes to come home," he said.

Imaginary lines (called meridian) running north to south around the globe are the basis for the various time zones, which are separated by one-hour time differences.

Pickett is not sure when El Paso landed in the Rocky Mountain time zone.

"There must be some arcane beginning — probably before the dawn of time," he joked.

El Paso's place in a different time zone also appears to isolate the community to such an extent that people speak without a Texas accent.

And that can be a good thing, Pickett said.

"When we go to legislative conferences in other states, I have been asked to translate for my other Texas colleagues because (legislators in other states) find out I'm from Texas and I speak normal," Pickett said. "People from El Paso who are Texans through-and-through can bridge the gap with the rest of the country."