On October 29th County Judge Ricardo Samaniego issued an order closing all non-essential businesses in El Paso. That order is set to expire on Thursday, November 12th.

We spoke to Judge Samaniego this morning during the El Paso hour of the Buzz Adams Morning Show. We asked him directly (and more than once) about whether the shut-down order will be extended. While avoiding a direct answer to the question, it seems the shut-down WILL be extended.

Judge Samaniego, responding to the question about the shut-down, reiterated that a state district court judge ruled that his order IS valid AND that people in El Paso have not, since the 29th, respected the order. Also, the judge cited infection rates much in excess of guideline protocols.

The gist of this is that, without actually saying so, Samaniego laid out his case for extending the shut-down. Although none of this is official, I would say there is a more than strong likelihood that the closure order WILL be extended or renewed.

Don’t expect that to be the last word, however. A group of business (mostly bar and restaurant) owners are appealing Judge Moody’s ruling upholding Samaniego’s order. The coalition of business owners argue that Samaniego’s order is illegal because it goes against Governor Greg Abbott’s order earlier in October reopening Texas businesses.

I don’t rule out the possibility that the order WON’T be extended until the legal objections have been fully shut down. A major part of Samaniego’s position during our interview that people had NOT been abiding by the shut-down. It’s possible Samaniego will want to wait until there is NO challenge to his order before issuing an extension or an all-new order. However, lawyer’s on his staff contend that his order IS legal and enforceable. If I had to lay odds, I would guess that the non-essential shutdown will continue past Thursday.

Also, Samaniego told us that hair salons that he and his wife own DID NOT remain open in defiance of his own order, despite accusations to the contrary on social media.

Here’s the audio from our interview this morning with County Judge Ricardo Samaniego.

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