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Issue - The Austin Chronicle
June 18, 2021                                                                        VOl. 40 • NO. 42

              I n   P a r t n e r s h I P   w I t h   a u s t I n   F C                                        s P e C I a l   M a t C h d a y   I n s e r t   I n s I d e
l e G e n d

                                                                                                                               AUSTIN FC
                                                                                                              Issue
t h e
G r o w

              listos
                    t h e S t a d i u m /// t h e G a m e /// t h e F a n d o m /// t h e t e a m   auStinchronicle.com / auStin - Fc
Issue - The Austin Chronicle
ONLINe THIS WeeK
                                                         juNe 18, 2021
                                                         VoL. 40, No. 42                                                                  Legendary Lewks Capital City Ball and Austin
                                                                                                                                          Black Pride brought the ballroom to Highland Lounge
                                                                                                                                          on Friday, June 11, as part of ABP’s weeklong Pride
                                                         Cover Story: The Austin FC Issue
                         PUBLISHER Nick Barbaro
              aSSocIatE PUBLISHER Cassidy Frazier                                                                                         celebration. See Jana Birchum’s photo gallery online
                               EDITORIal                                                                                                  at austinchronicle.com/photos.
                       EdItoR Kimberley Jones
             managIng EdItoR James Renovitch
                                                          find our speciAL
               nEwS EdItoR Mike Clark-Madison             mAtch dAy insert                                                                Moontower CoMedy drops Lineup Austin’s pre-
aSSIStant nEwS & QmmUnIty EdItoR Beth Sullivan            inside                                                                          mier comedy festival is back – and celebrating its 10th
                            aRtS Robert Faires
                              food Jessi Cape                                                                                             anniversary, no less – for a new calendar slot in
                     ScREEnS Richard Whittaker
                       mUSIc Raoul Hernandez                                                                                              September. Just announced headliners include
                    EvEnT lIsTIngs                                                                                                        Margaret Cho, Dave Attell, Bob the Drag Queen,
       SPEcIaL ScREEnIngS & commUnIty LIStIngS
                                       Kat McNevins                                                                                       Leanne Morgan, and Jacqueline Novak.                                                                  Jana Birchum
                      aRtS LIStIngS & food EvEntS
                                Wayne Alan Brenner
                            cLUB LIStIngS Greg Stitt                                                                                                                             austin MusiC Bridging Borders Kevin Curtin interviews Project ATX6
                    sTaff wRITERs                                                                                                                                                creator and filmmaker Chris Brecht about the ongoing music cultural
                       Kevin Curtin, Austin Sanders
  COnTRIbuTIng wRITERs                                                                                                                                                           exchange program and the documentary keeping tabs on it.
                        fILm Marjorie Baumgarten
                      day tRIPS Gerald E. McLeod
                faStER tHan SoUnd Rachel Rascoe
                                                         cover by zeke barbaro
                                                               / photo by david
                                                                                                                                                                                 Bird FLies HigH UK songwriter Jade Bird crowns her new Austinite status with
                  tHE vERdE REPoRt Eric Goodman
                                   BEER Eric Puga                 brendan hall                                                                                                   – what else? – an Austin City Limits taping. Doug Freeman reviews the show.
                 mR. SmaRty PantS R.U. Steinberg
                          PRODuCTIOn                                                                                                                                             grande daMe gets Her CLose-up Screens Editor Richard Whittaker
                                                          4 Feedback                             26 Food
        PRodUctIon / aRt dIREctoR Zeke Barbaro
         wEB / dIgItaL dIREctoR Michael Bartnett                                                                                                                                 speaks with director Mariem Pérez Riera about what it was like profiling a
                     wEB conSULtant Brian Barry
     gRaPHIc dESIgnERS Pedro Diniz, Jeff Gammill                                                                                                                                 giant of stage and screen in her documentary Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who
Staff PHotogRaPHERS John Anderson, Jana Birchum,          5 opinion We Must Not Turn             26 Like fAther Like LAger                                                       Decided to Go for It.
                                  David Brendan Hall          Back the Clock on Voting               Beer industry dads discuss
         PRoofREadERS Lina Fisher, Jasmine Lane,              Rights by tom lopach and               their favorite crispy boi lagers
                          James Scott, Greg Stitt
       IntERnS Ramon Rodriguez, Monica Salazar,               val benavidez                          by eric puga                                                                FiLM FestivaL Fever Catch up with film reviews from Cine Las Americas,
           Courtney Song, Morgan-Taylor Thomas,
                                                                                                 29 food news buffet                                                             the Austin Asian American Film Festival, and New York’s Tribeca Festival.
                  Hannah Williford, Avery Wohleb
                     aDvERTIsIng &                        6 News                                     by wayne alan brenner                DaviD BrenDan hall

                                                                                                 30 Screens
                       maRkETIng
            advERtISIng dIREctoR Cassidy Frazier          6 Austin At LArge                                                                 Everywhere you want to be in Austin:   Austinchronicle.com/events
             oPERatIonS managER Trace Thurman                 by mike clark-madison
        SEnIoR accoUnt ExEcUtIvES Jerald Corder,
                     Carolyn Phillips, Lois Richwine      8 pubLic notice                        30 movie reviews All Light,
                accoUnt ExEcUtIvES David Kleppe,              by nick barbaro                        Everywhere; Gaia; The Hitman’s
                Marisa Mirabal, Gloria Williamson                                                    Wife’s Bodyguard; The House Next
          cLaSSIfIEdS/LEgaL notIcES Bobby Leath               civics 101                             Door: Meet the Blacks 2; Luca;
    EvEntS & PRomotIonS managER Karena Rogers
                                                         10   Bloody Sixth; Women’s Jail;            Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway; Rita

                                                                                                                                                    The ausTin chronicle’s online
LUv doc/cIRcULatIon/SPEcIaL EvEntS Dan Hardick
         natIonaL advERtISIng Voice Media Group               Camp Sweeps; more                      Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided

                                                                                                                                                   St re
       (888/278-9866, www.vmgadvertising.com)                                                        to Go for It; The Sparks Brothers,
                        OffICE sTaff
                                                         14 bikin’ down the highwAy                  Truman & Tennessee: An Intimate
                                                              Will TxDOT’s plans for Loop            Conversation
                         contRoLLER Liz Franklin
                                                              360 leave cyclists and pedes-
     offIcE managER/SUBScRIPtIonS Carrie Young
                      cREdIt managER Cindy Soo                trians in the dust?                36 showtimes
            accoUntIng aSSIStant Chelsea Taylor               by benton graham                   37 speciAL screenings
                          Info dESk Zach Pearce
        SyStEmS admInIStRatoR Brandon Watkins
          HItman’S wIfE’S BodygUaRd’S dog Hank
          woRkIng on maRIo kaRt coSPLay Smiley
                                                         16 Calendar                             38 Music
                         CIRCulaTIOn                     17 qmmunity       by beth sullivan      38 fAster thAn sound
         Perry Drake, Tom Fairchild, Ruben Flores,                                                   by rachel rascoe

                                                         18 Arts&Culture
  Andrew Gerfers, Brandon Gonzales, Trey Gutierrez,
   Brad Jander, Suzette Johnson, Brooks Lumpkin,
  Eric McKinney, Grant Melcher, James Meshbane,
                                                                                                 40 gArden of ALL creAtivity
           Norm Reed, Jonina Sims, Bill Smotrilla,                                                   Bands practice anew, but does
                  Zeb Sommers, Bryan Zirkelbach          18 bring A new story to the                 Austin have enough rehearsal
                                                                                                     space? by kevin curtin
                     COnTRIbuTORs                           tAbLe Michener Center alum
 Rob Brezsny, Steve Davis, Benton Graham, Doug
                                      Freeman,                Nathan Harris pens a surpris-      41 mArk jensen, 1968-2021
 Ryan Hennessee, Sam Hurt, Abby Johnston, Josh                ingly intimate tale of the Civil       ABGB co-founder was commu-
                     Kupecki, Matthew Monagle,                War in The Sweetness of Water          nity-committed and generous
  Marc Savlov, Kahron Spearman, Tom Tomorrow,                 by robert faires                       to musicians by kevin curtin
                                   Derek Udensi
                                                         20 Arts review “Balm:                   42 pL-AtX List UK trance legend
                                                              Paintings by Bradley Kerl”             Paul Oakenfold spins vinyl at
                                                                                                     Astro, Lukas Nelson & Promise
                                                            Arts events                              of the Real’s new LP puts them A
                                                         23 community events                         Few Stars Apart; plus more
                                                            dAy trips                            44 Live music + streAming
                                                              by gerald e. mcleod                   events by greg stitt
                                                         24 juneteenth events
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2      THE AUSTIN CHRONICLE JUNE 18, 2021 austinchronicle.com
Issue - The Austin Chronicle
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Issue - The Austin Chronicle
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                                      Schedule SucceSS                                          I often have the feeling the idiots in charge         texaS’ true leGacy
                                                                                              (not the IT staff, I mean the City Council) are
                                      Dear Editor,                                            purposely evasive and obtuse hiding behind              Dear Editor,
                                         Re: your story on the problems with the City         their endless studies while the information                Yet another piece on the historical and cultur-
                                      of Austin website [“hellsite.austin.gov,” News,         remains totally untransparent. This affects all of      al heritage of Austin communities that doesn’t
                                      June 11], thought I would share my experience.          us as we cannot navigate a website that is              even mention Mexican Americans! [“City Seeks
                                      In March of 2020 went on austintexas.gov/               redundant and non-functional.                           to Break the Rich, White ‘Historic’ Mold,” News,
                                      covid19 to schedule a COVID test. Took me to              Take a look at NYC.gov. Perfect navigation,           June 11] One good way of working toward equity
                                      APH site where I answered evaluation questions          easy to use, easy to find anything.                     and making amends for their displacement
                                      to see if I needed to be tested. My answers               When I went to search for Sanitation                  because of gentrification is by preserving Palm
                                      said yes, need to test. Then was able to sched-         Department, logical if I want to file a health          School. For decades the students and the near-
                                      ule an appointment in two or three days at con-         complaint against my landlord, hours later I            by residents were mostly of Mexican descent,
                                      venient location, got the COVID test and then           couldn’t find the right email and department on         and an excellent way to preserve their communi-
                                      two days later got an email from APH with the           Austin.gov’s website.                                   ty and cultural memories would be to keep doc-
                                      results – negative. Did the same thing in August          Again, thank you for this article.                    uments, photos, etc. in a museum in the Palm
                                      for a second test. So, for scheduling a COVID                                                 Elise Krentzel    building. Hopefully some day the Texas school
                                      test, the City website worked very well for me.                                                                 textbooks will cover the true legacy of Texas,
                                                                         Russell Harding                                                              which consists of much brutality and land grab.
                                                                                              Gotta luv the doc                                                                         Anita Quintanilla
                                      hellSite hardShipS                                      Dear Editor,
                                                                                                 I have read the Austin Chronicle forever and
                                      Dear Editor,                                            never gave the Luv Doc a second thought.
                                         The article was so thoroughly researched and         Sounded goofy to me. Then I read a letter in                u p dat e d da i ly
                                      well written as always bravo. [“hellsite.austin.gov,”   “Feedback” a few weeks ago from someone                     ------------------- at -------------------
                                      News, June 11] Excellent quality. I’m originally from   who said the Luv Doc was their favorite feature.
                                      NYC via Europe and have been in this town for 10
                                      years. Each time I go on that website I’m lost, frus-
                                                                                              So I started reading it. And guess what – it’s my           austinchronicle.com/postmarks
                                                                                              favorite feature, too! Don’t let him get away.
                                      trated, confused or angry, especially during COVID.                                           Tom Thornell

4   THE AUSTIN CHRONICLE JUNE 18, 2021 austinchronicle.com
Issue - The Austin Chronicle
OpiniOn                             Voices from the community

We Must Not turN Back the clock oN VotiNg rights
   The country watched as Democratic             create new bureaucratic rules that make it
Texas lawmakers walked out of a legis-           harder for disabled Texans to vote.
lative session in protest of an extreme             Frankly, this bill is a throwback to the
anti-voter bill. While this action halted the    Jim Crow era when Texas had a number of
assault on voting rights temporarily, Gov.       laws that prevented Black people, especial-
Greg Abbott has already threatened to call       ly Black women, from freely voting. Let’s
a special legislative session on what he         not return to those evil days.
calls “election integrity.”                         The fact is, the steps taken to expand
   Let’s make no mistake: “Election integ-       voting during the pandemic resulted in
rity” is simply an excuse to pass draconian      Republicans and Democrats alike vot-
restrictions to suppress access to voting        ing in record numbers. Nearly 10 million
for some Texans. The truth is that the           Texans, over half of all registered voters,
proposed bill, Senate Bill 7, would add          cast their ballot early, either by mail or in
new barriers that would disproportionately       person. Turnout was up across the state, in
affect Black and brown communities, as           almost all 254 counties, from small, rural
well as disabled Texans.                                areas like Mason County to fast-grow-
   This isn’t the way democracy is                        ing suburbs outside of Houston
supposed to work.                           by Tom         and Dallas.
   Last year, election officials         L opach a n d         That’s democracy at work.
across the country introduced new                           Parties should be competing to
initiatives, like drive-through vot-     VaL benaVidez win more votes, not working to
ing and mail ballots, that allowed                        keep voting down.
for an unprecedented increase in                           But the proposed restrictions in
voter engagement amid a deadly pandemic.         Texas are part of a nationwide effort to
Local leaders also implemented extraordi-        disenfranchise voters in the wake of the
nary measures to ensure a safe and secure        2020 election. State lawmakers across the
election. The state then shattered voting        country have introduced more than 360
records, posting the highest turnout record-     bills to make voting harder. Enacting these
ed in nearly 30 years while drawing in           harmful voter suppression laws that tar-
an electorate that was younger and more          get the New American Majority – people
diverse. Americans of all political stripes      of color, young people, and unmarried
should be proud.                                 women – is disgraceful, unwarranted, and
   This voting surge happened despite            undemocratic.
last-minute efforts by state leaders to make        The U.S. Congress should immediately
voting harder. Gov. Abbott even made             pass legislation like the For the People Act or
the unnecessary decision to limit secure,        the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement
absentee drop boxes to one per county,           Act to make sure every legal citizen has
regardless of a county’s size. If only these     access to the ballot box. Instead of state
state leaders had put as much effort into        lawmakers attempting to jam through dan-
trying to suppress a pandemic that has           gerous restrictions to voting, they should
killed tens of thousands of Texans as they       be embracing the fundamental principles
are into trying to suppress the vote.            behind these two crucial bills.
   SB 7 goes even further. The current ver-         The overwhelming success of the 2020
sion would ban 24-hour voting centers and        election demonstrated that Texas can
drive-through voting. These provisions will      expand voting access while conducting a
make voting harder and lines longer, partic-     fair, secure, and safe election. Gov. Abbott
ularly in large urban counties where many        should not turn back the clock on voting
Black and brown Texans live. Another             rights in the Lone Star State but instead
provision would restrict early voting on         should create a future where more and
Sundays, threatening “souls to the polls”        more Texans can exercise their right to

                                                                                                      Need Money Now?
efforts which encourage Black churchgoers        vote and make their voices heard without
to vote after service. And the bills even        undue barriers.                              n

    Tom Lopach is president and CEO of the nonprofit, nonpartisan Voter Participation Center and
   Center for Voter Information. Val Benavidez is the president and executive director of the Texas
                                                                                                        We can help! Apply at
                                                               Freedom Network and Texas Rising.      goldstarfinancetexas.com              Call: 512-428-4304
                                                                                                      We like to say... YES!
         The Chronicle welcomes submissions of opinion pieces on any topic from the community.
                                Find guidelines and tips at austinchronicle.com/contact/opinion.
                                                                                                                                            1923 E. 7th Street

                                                                                                              austinchronicle.com JUNE 18, 2021 THE AUSTIN CHRONICLE   5
Issue - The Austin Chronicle
News
                                                                                                                                                                   QuotE of thE WEEk
                                                                         “Doug Kantor was killed at the hand of two juveniles who had guns they should never have had.
                                                                                                                          We cannot police ourselves out of this crisis.”
                                                                              – Mayor Steve Adler, in the wake of last weekend’s Sixth Street shooting that killed Doug Kantor, left 13 others injured (see p.10)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                           John Anderson

                                                                                                                                                                                 hEAdliNEs
     (l-r) Capital Metro Pickup Program Manager James Bush, Council Member Leslie
     Pool’s Chief of Staff Louisa Brinsmade, and Cap Metro CEO and President Randy                                                                                              The home PiTch Austin’s Major League Soccer team,
     Clarke cut the ribbon at a June 14 ceremony celebrating the expansion of the transit                                                                                       Austin FC, kicks off its first-ever home game at Q2
     agency’s Pickup rideshare service in the Dessau neighborhood in North Austin. The                                                                                          Stadium this Saturday, June 19, against the San Jose
     launch marks the first milestone in Project Connect, Austin’s massive transit overhaul                                                                                     Earthquakes. The Chronicle has rounded up everything
     approved by voters last fall, which seeks in part to expand neighborhood circulators.                                                                                      you need to know about the stadium, game, and fan-
                                                                                                                                                                                dom in a special insert; check it out inside.

                                                                                                                                                                                JuneTeenTh in AusTin This year marks the first time
                                                                                                                                                                                Juneteenth (June 19) will be recognized as an official
                                                                                                                                                                                city holiday. Some city admin offices and facilities will
                                                                                                                                                                                close on Friday, June 18, including Austin Public Library
                                                                                                                                                                                branches and the Austin Animal Center. See Community
                                                                                                                                                                                listings on p.23 for Juneteenth events.

                                                                                                                                                                                VoTe AnoTher DAy The Travis County Commissioners
                                                                                                                                                                                Court voted to postpone indefinitely a vote on the
                                                                                                                                                                                design contract for a new women’s jail facility at the
                                                                                                                                                                                Travis County Correctional Complex, after hours of
                                                                                                                                                                                public comment on Tuesday, June 15. Commissioners
                                                                                                                                                                                approved a separate resolution directing staff to provide
                                                                                                                                                                                a report by Aug. 15 on how to update the 2015-16 needs
                                                                                                                                                                                analysis and master plan for Travis County’s jail facili-
                                                                                                                                                                                ties. See p.10.

                                                                                                                                                                                PuD yeAh!   City Council approved the planned unit
                                                                                                                                                                                development, or PUD, rezoning of the former
                                                                                                                                                                                Brackenridge Hospital campus Downtown, a key com-
                                                                                                                                                                                ponent of Austin’s emerging health and medicine
                                                                                                                                                                                Innovation District. The 14-acre site is owned by
                                                                                                                                                                                Central Health, the tax-supported agency providing
                                                                                                                                                                                healthcare access for low-income or uninsured residents.

                                                                                                                                                                                There’s no PlAce like AisD Austin ISD is hosting
                                                                                                                                                                                districtwide enrollment clinics through June 24 where

hit Me With Your Worst shot
                                                                                                                                                           John Anderson        families can receive help in enrolling their child in any
                                                                                                                                                                                campus or any grade for the 2021-22 school year. The
                                                                                                                                                                                clinics are part of Operation Reconnect, AISD’s cam-
                                                                                                                                                                                paign to reconnect with unenrolled students.

Doesn’t this weekend’s carnage illustrate exactly why policing as usual isn’t enough?                                                                                           Dems of The rounD TAble State Rep. Gina Hinojosa,
                                                                                                                                                                                D-Austin, was among a contingency of Texas
   At 8am on Saturday, as much of Austin          to feel the same way. They clapped back                           County and pulled out weapons, heedless                     Democratic lawmakers who met with Vice President
had yet to awaken and learn that 14 people        at APA’s brutish and unseemly haste in                            of the cops all around them, and ineptly or                 Kamala Harris at the White House this week to discuss
had been shot on Sixth Street a few hours         inserting itself and its political agenda                         indifferently sent a dozen-plus bystanders                  voting rights. Following the defeat of voter suppression
earlier, the Austin Police Association was         into other people’s tragedies. But even                          to the hospital, one later to die, one unlikely             bill Senate Bill 7 last month, Texas Democrats have
ready for action on the social media                        more so, they called bullshit with a                    to ever walk again.                                         urged the passage of federal voting rights legislation.
front lines. “Austin is no longer                              quickness on the union and its
                                                                                                                    EvErybody Plays ThEir ParT                                  The PArks AheAD The Austin Parks & Recreation
the safe, fun and weird city it
used to be,” the union tweeted.             AustiN              allied coptivists for carping that
                                                                 Austin’s police force is under-                      I honestly have no beef, high school                      Department won a 2021 National Planning Excellence
“We want the safe Austin back,             At lArgE              staffed. East Sixth Street on a                    or otherwise, with APA President Ken                        Award from the American Planning Association for its
                                                                                                                                                                                Our Parks, Our Future Long-Range Plan, which guides
not this new one Council has                                     busy weekend may be the sin-                       Casaday, known to most everyone as “Box.”
created.” Later in the day, after
                                        by mik e cl a r k -      gle most heavily policed loca-                     His job is to advocate for the interests of                 the development of Austin’s park system.
bringing our coverage of the vio-          ma dis o n           tion in all of Texas, they noted;                   his organization and its members; those
lence up to date, I responded that                             any of the literally millions of peo-                interests include continuing to bring in                    fighTing hunger TogeTher Capital Metro has deliv-
this was “reprehensible bullshit,”                          ple who’ve dipped into Dirty Sixth                      new members. Thus, it will always be the                    ered 1 million meals through its meal delivery program
which it was, for reasons I don’t think real-      on such occasions can tell you that. Yet                         union’s position that Austin police staffing                with community partners. The public transit agency
ly need to be explained, do they?                 it appears two kids from Killeen brought                          needs to be set by formula and increase                     began the program at the start of the COVID-19 pan-
   Lots of other folks on the socials seemed      some high school beef down here from Bell                                                           continued on p.8
                                                                                                                                                                                demic to deliver food and supplies to those in need.

6   THE AUSTIN CHRONICLE JUNE 18, 2021 austinchronicle.com
Issue - The Austin Chronicle
austinchronicle.com JUNE 18, 2021 THE AUSTIN CHRONICLE   7
Issue - The Austin Chronicle
NEWs � arts & culture � food � screens � music

                                                                                                                                 I Say Regressive; You Say Progressive
Austin At LArge                continued from p.6
                                                               causes, because they’ve come to associate
automatically as the city grows. It would                      those complex dialogues with feeling per-
probably be impossible for Casaday to advo-                    sonally disrespected. But what else should
cate otherwise even if he wanted to, lest he                   we talk about here? Did you think these                           Wherein Hizzoner gets to rebut my last column
lose the confidence of his members. The                        kids were corrupted by critical race theory?
Austin Police Department is itself the size                    Did I ask already why they had guns?                                 I spent much of last week’s column blast-         (and business owners) as opposed to work-
of Austin High School, and bigger than                                                                                           ing the proposed doubling of the city home-          ers. And, finally, that the additional property
some towns in Travis County; as you often                      WE’vE all GoT Work To do                                          stead exemption as a “hugely regressive”             tax shifted to non-homestead residential …
read in these pages, it has lots of politics                      In any event, a heavy show of force did                        policy under which ”by far the biggest share         would not really be passed through to ten-
and cliques and dirty laundry and gossip.                      nothing to prevent a mass shooting. The                           of the benefit goes to the wealthiest people,        ants [in Austin’s real estate market].”
   A goal of “2.0 staffing” – two sworn offi-                  officers on the scene followed APD policy                         in the most expensive homes.” As expected,               Fair enough, and I do appreciate the con-
cers per 1,000 Austinites – is thus a simple                   and rendered aid to the wounded, and lives                        City Council passed the exemption hike               text, and your reasoned vote, and the attached
rallying cry for a police force that has yet                   were saved. That doesn’t always happen,                           (unanimously), and the following day, Mayor          research (see this story online), but on the
to really square up against the more com-                      even in Austin, as we’ve reported; a bill                         Steve Adler, who had been one of the more            other hand the regressive/progressive scale
plex and sophisticated goals of those who                      making it a duty under state law sits on the                      stalwart proponents of the move, sent me a           is a continuum. Of all the things the city
it now sees as its political foes. Casaday                     governor’s desk, weakened in transit by the                       very nice and very detailed note explaining          charges money for, or spends money on, not
kinda moved the goal posts a bit later in                      police lobby of which APA is a component.                         his vote and challenging my characteri-                     a single one is indexed to income. If you
the week when, responding to my last post                         With incidents like this, or like the mur-                     zation of it being “regressive.” So in                          go to a pool, turn on a light, pay a
about the shooting, he invited me on a                         der of Garrett Foster a year ago, we’re told                      the interest of fairness, I thought                                parking ticket or sales tax on your
ride-along: “Yes, Downtown was staffed at                      we must have enough police on hand to pro-                        I’d lay out that side this week.                     Public          lunch – everyone pays the same,
100%,” he tweeted. “If this incident would
have occurred anywhere else in Austin you
                                                               vide basic life support until paramedics can
                                                               traverse the crowds and reach the wounded
                                                                                                                                    Essentially, when you look at it
                                                                                                                                 in terms of a percentage of                          NoticE           and the poor person pays a
                                                                                                                                                                                                       hugely larger percentage of their
would have seen more dead and a much                           when the scene is secured. Would you be                           income, “A 20% general home-                   by ni ck               income on it than the rich per-
slower response time.” He could be right.                      shocked to know that other big cities have                        stead exemption saves a lower                                        son. That’s regressive. There’s
Does that mean we must hire more cops, or                      solved this problem, and their trained emer-                      income person .082% of their
                                                                                                                                                                               bar baro             one exception where the rich per-
could we better use the ones we have?                          gency medical services medics can timely                          income and a higher income person                               son pays more – at least in real dol-
   What went down on Dirty Sixth just                          reach disaster and crime scenes? Casaday’s                        about half of that, or only .047% of their                  lars, if not in percentage of income –
before last call on Saturday morning, in the                   counterpart at the EMS union, Selena Xie,                         income. The exemption is mildly progressive.”        and that’s property taxes. They may not be
eyes of both leaders and followers on the                      can tell you all about it. It’s a thing cities can                But also: “For me, the bigger benefit is in the      progressive, but they’re the least regressive
de-policing side of Austin’s debate, illus-                    do when they haven’t been forced to throw                         tax shift … from homestead property to com-          tool in the city’s fiscal tool box.
trates exactly why we need to talk about                       scarce dollars at arbitrary staffing formulas,                    mercial/industrial.” (That is, lower residential
public safety differently. “Reimagine” it,                     or else be vilified for “defunding the police.”                   taxes will be made up in higher taxes on non-            “Rogers-Washington-Holy Cross: Black Heri-
if you will. That would include needed                            What if, instead, we worked with bench-                        homestead properties.) That includes rental          tage, Living History” is Preservation Austin’s 2021
action well upstream of the commission of a                    marks (personnel, funding, geographic                             housing, but, he goes on, studies have shown         Virtual Homes Tour, celebrating Austin’s first historic
crime, an outbreak of violence, or a tactical                  coverage, response time) for the whole of                         that in housing markets such as Austin where         district honoring Black heritage, including the homes of
response from law enforcement. What’s up                       Austin’s first-response apparatus? The city                       supply is constrained, “an increase in proper-       Tuskegee Airman Norman Scales, former Huston-Tillot-
with these kids in Killeen? Why do they                        budget, as laid out under Spencer Cronk,                          ty taxes really is not the driver of rents.          son President Dr. John Quill Taylor King, Ira Poole “and
have guns? What beef could they have that                      gestures at doing this with its focus on a                           “On balance then, my equation was that            his iconic collection of yard art Americana,” and more.
rises to the level of gunplay? Why are they                    strategic “safety” outcome and identified                         an increase in the general property tax              It’s a video tour event, premiering Thursday, June 17, at
driving 60 miles to party while underage?                      performance indicators, but it could be a lot                     exemption would ‘mildly’ favor lower income          7pm; $20 for PA members, and $25 for nonmembers.
(OK, I did that too in high school, but not                    more robust if people outside Cronk’s office                      homeowners so would be mildly progressive.           See preservationaustin.org for full info on the effort to
with guns.) All that stuff.                                    – particularly in our police force – took such                    Importantly, there would be a tax shift that         diversify the history that gets preserved.               n
   Conservatives get their back up when                        considerations as seriously as this week-                         would fall on more affluent owners of non-             Send gossip, dirt, innuendo, rumors, and other
progressives talk about systems and root                       end’s bloodshed should warrant.                  n                residential commercial/industrial properties            useful grist to nbarbaro@austinchronicle.com.

 CIVICS 101
                                                  BlaCk austin Coalition Learn more about              inDivisiBle tX lege enD of session                 winter storm review task forCe                                      onGoinG
                                                  the city’s investment in a Black embassy. 6-8pm.     soCial The best and worst of the 87th Texas        Community members share their experiences
                                                  Huston-Tillotson University, 900 Chicon.             Legislature. 6-7:30pm. Online. Free.               during and in the aftermath of Winter Storm Uri.       aCC surPlus sale Office furniture and
                                                  blackaustincoalition.com.                            fb.com/indivisibletxlege.                          6-8pm. Videoconference. austintexas.gov.               classroom furniture and equipment. Through
                                                                                                                                                          tHe BlaCk farmer files kYmberly Keeton,                Sat., June 19, 8am-5pm. ACC Pinnacle parking
                                                        s aT u r day 6 / 1 9                                  T u E s day 6 /2 2                          librarian and archivist of the Austin History          lot, 7748 Hwy. 290 W. austincc.edu.
    bullETin board                                HornsBy BenD BirD walk All levels of                 travis County Commissioners Court
                                                                                                                                                          Center, presents on the history of Black farming
                                                                                                                                                                                                                          JunETEEnTh
                                                                                                                                                          in Austin. 6:30-8:30pm. Online. Free (registra-
    For the latest info, visit austintexas.gov/   birders are welcome. 7:30-11am. Hornsby Bend.        See agenda for details. 9am. Online. traviscoun-   tion required). library.austintexas.gov.
covid19. Uninsured residents experiencing         Free. travisaudubon.org.                             tytx.gov/commissioners-court.                                                                             JuneteentH ParaDe & festival The
COVID-19 symptoms: Call CommUnityCare’s           tHe PurPle Party for CHiCa Power                     kitCHen ComPost ColleCtor PiCkuP                         T h u r s day 6 /24                              parade starts at MLK & Salina and continues
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 down Chicon, heading east on Rosewood
hotline at 512/978-8775. Austin Public Health     At this Latinitas fundraiser, local muralists        Austin Resource Recovery customers who were
has launched a COVID-19 vaccine preregistration   Carmen Rangel and J Muzacz will unveil a mural       part of the most recent curbside composting        travis County Commissioners Court                      then north on Chestnut up to Pleasant Valley.
system at austintexas.gov/covid19-vaccines, or    of the late Ana Sisnett, a lifelong digital divide   service expansion are eligible. 6-7:30pm. Walnut   9am. Online. traviscountytx.gov/commissioners-court.   Then enjoy music, food, and entertainment at
call 512/972-5560. Or find vaccine locations      educator and activist and the creator of Austin      Creek Park, 12138 N. Lamar. austintexas.gov/                                                              Rosewood Park. Sat., June 19, 10am. Salina &
near you at vaccinefinder.org.                                                                                                                            BuforD tHe Book Bus Free books                         MLK Jr. Blvd. juneteenthcentraltexas.com.
                                                  Free-Net. 7-10pm. 2400 E. Cesar Chavez. $60+.        composting.                                        available in English and Spanish for all read-
                                                  latinitaspurpleparty.com.                                                                                                                                      stay BlaCk & live vol. 2 The daylong cele-
      T h u r s day 6 / 17                                                                                W E d n E s day 6 /2 3
                                                                                                                                                          ing levels. 10:30am-12:30pm. Oak Springs
                                                                                                                                                          Elementary, 3601 Webberville. austinisd.org.           bration kicks off with a car parade, and at lunch
                                                          s u n day 6 /2 0                                                                                                                                       volunteers will distribute free plates to Eastside
Downtown Commission Presentations                                                                      CommunityCare moBile meDiCal                       aisD BoarD of trustees 5:30pm. Online.                 communities in need. Plus, a virtual panel
on the Palm District initiative and an update     for tHe PeoPle rally Join Beto O’Rourke              serviCes Call 512/978-9015 for info.               austinisd.org/board/meetings.                          discussion, music, and a fireworks show. Sat.,
on the new mixed-use project at the former        and Powered by People for a rally to protect         9am-3pm. Terrazas Branch Library, 1105 E.                                                                 June 19, 10am-10pm. Rosewood Park, 2300
HealthSouth site on Red River. 5:30pm.
                                                                                                                                                          kitCHen ComPost ColleCtor PiCkuP
                                                  voting rights in Texas. 5:30pm. South steps of the   Cesar Chavez. communitycaretx.org.                 See Tuesday. 6-7:30pm. Dick Nichols Park,              Rosewood. juneteenthatx.com.
Videoconference. austintexas.gov.                 Capitol, Congress & W. 11th. poweredxpeople.org.                                                        8011 Beckett.

8    THE AUSTIN CHRONICLE JUNE 18, 2021 austinchronicle.com
Issue - The Austin Chronicle
austinchronicle.com JUNE 18, 2021 THE AUSTIN CHRONICLE   9
Issue - The Austin Chronicle
news � arts & culture � food � screens � music

sweeping the Plaza
Chaos as City Hall encampment cleared by police
By Austin sAnders
   A chaotic scene unfolded outside of City   Smokey Quartz, told us. “They told us they
Hall Monday morning, June 14, as police       need to move, and are now threatening to
officers and other city workers – citing      arrest this man who is homeless and sleep-
upcoming sidewalk construction – cleared      ing on the sidewalk.”
the encampment that had emerged there as        It took more than an hour before officials
a protest to voter approval                                     could produce for Quartz
of Proposition B, which
reinstated criminal penal-
                              Word came down                    the paperwork docu-
                                                                menting the construction
ties for camping in public   from management                    project. In the meantime,
spaces. City officials later
said that the scene was
                             about the planned                  officers and workers
                                                                began dismantling tents,
“very different” than         clearance late on                 even throwing some
what is expected at other
locations where those
                             Friday, giving APD                 away. Eventually, violet
                                                                bins provided by the
experiencing homeless­        and the agencies                  Downtown           Austin
ness are encamped.
   Some camp residents
                            that could assist the               Community           Court
                                                                arrived for temporary
                                                                                                                                                             APD officers remove unhoused persons’
                                                                                                                                                             tents around City Hall on Monday, June 14,
told the Chronicle that     unhoused little time                storage, and some at the                                                                     ahead of upcoming sidewalk construction
officers gave verbal notice
on Saturday, June 12; oth-
                              to prepare a safe                 camp      helped     move
                                                                belongings of those who
ers said not until Sunday    enforcement plan.                  were not present. The        tion permit was issued on May 19, for work                told the Chronicle in a Monday morning
were they told that if they                                     planned      construction    to begin on June 7.                                       statement. “Those who refuse to comply
did not move their belongings by 10pm that    appears to be work along the curbline,            “Members of the Homeless Outreach                      with the direction may be given a citation
night, they could be arrested. None saw any   ramp, and crosswalk at the corner of Cesar     Street Team (HOST) and APD’s District                     for violating the camping ordinance, or be
written notice. “Apparently they’re doing     Chavez and Guadalupe, as well as repairs to    Representatives have met with people                      placed under arrest if they fail to comply.”
construction and they need everyone here to   the shared-use path on the Drake Bridge        around City Hall to inform them about the                    At a press conference Tuesday, June 15,
move,” one person camping at City Hall,       (South First Street). A right-of-way excava-   upcoming construction,” a spokesperson                    City Manager Spencer Cronk said future

CounCil Drops BiDenBuCks into the safety net                                                    In what Mayor Steve Adler called a historic
                                                                                             step toward ending homelessness in Austin, City
                                                                                             Council last week voted to allocate $100 million
                                                                                                                                                       the Dec. 31, 2024 deadline to use the federal dollars,
                                                                                                                                                       including $188.4 million from ARPA, $46.7 million
                                                                                                                                                       in other federal grants, and $28.4 million of surplus
                                                                                             in federal stimulus and relief funds (augmented           cash (above what’s required by Council’s financial
                                                                                             by local reserves) toward services and plans to           policies) in the city’s reserve funds. On Wednesday
                                                                                             address the city’s shelter crisis.                        night before the vote, a final framework was agreed
                                                                                                The mayor and Council hope Austin’s ante of            to by Adler and Council Members Alison Alter
                                                                                             more than half of its American Rescue Plan Act            and Kathie Tovo; in addition to homelessness, its
                                                                                             funding will motivate others to invest in assistance      priorities include child care ($15 million), workforce
                                                                                             for those living without shelter and to create sus-       development ($21 million), rent relief ($42 million),
                                                                                             tainable long-term solutions. Adler, after the vote       and community resilience, which encompasses
                                                                                             on June 10, called for help from “the partners we         $12 million for relief in the nonprofit and creative
                                                                                             need to tackle challenges that are bigger than what       sectors, $3 million to address food insecurity, and
                                                                                             the city, county, or [any] service organization can       another $3 million to establish pilot resilience hubs.
                                                                                             do by itself. It’s going to take us all working togeth-      Relief for renters got a significant boost from
                                                                                             er and pitching in.”                                      U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development
                                                                                                The funding is part of a $263.5 million plan to        emergency grants; the $35.3 million in federal
                                                                                             strengthen Austin’s social safety net to endure past      dollars will be topped off with $6.7 million in local

                                                                                                      “We need to tackle challenges that are bigger
                                                                                                       than what the city, county, or [any] service
                                                                                                    organization can do by itself. It’s going to take us
                                                                                                          all working together and pitching in.
                                                                                                                              Au s t i n M Ayo r s t e v e A d l e r
Photos by John Anderson

10   THE AUSTIN CHRONICLE JUNE 18, 2021 austinchronicle.com
housing mean they’ll be waiting for place-               USED,
                                                                                                                                       ments for up to three years.
                                                                                                                                          While interim Police Chief Joseph Cha­            COLLECTIBLE,
                                                                                                                                       con agreed that the scene was “very differ-           and U N I Q U E
                                                                                                                                       ent” from other encampments, “My under-
                                                                                                                                       standing is that the officers did a good job,”
                                                                                                                                       and he doesn’t anticipate any changes to
                                                                                                                                       the city’s Prop B plans. Under those plans,
                                                                                                                                       nobody residing in an encampment that is
                                                                                                                                       now illegal would be forced to move until
                                                                                                                                       August. But three city sources confirmed to
                                                                                                                                       us independently that word came down
                                                                                                                                       from management about the planned clear-
                                                                                                                                       ance late on Friday, June 11, giving both           1608 S. CONGRESS AVE.
                                                                                                                                       APD and the agencies that could assist the
                                                                                                                                       unhoused, like DACC or Integral Care, lit-
                                                                                                                                                                                                 512-916-8882
                                                                                                                                       tle time to prepare a safe enforcement plan.        southcongressbooks.com
                                                                                                                                          As Cronk’s office sent word to relevant            OPEN DAILY NOON-6

                                                                                                             Photos by John Anderson
                                                                                                                                       departments, a city press release marked the
                                                                                                                                       beginning of Phase 2 of the Prop B plan:
                                                                                                                                       “From Sunday, June 13 … APD will generally
                                                                                                                                       issue written warnings, and may issue cita-
    Volunteers help move and                                                                                                           tions for violating the camping ordinance if
    save belongings of campers                                                                                                         they encounter individuals who have already
    during the June 14 cleanup                                                                                                         been warned.” In the statement provided to
                                                                                                                                       us Monday, the spokesperson reiterated that
                                                                                                                                       the Prop B plan allows for arrests whenever
camp clearances, as the city complies with                   stirred up fear and pressured Cronk to take                               an individual’s behavior “poses an imminent
Proposition B, would unfold differently,                     action; Council Member Mackenzie Kelly                                    danger to themselves or others.” Blocking
since those outside City Hall were protest-
ers more akin to those who took over the
plaza during Occupy Austin in 2012, who
                                                             told Fox 7 Austin on May 30 “It’s getting out
                                                             of hand. My question is, at what point will
                                                             someone get seriously hurt for this to stop?”
                                                                                                                                       the right of way for the planned construction
                                                                                                                                       posed such a danger, the spokesperson said.
                                                                                                                                          At least seven people were arrested at the
                                                                                                                                                                                        Fredericksburg & Stonewall
were also cleared by police as trespassers.                     While many at the camp agreed they were                                scene and taken to the Travis County Jail              TEXAS
Segments on local TV and Fox News have                       protesting the city’s inadequate response to
                                                             homelessness, they were also among the
                                                                                                                                       for magistration, booked on charges includ-
                                                                                                                                       ing interfering with public duties and fail-
                                                                                                                                                                                        ROADSIDE STANDS NOW
                                                             thousands of Austinites living without shel-
                                                             ter. “I’ve been waiting here for housing for
                                                                                                                                       ure to obey a lawful order, both class C
                                                                                                                                       misdemeanors. The city spokesperson had
                                                                                                                                                                                                OPEN
funds to meet the expected spike in demand as                over 40 days and I don’t know when I’ll get                               previously said those arrested for an “appli-
federal eviction protections expire and landlords            placed anywhere,” William Bradford told                                   cable class C misdemeanor” could be pro-            Varieties Available:
begin to seek back rent. A city ordinance approved           us. “Housing is a human right and I’m here                                cessed by DACC, whose job is to provide            Regal, Spring Gold, Starlite
in April requires landlords to apply for relief funds        protesting for my rights.” Others said                                    social service support as an alternative to
before moving to evict tenants who owe five or               they’ve been told that long waitlists for                                 being booked into the jail.                 n
                                                                                                                                                                                        White, Carored, Flavorich, June
more months’ rent. An amendment to the spending                                                                                                                                         Gold, Gold Prince, June Prince,
plan from CM Greg Casar directs City Manager                                                                                                                                             Early Majestic, Ruby Prince,
Spencer Cronk to identify another $6 million in
local dollars to use for rent relief if the $42 million is                                                                                                                                         TexRoyal
exhausted before the end of this year.                                                                                                                                                     plus apricots and vegetables
   Cronk and the city’s Homeless Strategy Office
also have to deliver a more detailed plan for spend-
ing the $100 million to address homelessness,
including as part of the upcoming fiscal year 2022
budget. An amendment from Alter requires that the
manager allocate what remains of the more than
$100 million Council has earmarked toward home-
lessness since mid-2019 (including prior federal
relief via the CARES Act) to align with plans for the
ARPA dollars, which should be done so as to “max-
imize opportunities to leverage funding matches                                                                                                                                          Hill Country Fruit Council
from private, philanthropic or other government                                                                                                                                          texaspeaches.com
funding sources.”                       – Austin Sanders                                                                                                                                 Visit Website for a list of growers,
       This was Council’s last meeting before its                                                                                                                                              map and peach updates
    summer hiatus. The next scheduled meeting
       (potentially in person) is July 29, though
   Council committees will meet over the break.
      Cronk is expected to propose his FY 2022
                            budget in early July.

                                                                                                                                                           austinchronicle.com JUNE 18, 2021 THE AUSTIN CHRONICLE               11
news � arts & culture � food � screens � music

Bloody sixth
One dead, 13 injured, 2 in custody after weekend shooting
By Mike ClArk-MAdison

   Douglas Kantor, a 25-year-old tourist vis-          Texas biker rally and the NCAA baseball
iting Austin from the Detroit area, died               tournament in town. It’s unclear whether
Sunday, June 13, after being shot along with           the shooters exchanged fire, emptied their
13 others in an outburst of gun violence on            weapons into the crowd, or both.
East Sixth Street just before 1:30am                      Chacon on Saturday said Austin Police
Saturday morning. Another victim, 34-year-             Department staffing around East Sixth was
old Jessica Ramirez, reportedly remains in             at full strength. On Tuesday, in a joint press
critical condition after surgery and faces             conference with his colleagues in the U.S.
permanent paralysis. While two young peo-              Conference of Mayors, Austin Mayor Steve
ple are in custody as suspects, much remains           Adler said that the law enforcement pres-
unconfirmed about how and why the shoot-               ence in the Downtown entertainment dis-
ing took place, even as a national spotlight           trict was actually 20% higher than on most
turned on the rowdy Downtown entertain-                weekends (presumably due to the ROT
ment district, Austin’s public safety policies,        Rally). “Yet the abundance of officers could

                                                                                                        Gett y iMAGes
and Texas’ ever looser gun laws.                       not stop the shooting,” Adler said. “Doug
   Pending further investigation, it appears           Kantor was killed at the hands of two juve-
the victims of Austin’s largest mass shoot-            niles who had guns they should never have
ing since the Texas Tower massacre in                  had. We cannot police ourselves out of this
1966, including Kantor and Ramirez, were               crisis” of gun violence.
all “innocent bystanders,” as described by                One of those two was arrested Saturday                        adult; he was apprehended in Harker               Kantor, a native of New York’s Rockland
police Chief Joe Chacon in a Saturday after-           with the aid of the U.S. Marshal’s Lone                          Heights, near Killeen, on Monday morning       County who attended college in Michigan
noon briefing. Witnesses and officers report           Star Fugitive Task Force; that suspect’s                         without incident as he attended a summer-      and was employed by Ford, had recently
that shots rang out without warning on the             identity, nor any charges against them, will                     school class. He’s been charged with aggra-    bought a house and was engaged to his high
heavily crowded and heavily policed street,            likely not be disclosed under Texas juve-                        vated assault; other charges, including any    school sweetheart, according to statements
closed to vehicle traffic as usual and busier          nile-justice procedure. The other, Jeremiah                      stemming from Kantor’s death, have not         from his family. He was transported to Dell
than normal with both the Republic of                  James Tabb, is 17 and can be tried as an                         been made public.                              Seton in an APD vehicle after sustaining

With Shea Swayed, Women’s Jail Put on Ice
                                                                                                                                                                       the jail began. Item 29, brought forth by
                                                                                                                                                                       Commissioner Ann Howard and County
                                                                                                                                                                       Judge Andy Brown, would call on county
                                                                                                                                                                       staff to create a report by August 15 on how
                                                                                                                           On Tuesday, June 15, the Travis County      to develop a new strategic plan to replace
                                                                                                                        Commissioners Court voted to delay moving      the 2016 Master Plan to rebuild and expand
     Travis County Correctional Complex in Del Valle
                                                                                                                        forward with the design of a new women’s       the Travis County Correctional Complex in
                                                                                                                        jail for at least a year. The decision came    Del Valle; create a working group focused on
                                                                                                                        after more than three hours of testimony       diversion that would reduce the number of
                                                                                                                        from more than 100 callers, including for-     women in jail; and provide better physical
                                                                                                                        merly incarcerated women and leaders from      and mental health care within the jail.
                                                                                                                        Austin Justice Coalition, the Lilith Fund,        Brown then offered an amendment to delay
                                                                                                                        Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, Texas Fair   the vote on the women’s jail for 12 months
                                                                                                                        Defense Project, Grassroots Leadership, and    as this work was done. While Commissioner
                                                                                                                        other activist organizations.                  Margaret Gómez quickly accepted the delay,
                                                                                                                           The meeting began on a cooperative note,    Commissioner Brigid Shea vehemently
                                                                                                                        with commissioners voting unanimously to       opposed replacing the 2016 Master Plan
                                                                                                                        expand services at the Sobering Center to      altogether, saying she wouldn’t want to
                                                                                                                        accept criminal trespass offenders. But that   “scrap” work that had been done; Brown
                                                                                                                        unity quickly dissolved once discussion of     then changed that language to “update.”

                                                                                                                                  “The 160 or so women that are currently in
                                                                                                                                 the jail could actually all go into the newest,
                                                                                                                                            nicest facility we have.”
                                                                                                                                                  C o u n t y J u d G e A n dy b r ow n
John Anderson

12    THE AUSTIN CHRONICLE JUNE 18, 2021 austinchronicle.com
major abdominal injuries that proved unsur-     troopers are set to buttress APD staffing
vivable. “It’s painful to discuss, but I think  Downtown as needed, Chacon said.
the public deserves to know what my broth-         Abbott did not mention the permitless
er suffered,” his brother Nick Kantor said.     carry legislation he would later sign, but
   Ramirez, the other critically injured vic-   others did. “I am angry because the politi-
tim, was out celebrating her 34th birthday cians of Texas have failed to keep their con-
when she was shot, according to her moth- stituents safe,” wrote state Sen. Sarah
er Bilma, who launched a GoFundMe to Eckhardt, D-Austin. “Every day in Texas, 10
cover medical expenses and provide finan- people die from gun violence. Yet the legisla-
cial assistance. The sin-                                          ture just spent five months
gle mother of five does
not have health insur-
                                “Doug Kantor was                   making it easier for vio-
                                                                   lent people to get guns.
ance, according to the          killed at the hands                This problem will contin-
crowdfunding        appeal.
The conditions of the
                                 of two juveniles                  ue to get worse until Texas’
                                                                   elected leaders have the
other 12 victims, some of       who had guns they                  courage to address it.”
whom sought treatment
on their own, have not
                                should never have                      On Monday, state Rep.
                                                                   Vikki Goodwin, D-Austin,
been disclosed.                   had. We cannot                   wrote Abbott to ask for a
   As most facts of the
shooting remain unknown,
                                 police ourselves                  veto of House Bill 1927,
                                                                   which passed over the
opinions have rushed in to       out of this crisis                objections of Chacon and
fill the breach. Thoughts
and prayers came from
                                [of gun violence].”                other Texas police chiefs.
                                                                   “Many Texans will see
many directions, includ-          M Ayo r s t e v e A d l e r      [signing the bill] as a seal
ing from Gov. Greg                                                 of approval on the prac-
Abbott, who on Saturday invited all Texans      tice of solving disputes with guns,” Goodwin
to “join Cecilia [Abbott] and I in prayer for wrote, “and I am sure that this is not the
those who were injured” while pretending to message you intend to send. … While I real-
direct Texas Dept. of Public Safety officers    ize that laws cannot singlehandedly keep
to help APD make sure “perpetrators are         guns out of the wrong hands, I also under-
captured and punished to the fullest extent     stand that they impose boundaries, create
of the law.” Tabb appears to have been          order, and set a tone. We need you, as our
arrested by Killeen ISD police, but DPS governor, to send [that] message.”                   n

Commissioner Jeff Travillion reiterated his       The 160 or so women that are currently in
belief that many people have no access to         the jail could actually all go into the newest,
mental health services outside the jail – his     nicest facility we have.”
primary reason for wanting to build the pro-          The debate between Brown and Shea abat-
posed new “trauma informed facility” –            ed as the court took calls from the public; of
and chastised his colleagues for infighting.      the more than 100 people who testified, only
   Shea urged immediate action, saying the        two backed moving forward with the jail.
court had already addressed justice advo-         Callers expressed disappointment with
cates’ concerns; she quoted from the report       Travillion and Shea, highlighted the low popu-
of a prior 2018 working group including advo-     lation and short stays of most women in the
cates and formerly incarcerated women that        jail, and argued that jail itself causes trauma
“any delay in making these long-term decisions    and thus cannot be “trauma informed.”
about plans for the women’s facility will have    Finally, Shea interrupted testimony to say she
a substantial and negative impact on women        would support a “pause” on the women’s jail
in custody in Travis County.” Annette Price,      discussion for 12 months, and the item
co-director of Grassroots Leadership, told        passed unanimously.
the Chronicle she felt her voice was not heard        On Monday, Grassroots Leadership’s for-
as a participant in that working group: “They     mer head Bob Libal had announced he’s con-
already had a plan in motion of what they         sidering running against Shea in 2022. Libal
wanted to do and how they wanted to move it.”     told the Chronicle, “I think we’re at a moment
   Brown emphasized that his and Howard’s         where we need new leadership, and particu-
proposal did not foreclose moving ahead with      larly on criminal justice issues. We have gone
the project in the future: “What this is saying   through a national reckoning on racism and
is to take new data into account, current         the criminal justice system … and listening to
data, and delay decisions until we have all       [the] commissioners court over the last few
of that information in a new report.” He also     weeks, I don’t see that reflected. In Austin
suggested that TCCC’s Building 12, complet-       [it’s] really important to a lot of people, which
ed in 2012, could house a new women’s facil-      is why you’ve seen such an outpouring
ity: It’s “considered to be in good condition …   around this issue.”                  – Lina Fisher

                                                                                                       austinchronicle.com JUNE 18, 2021 THE AUSTIN CHRONICLE   13
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Bikin’ Down the Highway
Will TxDOT’s plans for Loop 360 leave cyclists and
pedestrians in the dust? by benton Graham
   In its current form, Capital of Texas          to take advantage of this opportunity to build
Highway – Loop 360 – on Austin’s western higher-capacity facilities with a longer design
edge is hard to imagine being used by most        life now that it has funding to do so.
pedestrians or nonathletic cyclists for either
transportation or recreation. When not con- Hard to Build in tHe Hills
gested at rush hour, cars zip along the wind-        TxDOT has pushed back on this allega-
ing six-lane highway, where the posted tion. It says that the area’s topography is
speed is 60 mph. In the few locations where what presents the greatest obstacle to full-
designated bike lanes do exist, they tend to sized bike lanes. “The challenge along Loop
be found in a narrow space between the 360 is the rolling terrain. While it appears
middle and right turn lanes. Much of the that there is plenty of room, the terrain
time, the only bicycles one sees are the          makes it challenging to meet the design
illustrations on the bright yellow bike-cross- requirements of bicycle and pedestrian
ing signs.                                                            facilities,” a TxDOT

                                “We are working
   The Texas Department                                               spokesperson told the
of Transportation aims to                                             Chronicle. As for property
change that as a part of        with txdot to try                     owners encroaching on

                               to get the very best,
its plans to upgrade Loop                                             TxDOT land, the spokes-
360, which include new                                                person said that’s not an
frontage roads, grade sep-      most comfortable,                     issue. “Except for the

                                  connected, and
arations at most of the                                               occasional      misplaced
major intersections, and                                              fence or an unpermitted
intelligent transportation       least conflicting                    sign, there have not been

                                 pathway design
systems,      along     with                                          encroachments onto the
shared-use paths for                                                  right of way. TxDOT does
pedestrians and cyclists.           possible.”                        not anticipate encroach-

                                                                                                                                                                                                                 imAge viA w w w.Loop360project.com
As that project moves                                                 ments moving forward.”
along in its design and                    Au s t i n                  Long stretches along the
environmental review,             t r A n s p o r tAt i o n ’ s       highway are indeed hilly,
those paths have come             L Au r A D i e r e n f i e L D      but a drive along the still
under scrutiny from                                                   -stunning 14-mile corri-
active transportation advocates, as well as dor reveals more than sporadic potential
some of the neighbors that live near the right-of-way encroachment, such as an area
highway, who wonder how many more bicy-           used for parking near Winding Ridge
clists and pedestrians will want to use a trail   Boulevard (which parallels Loop 360 near
that’s only set 5 feet from the roadway, with Bull Creek) and a stretch facing the
minimal protection.                               Davenport Village shopping center where
   That’s not to mention the lane widths,         Loop 360 meets Westlake Drive (one of the
which at 10 feet won’t match up with some         future grade-separated crossings where an
expert recommendations. For example, the overpass and ramps are to be built), where a                 TxDOT’s Loop 360 Program seeks to uprgade multiple intersections along the 14-mile corridor by removing
National Association of City Transportation       trailer is currently parked. The stretch is           traffic signals from the mainlanes and constructing overpasses or underpasses at select intersections.
Officials recommends that two-way bike            also inundated with signs advertising prop-                 Additionally, shared-use paths for pedestrians and bicyclists will be added along Loop 360.
lanes be 12 feet in width and only be erties for sale or lease, which sit nearly on
reduced (to a minimum of 8 feet) in “con- top of the current roadway.
strained locations.”                                 While TxDOT is the lead agency for the         project, we are working with TxDOT to try              with Loop 360 north of where the current
   Why is the department appearing to short-      project, the city of Austin is helping to bank-   to get the very best, most comfortable, con-           project area begins.
change non-auto travelers on Loop 360,            roll the shared-use paths through a $46 mil-      nected, and least conflicting pathway design             Both RM 2222 and Bee Cave Road (RM
which is no longer the scenic drive through lion contribution, a project included in the            possible,” Dierenfield said.                           2244) are state highways that intersect
the undeveloped hills it once was but now         $720 million 2016 Mobility Bond program.             The project has already seen a number of            Loop 360, but any TxDOT work on those is
carries tens of thousands of Austinites to        The Austin Transportation Department’s            delays and has been pushed back to a com-              even farther out on the horizon. In the
extensive and growing neighborhoods and Laura Dierenfield, who leads its active                     pletion date in the late 2020s. From a fund-           interim, the Capital Area Metropolitan
employment centers? Some observers have           transportation division, pointed out that         ing perspective, TxDOT faces pressure to               Planning Organization’s 2045 long-range
speculated that TxDOT is pushing forward          lane widths can vary depending on the cir-        spend the money it currently has before                plan lists a Capital Metro express route
with this design to avoid alienating the cumstances and said that the city will do its              starting on other projects on the western              along RM 2222 at a $12 million cost, as well
adjacent property owners who have been part to make the path as accessible and safe                 side of the urban area, including its                  as a city of Austin project to make pedestri-
effectively encroaching on its rights of way. as possible. Currently, ATD is reviewing the          planned reconstruction of U.S. 183 and                 an and bicycle improvements from RM
TxDOT has long owned enough of the hill- TxDOT-proposed design to understand how                    continued work on MoPac (Loop 1), both                 2222 to the Four Points Drive connector at a
side property along Loop 360 to expand its the expansion can best fit within TxDOT’s                alongside the Central Texas Regional                   cost of nearly $3 million. Both would hap-
width, so it seems odd that it would not want     available space. “With respect to the 360         Mobility Authority and both intersecting               pen by 2027. As for Bee Cave Road, the

14   THE AUSTIN CHRONICLE JUNE 18, 2021 austinchronicle.com
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