Austin Chronicle reporter launches sexist broadside against...local Mommy bloggers?!?

"Strength and honor are her clothing;
She shall rejoice in time to come."
Proverbs 31:25

For those who've never heard of it, the Austin Moms blog is...exactly what it sounds like.  It's a generally apolitical group blog focused on lifestyle and parenting.  They're not particularly relevant to this author, but we are familiar with them.  FWIW, they have a strong testimony in the appropriate circles.

Austin Sanders, meanwhile, has been the city hall correspondent for the Austin chronicle for about a year.

Anyways, apparently the Moms are participating in an anti-sex trafficking initiative. Furthermore, apparently, as part of this initiative they're working with a PR company that also has clients in the law enforcement community. None of this sounds controversial.

Right?!?

Apparently not:

The PR firm representing the Crime Commission is holding a press event later today with two groups of moms opposing police budget cuts. On the left, Austin Moms. On the right, The Austin 20. Something about these groups that seems really...homogeneous. Can't put my finger on it. pic.twitter.com/GASKviz0Wx

— Austin Sanders (@daustinsanders) August 6, 2020

I wonder what it is about these groups that make the Crime Commission think they would be effective agents at pushing back against police budget cuts 🤔🤔🤔

— Austin Sanders (@daustinsanders) August 6, 2020

Yeah dude that’s it. Absolutely nothing to do with the sainthood afforded White mothers but denied to everyone else. https://t.co/B5A5wg7tVr https://t.co/OyHtD775sW

— Austin Sanders (@daustinsanders) August 6, 2020

Yeah.

Lest you think this was some misunderstanding, the following exchange happened shortly thereafter:

As a sex crime VICTIM while I was a minor, I was asked to share my story. The entire press conference was regarding the sex crimes division. Were you on the press conference? I don’t remember seeing you there - wondering why you’d make a completely inaccurate claim without facts.

— Allison Mack (@AllisonMack_ATX) August 7, 2020

The press release literally says Austin Moms and the Austin 20 were banding together to oppose cutting the police budget. DM if you wanna talk about this tomorrow pic.twitter.com/mWJdqTFbPK

— Austin Sanders (@daustinsanders) August 7, 2020

It’s a PRESS RELEASE. Why wouldn’t you do investigative journalism to actually find out the context of the press conference? KXAN got it right, because guess what, they were at the meeting! I don’t need to DM you. This is grossly irresponsible.

— Allison Mack (@AllisonMack_ATX) August 7, 2020

And by your actions, you completely devalued the sex crime victims that The Austin 20 and me, Allison Mack, are trying to protect by having enough resources in the SEX CRIME DIVISION.

— Allison Mack (@AllisonMack_ATX) August 7, 2020

None dare call it mansplaining.

It's almost enough to make you miss Michael King.

Almost.

Bottom Line: None of this is surprising. At least, not really. The Austin Chronicle has been the worst of the worst in local media for a long time. Still, even by their standards, going after Mothers and sex trafficking surviors is...quite something.

#TXLEGE: The Texas Senate needs to STOP giving the Austin Chronicle easy material

"God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
John 4:24

Longtime readers know there is no media outlet this author despises more than the Austin Chronicle; which is why it kills us that they got this one 100% correct:

Sex and the Senate
What will it take to curb sexual harassment at the Texas State Capitol?
BY MARY TUMA, FRI., JAN. 25, 2019

Not more than two days into the 86th Texas Legislature, the 150-member House of Representatives approved a new, stronger reporting process to secure justice for victims of sexual harassment at the Capitol. The unprecedented (at least in recent history) move comes in the wake of the #MeToo movement, which ousted abusive male figures from their perches in politics, journalism, and Hollywood. And it follows a string of shocking media reports from last session that alleged harassment in the halls of the Capitol building from Democrats and Republicans alike over several years. Those reports ignited conversation within both legislative chambers on how best to respond to inappropriate behavior moving forward.

However, one body is noticeably working more steadfastly – and openly – on the issue than the other.

The House Committee on Administration acted quickly, proposing a first draft in December 2017 that was seen as a solid start that needed more work. Former Speaker Joe Straus then created a working group in May 2018 to examine the Texas House's sexual harassment policy and recommend ways to improve it. The 10-member group, led by Reps. Donna Howard, D-Austin, and Linda Koop, R-Dallas (who lost her re-election bid in November), was tasked with researching best practices in other states to "prevent and eradicate" misconduct in the Legislature. The latest iteration, approved as a resolution by a unanimous vote of the House on Jan. 9 after months of review, moves misconduct complaints to a House investigating committee with subpoena power, adding real teeth to a once-feeble policy.

Meanwhile, the Senate – recently encumbered by allegations of lewd behavior against one of its most powerful members, Georgetown Republican Charles Schwertner, has taken a slower approach. While the Senate elaborated its misconduct policy from one to six pages some five months after the House released its first draft, it has no plans to hold hearings or take a formal vote as the House did. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, never as engaged on the issue as Straus, also opted not to conduct a Senate investigation into Schwertner, instead taking the wait-and-see route as a University of Texas investigation played out. Both the Senate's weaker policy and its inaction in the Schwertner case have drawn criticism on the state's editorial pages, including a piece penned by former Sen. Wendy Davis.

During the few months of the current regular session, the Senate has the power to strengthen and codify its rules, but will it? Or does the upper chamber hope the issue of sexual misconduct – and public complaints against its members – gradually falls by the wayside?

The article goes on to discuss everything we already know.  We recommend reading the whole thing, but you already know  the names.  Carlos Uresti, Borris Miles, Craig Estes, Charles Schwertner....

The Chronicle then contrasts the reaction between the two chambers.  While we think they give both Joe Straus and the house more credit than they deserve, at least the House is trying.  The Senate, meanwhile, hasn't done anything meaningful.

The Texas Senate's political opponents have noticed.

Unfortunately, they're not wrong.

It gets better:

The Senate's inaction prompted Wendy Davis, who served two terms in the chamber representing Ft. Worth, to pen a critical editorial in the Statesman earlier this month demanding that the upper house get its act together. Among her chief complaints: There remains no legitimate recourse for people who are sexually harassed by legislators; there is no independent, third-party investigator to whom such complaints can be made; the Senate policy fails to define consequences for violations and has not extended its subpoena power, which could have compelled Schwertner (or others) to testify or provide information.

"What happened after the credible allegations against Sen. Schwertner – and also Sens. Miles and Uresti – starkly highlights how broken the system is," Davis told us. "I found myself feeling very upset and frustrated after reading the UT report. I was angry on behalf of the young woman and on behalf of many others who have endured sexual harassment at the Capitol. It's disappointing that the Senate appears disinterested in further investigating the incident."

....

Davis slams the policy as "a little more than window dressing, but not a whole lot more." She notes the "glaring differences" between Straus' leadership and Patrick's. "Straus supported the effort in an authentic and sincere way, with an open process and a work group," said Davis. "On the Senate side, there is more of an appearance of a process, but without any real desire to hear from experts and people who may have been on the receiving end of sexual harassment at the Capitol. To me, the process looked more like a kangaroo court."

There appears to be a "greater interest in protecting the body than in protecting young women working at the Capitol," says Davis. "It's often part and parcel of the way elected bodies function – if you protect your members, you gain their loyalty." Sexual misconduct at the Capitol is an open secret among members, she says, and she had her own brush with harassment as a freshman senator. During a social, UT-affiliated event, a House member, clearly inebriated, touched her inappropriately. She says it took that member three years to apologize; she never reported the incident because the Senate's policy did not make clear where or who to report to. Even if there had been a direct path, there was no hope that anything would come of it because there were no defined consequences, she says.

"We need to apply continued pressure on the Senate," said Davis. "We cannot give them a pass on this."

You know the situation is bad when you're getting hammered by Wendy Friggin' Davis...and she's completely right.

It's pathetic.

Bottom Line: You can't blame the other team for swinging the bat when you're the one lobbing softballs down the middle of the plate....

Austin Chronicle gets confrontation it RICHLY Deserves

"Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you."
Titus 2:15

[Note: You can watch the original incident here.]

Anyone who knows this author knows that we tend to get along well with most reporters in this town.  Across the ideological spectrum, most reporters in this town want to report their stories fairly.  We have no beef.

There are two exceptions, one of which is the Austin Chronicle.

The Chronicle routinely lies via half-truth.  They'll get the basic premise correct, then they omit one or two pieces of context, and they use it to spin a misleading conclusion.  Unfortunately (for them), they made the mistake of going after someone with a big national platform:


(h/t. Redstate).

Highlights:

• It should be about the Austin Chronicle.

• Chronicle refused to embed the video.
• Won't say why.

• Never asked Crowder for comment.

• Chronicle released location, not Crowder.

• Chronicle called him "alt-right" even though Crowder has denounced alt-right.
• Crowder's been attacked by alt-right.

• Chronicle reporter correction points out Crowder going behind counter was an aggressive act.
• Crowder deflects, but she makes a good point.
• This was, by far, Crowder's weakest moment; if he'd been a little more contrite on this point, it would have made the rest of his argument stronger.

• "Very selectively choosing facts."
• That's what the Austin does, and they've been doing it that way for decades.

• 10 minutes of talking past each other.

• Crowder left other incriminating information out of original video for safety purposes.

A snippet that illustrates Just How Deep CORRUPTION in Texas has historically run....

"For thou wilt not leave my soul in the grave: neither wilt thou suffer thine holy One to see corruption."
Psalm 16:10

We're currently reading 1960's Austin Gangsters: Organized Crime that Rocked the Capital, by Jesse Sublett.  It's a fascinating account of some of the more "colorful" aspects of our history.  You can read the Austin Chronicle's 2015 review here.

But one paragraph on the group's prostitution operation stands out:

Plainview was one of more than a dozen stops on the pro stitution circuit.  Most were country towns.  San Antonio was an anomaly.  Lubbock was bigger than most.   Besides Plainview, there were Abilene, Amarillo, Kilgore, La Grange, McCamey, Midland, Mineral Wells, Odessa, Pampa, Sweetwater, and Tyler. 

[Note: Emphasis added.]

In other words, in small town after small town across the state, you had a bunch of rural good ol' boys interacting with a bunch of literal gangsters; it doesn't take a genius to see how this could get real toxic, real quick.

And, of course, every single one of those towns had a state representative and a state senator.   And, did you notice, that while the gang operated all over the state, they were based out of Austin?!?  Once again, it doesn't take a genius.

Bottom Line: It's not surprising. But it is revealing.  And it really is THAT entrenched....

#atxcouncil: Austin Chamber Finds its voice over Sick Leave Mandate

"as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,"
1 Peter 2:2

Better late than never (we suppose), via. today's Austin Chronicle:

That assertion became more relevant earlier this week when the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce released a statement expressing "contingent opposition" to the ordinance and asking for more research and at least a 90-day delay. "The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors is opposed to this ordinance," the statement reads, "if the Council does not contract for an appropriate independent [economic impact] study and does not provide the public 90 days to give feedback before they take a vote."

What the hell took you so long?!?

However we got here, this is still a positive development.  This sick leave mandate would be a nightmare for anyone who wants a job in the City of Austin, and it's good to see employers belatedly speak up.  Welcome aboard.

Ironically enough, we were just wondering yesterday how this mandate would impact the Amazon bid; guess we know now.

Either way, it looks like the needle has moved in a positive direction since last September.

Bottom Line: We'll take it....

#TXLEGE Sexual Abuse: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly from Yesterday's Austin Chronicle Article (WARNING: Graphic)

"It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness,
For a throne is established by righteousness.
Proverbs 16:12

[Note: As a friendly trigger warning for some of you Baptist types, you should know the original Austin Chronicle article contained swear words that we are going to quote (and address) without sugarcoating; if that's something your snowflake Baptist eyes can't handle stop reading.]

[Note II: Did we mention that this blog post will be quoting swear words verbatum?!?  If you find a couple of swear words overwhelming, you are free to look elsewhere.  This author is not interested in receiving your Facebook messages.]

[Note III:  Swear words ahead; seriously, no Facebook messages.]

Yesterday, the Austin Chronicle published another chilling account about the culture of chronic sexual abuse in the Texas Legislature.  No new names dropped.  We will address topics thematically rather than chronologically.

-------

The house's new policy being a joke:

The House Administration Committee, which is led by Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Ft. Worth, approved new rules that clearly define sexual harassment – including sexual jokes, gifts, and "intentionally brushing up against a person" – and offer ways for victims to seek recourse through a complaint process. Complaints about staffers can be sent to Geren or the House personnel department; complaints about members can be sent to Geren or committee vice chair Gary VanDeaver. All complaints will be "investigated by impartial individuals." If necessary, external resources (such as an outside attorney or investigator) can be used to ensure impartiality. Identities of victims and witnesses will be protected from disclosure to the "greatest extent allowed by law," the five-page policy reads.

....

[W]omen filing complaints would be better served by a third-party, neutral arbiter than legislators. "You don't want the fox guarding the hen house," she said. "Lawmakers who depend on their relationships with other lawmakers to get things done can't oversee the process in a fair way." The third party should also be a constant presence at the Capitol, she suggested, tackling the culture of inequality and misogyny.

Also under the new policy, all House members and staff are required to attend sexual harassment training by the end of January, and every two years afterward. There won't be much enforcement of that, although records of who attended the trainings will be made public, leaving citizens the opportunity to pressure those who fail to take the course.

The good: The Chronicle points out that the new policy is an unenforceable farce, leadership's self congratulatory absurdities notwithstanding.

The bad: The Chronicle fails to point out that the Chairman responsible for overseeing the new policy has been engaged in a sexual relationship with a lobbyist for many years.  We understand that some people disagree with us about the degree to which this represents a conflict of interest.  But, at a minimum, one would think it's a relevant detail that should be reported upon and left to the reader to decide it's importance.

The ugly: The Chronicle fails to mention that Geren has already been caught lying about this topic.

-------

"Worshiping the Capitol":

The Chronicle details the story of Taylor Holden, a left-leaning activist who worked as an intern several sessions ago:

She never reported the incident to her boss because she felt that she had "no power" as an intern. "I worshipped the Cap­it­ol and always wanted to work in politics, but after that experience I felt betrayed," said Holden. She now works for a progressive organization in Colorado.

There's an obvious spiritual component to what she said that might be worth addressing in the future, but for the moment we'll focus on something more immediate.

To say that one "worships" a government building illustrates an unhealthy lack of perspective.  Whatever you hope to accomplish, ultimately politics is just politics.  It's not THAT important.

We don't want to belittle Ms. Holden's experience in any way, shape, or form, but if she's coming from the perspective of "worshiping" the political process, some modest disillusionment might be in order.

-------

"Everybody Fucks Everybody":

Also from Holden:

While touring her around, she says, an aide commented that the Capitol was a "non-stop party" where "everybody fucks everybody" and proceeded to make a sexist remark about a fellow female staffer.

Annnnd, THIS is where we take exception.

With all due respect to every other faction at the Capitol, "everybody" at the Capitol does not "fuck everybody" at the Capitol.  That, straight up, DOES NOT HAPPEN among conservatives.  Furthermore, if such behavior were discovered in our ranks, it would NOT be tolerated.

To clarify:

• Have conservatives who've met at the Capitol dated?!? Yes.

• Have conservatives who've met at the Capitol gotten married?!? Yes.

• Has a conservative ever had a one-off sexual encounter with someone they met at the Capitol?!?  Not to this author's knowledge, but the law of averages suggests that it must have happened at some point.

But the lecherous meat market that seems to exist everywhere else at the Capitol does not exist in our faction.  And, if it were to emerge, it would be dealt with.  Thus, we take exception to that remark.

For the record: This author has NEVER had a sexual encounter with someone we met at the Capitol; we find the thought BILIOUS.

-------

Hinojosa misses point:

From Gina Hinojosa:

"I believe the biggest contributing factor to an environment where there's a problem with sexual harassment is not enough women in power," Hinojosa remarked.

On the one hand, we don't disagree with Rep. Hinojosa that having more women among the elected officials could help.

On the other hand, who is she kidding?!?

As the legislature currently stands, there are 27 women serving in the house and 8 in the Senate.  That's 35 total.  And of the 35 women currently serving, at best, 6 have stepped up to challenge this garbage. (And, at least a few of the men are ahead of the overwhelming majority of the women)

Make no mistake: Rep. Hinojosa is one of those 6, and we applaud her for doing so, but consider us skeptical of her underlying claim as long as 82% of the women currently in office at the Capitol are saying nothing.

[Note: Then, of course, there's the fact that Rep. Hinojosa's own father did this the day before.]

-------

Going surprisingly easy on the Senate:

Moving onto the Senate:

Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has asked Senate Administration Com­mit­tee Chairwoman Sen. Lois Kolk­horst, R-Bren­­ham, to review the Senate's sexual harassment policies, while Sens. Sylvia Gar­cia, D-Houston, and Kirk Watson, D-Aus­­tin, called on Kolkhorst to hold a public hearing. "The Legislature has clearly failed to create a safe environment for women in the Capitol. That must change," said Watson. Kolkhorst heeded their calls on Dec. 14, letting senators voice concerns in a public forum about the lack of accountability and reporting procedures for how offices handle sexual harassment. But the upper chamber has yet to issue any updated policies.

We've spoken previously about how the Senate's response to what we already know has been woefully inadequate; we're surprised the Austin Chronicle (of all places) didn't let them have it a lot stronger than that.

------

Bottom Line: It's good that a clearer picture of this garbage is beginning to emerge, but yesterday's article makes equally clear how much distance remains to be traveled before anything will change.

#TROXROX: Austin Chronicle throws tantrum after Troxclair qualifies for "Best of Austin"

"rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;"
Romans 12:12

[Note: For all Austin-resident readers who click forward and vote in the Chronicle Awards, we request that in addition to voting for Troxclair for "Best City Official,"  you also vote for Caleb Pritchard for "Best non-Chronicle journalist" and Austin Monitor for "Best non-Chronicle publication."]

Dat's gotta sting.

Check out who made the finals of the Austin Chronicle's annual "Best of Austin" awards:

Readers are encouraged to vote for Troxclair (and Caleb and the Austin Monitor) here. [Note: Austin residents only]

On that news, we're not surprised by the Chronicle's petulant and snotty write up of Troxclair's TPPF speech last week:

Though personal responsibility and resiliency are hallmarks of TPPF's brand, and Troxclair herself said several times that she wanted to be positive, it appeared the council member couldn't help herself: With its taxes, bag bans, composting, and burdensome water restrictions, Austin has quickly become even more of a liberal hellscape than it had been in years past. "Until last year you weren't even allowed to wash your own car in your own driveway," she lamented. "I mean, what is more American than spending a Saturday afternoon washing your own car in your own driveway?"

But it gets worse. Council meetings are too frequent and too long, she said. The makeup of Council doesn't match the overall political views of the city at-large, which she described as roughly 30% Republican (in accordance with 2016 voting totals). Since the last election, when Troxclair lost the comradery of Don Zimmer­man and Sheri Gallo, she can no longer get an easy second on her motions. Zimmerman, in the audience for Troxclair's speech, had spent the hour before her keynote regaling the foundation's crowd with tales of his bureaucrat-busting days.

Now that Zimmerman and Gallo are gone, Council is an even less friendly place for Trox­clair. "A lot of times I feel like I'm going to Council to bang my head against a wall," she admitted. "I get a lot of headaches." But the CM didn't hint at any newfound strategy moving forward. And she defended her decision to testify at the Capitol earlier this year against several of the city's positions, telling an appreciative crowd, "I'm sorry, I did not remember giving up my right to free speech when I ran for office."

And yes, we are aware of the irony that we're doing more to promote Ellen's candidacy this year than we did to promote our own when we were nominated last year.

Read the full chronicle piece on the speech here, read our write-up of the speech here, VOTE FOR ELLEN (and Caleb and the Monitor) here.

Bottom Line: Austin Chronicle...u mad bro?!?

Jeremy Story's pro-Student, pro-Taxpayer, agenda for Austin Community College...

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."
1 Peter 5:8

[Author's Note: We didn't record the specific sources Jeremy cited for his factual claims in our notes.  That being said, they all came from various governmental entities.  That being said, you can contact the campaign for more specific information here.]

We finally had an opportunity to hear Jeremy Story speak last night.  He's running for the Austin Community College board of trustees, place 9.  He's running to promote better student outcomes and greater fiscal accountability for taxpayers.

ACC ranks near the bottom of community college systems in Texas in terms of positive student outcomes.  Positive outcomes are defined as completion of an associates degree, transferring to a four year college, or obtaining a trade certification.  We were astonished to learn that only 4% of ACC students transfer to a four year school.

Story wants to focus on core functions of students success.  He wants to increase the number of academic advisers to shepherd students through the bureaucracy, especially the first 15 hours.  Currently, there are 700 students for every adviser, so it shouldn't surprise us that there's a high dropout rate.  He also wants to increase the number of dual credit courses in local high schools.  He wants to streamline the online registration process, which we've heard described as a "nightmare" from various quarters over the years.  Finally, he wants to increase the focus on certification for skilled trades.  These are all things a community college should, by definition, be doing.

On the pro-taxpayer side, Jeremy Story is the only candidate running for any ACC trustee position who supports a moratorium on tax hikes.  Considering the gigantic tax hike ACC passed last month, this is important.  Considering that ACC recently ran a $9 million surplus, there's plenty of money available as long as the organization focuses on core responsibilities.

As an example of core responsibilities, he discussed a recent proposal to expand CapMetro service to the various campuses.  Whatever the merits of such an idea it is, at best, a long term solution.  To paraphrase Story: "It may or may not make sense to make it easier for a student in Austin to attend a class in Round Rock, but in the meantime why don't we make it possible for that same student to take that course online from their living room?!?"

Also, he's a YCTer from the UT chapter; to put it mildly, that speaks well of him.

Bottom Line: Anyone who gives the Austin Chronicle a conniption fit is off to a good start, but it was good to flesh out specifics.

Christian runs for Community College trustee seat; Austin Chronicle LOSES ITS EVERLOVING MIND!!!

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."
1 Peter 5:8

This is great; from the Austin Chronicle two weeks ago:

Place 9 was a different matter. That seat wasn't scheduled for an election until 2018, but 22-year incumbent Allen Kaplan decided to step down with two years left on his term. Due to the timing of when the board formally accepted his departure, while there was still time to add the race to the Nov. 8 ballot, the filing deadline had to be extended to Aug. 25. 

.... 

Then the race got even more politically convoluted when a fourth name entered the race: Jeremy Story, president of evangelical advocacy group Campus Renewal, and a board member on the Executive Committee of America's National Prayer Committee. 

So Place 9 went from not being on the ballot this year, to a loaded ballot containing a seat-switching incumbent, a progressive activist, an established Williamson County official, and a crusader for religion on campus.

It gets better; Austin Chronicle last week:

After the normal introductions from the four candidates – businessman Jeremy Story, ACC student and staffer Julie Ann Nitsch, former Cedar Park Mayor Pro Tem Mitch Fuller, and current Place 6 holder Guadalupe "Lupe" Sosa – the audience questions began, and an icy chill descended. Former ACC AFT president Marshall Bennett told Story that he admired him for having the bravery to turn up, but that was where the compliments ended. Bennett rounded on Story for his leadership role at Campus Renewal, an evangelical group pledged to getting religion into higher education, and hammered him on issues such as his commitment to abstinence-only sex education.

We've never met or talked to Jeremy Story (though his name does sound vaguely familiar), but demonstrating a clear ability to get under the Austin Chronicle's skin is a good way to start any campaign.

This being higher ed, we'd need to hear a lot more about his positions on issues related to bureaucracy, property taxes, and tuition before we could support him...but we like what we've seen so far!

Bottom Line: The Austin Community College district includes all of Bastrop, Blanco, Caldwell, Hays and Travis counties and most of Williamson.  This race WILL go to a mid-December runoff.  Draw the logical conclusion after reading those two sentences.

Austin Chronicle unintentionally raises a FANTASTIC question....

"If you see the oppression of the poor, and the violent perversion of justice and righteousness in a province, do not marvel at the matter; for high official watches over high official, and higher officials are over them."
Ecclesiastes 5:8

Apparently, there was all sorts of shadiness going down about a week and a half ago in Northeast Austin:

Last Saturday, July 2, the owners of the Cross Creek Apartments retracted more than 30 notices to vacate that had been served on their current tenants. The move comes less than a week after some of the residents – organizing as the Cross Creek Tenant Association – led a march through the Rundberg-area complex to protest the eviction.

The owners recently received $16 million in private activity loans approved by the Austin Housing Finance Corporation to renovate the complex, but the notices to vacate, delivered to more than 30 families living at Cross Creek, violated the AHFC rules and regulations that the owners had agreed to follow. After notices appeared a couple of weeks ago, rumors that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency would be called began to spread among residents. Jorge Manchaca, who has lived at Cross Creek for five years, said he was shocked when he received the notice. "I hadn't broken my lease," he said. "I hadn't done anything wrong."

Manchaca said he suspects that the owners – which include TMG-TX, TMG Man­age­ment, Noelle Affordable Housing Corp., the Mulholland Group, and Royce Mulholland – want to remove current tenants so that the complex can be redeveloped while erasing its troubled history. "[Mulholland doesn't] want witnesses, so he can change whatever he wants and the new residents won't know how bad it's been here," he said. Mulholland did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Amado Ariza, another Cross Creek tenant, said that the owners have let the complex fall into disrepair for a long time. "I've made maintenance requests and no one from the office would respond," he said in Spanish.

In fact, the owners were forced to register with the Code Department's "repeat offender program" at the end of 2014 after numerous complaints were filed by tenants. Last December, the city sued the owners for failing to provide hot water for residents since June 2015, as well as other code violations. State law empowers municipalities to bring civil action against a landowner if it enforces an ordinance related to public safety, although the city has rarely done so. According to the suit, a city inspector had visited the complex 13 times over the course of six months after receiving the initial complaint, and each time the water was still lukewarm.
While it is rare for the city to sue a property owner for these kind of code violations, the sluggishness associated with addressing these violations is all too typical, according to Austin Tenants' Council Executive Director Juliana Gonzales. "It's not uncommon in Austin to see properties with repeated, serious, or longstanding code violations that threaten the health and safety of tenants, and to see those code violations go unresolved for long periods of time because there are not adequate enforcement actions Code can take," she wrote in an email.

....

In 2014, the Austin Housing Finance Cor­poration awarded the owners $2 million in general obligation bonds, and then in April of this year they approved $16 million in financing, provided that no tenant was permanently displaced as a result of redevelopment. While the city has taken action in regards to the hot water issue and code violations, it did not take a position on the notices to vacate. "The question should not be whether or not the buildings are up to code, but whether or not they are up to code for the people living there," Krieger said.

[Author's Note: Emphasis in Original.]

Soo...despite multiple years of credible complaints, the city drags it's feet on doing anything until the time comes around when they just "happen" to be issuing redevelopment subsidies to the property owner.

Keep in mind, this is the same Austin Code Department executed a SWAT team raid over a tool shed that was six inches out of place.

Which begs the real question: How do you explain the disconnect between the Austin code department's treatment of individual homeowners compared to their treatment of subsidized slumlords?!?

Post Prop. 1, EVERYONE needs to eat some humble pie....

But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:

“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”
James 4:6

Prop. 1 is over.  Uber and Lyft have left town.  Now, it's up to those of us who actually live in Austin to pick up the pieces.

And the only way that's going to happen is with humility and forgiveness.

EVERYONE bears responsibility for the mess in which we find ourselves.  No one is innocent.  The silver lining, however, is that it also means everyone has the opportunity to save face as cooler heads prevail.

Consider the following:

• Uber and Lyft -- We said our piece about their cartoonishly inept campaign on Sunday morning.  Matthew Yglesias' 2014 essay about Uber is worth re-reading.  Suffice to say, with a smidgen of common sense and basic manners Prop. 1 would have passed by 20 points.

• Council -- That being said, Uber and Lyft aren't the only ones who've displayed a petulant, "my way or the highway" attitude throughout this process.  The only reason Prop. 1 materialized in the first place was that council refused to listen to the thousands of Austinites who practically begged them not to pass the ordinance.  Aloof haughtiness is neither attractive nor sustainable.
  
  We think this is the most interesting (and dangerous) aspect moving forward.  By (justifiably) refusing to validate the worst behaviors of Uber and Lyft, the voters de facto (if unintentionally) validated the worst behaviors of council.  Thus, to put it mildly, we fear council over-interpreting their mandate.
  
  But just because voters punished one group of arrogant jerks in the Prop. 1 election doesn't mean they've discovered new-found patience and respect for the other group of arrogant jerks who got us into this mess.

• The Taxi cartel -- Speaking of arrogant jerks, these guys need to understand that their 1930's regulatory model is dead and never coming back.  While it has been obscured by the Prop. 1 spending, the taxi cartel gamed the old system for decades.  That must end.

• Local Prop. 1 supporters not affiliated with Uber or Lyft -- We would consider ourselves part of this category.  While we stand by our positions on the underlying regulatory issues, we were slow to realize the degree to which Uber and Lyft were being jerks to our friends and neighbors.  We shouldn't have outsourced this campaign to a bunch of Silicon Valley and D.C. based political hacks with no understanding of our community [Author's Note: One day, we'll tell the breakfast taco story.].
  
  Obviously it's too late to do anything about it , but there's a 'what if' scenario that we've been pondering since Saturday.  What if, about 10 days before the election, a group of local supporters of Prop. 1, not affiliated with Uber or Lyft had created a group along the lines of "Austinites for Prop. 1."  Our message could have been: "We're sorry about all the mail and phone calls you're getting from Uber and Lyft.  We didn't sign up for this either.  But that doesn't change the fact that the regulations passed by council will still lead to higher fares and longer wait times without any benefit to public safety."  Couldn't have hurt.
  
  That being said, the fact that our fingerprints were nowhere near this debacle turned out to be a blessing in disguise!

• Prop. 1 opponents -- Laura Morrison's election night speech speaks for itself; see our above comment about 'the other group of arrogant jerks.'

• The Texas Legislature -- We appreciate Sen. Huffines' and Schwertner's interest in this subject, but Joe Straus' silence speaks volumes.

• The Austin Chronicle -- While we rarely agree with their editorial positions, we've always found their willingness to show up and cover boring meetings of local governmental entities to be a valuable public service.  We just said something nice.  Would it kill you to return the favor?!?

Stef Shrader summarizes what the Prop. 1 campaign ended up becoming:

On one side, we have a city council where many representatives received campaign backing from the taxi industry—an industry which would like to see their new app-based competition go the way of the dodo.

On the other side, there’s a proposition to overturn several recent city regulations written by the Ridesharing Works for Austin PAC, a PAC that has been entirely funded by Uber and Lyft, according to KUT. That proposition, Proposition 1, is the only thing Austinites are voting on today.

This choice is beyond asinine. One industry should not be allowed to push through less favorable conditions for their competition. Likewise, no industry should be in the business of cherry-picking favorable regulations for itself via over-spending, over-campaigning, and threatening to rage-quit an entire metropolitan area, either.

And Josh Baer also says it well:

Bad attitudes and egos are what got us into this mess — and only cool heads and open arms will get us out of it.

Moving forward, several things have become obvious:

• Obnoxious corporate attitudes notwithstanding, no one does the basic blocking and tackling of urban passenger transportation nearly as well as Uber and Lyft.  That's not likely to change anytime soon.  Get Me has already been a disaster and there's no plausible alternative on the horizon.

• Fewer than 1000 taxis simply isn't sufficient for a metropolitan area of 2 million people.

• Joe Straus is still Joe Straus therefore a path through the Texas legislature is uncertain at best.

Austin needs to develop a regulatory framework that fosters a wide variety of transportation options with minimal barriers to entry.  That being said, people's legitimate safety concerns will also have to be addressed.  Our biggest challenge will be to discern between what's a legitimate safety concern and what's a barrier to entry.

Personally, we think the city should eliminate the cap on taxi licenses and franchises and allow the market to set their prices.  Once that happens, most of the other issues will work themselves out.  But we're open to suggestions.

Bottom Line: Moving forward, this discussion needs people to stop acting like obnoxious jerks.  This means everyone.  No matter where you stood on Prop.1, everyone includes YOU.

#YAK: Austin ISD proposing UNIVERSAL Salary Increases....

"One who increases his possessions by usury and extortion
Gathers it for him who will pity the poor."
Proverbs 28:8

Good grief; from this week's Austin Chronicle:

At the April 25 board meeting, Chief Finan­­cial Officer Nicole Conley presented the draft $1.3 billion budget for the 2016-17 school year. In it, the administration proposes two salary changes: a 3% across-the-board pay raise for all staff, and a $13/hour minimum wage. The raise will be the second biggest driver of the budget increase this year, with a price tag of $15 million. Add on the minimum wage increase, worth another $1.4 million in employee salaries, and the district is looking at an increase of $16.4 million in spending on pay.

But Education Austin President Ken Zarifis argues that it's nowhere near enough. The union has a counter-proposal that it's calling "four and four" – a 4% raise for all employees for the 2016-17 school year, with a guarantee of a 4% increase for 2017-18. If the board can't deliver that cumulative 8.16% increase over two years, the union is asking for 5% this year.

Zarifis argues that the money is there. "We've done 3 percent when things were really hard," he said. And the district was already proposing a 3% raise before the county reported a 15% increase in appraisals. Now that the draft budget has gone from a $24 million deficit a month ago to a $15 million surplus, the district is obligated to give something back to teachers who see their own tax bills rising. Zarifis said, "That money must go into the system and into their pockets."

If the board goes ahead with the administration's plan, this would be the third consecutive year with a pay raise. In 2014, after several years of wage stagnation and one-off payments, salaries rose 2%, followed by a 3% boost last year.

....

Zarifis said he doesn't blame the board for the soaring cost of living in Austin. But he argues that it's their responsibility to respond to it, and he's already seeing some support. Trustee Gina Hinojosa told staff during the board meeting that she would at least want to see calculations about what "four and four" or the 5% would mean for the overall budget. Similarly, Trustee Jayme Mathias, who has called teacher compensation "a social justice issue," said he was particularly concerned about only going with a 3% increase when surrounding districts are considering anything up to 5% this year.

Read the whole thing here.

Zimmerman smokes out Council's anti-Christian Bigotry

"who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen."
Romans 1:25

[Author's Note: It gets better, read the Austin Chronicle's conniption fit here.]

This is great:

Council Member Ann Kitchen brought forth a resolution authorizing the city to get involved in the "Compassionate Communities Campaign." It's something other major cities have done. Kitchen says it's just meant to encourage everyone in town to practice compassion -- not that we don't already.

Council Member Don Zimmerman took issue with this earlier in the week at the work session, saying the resolution had religious overtones...so if council is bringing religion to the table why not extend that "compassion" to unborn children?

Fast forward to Thursday's City Council discussion on the resolution.

Zimmerman had drafted 3 amendments. One of them focused on Jesus and another instructing Council to set a time for "Serve the Lord Week"' It was a "no-go" on those two but to Zimmerman's surprise, Kitchen accepted his first amendment.

The first paragraph of the amendment was language from the "Compassion Charter." The second paragraph, according to Zimmerman, was made up of language similar to that of the compassion charter:

"WHEREAS, One should strive to act with compassion and empathy towards all creatures in accordance with reason; One's body is inviolable, subject to one's own will alone; the spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word."

But then, Zimmerman let the cat out of the bag about where that language actually came from.

"Those 3 sentences that I added came from the satanic temple website. Most of my constituents in District 6 all believe in Jesus, that he's the resurrected Messiah and he's their Savior. But I probably do have a handful of satanists in an area of 80,000 people," Zimmerman said.

....

Zimmerman tells Fox 7 he was making a point that Council rejected the Christian amendments but seemed ok with the satanic language before they knew what it really was.

Read the whole thing here.

Eckhardt to voters: Drop Dead!!!

"He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck,
Will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy."
Proverbs 29:1

[UPDATE: Austin Affordability has a fantastic write up here.]

In what has to be one of the all-time great acts of political chutzpah, last night Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardy (D) gave the following speech following the defeat of the Travis County Courthouse bond:



Highlights:

• "Back in saddle" in 48 hours.

• "Low voter turnout" wasn't "rejection of the project" or the location.
• Author's Note: YES, it was.

• "It was a lack of interest in our democracy."

• Yadda, yadda, "justice."

• BTW, we LOVE the fact that Michael King of the Austin Chronicle was standing immediately behind Eckhardt.

Bottom Line: The tax revolt that sprung up in Travis County a couple of years ago won't go away until our local elected officials address the underlying issues.

#FBF: When Travis County got sued over its last Courthouse

"There is desirable treasure,
And oil in the dwelling of the wise,
But a foolish man squanders it."
Proverbs 21:20

The Austin Chronicle in 2002:

At press time, "Naked City" learned that a federal jury ruled in favor of construction company Fluor Daniel in its court battle against Travis County over delays and cost overruns in the construction of theBlackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center, and ordered Travis County to pay Fluor Daniel $2.8 million for work completed.

Read the whole thing here.

#TBT: When the last Travis County Courthouse went over budget

"There is desirable treasure,
And oil in the dwelling of the wise,
But a foolish man squanders it."
Proverbs 21:20

From an Austin Chronicle article about the 2002 Travis County Commissioner's Court races:

You might think that running for re-election to the Travis County Commissioners Court is harder than it really is. During the last four years, on the PR front, the courthouse has been an ugly place -- at least by the conventional aesthetic and moral standards we apply to politics. Would you want to be an incumbent explaining to constituents why Travis Co. taxes, which just went up again, are among the highest in the state? Why the new Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center was $23 million over budget? Why the county now has to pay $2.3 million to the Blackwell-Thurman contractor? Why the Travis Co. Jail was out of compliance with state standards for a decade?

[Author's Note: Emphasis added.]

Read the whole thing here.

The Latest Absurdity from Austin's Transportation Superiors

Shall I count pure those with the wicked scales,
And with the bag of deceitful weights?"
Micah 6:11

Because, if there's one solution to Austin's traffic challenges, it's to create massive additional disruption for the next 5-10 years:

Crossing the Lake

Project Connect planners are also deciding among three options that would cross Lady Bird Lake to connect an East Riverside Drive route to Trinity Street. The least expensive option, at approximately $175 million, is to build a new bridge over the lake. The bridge could also become a signature structure for the city, including access for cyclists and pedestrians. However, there are issues that would need to be resolved in advance, including traffic interaction on Trinity, diminished parking, special event conflicts, and even a potential conflict with the Waller Creek Boathouse.

The second option, at an estimated cost of $240 million, would be a short tunnel, starting a few hundred yards south of the lake and rising at Fourth and Trinity (thereby avoiding conflict with the boathouse). Furthermore, this would allow future connectivity to South Congress and South Lavaca, as well as future capacity/system expansion. But like the bridge option, the tunnel could also create problems affecting auto capacity, parking, and other issues at the northern portal, and possibly interfere with Convention Center operations. (There is also a question of whether the Federal Transportation Authority, a potential source of funding, would consider a tunnel cost-effective.)

The third option – a long tunnel extending all the way through Downtown and emerging at 15th Street – is by far the most expensive, at an estimated $475 million, and faces the same FTA issue. But it would include underground stations, would be less visible and obstructive, and provide greater reliability and capacity, accommodating higher speeds and higher frequencies, without having to interact with Downtown traffic. The long tunnel would avoid issues with the boathouse and also Sixth Street, and wouldn't interfere with Trinity Street.

Urban Rail: The Next Great Austin Swindle

Kudos to the Austin Chronicle for this long article on the latest utopian scheme from the central planners at Austin City Hall (and the Obama administration!); the scheme calls for building a new rail line from the area around Highland mall, down the east side of UT campus, into downtown.

First things first, the timetable:

[T]hey will likely be on a ballot proposal in November 2014

But nothing's set...yet:

"several more months of discussion before we put anything on the ballot. Any­thing could change between now and then."

But this is a wide ranging plan with obvious Agenda 21 fingerprints:

In the long term, Project Connect, the regional planning initiative under the Cap­it­al Area Metropolitan Planning Organ­iz­ation, envisions a public transit system that connects not only all of Austin, but also other destinations in the Central Texas region, such as San Marcos and San Antonio.

With questionable assumptions:

\In justifying the Highland recommendation, Julitz emphasized that Project Connect is a long-term investment. As the area continues to grow, Julitz expects ridership to grow as well.

That fail to account for the obvious:

the rail route would likely go up San Jacinto, on the eastern side of the university. That's not unanimously supported at UT; in October, UT's Student Government General Assembly endorsed the Lamar/Guadalupe sub-corridor on the west side of campus, nearer to the West Campus student population.

Because, duh, most of the population in the area around UT is in WEST (not east) Campus!

But there's Obama bucks to be had in West Campus:

the UT administration prefers the eastern route, especially since the west side will soon be served by bus rapid transit along Guada­lupe and Lamar....MetroRapid will receive considerable funding from the Federal Transit Administration, specifically dedicated to that route.

 So let's neglect what we've learn from current mass transit ridership:

the undeniable fact that the Lamar/Guadalupe corridor has the strongest current population density as well as the strongest current demand for mass transit, as expressed by bus ridership..[because]..the Lamar sub-corridor contains many of the most walkable neighborhoods outside of Down­town Austin.

Because government knows best:

And they've insisted – echoed by the mayor at CCAG Friday – that surveyed public sentiment is only one factor to be considered in choosing a route, and that the project decision cannot rely simply on "a popularity contest."

And government can't do without those Obama bucks:

Dahmus thinks the city is avoiding the Lamar/Guadalupe sub-corridor largely for what he calls a political reason – specifically, to avoid endangering federal support already dedicated to bus rapid transit. The Lamar/Guadalupe area will soon have MetroRapid, which was approved in 2010 as part of Capital Metro's ServicePlan2020, a planned network of bus routes. MetroRapid cost about $47.6 million total, and the Federal Transit Administration's Very Small Starts program covered about $38.1 million of that, or roughly 80%, with Capital Metro funding the remaining fifth, about $9.5 million.

....

[T]he FTA "would be very unhappy if we reprogrammed those corridors after we gave them this plan that put in the bus rapid transit – and then we decide that we want to do rail there instead." The buses couldn't simply be moved to a different area because of the specific contract with FTA. "It's a very competitive system to get money, so cities that play ball with the federal authorities are probably more likely to get funding for their projects,"

This will probably be on the ballot next fall; stay tuned....

-----

Some thoughts:

• The ONLY way rail transportation in Austin could, in theory, make sense is on the Lamar/Guadelupe corridor.  Even there, it probably doesn't.  Any other route will be a boondoggle that fails to solve Austin's transportation challenges.

• This economic development mindset that made New York, Boston, and San Francisco three of the most expensive cities in the country.

• If a local project is worth pursuing, it's worth financing locally.

• Who's getting rich off the Highland corridor?!?

• This shouldn't be the purview of the current lame duck city council.

-----

If readers can stomach Pravdaesque writing, this pro-rail propaganda at the Austin Post is worth reading.

Austin Media Ignoring Project Veritas' HD-50 Bombshell

On Wednesday, Project Veritas released this third video from the recent Texas investigation.  It revealed an Obamacare operative conspiring to use government data to help elect Celia Israel.  This has major implications for Travis County.

And the response from local Austin media is...nothing:

• KVUE (Local ABC Affiliate) - Nothing.

• KXAN (Local NBC Affiliate) - Nothing.

• KEYE (Local CBS Affiliate) - Nothing.

• Austin Post - Nothing.

• Austin-American Statesman - Nothing.

• Austin Chronicle - Nothing.

• To their credit, the local Fox affiliate HAS covered the story: 

[Author's Note: Some of these outlets covered the first video, but the third (with the local angle) has gotten nothing.]

Local Austin media often does good work, but their silence (so far) on this HD-50 bombshell is disappointing.

-----

Readers are free to contact these outlets via the following Social Media platforms:

KVUE
Twitter: @KVUE.
Facebook: The KVUE Insider.

KXAN
Twitter: @KXAN_News.
Facebook: KXAN Austin News.

KEYE
Twitter: @KEYETV.
Facebook: KEYE CBS News, Austin.

Austin Post
Twitter: @AustinPost.
Facebook: N/A

Austin Chronicle:
Twitter: @AustinChronicle.
Facebook: Austin Chronicle

Austin American-Statesman:
Twitter: @statesman.
Facebook: Austin American-Statesman

Austin Chronicle tells a Bald-Faced Lie

From today's write-up on the Austin Housing Boondoggle:

It's these types of public exchanges that are making affordable housing advocates nervous. Last year, a $78.3 million bond election failed by just 7,000 votes – and that was without any organized opposition. This time around, with a $65 million bond proposition on the ballot, a group called Travis County Taxpayers Union has organized against the measure. And though it's a low-budget opposition campaign – basically a one-man-band run by Don Zimmerman, a libertarianish Republican who's made a few runs for public office – it carries all the bells and whistles (a "taxpayer rape whistle," to be precise) designed to get Zimmerman's political brethren riled up, no matter how offensive the tactics. In last year's bond election, the Taxpayers Union did not specifically target the housing bond; rather, it put all its marbles into defeating the proposed medical school, which won handily. So maybe the group's losing track record will bring housing advocates some luck at the polls this year.

[Emphasis Ours]

The Chronicle conveniently omits TCTU's victory against two Austin ISD bonds earlier this year; nor to they mention the TCTU lawsuit that has the other two bond propositions on ice at the 3rd Court of Appeals.

Or maybe the Austin Chronicle fails to read their own paper.

But hey, why accurately cite history from five months ago when there's a narrative to push?!?