ATX PULSE 9/3/24 (sponsored by No Scrubs): I-35 Closed in Downtown After Crash // 1 Shot in Downtown Road Rage Incident // Person Dies After Being Struck By Vehicle // KXAN: Madison Missed 60% of Council Meetings // District Judge Rules for Equity Action on Prop A // DA Garza Charges Taxpayers for Home Security with No Law Enforcement Confirmed Threats

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2024

Compiled by Matt Mackowiak

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TODAY’S WEATHER

H: 86° / L: 74°. More rain expected. Latest forecast from Fox 7 Austin’s Zack Shields here.

TOP NEWS

“Northbound I-35 is closed in downtown Austin after deadly crash,” KXAN’s Anthony Torres — “A crash has turned deadly in downtown Austin after a pedestrian was struck by a vehicle at northbound I-35 near 8th Street, according to Austin-Travis County EMS.

TxDOT said on a social media post that all lanes are closed due to a crash. Traffic is diverting to exit 234C.

Plan accordingly for significant delays, and use an alternate route.” KXAN

THE BLOTTER

~ “1 shot in Downtown Austin road rage incident, APD says,” KVUE’s Morgan McGrath – “Austin police are searching for a suspect after an apparent road rage incident led to a shooting early Labor Day morning in Downtown Austin. 

According to an Austin Police Department (APD) officer on the scene, two drivers began arguing at around 1 a.m. at the intersection of East Seventh and Red River streets.

The officer said a suspect shot the person they were arguing with before they fled the scene. 

The person who was shot is recovering from non-severe injuries. Police continue to look for the suspect. 

No additional information is available at this time.” KVUE

~ “Person dies on I-35 after being struck by vehicle,” via Fox 7 Austin – “A person has died after being struck by a vehicle on I-35.

Austin-Travis County EMS says it responded at just after 5:30 a.m. to 900 North I-35 northbound.

Officials say the person was pronounced dead at the scene.

Drivers should expect delays in the area.” Fox 7 Austin

~ “Austin Fire Department investigates cause of southeast building fire,” CBS Austin’s Victoria Garcia – “The Austin Fire Department is working to determine what caused a fire to ignite at a building in southeast Austin Sunday night.

AFD tweeted around 10:30 p.m. crews were on scene of a fire at a building on East Slaughter Lane near I-35.

Crews were reportedly fighting a fully involved single story structure fire and were asking people to avoid the area.

Around 10:45 p.m., AFD said the fire was out and crews were continuing to perform searches of the exterior and the interior of the residence.

It's not clear what caused the fire to start.” CBS Austin

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

~ “‘Don’t have representation’: City council member disproportionately missing meetings,” KXAN’s Grace Reader – “When Austin City Council met Thursday to work through a more than 200 item agenda, District 1’s Natasha Harper-Madison didn’t attend. Her office told KXAN it was for “health reasons.”

“CM Harper-Madison was off the dais today, like many of her colleagues have been before and will be at some point in the future. It happens,” Sharon Mays, the council member’s chief of staff, wrote.

But KXAN found it’s not happening at the same rate. We went through every Austin City Council meeting since the start of 2023, there are about 40 of them, and took attendance. We included some special called meetings where the council members could be seen on camera. Despite a request from Harper-Madison’s office, we did not include committee meetings in that tally, as council members do not vote during those meetings and they are not attended by the full body.

Two city council members, Paige Ellis and Zohaib Qadri, didn’t miss a meeting in that time and never attended virtually. Below is a look at attendance from all of 2023.

We found Council Member Harper-Madison has been absent from council meetings more than every other city council member, and the mayor, combined. And by double.

Since January 2023, the start of her second term, she has attended eight meetings virtually and altogether missed 10 of them, according to our count. Those absences include several last year where the council member took medical leave. She told us previously that the leave was for mental health treatment.” KXAN

~ “Police accountability group celebrates ruling in Austin Prop A lawsuit,” KVUE’s Adam Bennett – “A nonprofit focused on police accountability is celebrating a ruling late Friday in its lawsuit against the city of Austin.

In December 2023, Equity Austin sued former Interim City Manager Jesús Garza, Interim Chief of Police Robin Henderson and Office of Police Oversight Director Gail McCant.

Plaintiffs accused the city of failing to fully implement Proposition A, also known as the Austin Police Oversight Act, passed by voters in May 2023. That included ending the use of a confidential personnel file with officer complaints known as a “g-file."

The g-file been a sticking point in contract negotiations between the city and its police union.

After a ruling late Friday in the case by District Judge Maria Cantú Hexsel, Alycia Castillo of the Equity Action called it “a momentous day for Austin.”

“Today a judge ruled the city was breaking the law and should end the ‘g-file’ system, the discretionary system used to keep records of police misconduct secret,” Castillo said in a written statement. “We hope the sunlight offered through the full, forthcoming implementation of the Austin Police Oversight Act will bring about the meaningful deterrent to police misconduct and brutality our city voted for back in 2023.”

On Sunday, KVUE spoke with Christopher Irwin, vice president of the Austin Police Association.

“This is not the final decision in the case, and we’re just waiting to see what happens next, waiting to see how the city reacts,” Irwin said. “This is done Friday at nearly 5 p.m. before a long holiday weekend. So, a lot of people looked at it, glanced and now, when we come back for the week, [we will] sit down and see where we go from here.”

On Sunday, the city of Austin sent KVUE a statement reacting to Friday’s ruling.

“We appreciate the court’s time and attention to this matter,” said a city spokesperson. “We are currently reviewing the decision and will have discussions with city leaders on potential next steps in the coming days.”” KVUE

~ “Travis Co. DA enlists constables for home security,” KVUE’s Tony Plohetski – “On any given evening, and into the night, anyone passing through can likely notice police SUVs stationed on a particular Austin neighborhood street.

They’re Travis County deputy constables – on a special security assignment – protecting of District Attorney Jose Garza. A Jan. 29 post on the social media platform X sparked the law enforcement operation.

The X account – describing itself as pro-law enforcement – published a screengrab of an easy-to-find campaign finance report, a public record, that Garza filed with the county showing his home address.

Within 48 hours, Garza’s office asked the county’s five constables whether deputies could guard his home.

"I just didn't have the staff to make a long-term commitment on it, but in the short term that is what we did,” Constable Stacy Suits said.

The KVUE Defenders, in partnership with the Austin American-Statesman, recently revealed the county secretly gave Garza $115,000 to enhance his home security in the spring. Now, we’ve learned Garza’s office has also mobilized a squad of county law enforcement officers to guard his house.

An email to county constables from Norris McKenzie, Garza’s chief investigator, on Jan. 31 said: "We need overnight and weekend security for the district attorney. I have been authorized to offer overtime for any of your troops who can work these hours…Please let me know if you can offer any of your troops for this assignment. I need an answer as soon as possible.”

The Travis County Sheriff’s Office says it declined a similar request, telling the DA’s office that its deputies were already stretched thin due to staffing shortages, busy working patrols and in the jail.

Dispatch logs obtained by the KVUE Defenders show deputy constables have performed the special security assignment to Garza’s house almost nightly since early February.

It’s an expense large enough to raise questions, says Adrian Shelley, director of the Texas office of the government watchdog group Public Citizen.

“That’s a significant investment, right, of taxpayer funds,” Shelley said. “For the average taxpayer, it’s considerable, and it’s enough money that we ought to understand if the expense is justified.”

Constables typically provide an array of law enforcement operations which include traffic enforcement and serving warrants, subpoenas and eviction notices.

Suits and other constables say they have never provided this type of home security to any official. In fact, the KVUE Defenders could not find another example of another local official receiving this type of taxpayer-funded security for this long of a period based on a perceived threat.

“Over the last twelve months, the District Attorney has received multiple politically motivated threats of violence, including to his life and his residence. Commissioner’s Court authorized recommended security expenditures in response to those threats.”

KVUE Defenders also reached out to Travis County Judge Andy Brown, who employs DA Garza’s wife as his chief of staff, and the other four county commissioners about this operation. The commissioners set budgets for the constables' offices. They released a joint statement saying that they take the safety of elected and appointed officials and county employees seriously.

In 2021, the Texas Ethics Commission issued an opinion saying that elected officials such as Garza can spend campaign contributions on home security. We checked José Garza’s campaign finance reports for the 2024 filing periods. The only expenditures for security shown in those reports are for two campaign events totaling $800.

Dispatch records show constable Precincts 3 and 4 provided a handful of deputy constables each early in the operation, shifting officers from regular assignments to guard Garza’s home. …

Multiple law enforcement agencies tell us that they have no current investigations involving a threat to Garza, and the DA’s office won’t release any information on possible threats. The Travis County Sheriff’s Office says it investigated two threats or concerning communications involving Garza in 2023 – among a growing number of threats to all elected officials, including judges.

Travis County Sheriff’s Office records show Garza reported two threats in 2023. One, an email, was not considered a direct threat. The other, a letter, was referred to the postal inspector.

The Austin Police Department confirms it hasn’t responded to any reported threats at his home.” KVUE

~ “Austin City Council once again votes to prioritize much-needed AFD ladder truck,” KXAN’s Grace Reader – “After a KXAN report found Austin was behind other growing cities in bringing new ladder trucks online to match population growth, the problem still remains. This week Austin City Council once again voted to prioritize staffing for those trucks.

“After excellent reporting by KXAN, I learned that there was a purchase that had been made in 1995, that was the last time that we purchased an aerial fire truck for the city of Austin,” said Council Member Mackenzie Kelly of District 6.

Council Member Kelly worked at least one new truck into last year’s budget as a result. But staffing for that truck, and another that was intended to be brought online, has remained in limbo despite a unanimous push from city council to get it done.

“It does us no good to have a truck with nobody to be able to be on it,” Kelly said.

This week, Austin City Council once again directed the city manager to prioritize funding to permanently staff those units, by no later than next fiscal year. Chief Bob Nicks, the president of the Austin Firefighters Association, says with a new city manager at the helm, he’s confident it will get done this time.

“They have a lot of different priorities to juggle, and they’re being pulled by different ways on that and regardless of all that past action, now’s the time to do something about it,” Chief Nicks said.

We’ve told you previously that this issue also has a trickle-down effect on AFD staffing. A memo obtained by KXAN last year found the department’s wildfire battalion was not able to expand as planned because AFD ties its highest tactical crews to those aerial units.

“We don’t have enough captains in the wildfire division to even train those firefighters well, because that’s our delivery model,” Chief Nicks said. “The captains provide most of the training. So from a tactical standpoint, way behind. From administrative and training standpoint, way behind. It’s just time we do something about this.”” KXAN

SPORTS

~ TEXAS FOOTBALL: “With Michigan football up next, Texas Longhorns blow past Colorado State,” Austin American-Statesman’s Danny Davis — “With a marquee matchup at Michigan set for Week 2, Texas football first took care of business in its opener.

Junior quarterback Quinn Ewers threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns as Texas rolled to a 52-0 win over Colorado State at Royal-Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Ranked fourth in both the Associated Press and US LBM Coaches preseason polls, the Longhorns improved to 4-0 in season openers during the Steve Sarkisian era.

Saturday was UT's first season-opening shutout since 2004.

Up next for Texas (1-0) is next week's trip to see No. 8 Michigan, which won the national championship last season.

The UT offense stalled on its first drive of the season, and its third possession was undone by an interception in Colorado State territory. But Texas still entered halftime with a 31-0 lead as Quintrevion Wisner scored the first touchdown of the Longhorns' season on a 3-yard run, Bert Auburn kicked a 45-yard field goal and transfer receivers Matthew Golden (Houston) and Isaiah Bond (Alabama) combined for three touchdown catches.

In addition to piecing together five scoring drives in the first half, the Ewers-directed offense at Texas compiled 309 yards over the first 30 minutes. But that offensive output was arguably a secondary storyline during the halftime break.” AAS ($)

~ TEXAS FOOTBALL: “Texas football looking forward to sights, sounds of Michigan Wolverines’ Big House,” Austin American-Statesman’s Danny Davis — “Quinn Ewers was raised in Texas and this is his third season as the starting quarterback at the state's flagship university. He's a Texan through and through.

But Ewers also started his college career at Ohio State. And even though he spent just one semester in Columbus, the Buckeye in him still comes out when one topic is broached. He can't help himself.

So what are your thoughts about the Michigan game, Quinn?

"It's going to be an awesome environment. The place is going to be rocking, especially with all the hype just because it's an early game and they're coming off the national championship," Ewers said at SEC media days this summer in a clip that went viral online.

"Yeah, the Team Up North," he added with a wry smile.

Ah yes, the Team Up North. Famed Ohio State coach Woody Hayes refused to reference Michigan by name, so that's how Buckeyes players and coaches refer to their biggest rival. Ewers has declined to let the word "Michigan" leave his mouth a time or two since he arrived at Texas. Former Ohio State cornerback Ryan Watts, who finished his career at Texas from 2022-23, did the same while talking to media members in Austin.

Following Saturday's 52-0 season-opening win over Colorado State, Ewers was asked if he'd continue to refer to Michigan as the Team Up North.

"It's just a little funny joke," Ewers replied. "The Team Up North, it's always funny. But I'll say it: 'Michigan.'"

Michigan. Team Up North. On Saturday, it will be just semantics when No. 4 Texas travels to Ann Arbor for a marquee matchup between two of college football's winningest programs. Texas and No. 8 Michigan, the defending national champion, are both 1-0.

Despite combining to play 2,768 games in their history, Texas and Michigan have only met once. Nearly 20 years ago, UT used a late field goal to beat the Wolverines at the 2005 Rose Bowl.

"I'm so excited that I'm in that opportunity to get to play in the Big House (and) represent the great state of Texas across my chest, and just to know that opportunity presents itself when both of these blue blood programs are top 10 in the country," safety Michael Taaffe said. "When college football is at its best is when Texas and Michigan and teams like USC and Georgia and Alabama and Clemson are at the best. That's how it looks like this season's going to go, and it's so cool to see that Texas and Michigan are at the top right now. We respect the heck out of them and it's gonna be a fun game."“ AAS ($)

~ TEXAS BASKETBALL: “Texas men’s basketball coach Rodney Terry says rebuilt Longhorns are ready,” Austin American-Statesman’s Thomas Jones — “Texas basketball coach Rodney Terry still has to wait a few weeks before he can hang a whistle around his neck and officially open the doors to the Longhorns’ facility for fall practice.

But in this portal era, building a roster begins before the previous season even ends.

Don’t believe it? Take a peek at the NCAA’s portal window, which opened March 18, three days before the Longhorns began the 2024 NCAA Tournament with a win over Colorado State.

According to Terry, his staff has to begin the evaluation process for players while scouting opponents during March Madness. Hectic? Yes. Avoidable? Not anymore.

“I think we all have learned how to navigate through the portal, especially over the past three or four years,” Terry said Thursday during a Zoom meeting with selected media. “And I think our staff's done a great job of identifying the right guys that we try to go after in the portal. And again, a lot of that's based on a lot of legwork that we've already done on our end, in terms of the things that we use to measure how a guy's going to fit for us.”

Will the six portal players Terry and his staff brought in be the right guys for the 2024-25 season, which will begin with a trip to Las Vegas to face Ohio State on Nov. 4? How about a three-player freshman class headlined by five-star shooting guard Tre Johnson? And what about the returnees such as guard Chendall Weaver, forward Devon Pryor and big men Kadin Shedrick and Ze’Rik Onyema, all of whom Terry mentioned as key players for the upcoming season?

Terry believes so, but before he could start constructing this year’s squad, he had to take a look back at last year’s players.” AAS ($)

~ TEXAS VOLLEYBALL: “No. 1 Texas volleyball team opens season with win over No. 3 Wisconsin,” Austin American-Statesman’s Thomas Jones — “The Texas volleyball team began its quest for a third consecutive national championship in resounding fashion Sunday, beating Wisconsin 3-1 in the Badgers’ own backyard at Fizerv Arena in Milwaukee.

In a rematch of a 2023 national semifinal, Texas and Wisconsin traded punches while splitting the first two sets. But the Longhorns’ depth wore Wisconsin down in a 30-28, 23-25, 25-15, 25-11 win. Outside hitter Jenna Wenaas led Texas with 18 kills, and three other Longhorns had at least nine kills as setters Ella Swindle and Averi Carlson spread the wealth.

Outside hitter Madisen Skinner, the Longhorns’ leading attacker last season and one of the faces of college volleyball this year, had a relatively quiet game with 15 kills on 51 swings to go with six digs. But she might not need to put as many shots to the floor as she did last season based on the balance that No. 1 Texas (1-0) showed against No. 3 Wisconsin (0-2).” AAS ($)

~ RIP EDITH ROYAL: “Memorial service scheduled for Edith Royal, wife of Texas great Darrell Royal,” Austin American-Statesman’s Cedric Golden — “A memorial service for Edith Thomason Royal, who died Monday at 98, has been set.

The wife of the former Texas Longhorns football coach Darrell Royal was an Oklahoma native.

The service is scheduled for 3 p.m. Wednesday at the Westlake Hills Presbyterian Church, located at 7127 Bee Caves Road in Austin.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Darrell K Royal Fund for Alzheimer's Research online at dkrfund.org, caritasofaustin.org or centerforchildprotection.org.” KXAN

QUICK LINKS

~ Kohl's is headed to Bastrop - Community Impact

~ Austin breakdance competition ‘BBoy City’ celebrates 30 years - KXAN Austin

~ How Col. Steve McCraw took over a troubled DPS and recast the image of Texas' top cop - Austin American-Statesman

~ Austin Police say man allegedly robbed multiple game rooms - KXAN Austin

~ Sylvan Learning Center closes north, south Austin locations - Community Impact

~ The unspoken rules of Austin, according to KXAN viewers - KXAN Austin

~ 30-year industry veteran Paul Woo joins Cornerstone Capital Bank as CFO with plans to drive growth - ABJ

~ VOTE: Help us choose the best KXAN viewer photo of August 2024 - KXAN Austin

~ New year-round farmers market to open at Lakeline Mall in Cedar Park - Community Impact

AUSTIN CULTURE

~ BRUNCH: ”J

~ SUPPORT OUR LOCAL RESTAURANTS: Austin Restaurant Weeks starts today and lasts until Sept. 15. More info here.

~ OLD AUSTIN: ”Clever passport rewards locals for visiting 10 Old Austin institutions” Culture Map Austin

WHAT TO DO TONIGHT

~ LIVE MUSIC: Twenty One Pilots with Balu Brigada. Moody Center. Doors 7pm, show 7:45pm. Tickets $59 and up here.

COOL JOB ALERT

~ Chief Deputy Clerk: Salary: $72k-$82k. 15th Court of Appeals. Info / apply here.