Just This.

Like chapters of a book, each episode of the “San Antonio Storybook” will tell a different tale about the city we call home. The stories likely are ones you haven't heard before – narratives about the lives of the people behind the headlines, the sounds you hear, and the places you see as you drive around San Antonio.   Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts

“Finding Medina” weaves together the events surrounding the Battle of Medina with the modern-day search for the battlefield itself. Despite being the largest, bloodiest battle in Texas history, the Medina battlefield has eluded archaeologists for more than a century. By the end of this podcast series, we hope to change that.   Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

We may have been naive to be surprised that a San Antonio resort named La Cantera would be sued in 2018 for enforcing an "English-only" policy among Latino employees, but the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) this week filed just that lawsuit. Helping us understand the lawsuit and the procedures the EEOC goes through before filing such a lawsuit is veteran San Antonio employment attorney Chris Pittard, whose background includes four years as an EEOC lawyer. We also have a special announcement following our conversation.

What did you do on summer vacation? Some San Antonio high school students from the International School of the Americas magnet program spent it diving deep into the horrors of the Holocaust. Rick Casey talks to two of them, Sofia Fortuno and Claire Ferrell.  

The firefighters' union will have three controversial charter amendmentson the Nov. 6 ballot and each could have a significant effect on political decision making in San Antonio. This week, Iris Dimmick, who has been covering the firefighters' union contract negotiations for years, joins the podcast to discuss each of the three city charter changes, and Rick explains why he thinks if the amendments pass, the union will be the most powerful political force in San Antonio since the police union of the 1980s.

We talk with Gerry Schwabel, long-time head of international affairs for IBC Bank, which specializes in U.S. companies doing business in Mexico and Mexican companies doing business in the United States. Schwabel was present at the creation of NAFTA here in San Antonio and has closely monitored the current negotiations over updating the treaty. He just returned from Mexico City where he was one of the invited industry representatives who literally wait outside the doors behind which negotiations take place and offer instant responses to negotiators about proposed changes. 

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton asked a federal court this week to void an Environmental Protection Agency finding that San Antonio has – like every other United States city of its size or larger – exceeded federal standards for ozone in its air. Paxton argued the finding would seriously hurt the city's economy. Will it? And why hasn't the City of San Antonio joined Paxton in the filing? Brendan Gibbons, the Rivard Report's environmental reporter, explains.

San Antonio City Councilman Manny Pelaez (D8) this week called for Bexar County District Attorney Nico LaHood to investigate the North Texas developer whose crews recently clearcut most of 38 acres of dense, brushy forest near La Cantera Parkway on the city's far North Side. LaHood called the move grandstanding. Pelaez joins me to discuss the crimes he has in mind.

This week the most comprehensive study of San Antonio's housing needs produced a detailed proposal to address a severe and growing problem. The Housing Policy Task Force Calls for 10-Year, $3.9 Billion Plan One statistic is particularly powerful: Paying the median rent for an apartment requires a wage of $18 an hour, yet 60 percent of San Antonio workers make less than $15. Owning a house is even tougher: The median price of a home has soared 40 percent in the last six years, and the trend is likely to continue. Addressing the issue, the report says, will require considerable resources and a novel approach to affordable housing. A city's housing stock is part of its infrastructure, just like water, streets, drainage. and sewage. If the free market can't provide affordable housing, we need to address the problem collectively as a city – just as we do our other infrastructure needs. Lourdes Castro Ramírez, who chaired Mayor Ron Nirenberg's Housing Policy Task Force that produced the study, joins us to discuss its findings.

There is a growing consensus that Texas' school funding system is broken – especially when well-run suburban districts such as San Antonio's North East Independent School District are on the mat. San Antonio Democratic State Rep. Diego Bernal, who is vice chairman of the House Committee on Education, has recently expressed optimism that the Legislature is ready to address the problem. It turns out it is cautious and rather limited optimism, but optimism nonetheless. Give a listen.

Frost Tower, the first downtown office high-rise to join San Antonio's skyline in three decades, has reached its full height and will open for business next year. Weston Urban CEO Randy Smith played a central role in negotiating the deal and selecting the world-renowned architectural firm Pelli Clarke Pelli and is overseeing construction. In today's episode, he explains what went into the deal, what Frost wanted out of it, and how the architects – including one who was born a few blocks away at the Nix Hospital – approached it.

When prominent San Antonio restaurateur Viola Barrios of Los Barrios Restaurant was murdered a decade ago, her family's passionate response was immediate and stunning. Literally listening to their mother, they obeyed the instructions she had given them over the years to forgive. Throughout her life, Barrios had not only preached compassion and forgiveness, she had practiced them herself within her community and in response to an earlier tragedy, the loss of her husband José. Today, Barrios' children contribute to and carry on Viola's legacy, honoring their mother with the enduring gift of generosity she instilled in them. Rivard Reporter Ken Rodriguez, who covered the murder from its beginning in 2008, tells the story.

With the redevelopment the Alamo and its surrounding plaza at the center of recent public debate, I invited Lewis Fisher, one of the city's leading historians, to share details about the iconic site's past and ownership. Fisher is the author of Saving San Antonio: The Preservation of a Heritage, a book dedicated to tales of the city's strength in preserving its past. When the State of Texas bought the Alamo church from the Catholic Church in 1883, it became the first landmark to be purchased with the purpose of historic preservation.

When Nico LaHood, less than a month into his tenure as Bexar County district attorney, announced he wouldn't seek the death penalty for a 25-year-old man who had killed the Bexar County city of  Elmendorf ‘s popular police chief in 2014, it seemed like a radical move. But this week highly respected District Judge Sid Harle ruled the killer was not guilty by reason of insanity. In this week's podcast, Harle discusses the case and talks about why the law left him said he had no choice but to acquit Joshua Manuel Lopez.

One year ago, just weeks after President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris climate accord, San Antonio's brand new City Council and its new mayor voted 9-1 to join a coalition of cities determined to meet the accord's goals for reducing the greenhouse gases that are causing climate change. The first step of the ambitious commitment was for the City-owned CPS Energy to give the University of Texas at San Antonio a $500,000 grant to study the area's sources of greenhouse gases and come up with a plan to reduce them. This week, the Rivard Report's environmental reporter, Brendan Gibbons, broke the story that UTSA has been replaced by a private consulting firm. Listen to the background.

A primer on the upcoming Mexican election. Sure “Amlo,” Just the likely winner, is a leftist. But he's not the next Hugo Chavez. 

Harvey Kronberg has been covering Texas political conventions at the Quorum Report for three decades. These gatherings don't nominate candidates, but as Kronberg explains, they have plenty of drama. The 2018 Texas Republican Convention kicked off in San Antonio on Thursday, so Harvey and I explore the dynamics surrounding the party and event. Why did AT&T withdraw a $100,000 pledge? Why is a reception for House Speaker Joe Straus an aggressive statement? Kronberg joins me via Skype to discuss these questions and more.

This week in Just This Rick Casey talks with Iris Dimmick, Rivard Report managing editor and City Hall reporter, about the latest draft of plans for remaking Alamo Plaza. A team of national experts, under direction from the City of San Antonio, the Texas Land Office and the Alamo Endowment, took steps toward addressing issues passionately raised by community critics when the first draft was released last year. But critics remain, arguing that the plan overreacts to adjacent tasteless tourist traps by turning Alamo Plaza  into a shrine and killing it as a vibrant center for locals. The new battle of the Alamo isn't over.

In Friday's episode of Just This, Rick and I discuss several high-profile runoff election races this week that most impact San Antonio, including those for U.S. Congressional Districts 21 and 23; the contest to replace longtime Texas House Speaker Joe Straus of San Antonio (in Texas House District 121); and the very low voter turnout in them all. In the congressional races, we examine whether gender representation gains being touted nationally will manifest locally next fall in the District 23 race. Iraq veteran and former defense intelligence officer Gina Ortiz Jones trounced her Democratic rival, former teacher Rick Treviño, to earn the right to challenge incumbent U.S. Rep. Will Hurd (R-Helotes). We also look at an interesting race shaping up in Congressional District 21 to replace U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-San Antonio), who has long represented the San Antonio-to-Austin district but saw his support eroding before announcing his retirement. In that race, tech entrepreneur and military veteran Joseph Kopser, a Democrat, will face off with conservative Republican Chip Roy, a protégé and former senior staffer of several top Texas Republicans including U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

In today's episode of Just This, Rick and I discuss a storythat has rocked the San Antonio literary scene. Hailey Laine Johnson, now 31 years old, on May 9 posted on Facebooka description of a situation that she says happened to her when she was a 14-year-old creative writing student at the North East School of the Arts. In that posting, Johnson alleges that Bryce Milligan, who over decades became one of San Antonio's leading literary figures, engaged in inappropriate conduct with her when she was his student, beginning in the fall of 2001. She and her mother took her complaints in March of 2002 to school administrators, who, after an investigation, recommended that Milligan be terminated. He resigned before school officials fired him, claiming to do so to "protect" the creative writing program there. Milligan has denied Johnson's allegations. Johnson's disclosures have brought her overwhelming support, both from people who were her classmates at the time, and from women who claim to have had similar experiences. But they also have prompted a number of the city's literary organizationsto decry the alleged behavior and to distance themselves swiftly from Milligan. We discuss the ramifications of Johnson's story, both personally to her, and in its larger impact in the context of the national #MeToo movement. And we examine what is, unfortunately, an old story regarding men in power and the predatory behavior in which they sometimes engage.

This week on Just This, Rick and I discuss the upcoming May 22nd runoff election between two Democratic candidates for Bexar County Commissioners Court – veteran commissioner Paul Elizondo and County Veterans Service Officer Queta Rodriguez. Elizondo, who has served on the Commission for three decades, likely was surprised have to defend the seat he's held for 30 years. But as our reporter Jeffrey Sullivan wrote this week, “a determined challenge from a political newcomer campaigning to bring new priorities and perspectives to the court has Elizondo defending his tenure and even his military service record.” We look at the issues at play in the race, including Elizondo's longtime support from Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, with whom he has worked over the years on a number of major projects. Rick provides a telling history about how Wolff has taken the county judge role beyond its traditional limitations – and how he has acted more like a city mayor. Listen in for several interesting examples. We also provide an update on last week's podcast about the San Antonio City Council's decision in a closed-door session not to bid on the 2020 Republican National Convention. Council Greg Brockhouse has asked Bexar County District Attorney Nico LaHood to investigate whether the executive session was legal under the Texas Open Records Act, and Rick deconstructs his request.

This week on Just This, Rick and I discuss the controversy surrounding Mayor Ron Nirenberg's, and ultimately City Council's, decision not to submit a bid for San Antonio to host the 2020 Republican National Convention. Rather than air the issue publicly in an open session of Council, Nirenberg chose to take it behind closed doors in "executive session," excluding the public and reporters. Texas has strong open meeting laws, although there are a few topics that officials legally can talk about in private including personnel matters, litigation, and the so-called "economic development exception." San Antonio City Attorney Andrew Segovia said Council members could discuss a potential bid behind closed doors under that exception, but could not talk about the politics of a bid. However, Rick cites a longtime media lawyer who says that unless there was a specific proposal or bid being negotiated, the discussions likely were not allowed under the law. We deconstruct the politics behind the mayor's choice as well as the other considerations in play. We also highlight the Rivard Report's Fiesta and Commemorative Week coverage. And Beth touches on a video interview published today between our arts and culture writer Nicholas Frank and San Antonio Spurs forward Pau Gasol, who recently joined the San Antonio Symphony's board of trustees.

Should San Antonio chase a bid to host the 2020 Republican National Convention? This week on Just This, Rick and I discuss an intense debate on the subject that took place in a March meeting between City and Bexar County officials, business and civic leaders, and RNC representatives. We also examine San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg's decision earlier this week to take the matter to City Council, and charges that he misrepresented the Republican National Committee's interest in a bid from the city. Nirenberg's move came in the wake of an email and, then, a series of taunting tweets by former San Antonio businessman Brad Parscale, who ran President Donald Trump's digital media operations in the 2016 election and is now manager of Trump's 2020 reelection campaign. Parscale is pushing for San Antonio to submit a bid for the convention. We examine claims of economic benefits, as well the potential costs of hosting a national political party's nominating convention – including potential protests and civic backlash from Trump opponents. Join us every Friday for Just This. Listen in, and send us your feedback. Just This, produced by Photo Editor Scott Ball.

This week in Just This, Rick and I discuss the more than century-long history of San Antonio's annual Fiesta, including the founding of the exclusive Order of the Alamo by a Virginia transplant, John Baron Carrington, the Cavaliers, the annual selection of King Antonio, the establishment of a separate but equal Latino king, El Rey Feo, and celebrations from La Villita to Market Square to the Alamodome. And Rick recalls his own experience with Fiesta royalty. We also point out more Rivard Report coverage of Fiesta and invite our listeners (and readers) to comment on this story. Please share your favorite Fiesta events, must-go celebrations, and tips on how best to navigate San Antonio's annual 11-day citywide carnival.

This week in Just This, Rick and I discuss Mayor Ron Nirenberg's announcement that he and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff have formed a new nonprofit, ConnectSA, to help drum up public awareness of, and to advocate for, mass transit solutions in the San Antonio region. Rivard Report Managing Editor and City Hall reporter Iris Dimmick reported that former Mayor Henry Cisneros, outgoing VIA Board Chair Hope Andrade, and former City Attorney Jane Macon will serve as chairs for the ConnectSA board, which also will include 20 to 25 County, City, business, and community leaders. The nonprofit group will review and consider various mass transit options as the City seeks to plan for significant traffic growth and congestion over the next two decades. We talk about the process and politics behind developing voter buy-in for long-term mass transit projects when “smart” technology can make solutions outdated before they are built. And we look at two other stories worth your read.

This week in Just This, Rick and I discuss a groundbreaking story by Rivard Reporteducation reporter Emily Donaldson about the paucity of women superintendents in Bexar County's 15 public school systems. The lead photo on Donaldson's story illustrates the startling reality: Although women comprise 70 percent of the teachers and principals in the county's 15 public school districts, only one woman holds a superintendent's job. Men exclusively occupy the top jobs running districts with tens of thousands of students and, predictably, earn the most lucrative salaries doing so. We discuss the numbers – superintendencies and principalships by gender, and superintendent salaries, among others – with telling data visualizations provided by Emily Royall, our data editor. We also examine the social, cultural, and political trends behind the numbers.

This week in Just This, Rick and I discuss a story by Rivard Report data editor Emily Royall on a Brookings Institution study showing that San Antonio ranks second in the nation for its growth rate among millennials. According to the study, San Antonio's adult population between the ages of 18 and 34 grew 14.4 percent from 2010 to 2015. The city's millennial growth rate outpaced that of both Austin and Houston. We examine the reasons for that growth, the history of San Antonio's "brain drain," and the benefits of attracting both young outsiders and native San Antonio "returnees." I also preview The Trailist, an interesting new column by environment and energy reporter Brendan Gibbons that we're launching on April 1 for the outdoor enthusiasts among our readers and listeners. Join us every Friday for Just This. Listen in, and send us your feedback. Just This will be available here on the Rivard Report and on iTunes and Stitcher at 5 a.m.

This week in Just This, Rick and I discuss the San Antonio Independent School District board's controversial vote to turn over operations of a chronically failing Southeast side school, Stewart Elementary, to Democracy Prep, a New York-based charter school operator. SAISD trustees said the charter company's record at rehabilitating beleaguered, low-performing schools provided the last, best hope before they shut Stewart's doors for good. But not everyone was happy with the move, especially teachers – who have to reapply for their positions if they want to stay at Stewart – and their union, the San Antonio Alliance for Teachers and Support Personnel. We look at the history of this troubled school, the teachers' association's complaints about the board's process to address Stewart's problems, and what Democracy Prep faces as it begins its arduous work next fall. We also examine an "emergency press conference" called by Bexar County Probate Judge Tom Rickhoff, a Republican running on to unseat Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, and offer a couple other must-reads by our journalists.

This week in Just This, Rivard Report Editor-in-Chief Beth Frerking and veteran San Antonio newsman and columnist Rick Casey examine the history of and challenges to the Edwards Aquifer Authority, an entity created by the Texas Legislature more than two decades ago to manage the largest source of drinking water in the San Antonio region. The Authority's 17-member board oversees distribution of the water used by the residents of Bexar County and seven other counties. In doing so, it juggles between the competing needs of farmers in counties west of San Antonio, such as Uvalde and Medina counties; spring flow interests to the east, especially in San Marcos and New Braunfels, which depend on the water for tourism industries; and a growing and thirsty population in San Antonio. The Authority faced challenges to it role and responsibilities at its creation. Now it awaits a federal judge's ruling on a lawsuit filed six years ago by plaintiffs who claim the board representation is unconstitutional.

This week in Just This, Rivard Report Editor-in-Chief Beth Frerking and veteran San Antonio newsman and columnist Rick Casey review the primary election results of several top local, statehouse and congressional races. Among others, we unpack the heated battle for Bexar County district attorney that led to incumbent Nico LaHood's ouster; the crowded contests in both parties to replace longtime U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) of congressional Texas District 21; and the toppling of freshman incumbent State Rep. Diana Arévalo (D-116) to the man who previously held the seat for 16 years, Trey Martinez Fischer.

This week in our Just This podcast, Rivard Report Editor-in-Chief Beth Frerking and former San Antonio news columnist Rick Casey discuss the latest skirmish in an ongoing war between City Hall and the San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association. This round, the union is working to place propositions on the ballot that would give voters the right to consider capping the city manager's tenure and salary; negotiate contracts through binding arbitration (if other avenues fail); and to make it easier to have citizen-led referendums that could impact City finances. City officials, including Mayor Ron Nirenberg, have drawn hard lines against the effort led by firefighters' union chief Chris Steele.

In the inaugural episode of our weekly podcast Just This, veteran newsman and former columnist Rick Casey and I talk about three stories dominating local news the week of Feb. 19. A federal jury found State Sen. Carlos Uresti, a Democrat, guilty of 11 counts of felony fraud and money-laundering charges related to his involvement with a now-defunct fracking sand company, FourWind Logistics. What's in store for Uresti, a 20-year veteran of the Texas Legislature, as he makes his appeal? Trustees of the Edgewood Independent School District are launching an investigation into allegations by a district employee that Superintendent Emilio Castro harassed her on three separate occasions. They're considering putting him on leave during the probe. It's yet another challenge for an already beleaguered school system. And the San Antonio Independent School District votes to sell five acres of prime real estate near Hemisfair for $14.5 million to the developer of the Pearl Brewery. This isn't only about the development itself, but about the strong signals it sends about the future of Southtown.  

We kick off the introduction episode of Just This. A weekly podcast covering the people and places that shape San Antonio. Tune in every Friday right here or wherever you get your podcasts.