Singing Moreau’s Praises
Dear Editor,
I was thrilled to see Walter Moreau on this week’s cover [“If You Build It,” News, Dec. 5]. Talk about an unsung hero! After living in Austin for more than 35 years, I can’t think of anyone who has done more, and done so consistently, to lift up our community.
I began volunteering with and donating to Foundation Communities over a decade ago, and I still marvel at Walter’s vision and unwavering focus on his mission –creating housing where individuals and families succeed. The amount of good he has accomplished is extraordinary, yet he remains so humble and quiet about it all.
I sing his praises – and the organization’s – to everyone I meet, because Foundation Communities deserves our full support. Walter’s leadership has made a lasting difference for countless Austinites. Thank you for highlighting him.
Wendy Gordon
Better Together
Dear Editor,
The still-thriving “extremely weird” UT housing co-ops you mention in your article on Foundation Communities did more than just inspire a model [“If You Build It,” News, Dec. 5]. The 200 students in College Houses voted to add $5/month to their $120/month room/board charge in order to build funds to give nonstudents the level of mutual support they had found. That is why we had something to work with in the 1980s when we started the organization that became Foundation Communities.
We had found that when provided a place to live, students from many backgrounds found themselves empowered by the community they formed to run it. This was true even of those who at first were just looking for a place to live. Where you are part of the group directly making the rules, you are more tolerant of the trade-offs involved. In retrospect, it is not really surprising that street-smart homeless and low-income people can make this dynamic work at least as well as college students.
Mary Parker
Icing vs. ICE
Dear Editor,
In early November the government shutdown was in full swing and across America people were beginning to go hungry. ICE raids targeting everyone from school children to mothers and teachers were becoming the norm. Feeling the sadistic sting of authoritarianism, some ordinary women in Hyde Park reclaimed their baking pans and organized a bake sale.
On the long folding table along the sidewalk there were piles of fresh beignets, chocolate chip cookies, baked dog treats, and colorful cupcakes. The women were part of FORWRD ATX, a self-organizing resistance group that arose in response to the reelection of President Trump. While they handed out treats, they explained that the proceeds would go to an immigrant advocacy group called Grassroots Leadership. They did not explain that under the current presidential administration the group in question could be labeled as a “radical leftist” organization. The neighbors walked away knowing they had scored a good snack and contributed to some kindness in the world. Folks came by and met other folks, shared some food and some solidarity; and built community with each other.
The bake sale has an honorable place in philanthropic history. The women volunteers of the Red Cross in World War II held “Doughnut Dollies”; bake sales were used by the women’s suffrage movement to fund the vote; carpooling was funded during the Montgomery bus boycotts partially through funds raised in bake sales. In an age where people feel less powerful than an Elon Musk or a Jeff Bezos, regular folks are collectively organizing at the grassroots level in every city around the country. These women raised $2,500 going directly to families impacted by ICE detentions. The efforts mean something to the families of those detained and to anyone with empathy.
Cinthia Pedraza
Madness!
Dear Editor,
Trump and the Republicans must address student loans.
Where are the conservatives in the room? Texans owe an astonishing $160 billion in student loan debt, with most owed to the Department of Education. Over $8 billion in interest – PROFIT – is sucked out of Texas every year, and used for very unconservative programs like Obamacare. The loans are weaponized – stripped of nearly every protection, like bankruptcy, statutes of limitations, and many others. Washington and the Dept. of Education have given themselves license to steal from Texas and the country. Sen. Cornyn sponsored a bill that would return standard bankruptcy rights to the loans, and claw money back from the colleges. Where is that bill? Where are the politicians who are supposed to be looking out for Texans?
This is madness. This cannot continue. This loan scam is already wrecking the state, where most borrowers will never be able to repay.
Bankruptcy rights MUST be returned to these loans. The Founders called for them in the Constitution because they wanted to prevent loan scams like this one. The colleges should probably pay for discharges, as well.
The entire program should be shut down entirely, and replaced with a far lower-cost solution. I hope John Cornyn, Brian Birdwell, Gene Wu, and other state reps know this!
Jacque Abron
Branching Out
Dear Editor,
I read the terrific article about TreeFolks in the Nov. 28 Austin Chronicle [“How TreeFolks Is Keeping Austin Green,” The Nonprofit Issue]. I used to live in Mueller and was thrilled with all the greenery. How in the summer you can walk for blocks and blocks staying in the shade. Just amazing effort to plant where there was nothing before.
I now live at Santa Rita Ranch in Liberty Hill. It is extremely disappointing that developers do not replace the huge amount of trees that are removed to build all the new communities in Williamson County. Is there any effort ongoing to persuade the county to mandate that X amount of trees need to be planted for every acre of land cleared? The trees that are planted are sparse and far apart, other than what is on the homeowners’ property. There are so many common areas that do not receive the environmental attention that they deserve.
Is TreeFolks involved with Williamson County? If not, how does one go about trying to get change to be made at the government level?
Ronald Latz
This article appears in December 12 • 2025.