OutYouth Austin director Lisa Rogers is leaving her post to follow her own
youthful dreams of becoming a full-time Therapy Sisters’ singer with partner
Maurine McLean. Rogers’ successor at OutYouth is local therapist Steve Siefert,
who begins work Monday, Feb. 10. Rogers started OutYouth seven years ago to aid
youthful gays and lesbians in need of some shoring up. Today, OutYouth is a
full-fledged support organization with a string of achievements to its name.
Siefert expects to build on those accomplishments and work toward building a
stronger link between OutYouth, the Austin Independent School District, and
other support service organizations… — A.S.
Mayor Bruce Todd’s chief aide, Trey Salinas, is bidding city hall adieu to
work for Don Martin Public Affairs, whose clients include the likes of Texas
Utilities and Waste Management Inc. — two firms that could benefit
substantially if the outgoing mayor’s pet project (privatization of the city
utility and garbage collection services) ever materializes. Former Todd aide
Kristen Kessler also went from Todd’s office to Martin’s; she has since moved
on to ad agency kingpin GSD&M. As to what the laws are with respect to
Salinas’ future lobbying work with the council, Salinas says, “It’s real hazy
as to who can and who can’t [lobby], and what the timeframe is.” His new job
will focus on real estate development in Williamson County. “I don’t envision
me having to lobby the city for anything, but you never know what might
happen,” he says… — K.V.
Louis Malfaro, president of the Austin affiliate of the American Federation of
Teachers, made a quick run up to New York City last week to appear on the
Gordon Elliott Show (which airs locally at 10am weekdays on KTBC,
Channel 7). The topic of the show was school violence; Malfaro was tapped as a
guest because the statewide chapter of the organization, the Texas Federation
of Teachers, has been a front runner in the U.S. in pushing for “zero
tolerance” of violence in the classroom. An air date for the program has not
been set yet… — R.A.
Let Them Eat Sludge
Southeast Austin residents finally got a full explanation Monday night on whythe Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) wants to build a
15-foot-diameter tunnel to drain stormwater runoff from the I-35/Ben White
interchange into Williamson Creek. Seven TxDOT representatives and a
legislative aide to State Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos spelled out the complicated
and harsh realities of the tunnel at a meeting of the Southeast Corner Alliance
of Neighborhoods (SCAN).
Barrientos aide Richard Hamner told the disgruntled crowd that the tunnel all
boils down to one thing: money. Any alternatives would be too expensive and
might kill or delay the project altogether, said Hamner. TxDOT engineers tried
to assure the crowd that the runoff would not increase the likelihood of
flooding in Williamson Creek. But the residents, many of whom recently were
redefined into the 100-year flood plain by federal engineers, remained
skeptical.
Still another point of contention is pollution of Williamson Creek and,
farther downstream, McKinney Falls. A Bouldin Creek neighborhood
representative noted that since construction of a similar tunnel that drains
runoff from Ben White into East Bouldin Creek, the creek’s flow bears a closer
resemblance to sludge than water. Hamner responded that East Bouldin Creek’s
flow is almost pure freeway runoff and that Williamson Creek has plenty of
upstream flow to dilute the sludge before it reaches McKinney Falls.
SCAN president Diane Sanders noted that the $100 million freeway interchange
isn’t yet funded, and construction is at least three years away. “So what’s the
big hurry to start the drainage tunnel?” she asked. Why can’t TxDOT wait for an
environmental impact assessment and a public hearing?
Because, Hamner said, TxDOT has already signed the contract to build the
tunnel, and could lose money if the project is delayed. He added that any hint
of delay in construction of the interchange could bring down hordes of
screaming commuters onto state and local officials � la the
Southwest Parkway. But Hamner said TxDOT might be able to jerry-rig a detention
and filtration device to diminish greasy runoff from the tunnel before it
reaches Williamson Creek. Meanwhile, there’s a hearing before the Austin
Transportation Study at 6pm Monday, Feb. 10. The agenda includes consideration
of the US 290 Task Force’s recommendations to narrow the freeway through Oak
Hill and to filter out highway gunk before it hits the Edwards Aquifer on its
way to Barton Springs. The meeting is at the UT Thompson Conference Center,
28th and Red River. — N.E.
Max(imum) Air Time
When Max Nofziger’s Council Choir hit a sour note on the Austin Music Networkthis past holiday season, it wasn’t just a gaggle of councilmembers singing
flat. Given the backlog of local live shows waiting as long as a year to see
air time, recent critics of AMN’s management want to know how Nofziger’s
project found its way on the air shortly after taping, and only two days before
Nofziger announced his candidacy for mayor. Some suggest that Esther Matthews,
Nofziger’s former executive assistant and campaign manager who is now AMN’s
program manager, is behind the advantageous scheduling slot.
“Max likes to sing carols,” explains Matthews of the sing-a-long taped at the
Armadillo Christmas Bazaar. Even though Nofziger led the event, she says, the
choir included so many other past and present councilmembers that its airing
did not violate the network’s agreement to give equal time to all council and
mayoral candidates. She adds that because the City’s Channel 6 had continued to
run Ronney Reynolds’ weekly Childcare and Parenting show until last
week, she was justified in giving airtime to a challenging mayoral candidate.
As for Nofziger, he says he doesn’t understand what all the noise is about. “I
can’t imagine it would be much of a boost to my candidacy,” he notes of the
council sing fest. For some, though, the concern is less for equal candidate
time than it is for AMN’s programming priorities. One former AMN executive,
citing the backlog of unedited videotape that Austin musicians are clamoring to
get on the air, says Nofziger’s airtime smacks of favoritism. “If they edited
that show and got it on the air before Max announced, that is highly, highly
unusual,” he says. Matthews is quick to defend her programming and her former
boss. “There wouldn’t be a music network if it hadn’t have been for Max,” she
says. “I recognize the danger of putting him on there. I think the network is
very politically delicate because of this situation.” At any rate, all
candidate air time unrelated to campaign coverage is expected to cease this
week. — K.V.
Poco a Poco
Change for the better ain’t easy to come by, but the Eastside is gettingthere. On Jan. 28, the Austin Planning Commission took a step towards banishing
environmental racism from East Austin. Late last year, a coalition of Hispanic
Eastside organizations began working to remove some of the polluting factories
that make some parts of East Austin appear like a distant cousin of border
cities like Nuevo Laredo. Health and safety are other concerns. When the BFI
Recyclery caught fire last year, neighbors feared the wind would carry the
flames to their homes nearby. When word that another plant, Balcones Recycling,
and a gay bathhouse would also be moving to East Austin — without notification
of residents — the flame of activism grew.
Now, the Planning Commission has agreed to downzone BFI’s property from
industrial use to office use, and may do the same with some other sites. The
downzoning won’t be apparent for years, since it won’t become effective until
the current businesses move out, and new ones move in. But it’s a start, at
least. Due March 13 is a city study comparing industry in East Austin to other
parts of the city. — A.M.
No Questions Asked
In the wake of new national welfare laws cutting off federal benefits to legalimmigrants, Austin has joined the ranks of other major U.S. cities with a city
council resolution declaring a “safety zone” for immigrants utilizing city
services. Councilmember Gus Garcia introduced the resolution last week at the
request of Francisco Lopez, development director of El Buen Samaritano
Episcopal Center, which provides assistance to 8,000 people annually, most of
them immigrants. Lopez sought the resolution out of concern that a growing
number of immigrants — fearing their legal status would come into question —
were reluctant to file crime reports with the police or seek medical care from
city health clinics.
The resolution says it’s not the purview of city employees, such as police or
clinic staff, to ask for proof of citizenship. Councilmember Ronney Reynolds
initially opposed the resolution, fearing that failure to enforce federal law
at the local level would be illegal. Once that question was laid to rest, the
measure passed unanimously.
A host of community groups were on hand last Thursday to support the
resolution. One representative in attendance, Maria Loya of People Organized in
Defense of Earth and Her Resources (PODER), explains the importance of
distinguishing between local policy and federal law: “If you’re talking about
restricting access to health care, that puts everyone in jeopardy. Those are
the things that aren’t thought about,” she says, adding that contagious
diseases such as tuberculosis and chicken pox could spread quickly through
untreated communities. Garcia aide Paul Salda�a added: “The resolution
addresses changing people’s attitudes about discrimination. [Police] interest
should be to protect local laws and not take it a step further and act as INS
officials.”
Challenging arguments against the resolution, Lopez noted that fears of Austin
becoming an illegal immigrant magnet reflect a certain naivet�. “The
perceptions have been that immigrants are just an expense, when in reality you
see who is working in the kitchens, cleaning the office buildings, who is
building the new buildings — that’s immigrants.” — K.V.
This article appears in February 7 • 1997 and February 7 • 1997 (Cover).