There’s been some further desk-shuffling at Texas Youth Commission as the controversial conservator Jay Kimbrough resigned Friday. He’ll be replaced by Ed Owens, who has been serving as TYC acting executive director since April.

In one of his first actions, Owens appointed his acting chief of staff, Dimitria D. Pope, to fill the executive directorship. Like her boss, she’s a three-decade veteran of Texas corrections, having served as a corrections officer and working for the Texas Adult Probation Commission prior to joining the newly formed Texas Department of Criminal Justice in 1990.

Both appointments could be relatively moot, since on Friday Gov. Rick Perry signed Senate Bill 103, the TYC reform bill which sets up a whole new management structure for the discredited agency. The only problem is that it doesn’t take full effect until the agency comes out of conservatorship – and no one seems to be mentioning when that happens.

This article appears in June 8 • 2007.

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The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.