Like many others here in Texas, I’ve been struck by the look and feel of a “return to normal.” Some evidence of that mindset includes the return of miles of traffic to the mornings of our major cities. Busier stores. Full(er) parking lots. Last week, President Biden warned that the return to normal mindset could be premature - and dangerous. After the delta and omicron variants, experience counsels caution. But it also suggests opportunity. What do we want our “back to normal” to be like? And can we make it better? It was a thought that came to me in a traffic jam, listening to that day’s Texas Standard podcast (ahem: not a bad way to spend an hour when you have the time)! I was listening to a conversation with Tony Plohetski (an investigative reporter for the Austin American-Statesman/KVUE TV) about a grand jury considering possible charges against as many as 18 Austin Police Officers for their use of so-called “less-lethal” weapons against protestors demanding racial justice and reform of police. To what extent will that reignite scrutiny of the police following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police (and the subsequent demands for reform)? I also heard a story on changes coming to the bread and circus that surrounds the Alamo Plaza in San Antonio. Lest there be any doubt, the history of Texas is a book that’s far from finished. Our fantastic team of producer/reporters including Jill Ament, Shelly Brisbin, Kristen Cabrera, Caroline Covington, Alexandra Hart, and Michael Marks continue to track these stories and much more of the news shaping Texas each day. Texas Standard director Leah Scarpelli produced the fun conversation with Spoon’s Britt Daniel, included in this week's newsletter. (A little treat for those yearning for something closer to “back to normal.“) Until next week, we’ll see you on the radio.

- David Brown

Austin police officers could face charges after dozens were injured by ‘less-lethal’ rounds during 2020 protests

18 officers face a grand jury probe of actions taken during protests over the murder of George Floyd, during which people were struck by rubber bullets and bean bag rounds.

A Bexar County sheriff’s deputy won’t face discipline after tazing unarmed teenage asylum-seeker

Sheriff’s Deputy Patrick Divers tazed the teen, who was living in federal custody at a youth migrant shelter, for 35 seconds back in 2020.

Spoon frontman comes home to find ‘Lucifer on the Sofa’

Britt Daniel says the Austin band’s tenth album is influenced by a love of rock-and-roll and a deep dive into the music of ZZ Top.

Change is coming to Alamo Plaza – believe it or not

Instead of tourist attractions, the buildings across the street from the Alamo will soon house a museum and visitor’s center as part of a broader redesign.

One year later, many question the 'official' number of deaths linked to the Texas blackout (KUT Austin)
Houston snubbed in Houston-Galveston Area Council’s flood mitigation funding plan (Houston Public Media)
'There was no template' to prepare for 2021 outages. Texans and leaders are filling in the blanks (KERA)
How many stories does San Antonio's 'enchilada red' public library have? (Texas Public Radio)

My name is Ed Timms and I started work as KERA’s government accountability editor in November. Before that, I’d supervised political coverage for a news organization in Washington, D.C., and I spent many years as a reporter and an editor in Dallas. I once believed that Texas almost had a monopoly on quirkiness, craziness and dysfunctional government. That was before I began working in Washington during the 2016 Presidential campaign and stuck around for more than five years. I had to rethink my premise a bit. Texas doesn’t have a monopoly, but it still has more than its share. And that’s one of the many reasons I’m glad to be back in Texas. I’m excited to be working with some fantastic reporters who understand the importance of holding the powerful accountable. In the short time we’ve worked together, they’ve taken on many important issues, including questionable decisions by jail officials, Texas’ flawed system of selecting judges and environmental hazards in a mostly Latino neighborhood. A short bio: I was born in Fort Worth, mostly grew up in rural Montana and Wyoming (where my family’s arrival once increased a town’s total population by roughly 3 percent) and finished high school in Harlingen, not far from the U.S.-Mexico border. I spent seven years earning a four-year degree at Texas Christian University, but my excuse is that I started working full-time at The Dallas Morning News when I was 19. I covered conflicts and famine overseas, almost was strangled by a hungry elephant and spent a few days as the involuntary guest of a Somali warlord. But my most important work involved investigative reporting that exposed racial injustice, government malfeasance and corruption. I’m always happy to talk about journalism. You can reach me at [email protected].

- Ed Timms
@EdTimms1

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