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New research finds 10% of Texans under 6 were recently uninsured, the highest of any state in the country. We’ll have the latest data.
We continue our Series of Lasts: stories from the final days of some Austin ISD campuses. Bring your appetite and some Kleenex as we sit for one last school lunch at Ridgetop Elementary.
Margaret Gómez, the longest-serving Travis County commissioner in history, is retiring after 53 years working for the county.
And: The Austin African American Book Festival kicks off later this month, but they’ve got a special guest helping to start the festivities this weekend.
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The full transcript of this episode of Austin Signal is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles or captions on some podcast apps.
Jerry Quijano [00:00:08] The number of uninsured kids in Texas has risen in recent years. New research finds 10% of Texans under six were recently uninsure. That’s the highest of any state in the country. We’re gonna have the latest data. And we will continue our series of last stories from the final days of some Austin ISD campuses. Today, bring your appetite and some Kleenex as we sit for one last school lunch. Plus, the Travis County Commissioner is retiring after half a century working for the county. Plenty more about those stories coming up on today’s show.
KUT Announcer: Laurie Gallardo [00:00:39] The Austin Signal is a production of KUT News, hosted by Jerry Quijano.
Jerry Quijano [00:00:44] And the Austin African-American Book Festival kicks off later this month, but they’ve got a special guest helping to start the festivities this weekend. More about that and this year’s lineup. That’s all next, right here on Austin Signal. Howdy out there, you are tuned in to Austin Signal. I’m your host, Jerry Keconnell. Thank you for listening here on Community Powered Public Radio. KUT News, it is Wednesday, the 3rd of June. The National Weather Service giving us a 30% chance of some showers tonight, 20% in the evening, in the late hours, and tomorrow, 40%. Kind of low chances, but I gotta say, they were around that percentage yesterday when we got a downpour here at the KUT studios. So as always, have multiple ways to stay weather aware, and keep it tuned in here to KUT for the latest. More and more children in Texas are going without health insurance. That’s the finding of a new report from Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families, a nonpartisan health policy research organization. Olivia Aldridge is KUT’s healthcare reporter. She is joining us now to discuss the numbers and what’s behind the trend. Hi, Olivia.
Olivia Aldridge [00:02:02] Hi, Jerry.
Jerry Quijano [00:02:03] So let’s talk about those numbers. What does the data from this report show about insurance rates for kids here in Texas?
Olivia Aldridge [00:02:09] The report especially zooms in on the youngest kids, those under the age of six, that sort of preschool-aged cohort. Nearly 11% of that age group in Texas didn’t have health insurance as of 2024, and that’s the most recent census data that we have available, which this report is drawing from. And that’s up from 2022, when Texas was sitting at just under 8% uninsured rate for that age-group, which was already tied for the rate of any US state. Now Texas is firmly in that top spot, but the whole country did see an increase for this age demographic with about 220,000 more young kids uninsured, and Texas makes up a good bit of that. Actually, about half of that was three large states, kids from those states. That’s Texas, Georgia, and Florida.
Jerry Quijano [00:03:01] You mentioned the age demographic. When we look at other demographics, are there particular ones that are most affected by these uninsurance rates?
Olivia Aldridge [00:03:09] Right, yeah, so one interesting point is that, first of all, the uninsured rate is growing at a slightly faster rate for those youngest kids versus older school-aged children. And then also, the un-insured rates tended to be higher for children of color and especially for American Indian and Hispanic Latino kids, and that’s across the country.
Jerry Quijano [00:03:28] What seems to be driving this trend of falling insurance rates, at least here in Texas?
Olivia Aldridge [00:03:33] The researchers behind this report attribute this, at least in part, to under-enrollment in Medicaid. So Texas-based policy organizations estimate that around half of kids in Texas who were uninsured actually could qualify for Medicaid, and many others would qualify for subsidized insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace.
Jerry Quijano [00:03:53] OK.
Olivia Aldridge [00:03:54] So in Texas, eligibility for Medicaid is really narrow, but children who belong to low-income families are one of the primary groups who do qualify. But in 2023 and 2024, states had to go through this process of reestablishing thousands and thousands of people’s Medicaid eligibility all at once at the end of the official COVID public health emergency. And a lot of people, including kids, were disenrolled simply for things like paperwork issues. So that’s something that a lot of policy experts say has continued to have ripple effects.
Jerry Quijano [00:04:26] What does research say about why it’s so important for kids to be insured at this young age?
Olivia Aldridge [00:04:32] Children experience a lot of key development milestones in those early years. So parents are generally encouraged to bring their kids in for a lot more checkups during that time, just to make sure their kids are hitting those milestones, getting proper nutrition, getting vaccines that they need. So it’s just a high impact time in a person’s life to be receiving medical care, to set them up well for all the years to come.
Jerry Quijano [00:04:56] All right, that is Olivia Aldridge. She is KUT’s healthcare reporter. We’re gonna have more on her reporting in today’s show notes and at kut.org slash signal. Great to talk to you, Olivia.
Olivia Aldridge [00:05:07] Thanks, Jerry.
Jerry Quijano [00:05:16] Travis County’s longest-serving commissioner is retiring this month. Margaret Gomez is stepping down after three decades in office and over 50 years as a county employee. As KUT’s Katie McAfee reports, Gomez left a lasting impact through her service.
Katy McAfee [00:05:33] It was standing room only in the Travis County Commissioner’s courtroom this week. Dozens of elected officials and county workers gathered to watch the court take up an important agenda item.
County worker [00:05:42] Now we’re all here for item one, approve a proclamation honoring Commissioner Margaret Gomez for her extraordinary service to Travis County.
Katy McAfee [00:05:54] Commissioner Gomez, who turns 82 this month, originally planned on retiring at the end of her term in December. But after suddenly losing her ability to walk, she decided it was time to step down. However, she says her constituents can still expect her to be present in the community.
Commissioner Margaret Gomez [00:06:09] I’m still hanging in here. I’m a taxpayer. I’m the voter. And I will still go out and try to get people to understand why they need to register and why they may need to vote.
Katy McAfee [00:06:22] Gomez began her career in Travis County nearly 53 years ago, working for former County Commissioner Richard Moya, who was the first Mexican-American elected to public office in the county. In 1980, she became the county’s first female constable after winning against a 14-year incumbent. She was re-elected three times, and in her tenure, cleared a backlog of more than 30,000 criminal warrants. In 1995, Gomez was sworn in as the first female Mexican- American Commissioner and held the position ever since. Gomez will stay in office until June 11th, and then the court will appoint George Morales to the position. Morales won the Democratic primary election for the seat last month and will likely run unopposed in November. Speaking to the crowd, Morales said Gomez taught him what servant leadership looked like. It was just simply showing up for the people in her precinct. People like Morales’ own family.
George Morales [00:07:13] It was a routine for me to see Margaret as a young man in my home with my mother and my father when I lost family members. Margaret was the first one there at the coffee table with Panduce and coffee and consoling my family.
Katy McAfee [00:07:28] After several more public commenters, Judge Andy Brown invited a final group to the podium to send Gomez off.
County worker [00:07:35] All right, I think we’ve got one more speaker coming in. The door. Thank you.
Katy McAfee [00:07:46] I’m Katie McAfee, and I’ll stay.
Jerry Quijano [00:07:57] Summer has started for the Austin School District, and for staff at 10 campuses that will not be reopening in the fall, it was an especially bittersweet end of the school year. KUT’s Greta Diaz-Gonzalez-Vasquez takes us to Ridgetop Elementary, where the cafeteria staff were preparing that one last lunch.
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:08:19] It’s the last day of school at Reg Top Elementary. By 10 a.m. Hermelinda Sánchez de Loza and Maria Ponce have filled the oven with hundreds of burger patties. They have also chopped cucumbers, made soup potato fries, and served strawberries in individual trays. They move swiftly around the cafeteria kitchen in coordinated moves. Maria, who’s a kitchen manager, continuously looks at the clock, counting down the minutes for starving kids to show up. Whenever she needs help, she yells Hermelindas name. The two know this kitchen to perfection, and each other too. Hermelinda has worked at Rich Top for 19 years, Maria for 15. They know each other’s family history and have comforted one another through rough times. They also know the name of every kid that walks through the launch line, which kids are siblings and which come from immigrant families. Hermelinde says she loves talking with them.
Hermelinda Sanchez de Loza [00:09:14] Platicar con ellos. Uno nos cuenta sus historias y ahí vienen otras, vienen llorando. ¿Por qué lloras?
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:09:20] She says some of them tell her their life stories, others come to her crying, and Marina always finds a way to comfort them. She says seeing them smile and ask what’s for lunch is the highlight of her day.
Maria Ponce [00:09:33] Ver sus caras todos los días que vienen contentas ahora que hay delonche.
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:09:37] Maria agrees. She says Rich Top feels like a big family. She says some kids they have seen grow since their moms were pregnant. Many of them come back to see them after graduating high school or even college. Maria and Hermaninda both thought they would grow old at Rich Top, but the school won’t be opening its doors next year. Hermaninda says that in the last few days, kids have been telling her that they’re going to miss her.
Hermelinda Sanchez de Loza [00:10:07] Ay, unos me dicen, ay, la voy a extrañarle, o yo también. Pero sí. Hola, hola. ¿Cómo están? Muy bien.
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:10:18] When the clock hits 10.45, a line of kindergartners is waiting at the door. As kids walk through the cafeteria line asking what’s for lunch, they talk to one another and ask for cheese on their burgers.
Hermelinda Sanchez de Loza [00:10:31] There’s only a hamburger today. Do you want a hamburger?
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:10:37] Mariana and Melinda move as quickly as they can to accommodate kids’ demands.
Hermelinda Sanchez de Loza [00:10:40] Give him the cheese, Melinda, please. You’re not going to eat it there.
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:10:43] Maria helps kids pick between beef, chicken or veggie patties. She also helps them put strawberries on their trays. Hermelinda stands at the end of the line making sure every kid has money on their account and drawing ketchup smiley faces on their burgers.
Maria Ponce [00:10:58] Do you want ketchup? Okay, let’s put the ketchup
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:11:02] As more kids keep coming in, Hermelinda and Maria have to balance between preparing more food and serving kids. Picture a scene from the TV show, The Bear, now at 20 to 25 hungry kids at a time.
Kids [00:11:14] It’s ketchup!
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:11:21] As the morning passes, Ermerinda keeps a smile on her face and has something to say to every kid. She asks almost every student in line which school they’re going to next year.
Hermelinda Sanchez de Loza [00:11:30] What school are you going to? You’re going to go to school? I’m going to Michaelwood.
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:11:36] She also makes an effort to speak in English to some of them.
Hermelinda Sanchez de Loza [00:11:40] What? Last burger and then reached up. Wait, what? Last burger then reached out.
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:11:47] And the effort is rewarded.
Kids [00:11:49] Wait, PS, I love the alfredo pie. I can’t believe you had some of my favorite foods for the last three days.
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:11:56] Marco Mills, a third grade student, says the food at Ridgetop’s Cafeteria is the best.
Marco Mills [00:12:01] I have bring it from home once when I was in kindergarten and I did not really like it. So I’ve just been having this for the past years.
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:12:11] He says, besides spending time with his friends, of course, Mariana and Melinda are what make lunch special at the school.
Marco Mills [00:12:18] She is definitely nice and kind and very, very, I would say, caring, compassionate. And if I drop my food, she gives me a bit of the food for free instead of more money.
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:12:33] Once kids have gone through the lunch line, they walk out into the courtyard where they have lunch at picnic tables. Because it’s the last day of school, some parents like Alexis Morales came to have lunch with their kids. She brought food for her son as a special treat, but not for her daughter.
Alexis Morales [00:12:48] My daughter actually today I told them that I was coming and I was like, what do you guys want? And she’s like, oh, I want to eat in the cafeteria and I’m like, you don’t like Donald’s she was like no I wouldn’t even come to you. I think okay Make it easy on me
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:13:02] Her son did choose McDonald’s, but Alexis says he loves Mariana Ramanino
Alexis Morales [00:13:07] When he buys flowers for his teachers, he’s always like, I wanna buy some for the ladies in the cafeteria. And I’m like, they’ve taken really good care of my baby.
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:13:18] After more than two hours, Hermanina and Maria serve the fifth graders, their last class. Hermanina keeps drawing smiley faces and burgers.
Olivia Aldridge [00:13:27] It should be Friday because this is my last class of the year.
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:13:30] They ran out of burgers and with empty fridges they had to improvise grilled cheese sandwiches with the two ingredients they had left. Maria also had to ask the front desk for plates.
Hermelinda Sanchez de Loza [00:13:42] Wait, I’m so sorry guys. Take that, take that, take that.
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:13:48] When things finally slow down, they do the math.
Hermelinda Sanchez de Loza [00:13:51] I hope it turns out well, Mrs. Marinda.
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:13:55] They served over 306 lunches on their last day. Once they’re done, they clean the kitchen and sit to eat their lunch. Jermelinda thinks about the time they’ve worked together in this kitchen. It’s always been the two of them. She says some other people have come and gone, but they always remain together.
Hermelinda Sanchez de Loza [00:14:17] It doesn’t matter.
Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:14:18] Maria says Hermaninda is her right hand. She’s my right hand, she knows everything, she understands me. Hermaninda gets her. That’s why it hurts to know they won’t be together next year. Hermaninda thought she would retire from Rich Top. Instead, she’ll be at Andrews Elementary. Maria will be at Riley Elementary. Maria says that’s the hand they’ve been dealt. We’ve been touched like this. I’m gonna run away. They’ve made each other’s life easier, Maria says, but she doesn’t get to make the call. Hermelinda says that if she likes her new school, she’ll stay there for a bit longer. If not, she’ll retire and look for another job outside of the school district. But she knows she will miss Maria. All the screams, Hermelinde, what’s missing? How many children are missing? She will miss María, yelling her name over and over again. I’m Greta Díaz González Vázquez in Austin.
Jerry Quijano [00:15:30] This is reporting as part of a larger group of stories following several of AISD’s closing schools during their last days. The last lunch, the last track meet, the last community garden celebration, last senior walk, and of course the last day of school. If you’ve missed any in this fantastic series by reporter Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vazquez, we’re gonna have a link to listen in our podcast’s show notes. The Texas softball team returns tonight to the championship of the Women’s College World Series. The defending champion Longhorns defeated Texas Tech last year for the program’s first softball title and if they want to hold on to their championship they’ll once again need to go through Tech to do so. It’s a best of three series with game one tonight, game two tomorrow, and if necessary game three on Friday. First pitch for each night is set for 7 p.m. And more sports, several Austin Spurs alums will be on the basketball court tonight for game one of the NBA Finals between San Antonio and the New York Knicks. Keldon Johnson, Carter Bryant, and Julian Ciampani all spent time playing in Cedar Park as members of the Spurs developmental squad. It’s a rematch of the 1999 Finals when the Spur’s defeated the Knicks for the franchise’s first NBA title. Tip-off tonight is set for just past 7.30. There is an official watch party happening in East Austin, and KUT’s audience engagement reporter, Chelsea Zhu, will be out there, so why not seek her out, get your voice on the radio? Maybe we’ll hear it on Austin Signal on Friday afternoon for game two. But for now, we got more Austin Signal coming your way right after this break. Thank you for being with us. This is Austin Signal. Welcome back. The Austin African-American Book Festival is celebrating 20 years, and for more about that we are talking with the director and founder of the event, Roz Oliphant. Roz, thanks for being here.
Roz Oliphant [00:17:42] Thank you.
Jerry Quijano [00:17:43] So, 20 years is a long time, I’d like to ask you today if you could take us back to the moment when you realized that this festival was a necessity here in Austin.
Roz Oliphant [00:17:52] So I had a bookstore in Austin right on 18th and Nueces. And when I closed the bookstore, people in the community kept asking, okay, so what’s next? What are you gonna do now? We missed the signings and the book clubs and all those things. And so just really thinking about what the next chapter could look like. And I saw… The Harlem Book Fair, and I thought, wow, this would be a great way to grow my love of being a bookseller, my love for books, my loved for the community. This would be great way, to move from the bookstore to a festival. And so here we are.
Jerry Quijano [00:18:45] Yeah, two decades later. Yes. What are some of the challenges that come with running a festival? We launched our first festival last month, the KUT Festival.
Roz Oliphant [00:18:52] Yes, yes
Jerry Quijano [00:18:53] It was a lot of fun, but I didn’t realize how much planning goes into it. It’s a lot to orchestrate this day and there’s so much to take in. Or what were some of the challenges that you encountered? Listen, listen.
Roz Oliphant [00:19:03] We show up to events and it looks like how hard can it be?
Jerry Quijano [00:19:07] Seriously, right?
Roz Oliphant [00:19:08] But behind the scenes there is a lot of work going on. So of course there have been many challenges, many, many challenges. You really have to love the work.
Jerry Quijano [00:19:21] And it takes a village to be present and to support, and that sounds really great that they were asking what was gonna be next, and when you presented them with what was next, it sounds like they have been supporting you through those two decades. 20 years, what are we starting with the festival? How are you kicking it off in style?
Roz Oliphant [00:19:37] So this weekend, Saturday, June 6th, we are so thrilled to have Chuck D as our very special guest for a Prelude event. And this is really our party of sort.
Jerry Quijano [00:19:54] Okay, the official party before the festival, I like that.
Roz Oliphant [00:19:56] Yes, the official party before the festival because you know on the day of the festival there’ll be you know elements of you know celebration but it’s a fast-paced day but this really gives us an opportunity to have celebratory cake to mix and mingle to dress up and so uh just and we’ll have some proclamations. We just recently received a proclamation from the city of Austin which was so touching. But we’ll have several proclamations, and just a lot of people who have supported the festival over the 20 years will be there. And just a wonderful way for us to celebrate this milestone.
Jerry Quijano [00:20:42] Yeah, well congratulations on that. I love that idea too, because you know, think an after party is always great, but you’re pretty beat down from the day already, you know? You kind of want to go home, so why not have your dessert first, and then you can do all the work later. Yes. Follow it up with that. I wanted to talk about some of the people that you bring into town, or some of people that you’re shining a light on here in town, like Austin’s poet laureate. He’s going to be at the festival. Tell us a little bit about that.
Roz Oliphant [00:21:05] Yeah, so we are so proud of Zell Miller III, Austin’s poet laureate, but this is what I need you to know about Zell being on program, which makes it noteworthy. When we did the very first festival, Zale was on program.
Jerry Quijano [00:21:25] Wow.
Roz Oliphant [00:21:27] As a matter of fact, Zell Miller III and Rashonda Tate were among our very first featured guests. And to be able to have both of them this year during our 20th anniversary, it is just like cherry on top for us.
Jerry Quijano [00:21:47] I wanted to ask you about some of the authors. I know you’re probably pretty proud of everybody who’s gonna be on the lineup, but I do see you’ve got a stack of books next to you, so I wanted ask you a little bit about some of the others that are gonna be speaking.
Roz Oliphant [00:22:00] For the 20th annual festival, which is happening Saturday, June 27th, we have our featured speakers, Nicole Hannah-Jones, John Hope Bryant, Zell Miller III, and Rashonda Tate. Nicole Hannah Jones, who is the creator of the 1619th project, her talk with Ashley Godot is going to be looking at history’s through line and the relevant of the world we navigate today. Nicole Hannah-Jones, who’s the creator of the 1619 Project, will be joining us to examine history’s through line and its relevance to the world we navigate to today. We also have John Hope Bryant, who is the founder and CEO of Operation Hope, and he’s going to be discussing how financial knowledge, capital, and opportunity shape individual outcomes and community stability. With John Hope Bryant, we’re really looking at economic liberation. How do we attain it? What are some steps we can take? And Sylvia Holt-Rabb, who is a professor at Austin Community College, and the past economic director for the city of Austin is going to be in conversation with him.
Jerry Quijano [00:23:24] Okay, that sounds like a few great recommendations there. We’re gonna have a link to the full lineup in today’s show notes. We have been speaking to Roz Oliphant, founder and director of the Austin African-American Book Festival. They are celebrating 20 years. We’re going to have a to their celebrations in todays show notes, Roz. Thank you for your time.
Roz Oliphant [00:23:42] Thank you and we hope everyone will come out to the festival, it’s going to be great!
Jerry Quijano [00:23:48] And that is it for today’s show. Thank you for making us part of your day. There’s more about today’s stories at kut.org slash signal and in the podcast notes for today show. Rayna Sevilla is our technical director, Alexandra Hart is our producer and Kristen Cabrera is our managing producer. I’m your host, Jerry Kikano. We will be back at the same time tomorrow with more stories about our community. We hope you’ll join us right here on Austin Signal.
This transcript was transcribed by AI, and lightly edited by a human. Accuracy may vary. This text may be revised in the future.
