Austin Signal

We’re continuing to monitor the flooding situation in the Texas Hill Country that’s killed at least two people and led to more than 200 rescues. We’ll bring you the latest and hear from a reporter out in Kerrville.

Ten Austin ISD schools are shuttered for good as part of the district’s plan to deal with a budget deficit, but what’s to come of those closed campuses?

The rain will be clearing soon and there’s plenty happening this weekend in Austin, including a KUT book swap on Saturday.

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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] We are continuing to monitor the flooding situation in the Texas Hill Country that’s killed at least two people and a couple hundred people needed to be rescued. We’re going to bring you the latest and talk to our reporter on the ground. And 10 Austin ISD campuses are shuttered for good as part of the district’s plan to deal with the budget deficit. But what’s to come of those closed campuses? We’re gonna tell you more coming up on today’s show.

KUT Announcer: Laurie Gallardo [00:00:32] The Austin Signal is a production of KUT News, hosted by Jerry Quijano.

Jerry Quijano [00:00:37] The rain is going to be clearing soon and there’s plenty happening this weekend here in Austin. We’re going to tell you where the art is and about a KUT book swap happening tomorrow. There’s plenty more coming up on today’s show. That is up next, right here on Austin Signal. Howdy out there. This is Austin Signal. I’m your host, Jerry Kehannel. It is Friday, July 17th. Thank you for tuning in. First responders in Kerrville carried out dozens of water rescues and evacuations amid severe flooding this week. Police chief Gerald Haley says many of those rescues involved people who drove into high water.

Speaker 3 [00:01:27] A large number of the people who were evacuated were people who had driven into high water areas that they should have never gone into, and so a lot of the evacuations were just us assisting those drivers and passengers to get out of those vehicles and get to safety. Yeah, it…

Jerry Quijano [00:01:43] City crews continue clearing debris and inspecting bridges while monitoring water levels. As we continue to cover the flooding in the Hill Country, we will start to hear stories of how folks in Kerrville and the surrounding area have been affected by the floods and how two devastating floods along the same area have affected them. These voices were collected by the Texas newsroom’s Lucio Vasquez.

Lorena Guillen [00:02:07] Yeah it is very very high considering prior years. 2024 was about a 10-12 foot flood, 2025 we were over 30 feet and this time around we were about 20 feet. The big difference between last year and this one is we had no one staying on our property sleeping overnight so. We didn’t have to worry about people losing their lives, like we did last year. And we had the sirens installed. So at 3.32 in the morning, the towers went off. And the siren started alerting people that they needed to evacuate. So a lot of our neighbors did evacuate it. It saved some lives, so very excited about that. Knowing that it worked just the way they predicted is a huge, huge relief, knowing that that happened.

Mando Calderon [00:03:14] When it rains, it’s pretty much going to flood here at least two or three times a year, regardless. If we’re going to get a rain that comes up west from here. But like the dam that’s right here, I mean, we’d all fish, swim, ride in this area all the time, cross the bridge when I was young. But I mean this is expected, but not like it has been, like last year. And last year, July the 4th.

Claudio Castillo  [00:03:42] Hey, we were expecting to be over here in file works and music and food and all that stuff. We were right here at 630 in the morning and dead people were just going through here, probably. And, you know, that was a bad one. You know, you hit it pretty hard, especially when you go right by Camp Mystic. It’s horrible what happened over there.

Michelle Brown [00:04:14] So me and my partner were coming in from California to take a load to Humboldt, Texas. And the rain started getting real bad and my partners tried to pull off to the side of the road to a safe spot and went into the creek. It was very scary. We went under water and so, yeah, it was scary. We got stranded, there was other vehicles that got stranded. Fire and Rescue got stranded And then they eventually got us out. We ended up going to the hospital because I got hit in the side by a tree. So now they have no internet. We pay for our rooms, and we can’t even get into a room. And unfortunately, we don’t have a car or anything right now, so we’re kind of just stuck. No car, no room, no nothing. So hopefully our boss will be figuring some stuff out for us.

Lucio Vazquez [00:05:03] What happens now?

Michelle Brown [00:05:04] We keep on trucking. Don’t know when rainstorms stop us. We get back on the road and keep on walking.

Jerry Quijano [00:05:11] Those were the voices of Laura Guillena, a bar owner in Kerrville, Mando Calderon and Claudio Castillo, who were born and raised in the area, and Michelle Brown, a long-haul trucker driving passing through. The floodwaters are receding and the recovery is just beginning again for the city of Kerrville after heavy rains caused the Guadalupe River to severely overflow its banks. This of course comes just over a year after similar catastrophic flooding killed more than 130 people in the Hill Country, many of them in Kerr County. The Texas newsroom’s Lucio Vasquez is on the scene in Kerrrville and he is with us now. Hi Lucio. Hey, thanks for having me. You have been in Kerrerville since yesterday afternoon. What are you seeing on the ground right now and how has the situation evolved since you arrived?

Lucio Vazquez [00:05:57] Yeah, so yesterday afternoon, one of the first things I did was go to see the river, obviously. And I mean, I got to say, like, it’s it’s one thing to, again, like see pictures and see like hear people talk about it, but it’s another thing to actually see the beast in motion. Truly, it was it was. It was monstrous. I mean the sound was just like a giant waterfall. And I met a lot of the people that we just heard in a pavilion overlooking the And a lot of people were in awe of just like the scale of it, really. Now, flash forward to now, it’s a lot drier outside. It’s not raining nearly as much. It seems that the forecast, the worst of it at least has passed, thankfully. And I think the situation is really evolving now from search and rescue as the water recedes to eventually recovery and seeing how much damage was actually, you know, how much damaged the situation has actually caused.

Jerry Quijano [00:06:53] Yeah, this is an area that’s still recovering from severe flooding that happened just over a year ago. You mentioned that the voices that we heard just a little while ago, those were all people that you spoke with yesterday, I’m assuming. What else have you heard from residents about how this event is affecting them this time around?

Lucio Vazquez [00:07:08] Yeah, you know, a lot of people actually joked that like, you know they were like, oh, like a thousand year flood, huh? And like, because it happened again. And so I do believe that I’ve heard the term climate change spoken more this time around than I ever did back when I visited the area after the last flood. It seems that a lot of folks are seeing a pattern of increased severity when it comes to these floods. A lot of the folks that you guys just heard from, again, I’ve been here for decades and they told me that last, they’ve seen floods before in the area. This area is not any stranger to floods, but again, the scale of the floods have been increasing in severity over the last few years, at least from their point of view.

Jerry Quijano [00:07:52] Well, one thing that’s obviously notable about this summer’s flooding is that there have been significantly fewer deaths and reports of missing people compared to last year. What have Texas officials had to say so far about what’s different this time around?

Lucio Vazquez [00:08:04] Yeah, I think they’ve pointed mostly to the efforts in the legislature, you know, flood sirens, gages along the Guadalupe and nearby and throughout the watershed, really, to give like real-time data as like rainfall and river height and whatnot. Officials have pointed to these investments and said that this is why there have been far fewer deaths this time around. I mean, last year we had more than 130 people. Throughout central Texas, the Hill Country, and other floods throughout the state as well. And so this time around, we have at least two people confirmed who died, far fewer death toll. And, you know, I think officials are pointing to those investments as well as the, I guess, added awareness, right? I mean, a lot of people are just kind of top of mind whenever they see a weather alert. Now they’re more quick to action, I think.

Jerry Quijano [00:08:56] You mentioned earlier that it is still a little bit early to judge the full extent of the damage, but this is an area that you reported on last year after the flooding. Comparatively, how bad is the damage that you’ve seen so far, at least?

Lucio Vazquez [00:09:09] Yeah, I mean, we’ve seen reports that the river actually rose higher this time around than last time, at least in some parts of the river. And it’s also important to note that like the Guadalupe River is the main, I guess, vein, right? But there are smaller creeks and other rivers in this area that also rose throughout the last few days throughout the week. The full extent of damage, again, I think it’s a little too early to put a number on it. Um, but I can, I can say for certainty that people were still recovering from last year and that this is probably going to add to that pressure, um, from, you know, felt from over the last year, really.

Jerry Quijano [00:09:45] We just have about 30 seconds left, are you planning to stay out there this weekend and keep reporting? You know, as long as my editors tell me to stay, I will stay. Alright, very cool. Well, if you have any more reporting, we will bring it to you here on Austin Signal. That is Lucio Vasquez, he is the Texas Newsroom’s breaking news reporter. Lucio, we appreciate your reporting, stay safe out there. Thank you, thanks for having me. Well, school still is out for the summer, but 10 campuses in the Austin Independent School District will not be welcoming back students a month from tomorrow. That says the district continues adjusting to shrinking enrollment and budget deficits. For now, the district is working on the future of those 10 campuses. Some of them are gonna be sold, others will be leased, others will re-imagined. KUT’s Greta Diaz-Gonzalez-Vasquez has the story.

Andrew Weber [00:10:42] All right. So first off, thank you, everybody, for coming.

Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:10:47] On a recent weeknight, East Austin neighbors got together at the Library of Martin Middle School. They were there to hear AISD Superintendent Matias Segura talk about the future of the campus at the banks of Lady Bird Lake.

Andrew Weber [00:10:59] Now I want to challenge you on this. I know Martin Middle School existed for decades, it’s an incredible school, and there’s a lot of history here, but there are lots of different types of programs that can exist in a building like Martin.

Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:11:12] Segura says the district wants to work with the community to figure out the future of Martin. He says it’s unlikely it will be a middle school again, but they have options. A group of neighbors has been working together for the last couple of months to gather feedback from the community. Gabriel Estrada is a Martin graduate and part of that group.

Gabriel Estrada [00:11:31] We know the district is academic savvy. But we also know that the district is often not aware of what’s going on within the community. And that’s where the community needs to step up and tell the district, hey, don’t forget about this. This is what we’d like to see.

Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:11:51] During the meeting, community members suggested going back to a time when the building served as a school during the day and as a community center in the late afternoons where adults could learn to read or speak English. Estrada encouraged neighbors to work with the district.

Gabriel Estrada [00:12:04] Because we can’t work in isolation, we need to work together as a community to make something great for everyone.

Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:12:11] Martin is going through renovations that are part of the 2022 bond. Segura said they will continue working on the outside parts of the building, but they’ll work on the inside once they have a better idea what the building may become. But not all of the schools that closed will be re-imagined like Martin. James Valadez, AISD’s director of real estate, says amid a big budget deficit for next year, the district is currently prioritizing selling two of 10 properties and entering a long-term lease agreement for the grounds of another one.

James Valadez [00:12:42] Because of the need from the budget process that speaks to us generating 60 million dollars through monetization of property. So given the timeline that’s needed to close some of those types of transactions around land leases and fee simple sales, we need to prioritize those first.

Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:12:58] They hope to be done with those sales in the next few months. Valadez says three other campuses will also be leased.

James Valadez [00:13:05] We would envision that happening over the course of the fall. So we would end up finding a partner for those sites this fall.

Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:13:13] The district has done this before. Turn an old school into something that benefits the community. Peace Elementary, which closed in 2019, is now a childcare center. The Anita Ferales Coy facility is in the process of becoming affordable housing, in part, to keep teachers in the district. Valadez says, for the three campuses said to be leased, officials will try to find partners that have the same values as the district, and then there are the three buildings that are being used as swing spaces, or temporary campuses, for schools that are under renovation. But in a couple of years, they could also be leased or sold. District officials are planning to meet with those neighborhoods in the next couple of weeks to hear feedback. Segura says they want to see communities organizing and telling the district what they need.

James Valadez [00:13:58] Like it’s really helpful when it’s all coming through one voice and so to the extent that there’s consensus in the community that that voice comes through you all, that’s preferable.

Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:14:10] And as hard as it was for multiple communities to lose their schools, Segura says they can work together to re-envision the next chapter of those campuses, and ultimately of the school district. I’m Greta Diaz-Gonzalez Vazquez in Austin.

Jerry Quijano [00:14:24] And Austin Signal will be back after this break. This is Austin Signal, welcome back. KUT’s Summer Reading Challenge is well underway and if you haven’t blacked out that bingo board just yet, or if you have it started yet, well, no worries, we’re gonna have more info about that in just a second. And if your bookshelf needs some freshening up, why not pick up some new material this weekend at KUTs Book Swap? You can share a well-loved book with a new home, maybe find your next favorite read. KUT digital editor, Wyn Davis, is here to tell us more. Wyn, thanks for being here.

Wynn Davis [00:14:59] Thanks so much for having me.

Jerry Quijano [00:15:00] So we have been talking over the summer about this field guide summer reading bingo challenge remind us what’s going on

Wynn Davis [00:15:07] Yes, okay, so we have a Summer Reading Bingo Challenge. Basically, it’s your standard bingo board, but we have bunch of fun prompts, like visit an Austin Indie bookstore, visit a Austin Public Library location, read a book by a local author. Read a book about vacation, all those sorts of things. So we’re just making our way through that. Some people have gotten a bingo. That’s awesome. You can get more than one bingo, you can get a blackout. We’re, you know, we’re going for it all. Yes, for the glory.

Jerry Quijano [00:15:38] So people still have time to join then, even though others already have yelled out bingo in their own homes, people can still participate.

Wynn Davis [00:15:44] Yes, there’s still time to join, you know, we’re going until around the end of August. We’re going to have a big celebration then. There’s plenty of time to check off five of these prompts, four of them if you use the free space. Anything is fair game.

Jerry Quijano [00:16:00] That’s true. You got to take advantage of that free space. Well, I’m glad it’s still going on because we’ve been getting some great book recommendations from KUT employees right here on Austin Signal. And there’s even an in person event happening on Saturday as part of the reading challenge. What’s going on?

Wynn Davis [00:16:15] Right, so we’re having a book swap on Saturday. We’re gonna be out at St. Elmo’s Springdale location. It’s gonna be really fun. We’ve done one of these book swaps before. It’s a great time to bring a book that you really loved, but you’re ready to pass it on, get a new book. You don’t have to buy a book, which is pretty nice, I’d say. And you know, you can talk to other people about what books they’re reading. Sort of like nerd out, but in the most wholesome way.

Jerry Quijano [00:16:43] Yeah, in a very public radio way. I heard you explaining this a little yesterday, the process of this book swap. I anticipated it was just like you go, you throw your book on a table and then you look around, but it works a little bit different than that, right?

Wynn Davis [00:16:55] Yeah, so we’re not doing a sort of like dump your books, just like rummage through books sort of thing. We’re only asking people to bring one book and it operates very similar to a white elephant gift exchange, if you’re familiar with that. We’ll go around, everyone will draw a number out of a hat or some receptacle and we’ll go around. Everyone can introduce themselves. You can introduce your book. Tell us a bit about like why you really loved it. Maybe a little bit of the plot. No spoilers, please And then we’ll go around whoever’s number one. They you know have free reign. They can pick any book and they’ll swap and it just keeps going till the end and then that’s it.

Jerry Quijano [00:17:38] Alright, so that’s all people need, just one book to participate.

Wynn Davis [00:17:41] Please, just one book.

Jerry Quijano [00:17:42] Okay, okay, let’s keep it to the one book and we’ll keep it a little bit smoother We’re gonna have more details about that book swap happening this weekend in today’s show notes We’ve been speaking with Wynn Davis Wynn. Thank you

Wynn Davis [00:17:53] Thanks so much, Jerry.

Jerry Quijano [00:17:57] All right, we are keeping an eye on all the cool art things happening this weekend in our new segment, Where the Art is. Joining us now is KUT’s art beat editor, Stephanie Federico. Stephanie, welcome back to the show.

Stephanie Federico [00:18:08] Hey, thanks Jerry.

Jerry Quijano [00:18:09] So I was living vicariously last night through social media of all the folks who got to see this great Austin band grocery bag. They were part of the first night of Hot Summer Nights. Love them.

Jerry Quijano [00:18:18] I’m gonna try to make it out tonight. I can no promises, but what are you excited about seeing tonight?

Stephanie Federico [00:18:24] Well, The Breaks are hosting a show over at Stubbs Indoors, and I’m kind of just excited that it’s indoors, just because it’s really humid out there. And that’s part of the Hot Summer Nights, Confucius and Fresh, they’ll present sets from Gio, Soto the Activist, Smooth, Nature, and that’s all starting at seven, and you can go from there to one of the other music venues over at Red River, Mohawks and Stubb’s, they’re all having free shows tonight, so.

Jerry Quijano [00:18:50] Yeah, we talked to Fresh a couple of days ago. He said Confucius is gonna be DJing as well to start, and he said he hasn’t done that in a while. So I do wanna get out to see that. We were just hearing from Wynne talking about the book swap. Have you been to one of those? I love the book swaps. Okay, are they as, you know, a white elephant can get kind of intense. Do these book swabs get like that?

Stephanie Federico [00:19:10] Yeah, the one that I, we only had one other one and it was really cutthroat. It was really quite fun. I stole a book from Jay Trachtenberg. I still feel bad about it, but you know.

Jerry Quijano [00:19:19] He’s listening. I know he’s listening right now. Well, he knows I also…

Stephanie Federico [00:19:21] Well, he knows I also, when I finished the book, I gave it to him. So it’s just, it’s really great way to like meet fellow readers in Austin. And it’s a fun time. So I would recommend people go there. That’s at St. Elmo’s and hopefully they’ll play the, uh, World Cup game third place after that. And you can stick around and watch the game because you know, I have the World Cup fever, Jerry.

Jerry Quijano [00:19:40] Everybody’s got it everybody’s got a good bumper sticker would be I stole a book from Jay Tracton Okay, so there’s a production happening out out at Hyde Park theater what’s going on there

Stephanie Federico [00:19:54] Yeah, there’s a one person show called Feast and it’s running through July 25th. And I don’t know if you ever read Beowulf in high school. I did not. It’s like the centuries old epic poem about this warrior that battles Grendel and Grendle’s mother, these monsters. And the show Feast is a take on that. It’s told from the mother’s perspective and it said to be kind of a warning against authoritarianism. So that sounds like it’s gonna be really good.

Jerry Quijano [00:20:21] Okay, interesting. I was listening to this week’s episode of The Sound Founder Show on KUTX, and he mentioned that he met a lot of new people at last weekend’s Exploded Drawing Show. I wanted to believe that there are a bunch of Austin Signal listeners who are like, hey, let’s go out there and check it out, right? So that show is out at Datalab. There’s another show happening out of Datalab or what’s that about?

Stephanie Federico [00:20:41] Yeah, and it’s similar to exploded drawing where you have a bunch of little short sets, but this is opera. They’re called micro operas. It’s fresh squeezed ounce of opera. There are three operas in 70 minutes, and it sounds like if you’re a virgin, opera virgin person, is that what I’m calling it? Anyway, if you are new to opera, and you want a little taste, I think that’s starting tonight, it’s running through July 25th. It should be kind of cool just to experience some opera.

Jerry Quijano [00:21:10] Oh, we talked to you last week and you had an honorable mention, which was kind of a bummer because it sounded exciting, but unfortunately all the tickets were sold out, but there’s been a change I hear.

Stephanie Federico [00:21:19] Yeah, so the Rocky Horror Puppet Show, which sounded kind of bonkers. This was done with, you know, the cult classic, but done through puppets and improvised musical. I was really excited about it. It was sold out, but they added three more shows. So they’ll be coming in August. They’re not this weekend, but you might want to get tickets soon if that was something that would interest you. I got tickets for a seven o’clock show, but the other two shows are at 11.30 in, you now, classic Rocky Horror style. So, yeah.

Jerry Quijano [00:21:48] And that story was done by a KUT arts intern, Caroline, and she has a new story out this week. What is that about?

Stephanie Federico [00:21:54] Yeah, she has been great just doing lots of stories for us. She went out to Round Rock because Round Rock has a new art center, a new museum called the Round Rock City Art Center that just opened this year, which is really cool. And they have a Dale Chihuly exhibit. And I don’t know if you’re familiar with him, but he’s this world renowned glass artist. And he was commissioned to do this special installation just for the Roundrock Museum. It’s this giant pineapple chandelier. It looks really, really, really cool if you know his stuff, you’ll love it. And I’m really excited to get out there for that. He also has a few other pieces that are gonna be in this exhibit that’s up for the next three months.

Jerry Quijano [00:22:33] All right, fantastic. We’re going to link that in today’s podcast show notes. Thank you for telling us where the art is that is KUT’s art beat editor Stephanie Federico. We appreciate you Stephanie Thank you, Jerry. All right We only have about 40 seconds left in the show But there is obviously a lot still developing with the flooding situation in the Texas Hill Country So continue to follow at KUT.org and on the KUT app and you can follow the coverage that we brought you this week at KUT.org slash Signal, and wherever you listen to your podcasts. Rayna Sevilla is our technical director, Alexandra Hart is our producer, Kristen Cabrera is our managing producer, and I’m your host, Jerry Quijano. Austin Signal, we’re gonna be back at the same time, Monday afternoon, we’ll talk to you then, be safe.

This transcript was transcribed by AI, and lightly edited by a human. Accuracy may vary. This text may be revised in the future.