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Across the city of Austin, medics are working and responding to emergency calls despite the budget challenges facing the city and Travis County. Voters in Austin resoundingly rejected a property tax increase that officials hoped could be used to supplement area first responders.
Now, these departments are adjusting to a future with fewer resources.
Plus, the Supreme Court is allowing Texas to use newly drawn congressional districts in next year’s midterm elections. The map was drawn to give Republicans an advantage in upcoming races for U.S. House seats. We’ll have local and statewide reaction to the court’s decision.
The Blue Genie Art Bazaar is celebrating 25 years in Austin. We’ll talk about the bazaar’s origins and the best times to avoid the long lines.
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 [00:00:09] Across the city of Austin, medics are working and responding to emergency calls. Despite the budget challenges facing the city and Travis County, voters in Austin resoundingly rejected a property tax increase that officials hoped could be used to supplement area first responders. Now those departments are adjusting to a future with fewer resources. Plus, the Supreme Court is allowing Texas to use newly drawn congressional districts in next year’s midterm elections. The map was drawn to give Republicans an advantage in the next Congress. We’ll have local and statewide reaction to the court’s decision coming up.
KUT Announcer: Laurie Gallardo [00:00:42] The Austin Signal is a production of K U T News, hosted by Jerry Quijano.
Jerry Quijano [00:00:47] And the Blue Genie Art Bazaar is celebrating twenty-five years in Austin. We’ll talk about their origins and the best times to avoid the long lines. That’s next here on Austin Signal. Howdy out there, thank you for tuning in to Austin Signal. You’re listening here on KUT News 90.5. We’re on the K U T app and we have more news online at K U T.org. It is Friday and another chilly day here in the Capitol City, but this weekend in Austin is shaping up to be a nice one. The National Weather Service is forecasting for the clouds to clear out of the way and for the sun to shine its glorious face on us. Highs in the low to mid seventies on Saturday and Sunday. Don’t forget about the holiday sing along tree lighting and downtown stroll happening in front of the Capitol tomorrow night from 5 until 8. We will see you out there. Alright, let’s get on to today’s show. The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Texas can use its newly drawn congressional map in the 2026 midterm elections. For more about the decision’s impacts on Austin districts as well as the rest of the state, we are talking with the Texas Newsroom’s Capitol Reporter, Blaise Gainey. Blaise, thanks for being with us.
Blaise Gainey [00:02:08] Yeah, glad glad to be here.
Jerry Quijano [00:02:10] So this fight around the congressional map has been a a long saga. So I’m asking you to take us back to the beginning, please. Why did this fight even begin in the first place? Why did Texas redraw its maps?
Blaise Gainey [00:02:22] Absolutely. This whole redistricting saga began when President Trump asked Governor Greg Gabbott to rearrange states’ congressional districts to give Republicans an advantage. The DOJ also pointed out to Texas that it had districts they believed were racially gerrymandered, which is illegal. That sent the state into a rare mid decade redistricting process before the next census. Lawmakers quickly passed maps in a second special session, and that was successfully challenged in federal court due to concerns of racial gerrymandering. Yesterday, the Supreme Court stepped in and stayed that ruling allowing the map to actually be used now.
Jerry Quijano [00:02:58] And while we have been waiting for this Supreme Court ruling, candidates here in Texas that are planning to run for election, maybe for reelection, they’ve had to do some thinking on whether the new map or the old map is gonna work for them. One official Austin Representative Lloyd Doggett, we had him on the show. After the three judge panel initially ruled on the issue, how has this back and forth been affecting potential candidates here in Texas?
Blaise Gainey [00:03:21] Yeah, the map not being in place created a ton of uncertainty. Candidates didn’t know which districts they’d actually be running in, whether the twenty twenty one map or the newly redrawn map would be the one in effect. So some people held off on announcing in a few incumbents, like Representative Al Green or Greg Kazar, had to consider whether their homes would even remain inside their districts now that the Supreme Court has locked in the map. It finally gives clarity just days before the Monday filing deadline. So candidates should be making those decisions over the weekend.
Jerry Quijano [00:03:53] Yeah, and I will say about an hour ago into the KUT email inboxes, we got a message from Representative Lloyd Doggett. He says, I quote, I will continue working with the same urgency and determination as if next year were my last, which in public office it will be. After that, I will seek new ways to join my neighbors in making a difference in the only town I have ever called home. That’s a from an email from Representative Lloyd Doggett at about twelve fifteen this afternoon. So he is making it clear that he does not intend to run for his old seat, which was part of the old map. So with this new map, how is it directly gonna have an effect on the Austin area?
Blaise Gainey [00:04:32] Yeah, so I mean, y there you have it. Lloyd Doggett is retiring. I mean, that’s one of the effects. And instead you will have a new district that encompasses sort of the area that he used to cover and now what Greg Kazar covers. And so, r Congressman Gregg will be the one running in that seat. He he will likely win, but that means just one less Democrat representing the area here.
Jerry Quijano [00:04:58] We got an interactive map over at K U T dot org where you can see the changes happening to Austin districts and others around the state. Blaise, what’s been the political reaction to the news from the Supreme Court ruling? Let’s start with those who are in support of the new maps.
Blaise Gainey [00:05:11] Yeah, Republican leaders, Governor Greg Gabbott, Attorney General Ken Paxton, and several House and Senate members have celebrated the decision. They said that it validates the legislature’s work and allows Texas to move forward with more court interference, without more court interference. Democrats, on the other hand, say the ruling greenlights a map that dilutes the voting strengths of fast growing communities of color, especially around Austin, Houston, and Dallas. And they see this as possibly setting up a situation where we could have multiple states each year trying to undergo a red redistricting process.
Jerry Quijano [00:05:47] We only have about thirty seconds left, Blaise, but as I mentioned, this has been a a saga, a lot of back and forths. It is this final ruling is is are these the maps we’re gonna have going forward in the twenty twenty six midterms?
Blaise Gainey [00:06:00] For now, yes. But long term, probably not.
Jerry Quijano [00:06:04] Okay. All right, we have been speaking with the Texas Newsrooms Capital Reporter Blaise Gainey. As I said, you can check out his story and an interactive map over at KUT dot org about how these districts are changing. Blaise, thank you for your time.
Blaise Gainey [00:06:18] Thanks for having me.
Jerry Quijano [00:06:24] This is Austin Signal. Thanks for spending part of your Friday here with us. Across Travis County, medics are working to respond to emergency calls while dealing with budget hardships. That’s after voters rejected a property tax increase, proposition Q, that would have brought in more money for emergency medical services. KUT’s Luz Moreno Lozano tells us how the department is adjusting.
Luz Moreno-Lozano [00:06:50] On Tuesday morning, Austin Travis County EMS and the Austin Fire Department responded to a call at a home in Southeast Travis County. A 78-year-old man had fallen several days earlier and he was unable to get back up. Together, medics and firefighters helped hoist the man from the floor of his home onto a gurney and into an ambulance where they began to treat him.
Selena Shea [00:07:09] We’re gonna give you some IDs. So like we’re gonna get an ID on you. We’re gonna check all your vitals, we’re gonna check your heart, and we’re gonna get you over to South Austin. Is that okay with you? Yeah. Okay.
Luz Moreno-Lozano [00:07:22] Selena Shea is a commander with Austin Travis County EMS. She’s also running for a seat on the Austin City Council against District 8 incumbent Paige Ellis. Sitting outside the house, Sia explains a little more about the call EMS just received.
Selena Shea [00:07:35] This gentleman fell on Friday and he was able to crawl inside and he was just not able to get up. But he thought that he would recover over time and he just realized he wasn’t going to.
Luz Moreno-Lozano [00:07:47] She says this is one of the most common types of calls EMS gets each day, where someone needs medical attention, but not necessarily an ambulance. She says calls for life-threatening situations like heart attacks, strokes, and car crashes make up about 10% of calls to EMS. But Shea says, regardless of the nature of the call, an ambulance staffed with medics responds anyway. Austin Travis County EMS Chief Robert Lucret says that may not be the best use of resources. In order to be
Robert Lucret [00:08:14] to respond to those needs, we need to think differently. And that’s through the innovation of new programs like our basic life support ambulances, our mental health responders, our single unit responders. And many of those programs were outlined in the proposal
Luz Moreno-Lozano [00:08:27] for prop Q. You might remember a lot of buzz in Austin about Proposition Q. In November, voters soundly rejected the property tax hike. It would have added $110 million to the city’s budget, some of which would have helped expand EMS programs. When the ballot measure failed, the Austin City Council had to draw back expenses. Austin Travis County EMS got about $3 million to fund overtime cost. Chief Lucret says that will allow them to staff all ambulances to respond to calls in a timely manner. But some of those other programs he mentioned won’t be expanding immediately.
Robert Lucret [00:09:00] We got it.
Luz Moreno-Lozano [00:09:00] Number.
Robert Lucret [00:09:01] Of ambulances, community health paramedics, mental health responders over just the last three to four years. And so we need to rethink how it is that we’re going to grow effectively, not only to keep up with the existing department, but with the new, larger
Luz Moreno-Lozano [00:09:16] Looking ahead, Lucrid says the department is focused on recruiting and training new medics, but the question is how to pay for that as Austin faces tough budget decisions. After Prop Q failed, city manager TC Broadnicks told council members that they would have to be more realistic about what the city can fund. Some say the issue is how the city council chooses to prioritize spending. Local attorney Adam Lowy has been a vocal critic of Austin’s spending on homeless services and a new logo. He shared his thoughts on a panel Wednesday hosted by the Texas Public Policy Foundation of Conservative Think Tink.
TC Broadnick [00:09:48] Whoever you are, Democrat or Republican, I think we all can agree, yes, we need EMS strong, but I think people realized we have the money from E EMS from the current budget, but we’re spending it on insane things as opposed to getting them more money.
Luz Moreno-Lozano [00:10:04] The city manager says Austin is doing an internal audit of its spending to try and find cost savings. He and his team are also looking at ways to help the city bring in new revenue, which could support EMS and other crucial services. I’m Luz Moreno Lozano in Austin.
Jerry Quijano [00:10:22] And coming up here on Austin Signal, we’ve got some Texas music history for you to add to your storytelling archive. Plus, the holiday season here in Austin just wouldn’t be the same for lots of folks without the Blue Genie Art Bazaar. We’re gonna talk about how they got their starts and the magic of owning your own piece of Austin to hold in your hands. That’s coming up next here on Listener Powered Public Radio. This is Austin Signal. You’re tuned in to Austin Signal. Thanks for being here. The impact Texas has had on country music is substantial, but it’s not just big names like Willie Nelson or Bob Wills who helped shape the genre’s sound. It’s also the folks in the recording studios, the fiddlers in the band, names that could end up lost to history. Jason Mellard from the Center for Texas Music History has a story of one such band.
Jason Mellard [00:11:32] This week in Texas music history, a group of East Texans give Bob Wills a run for his money. On December 2nd, 1927, in Dallas, the country musicians of the East Texas Serenators entered a recording studio for the first time. The result was a Columbia 78 featuring the song Sweetest Flower backed with combination rag. The group recorded a total of 10 records between 1927 and 1937, but together with their live performances, this small discography left a big legacy. The Serenaders were a classic Southern string band who inspired the burgeoning Western swing sound in North Texas. The group was unique both for its exploration of diverse styles and for its instrumentation, most notably a three-string cello played with a bow in place of the larger, fully strung double bass. Left-handed fiddler Daniel Huggins Williams was a gifted player who won fiddling contests across the state and later tutored Johnny Gimbal, whose work with country hitmakers Jimmy Davis, Bob Wills, Willie Nelson, and George Jones made him a star in his own right. The group also featured tenor banjo, guitar, and sometimes a double fiddle lineup. The East Texas Serenaders were based in country music, but the group searched widely for new sounds and incorporated elements of blues, Cajun, swing, and jazz. Ultimately, the Serenators had a major influence on Bob Wills, the king of Western Swing. Who once noted that the only group that gave his early upstart band any real competition was the East Texas Serenaders. And while their primarily instrumental work was often overshadowed by the more noted vocal-led groups, the East Texas Serenaders claimed their place as one of the pioneering Texas country ensembles of the 1920s and 1930s. You can hear music from the Lone Star State 24-7 on the Texas Music Experience at tmx.fm.
KUT Announcer: Laurie Gallardo [00:13:33] Support for this week in Texas Music History comes from Brain Audio, maker of a compact portable speaker, featuring an internal subwoofer that produces deep bass sound, engineered in the live music capital of the world. More at Brainaudio.com. That’s B-R-A-N-E-Audio.com.
Jerry Quijano [00:13:51] This is Austin Signal. Thanks for spending part of your Friday here with us. The Blue Genie Art Bazaar is celebrating 25 years here in Austin. We’re joined now by Dana Younger, co-founder and partner with Blue Genie. Howdy, Dana. Howdy. Thank you for being with us. It’s 2025. We’re nearing the end of it, but I want you to take us back a little bit to 2001. Tell us a little bit about where the idea for Blue Genie came about. Well, we had a fabric.
Dana Younger [00:14:19] Application shop. On the east side and we made all kinds of sculptures and murals them that helped decorate Austin and we love to throw parties. And we when when whenever we threw a party, we would put some art on the walls and and have a good time. And this amazing thing happened. We threw a party at Christmas and people bought things. And we were like, that was pretty cool. We should do that again. And we’ve just been doing it, and it was so fun, we’ve been doing it for twenty five years now.
Jerry Quijano [00:14:48] What was the Austin art scene like back then? Was it a lot was it a lot of like DIY things like you’re talking about here? Absolutely, yes. Space was
Dana Younger [00:14:56] Cheap. In two thousand one, it was a different kind of town. And and that made things possible, you know. Big Medium was getting started. They had a small group called Sotolitas that were the sort of core and they had a space over on Balm Road and things were a little more renegade and that there’s a real creative freedom in things being renegade. And we are very grateful to have come out of that time and and made it to this time.
Jerry Quijano [00:15:24] So I know the art bazaars had a few iterations, a few different locations. But what about that spirit from the early day is still alive in in today’s marketplace, today’s offerings?
Dana Younger [00:15:34] Yeah, well it’s fun. You know, it’s still fun. It’s fun for us. It’s fun for the artists, and it’s fun for the for the community. You know, this this town is kind of magical. There is so much creative energy in Austin. And there always has been, and that’s always been a bit really important part of what makes Austin unique. And then the other side of that is that Austin is very supportive of creative endeavors. People show up for for cool, fun, creative things. And those things have not changed about Austin, in my opinion, and that’s that helps make Austin a really special place.
Jerry Quijano [00:16:18] And I think there’s also a special kind of power in buying something or owning something that somebody has created. And use it’s almost like having a piece of Austin’s magic in your hands whenever you go to the art bazaar.
Dana Younger [00:16:30] That’s exactly right. I mean, what we do is we platform local artists and designers and give them a meaningful way to show their wares to the Austin public that can come out and support them. And and we we love that and the community loves it. And they do love to have a piece of you know, of the creative Austin energy on their wall or in their pocket or where you know, wherever
Jerry Quijano [00:16:56] it goes. Oh speaking of those artists, how how many were featured, how many were working on that first project back in two thousand one? How many artists had their art featured then and how many are you featuring now in twenty twenty five? Oh gosh.
Dana Younger [00:17:10] You know, in the very first show there was just a handful of people. I mean, we’d we put it up for three days and maybe had fifteen people or so and we kinda had to, you know, finagle to get friends like come on, just put some things up. It’s not that hard. And and now we feature over two hundred artists every year. So it’s really changed a lot.
Jerry Quijano [00:17:34] Speaking of that demand, you know, I I go to the climbing gym next to the art bazaar location. And around November and December parking becomes a lot m less accessible because the blue genie is so popping. You know, because life can get kind of crazy, people can put off things to the end. When is a good time, from your pros’ opinion, when is a good time to kind of sneak in and avoid kind of the the crazy hours? Pro tip is come below.
Dana Younger [00:18:01] Aforenoon. And not on a Saturday. Okay. If you really want to come in and and not have it be super crowded, Monday through Thursday are great times to visit the show. And really any time during the day. We’re open 10 a.m. To 10 p.m. We try really hard to be very accessible. And so we’re just open for 12 hours and you can find a time in there. And if you want to come when it’s uncrowded, any time in there Monday through Thursday is gonna be is gonna be great. The weekends from here on out, they’re gonna be bananas. If you like that sort of thing, come on out. You can feel the energy of the of the holiday season, and some people, some people like that. It you know, you get a charge out of it.
Jerry Quijano [00:18:42] I’ve never been during the crazy times, but is it true that the a line, a cue kind of forms out the window, you have to like you have to basically become a a bodyguard and say, No, we can’t allow th we can only have so many people in here right now?
Dana Younger [00:18:55] Okay. That’s one of my that’s one of my roles. You’ll sometimes see me out there on a Saturday or Sunday morning, me or one of my business partners. You know, these are the benefits of of ownership. We get to sweep dust bunnies and we get to do you know, be a bouncer.
Jerry Quijano [00:19:09] Bouncer. I couldn’t think of the word. Bouncer is the word. We have been hearing a lot about how AI is infiltrating a lot of industries, music, art, not exempted as well. How do you feel that Blue Genie offers a place for people to to go and have something that’s handcrafted, something that’s made by a human who lives in their community, and and what it what is the importance in making that kind of move? Well people have a lot of people.
Dana Younger [00:19:31] Lot of fear about about AI. There’s massive change happening in the world right now and you know and I I think people are justifiably concerned and not w it’s we don’t know what’s happening. And and also AI and all kinds of other new technologies are coming and are here to stay. And so we just have to be clear about what our value systems. And so we are a platform for local artists and designers to show their to show their work. And that’s the that’s sort of how we judge what what goes in. There are all kinds of cool things happening and there’s a place for all kinds of cool things. And so I’m not terribly worried about it. I think it’s interesting and we should keep our eye on on what’s happening and you know put your money where your value system is.
Jerry Quijano [00:20:30] That’s right. We always say put your money where your ears are here on K U T. We are speaking with co-founder and Blue Genie partner Dana Younger. Dana, what makes Blue Genie so quintessentially Austin? We hear about a lost we were talking about lots of Austin traditions, right? Tomorrow we have the downtown sing-along happening in downtown Austin. Blue genie feels like one of those as well, something that you kind of wait for all year long to get to experience. W what is it about Blue Genie that makes it so Austin?
Dana Younger [00:20:58] Gosh, that’s a good question. You know, I don’t know. I I don’t think I have all the ingredients to the secret sauce on on a list. But I think part of it is that we did come out of this more renegade time and we have tried to retain some of that you know, creative energy and renegade feeling. And and and because that’s what we like. Also we are a platform for local artists and designers, and so it’s very Austin. And Austin loves a tradition, right? The the holiday sing along is a great Austin tradition. The the Kite Festival is an amazing Austin tradition. And we love our traditions. They’re important, they bind us to our families, they bind us to our communities, they create a marker in time, and these things are really meaningful to h to humans and to us as Austinites. And so people love to show up and we try to make it easy for them. And you know, it’s free to get in, it’s free to park if you can find a spot. Get there early. Get there early. But we try to make it easy and we try to make it fun, and you can just come and you can have a drink and you can walk around and you can meet your friends and you can have some chuckles and maybe come away with with a treasure.
Jerry Quijano [00:22:17] We are speaking with co-founder and blue genie partner Dana Younger. They are celebrating 25 years here in Austin. Dana, thank you for your time. Thanks for having me. And thank you for tuning in to Austin Signal. That is it for today’s show. But don’t forget, you can catch up on what we’ve done all week long by going over to K U T.org slash signal. And don’t forget to subscribe wherever you listen to your shows. Kristen Cabrera is our managing producer. Rayna Sevilla is our technical director. And I’m your host, Jerry Quijano. Hope you have a wonderful weekend. Don’t forget, we’ll see you downtown tomorrow night for the holiday sing along. This is 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.
