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Early voting for the upcoming primaries in Texas begins next month. Up in Williamson County, things are going to be a little different this election cycle. Voters there will no longer be able to vote at any polling site on Election Day. We’ll talk about why that is, and the impacts it could have.
Protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement have continued in the Austin area this week. Demonstrators gathered outside Austin City Hall on Tuesday. We’ll hear more from those who took part.
Plus, bats have long found a cozy home here in Austin, but they’re not just nestling up under the South Congress bridge.
And living, dying and grief is the subject of a short film premiering this weekend in Austin.
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] Early voting for the upcoming primaries in Texas begins next month, and up in Williamson County, things will be a little different this election cycle. Voters there will no longer be able to vote at any polling site on Election Day. Why that is and the impacts it could have coming up and protests against immigration and customs enforcement have continued in the area this week. Demonstrators gathered outside Austin City Hall on Tuesday. We’ll hear more from that demonstration coming up on today’s show.
KUT Announcer: Laurie Gallardo [00:00:35] The Austin Signal is a production of KUT News, hosted by Jerry Quijano.
Jerry Quijano [00:00:40] Plus, bats have long found a cozy home here in Austin, but they’re not just nestling up under the South Congress Bridge. That story, plus living, dying, and grief is the subject of a short film premiering in town this weekend. Come explore those stories and a whole lot more today on Austin Signal. Howdy out there, this is Austin Signal. Thank you for making us part of your Wednesday. I’m your host, Jerry Quijano. Things have warmed up a bit today in Austin, but we are expecting things to take a turn this weekend. We’ve got our eyes on the weather, and we have ways to prepare for those freezing temperatures over at KUT.org. Let’s jump into today’s show. We’re coming up on the registration deadline for voters to participate in the upcoming Texas primaries. For voters in Williamson County, things will be slightly different this primary election day from those in years past. For more about that change, we’re talking with KUT’s Williamson county reporter, Kailey Hunt. Thanks for coming on the show, Kailey. Hey, Jerry. So tell us just right off the bat, what is gonna be different this election in Williamston County?
Kailey Hunt [00:01:58] Yeah, so what voters need to know is that on primary election day on March 3rd, they will no longer be able to cast their ballot at just any polling location within the county. In years past, you know, we’ve had county-wide voting centers, basically centralized polling locations.
Jerry Quijano [00:02:15] That’s been kind of popular all across Texas.
Kailey Hunt [00:02:17] Right, exactly. Many counties do this, and it’s meant to be more convenient. Well, yeah, that’s no longer going to be a thing, at least for this upcoming primary election day.
Jerry Quijano [00:02:30] Okay, just primary election day, right? Early voting starts in February, but it doesn’t apply then just that one Tuesday?
Kailey Hunt [00:02:36] That’s right, and that is because the county’s parties, the Republican party chair and the Democratic party chair, they are responsible for running those elections on actual primary election day.
Jerry Quijano [00:02:50] Okay, did both parties ask for this change?
Kailey Hunt [00:02:54] No, so yeah, that’s kind of the story is, you know, the Republican Party decided that they no longer want to offer countywide polling locations on primary election day. And the way the state law is right now, that means that the county’s Democratic Party has no choice but to basically follow the Republicans’ lead, right?
Jerry Quijano [00:03:17] Okay, yeah, that makes sense right since they’re both, you know, we’re used to voting you either choose a Democrat or Republican or independent But on primary days, you’re just choosing for the party that you’re choosing to vote in, right?
Kailey Hunt [00:03:28] Correct, right. Both parties have to agree to use county-wide polling in order for it to be offered by either party.
Jerry Quijano [00:03:35] OK, so the Republicans in Williamson County asked for this change. So what has been the response from folks opposed to this change?
Kailey Hunt [00:03:44] Yeah, so I had a chance to, you know, chat with both the chair of the Republican party and the Democratic party in Williamson County. The Williamson county Democratic party was very adamant that they are opposed to this change. But say that, you know, due to state law, they really have no choice but to go along with it for the moment. You know, they say they don’t want to. Try to challenge it at this point, um, because they’re, they’re afraid that that might put some of their candidates, um at risk or open, you know, the party open to lawsuits. Yeah.
Jerry Quijano [00:04:20] Yeah, because we are very close already to primary days and things will just continue to roll, right?
Kailey Hunt [00:04:24] Right, correct.
Jerry Quijano [00:04:25] OK, so you mentioned earlier the word convenience. Someone you spoke with in your story also mentioned the convenience of voting at any polling location. What do they have to say?
Kailey Hunt [00:04:36] Yeah, so I spoke to Joshua Blank. He is a research director at the Texas Politics Project. And he spoke a lot about, yeah, voting for a lot of people is seen as like a marginal decision, right? It comes down to convenience. And so what he was arguing was that any efforts that make voting easier or more accessible is likely to increase voter turnout. Therefore, the opposite, if you’re to… Make it less convenient, then there’s a good chance that there will be a decrease in voter turnout.
Jerry Quijano [00:05:12] Okay, so that seems simple enough that that argument of convenience. Did you get any response on that statement?
Kailey Hunt [00:05:19] Yeah, Jerry, I did. Yeah, the Republican party chair in Williamson County, Michelle Evans, replied to that argument. And she said that she would, quote, encourage the Democrats and other critics to have far more confidence in their fellow man to figure out where their polling location is.
Jerry Quijano [00:05:37] All righty. Well, again, early voting for the March primary elections begins February 17th runs through the 27th and Election Day is March 3rd. We’re going to have more coverage at KUT.org. We’ve been chatting with KUT’s Williamson County reporter, Kailey Hunt. Thank you for your reporting.
Kailey Hunt [00:05:55] Thanks, Jerry.
Jerry Quijano [00:05:59] Around 300 people rallied Tuesday at Austin City Hall to demand that local police stop cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. As Moe’s Boo Shell reports for the Texas Newsroom, anger in Austin is growing since it became clear that some officers have been reporting undocumented immigrants to federal agents.
Mose Buchele [00:06:21] Passing cars honked their support as protesters chanted, banged drums, and waved signs that said things like, Texas needs rain, not ice.
Melissa Nguyen [00:06:30] All right, we’re going to have our first speaker come up.
Mose Buchele [00:06:32] The event was put together by local groups in response to the detention and deportation of a Honduran woman and her five-year-old child earlier this month. The pair was deported after an APD officer turned them over to ICE after finding out federal immigration agents had issued a warrant for the mother. Speakers argued that local police don’t have to enforce these civil warrants, but some are doing it anyway.
Sulma Franco [00:06:55] ¿Por qué ocurrió esto?
Mose Buchele [00:06:57] Why did this happen, asked Sulma Franco, a speaker with the group Grassroots Leadership. Because APD is choosing to go further than what they are required to do by the law, she said. Records show APD officers have contacted ICE dozens of times over these civil warrants in the last year. After the speeches, protesters delivered a petition to several Austin City Council members demanding they stop this cooperation. Thank you all so much for being out here. But even as they applauded the protesters’ demands, some council members said there were limits to what they could do. That’s because of state law, specifically a law called Senate Bill 4 that prohibits cities from stopping officers from calling ICE.
Mike Siegel [00:07:46] So we certainly want to review all of the written policies of the police department to make sure we’re not unnecessarily using police forces to support civilian immigration enforcement actions by ICE.
Mose Buchele [00:07:57] Here’s Councilmember Mike Siegel.
Mike Siegel [00:07:59] But unfortunately in this environment with Senate Bill 4 and the way the state of Texas treats cities like Austin, we cannot promise people safety when they work with our police department. And that’s a real shame because that makes all of us less safe.
Mose Buchele [00:08:13] That sentiment that the city could not guarantee that local police won’t report people to ICE was echoed by councilmembers Zoe Kadri and Vanessa Fuentes. They’re hoping the city will stop officers from participating in some immigration enforcement if local resources are already spread too thin. For example, if waiting for ICE to pick up a person with a warrant would take a local officer away for more pressing duties. Here’s Vanessa Fuente.
Vanessa Fuentes [00:08:41] So with that, to me, it’s gonna be important that we establish a threshold of when and what happens when an officer decides to contact ICE.
Mose Buchele [00:08:56] Austin police are in the process of updating their policy regarding ICE cooperation. Fuentes said she and other councilmembers have requested a public meeting with APD Police Chief Lisa Davis next week to discuss the changes. In Austin, I’m Moes Buchal.
Jerry Quijano [00:09:17] And we have more Austin signal coming your way after this break. Thank you for tuning in on this Wednesday. This is Austin Signal, thank you for tuning in. One of Austin’s famous monikers is Bat City, and it’s not for nothing. Austin’s bat population attracts tourists and locals alike to watch them fly out of their home under South Congress Bridge in the evenings. But of course, that’s not the only place that bats make their home. And as skyscrapers and condos continue to be built up around downtown, well, they’re likely to find more homes there. Andrea Ball of the Austin Current reports that those dwellings are looking more comfortable to more than just humans. Andrea is joining us on Austin Signal to talk more about how bats are moving and living in downtown. Thanks for coming on the show.
Andrea Ball [00:10:08] Thank you for having me.
Jerry Quijano [00:10:09] So you’re reporting, you’re right, obviously 25 years ago, the Austin skyline looked a lot different. Has this always been a problem here in Austin?
Andrea Ball [00:10:18] Yeah, if you talk to the people at Austin Bat Refuge, they say, bats have always been getting in trouble. And it’s really not necessarily because they think, I wanna be human and not like to live in their space. They just kind of get into places. They can squish really, really thin. They have kind of expandable rib cages so they can get into tiny spaces and they will go into them. And so they’ve always been kind of popping up here and there, but now they’re really like getting summer homes and enjoying life downtown.
Jerry Quijano [00:10:48] Well, the bats have been popping up in some of the buildings in the Austin skyline. We’ve had more and more buildings. So are we maybe hearing about it more now because more people are living in these buildings downtown?
Andrea Ball [00:10:58] Well, they didn’t exist. So there’s more opportunities. And apparently, a lot of these really tall buildings that have residences, they have patios. Everybody loves to go outside. And bats love to fly. And so they will open up their patio doors, but they often don’t have screens. And so somebody goes inside, and a bat is enjoying their life, doing their best. And then they were like, hey, cool, what’s that? And goes right in and. Sometimes people think they’re birds and they’re like, cool. And then as soon as they think it’s a bat, they hit the floor as if the bat’s coming to get them.
Jerry Quijano [00:11:30] Yeah, and your story features the story of a man named Chris, what was his experience like?
Andrea Ball [00:11:35] OH MY GOD
Jerry Quijano [00:11:36] Kinda crazy. It was wild.
Andrea Ball [00:11:37] It was wild. So Chris had just come back from a business meeting and he comes into his apartment on the 11th floor and he can see something fly over his head, right? And he’s like, ah, I guess that’s a bird. And this was like a whole drama, Jerry, a drama, because here’s what happened. So he says, he’s, like, okay, it’s a and it’s whizzing, and then he sees it stop. And land on an air conditioning vent and drop down and hang upside down, at which point he dropped to the ground. Now, it’s not like he just had a broom in his closet. His mother lives multiple floors up, he had to call his mother and say, give me my broom. So he’s trying to like be kind to the bat, right? Chris is not trying to harm the bat. Of course.
Jerry Quijano [00:12:22] Of course, of course, yeah.
Andrea Ball [00:12:24] He just wants, you know, to take your business elsewhere, but you know the things flying around so much you kind of swing wrong and there you go. So then the bat stuck between a Buddha statue and the patio lip. I mean, I really feel that’s so very Austin.
Jerry Quijano [00:12:41] It really does seem particularly Austin. You mentioned Austin Bat Refuge a little earlier. How have they been working to help address the situation?
Andrea Ball [00:12:50] They are really very much into getting in, they’re in the educational space where they, you know, they talk about these things. They, you know do interviews, they speak to groups, that kind of thing, I believe. But they’re also really trying to work with groups to safely remove bats. One of the ways basically you get rid of a bat is let it go, like let it do its thing and it will get out. I don’t know that I would be able to do that if it was in my house.
Jerry Quijano [00:13:17] I think I’d be a lot more like Chris, unfortunately, you know?
Andrea Ball [00:13:20] This one guy told me a story about how he he knew a person who he and his wife grabbed a sheet and Ran through the building like to get the bat like I mean when we see a bat we lose our business
Jerry Quijano [00:13:32] That’s funny because you’re talking earlier about the bird, you know, if you see a bird you think I whatever I let it do its thing But then it turns into a bat and it’s they’re very similar But all of a sudden things kind of things go out the window when it becomes once it becomes a bat
Andrea Ball [00:13:45] You know, Jerry, the entire bat industry has a bad PR agency. I mean, let me just tell you what happened in my office the other day. I’m talking to my wonderful co-worker. And
Jerry Quijano [00:14:01] who I don’t know.
Andrea Ball [00:14:02] Who you don’t know, and I refuse to name for what he said. I said, hey, I’m doing the story on the bats. And he looked at me with this look of pure disgust and said, bats are rats with wings. And I said sir, how dare you, they are sky puppies. And that’s where I stand on that issue.
Jerry Quijano [00:14:26] Okay well last question for you, has Austin’s bat population been impacted the number specifically as we see more skyscrapers in town or more people coming to Austin?
Andrea Ball [00:14:35] This is a great question. I talked to Mr. McKenzie from Austin Bat Refuge. And that was the original question I had when I started this story. I’m like, hey, is all this construction affecting the bats? And I start looking them up, and I see this thing, and it says, human-bat conflict. And I was like, what? Anyway, when I talked them, I said, this was my question. Are they going away? They’re like, no. They’re not, and in fact, they were still out there flying pretty late into the season, which is pretty crazy. So no, not only are they not leaving, but they are enjoying new accommodations with their human friends.
Jerry Quijano [00:15:22] All right, well, we have been speaking with Andrea Ball, Growth and Development Reporter with Austin Current. They are KUT’s collaborator on the Austin Signal and a partner with KUT in covering the city of Austin. You can find more from this story in our show notes with some of the cutest pictures you’ve ever seen of some bats. Andrea, thanks for coming on the show and talking with us.
Andrea Ball [00:15:42] Thank you so much, and P.S., did you know that bats purr?
Jerry Quijano [00:15:46] I didn’t!
Andrea Ball [00:15:46] They do.
Jerry Quijano [00:15:47] OK, we’re going to have to find a sound of that and add that into there again. Thank you.
Andrea Ball [00:15:51] Thanks
Jerry Quijano [00:15:58] living, dying, and the grief that, try as we might, we cannot outrun. That’s the story at the heart of the short film Walk with Death, which is premiering this weekend at the Austin Public Library Film Festival. The film follows an end-of-life practitioner slash death doula. For more, we are speaking with the director of the film, Melissa Winn. Melissa, thank you for joining us on Austin Signal.
Melissa Nguyen [00:16:21] Thank you for having me.
Jerry Quijano [00:16:23] So, uh, for folks who might not be familiar, tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got into filmmaking.
Melissa Nguyen [00:16:28] I’m based here in Austin. I’ve been in and out of Austin for the last 20 years. And I just have been around the film industry a lot. I’ve volunteered for the Austin Asian American Film Festival since my college years, so for 20 years, and then CAM Fest as well, the Austin Film Festival. And so I’ve always been interested in film, and this was the first project where I thought, let me try to make a film.
Jerry Quijano [00:16:52] Okay so tell us a little bit about the short film you submitted it’s called walk with death it’s about a little longer than ten minutes uh… Where did where did this idea come from
Melissa Nguyen [00:17:02] Yeah, so my mom died in 2024. And so that really started me on my grief journey. Since then, I’ve been exploring, telling, and producing stories and spaces around grief, death, and dying. And so, that’s been my focus for the past two years since her passing. And so for this film specifically, it’s a documentary short, again, called Walk With Death. And it’s about Brianna Popoca Salpeter, a death doula here in Austin’s Indigenous community. And the film highlights grief work and what she’s learned and gained from her work with those who are dying.
Jerry Quijano [00:17:35] Now how did you meet Brianna?
Melissa Nguyen [00:17:37] So I was part of a grief group at the Austin Center for Grief and Loss, which is unfortunately not a resource for the community anymore. It closed in April of last year. But I had reached out to a member in the grief group looking for a death doula. And I learned about the term death doulo when I was visiting some friends in Tacoma, Washington. And I came across a really hyper-local zine called Grit City Magazine. And that magazine had an article about a death doula in Tacoma, Washington. And so that was the first time I heard the term death doulua. And that was about a year after my mom passed. So that term stuck in my head. And I really wanted to explore what is a death doula, what is that grief work. So when I got back to Austin, I asked the members of my grief group. And my friend Robin sent me Brianna’s website. And when I was looking for a death doula here in Austin, I really Wanted to spotlight a queer black indigenous or woman of color who was doing grief work. I think it’s important to highlight and amplify marginalized voices. And so when I saw Brianna’s website, I reached out to her and said, I lost my mom. Could I talk to you about your grief work? And so within that one hour phone call with Brianna, I knew that she was a natural storyteller. She has a beautiful perspective on life. And I just knew she could talk about death in a way that was accessible, relatable and not scary. And that’s really important when you talk about grief and death. And so I wanted to highlight her work and just feature her in this film.
Jerry Quijano [00:19:11] I’m sorry for the loss of your mother, first off, but I wanted to follow up on something you said. Austin Center for Grief and Loss, you mentioned that close. I didn’t realize that, you know, I’ve been working here since 2018 and we would do these community reads for meetups and things like that. I didn’t realize they had closed. Did you make this film in part to kind of provide a space for people to continue working through their grief as you were working through yours?
Melissa Nguyen [00:19:33] I think so. I think all my work in these past two years has been to create space around grief, for grief, and to open conversation about death and dying. And so when the center abruptly closed in April of last year, it was another thing of grief that our community had to take on. We were grieving the loss of someone, and then we were suddenly grieving the loss of community and spaces to gather. And, so, yes, I made this film to also invite. Those who are grieving and those who are curious about death to come together, talk about it, and just have a space to grieve and be curious around death and grief.
Jerry Quijano [00:20:08] So what was the process of making a film like? I mean, I’m sure you were quite familiar with the process, having the experience that you’ve had around the film industry, but making your own. You’re the director and executive producer of the film. So what, what was that like?
Melissa Nguyen [00:20:22] I was at the Austin Asian-American Film Festival in June of last year, and that is my favorite film festival and local event at Austin Film Society every June. And I was getting ready to see the next screening, so I was sitting in a dark theater waiting for the film to start, and I was telling my friends about my ACC screenwriting class at Austin Community College when someone in front of me turns around and they say, I wasn’t eavesdropping, but I was eavesdropping. And I’m a local videographer, and I’m looking for stories to tell. And so that is Zach Carter, the cinematographer of this film. And so then I saw the call for submission for the Austin Public Library Film Festival. And I emailed Zach and I said, let’s make something for this film festival. Let’s just play. No pressure, no expectations. Let’s see what we can create. And Zach said, yes, thankfully.
Jerry Quijano [00:21:20] So how can people see the film this weekend?
Melissa Nguyen [00:21:22] So, Walk With Death will screen at Austin Public Library’s Spicewood Springs branch at 4.30 p.m. This Saturday, January 24th, with a Q&A. Please come see the film. Say hi to Brianna, Zach, and me. And there will be several death doulas and grief workers in attendance, too. Bring your grieving self, your curiosity about death, and let’s be in community and have open discussions about dying, a universal human experience.
Jerry Quijano [00:21:48] Well I think your movie is a very good exploration of grief and death and life and the need to grapple with those things. So I hope if you’re listening out there you’ll check it out this weekend and hopefully the weather will cooperate with us as well. We have been speaking with Melissa Nguyen, director of the short film Walk with Death, which again is premiering at the Austin Public Library Film Festival this weekend. We’re going to have a link to more information on the festival in our show notes and at kut.org. Well, that’s it. Thanks for coming on the show.
Melissa Nguyen [00:22:19] Thank you for having me.
Jerry Quijano [00:22:25] And that is it for today’s episode of Austin Signal. Thank you for making us part of your Wednesday. A special thank you to Kailey Hunt, Mose Buchele, Andrea Ball, and Melissa Nguyen for their help with today’s show. And a big thanks to Kristen Cabrera and Rayna Sevilla, who help make this show happen every single day. I’m your host, Jerry Quijano. Austin Signal will be back tomorrow, same time. We will talk to you then. Have a great day.
This transcript was transcribed by AI, and lightly edited by a human. Accuracy may vary. This text may be revised in the future.
