Austin has reached a four-year,
$63 million deal with
the city's firefighters, ending
months of negotiation with Austin
Firefighters Association.
We're talking with KUT's Andrew
Weber to find out what that means
for Austin.
And for bird enthusiasts, Texas
Standard's Raul Alonzo
explains what a bird count is,
why it matters, and how you can take
part in one next Saturday.
Also Confucius Jones, KUTXer,
and one half of the hip hop podcast,
The Breaks, shares his favorite song
of the year with us.
The Austin Signal is a production
of KUT News, hosted by
Miles Bloxson.
Plus, if you're looking for holiday
TV episodes to go along with the
holidays, ATX TV Festival's
head of programming, Jennifer Morgan
joins us with some pics.
That and more coming up on Austin
Signal.
Hi there, Austin.
It's Friday, December 19th and
I'm Miles Bloxson.
We're getting closer and closer to
Christmas. And while there are some
amazing songs to listen to and
movies to watch, there are also some
epic TV shows that highlight
the holiday.
We'll have some of our favorites
coming up later in the show.
This is the Austin Signal.
A quick headline before we start the
show, police say they've arrested a
man who was responsible for multiple
overnight explosions in South
Austin. APD said that today
they've arrested Derek Gillespie
at his house near
St. Edward's for possessing
explosive devices.
Police say neighbors complained for
months about overnight explosions,
which led to an investigation
involving federal authorities.
Gillespy was arrested at his home
on Tuesday and charged with
a third degree felony.
We have more on this story at
KUT.org.
The City of Austin has agreed
to the four-year labor contract.
Put forth by the Austin Firefighters
Association.
This is after months of
back and forth between the two.
So what's in the contract and
what does this mean for Austin
and its firefighters?
Joining us now is KUT's
government and accountability
reporter, Andrew Weber.
Andrew, thanks so much for joining
us today on Austin Signal.
Of course.
So take us back to the beginning.
Why does there need to be a contract
like this in the first place?
That's a good question.
It's a labor contract.
So if you get hired, obviously
there's gonna be some protections,
some guarantees, how much you're
gonna get paid, stuff like that.
And that applies to firefighters as
well.
Texas is a very, I
think you could argue, union-averse
state. So you don't necessarily, as
a city, have to have a
big, long drawn-out contract
with your first
responders, like police and fire and
EMS and stuff like.
Uh, but cities like Austin do
these so they can sort of
retain and recruit folk,
recruit folks, excuse me.
Um, that's the sort of a big,
you know, it's a big thing,
especially at a time when, when the
Austin fire department, uh, is kind
of short staffed.
So they went into this agreement,
this negotiation that took months
and months and months, and they
reached a deal ultimately with the
firefighters union.
And so the city and the Austin
Firefighters Association negotiated
contracts.
What was the Firefighter Association
hoping to get funded and
why?
Yeah, they just wanted to get a
raise.
You know, over the last couple of
years, EMS and police have both
got new contracts and
they got pretty substantial raises.
Austin firefighters basically said,
okay, well, our contract's up.
We want to get it raised too.
That only seems fair, especially
at a time, like I said, that they're
kind of short staffed.
So that was a big, you know,
probably the top line goal for
the firefighter team.
That totally makes sense, and did
Prop Q and its failure to pass
affect anything here?
Did yes ma'am it very much did
yeah if for folks who you know
Maybe don't remember don't want to
remember that was a measure to
raise 110 million dollars in
property taxes With the goal
of funding a lot of things one of
those things was overtime for the
Austin Fire Department and that
did not pass So the city basically,
you know said okay well, we
were gonna we were kind of banking
literally banking on on this
passing to pay for this this
overtime and They
couldn't because voters said we
don't want to pass this.
Right, Prop Q seemed like it
affected a lot of things that
we're seeing right now in the news.
What was the city saying and why the
back and forth?
Yeah, the city said, okay, well, we
don't have this $8 million.
We can't fund you over time.
So their solution was, and they kind
of floated this over the summer as
well.
What if we changed the required
number of people on a fire truck
at any given time?
It used to, it's always historically
been four people.
They said, Okay, well what if we
scale that back to three?
The firefighters union was
not, not happy at all with
that. So they basically walked away
from the bargaining table and it was
kind of up in the air until this,
this past week.
Oh, wow. So they just agreed
on a deal.
What's in the deal?
The deal is for four years,
it's $63 million over that
time, and
it basically gives, you know,
it achieves the goal of the
Firefighters Union.
A lot of folks are gonna get raises.
Newer, like recruits and cadets
will get a pretty substantial raise.
They'll get 6.5% more
next year than they would in this
year.
And all firefighters, like
across the board, are gonna to get a
bonus.
Just for sticking around and,
you know, at a time when they're
kind of short staffed, they'll get
1,100 bucks on
January 7th, I believe.
Okay. And you said that this is all
about, you know, part of it is about
getting a raise. So what does that
mean for the city's firefighters
other than just getting a race?
They got a raise, so that's good.
I think that'll probably boost
morale, at least from folks I've
talked to. They're also going to get
a new schedule, which this is where
it gets kind of wonky.
Normally firefighters are on for
24 hours, then off for 48
hours. Actually, it's the other way
around. Austin has changed that,
so they're going to have more
consecutive days off.
Portland did this back in 2022,
and they argued it was
successful and it sort of reduced
a lot of burnout amid.
You know, a department that was
understaffed.
We've been speaking with KET's
government and accountability
reporter, Andrew Weber.
Andrew, thanks so much for talking
with us.
Yes ma'am, thank you.
This is the Austin Signal, I'm Miles
Bloxson.
Birders here in Austin will have
a chance to participate in what
could be compared to as a bird
census.
It's called the Christmas Bird
Count. For more, we're talking
with Texas Standard Bird enthusiast
Raul Alonzo.
Raul, great to have you here today
on the Austin signal.
Hello Miles, good to be here.
Yeah, so what is the Christmas
bird count? I called it a bird
senses.
Is that even a good comparison?
Yeah, you know, bird census is
actually perfect.
That's kind of what it is,
essentially.
What happens is birders gather in
what is called a circle, which is
about 15 miles in diameter in a
particular region, and they're
organized into smaller groups within
that region, and they
cover a small
area, and in that
area they're led by one experienced
birder, and they essentially count
all the different bird species that
they can find and they log it.
So yeah, I think census is actually
a really good way of putting that.
Oh wow, and these are done all
over the state, right?
Yeah, all over the country,
actually.
And there's several here in the
central Texas region.
And it's one of the oldest,
they call it citizen science
projects in the world.
I think this year is 126
years that it's been going on here
in the US.
And yeah, lots of folks get
involved.
126 years?
Why do we do these?
So there is, and it's
such an unusual time of year for it
to happen, right? But like the thing
is, uh, the story
I heard is that way, way
back when, when, you know, hunters
will go out in the winter to do
hunting and kill a lot of birds,
essentially, uh some guys once said
like, why don't we count them
instead? And so that practice began,
you know?
Uh, you know, way back when and
it kind of continued every year
since. And so that
data that they have been compiling
over the years has kind of helped
show how a bird population in
a particular region has changed,
especially, and this has
been the story here in central Texas
in the most recent years especially,
is the growth in population
urbanization and what that's
effect that's had on the
environment, on habitat loss and
the effect it's had on the regional
bird population.
And so the census
in a way kind of shows how the
human impact, what the human impact
is having on the bird population.
And Travis Autobahn is coordinating
like a local outing or something
like that.
Yeah, and there's actually several,
if you go to travisautobahn.org,
you can see several of the events
going on. There's one this weekend
on Saturday out there
around McKinney Falls that
the group is leading, and it's open
to anyone.
But yeah, folks can just go to
Travisautobon.org for a complete
list and kind of find out how
they can get involved or how they
participate.
Again, it's opened to anybody.
And you went to one in San Marcos
recently. How was your experience
there?
So that was kind of a bit
of an outlier.
I, you know, I met up with the
person leading it.
She was Rebecca Rylander.
She was a really great experienced
birder. She was telling me this was
the 10th year that San
Marcos had their Christmas bird
count. And it was also one of the
coldest. It was this past Sunday
when that cold front was blowing in.
And this was early in the morning,
like 7 a.m.
So we actually did not see
too many birds out there.
They were hunkering down.
But otherwise it was kind of a nice
outing. It was just a nice time to
get away from the screen.
So birds do get cold.
That's what I'm hearing.
They get very cold and if you see
them out on the power lines and
they're all hunched over looking all
cute and plump, it's them trying to
keep warm in the cold.
Oh anything else people
should know if they want to go to
the Austin Christmas bird count
Uh, definitely, you know, approach
it like you're doing any outdoor
activity, where, uh,
sturdy, uh clothes, toes, shoes,
um, you know, something that maybe
you, especially where I was at
in San Marcos, we went on a trail
that potentially could have been
muddy. So, you, know, kind of wear
stuff thinking that, you know,
you're not going to get incredibly
dirty, but, you know, it's kind of a
hike essentially.
So dress for the elements.
Um, if you have binoculars, bring
them cause that definitely helps, uh
spot the birds.
And also apps that help.
EBird is what they log the
bird sightings that they find.
And Merlin is a great app to kind
of help you identify birds.
But some people also like doing it
the old-fashioned way.
So bring along your Sibley's
Journal or bird identification
manual if you have one.
I love it all.
We've been speaking with Texas
Standard's Raul Alonzo.
We'll have a link to his reporting
in today's podcast.
Show notes.
Raul, thanks so much for being here
today on the Austin Signal.
Thank you, Miles.
Coming up KTX is Confucius
Jones tells us what he loves about
his song of the year slow dreams And
we'll hear from head of programming
Jennifer Morgan with
her top TV Christmas picks
You're listening to the Austin
signal on KUT news at
90.5 and on the KUT
app and online of course at KUT org
That's where you can find past
episodes of our show and all
the podcasts from KUT and
KUTX studios in addition
to the latest reporting from the
KUT Newsroom on Austin
and Central Texas and beyond.
We've got more coming up right here
on Austin Signal.
Well, well.
You're listening to the Austin
Signal.
I'm Confucius Jones, one half of the
Breaks here at KUTX.
One of my favorite songs out of
Austin this year is Slow Dreams by
Lynn.
Only like my chicken greener off the
bone asking what God wrote for me.
They can't name a single song
a rapper here in the city coming
from Alabama.
My favorite part of the song is the
soul sample.
And my first impression of it was
this was something unique and
different that I'm used to
when it comes to Austin hip hop.
I may wrap it up in
bed like it's a holiday I like
rap sometimes, he want me to ackee
way I like to rap sometimes but
that's just not my role to play
Anyway, I'm focused on which rap
I wanna eat today
The vibe of it is something that
reminds me of slow listening in your
car and helps you get to your
destination.
Gotta know I keep it flush, know
that money on the way Say
it's on with me, she goin' under
These rappers ain't seein' me
Once again my name is Confucius
Jones.
One half of the breaks here at KUTX.
You can find more of our favorite
songs at kutx.org.
This is Austin Signal.
I got that dawg, give me no DMX,
I'm Tommy Smooth You won't catch me
in no pickle, I make that Tommy move
You won't catch me chasing a n***a,
I don't even tie my shoes
You won't catch me in no pickle, I
make that tummy move You won't
catch me chasing this, I don't even
tell I'm just on my head
I know Lambo,
I know it's a Nelly, that don't
make me
This is Austin Signal, I'm Miles
Bloxson.
It's the most wonderful time of the
year, as some would say.
There are some great songs written
about it in awesome movies as well,
but there are also some exceptional
moments in television that depict
the holidays.
That's why we've got ATX TV Fest
in the studio today.
We're talking with Jennifer Morgan,
head of programming.
She's gonna share some of the best
holiday TV episodes on their
list. Jennifer, welcome to Austin
Signal. Hi, thanks for having me.
Of course.
So before we get started, I
have a favorite TV episode and I
know that you have a favorite TV
episode, so I have to know
yours.
I think my probably all-time
favorite Christmas episode is the
office Christmas party.
They have a string of Christmas
episodes that they did, but it's the
very first one.
It's really focused on an
in-office Secret Santa Yankee
swap. And to me, it's just the
perfect calibration of
cringe and awkwardness mixed with
like sweetness and
a little bit of just like
holiday earnestness.
But yeah, I think it
still is getting quoted at our
family.
Secret Santa, so yeah,
that's a classic one.
I absolutely love The Office.
Mine would have to be Martin, a 90s
classic, featuring the comedian
Martin Lawrence.
You might know him from, you know,
Will Smith's co-star in Bad Boys.
But this episode is called I Saw
Gina Kissing Santa Claus.
And in the episode, he is
pretending to be Martin for a group
of kids, and they confront him
because they're like, Santa, you
didn't get us gifts from the
previous year, so we're not
expecting anything from you this
year. They get really upset with
him, and to calm them down, He
tells him this ridiculous.
Christmas story that he clearly made
up, so, in true Martin
fashion, right?
So now that we've shared our
favorites, let's go ahead and jump
into the list that y'all have
created over at ATX TV Fest.
Yeah, so our team put together a
couple of our favorites, starting
with Ted Lasso's Christmas special,
The Carol of the Bells, which is a
season two episode that kind of
splits characters up into pairs and
sends them on like little journeys
across town.
You have Ted and Rebecca paired up
enlisted for this secret
mission.
You have Roy and Keely with
Roy's niece
sort of going around town trying to
find a dentist that's open on
Christmas.
That's not happening.
I know, yeah.
That's...
And then you have this sort of
like found family thread where
Higgins has some of the players over
to his home with his wife that
don't have other places to go.
So it's sort of, you know, showing
you a couple different versions of
Christmas that all feel very
relatable but have that like
signature Ted Lasso comedy.
And then we have Schitt's Creek,
Merry Christmas, Johnny Rose, which
has a really fun sort of flashback
to before the family
sort of loses everything.
With like some really great, I
mean they always have great hair wig
situations going on, but the
flashbacks are particularly good.
And then you really have Johnny
sort of missing the feeling of
their old family Christmas parties
and wanting to recreate that within
the motel.
So again, it's a little bit of like,
everybody has to come together to
create their own version of
Christmas, but that's a really fun
one as well.
That's hilarious.
I mean, Schitt's Creek is a classic,
right?
It's so good.
And sort of the weird
Christmas, you have Gilmore Girls,
the Brace Bridge Dinner, which is a
season two episode where
Lorelai works, gets booked
for this holiday convention.
The people who are supposed to come
to the inn get stranded in Boston
by snow and they can't make it.
And so everyone sort of gets
to have their own version of
what this convention was going to
be, but it's bringing together the
Gilmores and the sort of
weirdness that is Stars
Hollow.
Throwing them all together for
this very strange seven
course like old English dinner
and like sleigh rides through town.
So it is kind of like
peak Gilmore Girls weirdness
but really charming.
And then I have another personal
favorite which is the OC,
the best chrysmaca ever.
We'll see. We've got more.
I know,
um, coined Christmas, of course, and
then is really the OC
at its best, um
which is, you know, Seth trying
to figure out what he's doing
romantically, which is always a
mess.
Um, you have Ryan getting introduced
to the idea of Christmas, um
with this new family that he's
really starting to sort of open up
to. And then you have
relationship drama, family drama,
you have shoplifting, people are
drunk at a family Christmas party.
I mean, it's got all of the OC
hallmarks.
What more can you ask for?
You got everything in that episode.
Adding that to my list as well.
That does sound like Christmas.
Those are the top ones that we have.
And then obviously the office, you
know, has a lot of good ones in
addition to Christmas party.
So you could have basically a mini
marathon of just office episodes
if you wanted to.
Yeah, so people have plenty of
things to watch and ATX
TV just announced the lineup for the
2026 festival.
What programming are y'all most
excited about?
Yeah, so the big
thing that we just announced is that
we're doing, celebrating the 20th
anniversary of Friday Night Lights,
which is an Austin favorite.
It's a favorite of ours.
It's been part of the festival since
year one.
So we're getting the whole
gang back together for a 20th
Anniversary reunion, and we're
giving them our Texas Made Award,
which is gonna be presented with
Media for Texas. So really
celebrating opportunities that it
brought to the state in terms of
filming, hiring local crew,
hiring local actors.
It really has been such a
part of the Austin community and
Texas for the last two decades.
So we really wanted to honor that.
That show is pivotal, and especially
it exposed the high
school football scene, which is
major here in Texas.
And if other people didn't know,
they found out when they watched
that show.
And then we also announced
a Homicide Life on the Street
retrospective, which will
focus on one of their Emmy-winning
episodes, Three Men and Adina.
And that will be with showrunner
Tom Fontana, executive producer
David Simon, and Kelsey Korr,
who is the star.
And then, we have a sweet, vicious,
10-year anniversary reunion.
We have a non-writing producers
panel with some top producers from
House of the Dragon, Miss America,
industry.
Lanterns, which is an upcoming HBO
show. So that should be a great
conversation. And then we'll have a
late night show with Greg Owensky,
which is a totally original late
night show that we started last
year.
And Greg is an Emmy winning
writer for Cold Bear Show.
And he's also worked on John
Oliver's Last Week Tonight.
And so that's like a totally
originally episode that people
will get to sort of have a live
studio experience for.
And then, we launched our brand new
Indie TV pilot competition and
showcase.
So I was just gonna ask you about
that. Can you tell us more about it?
Yeah, of course.
So this was the first time that
we're accepting open submissions for
independently produced
pilot episodes to be
featured at the festival as official
selections. So we'll have three
that are selected to screen at the
Festival, and then we'll have a
panel of showrunners and executives
that choose one
of those three to be crowned
the best indie TV pilot of ATX TV
Festival.
So yeah, it's a really exciting
opportunity and submissions for that
are open now.
All right, that sounds amazing.
We'll have a link to that and more
in today's podcast show notes at
kut.org slash signal
the ATX TV festival season
15 runs May 28th
through the 31st in the new
year. We've been speaking with
Jennifer Morgan, head of programming
for ATX TV festival,
Jennifer, thanks so much for talking
with us on Austin signal.
Thanks.
That's it for us on Austin
Signal. Thanks so much for hanging
out with us on this beautiful
Friday.
A special thanks to KUT's
Andrew Weber, Texas Standards' Raul
Alonzo, and KUTX's
Confucius Jones.
Also, special thank you to Jennifer
Morgan from ATX
TV Fest.
Rayna Sevilla is our technical
director. Thank you for everything
that you do.
Kristen Cabrera is our managing
producer. She brings it all
together. We're so lucky
to have you We've got more
about the show in our podcast,
show notes at kut.org
slash signal.
I'm Miles Bloxson and for my buddy,
Jerry Quijano.
I hope that you have a wonderful
weekend and be safe out there
and be kind.
That's it for today's show.
This is the Austin Signal.