The parents of an eight-year-old
Austinite still missing after last
July's flooding in Texas have filed
a lawsuit against Camp Mystic.
It's the fifth such lawsuit against
the camp in the Hill Country, where
campers and counselors drowned in
the floodwaters.
We're gonna have more about the
latest lawsuit.
Plus, early voting in the primaries
gets going next week and folks
in southeastern Travis County will
elect a new leader for the first
time in decades.
Hear about the candidates running
for precinct four commissioner?
That's coming up on today's show.
The Austin Signal is a production
of KUT News, hosted by
Jerry Quijano.
Plus the fight to protect Austin's
first black cemetery, the
history at the heart of Bethany
Cemetery, and an update on the
future of Austin's convention
center. We've got those stories and
more that's coming up today on
Austin Signal.
Howdy out there, thank you for
tuning in. This is Austin Signal
on listener-powered public radio
KUT News.
It is Monday, February 9th.
I'm your host, Jerry Quijano, and
thank you for starting the week off
here with us.
Eight-year-old Cecilia Stewart from
Austin remains missing following
last year's July 4th flooding at
Camp Mystic in the Texas Hill
Country.
Stewart's parents filed suit this
month against the camp, marking the
fifth legal challenge of the campus
scene since the floods.
For more about this story, we are
talking with Lucio Vasquez.
He is a breaking news reporter for
the Texas newsroom.
Lucio, thank you for speaking with
us.
Thanks for having me.
So tell us first a little bit more
who are.
The stewards.
Yes, this is Will and C.C.
Stewart.
They had filed the lawsuit just last
week.
Their eight-year-old girl, Cecilia
Stewart, was at Camp Mystic when
the floodwaters came through.
She's still considered missing,
although the lawsuit does say that
she's presumed to be deceased at
this point.
The lawsuit says that basically a
series of decisions by camp
leadership, specifically the
Eastlands, put campers in
danger.
And it's now like you just said, the
fifth lawsuit filed against the camp
since the flood and really speaks
to basically families still
searching for answers as to what
exactly happened that night.
And can you tell us a little bit
more about those rules that
the Eastland set?
To boil it all down, the Eastlands
allegedly told campers to stay put
even as waters continued to
rise and attorneys essentially
argue that this was more
or less a death sentence for a lot
of the younger campers.
Specifically, the lawsuit that was
just filed says that the younger
campus were staying in a cabin
that was closer to the Guadalupe
River.
So whenever the water started to
rise, they were specifically more in
danger whenever the waters
started to come into the cabin.
Dick Eastland, one of the owners of
Camp Mystic, he was killed also
in the flooding.
What has Camp Mystice had to say so
far in regards to these suits?
Yeah, Camp Mystic's attorneys say
that they disagree with what they
call misinformation in the lawsuits,
not just this one, but all of them,
and they plan to respond to the
legal process.
That'll be depositions, discovery,
et cetera, et cetera.
They've expressed sympathy for the
families, and it's worth remembering
that the camp's long-time owner,
like you said, just died, so it
really does underscore how sudden
and chaotic the disaster was.
The attorneys essentially argue that
it was an unprecedented event in
that. They couldn't have done
anything to avoid what had happened.
So what sort of accountability
are the stewards seeking in this
lawsuit against Cammystic and its
owners?
Yeah, so when it comes to
accountability, I think this lawsuit
and the others actually are
asking for all the same thing,
basically canceling the
reopening of Camp Mystic later
this year.
Despite the legal issues
and the process behind
closed doors, the camp is going to
be reopening its doors later
this and a lot of families take
issue with that.
And I wanted to ask Cecilia
Stewart, the eight-year-old from
Austin, as you said, still missing,
presumed to be deceased according
to this lawsuit.
Is she the only person who is still
missing after last July's flooding?
She is not.
I believe.
Here. Let me pull up my notes.
I'm sorry about that.
No worries, no worries.
So, uh, she is not.
No, uh. As of this point, there's a
63 year old man, a father named
Jeff Ramsey, who is still missing.
Again, it's been months and months
since the flood took hold of the
hill country.
So we can assume that Jeff
Ramse also is deceased, but again,
his body has not been recovered as
of now.
Lucio you are the breaking news
reporter for the Texas newsroom,
but you have been covering stories
around the flooding since it
happened. What are you still
reporting on as part of the Texas
Newsroom in regards to the
floods?
You know, I think there's a lot of
aftermath, you know, this is a very
small community that was ravaged
by a natural disaster,
the likes that Texas has rarely
seen.
And, you know going there just
days after the flood, you can really
tell that it was a very,
very shocking situation.
You know being a journalist, we go
in and then we have the privilege
of leaving, of going home, right?
And these people don't have that
same kind of luxury.
They're living with it.
Day-to-day and shops are
open again. You know, the river is
quiet now, but it's
still lingering.
There's an undercurrent, lack of a
better term, of the flood
still there.
You can still see the Kerrville
strong signs up.
And again, two people are still
missing.
And there's a lot of questions as of
right now as to where exactly all
the money went. There were a lot of
donations and
people, small businesses,
they're still struggling to get back
on their feet.
We have been speaking with Lucio
Vasquez. He is breaking news
reporter at the Texas newsroom.
We will have a link to his reporting
in our show notes for today's
podcast. Lucio, thanks for talking
with us on Austin Signal.
Of course, thanks.
Early voting for the primary
elections in Texas starts a week
from tomorrow.
Voters will choose nominees for
dozens of state and federal races,
and some local ones too.
As KUT's Katy McAfee reports,
a race in southeastern Travis County
is energizing voters there for
the first time in decades.
It was a packed room at the Central
Health Clinic in Far East Austin on
a Saturday late last month.
People in the neighborhood were
crowding in to hear from the four
Democrats running to be the next
Travis County Commissioner for
Precinct 4.
The election is a big deal for folks
in Precint 4, which covers a
big chunk of South and Southeast
Austin.
That's because this area hasn't
seen new leadership since 1995.
Whoever wins will replace Margaret
Gomez.
She's retiring at the end of her
term after 31 years in office.
No Republicans are running, which
means whoever wins the Democratic
primary next month will run
unopposed in November.
The promise of a new leader is
bringing hope to people in Far East
Austin who have been advocating for
more services to come to the area
for decades.
This is East Austin resident Richard
Franklin.
Historically, we have been left out
of the conversation.
Every commissioner we've had to date
hasn't done a damn thing in our
community.
Precinct four has a high minority
population and some of the lowest
median household incomes in the
county, according to the US Census.
Many neighborhoods in the precinct
are classified as food deserts by
the US Department of Agriculture.
And some neighborhoods do not have
access to clean, affordable water.
Even the clinic the community
meeting is in opened less than three
years ago.
Before that, people in the
Hornsby-Benn neighborhood had to
drive at least 12 miles to
see a doctor.
How will we balance?
Filing eyes.
Huddled in the community room at the
clinic, people asked candidates what
they would do about immigration
raids in the area, how they would
improve transportation, increase
food access, spur economic
growth.
There's a lot to tackle in precinct
4, but there can only be
one commissioner.
So what are the candidates' number
one priorities?
After the meeting, I called each of
them up to ask.
So I'm George Morales,
the third.
I was born and raised in Precinct
Four in the community of Del
Springs.
Morales has been in law enforcement
for 26 years.
He was elected the Travis County
Precinct for Constable in 2016
and has held the title ever since.
Morales is big on healthcare.
During the pandemic, he says he
helped bring 380,000
vaccines to East Austin.
But he says his focus as
commissioner would be improving
transportation.
That's gonna be my main first
priority is to go in there and say
how can we fix these roads?
How can we get access for the
people to drive through these roads
safely?
Improving roads in East Austin is
also a priority for Susanna Ledesma
Woody.
Ledesima Woody has been on the Dell
Valley ISD School Board for 15
years.
This is her third time running for
the precinct four commissioner seat.
She says she was inspired to run
after her calls to the
commissioner's court to bring
grocery stores and hospitals to the
area continued to go unanswered.
And so we were just
like, what's the next step?
How can we really push this needle?
And it was just run for
the position, right?
If you really want to make a
difference, you have to scare these
politicians that this seat
is not theirs.
Ledezma Woody lost the last
Democratic primary for the seat back
in 2022 by less
than 250 votes.
This go-around, she says, her top
priority will be investing in
equitable infrastructure for the
area.
I think once we get the
infrastructure in place, we can
tackle a lot of the other issues
that plague the community.
She says equitable infrastructure
means focusing on neighborhoods that
still lack basic needs.
Some areas don't have access to
electricity or clean water.
And they're having to go to
HEB that's 15,
20 minutes away to fill
up their jugs of water so they have
water in their home.
Next is Ophelia Maldonado Zapata.
She's a former Austin ISD School
Board trustee.
Maldinado Zapada says she's not a
politician. She calls herself a
community organizer and says her
experience growing up visually
impaired inspired her to help
others.
So that's how I began my work and
I've started learning how to
organize because one
thing I learned is that,
you know, we can be angry about
the injustices that we're living
in or we can do something
about it.
Maldonado Zapata says her top
priority in office will be improving
water quality in some eastern Travis
County neighborhoods that she says
get water at a high price from
for-profit utilities.
It's not fair, it's wrong.
We should stop, we should
get every company in Austin that
has water to give to this community
and stop paying that
water company.
The final candidate is Gavino
Fernandez.
Fernandez was born in Austin, and he
has some experience overseeing this
area.
He worked on the precinct for
commissioner staff from 1991
to 1994.
Fernandez has a clear goal if
he's elected.
No tax increases.
Affordability in East Austin is his
number one priority.
He says he'll oppose any tax hikes
and wants to audit the county's
existing contracts to see where
money can be saved.
I asked Fernandez how he might
navigate a situation where he's the
only commissioner on the dais
against a potential tax increase.
He had a clear answer for that, too.
If it's approved, the money better
be going to precinct four.
I'm Katy McAfee in Austin.
Last week here on Austin Signal, we
brought you the story about the
uncertainty around the future of
Austin's Convention Center.
Well, a court over the weekend ruled
that the city can still continue
building a new one.
For more about this story, we are
talking with KUT's City Hall
reporter, Luz Moreno Lozano, who has
been following it. Luz, thanks for
joining us on this Monday.
Thanks for having me back.
So last week on Austin Signal
for our diehard listeners, we had a
feature story that was reported by
you. Now we have you in the studio.
So can you just remind us why this
question of should a
new convention center be built where
the old one stood? Why was that a
question even before the courts in
the first place?
Yeah, it's a good question.
There was some groups of people
who were of the belief that the
Austin Convention Center wasn't
being used as
it should, you know, like who
really uses it besides South by
Southwest?
Besides people who are visiting
town, right? Tourists, things like
that.
Right, right.
So, was it worth the
investment of all the billions of
dollars that the city is putting
toward redeveloping
it and expanding it to make it
bigger, especially if it's not
really benefiting the people of
Austin?
But in a way, it kind of does,
right? Because those people are
coming and they're spending money at
hotels and restaurants, and it's
generating tourism, and all of some
of that money goes back to the city,
which builds roads, libraries,
you know, those kinds of things.
So what was the ruling and
what does it mean?
Is it like a done deal now that the
convention center can go forward?
So the Convention Center can move
forward, the judge basically sided
with the city and believes that
the city's denial of
the petition based on the lack of
valid signatures was warranted.
I don't think it's over, I spoke
with Bill Bunch on Saturday,
Saturday morning, and he says that
the group is exploring some appeal
options.
OK.
That could still allow them to
put this particular measure before
voters in May.
If not, they're still working to get
it in front of voters in November.
So, still something that they are
pursuing as this project
continues.
Well, one thing that we heard about
in your story last week that is,
you know, while this ruling was up
before the courts, there was still
some work that was being done.
You know, there's some demolition,
things going down, things coming up.
Did this whole ruling,
did it create any kind of time
dent in the city's timeline
for how the Convention Center should
go or how long it should take to be
renovated?
It's still on track.
I spoke with someone from the Austin
Convention Center who basically was
like, we're on budget, we are on
track, we're hoping to open in time
for South by Southwest in 2029.
So yeah, it didn't put any kind of
halts on it.
If the petition had gone forward and
people had voted for it, it would
have definitely paused the project
for several years.
Okay well you can read more from
Luce's reporting over at KUT.org.
We're going to include a link in
our show notes for today as well.
Luce Moreno Lozano is KUT's
City Hall reporter, we're glad to
have her on Austin Signal today.
Luce, great to see you.
Thanks, Jerry.
This is Austin Signal, welcome back.
It is Black History Month all
February long and Myles Bloxson
from our sister station, KUTX,
has for a few years now been
highlighting black music history
here in Austin.
We've heard about a few artists this
month here on Austin Signal but
today we're gonna hear about an
historic music venue on the east
side of town that dates back to
World War II.
February is Black History Month
and all month we're highlighting
black people in places that help
shape the Austin music scene.
The Victory Grill was founded in
1945 by Johnny Holmes,
a booking agent and band manager.
He opened the restaurant on V-Day
for black soldiers returning from
World War II.
And at this time, the South was
segregated and black servicemen
couldn't just walk into any music
venue, club, restaurant,
or place of business.
The venues throughout certain parts
of the United States that allowed
blacks to perform were referred
to as the Chitlin Circuit.
The victory reel quickly became a
part of this circuit and a go-to
place for music lovers.
At the height of the club's
popularity in the 50s, most of
the popular black national blues,
rhythm and blues and jazz acts that
played in Austin played at the
victory grill.
Ike and Tina Turner, James Brown,
Etta James, Billie Holiday, and
Janis Joplin.
At last,
my love
has come to an end.
The Victory Grill was also the
happening spot for a lot of popular
local legends to show off their
musical talents as well.
Blues boy Hubbard, W.C.
Clark and T.D.
Bell were just a few of the local
acts that graced the stage.
Why don't you love me, baby?
Why don't you love baby?
After integration, the chilling
circuit went away because black
entertainers had more options when
it came to venues that they could
actually perform at.
As a result of this, in the 70s,
Holmes was forced to close the club
portion of the venue and keep the
restaurant portion open.
In the late 80s, a fire broke
out, causing extensive damage,
and Victory Grill was closed until
a friend of Holmes, R.V.
Adams, began restoration efforts and
reopened the venue in 1996.
Today the Victory Grill is one of
the few standing spots on the
Chitlin circuit, and it claims a
spot on the National Registry of
Historic Places.
The establishment continues to
thrive, offering Southern comfort
food and entertainment to all its
guests.
The Victory Grill remains a true
testament to the thriving Black
community, music scene and
culture that once flourished
on the east side of Austin.
To learn more about the Victory
Grill, you can visit KUTX.org.
For KUTx, I'm Miles Bloxin.
As gentrification on Austin's east
side has increased over the years,
landmarks with historical
significance to the city's black and
Latino communities have slowly been
erased.
Now Austin's first black cemetery
is on the verge of being forgotten.
Sam Stark covered this story for The
Austin Current.
They are KUT's collaborator on the
Austin Signal and a partner with KUT
newsroom in covering the city of
Austin. Sam is joining us now on
Austin Signal. Thanks for being here
today. Thanks so much for having me.
So tell us a little bit first about
Sue Spears, you know, saving the
cemetery in your story.
You say it started out kind of as a
nuisance for her, but turned into
her life's work.
Who is she?
So yeah, Sue Spears has an amazing
story. She lived in Austin
all her life and her
kids were going to school at Sims
Elementary, which is right across
the street from Bethany Cemetery,
which has now closed.
So she was on the
PTA board and the kids
were going through the cemetery,
which was overgrown with shrubs
and tangled trees.
So kind of presented as like this
safety concern.
So, she was looking into who
owned the property and and started
to recognize that.
There were people that were enslaved
buried there.
She, once she started looking, she
saw stones and grave markers and
then, you know, really started to
advocate for the property and is
now the president of the Bethany
Cemetery Association.
Yeah, we're going to have a link to
the story in our show notes.
So she had these really great
archival photos of what the
cemetery used to look like, which is
just these really high overgrown
grasses all around it.
And then a picture a few years
later, I guess, where you can see
everything so very clearly.
So what do we know about Bethany
Cemetery's history?
Like, how long does it go back?
So it goes back to the 1890s.
So the Oakwood Cemetery, which is
the first city owned cemetery,
they sanctioned off a little
plot of land for people of color
that quickly filled up.
And so then they went looking for
another place to bury some
of the first African-Americans of
the time.
So there's a few hundred people
living there, many of whom
were enslaved at some point.
There were Buffalo soldiers who
fought in wars.
Um, after 1866,
they're were some people who were
enslaved by some of the first
governors of Texas.
What do we know about the
sorts of designations or protections
that the cemetery currently does
have?
So it is,
the state of Texas has
considered it historic, but
it lacks a key designation
that will ensure that
it is preserved for generations
to come. And that's sort of what's
happening at the moment.
It's going through the process to be
considered a historic landmark
through the city, which will
essentially, you know,
if anybody wants to develop on the
land, they would have to have a very
good reason. They'd have to go in
front of the Historic Landmark
Commission to get approval.
Where it stands now,
the Historic Landmark Commission has
already recommended that it
is zoned as a historic landmark.
Next it goes to the Planning
Commission and a couple weeks before
the Austin City Council will
eventually vote on that.
And these are long processes that
play out over a long time.
How tedious is the process of
securing this kind of designation?
You know, it requires a lot of
money and research.
So Preservation Austin has put a lot
of effort into trying to get this
designation going
forward. They said that they're
honestly shocked that this
plot of land with all this rich
history doesn't have this
designation already.
So they're really trying to push
that through the process.
You mentioned that we might see a
little bit of movement on that
process this month.
What would that look like?
So essentially,
all of the facts will
be presented to the
Planning Commission over the next
couple of weeks.
Then they'll essentially just have
their vote and they will either
recommend or not recommend that it
should be a historic landmark.
And if they do recommend that, then
it'll go in front of the Austin City
Council.
One thing that I wanted to bring up
in your story is you talked
to the man behind Black
Austin Tours, I believe his name is
Javier Wallace, and he
is somebody who goes around the city
and shares a black history
with all these people on this bike
tour. He found out a little bit of
history that he didn't even know he
had at Bethany Cemetery,
correct?
Yeah, that's what's so fascinating
about this space.
He, similar to Sue Spears, grew
up in Austin, had no idea
about what was
buried beneath these grounds in
this central part of East Austin.
He obviously is quite into history.
That's why he founded his company.
But he connected with Sue Spear and
found out that some of his relatives
are buried there.
So he agrees that this place
should be recognized for its
historical significance.
And so others can connect with
Austin's rich black history.
All right, we have been speaking
with Sam Stark again as
the government reporter for the
Austin Current.
They are KUT's collaborator on the
Austin Signal and a partner with KUT
newsroom in covering Austin.
So we'll be speaking with him in the
future. Sam, thanks for coming on
the show today. Thanks so much.
And thank you out there for spending
part of your Monday here with
us on Austin Signal.
That is it for today's show.
We will be back tomorrow at one
o'clock. You can find more from us
at kut.org
slash signal.
Thank you to Lucio Vasquez, Katy
McAfee, Luz Moreno Lozano,
Miles Bloxson, and Sam Star for
their help with today's episode.
Thank you, to Kristen Cabrera and
Rayna Sevilla.
I'm your host, Jerry Quijano.
We will be back with you tomorrow.