Austin, TX
After Title 42’s end, Texas DPS pauses Austin patrols so officers can head to the border
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A contentious, short-lived partnership in which the Texas Department of Public Safety helped Austin police patrol city streets is being paused so state troopers can assist border cities facing the expiration of a federal order that quickly expelled migrants coming into the country.
The emergency public health order known as Title 42 ended late Thursday night, but has not yet resulted in a “major influx” of migrants according to Biden administration officials.
Still, state troopers will be sent south, according to an Austin police statement first reported by the Austin American-Statesman.
“APD was informed Friday that due to the expiration of Title 42 and the related issues at the border, Texas DPS is being deployed heavily in border cities,” the Austin Police Department said in a statement.
At the request of Mayor Kirk Watson, Gov. Greg Abbott directed DPS to come to the capital to help address Austin’s short police staffing and long response times to 911 calls in late March. Weeks after the APD and DPS joined forces, statistics released by local officials revealed almost 90% of people arrested by state troopers were Black or Latino.
Austin Police Chief Joseph Chacon said Saturday would be the last day DPS would operate in Austin under the partnership, just over six weeks after it was announced. He said it wasn’t known when DPS would return to Austin, “but it will not be for several weeks at least.”
Immigration agents used Title 42, a pandemic-era policy invoked over three years ago by former President Donald Trump, to send migrants back to Mexico. Ahead of the Title 42’s expiration, Abbott sent hundreds of Texas National Guard soldiers to the southern border to prepare for the large groups of migrants expected to enter the United States. The chaotic end to Title 42 anticipated by federal, state and border officials failed to materialize Thursday. Also this week, Abbott also sent two more buses of migrants to Washington, D.C., continuing his practice of transporting thousands of people to Democrat-led cities to draw attention to the record number of border crossings.
Some Austin residents and leaders have criticized DPS’s presence in the capital from the outset, which was planned without input from the public or city council members.
When the Travis County Attorney’s Office released statistics at the end of April revealing stark racial disparities in misdemeanor charges issued by DPS, criticism of the partnership mounted. Nearly nine out of 10 of those arrested were Black or Latino.
State and local officials said on May 2 that DPS has largely been patrolling predominantly Latino neighborhoods at the request of Austin police whose leaders said the areas were chosen because they have the highest crime rates and largest number of 911 emergency calls.
“The supplemental staffing has shown really real results in faster response times for assistance and decrease in violent crime,” Watson said at a City Council discussion on May 2. “The traffic enforcement, however, has been troubling. If there have been unintended or unwanted consequences, we must address them immediately. We want to ensure Ausitinites don’t feel racially profiled.”
A similar pattern emerged when Abbott sent DPS to Dallas after a spate of homicides four years ago. Many Black and Latino residents felt harassed by state troopers and the three month experiment ended shortly after state troopers shot and killed a Black man who was holding a handgun after the officer pulled him over for failing to use a turn signal.
Neither DPS nor Abbott’s office immediately returned a request for comment Saturday.
In addition to increasing the presence of state law enforcement in southern Texas cities, the Legislature is poised to pass a sweeping border funding bill during a legislative session that ends May 29. On Wednesday the House approved a bill with bipartisan support that would create a new state border policing unit and send nearly $100 million to border communities for new detention centers, courts, border security, higher education and economic development projects.
An earlier version of House Bill 7 would have created a “Border Protection Unit” that would have let civilians arrest or detain people. Immigration advocates criticized that proposal, saying it would increase the potential for human rights violations. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle this week changed the bill, adding a requirement that the unit use only commissioned peace offers for enforcement actions.
Tickets are on sale now for the 2023 Texas Tribune Festival, happening in downtown Austin on Sept. 21-23. Get your TribFest tickets by May 31 and save big!
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Austin, TX
War & Treaty Call Out Cotton Plant Found in Festival Dressing Room: 'It Just Shouldn't Happen'
![War & Treaty Call Out Cotton Plant Found in Festival Dressing Room: 'It Just Shouldn't Happen'](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-2159771655.jpg?w=1600&h=900&crop=1)
The War & Treaty have spent the last year gracing award show stages, garnering Grammy nominations, and even earning their first-ever platinum single. But for artists of color in the country and Americana space, success and acclaim doesn’t mean escaping the litany of microaggressions and racist assumptions built into these spaces of the music industry.
Last weekend, before performing at the Coca-Cola Sips & Sounds Festival in Austin, the husband-and-wife duo encountered a startling sight in their dressing room: a cotton plant. The plant was simple green room decoration, but in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the duo discussed the ways in which the plant represented a larger issue of predominantly white spaces in the industry failing to make artists of color feel welcome or safe.
“We went back and forth, wondering if we should speak out on this incident,” the band said on Instagram, after the story’s publication. “Ultimately, we knew this issue was bigger than just us.”
In a statement to Rolling Stone, festival organizers apologized for what they called “an honest mistake.”
“We are disheartened that the artists were ever uncomfortable at last weekend’s event,” the statement reads. “There was no purposeful harm intended, and we sincerely apologize. Their concern was met with immediate action, including a heartfelt in-person apology, removal of the decor and a personal conversation with the artists by event organizers.”
In the interview with THR, Michael and Tanya Trotter detailed the cycle of emotions they were forced to feel after encountering the cotton plant.
“Anger is what I felt,” said Michael, a veteran. “Disrespect is what I felt. Sadness is what I felt. Sadness not just because of what that plant represents to people that look like me but sadness for myself because I am a son of this country.”
For Tanya, the daughter of a sharecropper, the thoughtless room decoration served as a harmful reminder of her family’s past. “ It’s not my position to educate anybody on what cotton is and what it represents in this country,” she said. “It just shouldn’t happen.”
Left unsaid is that of the ten artists playing the main stage over the two-day music festival, the War & Treaty were the only non-white artists amidst a lineup of white acts performing blues, soul, and rap. A representative for the Coca-Cola Sips & Sounds Festival did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.
The decision to speak out weighed on the group, now signed to a major label, that has developed a reputation (once they’ve tried to shed) of being feel-good cultural bridgebuilders ever since their 2018 debut Healing Tide. “We’re not the kumbaya cats that people may want to paint on us,” Michael Trotter told Rolling Stone in 2020. “We intentionally wanted to focus on healing with Healing Tide, but we might’ve given off the wrong impression in saying that we are the healers…We are the most hopeful cats.”
More recently, the band released its latest single, “Called You By Your Name,” a bluesy rave they performed last month at CMA Fest.
Austin, TX
New Orleans Saints Predicted To Select One Of The Top-10 Quarterbacks In An Early 2025 NFL Mock Draft
![New Orleans Saints Predicted To Select One Of The Top-10 Quarterbacks In An Early 2025 NFL Mock Draft](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3000,h_1687,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/saints_news_network/01j1wk8egr1qqp0j2tjf.jpg)
The New Orleans Saints will begin training camp in a few weeks to prepare for the upcoming 2024 season. Despite this, national outlets are already predicting the 2025 NFL Draft.
ESPN just released their early mock draft for next season, and the Saints are predicted to select Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers as the No. 10 overall pick. If so, New Orleans would miss the playoffs for a fourth straight season and have a sub—500 record.
Ewers heads into his Junior season with the Longhorns after an impressive sophomore campaign. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound San Antonio native is on a short list for Heisman trophy favorite in college football next year.
During his sophomore season at Texas, he led the Longhorns to a College Football Championship playoff berth after throwing for 3,479 yards and 22 touchdowns.
Ewers set the Big 12 Championship game record for most yards (452) and tied the mark for touchdown passes (4) en route to becoming the MVP.
Aem Texas Vs Iowa State 34 / Aaron E. Martinez / American-Statesman /
ESPN’s Matt Miller gave his rationale for the Saints’ draft pick:
“The 2024 season will be crucial for the future of starting quarterback Derek Carr in New Orleans and perhaps provide a window into what the team has in rookie fifth-rounder Spencer Rattler. At this time, it doesn’t appear that either quarterback is the future here. Ewers has talent worthy of a first-overall pick heading into his third season as a starter at Texas. At 21 years old, he has to cut down on poor decisions during games, but his accuracy, mobility, and arm strength are that of a future NFL starter. Ewers threw for 3,479 yards and 22 touchdown passes last season.”
A top-10 draft pick would mean New Orleans would have a disappointing season. Starting Quarterback Derek Carr faced criticism early in the year for his slow start when he threw two touchdowns and two interceptions during the first four games of the year.
Carr turned things around by throwing 12 touchdowns in his last four games. He finished the season with 3,878 yards, 25 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. Carr signed a 4-year, $150 million contract to join the Saints in 2023.
The Saints finished with a 9-8 record in 2023-24, narrowly missing the playoffs. Since then, Dennis Allen has overhauled the offensive staff, firing long-time offensive coordinator Pete Carmicheal and hiring Klint Kubiak to replace him.
Remember that the club drafted former South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft. He, Jake Haener, and Nathan Peterman will compete in training camp to become Derek Carr’s backup. Unless Carr has a dismal season, it’s doubtful New Orleans will move on the veteran signal-caller — especially should Allen remain as head coach.
Austin, TX
DPS Reminds Texans of Vehicle Safety Inspection Changes
![DPS Reminds Texans of Vehicle Safety Inspection Changes](https://sanangelolive.com/sites/default/files/styles/facebook/public/2024-07/dpslogo.jpeg?h=e009a64d&itok=w_GR2u35)
AUSTIN, TX — The Texas Department of Public Safety reminded Texans this week of upcoming changes to the state’s Vehicle Safety Inspection Program that will eliminate most inspections.
House Bill 3297, which was passed by the 88th Legislature and signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott in 2023, abolishes the Vehicle Safety Inspection Program for non-commercial vehicles.
Beginning January 1, 2025, non-commercial vehicles will no longer need a vehicle safety inspection prior to registration. However, all non-commercial vehicles in the state will be subject to a $7.50 inspection program replacement fee. This fee will be added to your total when you register your vehicle with the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles.
New vehicles (those of the current or preceding model year on the date of purchase) purchased in Texas that have not been previously registered in Texas or another state are required to pay an initial inspection program replacement fee of $16.75 to cover two years.
Vehicles Registered in Emissions Counties
While comprehensive vehicle safety inspections will be eliminated for all non-commercial vehicles, Texans whose vehicles are registered in emissions counties will still be required to have emissions tests.
Emissions tests are required in major metropolitan areas, including Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Montgomery, Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant, Travis, Williamson and El Paso counties Bexar County will be added to the list of counties requiring emissions tests in 2026.
Commercial Vehicles
All commercial vehicles in all counties will still be required to obtain a passing vehicle safety inspection. Because they will be required to pay for that safety inspection, commercial vehicles will be exempt from the inspection program replacement fee.
All vehicles will still need to be registered. The registration process will continue to be managed by the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles.
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