Investigators: Gym owner started deadly blaze that killed firefighter Scott Deem | The San Antonio Express-News

Local officials have released few details about a deadly blaze that killed San Antonio firefighter Scott Deem. But an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by the Express-News reveals that arson suspect Emond Javor Johnson was plagued by financial problems and confessed to starting the fire to get out of a monthly $2,500 lease at the Spartan Gym. Authorities arrested Johnson Wednesday. Story by Emilie Eaton, John Tedesco, Caleb Downs, Fares Sabawi and Kelsey Bradshaw

The Wall | USA Today Network

More than 30 reporters and photographers interviewed migrants, farmers, families, tribal members — even a human smuggler — to examine the feasibility of President Donald Trump’s border wall. “In this report, you can watch aerial video of every foot of the border, explore every piece of fence, even stand at the border in virtual reality.”

Harvey laid bare lack of resources, training at Houston Fire Department | The Houston Chronicle

When Houston firefighters rushed into Tropical Storm Harvey’s currents in late August, they were hobbled by a lack of resources, old equipment and a shortage of manpower ready to go when the storm hit, according to a Chronicle review of internal reports and emails, and dozens of interviews with firefighters and other officials. “Internal reports show fire department leaders should have known they weren’t prepared for a catastrophic hurricane.” Story by St. John Barned-Smith

Texas official after Harvey: The ‘Red Cross was not there’ | The Texas Tribune and ProPublica

“The Red Cross’ anemic response to Hurricane Harvey left officials in several Texas counties seething, emails obtained by ProPublica show. In some cases, the Red Cross simply failed to show up as it promised it would.” Story by Justin Elliott, Jessica Huseman and Decca Muldowney

Police responded to his 911 call for help. He died. What happened to Tony Timpa? | The Dallas Morning News

Dallas media organizations spent more than a year examining Tony Timpa’s mysterious death and fighting for public records from the city of Dallas and Dallas County after Timpa’s family complained that police were stonewalling. They discovered that Timpa, unarmed and frightened, died in the custody of police officers as they mocked him. Story by Cary Aspinwall

Kilgore College VP was told quit or be fired, files show | The Longview News-Journal

At the time of his June resignation, records obtained by the News-Journal reveal that former Kilgore College Vice President of Finance Duane McNaney was set to be fired over performance issues and “serious misconduct” — problems that weren’t previously known until the newspaper filed an open records request. Story by Meredith Shamburger

Amid staff exodus at health agency, some say chief has political agenda | The Texas Tribune

Dozens of experienced senior staff members have left Texas’ health and human services agency, saying morale has sunk after the arrival of Executive Director Charles Smith, a longtime ally of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. “Current and former employees attribute the exodus to widespread dissatisfaction with the executive commissioner, whom they say lacks technical knowledge of the agency and pushes a political agenda backed by the governor.” Story by Edgar Walters

Did I miss a good story? Contact me or leave a comment below. Don’t forget to sign up for blog updates and check out more watchdog journalism from the great state of Texas.

The post Texas watchdog journalism roundup: Arson, the Red Cross and Trump’s wall appeared first on John Tedesco.

Lack of sharing, limited resources impede identification of migrant remains | San Antonio Express-News

“Funded by a grant from the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting, reporter Aaron Nelsen and photographer Julysa Sosa traveled more than 3,000 miles for three weeks chronicling a caravan of Central American mothers and other family members on a heart-wrenching journey: trying to find out what happened to their loved ones, who disappeared while making the dangerous trek to the United States. But many are denied even the bitter closure of burial because lack of shared DNA databases, international conflicts and shifting immigration policies are preventing the identification of an untold number of remains.” Story by Aaron Nelsen

Two more liquor regulators leaving troubled TABC | The Texas Tribune

“Two fresh departures from the troubled Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission bring to five the number of high-level officials calling it quits since The Texas Tribune began publishing a series of stories about lavish spending, mismanagement and regulatory overreach at TABC.” Story by Jay Root

Dallas police in ‘crisis situation’ fueled by low morale, pension mess, veteran exodus | Dallas Morning News

“Community leaders in Pleasant Grove tell anyone calling 911 to say they saw a gun or a knife — whether they did or not. It’s a tactic Bonnie Mathias learned from a police officer to trigger a quicker response from authorities. And as the Dallas Police Department continues to shrink, the chairwoman of the Texas Organizing Project of Pleasant Grove said her neighborhood is bracing for slower response times. ‘Our officers are spread so thin that response times are just ridiculous.'” Story by Tasha Tsiaperas and Naheed Rajwani

Military still booting troops with service-related mental health disorders for misconduct | San Antonio Express-News

“Greco belongs to the multitudes of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans separated from the military for misconduct while coping with mental health disorders connected to their service. During a recent five-year period, tens of thousands of troops with diagnosed conditions received less than honorable discharges, stripping them of some or all of their medical, housing, education and additional benefits that could ease their re-entry to the civilian realm.” Story by Martin Kuz

Did I miss a good story? Contact me or leave a comment below.

The post Must reads: Texas watchdog journalism roundup for July 9, 2017 appeared first on John Tedesco.

In the heat of an August day last year, 10 masked cartel gunmen roared aboard SUVs onto a street in a working-class neighborhood of Juarez, Mexico. Four people soon lay dead amid spent AK-47 shell casings.

Two were brothers who lived with their families a few houses apart and earned extra cash as neighborhood marijuana pushers, court testimony would later show. A third victim that day was the 16-year-old son of one of the brothers; another was a bystander.

The gunmen issued a chilling departing vow: They’d soon return to finish off the four sons of the other brother.

Related: How to contact an investigative reporter in San Antonio

Their sons’ mother, newly widowed, had heard about a quick legal way out: political asylum in America.

Once over the Paso del Norte pedestrian bridge in El Paso, mother and sons, ages 9 through 22, joined a growing number of Mexicans petitioning for U.S. asylum as permanent haven from the narcotics traffickers besieging Mexico.

But federal immigration judges have denied them all sanctuary and are, one of their attorneys says, “sending them back to their deaths.” Two deported sons are hiding out in drug-war savaged Juarez, where murders are surging despite the military’s presence there.

The post U.S. denying sanctuary to Mexicans fleeing drug war appeared first on John Tedesco.