If you’re wondering how your neighborhood voted in the November 2018 election and want to see hard numbers in San Antonio, the wait is over.

Every voter is assigned to a voting precinct. And after every election, the Bexar County Elections Department releases voting results for every precinct in the county.

When you plug those numbers into a map, you get to see a detailed, neighborhood-level view of how each race was decided.

For the November 2018 election, I was wondering how these precinct maps would look for the contentious city charter amendments pushed by the San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association. It turns out one of the most striking maps is for Proposition B.

It’s one thing to know that nearly 60 percent of voters wanted to cap the salary and tenure of future San Antonio city managers. It’s another thing to see those results on a map. Here’s an interactive version — you can zoom in and click on a precinct to see the vote tally:

Against

For

Tie

A majority of voters in almost every San Antonio voting precinct, from the wealthiest to the poorest areas of the city, supported Proposition B. The measure was widely viewed as a rebuke of City Manager Sheryl Sculley, who makes a base salary of $475,000 with a potential bonus of up to $100,000.

Related: Interactive map shows how Bexar County voted in the 2016 presidential election

Voters on the outer edges and North Side of San Antonio tend to lean conservative, and more progressive voters live in the other parts of San Antonio, such as neighborhoods inside Loop 410.

Clearly the firefighter union’s proposal had resonated.

“There’s rarely an issue where all four sides of town unite,” said Michelle Tremillo, executive director of the Texas Organizing Project.

Check out my full story about the precinct results, with maps to the other charter amendment proposals and what voters said about the election.

That was my takeaway after viewing the precinct results. What’s yours? Here’s my contact info with every known way to get in touch with me.

The post Interactive maps: How San Antonio voted in the 2018 election appeared first on John Tedesco.

But in a victory for open-records advocates, the Texas Attorney General ruled last week that the contract is a public record.

The San Antonio Express-News published the contract’s details Friday in a story by City Hall reporter Josh Baugh. Readers learned for the first time that the San Antonio Tricentennial Commission, a nonprofit entity set up by the city of San Antonio, paid REO Speedwagon $232,500.

Why, you might ask, was obtaining this contract so difficult? Why did it take months to see the light of day?

After all, the Texas Public Information Act clearly states that contracts with government agencies are public records. No tax dollars went to REO Speedwagon, but the Tricentennial Commission serves as an arm of the city. For years, contracts between companies and government agencies were routinely released to the public.

But a June 19, 2015 ruling by the Texas Supreme Court changed all that.

Boeing vs. the Attorney General

In a San Antonio court case involving Boeing and the Port Authority of San Antonio, Boeing was trying to stymie the release of its rental contract with the port authority to a former Boeing employee.

Boeing argued that it had standing to challenge the release of the contract, and that its public release would provide an advantage to competitors. Over the span of a decade, trial and appellate courts had ruled against Boeing.

But the company appealed to the Texas Supreme Court and the justices agreed with Boeing — opening the door for groups such as REO Speedwagon to try the same strategy to keep government contracts out of the public eye.

“Everything from school bus finances to power plant construction costs to a university’s beer marketing agreement have been kept off limits because of the Boeing ruling,” wrote Kelley Shannon, the executive director of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, in a November 2017 post decrying the court decision.

Read more: Open records quiz: Can officials question your motives when you file an open records request?

Companies and agencies trying to censor records under the Boeing decision have cited the court ruling 1,500 times, Shannon wrote:

The city of Austin recently used the ruling in an effort to keep secret the names of finalists in its city manager search, saying it didn’t want to give competing cities a hiring advantage. After public pressure and a lawsuit by the Austin American-Statesman, the city said it would soon release the finalists’ names. The Statesman has already figured out several candidates’ names and reported them.

In the Rio Grande Valley, the Agua Special Utility District attempted to use the Boeing ruling as a reason to keep secret nearly $500,000 in severance payments it made to two former employees.

The continuing poster child case for the Boeing problem is the city of McAllen’s refusal to say how much taxpayer money it paid to entertainer Enrique Iglesias to perform in a holiday festival.

Clearly, there’s deep erosion occurring in the Texas Public Information Act. Texas needs to re-examine its commitment to the people’s right to know.

So how did REO Speedwagon’s contract end up getting published?

REO Speedwagon’s contract in San Antonio

A company that wants to keep a contract secret still has to make its case with the Attorney General’s office. In this March 19 letter, the Texas Attorney General ruled that REO Speedwagon’s contract was a public document because Creative Artists Agency, the firm that represents the band, hadn’t made a strong argument to keep the contract out of the public realm:

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“We find that CAA has failed to demonstrate the release of its information would result in substantial harm to its competitive position,” the letter states. A business must show “specific factual evidence that substantial competitive injury would result from release” of the sought records.

Until Texas lawmakers pass legislation to undo the damage from the Boeing decision, the REO Speedwagon case demonstrates there’s still a sliver of hope for anyone who hopes to learn how government agencies are spending their money. A company can still fail to sway the Attorney General’s office.

But it can easily go the other way.

Pat Benatar, another 1980s rocker who also performed at the New Year’s Eve gala, signed a contract with the Tricentennial Commission, just like REO Speedwagon. But we still don’t know how much money she received.

Benatar’s people made a more compelling argument to withhold the contract, according to the Attorney General’s letter, and her contract didn’t have to be released.

Total heartbreaker.

The post REO Speedwagon can’t fight you reading this $232,500 contract anymore appeared first on John Tedesco.

How renting furniture in Texas can land you in jail | The Texas Tribune and NerdWallet

“Rental companies can avail themselves of a little-known law written decades ago by the rental industry lobby — in Texas and in many other states — that can turn a dispute over a love seat or big screen TV into a criminal offense report, a trip to jail and even felony theft charges.” Story by Jay Root and Shannon Najmabadi

Tricentennial leaders crafted partnership with local TV station before releasing RFP | The San Antonio Express-News

“Emails obtained by the San Antonio Express-News under the Texas Public Information Act show that Tricentennial Commission officials, operating under city authority, had been discussing a partnership with KSAT since January 2016, raising questions about whether the commission appropriately handled the process of selecting that outlet as its broadcast partner.” Story by Josh Baugh

Charities still waiting for millions pledged for Harvey relief | The Houston Chronicle

“After Hurricane Harvey made landfall Aug. 25, major corporations such as Exxon Mobil Corp., Home Depot Inc. and Kellogg Co. announced big financial pledges to help the people of Texas and Louisiana feed their families and rebuild their homes. Two months later, at least $76 million in pledges from companies, foundations and individuals still has not been delivered to the designated charities, a Houston Chronicle review found.” Story by Emily L. Mahoney

Mayor Adler aide’s nonprofit benefited from lax oversight on city contracts | The Austin American-Statesman

“A nonprofit co-founded and once run by an Austin City Hall insider reaped $1 million in public money for programs he helped create, a seven-month American-Statesman investigation found. It was possible thanks, in part, to a city procurement system that allows departments to award millions in contracts with little oversight or accountability — or even having to put the work up for bid.” Story by Nolan Hicks

Cameras on school buses catch thousands breaking law; less than half of drivers pay fines | KSAT

School districts are trying to discourage drivers from endangering students who ride school buses. “But the KSAT Defenders have learned less than half of the drivers who are issued citations aren’t actually paying them and there’s not much that can be done to force drivers to pay up.” Story by Tim Gerber

Some high-profile local divorce cases are hidden from the public. Why? | The Fort Worth Star-Telegram

“A Star-Telegram investigation found a number of cases that cannot be accessed through the county’s computer system. The documents for about a half-dozen cases the Star-Telegram researched don’t appear, raising concerns about whether the public can actually find all the open records in Tarrant County’s family courts.” Story by Max B. Baker

Emails: ICE whiffed in hunt for Austin’s ‘egregious’ criminal immigrants | The Austin American-Statesman

“As the first nationwide immigration raids of the Trump administration were unfolding in February, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials struggled to justify their claims that they had netted serious criminals in the Austin area, according to internal emails published this week.” Story by Sean Collins Walsh

Everyone knew Houston’s reservoirs would flood — except for the people who bought homes inside them | The Texas Tribune and ProPublica

None of the residents interviewed after the floods say they knew they were living inside Addicks or Barker reservoirs — many of their neighborhoods are several miles away from the dams. Several local officials — including Houston’s ‘flood czar’ and a neighboring county executive — said they had no idea the neighborhoods had been built inside the flood pools. Several real estate agents said they didn’t realize they were selling homes inside the pools.” Story by Neena Satija, Kiah Collier and Al Shaw

How dozens in southern Dallas were swindled out of homes — under the government’s nose | The Dallas Morning News

“Alleged scammers took at least $320,000 from victims and were about to close on another $223,500 worth of deals when police intervened in 2016, according to a Dallas Morning News review of deed records and court documents.” Story by Naomi Martin

Excited. Delirious. Dead. | The Texas Observer

Is excited delirium syndrome a medical phenomenon, or a convenient cover for deaths in police custody? Thanks to Vincent Di Maio, a former Bexar County medical examiner turned celebrity scientist, it’s a diagnosis police know well. Story by Michael Barajas

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 Must reads: Texas watchdog journalism roundup for Oct. 29, 2017 appeared first on John Tedesco.

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.

I’m here to help.

We can all come up with excuses to avoid riding a bike to work or school. I know, because I made those same excuses, too. But in January, I finally bought a snazzy Cannondale Contro and became a bike commuter.

It’s been quite the journey. I ride a few days a week, and so far I’ve gradually saved about $350 in gas and maintenance expenses for my car. On the days I rode my bike, I avoided burning fossil fuels while burning an estimated 55,800 calories over the course of 1,000 miles.

Along the way, I dragged myself out of the insulated bubble of the automobile and explored parts of the city I’ve never bothered to really see before.

I’m not saying cycling is for everyone or that we all should abandon our vehicles. I live less than 5 miles away from downtown (although my usual biking route is longer). I can avoid busy roads most of the way. There’s a shower at the office I can use in the summer. When I need to drive somewhere during work hours, I use Lyft.

If you’re in a similar situation, here are some answers to questions you might be asking about the pros and cons of commuting by bicycle and whether it’s worth it:

How strenuous is bicycle commuting?

That depends on you and your route. I live in the Woodlawn Lake area and typically ride 6 to 7 miles to and from work on a route with modest hills.

I was already an avid jogger and hiker, but cycling wore me out after the first few commutes. I was sore and tired.

I got used to it. You will, too.

According to my Sports Tracker smart phone app, I’ve ridden more than 1,000 miles since January 2017 and burned nearly 56,000 calories. The vast majority of those trips were to and from work. I didn’t always feel like doing it. But most of the time it was fun and challenging and it slowly became part of my routine.

Is cycling dangerous?

San Antonio has a bad reputation for bicycling, much of it deserved. There are, indeed, motorists who don’t like sharing the road with cyclists and some streets are an obstacle course of bumps, debris and potholes.

One of the best ways to stay safe on a bicycle is to make sure drivers can see you. Buy front and rear LED lights that are bright and blinky. I bought mine on Amazon and they work fine. Shop around and find something that works for you. So far I’ve rarely had a problem with a motorist pulling in front of me or failing to yield. I’m not saying it’s never happened. But it’s rare.

Related: Interactive map of road-rage incidents in San Antonio

When I was deciding whether to make the jump into bike commuting, I spent a lot of time looking at Google Maps figuring out how I was going to get to and from work and avoid busy roads. Why ride on Broadway, where some drivers act like they’re Mad Max extras, when there’s a peaceful, parallel bike path that runs past Brackenridge Golf Course, dips under U.S. 281, then takes you to the pleasant Museum Reach of the River Walk?

Find those quieter routes and side streets. Google offers a bike-route feature in its maps app that can help.

Don’t motorists have to share the road with cyclists?

Yes, but not every driver likes it. I had someone tailgate me on Fredericksburg Road one time when we were the only two people on the road. It was weird. Sometimes cars and trucks speed by a little too close for comfort.

But motorists don’t cause every problem. Cyclists also have to obey the rules of the road. And not just that — they need to be smart. Spend some time learning how to be an observant, safe cyclist. Check out this guide that helped me. The title says it all: “How to not get hit by cars.”

Among the lessons: Don’t ride against traffic — it’s actually riskier than riding with the flow of traffic. Look out for parked cars — someone might open a door in front of you. Don’t ride on sidewalks — it’s a bad idea, plus it’s illegal in San Antonio.

You don’t always have to move as far to the right as possible to let traffic go by. The Texas Department of Transportation publishes a guide that notes cyclists can use the full lane if the street is too narrow to safely accommodate cars and bicycles at the same time.

Remember, you’re riding a type of vehicle. You have to be comfortable cruising among other vehicles.

To avoid feeling vulnerable riding with the flow of traffic, you can buy a mirror that attaches to your left handlebar or your helmet that lets you check your blindspot and see what’s coming up behind you.

I also bought a waterproof GoPro I attach to my helmet in case I have any close calls (or see something cool on my ride). Let’s say somebody clips me and takes off. I figure it will probably happen so fast I won’t be able to get a license plate number. The GoPro gives me a chance to take some video of that number, or at least get a good description of the car.

You can buy an air horn that attaches to your bike. It works as advertised — it’s loud and lets drivers know you’re there. I’ve only had to use this once, when I was riding at the roundabout on Fulton and Blanco and a car failed to yield to me.

For a less obtrusive warning, don’t forget a bike bell. You’ll need this for pedestrians, especially if you ride on the River Walk or one of the many creek trails in San Antonio.

What’s the best bicycle to buy?

For me, buying the bike was more daunting than actually riding the thing. There are so many choices out there.

You’re faced with three types: Sturdy mountain bikes, fast road bikes or hybrids of the two. From there you can dive into countless brands and variations.

I spent an unhealthy amount of time researching bikes and reading reviews. I finally lucked out at REI, where I found a slightly used Cannondale Contro for sale. REI employees are amazingly helpful and they also offer a free tune up you can use later if you buy a bike there.

You’ll want to find something with fenders and a bike rack or buy those extras later. Even if it’s not raining, sometimes you have to ride through puddles and you don’t want mud staining your work clothes. The bike rack helps you carry the standard gear of a bike commuter — a change of clothes, patches and spare tires, a pump, a bike lock and a multitool.

The best advice I can give is don’t get too hung up on finding the perfect bike. Find a decent one and start riding.

Can you wear work clothes or do you get all sweaty?

Depending on the weather and the distance of your commute, you can totally wear work clothes. There’s a lot of breathable, stretchy, moisture-wicking clothing out there, even for office attire. Check out Ministry of Supply if you have money to burn. Their stuff is expensive but their office slacks feel like yoga pants.

In mild weather I work up a bit of a sweat but I cool off at the office. Either I don’t stink or my colleagues are really nice. In the oppressively hot San Antonio summer, I wore exercise clothes to work and brought a change of clothes for the office, which has a shower, which I most definitely used. The ride home in San Antonio is brutal in summer. When you’re moving, the wind helps cool you off, but bring a water bottle and use it.

For chilly weather, check out this helpful guide that offers some tips about bundling up. When you ride a bike there’s going to be a windchill factor. But you’re also going to get warmer as you ride.

What gear should you buy for bicycle commuting?

Cycling makes you spend a little time thinking about the logistics of what you need to get from Point A to Point B. A bike drags you out of your comfort zone.

Did you prepare for the chance of rain today? Do you have your patch kit and other tools? Do you know how to change a flat if you need to?

In the summer, you’ll probably have to shower at your workplace after your morning ride, which means you’ll have to pack your clothes and gear into a backpack, messenger bag or saddlebags. I attached a trunk bag to my biake rack, and put the rest of my stuff in a Timbuk2 messenger bag. Messenger bags are bit more uncomfortable than backpacks, but they do allow more air flow to cool off your back. If you use a messenger bag, buy a cross strap to prevent it from sliding around.

You’ll have to come up with a system to keep track of all your stuff. Use a checklist to make sure you bring everything … you don’t want to show up sweaty at the office and realize you forgot fresh socks.

In the summer, I leave all my toiletries in a duffel bag under my desk so I don’t have to carry them back and forth. It’s just extra weight and space you don’t need to worry about.

Is cycling worth the hassle?

What I learned in 1,000 miles of bicycle commuting is you really get to experience and explore the city in ways that just aren’t the same in a car.

I’ve driven down Mulberry Avenue a million times but never bothered to take a detour on Avenue A, a narrow side street that winds along the shady San Antonio River.

Well, things changed on my bike. One day I was riding by that bumpy little street and decided to find out where it goes.

It turns out, the street ends at a cool pedestrian crossing that spans the river. It was a tranquil setting — and I had no idea it existed until I bought a bike.

All kinds of things good things happen when the wind is in your face.

How much money do you save riding a bike?

When I drive my car to work, it’s 8.8 miles round trip. IRS guidelines say driving a car costs 54 cents a mile in fuel, insurance and maintenance costs. So I’m saving about $4.75 a day every time I ride my bike.

That might not sound like much but it adds up over time. I’ve ridden to and from work 75 times so far, which means I’ve saved about $350.

Keep in mind, I had to buy my $680 bike and the gear to go with it, so it will take several more months of commuting to break even. I also got extravagant with a $300 GoPro, although I use that for other things besides biking. It’s easy to get sucked into buying tons of gear and apparel that can quickly get expensive if you’re not careful.

But compare that to how much it costs to own a car. Even if you go a little crazy on a bike-gadget shopping spree, riding a bicycle even a few times a week saves money that will gradually add up over the years.

Plus, you don’t have to worry about those long Mary Poppins lines at the gas stations.

Every bicycle commute is a small victory. You got off your ass and did something to stay healthy. You did something to keep a car off the road and help the environment. And you did something to break out of your vehicular rut and challenge yourself.

Those small victories add up.

Did I overlook any good tips? Leave a comment or let me know and I’ll update this post.

Update No. 1: Abigail Rodriguez, San Antonio’s former bike coordinator who is now with VIA Metropolitan Transit, emailed me some useful tips I didn’t know.

The Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization offers a free, hourlong “Street Skills” class for anyone 14 years old and older who wants to brush up on their cycling skills. If you sign up in advance, you get a free helmet and set of bike lights. Nice.

VIA buses have bike racks. Abigail said she knows some cyclists who can’t shower at the office in the summer, so they’ll take the bus in the mornings, change at the end of the day and ride home from work.

“You only get half the workout, but the summer days can be brutal, even in the morning,” Abigail told me.

Update No. 2: The MPO publishes a bicycle map that shows “traffic stress” on local roads, giving you an idea of how comfortable cyclists might be riding on any given route.

Here’s an interactive version of the traffic stress map I downloaded from the MPO’s website. Click on a colored trail or road to view more information about it:

Check back here for new updates.

A note about affiliate links: Sometimes I blog about stuff that helps journalists. I pay for all the products I review on my blog. To help defray those costs, I use Google ads and Amazon’s affiliate advertising program, which provides a way for sites to earn commissions by linking to Amazon.com. There’s no extra cost to you, and I’ll never link to stuff I don’t like or try to make you buy something that sucks. These reviews are my honest opinions. Thanks for reading.

The post Is bike commuting the answer to the crazy gasoline crisis of 2017? appeared first on John Tedesco.

Texas weather can be wild and dangerous, as Hurricane Harvey is showing us this week, so here are some techniques that have helped me track the impact of storms, floods and other natural disasters in San Antonio and other parts of the state:

Weather forecasts and warnings

The National Weather Service provides so much useful information it’s hard to know where to start. For Bexar County, I usually check the service’s detailed “zone” weather page, which provides a snapshot of current conditions, forecasts and hazardous weather warnings.

Zone forecasts are available for all counties — you can find the ID number for your zone in this list of Texas counties. The list includes links to RSS feeds and profiles for each zone. Click on a profile, and you’ll see all current weather watches, warnings or advisories for that particular zone.

I follow my local office of the National Weather Service on Twitter and turn on mobile notifications when the weather turns bad. The forecasters in your area use Twitter to provide a steady stream of updates and weather data.

ICYMI: Here's a short summary of the peak winds & highest observed rain totals from #Harvey.

For a full listing: https://t.co/4vep1s1DY4 pic.twitter.com/omNlaa5C60

— NWS San Antonio (@NWSSanAntonio) August 29, 2017

AccuWeather Platinum is the best smartphone app I’ve found to keep track of the weather. It not only tells you when it’s going to rain in your location, it predicts the intensity and duration. It also offers an interactive Doppler radar map.

Google provides a real-time, interactive map of public alerts for a wide variety of emergencies.

Measuring rainfall

The National Weather Service offers hourly weather observations, including rainfall totals, for the past three days at the San Antonio International Airport, the main site for weather stats in Bexar County.

The weather service also compiles archives of observations and data for the San Antonio area, and it issues public information statements with more rainfall totals, river flooding and other statistics.

Floods and traffic

Bexarflood.org provides an interactive map of low water crossings and their current status. You can sign up for alerts when a crossing closes or opens. The city of San Antonio also posts emergency street closures.

The Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service offers an interactive map of current and predicted river levels. Each site on the map is color-coded to show where major flooding is expected to occur.

TexasFlood.org, a state website, provides a similar river-level map that lets you add additional layers of data, such as weather advisories and Doppler radar images. You can set up an account and sign up for email or text alerts when specific gages show a river or creek is flooding.

Drive Texas is a map provided by the Texas Department of Transportation that shows current traffic conditions on Texas highways and roads. The map shows any flooded roadways.

Rescues and emergency responses

The San Antonio Fire Department’s “active calls” page shows a list and location of emergencies firefighters are responding to, including high-water rescues.

Broadcastify provides a digital feed of police and firefighter radio traffic at departments across the United States. The scanner traffic is available on its website and through a smartphone app.

The Texas Department of Public Safety provides daily situation reports about any emergency conditions in the state and how officials are responding. The reports cover everything from hurricanes to droughts.

CPS Energy provides a map showing the location of current power outages in its service area and the number of customers without power.

Did I forget anything? Contact me or leave a comment below if I missed any useful resources and I’ll be sure to add them to the list.

The post Web tools to track weather, flooding and natural disasters in Texas appeared first on John Tedesco.

Investigative stories across Texas that uncovered hidden facts and held officials accountable.

San Antonio police cut pricey gunshot detection system | San Antonio Express-News

San Antonio police officers have made only four arrests and confiscated seven weapons that can be attributed to an expensive, highly touted gunshot detection system called ShotSpotter. That’s $136,500 per arrest. ShotSpotter’s CEO argues that city leaders are taking too narrow a view of the program and missing its benefits. Story by Vianna Davila

We Sent Alex Jones’ Infowars Supplements To A Lab. Here’s What’s In Them | Buzzfeed

Austin conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ wildly popular suite of Infowars health supplements probably won’t kill you. But extensive tests provided to BuzzFeed News have shown that they’re little more than overpriced and ineffective blends of vitamins and minerals that have been sold in stores for ages. Story by Charlie Warzel

Congressional candidate Roshin Rowjee, challenging Louie Gohmert, holds no medical license, has been disciplined by Texas Medical Board | Tyler Morning Telegraph

Roshin Rowjee, the Lufkin man who plans to challenge incumbent Congressman Louie Gohmert in the March 2018 GOP primary, is presenting himself as a medical doctor. But the Tyler Morning Telegraph has confirmed that Rowjee has never been licensed to practice medicine, has been disciplined by the Texas Medical Board for offering medical advice over the internet, and continues to operate a website offering medical advice.

“I knew this was going to come up in due time, but that is garbage,” said Rowjee, who nevertheless confirmed each of the specific allegations. “It’s absolute garbage.” Story by Jamie Clyde

City records raise doubts about repairs, inspections of Austin garage after car plummets off seventh floor | Austin American-Statesman

At first glance, the incident appeared to be a freak accident. But it was the second time in less than a year that a vehicle drove through steel cables and over the side of the Littlefield Garage. A review of code enforcement documents show that after the first incident, officials only looked at the portion of the garage’s ninth floor where that driver went overboard, took a certified engineer’s word as proof the repairs had been made and then closed the case. Story by Philip Jankowski

Meet the expert who helps Texas cops justify extreme behavior | The Texas Observer

Gilbert Flores’ hands were raised when two Bexar County deputies shot and killed him. A former cop who’s trained thousands of state police officers explains why he thinks that’s OK. Story by Michael Barajas

Did I miss a good story? Contact me or leave a comment below. And don’t forget to check out more watchdog journalism from the great state of Texas.

The post Must reads: Texas watchdog journalism roundup for August 16, 2017 appeared first on John Tedesco.

If you read weather updates on Facebook from the San Antonio Express-News, then you’re keenly aware that it’s summer and the forecaster is not happy about it.

“There is no weather,” a typical forecast reads. “There is only this. Always this. Unchanging. Eternal. Forever. This.”

Then there was this gem:

“It’s mostly sunny and almost 100 degrees again, a forecast that’s not even fit for a country music song. Well, certainly not a good country music song that goes platinum and wins a bunch of awards as a crossover sensation that does particularly well with the 18-24 demographic while simultaneously sparking a resurgence in line dancing that leads to lots of bad paperback romance novels with taglines like, ‘She danced to remember. He danced to forget. They found one another — and love — on The Line.’

“The forecast would at least need some summer showers to pull that off. You can’t just openly profess your secret love outdoors when it’s 100 degrees. It’s simply not done.”

Don’t forget the update that called for readers to create their own forecasts, with a suggestion of “partly snuggly and 40 percent of kitten.”

The comedic genius behind these quirky Facebook posts is Chris Lykins, a recent hire by the Express-News team that oversees the newspaper’s premium site for subscribers.

Over the past few months, Chris has miraculously transformed boring weather forecasts into creative, amusing rituals that a growing number of readers look forward to.

I sat down with Chris to talk about his unique job, his inspiration, and his goals as the newspaper’s funny weather guy. Here are the highlights, lightly edited:

Question: First of all, where did you get the idea to write these clever weather updates?

Answer: I started when I first got on Facebook when I was at Seguin at the Gazette and was just trying to inject some levity. Because so much of what we do is really kind of depressing at times. You’re dealing with sad stories and tragic stories. And I was just trying to spice things up a little bit and make it clear that newspapers offer more than bad news. And it started to take off from there.

It ended up driving a lot of new Facebook fans. What was silence sort of got replaced by conversations. And not just on the weather posts but on the other stories that we posted.

People were getting more engaged?

Yeah, we sort of built this community to the point where I didn’t even have to really do a lot of moderation on some of the story posts because people took it upon themselves that this was their home on Facebook and they were going to treat it that way. So it was a pleasant sort of surprise.

You didn’t expect that.

I really didn’t know. I’ve always had an offbeat, quirky sense of humor. And there were a couple people at first who really didn’t like it. They expected the newspaper to be stoic. The thing I used to explain to people is, the newspaper has always been more than that. It’s always had comics. And puzzles. And opinions pages. It’s more than just headlines that you typically see. So we wanted to bring a little of that to Facebook and it paid off.

What time frame was this when you were at the Gazette?

Oh, gracious.

Because then you went to New Braunfels, right?

Yes, that was one of the things that I was asked to do when I came over to New Braunfels. And I probably did it for two years maybe in New Braunfels. And probably five or six before that in Seguin. But it got progressively more elaborate as I went on.

Probably the best known stuff was the three posts that I did in New Braunfels that ended up being a weather romance. It just happened one night. I was sitting at home and I was thinking, I gotta come up with a different way to do this because I’m running out of this one-liner material. And I said, what would it be like if I wrote it from the perspective of a Harlequin romance novel? And so I did that one time and it blew up huge and pulled in these crazy numbers. And so I did it a second time about a month later. And then that one actually got picked up by Chron.com and ended up on mySA here.

Is that how you got on our radar screen?

I’m not real sure but I”m sure that probably factored in a little bit. So that was a story that got picked up and that’s sort of when I was like, oh, it got noticed.

This is reminding me of a Reddit threat where a guy wrote fictional updates on what would happen if modern troops went back in time and fought the Roman empire and it went viral. Is this a weird, unexpected, creative thing that’s going on that people respond to?

Yeah, particularly with the romance stuff. What worked out so well was this was after the peak with E.L. James and Fifty Shades of Grey, and these erotic meteorological ramblings really did well. And I think it’s because people are sort of hungry for something a little different.

What’s great is a lot of people who are in San Antonio who have started picking up on this, they’re kind of taking ownership of this. Being in smaller community newspapers before I came here, I always thought of San Antonio as this sort of giant, metro establishment. But people in San Antonio consider the Express-News their hometown paper. It really struck me that it’s all the same, no matter the size of the city. People want to take ownership in the things that cover them.

So that’s really been kind of fun to watch that community and to watch people tag their friends and say, ‘Hey, have you read this?’ and watch those numbers climb on a daily basis. It’s been a lot of fun.

Coming up with something funny to say about the weather sounds incredibly daunting. You’re kind of like the astrologer for the Onion. Somehow, there’s always something different about the same thing. Where do you get your ideas?

Just absolutely random things that sort of pop into my head. Sometimes I’ll hear a song and I’ll think of a way I can segue into that or it’s just random crazy neurons. And summer is brutal. It is very difficult to come up with different things when it’s 103 degrees, partly cloudy, for days and days and days on end.

Well, it seems like that works because we’re all stuck in summer.

Yeah.

And so we’re all sharing in the joke of this suffering, right?

Right.

Does that create a receptive audience for these weather jokes?

I think it does because it’s the thing that impacts all of us.

Yeah. There’s no escaping it.

You’re not going to get away. What’s really kind of interesting is during the winter, you’ll see those winter Texans, they get in on that. Because it’s all part of that thing. They leave and come here to escape it. I’ve poked fun at them before when it’s 50 degrees outside and everybody who’s from here is wandering around in jackets and you see people out in shorts and tank tops and it’s like, ah, they’re from Minnesota. The weather is like death and taxes. It’s one of those constant things.

How do you measure the response from readers? Shares and likes?

Yeah, we look at that. I look at reach, too, to see how far it goes. A lot of times I will go back and I will look at the people who have public shares, I’ll read what they’re writing and what kind of comments they get on that. The best one was somebody saying, ‘If they keep doing this, I might have to resubscribe.’ And I’ve had several of those over the years. And I’ve had people message me, or call, and say, ‘I’ve resubscribed to the paper because of this.’ And it’s like, that’s great. That’s the high bar you want. If you can get some of those, now you’re rollin’.

The theory behind it at first was, OK, we need to bring in people and make people aware that we exist. And then be able to put other things in front of them. Because not everybody is going to have a story about (city) council or what they’re going to do at the Alamo show up in their news feed.

Related: Fake Steve Jobs misses the real point

But if you have something that people go to every day because they want to see what I’ve written, then they get all of that other stuff. It’s sort of my way of kind of gaming the system because Facebook has changed the algorithm that determines what they see in their feed. But if they go to our page directly because they don’t want to miss something, now you have them.

Then other stories pop up in the feed below that.

Yep. Right.

We should mention here your day job is social media ninja, right?

Yes. I basically decide what comes off of the premium site and goes on to social media. How to spin it, when to play it. Sometimes that involves bits and pieces of the story that I think will attract attention. And sometimes it’s shepherding conversations to make sure we don’t go too far afield.

What are some of your favorite comments from readers related to weather updates?

Uuum … I’ve had some people say I’m gonna marry that guy. Which is problematic because I’m already married. There was the one today, ‘I need to be BFFs with this person.’

I saw that.

I get that quite a bit. Sometimes people are like, are you — and then they’ll tag somebody — the one who writes these? And those are always really funny for me too because I think most of us have that person in our circle of friends who’s always got something funny to say, who’s always there. I’m that for a slightly larger and growing crowd.

There was one earlier this month where you said, ‘It’s Friday, all bets are off, the weather is whatever you want it to be.’ You had some good comments. I like this one guy, he was like, ‘Scattered Cracker Jacks throughout the day with 100 percent of bourbon in the evening.’

I love that sort of interaction because it’s what we really need. People need to feel invested and part of something.

Is that a problem newspapers face where readers don’t feel like that?

Yeah, I think that’s something that, as other media has come in and you’ve ended up with these really close communication and collaborative tools with people, I don’t know that newspapers were as quick to adopt them as some other folks have been. And particularly new media.

And there’s a notion with some people that newspapers are more solemn and not as approachable. And so opening that door and saying look, we’re people just like you, is important.

Yeah, I think some people view newspapers as stodgy and oldertimerish. But in our features section, for example, we’ve had writers who lead rock bands. They’re lead singers of rock bands. Hector Saldana. These guys are as hip as they come. But do people know that?

I don’t necessarily think that they do. I think that it’s one of those things where newspapers have tried as an institution to make delineations about, you know, these people may have political opinions, but they’re not reflected here. And we’ve had to do that. But everybody who has done this work, we all have cool, interesting parts of our lives and cool, interesting stories to share. I don’t think we really have a way to reveal that to the readers.

Would these weather updates work in a different medium? Could they work in the print side of things, or is it more suitable in a quirky online format?

I don’t know how well it would work in print because the audience is fundamentally different. Like the weather romance stuff. I would never in a million years put it inside the New Braunfels paper.

The thing I mainly try to focus on is making sure everybody is in on the joke. Not coming across as terribly patronizing.

I guess you get instant feedback, too, online.

Yes. In milliseconds.

Did you know that Jack Handey from SNL’s Deep Thoughts used to work here?

I did not.

He did.

Really?

Yeah. He’s a real guy. Used to work here. Apparently his position was eliminated because he wrote an unflattering story about auto dealers. Do you think newspapers offer an adequate outlet for clever, funny people?

Well, I know they have talked about what they want me to do, maybe a column on the premium site. So they clearly want me to do more than what I’m doing.

How have our likes grown?

We’re coming up on 26,000. And when I interviewed for the job, I think we were at 19,000. I’ve been here since the end of March, so we’ve grown quite a bit. But more importantly, we don’t have a lot of what I call dead stories. Stories that have no likes, no comments, no shares. We don’t have a lot of those anymore. Because there’s more of a community built up now that is participating.

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It’s been a lot of fun. And it is really flattering to see something that you wrote in the morning and you see how far it goes, how many people share it, and what people are saying about it.

All these people who say they want to be my best friend, how can you not feel great about that at the end of the day?

The post Meet Chris Lykins, the funny weather guy at the Express-News appeared first on John Tedesco.

Decision to ‘end this’ after 12-minute standoff left Gilbert Flores dead | San Antonio Express-News

After a 12-minute confrontation with a belligerent, knife-wielding man who said he wanted to die, two Bexar County sheriff’s deputies turned to each other and agreed on “ending this,” according to their sworn civil depositions obtained by the San Antonio Express-News. But the deputies decided to open fire moments after the man, Gilbert Flores, raised his arms in apparent surrender. Story by Guillermo Contreras

A pass to poison | The Texas Tribune

“How the state of Texas allows industrial facilities to repeatedly spew unauthorized air pollution — with few consequences.” Story by Kiah Collier and Ryan Murphy

Mr. Smith goes to Greenland | BuzzFeed

“This Congressman doesn’t think climate science is real. He just went on a secret tour of the melting arctic.” Story by Zahra Hirji

Cost of corruption leaves Crystal City struggling | San Antonio Express-News

“With five former city officials now awaiting sentencing for federal public corruption crimes, the city leaders who replaced them last year are struggling with the financial mess they inherited.” New audit shows Crystal City’s budget is $2 million in the red. Story by John MacCormack

American Dream Denied | Dallas Morning News

“America is supposed to offer the promise of upward mobility for those willing to put in the labor. So why are nearly 31,000 Dallas residents, and their families, working full time but still mired in poverty? The Dallas Morning News editorial board has researched for months to learn more about the city’s working poor, the obstacles they face and how the city can restore faith in a path to the middle class.” Story by the Dallas Morning News editorial board

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

The post Must reads: Texas watchdog journalism roundup for July 23, 2017 appeared first on John Tedesco.

I found the answers in the IRS Form 990 — the publicly available tax filing that must be filled out by a variety of nonprofit organizations in the United States.

It turned out the museum was overseen by a tax-exempt charity, which meant its tax records were open to the public, which meant anyone curious about the museum, like me, could learn all kinds of things about its finances.

The tax records helped me write a series of news stories about how the museum was actually a telemarketing operation that raised $12 million from 2004 to 2009 in the name of helping the families of state troopers who died in the line of duty. For every dollar raised, this “charity” had actually spent less than one penny on that worthy goal.

The museum’s activities had already caught the attention of the Texas Attorney General’s office and it went to court to shut down the telemarketing operation, claiming it was duping donors.

Today, the museum is history. The story I stumbled across offers a lesson for any journalist who writes about a nonprofit organization at some point in their career (and we all do). It pays to take the time to look up the 990 — even for seemingly innocuous stories.

The 990 filing, while not perfect by any means, is a road map that can guide you to a better understanding of how a charity works. How much money does it make? How much does it pay its executives? Has it ever been the victim of embezzlement?

The 990 isn’t just a tool for journalists, either. It’s for anyone who wants to know more about a charity. These organizations are often holding out their hats for donations. In return, you’re allowed to look at how they handle the money they raise. And it’s easier than ever to get your hands on these tax records online, often for free.

Here’s how to find 990s and analyze them. Sometimes, the things you discover will raise questions that need to be answered by the charity. But you’ll never know to ask those questions unless you read the 990.

Obtaining tax records of charities

Different types of nonprofits fall under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Many follow 501(c)(3) of the code, which covers charities that raise funds from a variety of donors. There are also charitable foundations that rely on fewer benefactors. Churches don’t have to file a 990. But religious schools and private universities do.

The IRS says you can visit the office of any group that falls under 501(c)(3) and request copies of their tax filings for the past three most recent years. If they made more than $25,000, they’re supposed to file a 990-EZ or the full 990 form, depending on their revenue. But if you’re in a hurry or don’t want to raise alarm bells at the nonprofit, there are also free online tools to obtain the records.

The pioneer in making 990s widely available is Guidestar.org. Sign up for a free account, and Guidestar lets you search by keyword and location to find the charity of your choice. Click on a profile, and you can download recent 990 tax forms.

OK, so you found the 990 you’re looking for. Now what?

Analyzing the 990

Here are a few things I usually look at. The front page of the 990 gives you an overview of the organization:

You can find basic information, such as the main office address and phone number, the year the charity was founded and how many employees it has:

You’ll also find the overall revenue, expenses, fundraising numbers and whether the group made or lost money. Remember, nonprofit doesn’t mean no profit:

In the case of the obscure museum I was curious about, we can see that its telemarketers raised $2.2 million in 2009. Is that a lot or a little? Whenever you look at a financial document, it’s helpful to compare it to past reports to put those numbers into context. My suggestion is to look at several years of 990 filings. Plug the numbers you’re interested in into a spreadsheet, and you can now spot trends.

In my case, I was interested in how much money the museum raised, and how much money its related nonprofit entity was donating to the families of fallen state troopers. The San Antonio Express-News has a paid account with Guidestar, which let us download 990 tax filings for the previous five years. I typed the revenue totals and payments into a spreadsheet.

Across a broad time frame, it was clear that little money was trickling down to the families who needed it.

Digging deeper

The second page of the 990 has the mission statement of the organization and what it claims it accomplished — useful if you want to compare the rhetoric to reality.

Page 3 is the beginning of a lengthy questionnaire. Interesting nuggets might be buried there.

Part VI of the questionnaire asks about the management of the organization and whether it had a “significant diversion” of assets that year. If an organization checks “yes,” that usually means it was the victim of theft.

You don’t see this checked “yes” very often, but the Washington Post published an excellent series in 2013 about more than 1,000 organizations that lost millions of dollars.

Answering “yes” to questions in the questionnaire can trigger a requirement to fill out supplemental information further down in the 990. There you can find, for example, “Schedule O,” which is where the charity explains how the “significant diversion of assets” happened.

The salaries of the nonprofit’s top employees and the identities of board members often makes for interesting reading, which you’ll find in Part VII of the 990:

Some organizations fill this out in an attachment because it’s so long.

Again, be on the lookout for supplemental information toward the back of the 990 for more information about how employees and board directors are compensated.

You might find a “Schedule J” that fleshes out compensation packages for the group’s leadership. You might also find a “Schedule L,” which details “transactions with interested persons.” That probably sounds better than what it is, the “Potential Conflict of Interest” section. This is where a charity might report “excess benefit transactions” to the IRS, which means it overpaid in a transaction with someone who had ties to the organization, such as a charity executive.

Part IV of Schedule L lists business transactions with “interested persons,” such as board members. Last year, this section caught my eye when I was covering a rare, public clash between Louis Agnese Jr., the longtime president of the University of the Incarnate Word, and UIW’s board. In Schedule L, Incarnate Word reported several transactions with businesses tied to the school’s board members, including Charles Amato, the past chairman of the board:

Such transactions aren’t illegal. But Agnese’s critics said the board at UIW had always strongly supported Agnese. It was surprising when the new chairman, Charles Lutz, announced he couldn’t condone Agnese’s conduct.

You also might find “Schedule R,” which details related organizations and partnerships, and any transactions with them. This is where I learned the Texas Highway Patrol Museum was tied to other organizations, which led me to yet more 990 tax filings.

Tying it together

Remember the cover page of the 990 and its overview of revenue and expenses? Be sure to review three sections that offer greater detail on those subjects.

Part VIII is the “Statement of Revenue,” which breaks down revenue streams for an organization. You’ll find how much money comes from membership dues, fundraising events, government grants and other categories.

Part IX is the “Statement of Functional Expenses,” where you can find how much an organization spends on advertising, legal fees, travel and other expenses.

Part X is the balance sheet, where you can see the breakdown of assets and liabilities. You can check for things like how much cash the group had on hand at the beginning of the year compared to the end of the year.

This numbers might not seem very sexy. But the simple act of reading them, plugging them into a spreadsheet and comparing them over time can lead to good questions and beef up a mundane news story.

What’s in a name?

Keep in mind that some organizations call themselves “foundations,” but they might not be. A foundation usually relies on one or several wealthy benefactors, and by law, it must spend at least five percent of its investments on charitable purposes.

Foundations file a slightly different tax form called a 990-PF. One difference is that the foundation lists its grants and recipients. You can see where the money’s going and where the foundation’s priorities lie.

This came in handy when I profiled San Antonio billionaire B.J. “Red” McCombs, who has made headlines for big-ticket multi-million dollar donations that gets his names on buildings. But the 990-PF for his foundation listed a variety of gifts totaling $4.7 million, most of which were smaller donations that never made the news.

“Those gifts you never hear about,” McCombs told me. But he’s convinced the smaller donations make a difference. “If it’s to the food bank, for example, we fully believe that they can take $100 and do five times as much with it as as we could possibly do.”

Other helpful websites

The 990 is a starting point. Even Guidestar, which revolutionized public access to 990s, cautions that these tax records aren’t the best barometer of whether a charity is fulfilling its stated mission.

But the 990 can still be useful. Time after time, I’ve found gems in these seemingly dry tax filings that made me a little more informed about a charity and gave me good questions to ask.

Here are some other resources for finding 990s and checking out nonprofits any time you drive by, say, an empty museum and wonder what their deal is:

• The IRS’ exempt organizations search tool: Allows you to verify an organization’s tax exempt status, and download the agency’s entire database of nonprofit entities.
• The Foundation Center’s 990 finder: Another free online source to track down 990s. The group offers an online guide to demystifying the 990 for foundations.
• Citizen Audit: An awesome, fee-based tool that lets you conduct keyword searches across millions of nonprofit tax documents.
• Federal Audit Clearinghouse: Searchable database of nonprofit organizations that receive federal dollars and must undergo audits.
• Charity Navigator: Offers 990s for nonprofits and rates thousands of organizations.

The post How to find and analyze tax records of charities: The IRS 990 form explained appeared first on John Tedesco.