On the record is brought to you by Steve and Adele Dufilho.

San Antonio is a fast growing, fast moving.

City with something new happening every day.

That's why each week we go on the record with Randy Beamer and the newsmakers who are driving this change.

Then we gather at the reporters roundtable to talk about the latest news stories with the journalist behind those stories.

Join us now as we go on the record with Randy Beamer.

Hi, everybody.

Welcome to a new year of On the record, a new edition.

I'm Randy Beamer.

Thank you for joining us.

Every week.

We really appreciate it.

And to start the year we are looking ahead with Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones.

Thank you very much.

Happy New year, Randy.

You had a busy year last year.

And this year you said today, just this week you're working on and for Sam Houston with the military about what's going to happen with the consolidation of U.S.

Army North and south and moving.

Yeah.

Where are we on that?

Well, it was helpful to get an update.

General Ryan, who is the four star that will lead Western Hemisphere command?

He was in town.

He's been in the seat all of a month.

Right.

And so this is moving very, very quickly.

And so there was an engagement this morning, and I was, took the time to kind of hear for myself how things are going.

I think as importantly for me, though, it was important to hear the questions, by the workforce, as we here in Military City, USA, at all levels, think about how we can not only support the missions but also support the families that are doing these missions.

Right.

They talked about their timeline, right.

When things are going to be IAC initial operating capability and, and the timeline and kind of what that looks like.

Right.

So we can manage our own expectations.

People moving out and people moving in.

So, General Ryan.

Yeah.

So General Ryan, talked about, some of the, the, the key activities that they need to put in place.

Right.

They're going to finalize what that structure looks like mid February.

Right.

They're going to look at a timeline kind of about eight months really.

That gives people an opportunity to kind of think about where they're going to to be.

Right.

But he was very clear kind of about that eight month timeframe.

So around August is, is when you know, you're going to get something from the Army that says, hey, this is kind of your, your opportunity.

What do you think?

And I think again, what's what's important is that we are being as helpful as we can be.

One of the things I took the time to also to share with him is, look, I understand we're, you know, focused on supporting, you know, the stand up of Western Hemisphere command.

But just as a reminder, you know, the last summer when I was there in DC and around these initial conversations, I gave them a list of of additional missions that we are ready and willing to host here at Joint Base San Antonio.

Some medical missions and special.

There were some there.

There was some cyber.

There were some.

We've got some some some subordinate commands, that their higher levels are at other at other bases.

My understanding, again, based on my time at the Pentagon is those places are bursting at the seams.

So we've got the opportunity.

What it was is what it was meant to do was, again, help lay out our understanding of where we have some ability to absorb and again, be as helpful as we can be as we navigate this together, as, frankly, as a, as a nation.

I think, the recent changes.

Right.

What just happened?

The military operation in Venezuela, and some of the uncertainty around that shows that we've we've got to be as best as we can to help that.

A lot of the folks, the missions, a lot of the support to enable that.

In fact, is here in San Antonio, to include the former unit that I worked at for 70, my brigade, our military intelligence brigade out at Fort Sam.

And what I think was also really important, based on what he shared, is that, you know, they're really looking again at standing above of the headquarters, cognizant, though, they don't want to break anything.

Right.

So a lot of the resident expertise here and some of that, that capability that is tied, for example, to geographic elements here.

So for example, bam, see.

Right.

Very important mission and personnel recovery, for example personal rescue a close connection to that.

So they're looking at let's make sure that those things that have a natural kind of operational benefit to being here, remaining here in San Antonio, we keep here.

So that was one of the ones.

And they were very clear for 17th Brigade, some of the other operational units like the signal.

So there was a signal brigade, I think that they mentioned Signal Battalion.

Though they don't want to break anything.

Right.

They've got to accomplish the mission as you're also building this.

So I think it was good to get a sense of, of where the generals had, had is at this point and how we can be best helpful.

And this relates to you had a, I guess, a tabletop exercise, you call it, with a military background in December is kind of eclipsed by other news by and, you know, the made in November moving other elections.

Yeah.

What did you come up with in terms of priorities or concerns for this year aside from that?

Yeah.

No thanks for raising that as people always ask, you know, what are you excited about in 2026?

Well, I'll tell you what I'm focused on and.

I'm worried.

About and worried about frankly.

That's right.

And so the tabletop, as you mentioned, I asked this that the staff put that on.

These are things that we would routinely do, again at the, at the Pentagon.

That helps you not only not just like know the answers to the extent you can, but how do we reduce uncertainty, right.

Because we understand not only do we have a budget gap going into 27 that we need to account for, we also are very concerned about potential federal cuts.

Right.

Affordable housing, things affecting public health, etc., etc.

half of the implementation of the one big beautiful bill where we will see cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, Chip and Snap.

So to your point, I asked at the tabletop, be focused on, hey, let's play out some of these scenarios that keep us up at night.

Let's understand the assumptions that we're making.

Let's understand how we need to what that might mean, not only for us, but also for the partners that we collaborate with so we can best work together, whether that be the county, some of the other entities in the community that help us with these needs.

But then also let's let's best understand the risks.

Right?

And so as we get then closer to the budget and we can say in the course of this tabletop was like, oh, we were actually making this assumption or, you know, or, you know, this is what this would look like if this action were to take place.

So then as we're moving in time and we see that assumptions are either validated or invalidated, that helps us better understand what our budget needs to look like.

Now that's big picture, but.

That is big picture and.

Went to specifics of what you might have cut.

Are you there yet?

No, we're not there yet.

No, we're not there yet.

I think there's a lot of uncertainty.

But again, you know, it's the the benefit of of going through the planning is that you've done the work so that when things are happening, when those cuts do come or when the implementation, for example, the one big beautiful bill happens sooner rather than later, you've already kind of gone through the exercise to understand your understanding of the risk and when ways to mitigate that.

That's what we need to do.

I think, as importantly, we need to communicate, to the community about what some of these changes may look like and why they're happening.

Some of these gaps we may not be able to, to mitigate.

Right.

Frankly.

But, as best as we can know, what we're heading into, I think is the best place for us to be a couple.

Of other issues recently, I'd like to get to more, rainbow crosswalk.

It's going away, possibly this week.

You painting, sidewalks instead?

Some people have said you should be more, you know, fighting this more.

But it's it was really a state thing with the governor.

How how big an issue is that right now?

Do you think the LGBTQ plus community is supportive of you on that?

And and where are you?

Well, I'm a member of the community.

So we are, in fact, not monolith.

And look, I'll be honest with you.

And when people ask me this, like, I live in the real world, okay?

I live in the real world.

And I know that these crosswalks going after them was not about public safety.

In the same way that when I served under Don't Ask, Don't Tell, denying people the ability to serve openly was not about good order and discipline.

Right?

So I think what's important is we are focused on helping the most people at the most, the most people as best we can.

And so, you know, the, the sidewalks, the painting of the sidewalks is that is something that, makes people feel good.

Well, then I'm glad for them.

But my pride has never been tied to to paint, frankly, It's a culture political issue.

I just move on to other things.

Well, we've got some big things coming down.

I mean, you know, one of the things I did write right at the end of the year there, right, was sign a letter to the governor, saying, hey, please reconsider your decision to not accept $400 million worth of federal funding that would have provided for food assistance for needy kids during the summer.

Right?

So, again, on my priority list of things it's about.

Yeah, some kind of basic needs that we need in our community, as well as how do we mitigate some of these pretty terrible things that are coming down the.

Line, a couple of other big issues and how you're working on immigration, how that affects the community, the crackdown on immigration and also, trade with Mexico.

Start with the trade with Mexico.

Where are we in terms of knowing what tariffs will mean longer term, or is that still up in the air.

I think well, I think it's still up in the air.

What we are seeing a couple of things play out at the same time though.

And it's important that we don't look at them in isolation.

Right.

So to your point we're seeing the impacts of tariffs.

We're seeing the impacts of also immigration policies that strain our labor supply.

As well as what the Usmca review may generate.

And this, of course, was a big topic of conversation during my international trade.

Mexico.

Canada trade.

That's right.

Yeah.

And this is, again, a major trade deal.

30% of the world's GDP is generated by U.S., Canada and Mexico.

$900 billion worth of trade is just between U.S.

and Mexico.

So this is significant.

And that's going to be renegotiated or looked at again.

Review.

So it's a review, right?

It's a review.

And look I think that's an opportunity.

Having worked in, in trade previously, the office of the US Trade Representative, you know, this is important as we, look to shore up our economy, obviously, given the reliance of, of our own for in particular automotive market on the Mexican suppliers, it's important that we are focused on not, imposing barriers that then raise the costs of these goods that then actually decrease the demand for them.

So are you working more on federal issues than you ever thought you would with all of these issues coming down from the federal government on the possible cuts?

I mean, we're the seventh largest city in the country.

Yeah.

So I'm not super surprised that the impact of some of these decisions, we'd have to make sure that we are weighing in, not only on the federal level, but also on the state level.

Right.

One of the things that we are, you know, looking to do, whether whether, frankly, whether you're talking about affordable housing or whether you're talking about some of the trade issues is what is in fact, how do we how do we best use our state delegation, and do all of these things in concert?

So everyone's very clear about, our asks here.

Bond issue coming up, what do you expect to be on the ballot?

Well, first I want to know what our capacity is, by the way.

Right.

Capacity and capacity tomorrow.

Yeah, exactly.

And so that's top of mind, right.

Interest rates are not coming down as much as we would like.

So let's understand what what our capacity actually is.

And as importantly, we need to communicate to folks how we have prioritize what we're going to invest in.

As you know, lots of interest and another affordable housing bond, right?

We we didn't get any money from the state for flood infrastructure.

You've heard me say we've got 14 projects as currently scoped worth $411 million.

And those are just.

Two that you want.

But the state.

Hasn't.

Well, those are on the state's flood, flood project list.

And we've those are just the ones that are scoped, right.

And defined.

We've got lots of other projects in our community that would certainly benefit from more infrastructure, flood related in particular.

And so we're going to, what I ask the staff to do is help us understand what is a, a prioritization not only of the of the flood projects that we have on the, on the state's flood plan, but also, you know, those flood projects that we know of because you know, why when it rains a little bit, fire department has to go out there, right?

So those public safety ones, as well as the flood related infrastructure that we know, frankly, is a real nuisance to many communities when they're when their sidewalk is flooded, when it rains a little bit.

So and I think that's really important how we prioritize that because as folks, you know, have heard me talk about, you know, the first proposed bond for the downtown development, that number hasn't been revised or the last number that we're working off of is 220 to 250 million.

For the downtown.

That's just the first bond.

Over right parking.

And we've got to explain to folks what is the capacity, what is the best prioritization.

And what what is going to meet the most needs that.

You expect that will be on the ballot in May?

The downtown infrastructure for that project, that would be a separate bond.

So we're still going through, right.

What exactly is going to be in there?

And of course, we need to have a conversation with the community about what they'd like to see in the bond.

How about the, project down at the Alamo after Kate Rogers, Alamo Trust director, was forced out and is now suing the state over that?

Yeah.

Where are we in that in terms of whether it's going to be politicized, as you worried about the Disneyland landing of the Alamo?

Yeah, yeah.

Look, I, I, you know, Doctor Rogers faithfully served, the state, in that capacity for, for many years.

It's unfortunate that she's not, serving in that capacity any, any longer.

And so, as I have shared, I think what's most important as we think about that project is there are a set of, guidelines that we adhere to and principles that we adhere to so that that moves forward in a way that balances several equities.

Right.

Look, nobody was there with an iPhone 17 recording every minute of it.

Right?

So we're balancing kind of history with myths, etc., etc.. But I think at the end of the day, we want something that is representative of our values, a, a place that we can all be proud of and, and tells us the story of the very many people that were there.

Right?

The descendants of the slaves, the descendants of indigenous people, the the the descendants of those that also fought at the Alamo.

Right.

Extraterritorial jurisdiction and developments.

Lennar homes this week not only they still want to develop out in, hello, this area in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the city, but they, just this week announced they want to have a retail and gas, gas station in that area at, off Babcock and Scenic Loop Road.

Where are you on that?

And how likely is all that to happen?

Well, so their application, we have to to obviously that will come before the city.

So I'm not going to to weigh in on on that as we deliberate some of those things.

All right.

Well, thanks very much.

It looks like you're not busy enough, Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, thank you very much for coming.

Thanks so much.

Take care.

This week, the Texas American Federation of Teachers filed a lawsuit against the Texas Education Agency and the education commissioner, Mike McGrath, about what's happened after, the murder of Charlie Kirk and how teachers are being investigated.

Now, after they asked school districts to report inappropriate comments on social media.

Joining us to talk about that is Zeph Campo, who is president of the Texas American Federation of Teachers.

Thanks for joining us.

And first of.

All, this lawsuit this week talks about, the ramifications of this.

How would you describe, first of all, getting a letter to all the school districts and then what's happened with teachers?

So I would say, on or about September 2025, every superintendent in the state of Texas received received a letter from the Commissioner of Education that, in essence, was a directive to to turn in any employees that made comments about Charlie Kirk that met the commissioner's definition of reprehensible.

But no guidance as to what that directive actually meant, no guidance as to what they were talking about and under what context?

Classroom speech.

Personal speech, etc.

and what ultimately ended up happening as a result of that directive is there was an immediate chilling of public speech by employees that worked in school districts of public speech.

By that you mean social media posts, as well as what they might have said in schools.

Yeah.

Especially, you know, what was said outside of schools because that is exactly what we're talking about.

None of the instances, none of the 350 complaints that were turned in through the snitch line for, put together by Texas Education Agency, referenced in class school issues at all.

They were 100% out of school or out of school time using personal resources, social media, post, or other issues where public school educators were engaging in matters of public discourse, involving their government and their society.

And that's why I'm sorry.

Go ahead.

About this lawsuit.

And in different cases, what have the ramifications been for individual teachers all the way from have we seen firings over this?

Absolutely.

The the, our members, the discipline for our members has run the gamut from, receiving a letter of reprimand, being told that you're being turned in to the state of Texas, to their complaints line, to being suspended and removed from their classroom and from their students to actually being terminated.

And people have lost their jobs and lost their careers as a, as a result of this.

Fortunately for us, and because the law seems to be on our side, those districts have moved to terminate.

Employees have had a hard time making them stick where the employees of excellent challenge to those decisions.

Now, the people who, are supportive of the Texas Education Agency and Mike Moran from this decision, have argued that, well, what people say outside of a classroom on social media and they feel publicly emboldened to to say that can bleed over or have bled over into their classroom speech.

Yeah.

I think that teachers historically, for decades, have a have always had understood that there was a difference between how they spoke as a citizen with other adults and peers on their own time and what how they engage their practice in the classroom.

You know, we've heard these tropes in these complaints about teachers leaving students to one decision or another.

But I think back to every English class, every debate class where we have we're required of students to actually take on and tackle, issues in our society.

And not one instance.

Do I recall all of our teachers, making the decision for us, you know, but that doesn't mean that their opinions, particularly on issues that do matter to them, get checked at the door.

What about the lawsuit?

What is it asking for, and what do you expect the timeline to be on that?

That's a very good question.

We we are asking for injunctive relief.

We're basically asking for the court system, to review the process that TDA engaged in, going about these investigations.

We believe that they, that they modeled this process, that they turned it upside down on its head.

And they basically, provided a directive that is impossible for teachers to comply with because of its vagueness.

And at the heart of the directive, it puts them in direct, puts to in direct conflict with the United States Constitution in no case was the workplace or the classroom disrupted by this event, except for when the to investigate, in their investigation.

And that is a crucial part of deciding whether this is protected public speech or not.

All right.

Well, thank you very much for explaining all that, and we'll keep people posted on that.

Jeff Kapo, president of the Texas American Federation of Teachers.

Thanks.

Thank you.

On reporters roundtable this week, some new developments with the San Antonio Philharmonic, as well as a new aquatic center planned for the South side.

Joining us to tell us everything there is to know about that is Jasper Sundin, who is a business reporter at the San Antonio Report.

Thank you very much for coming in.

Tell us about, first of all, this week, the Scottish Rite filed a legal document, against the San Antonio Philharmonic or I guess, people involved with that.

How did that work?

First of all, Randy, thanks so much for having me.

Sure.

Happy to be here.

Yeah.

The Scottish Rite did file a petition for intervention in a legal case involving the San Antonio Philharmonic this week.

I think it's important you have the Scottish writers file on this.

So this is their part of the puzzle.

We haven't heard from the Philharmonic yet.

We'll get into the details here, but I think it's important from the top to to note that these are the Scottish rights allegations.

The Philharmonic will have its point of view.

But but essentially the Scottish right is upset and feels like the Philharmonic has violated a co-ownership agreement from 2024 for its auditorium, which is actually just a few blocks away from here in downtown San Antonio.

And so this agreement was last year that the Philharmonic itself would pay for renovations or refurbishment so that they could play there, and then they've had to cancel last year, I guess, three different sets of concerts.

And the also the Scottish Rite filed an eviction notice.

Last year.

Yeah.

So the agreement is from 2024, and it essentially laid out requirements last year.

Last year.

Yeah.

The years are changing quickly around here.

It laid out the requirements for co-ownership of this space.

And like you said, that required the San Antonio Philharmonic to fund 50 to $100 million in restoration efforts for the Scottish rate, 50 to 100.

Yeah, that was the estimate at the time.

This is way back in September of 2024.

And that that's updating disability requirements electrical systems, plumbing, Hvac, a lot of stuff.

The Philharmonic had, again, according to the Scottish right, until July 31st of 2025 to make a $750,000 deposit, toward those restoration efforts, according to the Scottish Right, according to this legal filing from Monday.

The Philharmonic missed that deadline and has not deposited that money.

So that's that's kind of the crux of the issue here.

There's a couple of other things going on, but that that is sort of the main thrust of it.

And now in the past, after that November eviction, filing the Roberto Trevino, the Philharmonic has said that.

Well, our lawyers are talking with them.

We're trying to work this through.

Still trying to get people to believe that there will be concerts in the new year.

But as of now, that's up in the air.

January 16th, 17.

Concerts canceled.

Yeah, the Philharmonic isn't selling tickets for those concerts on its website.

They plan to go forward and have other concerts.

You'd have to talk to them about what their plans are.

They they haven't been super forthcoming.

They haven't commented on publicly.

They haven't filed any other legal paperwork.

So that's kind of unclear.

And that's up to them.

And that's their call.

And I'm sure when they're ready, they'll they'll tell us more information.

And this lawsuit, where does it go next or what happens next.

Do you think we would presume that we'll hear at some point from the Philharmonic and get their perspective on this?

They seem to think, or according to the Scottish.

Right.

They think that they're still allowed to use the space.

They're still using this space.

What happens going forward is kind of unclear.

There are court dates set out in several lawsuits involving the Philharmonic in 2026, one in March, another in November.

So those are kind of clear signposts to look for in the future.

But for now, we're kind of waiting on on the next steps, from a legal standpoint.

And you had a fascinating article this week on the new A new aquatic center, $5 million aquatic center near one of the missions on the south side.

Yeah, this has been a long term project from the city trying to build, more than 3000 square foot pool on the south side, near the what's now the Mission Marquee Plaza, formerly the mission Drive-In.

By mission San Jose.

Absolute federal park headquarters there.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And it's part of, I think, the city's drive to to build a larger, kind of civic activities complex in the area.

Thank you very much.

Jasper sun Dean, who is a business reporter for the San Antonio reporter.

Appreciate your time.

Hey, Randy, thanks for having me on.

Anytime.

And thank you for joining us for this edition of On the Record.

You can watch this show again.

Any previous shows You can download it as a podcast as well.

Just go to KLRN.org I'm Randy Beamer and we'll see you next time.

On the record is brought to you by Steve and Adele Dufilho.