Latest / Austin Signal / Cesar Chavez Street, local march reassessed amid abuse allegations against labor leader

Transcript

Cesar Chavez Street, local march reassessed amid abuse allegations against labor leader · Austin Signal

• 0:08
  In the wake of public sexual assault
• 0:10
  and abuse allegations against union
• 0:12
  organizer Cesar Chavez,
• 0:14
  organizers of the annual parade in
• 0:15
  Austin honoring him canceled their
• 0:17
  upcoming event.
• 0:18
  Now local activists and politicians
• 0:20
  are calling for the city of Austin
• 0:21
  to change the name of Cesar chavez
• 0:23
  street, the east to west
• 0:25
  thoroughfare running through the
• 0:26
  heart of Austin.
• 0:27
  We've got the latest from the
• 0:28
  fallout and Austin area state
• 0:30
  representative James Tallarico will
• 0:32
  need to broaden his base of support
• 0:33
  in order to win the state senate See
• 0:35
  this form?
• 0:36
  One group of voters he'll have to
• 0:37
  convince will be those who voted for
• 0:39
  his Democratic counterpart.
• 0:41
  More about those stories coming up
• 0:42
  on today's show.
• 0:44
  The Austin Signal is a production
• 0:46
  of KUT News, hosted by
• 0:48
  Jerry Kehanel.
• 0:49
  And March Madness is upon
• 0:51
  us. Don't forget to fill out your
• 0:52
  brackets, and join us for
• 0:54
  today's episode of Austin
• 0:56
  Signal.
• 1:06
  Howdy out there, thank you for
• 1:08
  tuning in to Austin Signal.
• 1:09
  I'm your host, Jerry Quijano,
• 1:11
  and this is community-powered public
• 1:13
  radio KUT News.
• 1:15
  We're glad you're spending part of
• 1:16
  your Thursday here with us.
• 1:19
  We're gonna start today with a quick
• 1:20
  elections update that'll impact the
• 1:22
  upcoming runoffs.
• 1:23
  The Williamson County Republican
• 1:24
  Party voted to return to countywide
• 1:26
  voting for the May 26th
• 1:28
  party primary runoff.
• 1:30
  That news was confirmed to KUT by
• 1:32
  a representative for the county.
• 1:34
  The party must amend their election
• 1:36
  contract with the county before that
• 1:38
  change can be finalized.
• 1:39
  Williamson County Communications
• 1:40
  Director Connie Odom says a meeting
• 1:42
  to do that is set for March
• 1:44
  24th, that's next week.
• 1:46
  Earlier this month on primary
• 1:48
  election day, Williamson county
• 1:49
  voters had to vote at their assigned
• 1:51
  precincts rather than at any
• 1:53
  polling place in the county, as had
• 1:54
  been the custom, and that led to
• 1:56
  lots of confusion and frustration
• 1:58
  for many voters.
• 1:59
  We have more about this story
• 2:01
  over at KUT.
• 2:06
  Accusations of sexual assault and
• 2:07
  abuse of women and girls were made
• 2:09
  public against labor union organizer
• 2:11
  Cesar Chavez this week, and the
• 2:12
  fallout has been swift here in
• 2:14
  Austin.
• 2:15
  Chavez died in 1993.
• 2:17
  Organizers of the annual parade and
• 2:19
  celebration honoring him decided
• 2:20
  instead to cancel the event,
• 2:22
  which was set to take place later
• 2:23
  this month.
• 2:24
  But a more permanent and prominent
• 2:26
  honoring of Chavez is the main
• 2:27
  east-to-west connecting road at the
• 2:29
  center of Austin that's named after
• 2:31
  him. Now activists and politicians
• 2:32
  alike are calling for change.
• 2:34
  For more about this story, we're
• 2:36
  joined by QUT City Hall reporter,
• 2:38
  Luce Modeno Lozano.
• 2:39
  Luce, welcome back to the show.
• 2:40
  Thanks for having me, Jerry.
• 2:41
  So when, first off, when did Austin
• 2:43
  rename the street for Cesar Chavez
• 2:45
  and who was behind that change?
• 2:47
  Yeah, you know, the city looked
• 2:49
  at this back in 1993,
• 2:51
  not long after he died.
• 2:53
  And this was pushed by a local
• 2:55
  nonprofit called El Concillo.
• 2:57
  They're kind of made up of
• 2:58
  neighborhoods in East Austin, and
• 2:59
  they were the big driving force
• 3:01
  behind getting that namesake
• 3:03
  across the downtown corridor
• 3:05
  and down into East Austin.
• 3:07
  And I heard yesterday from the
• 3:09
  spokesperson that Austin might have
• 3:11
  been among the first to change
• 3:13
  a name and honor him like
• 3:15
  so soon after he died.
• 3:17
  So yeah, so 1993.
• 3:19
  And those accusations were made
• 3:20
  public yesterday and very quickly,
• 3:22
  El Concilio had a press conference
• 3:23
  yesterday. What else did you hear
• 3:24
  from them?
• 3:25
  Yeah, you know, this is very
• 3:27
  heavy, and I think people are kind
• 3:29
  of reacting in different ways,
• 3:31
  particularly this group.
• 3:32
  Because they pushed for the change
• 3:34
  in the first place, they're now
• 3:36
  holding themselves accountable and
• 3:38
  trying to be respectful of the
• 3:39
  victims by asking counsel
• 3:41
  to kind of expedite this process
• 3:43
  in changing the name.
• 3:45
  You know, there was some discussion
• 3:46
  about what the name could be.
• 3:49
  You know I think Dolores
• 3:50
  Huerta has been kind
• 3:52
  of at the forefront
• 3:54
  of everyone's minds lately,
• 3:56
  especially after the statement she
• 3:58
  released yesterday.
• 3:59
  And so maybe we could see that name
• 4:00
  possibly, but that was something
• 4:02
  that El Concillo had supported
• 4:05
  yesterday as part of this.
• 4:07
  OK, so that was the the
• 4:09
  voices from the community.
• 4:10
  We also heard from city leaders and
• 4:11
  council members.
• 4:13
  You talked to Councilmember Vanessa
• 4:14
  Fuentes. What did she have to say?
• 4:15
  Yeah, she,
• 4:19
  she just, man, it's just it's been
• 4:20
  a really heavy week.
• 4:22
  And I think as a Latina, she has
• 4:23
  been very moved by what Dolores
• 4:25
  Huerta has shared.
• 4:27
  And she believes that the
• 4:29
  city should be quick to act on this,
• 4:31
  to acknowledge what has happened
• 4:33
  here and to find a way to,
• 4:35
  to yeah, like acknowledge like,
• 4:38
  is Cesar Chavez as part of
• 4:40
  this? Like, do we need to do we need
• 4:41
  a street rename? And what could that
• 4:43
  look like?
• 4:44
  Um, I, I think there has been,
• 4:46
  um, some push from,
• 4:48
  from other council members behind
• 4:49
  this that, you know, she's not the
• 4:51
  only one on this and so, um
• 4:53
  yeah, I think we're going to see
• 4:54
  some movement from the city council
• 4:56
  on, on a potential name change.
• 4:57
  And yeah, there was a statement
• 4:59
  put out yesterday that was signed by
• 5:01
  Councilmember Jose Velasquez,
• 5:04
  Vanessa Fuentes, Delia Garza, and
• 5:06
  I'm missing one other person.
• 5:07
  Chito Vela. Chito Velas as well.
• 5:09
  What else did you hear from those
• 5:11
  other councilmembers?
• 5:12
  Yeah, you know, I talked with Jose
• 5:14
  Velasquez yesterday and
• 5:16
  he has also part of this group, as
• 5:17
  you mentioned, and he basically
• 5:20
  told me, he was like, look, like, it
• 5:21
  doesn't matter who
• 5:24
  these leaders were.
• 5:25
  You could be the president of the
• 5:26
  United States, you could be head of
• 5:27
  a labor union, you know.
• 5:29
  Acknowledging these faults that
• 5:31
  they have, that
• 5:33
  have occurred is
• 5:35
  important. And so, you know.
• 5:37
  We have to be respectful of the
• 5:39
  people and the women who have come
• 5:40
  forward with this information.
• 5:42
  And he also was like, you know, I
• 5:44
  would not be surprised if the city
• 5:46
  council came forward with a policy
• 5:48
  change pretty quickly.
• 5:50
  And if the street is renamed,
• 5:52
  it would be something that the
• 5:53
  community would be part of.
• 5:54
  Yeah, and what does the City Council
• 5:56
  have to do? Do they have the power
• 5:58
  to rename the street officially?
• 6:00
  They do.
• 6:01
  There's two ways that that can
• 6:02
  happen.
• 6:03
  A citizen petition like we saw from
• 6:05
  Alconcio in 1993 could
• 6:07
  help do that.
• 6:08
  The city could also put their own
• 6:10
  resolution and policy forward.
• 6:12
  So yeah, so I think it'll be kind of
• 6:14
  a several weeks,
• 6:16
  maybe even months long process
• 6:18
  because there also has to be
• 6:19
  community input. Like they can't
• 6:20
  just change the name of the street
• 6:21
  without informing all of the people
• 6:23
  who live and work along that that
• 6:25
  corridor. Yeah the fallout was
• 6:27
  pretty swift in the last 24 hours
• 6:28
  but this seems as though it's gonna
• 6:29
  be a process that plays out over the
• 6:31
  next weeks and maybe months.
• 6:34
  Before you get out of here there are
• 6:35
  other murals and even a statue here
• 6:37
  on the UT campus honoring Chavez.
• 6:38
  Have we heard anything about the
• 6:40
  future of those?
• 6:40
  I think both of those will be
• 6:42
  up to the entities that maintain
• 6:44
  them. El Concillo only has power
• 6:46
  to kind of push the street name
• 6:48
  and the city only has the power to
• 6:49
  change that since it's their
• 6:50
  property.
• 6:51
  But yeah, you know, UT I don't think
• 6:53
  has responded yet.
• 6:54
  I heard yesterday that potentially
• 6:56
  the art of the Texas who
• 6:58
  helps maintain the mural over in
• 7:00
  East Austin on Cesar Chavez Street,
• 7:02
  I think they like the mural there.
• 7:04
  So we'll see how they respond and if
• 7:06
  that needs to be changed.
• 7:08
  All right, we have been chatting
• 7:09
  with Luz Moreno Lozano.
• 7:10
  She is KUT City Hall reporter.
• 7:12
  We're gonna have a link to her
• 7:14
  reporting in today's show notes and
• 7:15
  at kut.org slash signal.
• 7:17
  Thank you, Luz. Thanks, Jerry.
• 7:27
  Texas Democratic U.S.
• 7:29
  Senate nominee James Tallarico has
• 7:30
  become a prime target for the
• 7:32
  state's Republicans since winning
• 7:33
  his party's primary.
• 7:35
  But Tallarica has also been catching
• 7:36
  some flak from fellow Democrats,
• 7:38
  particularly those who voted for
• 7:40
  his primary opponent, Congresswoman
• 7:42
  Jasmine Crockett.
• 7:44
  She received more than a million
• 7:45
  votes in the Democratic primary and
• 7:47
  won overwhelming support from black
• 7:49
  voters in Texas.
• 7:50
  Between now and the fall, Tallaric
• 7:52
  faces a challenge, convincing
• 7:54
  Crocket voters to report him.
• 7:56
  In the general election.
• 7:58
  The Texas newsroom's Blaise Gainey
• 7:59
  reports.
• 8:01
  While the Dallas area congresswoman
• 8:03
  didn't win the Democratic US Senate
• 8:04
  nomination, Matt Engel says
• 8:06
  she accomplished one important
• 8:08
  thing.
• 8:08
  Jasmine Crockett did the best job
• 8:10
  of consolidating African-American
• 8:12
  vote that I've seen in my political
• 8:14
  lifetime, and I'm old, I've been
• 8:15
  around a while.
• 8:16
  Angle, who for the record is 68,
• 8:18
  runs the Lone Star Project, a
• 8:20
  Democratic political action
• 8:21
  committee. He says it's been decades
• 8:24
  since Texas saw a black politician
• 8:26
  running statewide pool numbers
• 8:27
  like Crockett.
• 8:28
  She did a better job than Ron
• 8:30
  Kirk when he ran statewide and got
• 8:32
  nominated in 2002,
• 8:35
  you know, over 20 years ago.
• 8:36
  She did better job then Colin Allred
• 8:38
  did just two years ago when he was
• 8:40
  nominated for the U S Senate.
• 8:41
  We know that in part because of the
• 8:43
  demographics and places she did
• 8:45
  best.
• 8:46
  Michael Adams is a political science
• 8:48
  professor at Texas Southern
• 8:49
  University in Houston.
• 8:50
  Clearly, Jasmine Crockett
• 8:52
  did very well in the urban areas,
• 8:54
  particularly here in Harris County
• 8:55
  and also in Dallas and
• 8:57
  Tarrant County.
• 8:58
  In all, she got 46%,
• 9:00
  votes for more than 1,068,000
• 9:03
  people.
• 9:04
  And while there wasn't much campaign
• 9:05
  mudslinging, Democratic strategist
• 9:07
  Dallas Jones says the results left
• 9:09
  many Crockett fans with a bad taste
• 9:11
  in their mouth.
• 9:12
  I think there's a sentiment of great
• 9:14
  disappointment amongst black women.
• 9:15
  Something Jones says has been
• 9:17
  building for a long time.
• 9:19
  Particularly where they often feel
• 9:21
  as though they show up for the
• 9:23
  party, but the party does not
• 9:24
  frequently enough show up for them.
• 9:26
  The frustration showed up on social
• 9:28
  media, where a wave of black women
• 9:30
  have voiced disappointment.
• 9:31
  A mediocre white man won.
• 9:34
  Somehow, when a black woman is
• 9:35
  running, electability somehow
• 9:37
  becomes the main concern.
• 9:39
  And this is exactly why you
• 9:41
  see all the black people on the
• 9:42
  internet saying, F this,
• 9:44
  we're done.
• 9:45
  Now, none of this is unexpected,
• 9:48
  especially after a hard-fought race.
• 9:50
  That's according to Cliff Walker, an
• 9:51
  Austin-based political strategist.
• 9:53
  Within a democratic primary, people
• 9:55
  have to prefer candidates,
• 9:57
  and afterwards, the work is always
• 9:59
  to reunite this party.
• 10:01
  Something Walker says Tallarico
• 10:02
  seems well aware of, even directly
• 10:04
  addressing Crockett's supporters
• 10:06
  during his victory speech.
• 10:07
  It's on me to ensure you
• 10:10
  feel welcomed in,
• 10:12
  represented by, and proud
• 10:14
  of this campaign.
• 10:15
  But as the saying goes, actions
• 10:17
  speak louder than words, and the
• 10:19
  Democratic candidate has about 33
• 10:21
  weeks to get it right.
• 10:22
  So what's next?
• 10:24
  Or at least what should be next if
• 10:26
  Talarico wants to win black voters
• 10:27
  in Texas who may be a bit
• 10:29
  skeptical about him?
• 10:31
  For the experts I talked with,
• 10:33
  it boils down to two things,
• 10:34
  places and people.
• 10:36
  He's going to need to be able to get
• 10:37
  a number of
• 10:39
  well-known black politicians.
• 10:41
  Eric McDaniel is a government
• 10:42
  professor at UT Austin.
• 10:43
  So Jasmine Crockett, but then also
• 10:46
  some of those who've been around for
• 10:47
  a while to come out in strong
• 10:49
  support, basically show up at his
• 10:51
  rallies, beat proxies for him.
• 10:53
  That's the people part.
• 10:53
  As for places, strategist
• 10:55
  Cliff Walker thinks Tallarico's
• 10:57
  campaign needs to get out
• 10:59
  into black spaces.
• 11:00
  Visits at HBCUs
• 11:02
  to get them registered, to get them
• 11:03
  plugged in so that they can
• 11:05
  participate in the campaign.
• 11:06
  A word of caution though from
• 11:08
  McDaniel of UT.
• 11:09
  He says black voters could see
• 11:11
  Tallarico as inauthentic if
• 11:13
  the US Senate candidate suddenly
• 11:14
  starts doing things he's not known
• 11:16
  for.
• 11:16
  He should have been doing this two
• 11:18
  or three years ago.
• 11:19
  Just like, Hey, I'm just here.
• 11:20
  Hey, how y'all doing?
• 11:21
  Let people get to know him.
• 11:22
  He could have earned that
• 11:24
  authenticity if he showed up
• 11:26
  several years ago
• 11:27
  One thing working for Tallarico is
• 11:29
  that Jasmine Crockett's already
• 11:30
  voiced her support.
• 11:32
  Sort of.
• 11:32
  After the primary, she posted on
• 11:34
  X about being committed to getting
• 11:36
  Democrats elected in November.
• 11:38
  Later, on Facebook Live, she
• 11:40
  stressed the state's U.S.
• 11:41
  Senate race was a big part of that.
• 11:43
  No matter what,
• 11:45
  whether it's Kim Paxson or John
• 11:46
  Cornyn, anyone would be better,
• 11:49
  I'm just saying.
• 11:50
  Still, Tallarico has his work cut
• 11:52
  out for him if he wants to be the
• 11:53
  first Texas Democrat to win a
• 11:55
  statewide office in more than 30
• 11:57
  years.
• 11:58
  I'm Blaise Gainey in Austin.
• 12:00
  And on the Republican side,
• 12:02
  there is a primary runoff in this
• 12:04
  Senate race between incumbent
• 12:05
  Senator John Cornyn and Texas
• 12:07
  Attorney General Ken Paxton.
• 12:09
  Some dates to know for that runoff.
• 12:11
  The deadline to register to vote in
• 12:12
  the runoff or make an address change
• 12:14
  is April 27th.
• 12:16
  May 15th is the last day for
• 12:18
  ballot by mail applications to be
• 12:20
  received.
• 12:21
  And primary run off election day is
• 12:23
  May 26th.
• 12:24
  This is Austin Signal.
• 12:26
  We'll be back after a break.
• 12:27
  This is Austin
• 12:29
  Signal, welcome back.
• 12:31
  South by Southwest is officially
• 12:33
  over.
• 12:34
  The festival wrapped up yesterday,
• 12:36
  or early this morning for some of
• 12:38
  you, but for many, this year felt
• 12:40
  a bit different than in years
• 12:42
  past.
• 12:43
  Maybe it was the convention center
• 12:44
  being gone, or the shorter dates,
• 12:47
  or just this world in a
• 12:48
  post-pandemic age.
• 12:50
  Whatever the reason, there was
• 12:52
  a time when the streets were blocked
• 12:53
  off and festival and their
• 12:55
  badges just took over
• 12:57
  downtown.
• 12:58
  So today we're gonna take a listen
• 12:59
  back before the pandemic to
• 13:01
  South by Southwest 2019
• 13:03
  and find out the best
• 13:05
  way back then to get around
• 13:08
  downtown.
• 13:11
  We met during the afternoon rush
• 13:13
  hour at Plaza Salteo in East
• 13:15
  Austin. You'll hear the train there
• 13:16
  in the background.
• 13:17
  Each of our racers represented a
• 13:19
  different vehicle.
• 13:20
  We have someone who's going to drive
• 13:22
  a car. Woo!
• 13:24
  This is Tom Buchel.
• 13:25
  Yeah, he's my brother.
• 13:27
  Someone who's gonna bike.
• 13:28
  Yeehaw! Katie De Oyo was our
• 13:30
  cyclist.
• 13:31
  And someone who is going to try this
• 13:32
  newer mobility option,
• 13:34
  the scooter.
• 13:35
  The most hated vehicle on the
• 13:37
  street. This is Zach T.
• 13:38
  Bloom, proud scooter guy.
• 13:41
  I've gotta, I've got to ask Zach, do
• 13:42
  you scoot?
• 13:43
  Bro, do you even sk-
• 13:44
  I scoot, bro.
• 13:46
  It's the easiest way to get home
• 13:47
  when surge pricing is on.
• 13:49
  I was referee, manning the start
• 13:51
  and finish lines and keeping time.
• 13:53
  The course would run through the
• 13:55
  boozy, beating heart of SXSW
• 13:57
  from Plaza Saltillo to the
• 13:58
  Convention Center, then up Congress
• 14:00
  to 6th Street and back to the
• 14:02
  plaza. Does that seem reasonable,
• 14:04
  doable? Yeah, totally.
• 14:05
  I'm in. Sounds great.
• 14:06
  Excellent. But first, a little more
• 14:08
  about our volunteers.
• 14:09
  Like I said, Tom is my brother, but
• 14:11
  I promise I gave no special
• 14:13
  treatment.
• 14:14
  Katie, I didn't know before she
• 14:15
  volunteered, but it turns out, bikes
• 14:17
  are kind of her thing.
• 14:19
  I'm actually a league cycling
• 14:20
  instructor with the League of
• 14:21
  American Bicyclists.
• 14:22
  She's also served on city bike and
• 14:24
  pedestrian advisory councils and is
• 14:26
  a fitness teacher and safe cycling
• 14:27
  advocate. So I know the laws.
• 14:31
  We do know each other.
• 14:33
  I met him last year when he took up
• 14:34
  a challenge to only eat and
• 14:36
  drink what he could find for free at
• 14:38
  South By.
• 14:39
  Turned out there was a little more
• 14:40
  drink than eat in
• 14:42
  that experiment.
• 14:44
  Everybody, go at your own speed.
• 14:46
  Don't endanger yourselves.
• 14:48
  I'm looking at you, Zach.
• 14:50
  I got a helmet ready.
• 14:51
  Right.
• 14:53
  Well, Tom ran to get the car.
• 14:54
  Katie and Zach unlocked their rides.
• 14:56
  He was on one of those standup
• 14:58
  scooters.
• 14:59
  She chose an e-bike.
• 15:00
  And when time got back...
• 15:04
  Two, three, go!
• 15:09
  Off they go.
• 15:11
  Oh no.
• 15:13
  We have a cyclist.
• 15:14
  Alright, staying in the bike lane.
• 15:16
  Scooter person, got her behind
• 15:18
  me, and a car.
• 15:19
  The bike and the scooter have
• 15:21
  both pulled ahead to what
• 15:23
  may be an incident.
• 15:24
  That's the amount of a lead.
• 15:26
  Now to record their progress, I'd
• 15:28
  fitted each person with a clip-on
• 15:30
  microphone. I didn't hear any of
• 15:31
  this until after the race, but the
• 15:33
  audio reveals big differences
• 15:35
  in technique among
• 15:37
  the races.
• 15:41
  Up on 4th and Waller O,
• 15:44
  the bike's catching up with me
• 15:45
  pretty quickly here.
• 15:46
  Turn right onto fourth, look over my
• 15:48
  shoulder, signal going
• 15:50
  right, make clear.
• 15:52
  I'm clear.
• 15:53
  Alright, I'm gaining back up on them
• 15:54
  and we're all approaching the stop
• 15:56
  sign on Waller.
• 15:58
  Sign it forth and waller if she's
• 15:59
  going to pass me here if I'm not
• 16:00
  careful slowing to
• 16:02
  a stop looking both ways and
• 16:04
  going
• 16:05
  Ooh, the scooter kinda scooted
• 16:07
  that one.
• 16:08
  Didn't come to a complete stop at
• 16:09
  the sign.
• 16:10
  I held the lead somehow.
• 16:11
  He's living on the edge.
• 16:14
  She got held up at that one stop
• 16:15
  sign and I didn't.
• 16:16
  Our scooter person is
• 16:18
  far ahead of me now.
• 16:19
  Huge lead.
• 16:29
  Now, before the race had started,
• 16:30
  we'd all taken odds on who was going
• 16:32
  to win.
• 16:32
  Bicycle was everybody's favorite.
• 16:35
  But with that early, questionable
• 16:37
  stop, Zach was actually
• 16:39
  the first to make it to the
• 16:40
  convention center.
• 16:44
  The car, we'd always known would
• 16:46
  probably be a loser.
• 16:47
  The question was, by how
• 16:49
  much?
• 16:50
  And soon after Zach pulled ahead,
• 16:53
  Tom hit some trouble with street
• 16:54
  closures.
• 16:55
  As is common knowledge,
• 16:57
  6th Street is closed between
• 16:59
  I-35 and
• 17:02
  Congress Avenue.
• 17:03
  Now we thought we had all this
• 17:04
  figured out.
• 17:05
  I think I can...
• 17:07
  To take a left.
• 17:11
  Sorry about that.
• 17:12
  Tom was sent up I-35,
• 17:14
  looking for a street to get him back
• 17:16
  downtown.
• 17:17
  Meanwhile, as the other two
• 17:19
  neared six in Congress,
• 17:21
  Katie was gaining on Zach.
• 17:24
  Following us behind.
• 17:26
  Going to be a little bit of a bind
• 17:27
  here.
• 17:28
  But whenever she got closer,
• 17:31
  something would happen.
• 17:32
  There'd be a stop sign, a one-way
• 17:33
  street, a rule to follow.
• 17:36
  We have to yield the right-of-way to
• 17:37
  people walking here at the
• 17:39
  crosswalk.
• 17:40
  She'd stop to talk to.
• 17:41
  I have to yield the right of way to
• 17:43
  you.
• 17:43
  Zach was taking a
• 17:45
  different approach.
• 17:51
  Going on the sidewalk, ignoring the
• 17:53
  rules. She's not going to like this,
• 17:54
  but I'm doing it.
• 17:55
  Zach's going on the sidewalk,
• 17:58
  which is verboten here in
• 17:59
  Austin.
• 18:00
  This won't win brownie points,
• 18:02
  I'm not going to make friends with
• 18:03
  the pedestrians, but I'm going to do
• 18:04
  what I had to do.
• 18:06
  And back in the car,
• 18:08
  Tom was...
• 18:09
  Conceding defeat.
• 18:12
  The inability to move
• 18:14
  or accelerate the car
• 18:16
  at all, you can really
• 18:19
  engage in top-notch
• 18:21
  people watching.
• 18:24
  Yeah, we should just shut down all
• 18:26
  the roads down here.
• 18:28
  Strangely enough, that was the same
• 18:29
  thing Katie was thinking at around
• 18:31
  the exact same time.
• 18:33
  I think it's not moving.
• 18:35
  Let's go, let's go.
• 18:37
  He was coming up on
• 18:39
  the finish line.
• 18:40
  Woo!
• 18:41
  Wait, what?
• 18:42
  Is that Zach? Yes it is.
• 18:44
  Zach is back.
• 18:51
  That did the loop in 14 minutes
• 18:53
  and 30 seconds.
• 18:54
  I want. This is an upset.
• 18:56
  Oh my god. I was just pacing saying
• 18:57
  this is an up set.
• 18:59
  I got him.
• 19:00
  Katie arrived almost exactly
• 19:02
  a minute later.
• 19:03
  Cheers, cheers, cheers!
• 19:06
  All right, come
• 19:08
  on over here out of the way and
• 19:09
  we'll talk.
• 19:10
  We huddled up and went over the
• 19:12
  race. I cut down the sidewalk the
• 19:13
  wrong way.
• 19:15
  And I mean...
• 19:15
  It's illegal in Austin,
• 19:19
  I promise you, it's against the
• 19:20
  rules.
• 19:20
  A-ling-al-ish.
• 19:23
  As you can tell, the race raised
• 19:24
  more questions than it answered.
• 19:27
  One, if Zach had paid better
• 19:29
  attention to the rules and
• 19:30
  etiquette, would he have been first?
• 19:32
  To do to win.
• 19:33
  I just am like, I'm not gonna
• 19:35
  ride my bike on the sidewalk.
• 19:37
  As things stood, it seemed like Zach
• 19:38
  came in first while Katie chose
• 19:40
  the moral victory.
• 19:42
  Well, congratulations.
• 19:43
  Thank you, second is the best.
• 19:48
  Then there was Tom.
• 19:51
  After a while, I decided to call
• 19:52
  him. Don't worry, he was talking
• 19:54
  hands-free.
• 19:56
  Hey man, just
• 19:58
  checking in, how you doing?
• 20:00
  Pretty rough man, pretty rough.
• 20:02
  He had reached neither checkpoint
• 20:04
  and was at a standstill.
• 20:06
  Oh, look at these scooters just
• 20:08
  whizzing past me.
• 20:10
  This is really just rubbing it in,
• 20:11
  all these scootars that are
• 20:13
  just whizzing
• 20:15
  past.
• 20:17
  Oh, look at them go.
• 20:19
  We decided he should just try to get
• 20:21
  back to me, and I would jog
• 20:23
  towards him to save time.
• 20:27
  In the end, we got
• 20:29
  some running in, too.
• 20:30
  Hey!
• 20:31
  You made it.
• 20:33
  One hour and 31 seconds later.
• 20:36
  Not bad, man.
• 20:37
  Not bad.
• 20:39
  Mo's Mouchel, KUT News.
• 20:49
  Well, the men's NCAA basketball
• 20:52
  championship tournament officially
• 20:53
  tipped off this morning.
• 20:54
  And after squeezing by North
• 20:56
  Carolina State in Tuesday's
• 20:58
  first four game, the 11th seed
• 21:00
  of Texas Longhorns will face sixth
• 21:02
  seed BYU in tonight's round
• 21:04
  one matchup.
• 21:05
  Texas has only advanced past the
• 21:07
  second round of the tournament once
• 21:09
  since the 2008-2009
• 21:12
  season. That's a long time.
• 21:13
  Head coach Sean Miller says getting
• 21:15
  an early start could pay dividends
• 21:17
  for his team tonight.
• 21:18
  And on into the tournament.
• 21:20
  Let's hear from him.
• 21:21
  You know, I think that our nerves
• 21:23
  sometimes can settle through game
• 21:25
  one. You can gain confidence.
• 21:26
  You already have one game to
• 21:29
  your advantage.
• 21:30
  But we're going to have to play a
• 21:31
  really good team. And we're gonna
• 21:33
  definitely have to pay better.
• 21:35
  The Longhorns will face the Cougars
• 21:37
  tonight in Portland, Oregon.
• 21:39
  Tip-off is scheduled for just
• 21:40
  before 6.30 this evening
• 21:42
  local time.
• 21:44
  And the action continues tomorrow
• 21:45
  with the beginning of the women's
• 21:47
  championship tournament.
• 21:48
  Texas is a number one seed in
• 21:50
  this year's tourney, and that means
• 21:52
  they're gonna start the games with
• 21:54
  a home court advantage.
• 21:55
  The Moody Center will be hosting
• 21:57
  games tomorrow and Sunday.
• 21:59
  The action starts with an
• 22:01
  eight, nine seed match up tomorrow.
• 22:02
  That's Oregon versus Virginia
• 22:04
  Tech. And that'll be followed by
• 22:06
  the one seeded Longhorns taking on
• 22:08
  Missouri State.
• 22:09
  The winners will meet back up at the
• 22:11
  Moody Center on Sunday for
• 22:13
  a spot in the Sweet 16.
• 22:15
  And we will keep you updated
• 22:17
  on all the action happening here
• 22:19
  in Austin.
• 22:21
  Right here on Austin Signal,
• 22:23
  we are community powered
• 22:25
  public radio from KUT
• 22:27
  News.
• 22:28
  Here with you every weekday
• 22:30
  afternoon at one o'clock and
• 22:32
  wherever you listen to your
• 22:34
  podcasts.
• 22:35
  And if you want to catch up on
• 22:37
  any shows you might have missed this
• 22:38
  week, head on over to
• 22:40
  KUT.org
• 22:42
  slash Signal.
• 22:44
  I'm your host, Jerry Quijano.
• 22:46
  We will be back with you tomorrow.
• 22:48
  Enjoy your spring break.
• 22:50
  Enjoy that lighter traffic.
• 22:51
  Thanks for tuning in.
• 22:53
  This is Austin Signal.