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.

Joining us now as we go on the Record with Randy Beamer.

Hi, everybody, and thank you for joining us For on the record this week, we are going to be talking about everything from the eclipse to the San Antonio Philharmonic making a trip to help some kids in the area.

But we are starting with a look at what city council has been working on and will be working on.

And one of the issues is what to do about homeless encampments around San Antonio.

Joining us to talk about that, District seven city Councilwoman Marina Alhadeff, the veto.

Thank you very much for coming in.

Thanks for having me.

You filed what's called a council consideration request, which means everybody's going to look at it.

What do you want done about homeless encampments?

Yeah.

So we did file a council consideration request.

You know, I really call them policy proposals because we've been hearing a lot from residents how frustrated they are with this issue.

So in the policy proposal, we outlined areas where homeless encampments cannot be.

And when we're saying they cannot be there, we're saying we need to prioritize cleanup in this specific areas.

So, for instance, none of us want to see homeless encampments in your schools, right, because of the risks that they pose.

We cannot have homeless encampments in parks or residential areas.

Know we're saying we cannot have homeless encampments in drainage ditches because it becomes a life safety issue, not only for the unsheltered individual, you know, with a little bit of rain.

I mean, everything can go downstream, but all of the trash goes further downstream and it becomes a life safety issue for a lot of residents.

So the intent is never to criminalize our homeless.

We do not want to do that.

We want to connect our unsheltered residents to the help and services that the cities already provide.

And this was one of the top priorities when you worked on the budget last year, the city manager.

And so it's at the top.

And now they have approved some $500,000 in last year's budget or this year's budget for more outreach coordinators, as well as what is called shelter, a low barrier shelter space.

That's right.

And homeless encampment about what does that actually entail?

Where does the money go?

Yeah.

So when we do a homeless encampment abatement, what what happens is the city sends out the Department of Human Department of Human Services sends out a homeless outreach coordinator.

They make contact with the unsheltered residents and say, do they need help?

Try to get them connected to Haven for hopes and ministries, some other shelter.

The unsheltered individual can either choose to accept the help or not, and then they let them know that they will be cleaning up the encampment.

Right.

Coming in, solid waste comes in, picks up the trash, gets rid of the encampment.

We have to do that because we cannot have these encampments being permanent fixtures in our neighborhood.

And again, the ultimate goal is to connect our unsheltered individuals with the help and services that the city's already providing.

And people might think, well, wait, don't we have priorities already in terms of which places have to be cleaned up first or not really a policy.

Right.

Yeah.

So when we filed this council consideration request, it was in November and there really wasn't priorities set.

The city has been doing a great job since February 1st in keeping within the two week commitment.

So if a homeless encampment is called in the commitment is that it will be addressed within that two week window.

And most of the people have been out with some of the outreach coordinators.

Most of the homeless people who are told they need to leave don't want to leave.

And and that's the problem.

And so you're moving people just to different places.

Yeah.

Know, I do think that while the encampment cleanup isn't the end all be all solution, it does help prevent these encampments from being permanent fixtures and trying to get people connected to help.

But, you know, one of the things is that homelessness is a housing problem.

You know, we need those low barrier shelters that you were talking about, the permanent supportive housing where people can have a roof over their head and also wraparound services to get them back on their feet.

I do want to stress, you know, I mean, some people think homelessness is a laziness issue.

There is a lot of people who can fall through the cracks based on how our system is set up.

For instance, you know, when we look at our foster care youth, you know, as as they age out of the foster care system, a large percentage of them, you know, have been focused on surviving, not necessarily learning life skills such as how to find an apartment or whatever.

A huge percentage of them end up becoming homeless.

You know, and so that I definitely want us to focus on our foster care use in figuring out how do we help them so that we're not having to pay for encampment cleanups later on with more money going to what's called low barrier housing.

Explain that to people what a low barrier shelter is for someone.

Yeah, that's a great question.

So sometimes our unsheltered individuals cannot go into haven for hope because they might be addicted to drugs or alcohol.

A low bear shelter is a place where they can find a roof over their head, even if they do have a drug or alcohol talking a roof, Not a not a tent.

Not a tent.

Right.

It is it is a physical place, a physical structure.

But there is also those wraparound services to help them get off of drugs or alcohol, mental health help and get them back on their feet.

What are the what's the the way for people, the best way for people to say, I need help now because sometimes people call it in and then someone doesn't come out right away.

Right.

Yeah.

There is there is the hotline for close to home saying, hey, I need help.

Our council offices get called all the time from older people, for instance, who are saying, I cannot pay my rent.

I am on the verge of being coming homeless and we can help them connect them to nonprofits and other help to get them on their feet so that they're not on the street.

What else do you want to come out of this in terms of setting policy?

Yeah, I definitely think that our council and the city is moving in the right direction.

I just don't want us to get our foot off the gas pedal.

We need to keep going on this because I have seen how it has really deteriorated other cities and I don't want that to be San Antonio.

Right.

We love our city.

We need we need to keep it clean.

And this is all over the country.

But do you have any sense that it's better or worse here?

You know, we do hear a lot of feedback that what San Antonio is doing are we are taking the right steps.

But again, this needs our full focus because it is our responsibility to keep the city clean and livable for all of us.

And that's coming up for you.

The city council is going to look at that, but there's some other things coming up as well, including the firefighter contract negotiations.

Yeah.

Where are you in that?

Yeah, You know, I mean, I think that when we hear loud and clear from our residents is that they value our police officers and our firefighters.

They value having public safety at the forefront.

So, you know, we need to take care of that and other things coming up.

Aside from the budget long term for next year, over the summer, you'll be looking at that $500,000 for women's reproductive justice.

Explain to people what that is and how big an issue that's going to be.

Right.

So that was a $500,000 allocation carved out of the last budget to help women with reproductive rights.

You know, and so there is going to be some conversation about that.

And what that means, you know, is it help with, you know, pregnancy tests or this, that and the other?

There might be some council members who want us to see people pay for an out-of-state abortion because abortions are illegal in Texas.

So all of the nuances of how that money is going to get spent is about to be discussed.

And what else are you looking for as well?

We're talking about the airports and the work on the airport.

We have the airport and a lot of improvements there.

One of the things that our office is really tackling is the public safety issue of loose and stray dogs.

There are too many dogs on the street.

They're forming impacts and they're they're causing havoc in neighborhoods.

We had a great public safety town hall neighbors from all across the city came.

They vocalize their frustration with this.

We've really been digging into some policy and and are putting forth some policy proposals to help address this.

But how are you liking a council so far?

I know there's one big thing for a lot of new council people was this council consideration request that if you had an idea, it could take months or months or whatever the mayor wanted to get to him.

That's changing right now.

That is.

Yeah.

So I'm really glad that my colleague, Councilman Mark White, really championed that.

I was fully supportive of it just so that way we can hear our policy proposals in a timely manner, for instance.

So homelessness one, like I said, I filed it back in November.

They barely just heard it last week.

So we're really pushing it so that way we can hear our ideas in a timely manner.

All right.

Well, thank you very much for coming in.

We're working on a lot.

There are District several Southern Councilwoman Marina.

Thanks for having me.

With the eclipse coming Monday, there are so many people coming to San Antonio, but especially the Hill country where they have made some big plans.

Joining us to talk about that, Don DAVIES, who is with the Hill Country Alliance.

Thank you very much for coming in.

My pleasure.

You've been working on this.

You said for three years.

Yes.

And I just saw a headline that said San Antonio may be, quote, worst place to view the eclipse because of the weather.

We're still, you know, days out.

But even you said if the weather's bad, it's still incredible.

Absolutely.

Even if there's minor to moderate cloud cover, we will still see the light fading as we approach totality.

Nature will still react in similar ways, will still get the temperature drop, all of the sensory experiences that lead up to an hour following totality.

And you know, personally what it's like in an eclipse.

Yes.

Tell us about that.

It's it's a unique event.

I feel like everyone has their own individual experience.

Some people experience a connection to nature, to the universe, a deeper spirituality, a deeper religious connection.

For me, it was just absolute and astounding.

I, I can barely put it into words.

Even now, almost seven years after that.

Are you into astronomy?

Were you before you went to Wyoming to see this?

Right.

I did.

I actually traveled to Wyoming not only for the eclipse, but also to attend the Astronomical League convention.

That was the week prior.

So, yes, I I've been involved in space science and astronomy outreach for about 15 years.

What would you tell people to expect and to not expect?

Expect the unexpected.

I think folks going into their first total solar eclipse don't know what they're going to experience and don't know how they're going to react.

I was watching a video recently where a gentleman had talked about crying at the moment totality hit.

And after counting that to two of his friends, they had the same reaction.

So expect things to change, to see the world in a different light, literally and figuratively.

And even if you're not in the path of totality because it cuts across literally right across San Antonio.

Yes.

People might wonder, well, should I go the extra mile, Half mile?

Absolutely.

What's the difference?

99.9% is not totality.

So you will only get a partial eclipse.

You will not see the moon completely obscuring the sun.

You will not get a chance to see the corona, the atmosphere, the sun.

You won't get all of that sensory and an experiential opportunity that you get in totality.

And for so many folks, this may be the only time they get to experience it.

So why not go the extra mile?

But those who can't say you're still going to experience that two and a half hour window from when the sun starts to be covered by the moon.

Tell us about that whole thing that people don't realize.

Yeah, you have a four and a half minute window tops, two and a half on the west side of San Antonio.

But the two and a half hour window is what seems to be amazing.

It's just going to get dark over that time, but it's going to slowly get dark and it will speed up as we get closer to totality.

So your eyes will adjust in the first 30, 45 minutes or so, but birds will stop chirping as we get closer to totality.

More of that dusk sort of atmosphere.

You'll start hearing crickets and frogs and more nocturnal type creatures.

The temperature can drop 10 to 20 degrees and as we approach totality, we start seeing a 360 degree sunset around us right at its peak.

And then during totality, if you have the opportunity to be in the path, you'll be able to see some of our planets.

We have all of our planets in the night sky, so we expect to see Jupiter, Venus, Saturn and Mars.

There's also the potential to see a comet naked eye when the moon's obscuring the sun.

And of course you'll see the corona, which is the atmosphere of the sun, which you cannot see at any other time unless you have a very specific type of telescope or you're in the path of a total eclipse.

What else is going on in the Hill country that you're involved in with your alliance on Eclipse Day?

So many activities, so many events.

A lot of folks are starting as early as Friday and having events all through the weekend.

Other communities are just having, you know, local festivals and gatherings in their town squares and major parks and centers and of course, every single state park that's on the path of totality within the Texas State Park system is completely booked.

Now, you went to Wyoming, people might think, well, I was not going to be that big a traffic up there.

What is traffic going to be like?

Everybody's just guessing.

I mean, traffic is is again, one of those sort of variables because we don't know exactly how many people are going to be coming in.

We know that plans have been made, bookings and hotels are up substantially.

So we know the folks are coming here.

We do anticipate traffic.

A lot of folks are going to try to make their way back to their hotel or their airports right after totality.

But we try to encourage folks to, in essence, come for the sun but stay for the stars, because you can have a total solar eclipse without having a new moon, which is a great opportunity to take advantage of our night skies.

This is also an opportunity to talk about the night skies and Hill Country alliance as its night sky program.

And you are encouraging more groups to get involved.

Tell us about that.

Absolutely.

So light pollution is a tremendous issue here, not only in the hill country, but globally.

And so we work with a lot of volunteer organizations, advocates, individuals who are working to pretty much bring knowledge and education in night sky preservation to the hill country.

And night sky means if you have light pollution, you can't see the skies, even with a telescope, the naked eye, whatever.

How bad is it getting, say, from, you know, 30, 40 years ago?

So somebody was a kid.

Up until the last couple of years, we were under the impression based on reporting and research, that we were losing the night sky at a rate of about 2% every year, beginning of 2023.

We learned that that number is almost 10%.

So 10%, 10% year every year.

And it's substantial not only for, you know, human health, the health of our natural environment and every single living creature.

But it also impacts us similarly to an experience with the eclipse.

There's a phrase that I was recently educated on with regards to the loss of night skies called our deprivation and our inability to be out under dark, starry skies is depriving our entire society of that all And that wonder that we get when we're we're more out under the Milky Way.

So get out to the whole country, whether there's an eclipse or not.

Exactly.

West Texas Observatory, McDonald's or.

Thank you very much.

Don DAVIES with the Hill Country Alliance.

They have a lot of information on their website.

Appreciate it.

My pleasure, Randi.

Thank you.

Next month will mark two years since the school shooting in New Valley left 19 students and two teachers dead.

And now the ongoing developments about who's to blame, who should be held accountable and prosecuted.

Well, all that can bring right back up all the old wounds and the pain, especially for the kids.

But there are so many people now helping those kids and the whole community of Uvalde.

I went there with the San Antonio Philharmonic for a special concert for the kids as the national attention has faded.

We still live here.

We still have a town to take care of and and we still have issues to work out.

It's now part of our DNA and our students that we lost on that day will never be forgotten.

They're always with us.

And so, yes, we do have some of our students here that were on campus that day.

However, this type of experience allows our students to still be children and enjoy our Young people's concert.

If there was ever any example of why these musicians do what they do, why the music is written, it's it's about that human connection that that ability to touch people.

It's like, this is the whole point of why you have the Philharmonic.

Actually, it's a two way street.

The symphony quite enjoyed coming here and helping these kids and the by the reaction of the audience when the plane was fantastic.

So listen carefully and see if you can tell what instrument is playing this view The Full Troubadours song.

But one kid without any prompting, I asked him, Hey, did you all enjoy the music?

And he said, yes.

He said, That was so healing for me and for a lot of students here.

I got goosebumps when he said that because that was the whole object of coming here.

That student was that he would stand up so the kids would figure out the.

So if you can tell us what is it?

Let's hear it for Claire.

I believe in the healing power of music.

And this is a community that needs healing and and the kids need exposure to to things that that you don't always get exposed to in a smaller town.

There's water around the possibility that both it's a mote and keeping the kids interested in having them understand what's being played and why.

And they get to learn a bit about the history of the music, comparing it to things that they already know about.

That's really exciting and we're very grateful that the Philharmonic was able to do this, and I'm grateful for the school district for for allowing it.

It it was it kind of came together on relatively short notice.

And we're very appreciative.

I hear a lot of stories about stress and worry among the younger people in the building.

And I think that's the thing that was the whole object of coming here to help the kids, to help the citizens of Uvalde, to heal.

And I think that at least we hit a home run on that.

And to see the kids just so excited, it's just truly tremendous.

And I think that this is an amazing example of what music can do.

On Reporters Roundtable this week with the big eclipse coming up Monday.

Here to answer every single question you have about the eclipse, Alex, about the impact maybe on San Antonio, Texas.

Tracie O'Dell, Hamilton business reporter for the san antonio report.

Thank you very much for coming in.

Thanks for having me.

What is the impact to San Antonio saying in the millions of dollars so far?

I mean, there's a lot of numbers out there.

How do we know?

We don't.

It's it's wild.

The estimates range from the state of Texas could see $1,000,000,000 economic impact to half that.

They really don't know.

It's really going to depend on how many visitors.

And that's a direct economic impact That would be indirect.

Indirect.

So, for example, there's a an economics professor at UTSA who estimates a direct economic impact on the state of about 450 million.

Indirect gets you up to a billion.

The Perryman group estimates 1.4 billion indirect, but it all depends on how many people actually come in.

They've said that a lot of people are going to come to Texas relative to the other states in the path of totality because it's big, because the weather's going to be nice, hopefully because our roads are good.

And so the estimates there range from as few as a quarter of a million people to a million people descending on Texas.

Well, we don't know.

And we've seen those trends guide warnings.

You know, there's going to be heavy traffic.

But how how heavy, how many people how bad is it going to be?

Is there any way to tell at this point?

No.

And I think the weather will really make an impact.

They are talking about are there going to be cloud by this weekend?

They'll know what kind of clouds, if it's the sort of overall gray, it's going to be a super bummer.

And probably a lot of Texans may decide not to travel.

Those who might have gone just for the day up to Kerrville, a lot of people have made reservations.

You mentioned Kerrville now, and that's the big place to go.

And you looked into that specifically.

Yes.

What's Nassib doing there?

So Narsa is going to be live broadcasting from the park in Kerrville Free Eclipse Festival.

And it's the only place in Texas where Narsa will be live.

The city of Kerrville is about 25,000 people.

They're expecting, they say, 2 to 3 times that.

But it depends if the weather's really beautiful.

Texans might decide they want to spend the day there.

The weekend they're visitors from outside of Texas and internationally have been booking rooms there over the past year.

But in the past few weeks, Texans have been snapping up the last few rooms.

So what about the glasses?

Everybody is selling glasses.

At least right now.

You can still get them at the convenience stores.

And they are more important than a lot of people realized.

Yes.

Unless the sun is completely behind the moon, unless you are in the path of totality, you need to be wearing the eclipse glasses the entire time.

If you are in the path of totality, you can take them off during the darkness.

But that's only for the two of four and a half minutes or something like that.

Yes, but people don't realize that.

And they have had instances of permanent damage.

Yes.

The New York Times reported people who have crescent shaped burn marks on their retinas from looking at an eclipse.

One of the best businesses to be in right now with the eclipse coming.

Restaurants are super hopeful.

You know, they've had a tough few years and they're looking at a couple hundred million dollar impact.

Obviously, short term rentals, hotels, gas stations are going to be great.

Retail is supposed to see another couple hundred million dollars bump.

The porta potty industry is gangbusters.

Industry.

Yes, porta potty businesses have been sold out for months and months.

Some of them can't even deploy all of their porta potties because they don't have enough workers.

And of course, they're raising prices to make up to try to find workers.

But so the porta potty industry is going to do great.

And how about reporting on this?

That's also a logistical problem, figuring out where you're going to go.

Where are you going to put people?

Yeah, we've got a day pass to Garner State Park.

The San Antonio report will have a reporter and a photographer there.

We're going to have reporters in the Hill country, photographers roaming there, but we don't know either.

What's the traffic going to be like?

Is there going to be cell service?

Is there going to be Wi-Fi?

We'll just have to see.

Another question, is there going to be gas?

People have been concerned about whether there's going to be gas shortages because people are driving.

And then after, how do they get out of that path of totality?

Yeah, I think a lot of places, I think most anywhere in Texas along the path or within driving distance of it has made those plans.

Certainly I've heard from H-E-B, you know, they're definitely stocked up and ready to go.

So I think there will probably be enough gas, but I think it'll be a banner day, banner weekend for gas stations.

Last quick question, crystal ball, Do you think we're going to have more than what some of those economic experts predicted in terms of money or less?

Is it going to be.

I'm not in the prediction business.

That's why those day.

But what I will say is that I know that we have a lot of potential with visitors coming here who've maybe never been to Texas, who may say, I would like to come back here.

So that would be great for the state.

So at least that's on the bright side, if there are some clouds, unless there are clouds.

All right, Thanks, Tracey.

Adel Hamilton, business reporter for the San Antonio Report.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

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

You can see this show again or any previous shows.

You can also download the podcast at KLRN.org And we'll see you next time on the record is brought to you by Steve and Adele.

Dufilho