David Martin Davies

Do you remember learning about Texas history in grade school, and reading one sentence in the text books stating Texas impeached Governor James Ferguson? Then we learned his wife MA Ferguson was elected governor years later — and that’s all we got about this very curious event.

Despite little national popularity, the genre of music known as the "West Side Sound" was a distinctly San Antonio and South-Central Texas cultural phenomenon.

Sweet, soulful sounds distilled from intercultural mash-ups in the 50s, 60s and 70s blended seemingly disparate genres such as rhythm and blues, early rock, conjunto, country, swamp pop, and more.

Texas residents have until Feb. 3 to register to to vote in the “Super Tuesday” March primaries. But they have to do it in person. However, the League of Women Voters of Texas is looking to eventually change that. The non-partisan, pro-democracy organization filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday claiming that Texas violated the National Voter Registration Act by not providing voter registration with online driver’s license applications. Grace Chimene is the president of the League of Women Voters of Texas.

Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire and former mayor of New York City, is looking at Texas to propel him to the Democratic nomination for president. On Saturday, he launched a bus tour of the Lone Star State from San Antonio.

Last year when Julián Castro declared that he was running for president, few were surprised. But it was clear with the crowded field of candidates it would be an uphill battle for the former San Antonio mayor and secretary of Housing and Urban Development to win the nomination. But sometimes campaigns catch the zeitgeist.

Former San Antonio Mayor and HUD Secretary Julián Castro is now also a former candidate for president. He announced last week that his campaign for the Democratic nomination lacked the money and the poll numbers. But Castro told Texas Public Radio he isn’t finished having an impact on national politics.

Brooks County is just under 1,000 square miles. It’s almost entirely dry, barren and rugged. Some call it the Texas Death Valley, but it’s not a valley. However, there certainly is death in this South Texas county.

In this three part series TPR reporter David Maritn Davies explores why Brooks County has become ground zero for the humanitarian crisis on the Texas Mexico border, how some people are trying to reduce the death toll, an effort to treat the migrants' human remains with dignity and one Texas family's story after a deported son is lost to the Brooks County desert.

Excellence in Writing Submission

David Martin Davies – Texas Public Radio

STORY #1

San Antonio’s Response To Surge of Asylum Seekers

HOST INTRO:

The number of asylum-seeking migrants released by Customs and Border Protection grew over the weekend. Hundreds of families arrived at San Antonio’s bus station, prompting an unprecedented humanitarian response. Texas Public Radio’s David Martin Davies reports area charities and the City of San Antonio scrambled to provide emergency services.

TRACK:

Police officers nationwide use Tasers as a less lethal alternative to guns. The idea is to be able to stop someone – usually an unarmed but violent person – without having to kill them.

Taser use is sometimes controversial. Lawsuits alleged that the electroshock weapons killed rather than subdued people.

Year after year the death toll continues to climb from migrants who succumb to the harsh elements during their unauthorized journey into the United States. Humanitarian efforts are underway to save lives. But it’s not enough. Operation I.D. looks to recover and identify the remains of those who don’t make it out of the South Texas desert alive.