Texas: Firing for Cause

Which of the three situations listed below resulted in the firing of four people from their jobs?

1) The inadequate response to the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas that resulted in the killing of 19 students and two teachers.

2) The failure of local emergency management authorities to activate existing warning systems regarding flash flooding of the Guadalupe River in Kerr County that resulted in the death of at least 135 people, including 71 adults and 37 children.

3)  The viewing of a video from a Texas A&M class that dealt  with gender identity and "did not comply with the Trump Presidential Executive Order" decreeing only two genders.  A Texas legislator broadcast (posted) that video.

The answer is #3.  

A living student's sensibilities were offended and a State Legislator came to that person's rescue by mobilizing internet rage.

Professionals in #1 and #2 failed to follow plans and procedures for which they'd drilled many times.  In both cases the State of Texas covered for those failures.

For those who can count:  Gender identity video - 4 jobs lost, Dead children (56) and adults (73) - 0 jobs lost.

Councilman Hiebert Ready to Axe City Services

Councilman Tommy Hiebert proposed monthly workshops on what city services "must" be eliminated at the close of the September 2nd City Council meeting   Hiebert referenced a Texas Senate bill that could limit tax rate increases to 2.5% and require increases larger than that amount to go to a citizen vote.

I thought that odd, jumping straight to axing city services.  The City of San Angelo has built significant fund balances across its various accounts.  

Economic development executives dangled future business tax income during their discussion.  Council approved an over $100,000 annual increase to make that happen.  Council could adopt a policy providing less generous tax abatement in the future, say 60% vs. 90%, in order to fund city services.

If the city needs more than 2.5% or whatever limit the Texas legislature imposes, Council can take their budget proposals to the voters.  Just as they did with the Coliseum renovation.

Hiebert's desire to cut and not consider other options is premature, at best.  I'd hate to think there might be other motivations.  Across our country governments have been unduly manipulated by major business interests.  

The City of San Angelo needs to grow in a way that is fair to all involved.  Investor funded projects that provide little to no jobs are not high on my list for monster tax breaks.  

The Texas legislature may want to give voters the opportunity to approve or turn down giant tax abatements.  That's a power that equalizes the playing field.  Moving at the speed of voters....

Update 10-10-25:  Council took the first big step by reducing health insurance benefit options for staff, making the current "low" plan option the new "buy up" plan.  What was once provided by the city is now extra, requiring employees to pay more.

Update 11-4-25:  Councilman Harry Thomas spoke about Council facing a tax shortfall in the coming years and the need for members to decide what services may need to be cut.  He did so during the Comprehensive Plan RFQ discussion.  

Update 11-17-25:  Tony Deden wrote:

This essay was born out of revulsion to an accidental summer reading that paraded progress as virtue and private equity as its high priest. Every paragraph spoke the same pious language of “sustainable improvement,” “societal benefit,” and “long-term value creation,” as though leverage, asset-stripping, and balance-sheet cosmetics had become moral acts. I found myself revolted not merely by the hypocrisy, but by the vacuousness of it. In our hyper-financialized society, we have come to mistake valuation for value, and activity for achievement. The word ‘progress’ has been exploited to justify anything that moves—no matter what it destroys. What follows is an act of refusal to bow to the idea that more money is progress. If this essay has a motive, it is contempt for the trivial slogans that pass as thought, and for the hollow theory that confuses financial §engineering with human improvement.

Local politicians and Texas voters would be wise to read his piece.  

Update 12-29-25:  Private equity is very interested in San Angelo according to Chamber Executive Michael Looney.  Also:

Council Member Patrick Keely will hold a Data Center Development Community Meeting on Monday, December 29, 2025 from 5:30-6:30 pm at the Downtown Library in the Brooks & Bates Room. The subject is the proposed Skybox Data Center on Highway 67 just north of city limits. Council approved the sale of 350 acres of city owned land to Skybox in March 2025. 

Issues are noise pollution, water use, appropriate zoning, need for city services while residing outside city limits, traffic safety and electrical power use for the proposed 1.5 million square foot development distributed across six buildings (each of which is four stories high). 

A flyer for this public meeting states the item will be voted on at Council's next meeting on January 13, 2026.

American Airlines Diverted Flight Followup

On August 8th I wrote about Flight 4956's diversion to Midland, Texas due to the failure of a wind sensor and the airport tower having no staff present to provide that information to the pilot.  

American Airlines customer service complaint:

I requested a refund for a terrible flight experience and AA has denied that request. I had two miserable flight segments during the trip but flight 4956 on 8-4-25 was the worst experience in my over 40 years of flying. I created the refund application in the Midland airport on my cell phone, an IPhone 8.5. I just tried to refer to the Chat messages I sent that evening for this complaint and am not able to access them as the mandatory AA App update no longer works on my phone. Flight 4956 was diverted to Midland on a clear night with light winds. It did so because the weather report lacked any wind information. I recognize this is a requirement but AA and the FAA/NWS need a backup for when that information is not available. 

There was no support from AA when we landed in Midland after midnight. You can see the calls I made to AA phone line and the chats I sent to your AA bot. The flight crew got their mandatory rest, but I got very little during my night spent in the Midland airport. Airport security did not know how to handle us the next morning as my boarding pass had yesterday's date. After landing back in San Angelo I learned my bag arrived home before I did. The wait for the bag was nearly an hour, as all staff were out on the tarmac for those departing on the plane that got me home a day late. An AA person told us someone would be with us shortly for the bag. Next thing we know she walked by us with her purse and coffee. No service for us. Less future business for you.

The AA reply sounded like something written by AI (see image at top of this post).  So I sent them a link to a previous post on the diverted flight.  That prompted AA's first attempt at service recovery (after providing dozens of feedback via chat, phone and AA's customer service website).  

Thank you.... this is the first message that acknowledged anything. I gave feedback all along the way and American showed no care, much less interest. The bonus miles are appreciated but are a tiny positive in a sea of abuse and inattention.

The City of San Angelo runs the airport which failed to provide the necessary weather information for the plane to land and does not have staff in the tower as backup should the automated system fail.   An initial public information request produced an e-mail regarding ongoing ASOS issues and an August 21st meeting with the Airport Director.

"Ongoing issues" implied that my flight was not the only one impacted.  A PIR on how many flights had been impacted in calendar year 2025 produced "no responsive documents."  Another PIR on the 8-21 meeting gave the same answer, "no responsive documents."  There was a communication from the Airport Director that "all components of the wind sensor had been replaced and that NWS staff would monitor that daily."

A public information request to NOAA and the National Weather Service on the issue was placed on a back burner because it did not meet their criteria for a more prompt response.

As our world moves to automated everything with no human backup, my advice for you is "be prepared" to be treated inhumanely, over and over and over and over.  

If I could never fly American again, I would.  But there are important humans I need to periodically visit.

Update 11-24-25:  Apparently I was not alone 

According to data collected by the United States Department of Transportation in the August Air Travel Consumer Report, American Airlines was the worst of all domestic airlines.

Update 12-7-25:  My request for information with NOAA/NWS has been assigned for processing. 

Update 12-15-25:  AA sent a 2025 recap which I have corrected in part:

Update 12-19-25:  American Airlines announced it would stop awarding frequent flyer miles to basic economy tickets, like the one I purchased for the trip that was diverted to Midland.  I recall the price being close to $600.  A young lady on the flight said she paid $900 for a basic economy tickets.

Update 3-24-26:  The NOAA/NWS FOIA request remains in the "assigned for processing" status.  No progress has been made since it was submitted on 8-11-25.  

Kerr County Commissioner Speaks "After Action Report"

One Kerr County Commissioner called for an "after action report" seven weeks after the July 4th flash flood disaster that killed 138 people.

"The question is what's coming next and how do we prepare for it.  After action report is a big part of that and it's being dictated by the state by also being introduced by me previously and also Commissioner Paces has offered to help out that.  It's going to be something we need to do however dramatic it is and uncovering certain things.  We need to look at ourselves hard in the face."- Kerr County Commissioner Jeff Holt

This came after public comment that praised two commissioners, Jeff Holt and Robert Paces, for their response the early morning of July 4th, doing so in the hours before local Emergency Management officials got organized and the State of Texas took over.  Commissioner Paces noted during the meeting:

"There are some other lessons learned in terms of who is watching, who is looking at the data and how that information gets relayed."

A basic in disaster response is a timely evaluation of the effort.  Elected officials aren't noted for their competence or thoroughness in this area.  The White House Lessons Learned report on Hurricane Katrina was a disaster in itself.  The 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina is tomorrow, August 29.

"Unprecedented disasters" that occur every few decades no longer cuts the mustard.  The whole point of institutions is memory.  Kerr County Emergency Management officials warned about flooding in August 2024.

Let's hope the Kerr County Commissioner's Court shows more knowledge and courage in evaluating how their local disaster plans were executed.  Their constituents deserve a thorough and comprehensive assessment with clear recommendations to address problems.    

Update 9-25-25:  FEMA's interim chief was also missing in action for the Kerr County flash floods.  Staff could not reach him by phone.  That means there were communication failures at both the local and federal level that directly impacted the response, warning, rescue and recovery/cleanup.

Update 10-15-25:  The Texas Legislature will establish two more committees to look at the deadly flash flood event of July 4. 

Update 12-6-25:  The 911 calls to Kerrville Emergency Dispatch were made public.  The calls reveal increasing desperation and peril.  The calls from the 911 center to Emergency Management Officials are yet to be released.  

Kerr County Emergency Management Coordinator Dub Thomas had been on medical leave after heart surgery but returned to work on November 10th.  Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly is looking to hire help for Thomas.  The top three Kerr County officials continue to cover for each other and they are yet to produce/share an after action report.

Update 12-7-25:  Concho Valley Homepage ran the 911 call story.

Update 5-21-26:  The National Weather Service released a report on the July 4th floods specific to Kerr County.  It states:

....attempted to call both the Kerr County emergency management coordinator and the sheriff’s office starting at approximately 3:38 a.m. but were unable to reach the sheriff’s office until 4:32 a.m. and the emergency management coordinator until 6:19 a.m.

Kerr County officials released their communications that day which show a non-responsiveness to the scope and scale of the disaster.

Update 7-16-26:

The State of Texas, headed by Governor Greg Abbott, continues to not hold Kerr County officials responsible for their abject public safety failures in the July 4th flood.  

Mystic Parents: Stories Far Worse than "Team Loss"

Parents of the children from Camp Mystic who died in the flash flooding spoke to Texas legislators.  Words like "preventable failures", "safety being paramount", "protocols ... not followed", "their deaths will mean change",  and many more.  

NYT reported:

“There needs to be better coordination with local first responders, because in an emergency, confusion kills, and we saw that on July 4.”

No one in the Kerr County Emergency Management hierarchy answered the phone calls from 911 emergency dispatch.  It's unclear if any deputies were sent to the homes of the parties involved.  There is far more left unsaid than revealed by elected officials and public servants.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott compared people asking questions about the disaster response to disgruntled football fans after a team loss.

Politics is an insufficient way to explain our world, given its ever shifting sands, serial mistruths and mind numbing double standards.  Governor Abbott's analogy should be taken in that context.  The State of Texas protected Kerr County officials for nearly a month after the event. 

 

The emergency management world knows Kerr County leaders failed in their duty to anticipate, act on timely information coming into 911 and issue the most urgent of warnings to people already in harm's way.  They failed to coordinate state assets pre-positioned in that area during the early hours of the event.

The parents of twenty seven children have to deal with the grievous loss of their child or children.  Those who survived face a lifetime of fear and PTSD from their trauma.

If emergency management people can't wake up and respond to a disaster, one which they've drilled on for years and warned the public about in expos, then the public needs to wake up.  

Update 8-22-25:  Texas Tribune reported:

“Make no mistake, House Bill 1 is fundamentally a bill about failure,” said Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, when he introduced it. “The camp failed these girls. The county failed them. The river authority failed them, and in a larger sense, their government.

Missing are the consequences for the people who failed to do their job, the one they were paid for.  The Texas Senate is in go-forward, clean-up mode.  The House has two measures in the works, one on disaster preparation for camps and the other for post disaster scams.  Isn't it a scam to take money to perform a job and then not do it?

Update 8-24-25:  Parents of the campers killed by flood waters met with Governor Abbott in the days before their testimony to the Texas legislature.

"Cile's life ended, not because of an unavoidable act of nature, but because of preventable failures..."

Failures for which their has been no public accountability to date, despite promises by Governor Coach Abbott to take action.

Update 9-6-25:  An Austin couple expressed their views on the flood that took their daughter's life at Camp Mystic:

“When something is 100 percent preventable, it’s just awful and it’s very sad,” he (father) added. “And, so, I have a very hard time calling this a tragedy. Because, in my mind, it was 100 percent preventable.”

Update 10-15-25:  The Texas Legislature will establish two more committees to look at the deadly flash flood event of July 4. 

Update 12-6-25:  The 911 calls to Kerrville Emergency Dispatch were made public.  The calls reveal increasing desperation and peril.  The calls from the 911 center to Emergency Management Officials are yet to be released.  

Kerr County Emergency Management Coordinator Dub Thomas had been on medical leave after heart surgery but returned to work on November 10th.  Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly is looking to hire help for Thomas.  The top three Kerr County officials continue to cover for each other and they are yet to produce/share an after action report.

Update 12-7-25:  Concho Valley Homepage ran the 911 call story.

Update 4-15-26:  A director of Camp Mystic testified that he:

"had not seen the official weather warnings before the storm, did not convene a staff meeting about the potential flooding and acknowledged that the camp did not have a detailed, written flood evacuation plan."

The cascade of ignorance and lack of preparation was widespread in Kerr County.

Update 4-22-26:  KXAN reported: 

According to the House’s resolution, the committee would be tasked with investigating contributing factors, allocation of resources, effectiveness of preparedness and effectiveness of response and coordination between local, state and federal entities. The Senate’s resolution called for a broader “complete and thorough examination of the facts and circumstances surrounding the flooding events.”

So how did this broad mandate get reduced to summer camps?   It appears there may never be an assessment of Kerr County emergency official's response (non-response) to the disaster.'

Update 5-21-26:  The National Weather Service released a report on the July 4th floods specific to Kerr County.  It states:

....attempted to call both the Kerr County emergency management coordinator and the sheriff’s office starting at approximately 3:38 a.m. but were unable to reach the sheriff’s office until 4:32 a.m. and the emergency management coordinator until 6:19 a.m.

Kerr County officials released their communications that day which show a non-responsiveness to the scope and scale of the disaster.

Update 7-16-26:

The State of Texas, headed by Governor Greg Abbott, continues to not hold Kerr County officials responsible for their abject public safety failures in the July 4th flood.  

Nearly Year Ago Official Warned of Flash Flooding

In August 2024 Kerr County Emergency Management Coordinator William "Dub" Thomas encouraged the public to attend a Disaster Expo.  The theme was "Be Prepared!"  Thomas reference major flooding as disaster risk.

KXAN reported:

Kerr County and the City of Kerrville had a plan to prepare for and respond to disasters like the deadly Independence Day floods that killed at least 108 people — including 37 children — one month ago. But a KXAN review of public records found that some key parts of the plan weren’t followed.

Response, Public Warning and Setting up the Incident Command are three areas where leaders failed to act in a timely manner during early morning July 4th.

The State of Texas took over disaster response and recovery.  That move delayed local accountability for twenty seven days.  During the Kerrville hearings the public learned top Kerr County leaders were all asleep as the flash flood worsened.  One was "sick-asleep", another "out of town-asleep" and the last "just asleep."  There has been no local accountability at Kerr County Commissioners Court.  That group has been hair trigger defensive in the meetings I've watched.

What's done is done, but I never expected the State of Texas to cover up blatant leadership failures that resulted in widespread loss of life, including 27 children at Camp Mystic.  Governor Abbott and his administration can talk accountability.  So far it looks like lip service.

Update 8-22-25:  Texas Tribune reported:

“Make no mistake, House Bill 1 is fundamentally a bill about failure,” said Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, when he introduced it. “The camp failed these girls. The county failed them. The river authority failed them, and in a larger sense, their government.

Missing are the consequences for the people who failed to do their job, the one they were paid for.  The Texas Senate is in go-forward, clean-up mode.  The House has two measures in the works, one on disaster preparation for camps and the other for post disaster scams.  Isn't it a scam to take money to perform a job and then not do it?

Update 8-24-25:  Parents of the campers killed by flood waters met with Governor Abbott in the days before their testimony to the Texas legislature.

"Cile's life ended, not because of an unavoidable act of nature, but because of preventable failures..."

Failures for which their has been no public accountability to date, despite promises by Governor Coach Abbott to take action.

Update 10-15-25:  The Texas Legislature will establish two more committees to look at the deadly flash flood event of July 4. 

Update 12-6-25:  The 911 calls to Kerrville Emergency Dispatch were made public.  The calls reveal increasing desperation and peril.  The calls from the 911 center to Emergency Management Officials are yet to be released.  

Kerr County Emergency Management Coordinator Dub Thomas had been on medical leave after heart surgery but returned to work on November 10th.  Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly is looking to hire help for Thomas.  The top three Kerr County officials continue to cover for each other and they are yet to produce/share an after action report.

Update 12-7-25:  Concho Valley Homepage ran the 911 call story.

Update 4-15-26:  A director of Camp Mystic testified that he:

"had not seen the official weather warnings before the storm, did not convene a staff meeting about the potential flooding and acknowledged that the camp did not have a detailed, written flood evacuation plan."

The cascade of ignorance and lack of preparation was widespread in Kerr County.

Update 4-20-26:  Texas Tribune reported Camp Mystic's security guard testified as to events that evening/early morning:

The security guard at Camp Mystic the night of last year’s deadly flood acknowledged Wednesday that if a general evacuation order came early in the storm, lives could’ve been saved.

Update 4-22-26:  KXAN reported: 

According to the House’s resolution, the committee would be tasked with investigating contributing factors, allocation of resources, effectiveness of preparedness and effectiveness of response and coordination between local, state and federal entities. The Senate’s resolution called for a broader “complete and thorough examination of the facts and circumstances surrounding the flooding events.”

So how did this broad mandate get reduced to summer camps?   It appears there may never be an assessment of Kerr County emergency official's response (non-response) to the disaster. 

Update 5-21-26:  The National Weather Service released a report on the July 4th floods specific to Kerr County.  It states:

....attempted to call both the Kerr County emergency management coordinator and the sheriff’s office starting at approximately 3:38 a.m. but were unable to reach the sheriff’s office until 4:32 a.m. and the emergency management coordinator until 6:19 a.m.

Kerr County officials released their communications that day which show a non-responsiveness to the scope and scale of the disaster.

Update 7-16-26:

The State of Texas, headed by Governor Greg Abbott, continues to not hold Kerr County officials responsible for their abject public safety failures in the July 4th flood.  

"Ongoing ASOS Issues" at Mathis Field

The last flight from DFW to San Angelo circled above the city for 20 minutes before diverting to Midland.  The sky was clear and it was after midnight when roughly fifty passengers learned from the pilot that he could not land without knowing the wind information.  It is normally on the automated recording pilots access during approach.  Without that data the pilot is not allowed to land the plane.

I thought that odd.  Couldn't the airline send someone out to the tarmac with a wind meter?  It turns out everything is automated.

The e-mail from NOAA/National Weather Service indicates the tower at Mathis Field plays a backup role to ASOS.  For Flight 4956 on 8-4-25 no one was in the tower to do just that.

"Ongoing issues" implies that our flight was not a one time event.  For many of the fifty our event was miserable, even traumatic.  No AA representative greeted us.  Straight answers were few and far between on the AA 800 number.  Hotel vouchers showed "no local rooms available."  The few that got hotel rooms paid big, $250 for ten hours at the Fairfield Inn.  Most of us spent the night in the airport, although an enterprising few Ubered their way home.

I hope other late flights into San Angelo don't get within a few thousand feet of landing before being jerked away to another airport in our region.  The Midland Spaceport is not a comfortable place to rest as there is no space for that very purpose.

Update 8-11-25:  I submitted a public information request for "information on other flights impacted by ongoing ASOS (automated surface observing systems) issues after the tower 'is not available' starting 1-1-25."  The city responded that "there are no responsive documents to your request" despite my requesting the city ask any associated vendors to provide that information in accordance with standard City of San Angelo contract language.

Update 8-12-25:  I asked NOAA/NWS for information on ASOS issues at SJT after the tower is closed.  They put me on their standard review, no expediting with full fees.  It could be months before I hear anything.

Update 9-2-25:  American Airlines refused to back up their service promises with a refund or any form of service recovery.  I did receive an AI type letter with lots of vacuous statements that had no relation to the actual service I experienced. 

Update 11-24-25:  Apparently I was not alone 

According to data collected by the United States Department of Transportation in the August Air Travel Consumer Report, American Airlines was the worst of all domestic airlines.

American eventually awarded me 7,500 bonus miles for the worst airtravel experience of my life.  

Update 12-7-25:  My request for information with NOAA/NWS has been assigned for processing.

Update 12-15-25:  AA sent a 2025 recap which I have corrected in part:

Update 12-19-25:  American Airlines announced it would stop awarding frequent flyer miles to basic economy tickets, like the one I purchased for the trip that was diverted to Midland.  I recall the price being close to $600.  A young lady on the flight said she paid $900 for a basic economy tickets.

Update 3-24-26:  The NOAA/NWS FOIA request remains in the "assigned for processing" status.  No progress has been made since it was submitted on 8-11-25.