Just This.

In today's episode of Just This, Rick and I discuss a storythat has rocked the San Antonio literary scene. Hailey Laine Johnson, now 31 years old, on May 9 posted on Facebooka description of a situation that she says happened to her when she was a 14-year-old creative writing student at the North East School of the Arts.

In that posting, Johnson alleges that Bryce Milligan, who over decades became one of San Antonio's leading literary figures, engaged in inappropriate conduct with her when she was his student, beginning in the fall of 2001. She and her mother took her complaints in March of 2002 to school administrators, who, after an investigation, recommended that Milligan be terminated. He resigned before school officials fired him, claiming to do so to "protect" the creative writing program there. Milligan has denied Johnson's allegations.

Johnson's disclosures have brought her overwhelming support, both from people who were her classmates at the time, and from women who claim to have had similar experiences. But they also have prompted a number of the city's literary organizationsto decry the alleged behavior and to distance themselves swiftly from Milligan.

We discuss the ramifications of Johnson's story, both personally to her, and in its larger impact in the context of the national #MeToo movement. And we examine what is, unfortunately, an old story regarding men in power and the predatory behavior in which they sometimes engage.

This week on Just This, Rick and I discuss the upcoming May 22nd runoff election between two Democratic candidates for Bexar County Commissioners Court – veteran commissioner Paul Elizondo and County Veterans Service Officer Queta Rodriguez.

Elizondo, who has served on the Commission for three decades, likely was surprised have to defend the seat he’s held for 30 years. But as our reporter Jeffrey Sullivan wrote this week, “a determined challenge from a political newcomer campaigning to bring new priorities and perspectives to the court has Elizondo defending his tenure and even his military service record.”

We look at the issues at play in the race, including Elizondo’s longtime support from Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, with whom he has worked over the years on a number of major projects. Rick provides a telling history about how Wolff has taken the county judge role beyond its traditional limitations – and how he has acted more like a city mayor. Listen in for several interesting examples.

We also provide an update on last week’s podcast about the San Antonio City Council’s decision in a closed-door session not to bid on the 2020 Republican National Convention. Council Greg Brockhouse has asked Bexar County District Attorney Nico LaHood to investigate whether the executive session was legal under the Texas Open Records Act, and Rick deconstructs his request.

This week on Just This, Rick and I discuss the controversy surrounding Mayor Ron Nirenberg's, and ultimately City Council's, decision not to submit a bid for San Antonio to host the 2020 Republican National Convention.

Rather than air the issue publicly in an open session of Council, Nirenberg chose to take it behind closed doors in "executive session," excluding the public and reporters. Texas has strong open meeting laws, although there are a few topics that officials legally can talk about in private including personnel matters, litigation, and the so-called "economic development exception."

San Antonio City Attorney Andrew Segovia said Council members could discuss a potential bid behind closed doors under that exception, but could not talk about the politics of a bid. However, Rick cites a longtime media lawyer who says that unless there was a specific proposal or bid being negotiated, the discussions likely were not allowed under the law.

We deconstruct the politics behind the mayor's choice as well as the other considerations in play.

We also highlight the Rivard Report's Fiesta and Commemorative Week coverage. And Beth touches on a video interview published today between our arts and culture writer Nicholas Frank and San Antonio Spurs forward Pau Gasol, who recently joined the San Antonio Symphony's board of trustees.

Should San Antonio chase a bid to host the 2020 Republican National Convention? This week on Just This, Rick and I discuss an intense debate on the subject that took place in a March meeting between City and Bexar County officials, business and civic leaders, and RNC representatives.

We also examine San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg’s decision earlier this week to take the matter to City Council, and charges that he misrepresented the Republican National Committee’s interest in a bid from the city.

Nirenberg’s move came in the wake of an email and, then, a series of taunting tweets by former San Antonio businessman Brad Parscale, who ran President Donald Trump’s digital media operations in the 2016 election and is now manager of Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign. Parscale is pushing for San Antonio to submit a bid for the convention.

We examine claims of economic benefits, as well the potential costs of hosting a national political party’s nominating convention – including potential protests and civic backlash from Trump opponents.

Join us every Friday for Just This. Listen in, and send us your feedback. Just This, produced by Photo Editor Scott Ball.

This week in Just This, Rick and I discuss the more than century-long history of San Antonio's annual Fiesta, including the founding of the exclusive Order of the Alamo by a Virginia transplant, John Baron Carrington, the Cavaliers, the annual selection of King Antonio, the establishment of a separate but equal Latino king, El Rey Feo, and celebrations from La Villita to Market Square to the Alamodome. And Rick recalls his own experience with Fiesta royalty.

We also point out more Rivard Report coverage of Fiesta and invite our listeners (and readers) to comment on this story. Please share your favorite Fiesta events, must-go celebrations, and tips on how best to navigate San Antonio's annual 11-day citywide carnival.

This week in Just This, Rick and I discuss Mayor Ron Nirenberg’s announcement that he and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff have formed a new nonprofit, ConnectSA, to help drum up public awareness of, and to advocate for, mass transit solutions in the San Antonio region.

Rivard Report Managing Editor and City Hall reporter Iris Dimmick reported that former Mayor Henry Cisneros, outgoing VIA Board Chair Hope Andrade, and former City Attorney Jane Macon will serve as chairs for the ConnectSA board, which also will include 20 to 25 County, City, business, and community leaders. The nonprofit group will review and consider various mass transit options as the City seeks to plan for significant traffic growth and congestion over the next two decades.

We talk about the process and politics behind developing voter buy-in for long-term mass transit projects when “smart” technology can make solutions outdated before they are built. And we look at two other stories worth your read.

This week in Just This, Rick and I discuss a groundbreaking story by Rivard Reporteducation reporter Emily Donaldson about the paucity of women superintendents in Bexar County’s 15 public school systems.

The lead photo on Donaldson’s story illustrates the startling reality: Although women comprise 70 percent of the teachers and principals in the county’s 15 public school districts, only one woman holds a superintendent’s job. Men exclusively occupy the top jobs running districts with tens of thousands of students and, predictably, earn the most lucrative salaries doing so.

We discuss the numbers – superintendencies and principalships by gender, and superintendent salaries, among others – with telling data visualizations provided by Emily Royall, our data editor. We also examine the social, cultural, and political trends behind the numbers.

This week in Just This, Rick and I discuss a story by Rivard Report data editor Emily Royall on a Brookings Institution study showing that San Antonio ranks second in the nation for its growth rate among millennials.

According to the study, San Antonio's adult population between the ages of 18 and 34 grew 14.4 percent from 2010 to 2015. The city's millennial growth rate outpaced that of both Austin and Houston. We examine the reasons for that growth, the history of San Antonio's "brain drain," and the benefits of attracting both young outsiders and native San Antonio "returnees."

I also preview The Trailist, an interesting new column by environment and energy reporter Brendan Gibbons that we're launching on April 1 for the outdoor enthusiasts among our readers and listeners.

Join us every Friday for Just This. Listen in, and send us your feedback. Just This will be available here on the Rivard Report and on iTunes and Stitcher at 5 a.m.

This week in Just This, Rick and I discuss the San Antonio Independent School District board's controversial vote to turn over operations of a chronically failing Southeast side school, Stewart Elementary, to Democracy Prep, a New York-based charter school operator.

SAISD trustees said the charter company's record at rehabilitating beleaguered, low-performing schools provided the last, best hope before they shut Stewart's doors for good. But not everyone was happy with the move, especially teachers – who have to reapply for their positions if they want to stay at Stewart – and their union, the San Antonio Alliance for Teachers and Support Personnel. We look at the history of this troubled school, the teachers' association's complaints about the board's process to address Stewart's problems, and what Democracy Prep faces as it begins its arduous work next fall.

We also examine an "emergency press conference" called by Bexar County Probate Judge Tom Rickhoff, a Republican running on to unseat Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, and offer a couple other must-reads by our journalists.

This week in Just This, Rivard Report Editor-in-Chief Beth Frerking and veteran San Antonio newsman and columnist Rick Casey examine the history of and challenges to the Edwards Aquifer Authority, an entity created by the Texas Legislature more than two decades ago to manage the largest source of drinking water in the San Antonio region.

The Authority's 17-member board oversees distribution of the water used by the residents of Bexar County and seven other counties. In doing so, it juggles between the competing needs of farmers in counties west of San Antonio, such as Uvalde and Medina counties; spring flow interests to the east, especially in San Marcos and New Braunfels, which depend on the water for tourism industries; and a growing and thirsty population in San Antonio.

The Authority faced challenges to it role and responsibilities at its creation. Now it awaits a federal judge's ruling on a lawsuit filed six years ago by plaintiffs who claim the board representation is unconstitutional.