Meet this year’s inductees into the Watchdog Hall of Fame. They fought for you

My Christmas Eve present to 5 noteworthy Texans is to honor them with induction into my Watchdog Corridor of Fame.

My present to you is to introduce them to you, should you don’t already know them. They demonstrated how watchdogging can enhance the lives of others.

I launched the corridor in 2015 with the thought of honoring state lawmakers who labored to repair readers’ prime considerations together with electrical energy reform, insurance coverage equity, privateness and a required roofers’ license. Though lots of these issues haven’t been solved, I gave excessive factors for effort.

I haven’t inducted anybody since 2019. I’m not within the temper to honor state officers anymore.

This yr, in a significant shift, there are not any state or native leaders on the welcoming listing. My 2021 standards are that these people went above and past what is predicted of them — and that their actions made a distinction.

Officer Kayla Walker

Out of all of the cops in Texas just one was courageous sufficient in 2021 to face up and divulge to her metropolis council that her division was utilizing unlawful visitors ticket quotas to fee and reward officers.

Meet Richardson patrol officer Kayla Walker. Badge #1189.

The 13-year veteran challenged town to reform itself. The town employed an out of doors legislation agency to analyze. With out Walker’s assist, (she didn’t belief the agency’s independence,) the investigation discovered nothing amiss. Inner emails she supplied The Watchdog confirmed in any other case.

Walker says that for violating the code of silence, she acquired in retaliation a poor job analysis. She fought again along with her personal memo and stated she feels as if the division is making an attempt to pressure her out and harm her profession.

The excellent news, she says, is her division has a brand new chief, Gary L. Tittle, and he put an finish to the onerous apply.

She says, “They’re positively not monitoring these numbers any longer. So folks have been thanking me for doing this. That has been a optimistic change with the brand new chief, which I admire.”

Ed Wallace

For me, a deal with of the week is the Saturday morning radio present on KLIF 570 Wheels with Ed Wallace, which has been on the air since 1993.

Don’t be fooled into considering it’s solely a present about vehicles. Vehicles could also be on the middle of the wheel however all of the spokes go off in numerous instructions, whether or not it’s toll roads, insurance coverage scams, all issues associated to vitality or different subjects within the information.

“I’m not that good,” he likes to say. “I’m only a grasp of the apparent.”

He does weekly characteristic tales to music about historic figures that may be mesmerizing. That’s referred to as “The Bottom of American Historical past.” He presents “Second Hand Information,” which is a have a look at tales the information media missed. And he tells great tales about rock ‘n’ roll historical past.

It was from Wallace’s present that I discovered in regards to the greatest information breach in Texas historical past — stolen details about 27 million Texas driver’s license holders. The state, at first, denied that it occurred, however Wallace reported that the breach concerned a third-party information dealer.

With that being stated (considered one of Wallace’s favourite expressions), Wallace does take calls about vehicles, shopping for, promoting and repairing.

For a very long time, I listened to the 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. five-hour present on my automotive radio or with a staticky transistor radio. Now I simply inform my good gadget “play Wheels with Ed Wallace on 570 AM KLIF” and voilà.

Carol Biedrzycki

When you suppose your electrical invoice is excessive now, it could in all probability be increased if Carol Biedrzycki (pronounced Ba-jit-sky) hadn’t spent the final 30 years battling state regulators and the highly effective vitality trade.

At occasions, it felt just like the Travis County resident was the one one standing up for shoppers on electrical energy issues. The previous Public Utility Fee staffer was a prophet. She railed in opposition to deregulation earlier than it occurred and isn’t stunned at its failure.

4 years in the past, she retired from her place as head of TexasROSE — Texas Ratepayers Group to Save Vitality. However the group couldn’t make it with out her and shut down.

Nonetheless, after the horrible February freezeout, she determined to return out of retirement.

“I used to be simply indignant,” she stated. “My entire private life was a multitude. I had property harm. I had excessive bodily discomfort throughout the storm. I simply felt like I wanted to make some noise.”

She made noise on the Legislature and with regulators. It doesn’t matter what occurred, she didn’t again down. She attributes rising up with three brothers because the supply of her energy.

She fought for low-income residents and folks medically depending on electrical energy, however she additionally fought for everybody who pays an electrical invoice.

She stated there are too many electrical energy plans with gotcha wonderful print. An excessive amount of work is required to search out an electrical energy firm that treats its clients pretty.

Brenda Rizos

For nearly 20 years Brenda Rizos targeted her consideration on the management of Lovejoy ISD, which incorporates Lucas, Allen and a part of Fairview. She directed her watchdogging at Superintendent Ted Moore.

For that, she turned the goal.

Moore and the college board got here after her. “I felt like I used to be dwelling within the twilight zone,” she stated.

At a state affiliation assembly of superintendents and college board members, Moore gave a slide present about the way to cope with critics. He referred to as them “cyber terrorists” and confirmed a slide of the well-known knife-attack bathe scene from the film Psycho.

“Do critics have a degree?” he requested. “Even a damaged clock is correct twice a day,” he answered.

She didn’t again down. The Lucas resident heard in regards to the slides, complained and Moore by no means gave the presentation once more.

Moore was ultimately fired. The varsity board’s assertion solely stated his elimination stemmed from “alleged misconduct” with “grownup victims.”

Rizos gained a Texas Ethics Fee ruling in opposition to Moore. The fee discovered he had used taxpayer sources to win a bond election. Moore needed to pay $1,500 of his personal cash to settle the matter.

Combating a college district paperwork is like making an attempt to climb a mountain in a snowstorm. There are many causes to stop. Rizos didn’t.

“I really feel just like the world is lastly beginning to be sane once more,” she stated. “What’s dangerous is dangerous. What’s good is nice.”

Karen Blumenthal

This can be a posthumous award as a result of Karen Blumenthal, our inductee, died final yr of a coronary heart assault. She was 61.

In Dallas, a metropolis that continuously struggles to repair its issues, the journalist/writer confirmed the way to get issues achieved.

From her perch as volunteer on town’s library advisory board and likewise head of the Pals of the Dallas Public Library, she spearheaded the substitute of town’s oldest library department, Forest Inexperienced.

Her spears have been humor, ardour and her well-known home made cookies. The phrase “no” meant nothing to her. When a council member declined to see her, she confirmed up anyway along with her cookies. She labored for a sure.

She wrote a Dr. Seuss-like poem which she introduced to metropolis council, made charts displaying Dallas’ poor spending on libraries and arranged a bus tour of all branches.

The auditorium within the new $9.4 million library, which opened this yr, is known as after her. So is the youngsters’s part.

Dallas has a rule that it doesn’t identify library branches after folks.

On this case, town ought to have made an exception.

I’m pleased with these inductees for what they achieved. The Watchdog hopes you’re, too.

Sidebar: Listed here are earlier inductees

Former state Reps. Jodie Laubenberg and Van Taylor (now a U.S. congressman) for preventing in opposition to the state taking all 10 of your fingerprints for a driver’s license.

Former state Rep. Sylvester Turner (now Houston’s mayor) for making an attempt to reform the state’s damaged electrical energy system.

Rep. Giovanni Capriglione (R-Southlake) for work on open authorities, roofers’ laws and privateness.

Former state Sen. Kirk Watson for preventing for insurance coverage transparency legal guidelines.

Dallas insurance coverage lawyer Steve Badger for his efforts to control roofers.

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The Dallas Morning Information Watchdog column is the 2019 winner of the highest prize for column writing from the Nationwide Society of Newspaper Columnists. The competition decide referred to as his profitable entries “fashions of suspenseful storytelling and public service.”

Learn his profitable columns:

* Serving to the widow of Officer J.D. Tippit, the Dallas police officer killed by Lee Harvey Oswald, get buried beside her late husband

* Serving to a waitress who was harmed by an unscrupulous used automotive seller