KELI From Inkwell, this is the Amarillo News Drop. I'm Keli, with Hast.
HAST Governor Abbott ordered state agencies to freeze funding for Flock cameras this week, and Amarillo City Council is now reviewing the surveillance system. Eighty-seven license plate readers are running in and around the city right now, capturing vehicle images and tags automatically. Police Chief Thomas Hover told the Digital Dignity, Rights, and Privacy Advisory Board in May that the cameras are operational. The Tribune reports neighbors have raised privacy concerns about the scope.
KELI Here's what's moving underneath that story: Flock is marketed as crime-fighting infrastructure, and police departments get federal grants to buy in. The counter-read is that Abbott's pause looks like a political move — it stalls the conversation without killing the hardware, and when pressure cools, funding often resumes. The checkable part is whether council votes to keep, expand, or actually remove the cameras. If they keep them without new public process, you'll know the pause was procedural cover, not a policy shift. Watch the September council meeting and the actual vote count.
HAST Sticking with Texas law enforcement. Feds charged an ICE officer in the middle of the Abbott-Minnesota extradition fight over Christian Castro. The officer is accused of lying to prosecutors. Castro was released from a Texas jail last week after Abbott declined to sign extradition papers Minnesota requested. The federal charge against the officer complicates the case and raises questions about which jurisdiction moves next.
KELI Canyon's city commissioners appointed an interim Municipal Court Judge this week. The appointment came during Tuesday's meeting. No word yet on a permanent replacement timeline or the search process.
HAST Police warning: scammers are impersonating Chief Thomas Hover with calls that show the City of Amarillo's main number—806-378-3000—on caller ID. If you get one of those calls, hang up and dial the police non-emergency line back yourself. Don't send money or personal information to strangers on the phone, no matter what they claim.
KELI Before we close, a history note. On this day in 2020, Pope Benedict XVI became the longest-lived pope in history, surpassing Pope Leo XIII.
HAST That's the Amarillo News Drop. Full script and sources at inkwell.wiki/news/amarillo.
KELI Before we close, a word from Inkwell. Gil's Intelligent Version has a close reading of the opening of John's Gospel — in the beginning was the Word — and the single article-less phrase the Trinity debate still turns on.
HAST Grammar, not slogan. At inkwell dot wiki, slash giv.
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