Romo Out: Your Texas Roundup

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I think there is a group here on the Island that doesn’t want any business here. They live on fixed incomes and they want all the restaurants to have $4.99 specials.”

—Clayton Brashear to the Valley Morning Star. Brashear authored a petition to save spring break on South Padre Island, which was a response to a “Save the Island” petition urging the city to cut down on its spring break revelry. Both petitions will head to the city council, which will evaluate the future of the island’s spring break during a public workshop scheduled for June.

BIG NEWS

Romo Out
The Tony Romo era is officially over in Dallas. The veteran Cowboys quarterback, at his request, was released from his contract Tuesday morning, marking an end to Romo’s fourteen-year run in Dallas, the only NFL team he’d ever suited up for. After being edged out of his starting gig last season by upstart rookie Dak Prescott, Romo had trouble finding new suitors, be it through trade or free agency, so he simply decided to call it quits, and instead accepted an offer from CBS to call games from the broadcast booth as the network’s top analyst. “When I make a decision in life, I like to let it soak in, take my time,” Romo said on a conference call with reporters, according to the Dallas Morning News. “You think about your core values and what’s important to you. It was not a simple decision.” The 37-year-old enjoyed an illustrious career with the Cowboys. He steps down as the franchise’s all-time leader in passing yards, passing touchdowns, and has the highest career QB rating (97.1) of any of his Cowboys predecessors. He also broke his back three times, which has got to be a franchise record too. According to the Morning News, only two NFL players have ever recorded a better career QB rating than Romo has—Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady. Despite his statistical success, however, Romo struggled when it mattered most, making the playoffs only four times and never taking his team beyond the NFC Divisional round. Still, he’ll always be remembered as a quintessential Cowboy. “Tony has been a wonderful representative of the Cowboys organization for 14 years, and he left everything he had on the field,” team owner Jerry Jones said in a statement. “He will leave us with many great memories and a legacy of being, truly, one of the greatest players in Cowboys history.”

MEANWHILE, IN TEXAS

On The Line
Dallas’s 911 dispatcher problems started to come to light in March, when a baby died due to a system-wide error that left the sixth-month-old’s caretaker unable to get through to dispatchers. The major part of the problem was diagnosed as a “ghost call” issue, as T-Mobile phones dialing 911 would for some reason continue to dial multiple times and register as hang-ups. But staffing issues have also contributed to the long wait times. The Dallas Police Department started to use patrol officers to take calls last week until new dispatchers are hired. But it might be hard to find anyone willing to take the job. On Tuesday, Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez told the Dallas County Commissioners Court that more than half the county’s dispatcher positions are vacant, which she attributed to low salaries. Starting dispatchers get just $33,945 per year, and the maximum annual salary that veteran dispatchers can get is $51,916. So right now, fourteen of the Dallas County unit’s twenty-five dispatcher positions remain unfilled.

Armed And Dangerous
The suspected gunman who shot and killed Clint Greenwood, a longtime veteran of local law enforcement who was recently hired as a chief deputy constable in Harris County, remains on the loose as of Monday morning. Baytown Police released surveillance footage they believe shows the shooter, and investigators told the Houston Chronicle that they’re continuing to follow up on leads, though they haven’t yet identified any suspects. Meanwhile, former Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson has been placed under armed guard after Greenwood, who previously lead the DA’s public integrity unit investigating police misconduct, was killed. Greenwood had expressed concern last week that he felt threatened by the subject of an old corruption investigation. “I believe [this person] poses a real threat to my and my family’s safety,” Greenwood said in an email sent Thursday to the Harris County Attorney’s office. According to the Chronicle, investigators are looking at a few possible suspects who may have grievances against Greenwood.

Walker, TEXAS Ranger
The Texas Legislature has been extremely busy lately, but it found time Tuesday morning for something very important: making Chuck Norris a Texan. The Texas Senate named Norris an honorary Texan in a ceremony, presenting the martial arts legend with a gavel and a Texas flag that once flew over the Alamo (a must-have for all honorary Texans). Sure, Norris is a famous actor who played a beloved and ass-kicking Texas Ranger on TV, but he’s deserving of the honorary Texan title for other reasons. According to the Austin American-Statesman, Norris and his wife, Gena, were in Austin Tuesday to promote Kickstart Kids, their nonprofit karate program that has helped struggling students in Texas since 1990. The Senate resolution to honor Norris passed unanimously, and Norris (probably) didn’t have to bust any heads to get the votes, either. This isn’t Norris’s first time to receive a Texas honor: former governor Rick Perry made Norris an honorary member of the Texas Rangers in 2010.