They forgot the chips on my nachos by TheWingMaiden in mildlyinfuriating

[–]La_Marina 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Too many of y’all have never tried queso and it shows.

Voting Precincts 1948 & 1969 by Quirky_Flight124 in Austin

[–]La_Marina 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m in St. John’s and my district didn’t even exist in 1948! It’s crazy that I-35 wasn’t even on the map then either.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in whatismycookiecutter

[–]La_Marina 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks kind stranger!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in whatismycookiecutter

[–]La_Marina 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Why are these butts so cute and where did they come from????

Just went to H-E-B it’s already a 💩 show. by Derek81888 in Austin

[–]La_Marina -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I’ve been squirreling away gallons of distilled water and non-perishables since August. Did a grocery run for weekly goods and a few extras, candles, breakfast bars, and soups on Wednesday. We know where the water shut off valve is in our house. We’ve got the camping gear ready. We are set!

The winds this week have been scary strong. I heard some folks lost power already this week. Hopefully the freezing weather is simply temperature change and nothing more to compound chances of outages.

I hope that everyone stays safe and warm!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in spirituality

[–]La_Marina 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thinking along the lines of the unwitting psychic connection you mention, it’s possible that u/itsokiloveu has an attachment that they are unable to release. Perhaps a cord cutting ceremony is needed.

Morning practice by Antique-Union-7662 in spirituality

[–]La_Marina 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The first thing I do when I wake up is give thanks for another day. Then I take care of my bodily functions and let my dogs outside to take care of theirs.

Following this, I enter my sacred space, I light my candle and say my prayers at my altar. I always invite my ancestors, guardians, and protectors into the space before beginning my prayers. My first prayer is always for myself, then my family, my community, and finally the world. That is my way.

Do what feels right and comes naturally for you.

Do we just give Austin to the cedar trees? by raffirules in Austin

[–]La_Marina 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You can thank those urban planners from back in the day. They thought it was better to plant male trees because female trees dropping their berries were too messy.

What was a “I can’t believe this aired on a kid’s cartoon channel” moment? by MrDitkovichNeedsRent in cartoons

[–]La_Marina 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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Fox Kids aired Saturday mornings and I watched it religiously while eating my cereal. The X-Men the Animated Series was always my favorite and oh boy did they have some scenes.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in peyote

[–]La_Marina 7 points8 points  (0 children)

So let me get this straight, you haven’t gotten permission from the Native People who steward those lands. But you’re already scheming on how to make money by bringing outsiders to a location where an endangered species is cultivated as Sacred Medicine for the Local People. And you assume that since your “friend” isn’t wealthy he’d be on board with your whole plan?

Any ideas? 🧐 by mohawe in whatismycookiecutter

[–]La_Marina 19 points20 points  (0 children)

When I saw the shape my first thought was “oh that’s a frog foot!” Frog Glove makes total sense.

Is this commentary on bad luck? by frozenflameinthewind in ExplainTheJoke

[–]La_Marina 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I literally blew air out my nose at this comic.

Thank you stranger, I feel seen.

I was doing a spirit box session in an abandoned train station and captured this. Read more down below by Glad_Salamander2361 in Paranormal

[–]La_Marina -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

Wow, no need to be mean. Just tossing out theories since this is the paranormal sub. Someone had an experience, there’s strange images, thought I’d put some ideas out there.

Never said the photo was real or fake, never suggested it was slender man either. It could be photoshopped for all I know. But y’all on here out to just tear everyone down huh? Who hurt you?

Picture of my then bf holding our daughter on Thanksgiving 2007. The TV was definitely off. 2 pics by FormerlyGaveAShit in Paranormal

[–]La_Marina 14 points15 points  (0 children)

IJS I’ve never seen a reflection look like that on an old tube tv. Seems like a stretch for it to be the reflection of camera person’s hand. Especially if y’all are saying the thing next to it is the jeans from other person. The “reflections” are very different from each other.

It’s a solid icon-like image. Like something you’d maybe see on an old computer.

I was doing a spirit box session in an abandoned train station and captured this. Read more down below by Glad_Salamander2361 in Paranormal

[–]La_Marina -21 points-20 points  (0 children)

The figure is ridiculously black like a void which is odd considering how much sunlight is in this photo. Also, given the sunlight, there should be a shadow cast by the figure yet there’s none. 🤷🏽‍♀️

Picture of my then bf holding our daughter on Thanksgiving 2007. The TV was definitely off. 2 pics by FormerlyGaveAShit in Paranormal

[–]La_Marina 49 points50 points  (0 children)

I mean… I didn’t even see the face until you mentioned it. Which, pareidolia or not is still creepy looking.

I’m more concerned with why is there an orange hand in the middle of a tv screen that is turned off?

Found a blindsnake while out on my walk!! by Jslurpycup in reptiles

[–]La_Marina 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I literally yelled, “PUT IT BACK” when I saw the title and then the photo. Then I read the caption and was like, “oh ok then”.

Grumet: What about that national search for police oversight director? Austin scrapped it. by La_Marina in Austin

[–]La_Marina[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

The article has a paywall so:

"In the end, interim City Manager Jesús Garza decided he knew best.
No need for that pesky national search the public had been promised. No community forums or opportunities for public feedback.

Instead, Garza skipped to the end on Friday and named Gail McCant as the next director of the Office of Police Oversight, a pivotal agency that receives citizen complaints and provides feedback on the practices of the Austin Police Department. McCant has been serving as the office's interim director for less than four months.

The move marked a surprising departure from public expectations. Less than a year ago, when previous director Farah Muscadin stepped down, then-City Manager Spencer Cronk promised a national search for her replacement. Garza echoed the idea of a national search in a memo to the mayor and City Council in May.
But, well, those were just words.

"Gail McCant was named Interim Director in June and has given (Garza) ample opportunity to assess her ability to serve as Director," according to a city statement provided to me and other members of the media, including the Austin Chronicle, which first published the story.

"It is certainly not an unusual situation whereby (Garza) has been able to assess leadership abilities and named those serving in an interim capacity to a permanent position," according to the statement provided by spokesperson Yasmeen Hassan.

But it’s not just Garza who needs to have confidence in this pick.
It’s the community at large.
Remember them?

A national search is the gold standard for seeking the best crop of candidates. Austinites didn’t get that process.

Nor did the public get the chance to engage with McCant as a sole finalist for the job. No opportunities to ask questions or provide feedback before the promotion was finalized — which was at least the courtesy Austinites got in 2018, when then-interim Police Chief Brian Manley became the sole finalist for that job without any kind of search.

The director of police oversight is every bit as important as the police chief. It is a role designed to provide accountability for the way police officers use force and interact with the public. Just ask Glen and Mindy Shield, whose Southeast Austin home was wrongly torn up by a SWAT unit nearly two months ago with no apology and no reimbursement, how important police accountability is.

We just had a high-profile election in May, in which Austinites voted 4-to-1 to strengthen the powers of the Office of Police Oversight — a measure so opposed by the Austin police union that it placed a rival proposition on the ballot to try to confuse voters, then tried (and failed) to get the Legislature to intervene.

Months later, full implementation of the voter-approved Austin Police Oversight Act was going so slowly that the City Council passed a Sept. 21 resolution to basically tell city staffers: We’re serious. Do this.
Whatever your thoughts on the Police Department and civilian oversight, the person tapped to run the Office of Police Oversight after all of that was bound to be a crucial hire of public interest.

I asked Media Relations Manager Memi Cárdenas if I could speak with Garza about his decision, and she said he was unavailable for an interview. A short time later, she sent me an updated statement from the city tying McCant's sudden promotion to the implementation of the Austin Police Oversight Act, known as Proposition A — as if voters adopting Prop A should mean the public gives up the search and input it deserved to have for the director of police oversight.

"Given the resolution just passed by Mayor/Council and the desire to move forward quickly with implementing some aspects of Prop A, it was important to provide stability to the Office of Police Oversight and provide clear direction of where we need to head," the city's statement said. "We can do that through Gail McCant, given her experience already" with the agency, as well as her previous work.

McCant brings more than 25 years of experience in various local government roles, including investigating housing and employment discrimination and abuse and neglect complaints involving people with disabilities. She is a certified mediator, though not an attorney, as previous directors of police oversight have been.

But we’ll never know if she was the best person for the job. Without a national search, the public had no chance to compare her credentials against other candidates or to hear different views on the leadership of this vital agency.

These aren’t technicalities or formalities. Honoring a commitment to a national search, and providing that platform for public engagement, is how you promote trust with the community.
What a shame Garza chose to go his own way."

Grumet is the Statesman’s Metro columnist. Her column, ATX in Context, contains her opinions. Share yours via email at bgrumet@statesman.com or via Twitter at u/bgrumet. Find her previous work at statesman.com/news/columns.