Jerry (74) was born May 20, 1947 in Superior, Wisconsin to Herbert and Lorraine (Hughson) Hoover. He passed away on February 18, 2022 in his Duluth home after living over a decade with the many challenges of Parkinson’s disease.
What will the US-Mexico border sound like in 200 years?
An experimental album created by USC Dornsife fellow Jonathan Leal and producer Charlie Vela celebrates the musical traditions of the South Texas borderlands, while also warning us of what the future could hold.
[4½ min read]
July 14, 2021
An imagined concert held in an abandoned space rocket facility is at the center of the multimedia music project created by incoming Assistant Professor of English Jonathan Leal and music producer Charlie Vela. (Image: Courtesy of Futuro Conjunto.)
Music producer Charlie Vela was in line at a grocery store in South Texas as Hurricane Harvey barreled towards land. Despite the dire weather report, most residents were certain the storm would pass with little effect. In had been 12 years since the last hurricane had touched down in the region and Texans were mostly just expecting heavy rain.
For parts of southern and eastern Texas, it's raining again. Just like it did yesterday and just like it is forecast to do tomorrow. For residents accustomed to glaring sunshine and 90-degree heat at this time of year, the onslaught of stormy precipitation has come as a gloomy shock. But more than just putting a major damper on early-summer plans, this week's soaking has been yet another gut punch of devastating weather in a year full of ruinous.
This month marks the anniversary of the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Traveling is tough, but we’ve learned new protocols and become cautiously optimistic about venturing out again. It’s hard work in the Texas heat for Travis Mayes preparing barbecue for the legions of hungry fans who line up at the window in Garland. The family-run business was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and then the St. Valentine’s weekend freeze broke the water pipes and the firewood was stolen. (Photo by Gerald E. McLeod)
A cold smoker in Garland. For more than 40 years Meshack’s BBQ Shack in the suburbs west of Dallas has been serving smoked meats out of a cinder-block building. It’s a small, family-run business with