BG Reads | News You Need to Know (October 31, 2019)
[BG PODCAST]
NEW -> Episode 59: Land Development Code Draft 1 with Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza (LINK TO SHOW)
[AUSTIN METRO]
City Council likely to approve trash bins under overpasses ahead of TxDOT cleanup (KXAN)
Here’s a quick rundown of the items topping Thursday’s Austin City Council agenda:
Speeding up the rebate process
One proposal would allow Austin Energy to issue multifamily and commercial energy efficiency rebates without City Council approval.
In the past, Austin Energy has sought City Council approval for each of these rebates, adding 60 to 90 days for completion of a project — depending on rebate timing, Electric Utility Commission, Resource Management Commission, and City Council agenda scheduling.… (LINK TO STORY)
City of Austin & Cap Metro start down road to 2020 transportation bond vote (CBS Austin)
Just how much would you pay to fix Austin’s traffic woes? The City of Austin and Capital Metro say they have the solution, but it’s going to cost billions.
Mayor Steve Adler began a joint council work session with Cap Metro acknowledging the sticker shock hitting Austin today. Ahead of this afternoon’s meeting Cap Metro forecast that their Project Connect transportation plan could cost up to $9.8 billion. But there are all kinds of variables that could affect the price.
Austin has gone down this road before trying to gather wide support for light rail. Wednesday we saw the latest Project Connect map showing which areas in this region they want to reach. Robert Spillar, Austin’s director of transportation says, “For sure the region has a role to play in achieving the project connect vision, but in the end it is Austin that’s choking on our traffic and it’s Austin that needs new mobility options.”... (LINK TO STORY)
Not all parolees released from Texas prisons have to come to Austin, despite one city official’s claim (Community Impact)
Lori Pampilo Harris, the city’s homelessness strategy officer told City Council during an Oct. 29 work session that some of the influx of people coming to the city’s downtown homeless shelter was owed to a state system in which anybody released from prison in Texas is sent to Austin. The system, Pampilo Harris told council members, required those recently released from prison to check in with the Austin Transitional Center, then required them to stay in the area for a specific amount of time.
The comments from Pampilo Harris are incorrect, according to officials from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, as well as an operator of the Austin Transitional Center—a residential reentry center, also called a halfway house, in Del Valle.
“There is an [Austin Transitional Center] where parolees from across the state must come to Austin to register and then, additionally, it is my understanding that they have to stay in Austin,” Pampilo Harris said. “So, you’re wondering where that inflow [to the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless]is coming from. The inflow is coming from many systems who say here’s the ARCH, come and get help.”… (LINK TO STORY)
[TEXAS]
Texas officials testify to lawmakers about mass violence (CBS Austin)
State officials and experts testified Wednesday before a Texas legislative committee evaluating issues related to mass violence in the wake of two August shootings that left nearly 30 people dead in the state.
The Senate Select Committee on Mass Violence Prevention and Community Safety met in Texas' capital of Austin to discuss whether digital media and violent video games are factors in mass violence.
Scientific studies have found no link between video games and violent behavior, but the persistent theory resurfaced when a shooting on Aug. 3 in the border city of El Paso left 22 people dead. Authorities say the gunman told officers he targeted Mexicans…. (LINK TO STORY)
Travis County lung injuries from vaping double in past month, health officials say (Austin American-Statesman)
The number of lung injuries related to e-cigarette use has doubled since last month, Austin Public Health officials said Wednesday.
As of Oct. 25, a total of 12 lung injury cases have been recorded in Travis County, officials said. Six lung injury cases related to vaping were confirmed in Travis County on Sept. 25.
The cases are now being tracked online by Austin Public Health on the city’s website. The web page will be updated every Friday, officials said…. (LINK TO STORY)
Texas Democratic Party challenges mobile voting ban in lawsuit (Austin American-Statesman)
The Texas Democratic Party is challenging a state law that banned polling locations that aren’t open every day of early voting.
The party claimed in a lawsuit, filed Wednesday in federal court, that the changes will result in “substantially fewer early voting opportunities for young voters” and will make it harder for hundreds of thousands of Texas voters to participate in early voting.
House Bill 1888, which became law earlier this year, effectively banned “mobile voting” sites by requiring that polling locations be open on all early voting days…. (LINK TO STORY)
[NATION]
Trump's Russia Director To Leave National Security Council Amid Impeachment Inquiry (NPR)
Tim Morrison, the top Russia official on President Trump's National Security Council, who is scheduled to testify in the impeachment inquiry on Thursday, is set to leave his White House post imminently, three sources familiar with the plan told NPR.
Morrison, a conservative hawk who has served as the senior director for European and Russian affairs on the National Security Council, will be replaced by Andrew Peek, the deputy assistant secretary of state for Iraq and Iran in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, according to the sources.
A senior administration official confirmed Morrison's departure late Wednesday evening. "After more than a year of service at the National Security Council, Mr. Morrison has decided to pursue other opportunities – and has been considering doing so for some time. We wish him well," the official said…. (LINK TO STORY)
Twitter to ban political ads (Austin Business Journal)
Twitter has decided to prohibit all political advertising from its platform, in a move that ramps up pressure on Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg following his contentious decision to allow all adverts paid for by politicians to appear on the platform — even if they are misleading.
Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey wrote on his platform on Wednesday that the company would prohibit all political advertising on Twitter, including commercials from politicians as well as adverts related to election issues. “We believe political message reach should be earned, not bought,” he said.
The new policy — which will come into force on November 22 ahead of a newly announced UK election and the US 2020 vote — shines a harsh spotlight on the recent decision by Facebook to exempt ads or content placed by politicians from being fact-checked by third parties. The social network, which is reporting its third-quarter results on Wednesday, has broad policies in place to fact check potentially false news or content…. (LINK TO STORY)
Fight finished: Washington Nationals win their first World Series title (CBS Austin)
Almost out of contention in May, champs in October.
Howie Kendrick, Anthony Rendon and the Washington Nationals completed their amazing comeback journey — fittingly with one final, late rally on the road.
In Game 7 of the World Series, no less.…. (LINK TO STORY)