BG Reads | News You Need to Know (April 13, 2020)
[BINGHAM PODCAST]
**NEW**SPECIAL EPISODE - ATX COVID-19 COMMUNITY UPDATES (4.10.2020): Housing & Human Rights (LINK TO SHOW)
SPECIAL EPISODE - ATX COVID-19 COMMUNITY UPDATES (4.8.2020): Public Health & Safety (LINK TO SHOW)
BG PODCAST EPISODE 82: Metro Discussion with Mayor Larry Wallace, City of Manor (LINK TO SHOW)
[AUSTIN METRO]
Austin traffic cut nearly in half amid coronavirus pandemic (Austin American-Statesman)
Austin’s 49% decline in traffic has been the sharpest of all urban areas, according to TxDOT. For example, Interstate 35 near Parmer Lane was seeing between 130,000 and 145,000 vehicles on a typical weekday in late February. Those numbers now have fallen to about 90,000, down as much as 38%, according to TxDOT.
The Houston area has seen a 39% drop-off. Dallas’ traffic is down 37%, and San Antonio’s use of highways is down 43%, TxDOT’s data showed.
For John Esparza, CEO of the Texas Trucking Association, the lack of vehicles on the road is translating to more money in the pockets of some truckers. Regional haulers in the Austin area typically are accustomed to delivering up to three loads of goods on a given day in the Austin area. But with traffic jams all but eliminated, some truckers are finding themselves able to drop off as many as five loads a day now… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin Independent Business Alliance's long-time leader to leave (Austin Business Journal)
Austin Independent Business Alliance Executive Director Rebecca Melançon is stepping down, effective April 30. She said she reached the decision in January, before the coronavirus pandemic hit U.S. shores.
Melançon was with AIBA as a founding board member and served as its executive director for 10 years.
"I can't begin to tell you what an honor it's been to lead AIBA to become the successful organization it is today," she said in an April 10 email to members. "Now it's time for me to embark on my next adventure."
Melançon said she would still be involved on local business issues, adding she planned to do project work for a number of national organizations.
Dixie Patrick, AIBA's membership manager, will become the organization's interim director… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
City may begin evaluating creative spaces bond sites in June (Austin Monitor)
The city expects to use real estate and economic development professionals from the Texas Facilities Commission to broker the acquisition of what may be multiple properties for local artists and musicians to use.
An April 3 memo spells out the steps that will be taken to purchase creative spaces using $12 million in bond funding voters approved in 2018. Up first will be negotiations between the Economic Development Department and the facilities commission on contracts for a public-private partnership adviser and a real estate broker, separate roles that will work to identify sites and negotiate deal terms.
Sites will be evaluated and selected largely using the criteria established by a joint working group created by the arts and music commissions. That group spent most of 2019 gathering community feedback on how to best address the need to preserve and create spaces for artists and musicians in the face of rising land prices throughout the city.
The working group made equity the top priority for using the bond money, with service to underserved and underrepresented groups among the requirements for applicants looking to be acquired and contracted by the city… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Executive order regarding Texas businesses reopening could be coming next week, Gov. Greg Abbott says (KVUE)
An executive order regarding plans to the reopen Texas businesses is expected to come sometime in the coming week, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott revealed at a press conference on April 10.
Gov. Abbott didn't offer additional details on the executive order but said the State was focusing on protecting lives while also restoring livelihoods.
At the press conference, the governor was joined by Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) Commissioner John Hellerstedt, MD, Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) Chief Nim Kidd and Executive Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs of the University of Texas System John Zerwas, MD.
The governor gave several updated numbers regarding COVID-19 at the press conference, including the total number of Texans tested, approximately 116,000; the number of Texans who have tested positive for COVID-19, 11,449; confirmed COVID-19 hospitalizations, 1,532; total COVID-19 related deaths, 221; and a new statistic, the number of Texans who have recovered from COVID-19, 1,336.
According to Gov. Abbott, before being categorized as recovered, the person must go 14 days without the virus… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Texas is second-worst in the nation for COVID-19 testing (Houston Chronicle)
Six times in three weeks, Marci Rosenberg and her ailing husband and teenage children tried to get tested for the new coronavirus — only to be turned away each time, either for not meeting narrow testing criteria or because there simply were not enough tests available. All the while, the Bellaire family of four grew sicker as their fevers spiked and their coughs worsened. They said they fell one by one into an exhaustion unlike any they had felt before. By March 18, Rosenberg was desperate and pleaded with her doctor for a test. Dr. Lisa Ehrlich, an internal medicine physician, told Rosenberg to pull into her office driveway. But Ehrlich warned Rosenberg, “I can only test one of you.” She swabbed her throat through an open car window. The result came back the next day: positive.
The rest of her family was presumed to be positive but untested - and thus excluded from any official tally of the disease. As the number of confirmed cases of the potentially deadly virus continues to explode across the Houston region - tripling from 1,000 to more than 3,000 in just the past week - there is mounting evidence that the true scope of the disease here could be far worse than the numbers indicate. A Houston Chronicle analysis of testing data collected through Wednesday shows that Texas has the second-worst rate of testing per capita in the nation, with only 332 tests conducted for every 100,000 people. Only Kansas ranks lower, at 327 per 100,000 people. In cities across Texas — from Houston to Dallas, San Antonio to Nacogdoches — testing continues to be fraught with missteps, delays and shortages, resulting in what many predict will ultimately be a significant undercount. Not fully knowing who has or had the disease both skews public health data and also hampers treatment and prevention strategies, potentially leading to a higher death count, health care experts say. In Houston, the nation’s fourth-largest city, officials worry that because the number of confirmed cases is lower than other major U.S. cities, the situation here may seem less serious. The federal government announced plans to cut 25 percent of its funding to help administer the city’s two testing sites and relocate six federal public health workers who help manage the sites… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
Fauci says 'rolling reentry' of US economy possible in May. (Associated Press)
The United States’ top infectious disease expert said Sunday that the economy in parts of the country could have a “rolling reentry” as early as next month, provided health authorities can quickly identify and isolate people who will inevitably be infected with the coronavirus. Dr. Anthony Fauci also said he “can't guarantee" that it will be safe for Americans to vote in person on Election Day, Nov. 3. Rather than flipping a switch to reopen the entire country, Fauci said a gradual process will be required based on the status of the pandemic in various parts of the U.S. and the availability of rapid, widespread testing.
Once the number of people who are seriously ill sharply declines, officials can begin to “think about a gradual reentry of some sort of normality, some rolling reentry," Fauci said. In some places, he said, that might occur as soon as May. “We are hoping that, at the end of the month, we could look around and say, OK, is there any element here that we can safely and cautiously start pulling back on? If so, do it. If not, then just continue to hunker down," Fauci said. Whenever restrictions ease, Fauci said, “we know that there will be people who will be getting infected. I mean, that is just reality. “ Social distancing guidelines imposed by President Donald Trump are set to expire April 30. Trump is eager to restart the economy, which has stalled because most Americans are under orders to “stay at home” to help slow the virus’ spread. But governors will have a lot to say about when to ease restrictions in their states, and the leaders of Maryland and New Jersey indicated Sunday that they are not likely to do so until widespread testing is available. “The question is how fast we can get enough tests up to speed in order to help us get to the point where we are able to do all of those things," Gov. Larry Hogan, R-Md., said. He said he has set no “artificial deadline."… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
US tariffs hamper imports of sanitizer, disinfectants, some companies say (Wall Street Journal)
Companies asking for exemptions from the Trump administration’s tariffs on Chinese imports say widespread shortages of hand sanitizer, disinfectants and other products needed to combat the spread of the coronavirus are being exacerbated by the levies. Medical-supply companies and other importers have filed dozens of requests for tariff relief in recent weeks, public filings show. These businesses say the levies are increasing the costs of products needed to fight the pandemic and are, in some cases, contributing to shortages. Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s chemical maker Lubrizol Corp. asked U.S. officials to remove the 25% tariff on glutaraldehyde, a disinfectant the company says is so effective at killing the coronavirus that its Chinese distributor donated it to Wuhan hospitals.
Berry Global Group Inc., which makes sanitary wipes at its Benson, N.C., factory, said tariffs on viscose rayon fibers “are a significant financial imposition” in a time when company officials are struggling to keep up with orders. George Kenhan, a Florida import specialist, said he has gotten calls from a handful of clients who noticed the hand-sanitizer shortage and took steps to bring it in from Chinese partners to sell to the public. The extra cost has either discouraged importers from ordering as much hand sanitizer or deciding to import it at all, he said. “It will handcuff the importers because they’re not going to be able to bring in as much,” he said. The White House referred questions to the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office, which decides what products to place under tariff. It didn’t respond to a request for comment. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that the USTR granted company-requested exclusions for more than 100 medical items imported from China, including face masks, stethoscope covers, examination gloves and operating-room-table covers. On March 20, the USTR opened a special docket to review requests for virus-related tariff exclusions. “Notably, the imposition of tariffs on certain Chinese imports has not resulted in an overall decline in the availability of needed medical equipment and supplies,” it said at the time… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
The Bingham Group, LLC is an Austin-based full service lobbying firm representing and advising clients on municipal, legislative, and regulatory matters throughout Texas.
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