BG Reads | News You Need to Know (April 15, 2020)
[BINGHAM PODCAST]
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’s coronavirus face-covering mandate could last beyond May 8, health authority says (Austin American-Statesman)
People should be prepared for coronavirus face-covering mandates issued Monday to last well beyond their current May 8 expiration date, said Dr. Mark Escott, interim health authority for Austin and Travis County.
Tuesday was the first day that Travis County residents fell under the new requirements that Austin Mayor Steve Adler and Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt issued as part of the latest health orders designed to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
But Escott said the requirement for facial coverings in public could remain in place even after some social distancing requirements are lifted and businesses reopen.
“The requirement for facial coverings is likely to be a long-standing requirement,” Escott said. “You know, nobody expects that this thing is just going to go away.”
“It’s going to become part of our culture, at least in the short and intermediate terms,” Escott continued. “It’s something we have to embrace now as something that’s critical over the next three-week period.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Click here to review the official updated Stay Home - Work Safe order (PDF)
Austin Could See Spike In Cases From Easter Weekend Socializing, Judge Eckhardt Says (KUT)
Austin-Travis County will probably see a spike in COVID-19 cases two weeks after the Easter weekend, Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt said during a news conference Tuesday.
The spike would come from increased socializing during the weekend, she said, referencing data from cellphone GPS tracking company Unacast that showed a spike in activity and a lower social distancing score for Travis County.
"Where we had an A- before, we have a C now," Eckhardt said, "but I know we're going to get back to that A grade with regard to that social distancing."
Austin and Travis County — along with many other local governments in Central Texas — closed parks, greenbelts and trails over the weekend in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus…. (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Next Austin Chamber of Commerce CEO talks priorities, response to global health crisis (Austin Business Journal)
Laura Huffman didn't envision her first meeting with Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce staff as their next leader as a Zoom call.
A city and region largely staying at home to stop the spread of COVID-19 makes for a nontraditional career transition, particularly when taking over an organization representing a business community facing suddenly uncertain times.
Huffman, the incoming chamber president and CEO, said she wants to make sure the chamber plays a role "helping think through the temporary economy that we find ourselves in now and also how we move back into daily work lives."
"This is more than just an event — that implies something that's going to come and go fairly quickly, and this is not," she said.
Huffman said her roles in Austin city government and, most recently, at the Nature Conservancy taught her well about the interconnectedness of the economy, workforce development, transportation, homelessness, health care and education in a region with its fair share of growing pains… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
‘The more testing the better.’ New Texas coronavirus data show numbers by county (Dallas Morning News)
For the first time since the coronavirus outbreak began, Texas is reporting the total number of people tested by county, giving the public its first glimpse of how testing rates vary within the state. In Dallas County, which has 2.6 million residents, at least 9,500 people have been tested for COVID-19, the data show. In a state where testing has lagged, the new data can help pinpoint areas where testing rates are particularly low and show who among the most vulnerable residents has access to tests.
These new numbers help to provide a baseline for rates of local testing and help show how much more screening may be needed before schools, stores and offices are allowed to reopen. “There is still a concerning lack of availability of testing,” Dr. Philip Huang, the county’s director of health and human services, said Monday. “As we move to the next stages of addressing this epidemic, additional testing will be a critical need.” For weeks, the state’s health department has tracked the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases by county. On Friday, it also started reporting how many residents The new data show that as of April 8, more than 96,000 people had been tested statewide. Harris County — the state’s most populous — led with at least 12,600 residents tested. That works out to 27 tests per 10,000 residents… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Houston business coalition calls for stay-at-home orders to be lifted by May 1 (Houston Business Journal)
A coalition of more than 180 local businesses is calling on public officials to lift mandatory stay-at-home orders by May 1, citing the severe economic toll they are taking on employees who are unable to earn a paycheck amid the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
In a draft letter that will soon be sent to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner among others, the Houston Coronavirus Business Group said that unless stay-at-home orders are lifted soon, many small- to medium-sized businesses are likely to enter into a “downward economic spiral” that could result in thousands of local workers losing their jobs.
“The entrepreneurs and businesspeople in the trenches in Houston dealing with the impact of these government decisions are telling us that the situation is dire and getting worse by the day,” the letter said, adding that many companies have seen revenues decline by 50 percent to 100 percent in recent weeks.
NAI Partners Managing Partner Jon Silberman, who is leading the coalition, said there is no question that the stay-at-home orders were imposed to slow the spread of COVID-19. But Silberman said public officials need to strike a balance between the threat to the public’s health and the economic damage the disease has caused for businesses across the region… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
Trump halts funding to WHO, criticizing group's pandemic response (Politico)
President Donald Trump announced Tuesday night that he is halting funding to the World Health Organization while his administration reviews the group’s handling of the coronavirus, accusing it of bungling the response and failing to communicate the disease’s threat. The move follows weeks of Trump’s escalating attacks on the U.N. health organization as he has sought to deflect scrutiny of his own administration's slow response to the outbreak.
The U.S. contributes more than any other country to WHO, at more than $400 million per year. Cutting off funds to the group, which has a $4.8 billion annual budget, will be a major blow to the organization as it conducts vaccine trials, distributes test kits and advises governments around the world. "With the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have deep concerns whether America’s generosity has been put to the best use possible," Trump said during his nightly press briefing. The move drew swift blowback from the medical community, who said it would undercut global efforts to combat a disease that’s sickened nearly 2 million people worldwide and still has no proven cure or vaccine. “Fighting a global pandemic requires international cooperation and reliance on science and data,” said Patrice Harris, president of the American Medical Association, who urged the administration to reconsider… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Biden gets major boost from Obama (The Hill)
Former Vice President Joe Biden got a jolt of momentum on Tuesday after securing an endorsement from former President Obama, who plans to go to work right away as a fundraiser and top surrogate for the campaign.
The Biden campaign sent out its first plea for donations under Obama’s name only minutes after the endorsement came through. Sources with knowledge of internal campaign deliberations said there are discussions underway about employing Obama in virtual fundraisers with major donors and other video fundraising efforts aimed at small dollar donors.
On the media front, there is talk about pairing Obama and Biden side-by-side in joint television appearances… (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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