BG Reads | News You Need to Know (December 23, 2020)
[BINGHAM GROUP]
NEW // BG PODCAST - Episode 119: A Discussion with Derrick Chubbs, President and CEO, Central Texas Food Bank
On today’s episode Bingham Group CEO A.J. speaks with Derrick Chubbs, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Central Texas Food Bank.
The two discuss COVID-19’s impact the Food Bank’s operations, pivots to serve an ever increasing need, and needs going into 2021.
Last Week’s Show: Episode 118 - 2020 Review & What's Next with George Elliman, CEO & Publisher, TRIBEZA
NEW // VIEW GOV. ABBOTT’s DRAFT APD TAKE OVER BILL
NEW // CITY HALL MOVES
Amy Everhart is now Chief of Staff for Council Member Paige Ellis (District 8). A seasoned veteran of Austin politics, Amy served most recently as campaign manager for Council Member Jimmy Flannigan (District 6). She has previously served as Director of Public Affairs for the Austin Board of REALTORS® and Mayor Steve Adler. Bingham Group wishes her well in this new role! Learn more about Amy here (LinkedIn).
Pre-filed bills for the 87th Texas Legislature:
[AUSTIN METRO]
How would a Texas DPS takeover of Austin Police Department work? Here’s a breakdown (KXAN)
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has pitched the idea before — a state takeover of the Austin Police Department. But now, Gov. Abbott says there’s a draft of a law to do it ready for lawmakers to consider come January. On Monday, he tweeted: “Just in time for Christmas: The Legislative Council has sent draft language for a proposed law that would transfer control of the Austin Police Department to the Texas Department of Public Safety. One way or another we will pass a law to keep Austin safe.” On Tuesday, former Texas Reps. Terry Keel and Ron Wilson sent a draft of their bill to shift control over to DPS.
Firstly, the shift of control would only apply to municipalities with populations of 950,000 or more and a ratio of fewer than two police officers per 1,000 residents. Gov. Abbott would also have to issue written determination of a public safety threat due to insufficient funding for police. Under the bill, Gov. Abbott can direct municipalities to enter into contracts with Texas DPS — this would create a special division of law enforcement within the department. In Austin, this means Police Chief Brian Manley would become chief of this special division and would be overseen by the director of the DPS. Municipalities that have their control given over to DPS would also have to pay for the services. And cities who do have control taken would also not be allowed to offer additional law enforcement. Meaning here in Austin, the City would not be able to enact any of its own law enforcement services. Contracts between municipalities and Texas DPS will be pushed forward by the Governor at the beginning of each fiscal year.
In Austin, this would happen in October 2021. The act overall would take effect Sept. 1, 2021. The tweet from Gov. Abbott was not a surprise. He’s teased the idea for months and promised to pass it just days ago. “The state will fix this,” Abbott wrote on Twitter. “Texas will pass a law this session supporting law enforcement and defunding cities that defund the police.”… (LINK TO STORY)
Austin's ailing live music venues could get much-needed money under the new Coronavirus Relief Bill (KUT)
Live music venues in Austin could see some relief from the new federal coronavirus relief package. Passed Monday night, the bill includes $15 billion in relief specifically dedicated to independent venues, theaters and other arts organizations.
The bipartisan agreement folded in the Save Our Stages Act, a separate bill that stalled out on Capitol Hill earlier this year.
Organizations will be able to apply for grants of up to $10 million, provided they show they've lost substantial revenue as a result of COVID-19 – at least 25%. Grant applications from the Small Business Administration are set to open before the end of the year, with priority given to those who have been particularly hard-hit. Those who've lost 90% of revenue will be first in line.
The bill also sets aside $2 billion for venues with fewer than 50 employees. Venues meeting either qualification can apply for grants two weeks after the bill is signed into law. Publicly traded venue operators are not eligible.
Those carve-outs are of particular importance to independent music venues in Austin that have been more or less closed since March, Austin-area U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett said. He said he hopes the dedicated money for smaller venues will prevent additional closures.
"Overall, this relief bill is just too little too late for a lot of people ... but it does include an important provision that hopes to keep our city the 'Live Music Capital of the World,'" he told KUT. "I'm pleased it's included. I think it will hopefully kind of bridge these venues that have been closing or are near closing."
Nakia Reynoso of the nonprofit Austin Texas Musicians says any and all relief is needed – for venues, employees and musicians alike. But, he says, Austin's live music community was in survival mode even before the pandemic. Rising rents for venues, musicians and employees have made things harder on the community for years.
"We're all small-business owners," Reynoso said, "and we need to figure out a way to sustain and grow our music economy – not constantly be trying to save it."… (LINK TO STORY)
Did your favorite Austin bar get cited for breaking coronavirus pandemic rules? See the list (Austin American-Statesman)
To help reduce the spread of the coronavirus cases at local bars, Austin-Travis County health officials on Tuesday released a list of every Austin-area drinking establishment cited for breaking pandemic rules.Dr. Mark Escott, interim Austin-Travis County health authority, said on Tuesday that more than 20 bars have repeatedly failed to enforce mask-wearing among customers and maintain their social distance inside the establishments.
Escott said the bars received citations only after multiple warnings by health officials.
Gov. Greg Abbott first ordered bars in the state to close on June 26 as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations from the disease rose across Texas.
Austin-Travis County bar owners repeatedly expressed concerns they would not survive during the pandemic if they stayed closed. In response, Abbott allowed some bars to reclassify as restaurants and reopen.
However, bars that could not meet the requirements of serving food full-time remained shuttered.
Travis County Judge Andy Brown, the only official who has the power to reopen bars in the area, has not restated any intent to reopen bars before the new year.
This list includes:
Concrete Cowboy (Two citations)
Play (Three citations)
Rio ( One citation)
Unbarlieveable (One citation)
Wyld (One citation)
Burnsides (One citation)
Dijou (One citation)
Library (One citation)
Lit Lounge (One citation)
Lodge (One citation)
Pour Choices (One citation)
Recess (One citation)
Soho (One citation)
Venue (Four citations)
Voodoo (Two citations)
512 Club (One citation)
4th and Co (One citation)
Reina (One citation)
Scratchouse (One citation)
Dirty Bills (One citation)
Yellow Jacket (One citation)
77 Deg./Rose Room (One citation)
Corona Club (One citation)
Mala Vida (One citation)
Chupacabra (One citation)… (LINK TO STORY)
Presidium moving forward with massive East Riverside Drive development (Austin Business Journal)
New details from an ambitious mixed-use development proposed on East Riverside Drive were revealed Dec. 21.
The 109-acre project at 4700 East Riverside Drive, spearheaded by Presidium and Partners Group, would be a master planned community with residences, hotels, offices, open space, parks, restaurants and shops. The project was previously known as 4700 East Riverside when it was conceived in 2017 and approved by City Council last year after a contentious rezoning fight.
The project promises to further re-shape the East Riverside area, which has already changed considerably in recent years as Oracle Corp. continues to build out its massive campus nearby. The project promises thousands of new housing units, hundreds of thousands of square feet of commercial space and millions of square feet of office space.
The project, now named River Park, would be built on 97 acres of rezoned land and an adjacent 12-acre retail center known as Parke Green.
Opponents argued during the rezoning fight that it would also lead to gentrification, while also displacing a handful of relatively affordable apartment complexes popular to university students and working-class residents. Those complexes would be demolished in order to make way for River Park’s mid-rise buildings.
Presidium and Partners Group plan to build mid-rise structures encompassing more than 10 million square feet of mixed-use development. River Park’s value is now estimated at “more than $4 billion in today’s dollars” upon full build out, according to a statement from the developers… (LINK TO STORY)
[TEXAS]
Virus cases trigger rollback of restrictions in Galveston, Brazoria, Chambers and Liberty counties (Houston Chronicle)
Galveston restaurants and bars have been placed under new restrictions for at least two weeks due to a surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations, measures that city officials say will impact the local economy. Galveston Mayor Craig Brown said restaurant and bar owners have been calling him since Monday night, when state health officials announced the restrictions, expressing concern about a loss of business during the upcoming holidays. Bars must stay closed and restaurants will operate under reduced capacity for 14 days.
"(Business) has been so depressed for some of the businesses over this pandemic episode that the Christmas time was kind of a shot in the arm for (bars and restaurants)," Brown said. "Anything that would detract from that I know is a concern to all the businesses."
Galveston County elected officials and business leaders expressed their dismay at the state’s new restrictions on bars and restaurants, slamming the state’s criteria for the shutdown, but stopping short of telling business owners to defy the governor’s executive order. Mark Henry, the county judge, confirmed that effective Tuesday morning, county bars will have to close and restaurants reduce their capacity to 50 percent for at least seven days. Hospitals will also have to suspend elective surgeries. Galveston County is in a Trauma Service Area designated by the state where COVID-19 hospitalizations have exceeded 15 percent capacity for seven days straight, triggering the new restrictions… (LINK TO STORY)
Dallas mayor wants city to track how police overtime pay was spent (Dallas Morning News)
An audit of Dallas police overtime spending will be done next year to review funds paid over at least the last two years. City Auditor Mark Swann said Monday that his office is aiming to have the review done by May or June. The audit was requested by Mayor Eric Johnson this month in response to some council members’ concerns about overspending during budget discussions in September. The police department went about $4.5 million over its $26.5 million overtime budget last fiscal year.
The overtime budget was proposed to be $24 million for the new fiscal year that began in October, but the City Council approved about $17 million. Police have spent about $4.3 million of that as of December, according to the mayor’s office. “If the police overtime budget has been abused or mismanaged ... the people of Dallas deserve to know, and we will need city management to take steps to correct any problems,” Johnson said in a statement Monday.
On Sept. 23, Johnson and council members Adam McGough, Cara Mendelsohn and Jennifer Staubach Gates voted against the amendment to reduce the overtime budget. Gates, who heads the City Council’s public safety committee, said Monday that she supported the overtime review. The council approved rerouting $7 million to other public safety and police initiatives.
The majority of the funds, $3.85 million, are slated to add 95 civilian police staff jobs this fiscal year to allow the same amount of sworn officers to shift from desk work to patrol duty. There was $1.5 million for improved street lighting in parts of the city, $750,000 to address illegal dumping, $600,000 to address causes of poverty and $300,000 in funding for outreach work to decrease violence in the city… (LINK TO STORY)
[NATION]
Trump Slams COVID-19 Relief Bill, Asks For Changes After Bitter Negotiations (NPR)
President Trump is threatening to derail a $900 billion COVID-19 relief package passed by Congress on Monday after months of bitter negotiations.
In a video released on his Twitter feed Tuesday evening, Trump said he wants Congress to "send me a suitable bill or else the next administration will have to deliver a COVID relief package."
Trump said the bill was a "disgrace" and called the $600 payments to individuals in the current bill "ridiculously low." He said he wants that boosted to $2,000 per individual and $4,000 for couples — despite the fact that it was Republicans who stood in the way of higher payments for months… (LINK TO STORY)
Trump pardons individuals charged in Russia probe, ex-GOP lawmakers (The Hill)
President Trump on Tuesday granted clemency to three former Republican congressmen as well as two individuals charged as part of former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, George Papadopoulos and Alex van der Zwaan.
Trump granted a full pardon to former California GOP Rep. Duncan Hunter, who pleaded guilty to misusing campaign funds in 2019. He also granted a pardon to former New York GOP Rep. Chris Collins, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and lying to the FBI in 2019 and is currently serving a 26-month sentence.
Additionally, Trump commuted the sentence of former Texas GOP Rep. Steve Stockman, who was convicted in 2018 of money laundering, conspiracy and other charges related to a scheme to defraud charitable donors.
Papadopoulos, who served as a foreign policy adviser on Trump’s 2016 campaign, pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigations in relation to Mueller’s Russia investigation. Papadopoulos, who has been a vocal defender of Trump, served 12 days in prison in 2018. He was the first of six Trump associates charged in Mueller’s sprawling probe.
Van der Zwaan, a Dutch national, served a 30-day prison sentence for lying to investigators about his involvement in a report for the Ukrainian government prepared by law firm Skadden Arps. Both men were given full pardons. The actions represented Trump’s latest broadside against the Russia investigation, which dogged his first two years in office.
In total, Trump granted 15 pardons and five commutations that were announced Tuesday evening by the White House. Trump has been weighing issuing a handful of clemency grants in his final days in office.
Late last month, Trump pardoned Michael Flynn, his former national security adviser, who was also charged in connection with Mueller’s investigation. The pardon came as the Justice Department was seeking to withdraw its case against Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian ambassador, bringing a dramatic end to his case.
The list released Tuesday evening also includes three individuals to whom Trump had previously granted clemency, Crystal Munoz, Tynice Nichole Hall, and Judith Negron, who had been convicted on drug and fraud-related charges. Trump commuted the remainder of their sentences… (LINK TO STORY)
California’s 1st Latino US senator brings cheers, anger (Associated Press)
California is getting its first Latino U.S. senator. For Gov. Gavin Newsom, it’s a political gamble.
The Democratic governor Tuesday named Secretary of State Alex Padilla, the son of Mexican immigrants, to fill the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. When Padilla goes to Washington, the former state legislator will become California’s first Latino senator since the state’s founding 170 years ago.
In picking a personal friend and fellow Democrat, Newsom had his eye on history and pragmatism — he turned to someone he could trust with a year of uncertainty looming, including a possible recall election while the pandemic rages unabated.
Newsom also rejected pleas from a host of prominent Black leaders to replace Harris, the Senate’s only Black woman, with another African American woman, such as U.S. Reps. Karen Bass or Barbara Lee.
About six hours after the Padilla announcement, Newsom’s office said he would nominate Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, who is Black, to fill Padilla’s seat once he goes to the Senate. If confirmed, she would become the first Black woman to hold the office, giving Newsom two history making picks in one day.
Given the timing, however, it appeared the choice was intended at least partly to quell criticism after Newsom passed over other Black women for Harris’ post.
In passing over Black women for the Senate seat “many people believe the governor will pay a political price,” Kerman Maddox, a Democratic consultant and fundraiser who is Black, said in an email. “It’s a terribly insensitive decision” with the nation in the midst of a reckoning over racial injustice.
“If Governor Newsom thinks our disappointment with the Kamala Harris replacement will be tempered by appointing an African American woman to be California secretary of state, he clearly does not know this constituency,” Maddox added. “When I heard the news about the secretary of state appointment, my anger meter went from disappointment to being downright angry.”
San Francisco Mayor London Breed, who is Black, called the Senate decision “a real blow to the African American community.”
The hectic day of political maneuvers only underscored the risks that came with them.
The mannerly, soft spoken Padilla will begin his truncated term facing the prospect of a tough reelection fight in 2022, when he is likely to see challengers from within his own party in the heavily Democratic state. Padilla’s current job was also being eyed by other possible contenders, who could challenge Weber if she is confirmed by the Legislature. Beyond a possible recall, Newsom is expected to seek a second term in 2022… (LINK TO STORY)