BG Reads | News You Need to Know (July 3, 2020)
[BINGHAM GROUP]
*NEW* BG Podcast Episode 97: Talking Relief and Recovery with Veronica Briseño, Director of Austin's Economic Development Department (SHOW LINK)
Traditionally tasked with leading Austin’s global business outreach and business expansion incentive programs, EDD has pivoted becoming the lead city department on economic recovery.
Veronica discuss several of the recovery programs developed thus far, as well as the $271.6 million Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. spending framework passed by the Austin City Council on June 4th.
Note: Show also available on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Sound Cloud, and Stitcher
Early Voting for the Travis County Democratic and Republican Primary Runoffs, and Special Elections Runs through Friday, July 10th.
[AUSTIN METRO]
What does ACL cancellation mean for Austin economy? (Austin Business Journal)
The 2020 Austin City Limits Music Festival has officially met the same fate as this year's South by Southwest.
ACL organizers announced July 1 they would not be able to host the famous two-weekend concert festival at Zilker Park during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Austin City Limits was already facing long odds of being held this October — public officials have been openly skeptical that large events with more than 2,500 people will be possible anytime soon because of the threat of a virus that spreads when people gather.
A recent surge in Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations also paused Texas' reopening efforts, dimming prospects for non-essential commercial activities to return to 100% capacity in the near future.
Even if the ACL cancellation wasn't much of a surprise, the July 1 announcement will have widespread ramifications for businesses and sectors across Austin. Hotels and businesses that benefit from increased spending during the festival won't be able to count on the sales bump this year. Vendors won't get the chance to sell to the hundreds of thousands of attendees. Advertisers that drop big bucks on activations won't be able to make a splash.
"There's nothing that's going to replace it economically," said Tom Noonan, Visit Austin president and CEO. "There's no replacing it."… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
'We're all just emotionally drained': Austin bars respond to second shutdown (KUT)
Travis Tober was finally finding a rhythm.
When people entered his East Austin bar, Nickel City, they were greeted by an employee who laid out all the ground rules: No mask, no entry. Tables would be 6 feet apart. No loitering at the bar trop. A waiter or waitress would take their orders.
He even kept the bar at 25% capacity, less than the 50% allowed by the state, just to be on the safe side.
“I really, truly believe nobody got sick, [and] I know we didn’t get any of our employees sick,” Tober said. “Our system worked.”
Tober says the bar started making some money again – not much but definitely more than during the closures. He was able to bring back his entire staff full time, and, he says, the customers seemed genuinely happy to have their neighborhood bar back open… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Vanilla Ice cancels Fourth of July weekend concert near Austin as coronavirus cases surge (Texas Tribune)
Rapper Vanilla Ice has canceled an in-person concert at an Austin-area venue after news of the show sparked concerns about social distancing.
"He canceled with us around 11:45 [a.m.]," Barret Brannam, the owner of Emerald Point Bar & Grill on Lake Travis told The Texas Tribune on Thursday. "Bad information being circulated caused too much drama."
On Wednesday night, Brannam said the performance was still scheduled for Friday, even as the number coronavirus cases continue to surge across the state. At the time, Brannam said only 84 tickets had been sold and that, while reports had suggested that the number of fans at Friday's show would be roughly 2,500, the maximum occupancy for the event had been set to 450 people. On Thursday, Vanilla Ice tweeted that, while he took the virus seriously, "we can't live in a bubble" — and said the venue had "plenty of room for distancing." A few hours later, the rapper reversed course, tweeting that the perform… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin Police Chief reverses, says officers will no longer cite or arrest for small amounts of pot (KUT)
The Austin Police Department announced Thursday it will stop ticketing and arresting people for low-level and nonviolent marijuana offenses – six months after the City Council asked the chief to adopt the policy and he refused.
“Although the police chief should have made this change the day after the City Council passed my resolution directing this … it finally happened today because of continued community advocacy,” Council Member Greg Casar, who represents North Central Austin, said.
In January, City Council members voted against paying for marijuana testing except in the case of high-priority felonies, such as violent or trafficking cases; in doing so, they effectively decriminalized small amounts of weed in the city… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Gov. Greg Abbott orders Texans in most counties to wear masks in public (Texas Tribune)
Gov. Greg Abbott issued a statewide mask mandate Thursday as Texas scrambles to get its coronavirus surge under control.
The order requires Texans living in counties more than 20 coronavirus cases to wear a face covering over the nose and mouth while in a business or other building open to the public, as well as outdoor public spaces, whenever social distancing is not possible. But it provides several exceptions, including for children who are younger than 10 years old, people who have a medical condition that prevents them from wearing a mask, people who are eating or drinking, and people who are exercising outdoors.
The mask order goes into effect at 12:01 p.m. Friday. It immediately applies to all Texas counties, but counties with 20 or fewer active cases can be exempted — if they opt out. County judges must submit an application to be exempted to the Texas Division of Emergency Management. TDEM will list the counties that have opted out on its website… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Texas GOP will proceed with in-person state convention in Houston this month (Texas Tribune)
The Texas GOP's executive committee voted Thursday night to proceed with plans to hold the party’s in-person convention in Houston later this month.
The State Republican Executive Committee, a 64-member body that serves as the governing board of the state party, voted 40-20 to approve the resolution supporting the in-person gathering. Thursday’s vote comes as the state grapples with a surge of coronavirus cases, with Houston serving as one of the country’s hot spots for the virus.
The SREC is scheduled to meet again Sunday to consider changing the party’s rules. Those rules will include a tweak that allows the party to act on an “emergency fallback contingency plan,” if necessary, to hold a virtual convention, party Chair James Dickey told members as he kicked off Thursday’s virtual meeting.
The convention, scheduled for July 16-18, will be held at the George R. Brown Convention Center, where roughly 6,000 people are expected to attend… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
Trump administration eyes new strategy on COVID-19 tests (The Hill)
The Trump administration is eyeing the use of a new strategy that would allow states to dramatically expand their testing capabilities as several areas seek to get coronavirus outbreaks under control.
Public health officials have in recent days discussed the benefits of pool testing, an approach that allows several samples to be tested at once to reduce the time and resources needed to test large groups. Such a strategy could prove helpful to allowing schools to reopen, experts said, and could preserve supplies as states like Texas, Florida and Arizona attempt to rein in spiking case numbers.
Administration officials have been kicking around the use of pool testing, also referred to as batch testing, for some time. But they began discussing it more publicly over the past week… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
How to redesign the world for coronavirus and beyond (Politico Magazine)
In the months since the coronavirus engulfed the world, it’s become clear that society won’t go back to normal any time soon, if ever.
Yes, states are reopening their economies, but some are seeing serious spikes and shutting back down. And even the “reopened” world looks very different. Restaurants are half-filled; many movie theaters and stadiums remain empty; vacations have turned local. Huge question marks hang over the summer’s presidential conventions and the school year this coming fall. Without a vaccine, and with the virus still spreading around the world, we can’t expect society to resume its former shape anytime soon.
That’s a deeply alarming thought. But a crisis of this scale also offers a massive opportunity and a powerful incentive to make some needed changes. The pandemic has exposed serious weak spots in our existing systems and norms. So, how can we rethink the way we live to make ourselves safer, healthier and even happier, now and in the future? (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Related Content:
BG Podcast Episode 89 - COVID-19's Impact on the Built Environment with Michael Hsu
Fauci: Coronavirus surges mark a "very disturbing week" in the U.S. (AXIOS)
NIAID director Anthony Fauci told medical journal JAMA on Thursday that it has been a "very disturbing week" for the spread of the novel coronavirus in the U.S.
What's happening: The number of coronavirus cases increased in the vast majority of states over the last week, and decreased in only two states plus the District of Columbia, Axios' Caitlin Owens reports… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
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