BG Reads | News You Need to Know (June 26, 2020)
[BINGHAM GROUP]
PODCAST Episode 95: Building a Community with Kobla Tetey, Austin Area Urban League Young Professionals (SHOW LINK)
Today's podcast features Kobla Tetey, President of the Austin Area Urban League Young Professionals.
He and AJ. discuss the organization’s mission and growth in recent years as hub for young Black professionals in Austin. The two also talk community engagement and economic development, the latter particularly around Opportunity Zones.
Note: Show also available on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Sound Cloud, and Stitcher
Help Re-Elect Austin Council Member Jimmy Flannigan (District 6)
Please join Bingham Group CEO A.J. and fellow co-hosts TODAY (5Pm to 6PM) for Council Member Jimmy Flannigan's (District 6) virtual campaign kickoff! We need his voice and leadership on the Council dais. RSVP -> felicia@susanharry.com
Also, join the council member for his campaign kick-off this Sunday, June 28 (4PM to 5PM) -> RSVP here
[AUSTIN METRO]
Travis County Bans Outdoor Gatherings Of More Than 100 People (KUT)
Outdoor gatherings of more than 100 people are prohibited in Travis County starting Friday through July 10.
County Judge Sam Biscoe issued an order Thursday that states violating the new restriction could result in a fine of up to $1,000.
The order also says people should not be in groups of more than 10 people, unless they are part of the same household.
The announcement comes two days after Gov. Greg Abbott gave local governments the power to limit gatherings of more than 100 people. Texas has reported record-high numbers of COVID-19 hospitalizations and new cases this month. On Thursday, the state saw the highest daily increase in cases yet – nearly 6,000. The positivity rate – the percentage of tests that come back positive – has doubled since late May.
Austin and Travis County have also been reporting record numbers. In a news conference Wednesday, local medical professionals warned hospitals here could be overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients in the next few weeks if behaviors don’t change. They urged people to wear masks in public, sanitize their hands frequently and stay home as much as possible… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Housing, Planning & Zoning departments to merge (Austin Monitor)
Under a plan proposed by Assistant City Manager Rodney Gonzales Thursday, the city’s Planning and Zoning Department would be merged with the Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Department in the 2020-21 fiscal year, which starts in October. The new department’s proposed name is the Housing and Planning Department.
Rosie Truelove, who directs NHCD, would be the director of the new department. Rebecca Giello, who is currently deputy director of the housing department, and Jerry Rusthoven, who has led Planning and Zoning as assistant director since the retirement of Greg Guernsey nearly a year ago, are expected to continue with the new department.
According to a memo from Gonzales, “Merging these two departments will allow for better collaboration to further housing and planning efforts. The merging of the departmental functions positions the city organization to integrate comprehensive planning, zoning and displacement prevention to include all affordable housing program delivery, central to community and Council priorities.”
He said that the merger would allow using resources for displacement prevention. The memo indicates that the effective date of the merger would mirror the budget effective date of Oct. 1… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Bastrop County, cities won’t mandate masks in businesses (Austin American-Statesman)
In the face of rising coronavirus infections in Texas, the Bastrop City Council stopped just short of issuing a mandate that would order business owners to require customers to wear face coverings.
Instead, the council passed an ordinance Tuesday that, in part, strongly recommends that everyone in the city wear masks in public. Bastrop Mayor Connie Schroeder said the city simply doesn’t have the ability to comprehensively enforce a mandate for face coverings.
“Mandating something and enforcing something are two different things. ... If we mandate it, I believe there is an expectation that we enforce it. That’s my concern, that’s my dilemma,” Schroeder said.
A mask-wearing mandate is not unprecedented in Bastrop County. On April 8, Bastrop County Judge Paul Pape issued an order that he later canceled that required residents to wear face masks in public when social distancing was not consistently possible. Per CDC guidelines, face masks help prevent the spread of droplets while speaking, or from a cough or sneeze. Anyone caught violating that order could have faced up to 180 days in jail and a fine up to $1,000.
Schroeder said that while Pape’s mandate was in effect, she would get numerous phone calls from people who observed individuals not wearing masks in businesses and demanding the offenders be arrested. But expecting cops to respond to every possible mask-wearing offense is an unreasonable burden... (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Governor Abbott Announces Temporary Pause Of Additional Reopening Phases (Office of the Governor)
Governor Greg Abbott today announced that the State of Texas will pause any further phases to open Texas as the state responds to the recent increase in positive COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. Businesses that are permitted to open under the previous phases can continue to operate at the designated occupancy levels and under the minimum standard health protocols provided by the Texas Department of State Health Services.
“As we experience an increase in both positive COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, we are focused on strategies that slow the spread of this virus while also allowing Texans to continue earning a paycheck to support their families,” said Governor Abbott. “The last thing we want to do as a state is go backwards and close down businesses. This temporary pause will help our state corral the spread until we can safely enter the next phase of opening our state for business. I ask all Texans to do their part to slow the spread of COVID-19 by wearing a mask, washing their hands regularly, and socially distancing from others. The more that we all follow these guidelines, the safer our state will be and the more we can open up Texas for business.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott pleads with Texans to wear masks, but leaves decisions to local leaders (Dallas Morning News)
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is pleading with Texans to wear face masks as cases of the coronavirus soar to record levels. But the Republican is declining to mandate them in public. In a strange twist, Abbott said he based the decision partly on mask-champion Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, who he accused of going too far in enforcing coronavirus orders. Abbott’s vocal embrace of masks comes after he hindered efforts by local officials early in the pandemic to require people wear face coverings in public. Last week, he gave his blessing to cities and counties that wanted to mandate masks inside businesses.
On Thursday, Tarrant County joined Dallas County and several others in adopting such a policy. But others such as Denton and Collin counties, have not followed suit, resulting in a patchwork of mask rules across North Texas. Abbott says nearly 60 percent of Texans are now covered by the new mask orders and that businesses should enforce the rules. “They want the mask requirement because it will ensure, for one, that they will be able to keep their doors open and it will ensure compliance by their customers so it will reduce the spread in their particular business,” he said Thursday on KBLK in Lubbock. But local leaders in cities hard hit by recent surges in coronavirus cases say more action is needed to stem the virus’s spread. On Thursday, Jenkins encouraged surrounding counties to adopt mask ordinances for businesses and called on Abbott to apply the rules statewide. “At this point with the speed of the spread, it would be most beneficial if the Governor would act on a regional or statewide basis to quickly follow the advice of the top doctors on infectious disease, epidemiology, and public health in Harris, Dallas, Bexar and Travis Counties,” he said in a tweet… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Texas Medical Center leaders change tone, say COVID surge manageable (Houston Chronicle)
Leaders of Texas Medical Center hospitals Thursday morning expressed confidence in the system’s ability to handle a surge in intensive care demand driven by COVID-19 patients. The message, delivered at a virtual news conference, was a change in tone from a letter the executives published 18 hours earlier, warning an alarming increase in hospitalizations could soon overwhelm the system. “I think the Texas Medical Center’s purpose was to really urge people to do the right things in the community, and do so by talking about capacity, but really ended up unintentionally sounding an alarm bell too loudly,” said Houston Methodist CEO Dr. Marc Boom. “We clearly do have capacity.”
The four leaders, including Dr. Mark Wallace from Texas Children’s Hospital, Dr. David Callender from Memorial Hermann and Dr. Doug Lawson from St. Luke’s, said the system was not in imminent danger of exhausting bed capacity for COVID or non-COVID patients. They said each institution had flexible surge plans, such as shifting adult patients to Texas Children’s, a move announced earlier this week. “We are used to making adjustments on the fly, and that’s what we’re currently doing,” Callender said. After the news conference concluded, the TMC system reported 100 percent of its ICU base capacity was full for the first time since the pandemic arrived in Texas in March. The system’s internal modeling also predicts surge capacity — extra beds, equipment and staff that could be pressed into service if needed — could be exceeded as soon as July 6 if the steep rate of new COVID hospitalizations continues. TMC hospitals have 373 long-term surge ICU beds available and 504 for short-term use. The 25-county region surrounding Houston set a new COVID hospitalization record Thursday with 2,416 patients. That figure has more than tripled since Memorial Day… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Bexar County’s population becoming more diverse, latest census figures show (San Antonio Express-News)
Bexar County’s population is becoming more racially and ethnically diverse, with the numbers of Hispanic, black and Asian residents each growing at faster rates than non-Hispanic whites, new census data released late Wednesday shows. The shifting demographics mirror a trend seen across Texas, where since 2010 the surge of Hispanic, black and Asian populations also has outpaced the growth rate of non-Hispanic whites. Bexar County’s total population crossed the 2 million mark in July 2019, up from 1.7 million residents at the time of the 2010 census.
Of the 2,003,554 residents living in the county last year, more than 1.2 million were Hispanic, accounting for 60.7 percent of the population. That’s an increase from 2010, when 1 million Hispanics accounted for 58.7 percent of Bexar County’s population. The number of Hispanics grew by almost 209,000 people, or 20.7 percent, during that nine-year period, the new population estimates show. Between 2010 and 2019, the percentage of non-Hispanics of all races in Bexar County’s population decreased from 41.3 percent to 39.3 percent. The U.S. Census Bureau considers Hispanic origin to be an ethnicity and not a race. Hispanics may be of any race, the bureau said. Bexar County’s non-Hispanic Asian population grew by 47.6 percent during the same nine-year period, while its non-Hispanic black population grew by 24.4 percent, according to the latest census estimate. The number of non-Hispanic whites rose only 4 percent… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
Gridlock mires chances of police reform deal (The Hill)
Police reform legislation is hitting a wall on Capitol Hill.
The gridlock, paired with the looming election, raises the prospects that lawmakers will fail to send a police bill to President Trump’s desk this year.
Congress has been under intense pressure to act since George Floyd’s death by Minneapolis police sparked widespread protests and calls to end systemic racism and police brutality.
The House passed a sweeping reform bill Thursday night, but that measure is going nowhere in the Senate, which is mired in its own partisan standoff.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said passing police reform “seems to be” dead in the Senate after most Democrats blocked a bill spearheaded by Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.), the only Black Republican senator, from moving forward.
“I don’t know how you do something,” Graham told reporters. “It’s a shame, but we are where we are.”
Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) added that he believed Congress had likely missed its moment to pass legislation in the wake of Floyd’s death. The Senate voted on Thursday to start debate on a mammoth defense policy bill that will eat up its schedule until a two-week break that starts July 3… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Why Joe Biden is Keeping the Black Lives Matter Movement at Arm’s Length (Politico)
At a megachurch in Phoenix this week, Donald Trump regaled a crowd of mostly maskless students with a story about the moment he said he knew he would win a second term.
The president explained that he was in the White House recently and passed by a TV screen and saw the words “defund and abolish.”
“What are they going to defund and abolish?” Trump said he asked. “The police,” he was told. “Oh, great, I just won the election!”
The data suggest otherwise. In fact, since the killing of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer on May 25 and the rise of protests against police brutality and systemic racism, including activist calls to defund the police, Joe Biden’s average polling lead over Trump has doubled from five to 10 points. The day after Trumps’s Arizona event, the New York Times published a poll showing Trump down by a staggering 14 points.
Trump might be forgiven for his misreading of the political situation. Some of Biden’s advisers had the same initial view of the politics of the protests. Biden’s campaign is led by an older and whiter group of operatives who came of age during a political era when many Democrats saw large-scale protests for racial equality as inherently alienating to many white voters. In some quarters of the party, street protest brought back the traumas of 1968 and Nixon’s 32-state landslide… (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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