BG Reads | News You Need to Know (March 16, 2020)
[BG PODCAST]
NEW -> Episode 78 - Bingham Group Supports the Austin Sunshine Camps (LINK TO SHOW)
Founded in 1928 the Austin Sunshine Camps (ASC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that has opened a world of possibilities to the youth of Central Texas by providing free week-long summer camps to low-income families. (NOTE: Campers must qualify for the Texas public school free and reduced lunch program to be eligible to attend.)
Located inside Zilker Park near Barton Springs Pool, ASC serves campers 7 – 11 years of age. The camp program, under the supervision of experienced counselors, offers activities such as swimming in Barton Springs or Deep Eddy pool, fishing, canoeing, handicrafts, nature study, hikes, games, and a ropes course with a variety of elements including a team wall, and trust fall. Transportation to camp and three meals a day is included.
Bingham Group is a proud ASC supporter and is committing $10,000 to its annual fundraising campaign. (See also, 2019 ASC Annual Report).
Here is a breakdown of where funding goes:
One Child’s Camp Session for a Week ($500)
Canoe Rentals for 200 Kids ($100)
Food and Snacks for a Day ($25)
Camp bedding ($50)
Please consider a donation today through April 1st.
[AUSTIN METRO]
Austin ISD in emergency meeting takes steps to prepare for possible coronavirus-related closures (Austin American-Statesman)
The Austin school board in an emergency meeting Friday night gave the superintendent the authority to continuing paying employees if the district must close schools beyond spring break in response to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
The trustees in a resolution also gave the superintendent purchasing power for major equipment and supplies that normally would require board approval. That includes technology the district would need to allow for online learning for an extended time.
The school district’s spring break, which currently runs through next week, began a day early for students and staff when officials alerted parents in the week hours of Friday morning that classes were canceled for the day. Austin school leaders have not decided whether to extend spring break further.
“I’ve not made that decision yet,” Superintendent Paul Cruz said. “I will be working with our city and county leaders and my staff to make that determination as soon as possible. I know it’s on everybody’s minds. It’s on my mind as well.”
Austin and Travis County authorities on Friday confirmed that three people in the county have tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Virus impact grabs attention from transit, land use at panel for NW Austin Council members (Austin Monitor)
Asked if Council will pass the Land Development Code within the next 12 months, [Council Member] Leslie Pool said an existing court challenge on the ability to upzone most of the city will play a part in what gets passed. She and Flannigan challenged each other on the data and semantics of which portions of the city would see the most dramatic density changes, which is one of the main objections that she, Alter and fellow “no” votes Kathie Tovo and Ann Kitchen have expressed.
“It is clear there are seven votes to pass the existing version of the Land Development Code. First reading was a 7-4 vote and second reading was a 7-4 vote,” she said. “The four of us … represent the central part of the city, which is bearing two-thirds of the bulk of the upzoning property changes, which is why the four of us have been very deliberate and careful and listening really intently to our residents in our neighborhoods, because we are seeing the majority of the changes.”
The new code is expected to have its third and likely decisive reading later this month or in early April… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Baylor Scott & White offering drive-thru testing (Austin American-Statesman)
The Baylor Scott & White clinic in North Austin has been busy since it began offering testing for the new coronavirus two days ago.
More than a dozen cars were lined up at the clinic Sunday, an indication of patients’ high interest in getting tested at its drive-thru testing site.
A Baylor Scott & White spokesperson said a free online screening questionnaire is available for anyone who has questions or concerns about their risk of contracting COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. The online screening questionnaire is available on the MyBSWHealth app and online at MyBSWHealth.com.
Results from the questionnaire may conclude someone is at low risk of contracting the disease or recommend further evaluation to those with more significant risk.
If a patient receives notification that he or she should seek additional evaluation, MyBSWHealth gives options for next steps. If a provider advises that a patient should be tested for COVID-19, specimen collection can be arranged… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Texas officials pass new requirements for nursing homes to limit spread of coronavirus (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
Texas nursing homes will be prohibited from allowing non-essential visitors into facilities due to coronavirus, Texas Health and Human Services announced Sunday. At the direction of Gov. Greg Abbott, nursing facilities will need to bar normal visitation except in “certain compassionate care situations such as a resident’s end-of-life,” THHS said in a news release. Nursing facilites were encouraged to use Facetime, Skype or other audio or video systems for residents to keep talking to family and friends. All staff and any visitors will need to undergo medical screening, THHS said.
“We understand how difficult these new restrictions will be for residents and their families and loved ones,” David Kostroun, HHS deputy executive commissioner for Regulatory Services, said in the news release. “First and foremost, we must all share the goal of protecting the people who are proving to be most vulnerable to this new virus.” HHS staff will be conducting inspections at facilities with a history of infection control deficiencies in the past three years. On Thursday, DFW nursing homes had mixed responses to COVID-19. Some facilities shut down visitation entirely, while others restricted the number of visitors permitted. Another facility had seemingly taken no extra precautions to limit visitors, alarming one Mansfield resident whose grandfather lives in the facility… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Travelers returning home from overseas waiting for hours at DFW Airport due to enhanced screening procedures (Dallas Morning News)
Thousands of international travelers returning to North Texas reported long lines and cramped conditions in the Customs line at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on Saturday as staff took extra precautions to guard against coronavirus. Airport officials urged patience as people had to fill out questionnaires from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as part of a travel ban the Trump administration instituted in an effort to halt the spread of the virus.
The screenings are necessary because the airport is one of the few accepting flights from areas affected by the travel ban, officials said. “DFW Airport is one of 13 U.S. airports identified by the Department of Homeland Security to screen American citizens, legal permanent residents and their immediate families who are returning home from European and other regions,” airport spokesman Bill Begley said. “These federally mandated enhanced procedures are part of the effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.” The problem, returnees say, is that the long lines make it impossible to maintain “social distancing,” a preferred measure to thwart the spread of coronavirus. One traveler, a 33-year-old Dallas resident returning from Cancun with her family, waited in line for three hours until a Customs officials asked if anyone was returning from Mexico… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
CDC Recommends Against Gatherings Of 50 Or More, As States Close Bars And Restaurants (KUT)
In an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now advising against gatherings of 50 people or more for the next eight weeks.
In a guidance announcement issued on Sunday, the agency said it was warning against large events and mass gatherings that include "conferences, festivals, parades, concerts, sporting events, weddings, and other types of assemblies."
The agency called on organizers, whether they are individuals or organizations, to cancel or postpone such events. However, it said the guidance did not apply to the daily operations of organizations like schools, institutes of higher learning or businesses.
"This recommendation is made in an attempt to reduce introduction of the virus into new communities and to slow the spread of infection in communities already affected by the virus," according to the guidance announcement. "This recommendation is not intended to supersede the advice of local public health officials."… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
The 2020 Campaign Is Over. The Coronavirus Campaign Just Started. (The New York Times)
The candidates remained their essential selves — even at a virtual, epidemiology-minded distance — as if straying from their preferred political brands would amount to coronavirus surrender. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont delivered a stern address about our national ills in front of well-placed flags in a Vermont hotel on Friday, instead of a stern address about our national ills in front of well-placed Ohioans or Floridians, talking up “Medicare for all” and polling support for his health care vision. President Trump, confined to the Rose Garden a short while later, conducted a news conference heavy on characteristic self-congratulation, periodic misrepresentation and medically incautious handshakes.
And hours after that, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. held a cellphone to his lips and squinted into a camera inside an antiseptic room in one state (Delaware) bearing the flag from another (Illinois). He asked if he was live during this “virtual town hall.” He turned to wander the space a little, as he often does onstage, restraining himself enough to stay in the shot. He nodded at his long-windedness (“I’ve already probably said too much”) and an uneven performance that, this time, was not his fault. “I’m sorry this has been such a disjointed effort,” Mr. Biden said, alluding to a series of tech failures during the session, “because of the connections.” The connections. They are complicated these days — for candidates, for voters, for socially-distanced Americans of all kinds. And as the presidential campaign moves uneasily through a new phase of non-contact and limited travel, the wider political world has already grown acutely aware of what it is losing. Politics happens in person, traditionally, and despite more recent feats of digital fund-raising and advertising, the smartphone era has been no exception… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Tennessee man who stockpiled hand sanitizer donates 17,700 bottles ahead of investigation (The Hill)
A Tennessee man who went viral after stockpiling 17,700 bottles of hand sanitizer donated all of the products Sunday after Tennessee officials announced they would investigate him for price gouging amid the coronavirus pandemic that has infected more than 160,000 people worldwide.
A local church took two-thirds of the supply of hand sanitizer and antibacterial wipes from Matt Colvin, an Amazon seller who lives outside Chattanooga, Tenn. The church will distribute the supplies to those who need the products across the state, The New York Times reported.
Officials from the attorney general’s office in Tennessee took the other third of the supply, which they will give to the attorney general’s office in Kentucky, where some of the products were purchased earlier this month, according to the outlet… (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.
PLEASE RESHARE and FOLLOW:
Twitter #binghamgp
Instagram #binghamgp