BG Reads | News You Need to Know (March 17, 2020)
[BG PODCAST]
NEW -> Episode 78 - Bingham Group Supports the Austin Sunshine Camps (LINK TO SHOW)
[AUSTIN METRO]
LDC vote postponed due to COVID-19 (Austin Monitor)
The new Land Development Code, which was moving toward final passage with the support of seven Council members just a few days ago, has now been relegated to the back burner as Mayor Steve Adler and City Council look at ways to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Although Adler had written about scheduling public comment for two meetings, one on March 24 and one on March 28, on Monday he and other members of Council said those hearings would not be happening then. He told the Austin Monitor he was busy thinking about the coronavirus but would probably post something on the City Council Message Board Tuesday.
Adler wrote on the message board on March 12 that he was looking forward “to finishing our important work together to adopt a new Land Development Code.” He said he expected staff to publish the proposed text of the new code around March 20 to be considered for its third and final reading.
Council Member Leslie Pool, who has consistently opposed the new code, also wrote on the message board last month, “The changes we are making through the LDC rewrite have immense impact that will ripple through our city for decades to come. Through our public hearing procedures, we signal that we welcome direct, personal input on a matter of shared interest and concern. We all can appreciate the importance of nailing down these details well in advance of the March 28 public hearing.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Most city of Austin employees to work from home through at least March 28 as part of social distancing effort amid coronavirus (Community Impact)
In an effort to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, most city of Austin employees will begin working from home this week through Saturday, March 28, according to an internal memo obtained by Community Impact Newspaper.
In the March 15 memo to city staff, Austin City Manager Spencer Cronk said city departments would begin moving toward a work-from-home model on March 16 and that providing city services while maintaining social distancing was the priority.
“Teleworking, increasing or ensuring adequate working space among staff, and modifying operations or services that bring people together are actions we will take to accomplish this,” Cronk said in the memo. “We will use a phased approach for modifying city operations and transitioning to a more offsite telework environment.”
The move by the city comes as many private employers around town are implementing work-from-home policies. Two of the most high-profile local employers, computer company Dell and the job recruitment service, Indeed, advised all employees to work from home earlier this month in response to the coronavirus. Cronk emphasized that no employee should come into work if they are feeling sick and that city employees should contact the city’s human resources department if they are concerned with child care… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Doctors, First-Responders See Need For More Resources – And Distancing – Before COVID-19 Cases Rise (KUT)
As Central Texas prepares for an inevitable spike in COVID-19 diagnoses, medical professionals are calling on local officials to address unmet needs and implement tighter restrictions on public gatherings.
In an open letter to officials Monday, nearly 200 doctors asked authorities to "implement mandatory lockdown measures to enforce social distancing."
"Public health officials should not assume that such businesses will take these drastic measures voluntarily," they said.
The letter suggests schools stay closed for longer than two weeks while authorities gauge the severity of COVID-19's spread. A handful of school districts in Central Texas announced shortly after the letter's release that they would suspend operations until early April… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin gyms step up cleaning procedures, brace for possible closures as coronavirus spreads (Community Impact)
Big Tex Gym in North Austin isn’t taking any chances as cases of COVID-19 spread around the city. On Friday, gym manager Chris Rios said a guest was sent home after she began lightly coughing.
“She got frustrated with us,” Rios said, adding that they weren’t sure if her cough was meant as a joke, “But it’s not the joking time for that stuff.”
Big Tex has also taken extra precautions in recent weeks to increase its sanitation protocols for its equipment, some of which could be used by dozens to hundreds of people in recent days. Rios said the gym also implemented a cap of how many people can use it at a time—200—to help protect both guests and employees.
“We’re spraying down all the machines every day,” Rios said. “And we’re cutting it off [occupancy] at 200, but fortunately we don’t ever get super full like that. ... We’re just a mom-and-pop gym.”
Hyde Park Gym in Central Austin encouraged guests in an online statement to wash their hands frequently and use sanitizer “liberally,” but similar to Big Tex, stated coughing or sneezing guests would be required to leave immediately… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Abbott suspends Open Meetings Act over coronavirus pandemic (Austin American-Statesman)
Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday suspended portions of the Texas Open Meetings Act, the law that ensures public access to and participation in government meetings, amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had requested some provisions of the law be put on hold temporarily to pave the way for city councils, school boards and county commissioners courts across Texas to conduct meetings by telephone or video conference, according to a news release from Paxton’s office.
The lifting of the requirements comes as the Austin City Council is weighing how it will continue to conduct its business amid the outbreak. The city canceled all upcoming meetings related to the council’s controversial overhaul of the land development code. The effort to update the city’s rules on what can be built and where likely will be postponed as a result.
Austin officials also canceled all city boards and commissions meetings this week.
Governmental bodies will continue to be required to provide 72-hour advance notice of meetings, including agendas of what actions they might take. They will need to provide toll-free call-in numbers or a free-of-charge video conferencing link, a news release from Paxton’s office said.
The ability for the public to participate in meetings also remains a requirement, the release said… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Gov. Greg Abbott postpones special Texas Senate election due to coronavirus pandemic (Texas Tribune)
Gov. Greg Abbott has postponed the special election for the Austin area's Texas Senate District 14 due to the spreading coronavirus pandemic.
The election to replace retiring state Sen. Kirk Watson, an Austin Democrat leaving office at the end of April, has been moved to July 14, Abbott announced Monday evening. It ordinarily would have been held May 2.
Two candidates have already announced they're running for the historically Democratic seat: State Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, D-Austin, and Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt, who announced last week that she would resign from her position to run for the Senate. Several others have been eyeing a potential run at the seat.
Abbott's office said postponing the election "is another step the state is taking to protect health and mitigate the spread of COVID-19," noting that it was consulting with the secretary of state's office "on additional strategies to ensure public health in relation to any upcoming election." It's unclear whether additional action will be taken to delay municipal elections across the state, which are also slated for May 2… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Dallas bars and dine-in restaurants forced to close because of coronavirus (Dallas Morning News)
In an extraordinary step to stop the spread of coronavirus, bars and restaurants in Dallas will be required to close effective 11:59 p.m. Monday, city officials announced. It’s unclear how long the closures will last. The mandate came hours after a recommendation by President Donald Trump to avoid eating at restaurants, bars and public food courts to stop the spread of coronavirus. Dallas also banned gatherings of 50 or more people.
City Manager T.C. Broadnax has broad authority until Friday to enact any emergency measures for the sake of public health; Broadnax already took one of those steps on Sunday, when the city opened the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center as a temporary emergency shelter for the homeless until Saturday morning. Council members on Wednesday will decide whether to extend the disaster declaration made by Mayor Eric Johnson last week. Johnson also announced that night clubs, gyms, night clubs, theaters and entertainment venues would be forced to close. Restaurants may remain open for drive-thru, delivery and take-out services… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Texas banking commissioner gives OK for state banks to temporarily close (San Antonio Express-News)
Texas’ banking commissioner Monday said he’s allowing state-chartered banks to temporarily close all or part of their offices in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic. The announcement came the same day a few San Antonio banks said they were temporarily closing branches or reducing lobby hours. Department of Banking Commissioner Charles G. Cooper issued his proclamation to “protect the public and implement preventative strategies to preserve public health.”
Cooper expects state banks “will take the necessary measures to continue meeting the financial needs of their customers and those affected, while protecting the health of their employees.” USAA Federal Savings Bank said it’s closing its San Antonio bank lobby until further notice to avoid “face-to-face interactions.” The drive-thru lanes, including drive-up ATMs, will remain available. Its members also can conduct business remotely using their phone or computer. Broadway Bank is temporarily closing all but seven of its 35 lobbies effective Wednesday, spokesman Nathan Kokemor said. All drive-thru operations will maintain regular hours. Digital banking and its customer-service center will remain open… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
The man with 17,700 bottles of hand sanitizer donated them after intense pressure (The New York Times)
A Tennessee man who became a subject of national scorn after stockpiling 17,700 bottles of hand sanitizer donated all of the supplies Sunday just as the Tennessee attorney general’s office began investigating him for price gouging. On Sunday morning, Matt Colvin, an Amazon seller outside Chattanooga, Tennessee, helped volunteers from a local church load two-thirds of his stockpile of hand sanitizer and antibacterial wipes into a box truck for the church to distribute to people in need. Officials from the Tennessee attorney general’s office Sunday took the other third, which they plan to give to their counterparts in Kentucky for distribution. (Colvin and his brother Noah bought some of the supplies in Kentucky this month.)
The donations capped a tumultuous 24 hours for Colvin. On Saturday morning, The New York Times published an article about how he and his brother cleaned out stores of sanitizer and wipes in an attempt to profit off the public’s panic over the coronavirus pandemic. Colvin sold 300 bottles of hand sanitizer at a markup on Amazon before the company removed his listings and warned sellers they would be suspended for price gouging. As a result, Colvin was sitting on an enormous cache of sanitizer and wipes while much of the country searched in vain for them. The article immediately igniteded widespread outrage, with thousands of people posting angry comments across the internet about his actions. Many of those people also contacted Colvin directly with hate mail and death threats, while one man even banged on the door at his home late Saturday night, according to Colvin and several messages he shared with The Times… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Tech shapes a new stay-at-home economy (AXIOS)
As the coronavirus crisis forces daily life across the U.S. into a new homebound template, the tech industry is swooping in to reshape how we shop, eat and entertain ourselves.
The big picture: Trends toward e-commerce, delivery services and online entertainment have long been underway, but this moment is accelerating them — and pushing the companies and industries behind them into a new position of dominance… (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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