BG Reads | News You Need to Know (May 18, 2020)
[BINGHAM GROUP]
BG PODCAST EP. 86: COVID19 Update with Selena Xie, President, Austin EMS Association (LINK TO SHOW)
WEEKEND READS
[AUSTIN METRO]
Travis County plans for 75% of eligible county employees to telework permanently (Austin Monitor)
Currently, 2,300 employees of Travis County telecommute to their jobs. Most of these newly minted teleworkers started working from home following the Stay Home-Work Safe orders issued by the city and county on March 24.
Now the county is exploring ways to extend this policy permanently.
On May 12, the Travis County Commissioners Court voted unanimously to have staff develop a plan by next month that incorporates telecommuting as a long-term work strategy for 75 percent of the 3,000 eligible county employees.
“This is not to be haphazard,” said Commissioner Brigid Shea, who sponsored the initiative along with Commissioner Gerald Daugherty. Shea requested that people management and productivity issues be included as part of the plan that comes back before the commissioners for review.
Though a co-sponsor of the effort, Daugherty cautioned that the development of a full plan would not be feasible within 30 days. He mentioned a variety of considerations, including the future of the county’s commercial buildings, how many parking spaces will be budgeted per employee and the required technology access for each individual… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Coronavirus was here before we knew it, Austin officials conclude (Austin American-Statesmen)
About 70 patients who have tested positive for the coronavirus reported having symptoms nearly two weeks before Austin health authorities confirmed the first cases here, a new and more comprehensive indication that the disease was swirling in Central Texas earlier than previously known.
Austin Public Health officials reveal that, based on interviews with COVID-19 patients, 68 of them reported symptoms as early as March 2, which was 11 days before officials diagnosed the first three Travis County cases.
Researchers fear that some patients might have inadvertently contributed to the early spread of the virus, mistakenly believing they had some other illness and not yet knowing the importance of self-isolation.
“Early infections and early cases coincided with flu season and may have been diagnosed with the flu or some kind of upper respiratory infection,” said Shelley Payne, director of the LaMontagne Center for Infectious Disease at the University of Texas. “They would have been infectious and able to spread the virus to their contacts, where, in tracking back, you can see where the virus was actually circulating before they were tested.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
As Gyms Reopen In Texas, Many Details Are Left To The Owners (KUT)
Gyms and exercise facilities are allowed to reopen today under the latest phase of Gov. Greg Abbott's plan to restart the Texas economy. The order states gyms can operate only at 25% capacity, and locker rooms and showers must stay closed.
That leaves other details about how to operate up to individual gym owners… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
With COVID-19 cases rising, El Paso officials ask governor to exclude them from next phase of reopening (Texas Tribune)
County Judge Ricardo Samaniego said his community isn’t ready for the second phase of Texas’ reopening — and he has data to back up his opinion.
COVID-19 cases in this border city have surged this month as some businesses began reopening and more tests are being conducted. On May 1, when some state restrictions were lifted, El Paso County had 961 positive cases and 22 deaths. By May 14, cases had risen 67%, to 1,607 — the state's sixth-highest total — and the number of deaths had almost doubled to 43.
But Samaniego also sees what’s happening in other parts of Texas, with armed protesters guarding businesses whose owners want to open in defiance of state restrictions and a Dallas salon operator becoming an overnight media sensation after she was jailed — and then released after the governor weighed in — for defying a local judge’s order to close her shop.
He doesn’t want those types of controversies to divide his community, so he and more than a dozen local elected and health officials are trying a different approach. Last week, they asked Gov. Greg Abbott to exclude El Paso from parts of his executive order that allows certain businesses to reopen at limited capacity… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
The pandemic’s next blow: Over 1 million Texans will lose health insurance (Dallas Morning News)
The worst is about to get worse. In Texas, where 5 million people already go without health insurance, nearly 1.2 million more are projected to join their ranks — far more than any other state. That’s the estimated collateral damage from the coronavirus recession, assuming the national unemployment rate hits 20%, according to a recent Urban Institute report. Some believe the real jobless number for April may already be that high.
In that scenario, 25 million adults and children in the U.S. are expected to lose employer-sponsored health insurance. The vast majority — 7 in 10 nationwide — will get coverage elsewhere, the study estimated. But in Texas, just 1 in 2 are projected to be covered, which would be the lowest share among the states. The surge in uninsured arrives while COVID-19 is still raging and states are struggling to restart their economies safely. Laid-off workers who lose health insurance generally have a 60-day window to sign up for replacement coverage, usually through their company plan or the federal health exchange. It’s a complicated decision that can be expensive, and unemployed Texans have a weak record of enrolling in such backup plans. That’s why the report projects such a low take-up in the state. Losing insurance will greatly compound the health and financial challenges for people, hospitals, doctors and the broader economy… (LINK TO STORY)
Why Trump v. Biden will likely be closest Texas presidential race in decades (Houston Chronicle)
The coronavirus pandemic threw a spotlight on health care coverage and the future of Texas’ beleaguered oil industry ahead of what is shaping up to be the closest presidential election in the state in decades. Just a few months ago, President Donald Trump and the Republican Party were leading with a booming American economy and grim warnings about socialism as they anticipated a race against Bernie Sanders. Instead, it’s former Vice President Joe Biden who has all-but sealed the Democratic nomination, and Texans are now grappling with record unemployment and related loss of health insurance. The early jabs show just how important both camps see those issues as they make their case to voters here.
The Trump campaign’s message is that the president is a champion to the state’s reeling oil and gas industry and Biden is a threat. Biden hasn’t signed onto or even endorsed the Green New Deal, but he did call it a “crucial framework” and that’s enough for team Trump. “We cannot afford to have Joe Biden and the Democrats enact these Green New Deal policies that would just destroy the Texas economy, put tens of thousands of people out of work and just re-engineer our country to fit some coastal dream that would be more fit in a state like California,” Trump Victory Director of Regional Communications Rick Gorka told reporters in a conference call on Tuesday. For Biden’s camp, the very health and safety of Americans hangs in the balance as Trump continues to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, threatening the health coverage of millions of Americans — including over 1.6 million Texans who have already lost jobs and, as a result, their employer-based health coverage, according to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
Trump tears into '60 Minutes' after segment with whistleblower Bright (The Hill)
President Trump took aim at CBS News and its flagship news magazine program, "60 Minutes," on Sunday after the program interviewed whistleblower Rick Bright, former head of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).
In a tweet, the president excoriated CBS and its "third place anchor, @NorahODonnell," whom he accused of "doing everything in their power to demean our Country, much to the benefit of the Radical Left Democrats."
"Tonight they put on yet another Fake “Whistleblower”, a disgruntled employee who supports Dems, fabricates stories & spews lies. @60Minutes report was incorrect, which they couldn’t care less about. Fake News!" he tweeted… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Democratic governors hit with flurry of legal challenges to coronavirus lockdowns (Politico)
The raging public debate over statewide coronavirus lockdowns is running parallel to a series of legal battles in state capitals — and the lockdown skeptics got a big boost this week.
The decision by Wisconsin’s Supreme Court on Wednesday to toss Gov. Tony Evers’ statewide shelter-in-place order set off a scramble in cities across the state to impose their own local restrictions. Elsewhere, bars and restaurants shut down by the order declared themselves open for business.
And legal challenges are continuing to pile-up across the country — even as governors who extend their state’s shelter-in-place orders begin peeling back some restrictions. The plaintiffs are business owners, aggrieved private citizens, pastors and in some cases, state legislators and legislatures.
The targets? Almost always Democratic governors or their top health appointees… (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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