BG Reads | News You Need to Know (May 21, 2020)
[BINGHAM GROUP]
*NEW* BG Podcast Ep 87: Mobility Policy in a COVID19 World feat. Pete Gould of Catapult Policy Strategies (LINK TO SHOW)
[AUSTIN METRO]
Large events in Austin not likely through end of 2020, officials say (Austin American-Statesman)
Large events like the Austin City Limits Music Festival or Texas Longhorns football games are not likely through the end of the year as the coronavirus pandemic continues, Austin Public Health officials said Wednesday.
“The large events are the first thing that we turned off and are going to be the last thing we’re going to turn back on because of that risk of exposing lots of people to one another, particularly individuals of the same household,” Austin-Travis County Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott said.
Austin is currently in Stage 3 of its reopening plan, which allows low-risk people to gather, shop and dine out in groups of 10 or fewer.
Escott said the city would have to move into Stage 1, the safest level of the plan, to consider large events again. In Stage 1, high-risk residents would have to avoid gatherings of 25 people or more. The size of gatherings for low-risk people during Stage 1 has not yet been determined.
“We are working on a plan to help forecast what we think is going to be reasonable, but looking through the end of December, we don’t have any indications at this stage that we would be able to mitigate risk enough to have large events, particularly ones (with) over 2,500 (attendees),” Escott said.
While what Escott said is not an official recommendation, a city spokesperson said the doctor’s comments reflect what Austin Public Health is currently thinking regarding large events… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Census data shows Austin added more than 177,000 residents over the last decade, fifth most in the nation (Community Impact)
Between 2010 and 2019, Austin went from the 14th-largest city in the U.S. to the 11th largest and added more residents than all but four American cities, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released late May 20.
Austin went from 801,829 residents on April 1, 2010, to 978,908 residents on July 1, 2019, according to the data. That increase of 177,079 residents only trailed Phoenix, Houston, San Antonio and Los Angeles as the most in the country.
Four of the six cities that added the most residents in the decade are located in Texas: Houston, San Antonio, Austin and Fort Worth. Dallas added the ninth-most residents in the U.S., with an increase of 145,014… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
University of Texas considering furloughs, permanent layoffs to deal with ‘uncertainty’ during coronavirus pandemic (KXAN)
Austin-Travis County's total homeless population in early 2020, as well as the number of people living unsheltered, increased from last year, according to the most comprehensive local count of those residents.
Every year, the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition, or ECHO, dispatches hundreds of volunteers to count the number of people experiencing homelessness in the city and county.
This Point In Time Count offers exactly that: a snapshot of how many people in Austin and Travis County are experiencing homelessness at a specific time. The PIT Count is the most authoritative local census of a population that's particularly difficult to measure — and it is used to guide public policy and direct resources to fight community homelessness… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Bexar County set to offer $450 stipend to those participating in retraining program (San Antonio Express-News)
Bexar County officials are looking to put $450 per week into the hands of thousands of unemployed workers while they’re trained for new, post-coronavirus careers. The plan, which marks the first time the county will pay people to get job training, takes aim at two of the area’s major weaknesses: a low-skilled workforce and low wages. County officials Tuesday set aside $35 million in federal CARES Act funding, out of a total of nearly $80 million, to develop a training program for 5,000 workers.
Both Bexar County and San Antonio are planning to unveil separate workforce development plans funded with CARES money. More than 100,000 workers have filed unemployment claims in the city since mid-March. Under the county’s plan, trainees would receive the weekly stipend while they take classes at Alamo Colleges campuses in fields such as health care and information technology, Precinct 2 Commissioner Justin Rodriguez said. The stipend amount was based on what someone would earn working 30 hours a week at $15 an hour. It’s designed to replace that income so the recipient can train for a higher-paying occupation… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Teacher group says June 1 too soon for in-person classes (Dallas Morning News)
Texas shouldn’t rush to reopen campuses for summer school because many safety precautions still need to be in place, a teacher group said in a news release Wednesday. The Texas State Teachers Association said Gov. Greg Abbott’s plan to allow for schools to reopen on June 1 will only put children and employees at risk because coronavirus remains a threat. “By rushing to allow school buildings to reopen on June 1, less than six weeks from now, Gov. Abbott is creating an illusion that the worst of this health crisis is behind us. It is not," TSTA President Noel Candelaria said in a news release. “People are still getting sick and dying in large numbers, and reopening school buildings too soon will increase the peril.”
On Monday, Abbott announced the next phase of reopening Texas during the ongoing pandemic, including allowing public and private schools to resume classes on campuses. Many districts, including Dallas, have already made plans to hold summer programs online. But TSTA officials worry that some districts will move too fast to reopen. They demanded that state and local leaders across Texas agree to enforce safety requirements before reopening buildings to students and school employees. The teacher group’s demands include ensuring that there is enough protective gear for everyone in a school workplace, that detailed steps are followed to enforce social distancing, and that sanitation practices and strong enforcement are set… (LINK TO STORY)
Texas doctors say their revenue has dropped by at least 50% since the pandemic, survey data shows (Texas Tribune)
As both a health care worker and a small-business owner, the coronavirus pandemic hit Austin pediatrician Ari Brown especially hard.
“The public perception of health care right now is: You guys are inundated, and it’s like being in ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’” Brown said. While that was true for hospital and emergency room doctors, she said, for independent medical practices, “there was this abrupt halt in business as usual.” Even with a swift rollout of telemedicine, her patient volume dropped by at least 50% for two months.
To cope with the resulting cash crunch, Brown reduced her employees’ hours, began calling patients to remind them of mandatory vaccinations and met families in the parking lot for check-ups. She hasn’t taken a paycheck since March 15.
An unlikely casualty of the coronavirus pandemic, independent medical practices are experiencing severe financial strain, according to a Texas Medical Association survey of physicians released Wednesday. The survey analyzed responses from 1,548 Texas physicians and found that 68% of practicing physicians have had to cut work hours, while 62% have had their salaries reduced… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
Trump threatens funding for Michigan, Nevada over absentee, mail-in voting plans (Washington Post)
President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to "hold up" federal funds to Michigan and Nevada in response to the states' planned use of absentee and mail-in ballots in upcoming elections as a means to mitigate risk of exposure to the coronavirus. In morning tweets, Trump did not specify which funds he might withhold, and he has not always followed through with similar threats. But his message comes as many states grapple with how to safely proceed with elections. Amid the pandemic, Trump has repeatedly railed against mail-in voting, claiming with scant evidence that it is subject to widespread fraud and has hurt Republicans in previous elections.
Trump took aim at Michigan a day after its secretary of state announced a plan to send absentee ballot applications to all of its 7.7 million voters for the state's primary elections in August and general elections in November. "Breaking: Michigan sends absentee ballots to 7.7 million people ahead of Primaries and the General Election," Trump wrote in his tweet, incorrectly describing the move to send applications for ballots. "This was done illegally and without authorization by a rogue Secretary of State. I will ask to hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path!" Trump tagged the Treasury Department among others in his tweet. Michigan Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson responded to Trump with a tweet of her own, noting she has a name… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Minority lawmakers gain unprecedented clout amid pandemic (The Hill)
Minority caucuses in the House are gaining unprecedented political clout, spurred by unity between black, Hispanic, and Asian and Pacific American lawmakers.
Known collectively as the Tri-Caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) and Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) encompass 131 House Democrats, or 56 percent of the most diverse House Democratic Caucus ever.
But the Tri-Caucus was not always effective in yielding its full voting power to move legislation or leadership battles.
That dynamic began changing as minority legislators united around opposition to President Trump’s policies and rhetoric on minorities and immigrants, but the move toward unity accelerated dramatically as COVID-19 disproportionately affected communities of color, leading to increased coordination among the minority lawmakers…(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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