BG Reads | News You Need to Know (May 6, 2020)
[BINGHAM GROUP]
*NEW* BG PODCAST Episode 85: School District Land Use Talk with Tanya Birks, Director of Real Estate, Austin ISD (LINK TO SHOW)
[AUSTIN METRO]
City and county consider long-term telecommuting strategy (Austin Monitor)
When the city and county issued Stay Home-Work Safe orders on March 24, Austin became a community of teleworkers virtually overnight. Although there was minimal preparation for the change in work environment, the effort has been sufficiently successful to prompt both city and county leaders to consider extending work-from-home policies even after the crisis subsides.
In Travis County, commissioners Gerald Daugherty and Brigid Shea are collaborating on an initiative to encourage 75 percent of county employees to work from home at some point during the week.
In Austin, Council Member Alison Alter is bringing a resolution on May 7 to direct the city manager to update the city’s telecommuting policies. New policies will be based on the digital working experience under Covid-19 restrictions and incorporate more aggressive goals on the number of employees and the percentage of hours eligible for teleworking. Alter told the Austin Monitor there are not yet any specific goals.
County and city leaders both said telecommuting has turned out to be not only feasible but has benefited the environment and alleviated the perpetual traffic congestion that plagues Austin’s streets.
“We have this virtual experiment going, so we can see what can be done and see what the environmental consequences are,” Alter told the Monitor… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
'We are not past this': Mayor Adler to extend Austin-Travis County stay-home order (KVUE)
Austin Mayor Steve Adler said the messaging from State has been "confusing," after Gov. Greg Abbott partially reopened the state on Friday, May 1. The mayor is now trying to clarify some of the confusion, adding that the City will extend the stay-at-home order in Austin-Travis County.
The stay-at-home order is set to expire on May 8, but the mayor told KVUE that city leaders have plans to extend the order.
"It's kind of confusing right now with the messaging from the State, and we're going to try and clarify that this week by extending our order," Adler said.
Adler did not say how long the order will be extended or give a date on when city leaders will announce the order extension… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Many construction workers testing positive for coronavirus, Austin health officials say (Austin American-Statesman)
Construction workers in Travis County have emerged as a top group among people infected by the coronavirus, along with health care and grocery store employees who have worked throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Though precise numbers were not available Tuesday for how many people in those industries have been infected, interim Austin-Travis County Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott told Austin City Council members that health officials have seen numerous clusters of cases involving such workers. They are preparing to track the occupations of those who test positive to see which industries are hardest hit as more businesses reopen.
“We have seen a significant number of construction workers as well as family members of construction workers who are in that positive group right now,” Escott said. “It certainly seems to be at least one of the dominant industries.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Idled restaurants may serve as low-income neighborhood groceries during pandemic (Austin Monitor)
Austin Public Health is proposing a “micro food-distribution” program to bring fresh produce and select packaged foods into low-income neighborhoods that have limited access to groceries.
The two-month program aims to prevent crowding in grocery stores while lowering the burden and risk of shopping during the pandemic for residents who may also lack access to affordable health care. If approved, the Sustainable Food Center would partner with anywhere from three to 10 currently idled neighborhood restaurants to set up temporary food retail operations inside the buildings.
The solution could simultaneously provide new sales opportunities for Central Texas farmers, generate income for locally owned restaurants, and offer convenient, relatively safe shopping options for residents.
However, Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza said the program is no substitute for providing the full-service grocery stores some neighborhoods have needed for years.
“This is a perfect example of when government overthinks an issue,” Garza said over the phone Tuesday… (LINK TO STORY)
[TEXAS]
Gov. Abbott Says Texas Salons And Barbershops Can Reopen Friday (KUT)
Hair salons, barbershops, nail salons and tanning salons can reopen starting Friday, Gov. Greg Abbott announced. Gyms, nonessential manufacturers and businesses that work out of office buildings will be allowed to reopen May 18, with certain restrictions.
"Our ability to show we can coexist with COVID-19 depends on ongoing efforts and good hygiene to continue to slow the spread,” he said during a news conference Tuesday.The order was the latest in the governor's phased approach to reopening the Texas economy during the coronavirus pandemic.
His announcement came just four days after the first phase began.Under Abbott's new order, there can be only one customer per stylist at a salon and people waiting can be inside only if they can stay 6 feet away from others. Appointment-only services are preferred, he said, and customers and stylists are strongly recommended to wear face masks… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Analysis: Reopening Texas as hot spots multiply (Texas Tribune)
A social distancing experiment is underway in Texas, where outbreaks are mounting in places where people are close together: prisons, meatpacking plants and nursing homes among them.
Public policy is going the other way. The state government — countermanding directives from city and county officials in Texas — is slowly reopening the state, loosening shelter-at-home policies and easing into go-ahead-and-shop policies.
It has government officials talking out of both sides of their mouths: The new coronavirus is still raging, but it’s safe to venture into public places.
The consequences of reopening closed businesses and some social and cultural life will be apparent in a month or so, but hot spots are flaring right now across the state. It’s evident that putting lots of people together can give the coronavirus places to thrive, spreading rapidly to new victims.
Earlier outbreaks among people in close quarters elsewhere foreshadowed what’s happening now in Texas, among them a nursing home in suburban Seattle, a cruise ship denied permission to port, a meatpacking plant in South Dakota, state prisons in Ohio and the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt… (LINK TO STORY)
Texas House Speaker calls Home Depot’s, Lowe’s and Walmart’s coronavirus responses ‘disgusting’ (Dallas Morning News)
Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen on Monday called major retailers to tighten up their health and safety precautions as the state attempts to reopen up amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “While these behemoth retailers continue to reap profits with little to no regard for their employees’ and customers’ safety — ensuring the continued spread of COVID-19 — our local small businesses are the ones who suffer,” the outgoing Republican House Speaker said in a series of tweets.
Gov. Greg Abbott praised the COVID-19 measures taken by retailers such as Home Depot in an announcement allowing all stores, restaurants and movie theaters to reopen at a limited occupancy last week. “I am limiting occupancy to no more than 25%,” Abbott said on April 30. “This is a proven business strategy and is exactly the type of practice successfully used by HEB and Home Depot.” But Bonnen described the lack of social distancing and masks worn by employees at major home improvement chains as ‘disgusting.' “I’m tired of navigating a germ pool in an overcrowded Lowe’s, Home Depot, and Walmart,” he tweeted. “They haven’t dealt with the devastation of having to turn customers away and yet their behavior might be what keeps hair salons and gyms closed and restaurants at restricted capacity.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
White House to wind down coronavirus task force (NBC NEWS)
President Donald Trump's coronavirus task force is in the early stages of winding down, according to two people familiar with the matter. The meetings in the Situation Room of the White House have been shorter, and the task force no longer meets every day, according to the two people. Drs. Deborah Birx and Anthony Fauci are still expected to be at the White House daily, but other members of the task force may be present less frequently. However, two separate sources familiar with the matter noted that the task force met Tuesday.
The news was first reported by The New York Times. Trump tapped Vice President Mike Pence to lead the panel in late February, weeks after the first known case of the coronavirus in the U.S. and a few days after the first publicly reported coronavirus-related death in the country. Trump confirmed on Tuesday that the task force is disbanding while speaking to reporters in Arizona while visiting a factory that is manufacturing masks. “I think that, as far as the task force, Mike Pence and the task force have done a great job,” Trump said. "But we’re now looking at a little bit of a different form, and that form is safety and opening, and we’ll have a different group probably set up for that.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
House hits gas, Senate pumps brakes on $2T more in relief (The Hill)
Congress is under the gun to pass yet another massive round of coronavirus relief, as small-business funds dry up, state budgets are ravaged and unemployment claims soar to record highs.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Democrats are planning to unveil an enormous CARES 2 package in the coming days, with a possible floor vote as early as next week — a blistering pace for a proposal expected to rival the size of the initial CARES Act, which topped $2.2 trillion and was signed into law March 27.
House passage would set up another heated clash with Republicans in the Senate, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is calling for a “pause” in emergency aid, to allow the trillions of dollars already allocated to get out the door… (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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