BG Reads | News You Need to Know (November 16, 2020)
[BINGHAM GROUP]
BG Podcast Episode 113: A Post-Election Discussion with Vanessa Fuentes, District 2 Councilwoman-Elect
Pre-filed bills for the 87th Texas Legislature:
Link to Filed House Bills (585)
LInk to Filed Senate Bills (170)
[AUSTIN METRO]
City of Austin announces new Austin Code Director (City of Austin)
The City of Austin has identified José G. Roig as the Austin Code Director. Mr. Roig will begin his new duties as the Austin Code Director on November 23, 2020.
Under the direction of Assistant City Manager Rey Arellano, the Austin Code Director is responsible for planning, directing, and coordinating code compliance to secure and maintain City code regulations as they related to housing standards, vacant lots, salvage yards, and other zoning restrictions.
The Austin Code Department has grown from a small division of the Austin Resource Recovery Department to a department with more than 150 employees and a budget of $27 million, with an important responsibility to the community it serves.
“I’m very happy to have José join our team. His extensive experience and past leadership in Austin Code position him to take the department to the next level, building a safer and greater Austin together through code education, collaboration, and enforcement”, said Assistant City Manager Arellano.
Mr. Roig has worked for the City of Austin since 2007 in several roles. He currently serves as the Interim Director for the Austin Code Department (ACD), where he provides strategic oversight and leadership to the department. During his time as Interim Director, Mr. Roig has collaborated with multiple departments, city officials and community leaders to deliver excellent services to our community. Prior to this role as the Interim Director, Mr. Roig was the Assistant Director over field operations within ACD. Prior to working in ACD, he served as the Building Official, a Building Inspections Division Manager, Inspections Supervisor, and Commercial Inspector in the Development Services Department… (LINK TO STORY)
Local advocates envision I-35 as a boulevard (Austin Monitor)
As the Texas Department of Transportation begins the scoping process for the Interstate 35 Capital Express Central project, a new campaign aims to help clarify the decision at hand. Should Austinites allow the state to build its “expensive, polluting, dangerous, unpleasant highway expansion that makes congestion worse” or support a vision for a “beautiful, safe boulevard with street life and transportation choice”?
The campaign, called Rethink35, proposes removing I-35 and replacing it with a transit-friendly, walkable, surface-level boulevard. Advocates of the concept say it would help the city address everything from gentrification and displacement to climate change, air quality, traffic congestion and safety, all of which have been made worse by the construction and presence of the interstate.
“This project could be a national best practice in improving quality of life for everyone and for narrowing the gap between communities of different socioeconomic backgrounds,” Rethink35 spokesperson Adam Greenfield told the Austin Monitor. “We’re talking about a significant improvement to that part of Austin, and we have the tools to make sure that benefits people who have been disproportionately harmed in the past from I-35.”
The Rethink35 boulevard should not be confused with the “downtown boulevard” concept being explored by TxDOT as an alternative to its preferred design scenarios for the Capital Express Central project. This version of a boulevard would still expand the interstate at a cost of roughly $6.6 billion but would hide the main traffic lanes below the surface, leaving only frontage roads, sidewalks and bike facilities visible. The agency has not expressed serious interest in pursuing this alternative, but it is listed as a potential design option in the ongoing I-35 open house.
Rethink35 is also distinct from the plan known as Reconnect Austin, which seeks to bury I-35 through the city center, cap it with a six-lane boulevard and develop the right-of-way now occupied by access roads with affordable housing… (LINK TO STORY)
Travis County DA-elect Garza’s priorities reflect defender’s perspective (Austin American-Statesman)
José Garza, who will be Travis County’s new district attorney next year after winning this month’s election, has never prosecuted a criminal defendant in his career — and that’s been part of his pitch throughout his campaign. “For at least a hundred years in this country, we’ve been hiring and electing career prosecutors to run district attorneys’ offices,” Garza said. “We’ve seen the result of that practice, which is gross disparities in our criminal justice system.”
Garza has instead pointed to his courtroom experience as a public defender in Texas counties along the Mexican border and his management experience heading the Austin office of the activist organization Workers Defense Project as the kind of experience Travis County residents want in a prosecutor in the 2020s. “When I take office in January, my job and my goal is to prioritize the public safety of this community,” he said. “That means beginning the work of ensuring that our justice system treats everyone equally and fairly, regardless of their race or ethnicity, regardless of their income, regardless of their immigration status.” He defeated incumbent Travis County District Attorney Margaret Moore in the Democratic primary runoff in July — amid widespread protests against police brutality — and defeated Republican opponent Martin Harry in an election that saw a historic level of turnout on Nov. 3… (LINK TO STORY)
Austin-area students failing at higher rates amid coronavirus pandemic (Austin American-Statesman)
Before starting their own workdays, J.E. Johnson and Liz Johnston check their 9-year-old twins’ school assignments, entering them into a spreadsheet to keep organized. Throughout the day, the couple tag team, assisting their fourth graders with their video classes and working to ensure they keep up with their classwork. But even with the robust help, they fear their children are falling behind.
“Our kids barely squeaked a passing grade in some of their classes and always seem on the brink of failing if we don’t monitor the situation hourly,” said Johnston of the twins, who are online students of Mathews Elementary near downtown Austin. Freshman Shea Wiedemeyer, typically a straight-A student, who is attending McCallum High School remotely, has been struggling all school year and now is failing multiple classes. Central Texas students are failing courses at higher rates amid the pandemic. It’s a trend being seen across the state and country, as most students are learning remotely from home. While educators had hoped they could close learning gaps that grew after COVID-19 abruptly shuttered schools last spring, they instead are grappling with keeping their students engaged and making progress. Locally, failure rates have increased by double digits in some area districts, such as Round Rock and Hays. In the Austin district, student failure rates are hovering over 40%, relatively unchanged compared with the first grading period over the last two years… (LINK TO STORY)
$1B Leander Springs project clears first regulatory hurdle after developer tweaks plan (Austin Business Journal)
A planned $1 billion development in Leander with a manmade lagoon has cleared its first hurdle.
The city's Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved a planned unit development rezoning for the proposed Leander Springs project during its Nov. 12 meeting. It will next go to Leander City Council on Nov. 19.
A few details of the project, which will be developed in a public-private partnership between the city of Leander and Leander Springs LLC, have changed since its first reading at the Planning and Zoning Commission on Oct. 22. Commissioners postponed action on the rezoning at their last meeting to allow the development team time to address several concerns, including noise and water use. The development team conducted a study to address water use concerns, though some commissioners remained skeptical.
"We've gone through extensive efforts and time and research to assure you that it's been thoughtfully considered, and our experts say there's minimal impact long-term," said Peter Verdicchio, principal at SEC Planning and a representative for the developer.
The mixed-use development is planned on about 78 acres at the southwest corner of FM 2243 and the 183A toll road, relatively close to the heart of fast-growing Leander. The massive development would be anchored by a four-acre Crystal Lagoon, and also would include 1 million square feet of commercial space, a hotel and up to 1,600 multifamily units… (LINK TO STORY)
[TEXAS]
Former aides file whistleblower lawsuit alleging retaliation by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (Texas Tribune)
At 9 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 2, David Maxwell and Mark Penley, then two top aides to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, reported separately to the agency’s offices, where, they claim, they were subjected to hours of “irregularities, harassment and retaliation.” Then, they say, when pressured to resign, they refused.
Eight hours later, they were fired.
Penley, the agency’s former deputy attorney general for criminal justice, and Maxwell, its former director of law enforcement, claim in a new whistleblower lawsuit that this treatment came after they, along with six of their senior colleagues at the agency, reported Paxton to authorities. They alleged their boss had broken the law by using the agency to serve the interests of a political donor and friend, Nate Paul, an Austin real estate investor.
Maxwell and Penley — who had been on leave for a month before their termination — are two of the four senior aides who sued the Texas attorney general’s office Thursday, claiming they suffered unlawful retaliation. Blake Brickman, who was fired in October, and Ryan Vassar, who has been on paid leave for weeks, also signed on to the lawsuit…(LINK TO STORY)
Worsening COVID pandemic demands 'another pullback' for Harris County (Houston Chronicle)
The worsening COVID-19 pandemic in Texas, which this week became the first state to exceed 1 million cases, demands a more aggressive response that may include more restrictions, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said Thursday.
Hidalgo used her annual State of the County address to criticize what she views as a half-hearted state and federal response that has led to unnecessary deaths and a laggard economy stuck in a cycle of halted reopenings.
She called for the adoption of science-based shutdown thresholds, similar to the county’s threat level system, and lamented that Gov. Greg Abbott earlier this year stripped local officials of the ability to issue enforceable COVID-19 restrictions on travel and commerce. The recent, sustained increases in cases and hospitalizations will lead to new shutdowns, she predicted.
“Inevitably, another pullback is necessary,” Hidalgo said. “We see the numbers in El Paso. Our hospitals were almost overwhelmed in June and July, and now our numbers are again ticking up. We have to get this under control.”
Houston region hospitals reported 1,079 admitted COVID patients on Thursday, the highest figure since Sept. 7, according to the Southeast Texas Regional Advisory Council. Hospitalizations peaked in mid-July just below 4,000 and had been steadily declining until October… (LINK TO STORY)
‘A challenging task’: Dallas city manager says next police chief must continue reforms, tackle escalating crime (Dallas Morning News)
Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax said the next police chief will face a “challenging task.” In a candid interview with The Dallas Morning News on Friday, Broadnax said the city’s next police chief will have to balance the community’s expectations of policing and the needs of the department’s staff of about 3,100. Broadnax, who spoke with The News' editorial board, is on a tight deadline to fill the job currently held by Police Chief U. Reneé Hall.
In September, Hall announced that after three years in the role she would leave at the end of the year to pursue other opportunities. Hall, the first woman to be Dallas police chief, faced criticism over escalating violence and her handling of mass protests downtown after the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. After the summer demonstrations, Hall made several policy changes, such as limiting the use of tear gas and less-lethal projectiles on crowds and requiring officers to intervene in cases of police misconduct. But escalating violence has dominated her last two years on the job. Homicides in Dallas are up nearly 19% so far this year with 210 murders compared to 177 at this time a year ago.
In addition to managing one of the country’s largest police departments and a $560 million budget, the next leader must confront the coronavirus pandemic and pressure to continue police reforms. "They have to have the mettle and understanding and wisdom to ... make the right type of decision of what they believe is in the best interest of the city and the people they are in charge of,” Broadnax said. “Someone that is politically astute, but not political.”… (LINK TO STORY)
[NATION]
Conservatives flock To Mercer-funded Parler, claim censorship on Facebook and Twitter (NPR)
Maria Bartiromo, the Fox Business host, declared herself done with Twitter two days after the election. She tweeted a link to an article that falsely claimed Democrats were trying to steal the election. Twitter hid the post behind a label warning that it contained misleading content. Twitter also notified Bartiromo that someone had complained about her account (even though it did clarify that she had not violated any rules and it was taking no action against her). For Bartiromo, the label was the last straw.
"This is the same group who abused power in 2016," Bartiromo tweeted to her nearly 900,000 followers. "I will be leaving soon and going to Parler. Please open an account on @parler right away." Parler, founded in 2018, touts itself as "the world's premier free speech platform." On Saturday, CEO and co-founder John Matze said one of the privately owned company's early investors is Rebekah Mercer, who along with her father, hedge fund billionaire Robert Mercer, has been a backer of President Trump and is also a major donor to conservative causes, including Breitbart News and former White House strategist Steve Bannon.
"John and I started Parler to provide a neutral platform for free speech," Rebekah Mercer wrote on Parler on Saturday. She went on to condemn "the ever increasing tyranny and hubris of our tech overlords." The company puts few restrictions on what users can post. That has made it attractive to high-profile conservatives who claim Facebook and Twitter are censoring them, even though there is no evidence for these allegations of systemic anti-conservative bias. Facebook and Twitter have stepped up their fight against misinformation in the weeks leading up to and following the election. They have removed groups, slapped warnings on posts and reduced the spread of the most egregious false claims of voter fraud… (LINK TO STORY)
Mexican lawmakers take up sweeping pot legalization bill (Reuters)
Mexican senators on Friday began weighing a sweeping initiative to legalize recreational use and sale of marijuana, a proposal that could create the world’s largest weed market in a country battered by a violent war against drug gangs. The Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that recreational marijuana should be permitted, and lawmakers in 2017 legalized the use of medicinal marijuana. But the country has yet to pass laws that would legalize its recreational use, or regulations for medicinal marijuana.
Lawmakers are now rushing to try to meet a Dec. 15 deadline set by the Supreme Court for legalization, with the support of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador who has aimed to removing the drug as a source of income for violent drug gangs. Discussed by the Senate’s health, justice, and legislative studies commissions on Friday, the marijuana bill would allow licensed sale of pot, let users carry up to 28 grams of the drug and grow as many as four cannabis plants in their homes.
It would also create the Mexican Institute for Regulation and Cannabis Control within the Health Ministry. Among the restrictions, children and teenagers would be prohibited from smoking pot or being at all involved in its cultivation and sale, and the drug would not be allowed while driving. The possible legalization of hemp, a product derived from marijuana, for industrial use in sectors such as construction or food production, has not yet been hammered out, a legislative staffer told Reuters… (LINK TO STORY)