BG Reads | News You Need to Know (November 18, 2020)
[BINGHAM GROUP]
***NEW*** BG Podcast Episode 114: Discussing Austin's Code Department with Director José Roig
On today’s episode we speak with José Roig, Director of Austin’s Code Department.
José and Bingham Group CEO A.J. discuss his background leading to the directorship; the mission and role of the Austin Code Department; COVID-19's impact operations; and his priorities going into 2021.
Joining the City of Austin in 2007, José was most recently Interim Director of the department. His position was made on permanent Friday, November, 13th (Read the City’s press release here).
Pre-filed bills for the 87th Texas Legislature:
[AUSTIN METRO]
Andy Brown sworn in as county judge for Travis, faces budget, pandemic challenges (Austin American-Statesman)
As coronavirus vaccine trials continue to show promise, Travis County health care workers have joined forces to plan how to best distribute any potentially life-saving drug to residents in the Austin area next year.
Austin Public Health recently launched the COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Coalition, which is made up of local health care and community partners. Once a vaccine is available, the coalition will work to administer doses to the public.
“Planning for the distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine will once again require many stakeholders and a community effort to be successful,” Stephanie Hayden, Austin Public Health director, said in a recent statement. “We still have a long road ahead of us, but the COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Coalition marks the beginning of a new chapter in our response.”
So far, two coronavirus vaccines are showing overwhelming success during their trial periods, according to a report by The Associated Press on Monday. Moderna and Pfizer Inc. this month both announced their vaccines were showing to be at least 90% effective.
However, Dr. Mark Escott, interim Austin-Travis County health authority, said during a recent interview that vaccines will need continued testing to determine how successful they will be, adding that he is hesitant to believe the efficacy rate would be as high as 90%… (LINK TO STORY)
Commissioners take next step toward permanent telework (Austin Monitor)
The Travis County Commissioners Court voted unanimously Tuesday to move forward with a scope of services for a consultant to advise them on a plan to have 75 percent of eligible employees to do their jobs by teleworking on a permanent basis. As a result of the coronavirus, commissioners directed staffers to create the framework for teleworking in May, and in July directed staffers to find an estimated $250,000 in funding for a consultant to devise the plan. The program is expected to show how 479 county employees can continue to work from home.
Travis County CIO Paul Hopingardner said he would be asking vendors to present proposals in line with the scope of services he and other staff members have developed for the program. The source of funding for the program is still unclear.
Commissioners Brigid Shea and Gerald Daugherty sponsored the resolution. Shea was particularly enthusiastic about the benefits of teleworking, both for Travis County and for employees. She said, “We have made a commitment as a court and as staff to achieve 75 percent telecommuting for eligible staff on a permanent basis. This will reap numerous benefits.”
When Travis County ordered its employees to stay home and work remotely in order to avoid spreading the coronavirus, Shea said, “The first thing we noticed was how rapidly it reduced our traffic congestion. We know … TxDOT doesn’t have enough money to deal with our congestion and transportation needs,” so teleworking offers the fastest way to decrease traffic while saving money. In addition, she said, an earlier survey of greenhouse gas emissions showed that employee commuting was the second-greatest contributor to greenhouse gas from Travis County.
“By moving to telecommuting with 75 percent of eligible employees, we dramatically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions,” she said. “We also keep people safer,” because they are less likely to be exposed to the virus.
Shea added one surprising fact: The county auditor has documented an increase in productivity since people started telecommuting. In addition, she said the morale of county employees has improved. Travis County also has the opportunity to save money on leased parking and office space, she added... (LINK TO STORY)
With City Council runoff elections set, Austin clerk raises concern over polling locations (Community Impact)
Austin City Council’s District 10 and District 6 will require runoff elections to determine which candidates will sit on the dais for the next four years. Early voting begins Dec. 3, and election day is Dec. 15; however, where constituents in the district will vote remains a question.
City Clerk Jannette Goodall is still working to finalize a list of polling locations for early voting, which will run from Dec. 3-5 and Dec. 7-11. During a Nov. 17 meeting where City Council officially called for the runoff election, Goodall said even in a normal year, nailing down polling locations for December runoffs is much more difficult than November general elections. Goodall said coronavirus restrictions and the recent uptick in cases have made the process even more complicated.
“It’s a complete moving target that gives me heartburn and indigestion and, I will admit, is the worst two weeks of the year for me,” Goodall told City Council.
District 10 Council Member Alison Alter, who is in a runoff against challenger Jennifer Virden, said she was concerned there were no early-voting polling locations in the southern part of her West Austin district. Goodall said she was struggling to coordinate with potential polling places and that the list was still being finalized.
City Council voted to approve the draft list of early voting locations, which are included in the map below. Goodall said she expects to add a few more locations to the list by later this week. She said a final list will be brought to City Council on Dec. 1 for a final approval… (LINK TO STORY)
[TEXAS]
Coronavirus cases in Texas are soaring again. But this time Gov. Greg Abbott says no lockdown is coming. (Texas Tribune)
On June 26, Texas was reporting 5,102 people had been hospitalized due to the coronavirus, breaking a new record for the state. The positivity rate — the portion of tests that come back positive — had hovered above Gov. Greg Abbott’s “warning flag” level of 10% for more than a week.
Abbott swept into action. For a second time in months, the Republican governor shut down bars and rolled back restaurant capacity. Six days later, he took arguably his most drastic action yet, announcing a statewide mask mandate.
This week, more than 7,400 Texans are hospitalized for COVID-19, and the positivity rate has exceeded 10% for over three weeks.
But the governor’s strategy as the state heads into the holidays is to stay the course, relying on a 2-month-old blueprint to claw back reopenings regionally based on hospitalizations. The mask order remains in place, but last week he ruled out “any more lockdowns,” and tensions are again rising with local officials who want more authority to impose safety restrictions.
“We need the state to step in and lead or get out of the way and let us lead,” Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo told reporters Tuesday.
Public health experts and elected officials acknowledge they are up against a stronger sense of “COVID fatigue” than ever — a malaise that appears to be reflected in the state response… (LINK TO STORY)
Powerless to issue COVID-19 restrictions, Hidalgo to urge no multi-household Thanksgiving gatherings (Houston Chronicle)
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Tuesday plans to urge residents to limit Thanksgiving gatherings to immediate family to limit the spread of COVID-19, according to two county officials familiar with her planned 3:30 p.m. remarks. The county also will send an emergency cell phone alert to all residents urging them to get tested for the virus, regardless of whether they have symptoms, as uncontrolled community spread has driven up new case and hospitalization numbers to a point higher than before Labor Day. Hidalgo and health officials fear a sustained surge like the one in June and July, which pushed Houston-area hospitals beyond their base ICU capacity.
Hidalgo’s requests will be voluntary, since Gov. Greg Abbott in April stripped local officials of the ability to issue their own COVID-related restrictions. The governor rebuffed Hidalgo’s request in June for a new stay-at-home order; she warned during her annual State of the County remarks last week that new restrictions may be needed to combat this most recent wave of infections.
At no point has Harris County reached its goal of a two-week average positive test rate of below 5 percent. Since June, the county has been at its highest threat level, which advises residents to stay home when possible and avoid unnecessary contact with others. Mayor Sylvester Turner on Monday canceled Houston’s Thanksgiving parade for the first time in its 71-year history, and also implored residents to avoid large holiday gatherings. At the afternoon news conference, Hidalgo also is expected discuss the resignation of Dr. Umair Shah, the county’s public health authority. Shah, who has lead the county’s pandemic response, has taken a new position in Washington state… (LINK TO STORY)
FBI is investigating Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, AP report says (Texas Tribune)
The FBI is investigating Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Associated Press reported Tuesday evening, vetting allegations made by eight of Paxton’s former top aides that he illegally used the power of his office to benefit a political donor.
Two unnamed sources told the AP that the bureau was examining claims made by the whistleblowers that Paxton broke the law by intervening several times in legal matters involving Nate Paul, a real estate investor and friend who donated $25,000 to Paxton’s campaign in 2018.
On Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, eight aides in total told authorities that they believed Paxton had committed crimes as part of his relationship with Paul, citing bribery and abuse of office. Since then, four aides have been fired, three have resigned, and one has been placed on leave — sparking a whistleblower lawsuit… (LINK TO STORY)
[NATION]
Pelosi set to be reelected Speaker despite House losses (NPR)
Nancy Pelosi is expected to be reelected speaker of the House by her caucus for the next session of Congress, marking what will be her fourth term with the gavel.
Pelosi, 80, does not face any challenge inside her caucus for her post, but she will also need to secure a simple majority — 218 Democratic votes — by the full House of Representatives in January to be sworn in again as speaker.
In 2019 several Democrats voted for someone other than her on the floor, but with a slimmer margin after the 2020 election, she cannot afford to lose more than a handful of votes from her caucus.
House Democrats are slated to hold leadership elections as they grapple with unexpected losses and the prospects again for a divided Congress, with the GOP likely to maintain control of the Senate. House Republicans picked up at least eight seats and several races are too close to call.
Other top party leaders — House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., and Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-S.C. — who are 80 and 81 — are also running unopposed. House Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries does also not face any competition for his post as the fifth-ranking leader.
Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., who ran the House Democrats' campaign arm, said she would not run for another term, and two Democrats — Rep. Tony Cardenas of California and Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York — are vying for the position that will be decided later this month… (LINK TO STORY)
Top cybersecurity official ousted by Trump (The Hill)
President Trump ousted Christopher Krebs, the top U.S. cybersecurity official, on Tuesday evening, disagreeing with Krebs’s statement affirming the security of the 2020 election.
Trump, who has refused to accept his loss to Joe Biden in the presidential election earlier this month, said on Twitter that Krebs had been terminated "effective immediately." Trump said a recent statement by the cyber chief about the security of the election was “highly inaccurate” and claimed, without evidence, that “there were massive improprieties and fraud - including dead people voting.”
“Poll Watchers not allowed into polling locations, 'glitches' in the voting machines which changed votes from Trump to Biden, late voting, and many more,” the president wrote. “Therefore, effective immediately, Chris Krebs has been terminated as Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.”
Krebs, a Trump appointee, had served as director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) since CISA’s establishment in 2018. Krebs previously helmed CISA’s predecessor agency, the National Protection and Programs Directorate… (LINK TO STORY)
Senate's tech CEO interrogation shows parties are worlds apart (AXIOS)
Democrats and Republicans both want to rein in perceived abuses by Silicon Valley, but a Tuesday Senate hearing to grill Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey showed the two parties operating in mirror universes.
Why it matters: The distance between the parties' diagnoses of the tech industry's trespasses makes it harder than ever to imagine how they might find common ground to pass the meaningful new tech legislation they both say they want.
Driving the news: Republicans had originally convened the Senate Judiciary Committee's four-hour-plus hearing over the platforms' handling of the New York Post's Hunter Biden story. But the session ended up focusing on broader concerns over how tech firms treat political speech.
Republicans said repeatedly that tech companies were staffed by liberal employees who enforce policies that are biased against conservatives. They also said the platforms effectively act as publishers — and should take on publisher-style legal responsibilities — when they weigh content against their terms of service and take actions such as removing it or fact-checking it.
GOP lawmakers repeatedly asked Dorsey and Zuckerberg for lists of employees who made certain content moderation decisions at the company. Sens. Ted Cruz and Mike Lee berated Dorsey and Zuckerberg for alleged censorship.
Sen. Josh Hawley dramatically unveiled the existence of an internal Facebook tool named Centra that he said is used to track users across the platform without their permission. A Facebook spokesman said the tool is used for investigating security concerns like "coordinated inauthentic behavior" or fraud.
The catch: Sen. Ben Sasse cautioned members of his own party against agitating for tougher tech regulation when an incoming Democratic administration would be implementing and enforcing it.
Democrats said they appreciated the more-aggressive-than usual approaches Facebook and Twitter took regarding election-related misinformation but worried the platforms didn’t go far enough.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein asked Dorsey whether the labels Twitter added to Trump’s false victory claims went far enough. Dorsey defended them, saying Twitter seeks not to silence public figures who make questionable claims but to give users more context for evaluating the statements.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal asked Dorsey and Zuckerberg to commit to strong action to keep misinformation from disrupting the Georgia Senate runoff races. Zuckerberg said Facebook will draw lessons from the 2020 general election and make its systems “even more robust.”… (LINK TO STORY)