BG Reads | News You Need to Know (October 20, 2020)
[BINGHAM GROUP]
Early voting in Travis County runs through Friday, October 30 (Monday-Saturday, 7:00 AM-7:00 PM, Sunday 12-6 PM). Find early voting locations here (Travis County only).
***NEW*** BG Podcast Episode 110: Discussing City Governments with Professor Sherri Greenberg, LBJ School of Public Affairs (SHOW LINK)
Overview: She and Bingham Group CEO A.J. discuss and weigh different local governance structures of cities and their implications on civic engagement. In July, Austinites for Progressive Reform launched with, among other initiatives, a call to adopt a mayor-council form of government, i.e. a strong mayor system. This would transfer the city manager’s duties to the mayor. They are currently gathering signatures for a city charter amendment (Austin’s constitution) vote in May 2021.
[AUSTIN METRO]
Third of voters in Central Texas cast ballots in early voting’s first week (Austin American-Statesman)
With less than two weeks of early voting to go, Central Texas counties are on track to record their largest early voter turnout in recent memory.
Williamson County is leading the way, with ballots from nearly one-third of its registered voters already accounted for.
With 16.9 million voters registered statewide, more than 4 million Texas, or about 24%, cast a ballot in the first week of early voting, according to Stephen Chang, communications director for the Texas Secretary of State.
Before 2019, the state only collected data for a slice of the largest counties, which included Bexar, Dallas, Tarrant, Travis and Harris.
By comparison, he said that for those five counties the first week of early voting in 2016 was around 1.68 million and in 2020 that is about 1.74 million... (LINK TO STORY)
New MetroRail station opens in downtown Austin months ahead of schedule (KUT)
Trains rolled into Capital Metro’s new Downtown Station on Monday morning for the first time. The $37 million project beat its expected timeline by six months and came in $3 million under budget, according to officials.
“Projects like this new Downtown Station are a testament to Capital Metro's commitment to serving Austin, everyone's hard work, and most significantly, an investment in Austin's future,” Mayor Steve Adler said during a ceremony that marked the opening.
The new station features three new tracks and can hold up to four trains at one time. While ridership is down during the pandemic, Cap Metro officials say completing the station early allows them to be prepared if and when demand rebounds.
“We have through the fall slowly seen that start to come back, and we continue to monitor it closely,” Dottie Watkins, Cap Metro’s chief operating officer, said. “And we'll be adding more service into the spring when we see more commuters coming back into the downtown core for work trips, primarily.”… (LINK TO STORY)
Texas’ Tom Herman: Players not mandated to stay for ‘The Eyes’ but team is unified going forward (Austin American-Statesman)
As far as “The Eyes of Texas” goes, Tom Herman laid all his cards on the table Monday. The Longhorns coach said there would be no mandate that players stay on the field for the post-game singing of the school song. Administrators hope that players would stay to show appreciation for the fans, but nobody at UT has “mandated our players do anything,” Herman said. Thus, it’s unclear whether any players will stay for The Eyes after Saturday’s game against Baylor (1-1, 1-1 Big 12). It could be a jarring image at Royal-Memorial Stadium, but one that Texas fans may have to accept.
“I think mandate is a very strong word,” Herman said. “That’s never been a word that’s been used to us as coaches from our administration, nor from us coaches to our players.” Herman typically talks for about a half-hour on Mondays. This particular Monday was notable for its length (50 minutes) and its message. The coach talked about off-week fixes, dabbled in philosophy, filibustered a little and expounded on his close relationship with Baylor coach Dave Aranda. But a good portion was spent on The Eyes, a century-old song that is forcing UT faithful to choose sides.
“If you line 10 guys up in a locker room, you might get nine or 10 different opinions on what we should do, what the song means, what the fans mean, what the university means,” Herman said. “And so just handling that encouragement with the utmost sensitivity, I think is topic No. 1 for us.” Herman reiterated that athletic director Chris Del Conte has been talking to coaches for weeks about this issue. The athletic director has told players they are not required to sing the lyrics, but he “expects” players to participate in team traditions, which means staying on the field while fans sing… (LINK TO STORY)
Harvard Etymology Student Maps Out Austin Neighborhoods (Spectrum News)
A Harvard student studying language is giving his online followers a history lesson about the Live Music Capital of the World.
“Etymology is the study of the origin of words,” explained Adam Aleksic, a Wisconsin native.
He is behind Etymology Nerd, a social media account made up of infographics explaining the origins of words. Recently, he’s explained the names behind some alcoholic beverages and how different pastas got their origins.
“I think in total I think each infographic takes me about 15 hours,” he said.
A major hit online are graphics that explain how the neighborhoods in U.S. cities got their names. After requests from his audience, Austin finally made the cut… (LINK TO STORY)
[TEXAS]
Texas is on the cusp of another COVID-19 surge. Is the state better prepared to handle it? (Texas Tribune)
Cases of COVID-19 in parts of Texas surged to near catastrophic levels this summer as some hospitals were forced to put beds in hallways, intensive care units exceeded capacity and health officials struggled to stem the tide of the virus.
After peaking in late July and August, cases fell and leveled off in September, and the state’s seven-day positivity rate — or the proportion of positive tests — reached its lowest point since early June.
But health officials are now eyeing a worrying trend: New infections are rising again, and the number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 is also ticking upward. The state reported 2,273 new cases Monday, and the seven-day average was up by 862 from the previous week. On Monday, at least 4,319 patients were hospitalized with COVID-19, far below the more than 10,000 in July, but that number has steadily risen during the last month… (LINK TO STORY)
Texas leads nation in early voting totals, with 4 million ballots cast (Houston Chronicle)
Texas is leading the country in ballots cast in the 2020 presidential election so far, with more than 4 million votes counted as of Sunday. The Lone Star State is first in the nation in both the raw number of ballots cast and the total votes as a percentage of 2016 turnout, according to the U.S. Elections Project, a collection of voting statistics compiled by University of Florida professor Michael McDonald. As of Sunday, more than 4 million Texans have voted in the general election, either through absentee ballots or in-person early voting, which began last Tuesday. Those ballots account for roughly 45 percent of the nearly 9 million total votes counted during the presidential election four years ago.
California, the only state with a higher population than Texas, has counted more than 3 million ballots to date, approximately 21 percent of 2016 turnout, according to the U.S. Elections Project. The state began its early voting period on Oct. 5. In Florida, the third-most populous state, 2.5 million people have voted so far, accounting for roughly 26 percent of ballots cast in 2016. Early voting began across much of Florida on Monday. New York, the fourth-most populous state, doesn’t begin early voting until next week. Only Vermont has approached Texas’ turnout as a percentage of 2016 ballots cast. There, more than 130,000 ballots have been returned since early voting began on Sept. 21 — about 43 percent of the vote count four years ago. Georgia, where nearly 1.5 million people have cast ballots, is approaching 36 percent of 2016 turnout. Early voting started there on Oct. 12… (LINK TO STORY)
Texas puts frontline workers, people with chronic conditions at front of line for eventual COVID-19 vaccine (Dallas Morning News)
Health care workers, first responders, Texans with chronic health conditions and several other “vulnerable populations” would be the first to receive a coronavirus vaccine once one becomes available, state public health officials are proposing. Under a plan released Monday, Texas again would form a public-private partnership for distribution of COVID-19 vaccine. Participation by health care providers and institutions administering the vaccine, as well as individuals receiving doses, would be voluntary.
The plan is similar to one the Texas Department of State Health Services created for allocating vaccine for the H1N1 or “swine flu” virus in 2009. Through Friday, 1,044 Texas health care professionals, hospitals and long-term care providers had signed up to eventually receive shipments of the coronavirus vaccine and administer them, according to department spokesman Chris Van Deusen. That was only nine days after Gov. Greg Abbott announced launch of the provider program, calling it a “proactive approach” to getting Texas ready for COVID-19 vaccine distribution. Of the providers and facilities stepping forward, 237 were in the two public health regions that include Dallas-Fort Worth as well as Abilene and Wichita Falls, said Imelda Garcia, the department’s associate commissioner over laboratories and infectious disease programs.
“A provider could be a whole hospital system with multiple clinics,” she noted. The Food and Drug Administration has not yet approved a COVID-19 vaccine… (LINK TO STORY)
Dallas Morning News Editorial: The reason Klyde Warren Park isn’t in California (Dallas Morning News)
Downtown Dallas got something to celebrate last week. Klyde Warren Park announced a major donation to jump-start a 1.65-acre expansion. Construction on this next phase is set to begin in 2021 and end in 2024. It will include a three-story enclosed pavilion for special events, an ice skating rink in winter, and a 36,000-square-foot green space that will host markets, festivals and other community events. That space will be named The Jacobs Lawn after the Jacobs technology and engineering company donated $8 million to the project. On the opposite end of the deck, park champions Jody and Sheila Grant are planning a fountain that will spray water 55 feet into the air, lit with pastel colors and choreographed to music. Promoters say it’s destined to become a “blimp shot” and one of Dallas' most iconic locations.
Klyde Warren Park is a model for public-private partnerships, a testament to what a city can do when its business and civic leaders work together. Since opening in 2012, the park has hosted more than 10 million visitors and had a $2.5 billion impact on the city, according to a Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation estimate. And we would point out that its newest donor is a testament to what a corporate neighbor can do when given the opportunity. Jacobs moved its headquarters to Dallas in 2016, in part to escape the crushing tax and regulatory atmosphere in California. Jacobs isn’t alone. According to reporting by CNBC, 18,000 companies left California for more business-friendly states between 2008 and 2019. Jacobs CEO Steve Demetriou told us the business climate in Texas was a key factor in the company’s decision to move here. “It’s really been, I think, part of the reason why we’ve had a successful run in the company over the last four years. We’ve seen significant shareholder value creation and our employee culture has been transformed, and I think a lot of it stems from having our home office here in Dallas,” Demetriou said… (LINK TO STORY)
Health officials predict most Texans won't have access to COVID-19 vaccine until July at the earliest (Texas Tribune)
If a COVID-19 vaccine is ready next month, Texas health officials predict it won’t be widely available to Texans until at least July.
Under the state’s vaccine distribution plan, vulnerable people, including health care workers, older people and people with underlying medical conditions would likely be the first to get the vaccine in the early months that it’s available.
The estimated timeline presented at a meeting of health officials Monday hinges on the COVID-19 vaccine being approved before the end of the year, though it remains unclear whether that will happen. But the allocation plan provides more information about who will be first in line to get a vaccine in Texas and how long it might take before vaccines are accessible to public at large… (LINK TO STORY)
[NATION]
Debate Commission to mute candidates' mics at start of each segment (NPR)
The Commission on Presidential Debates announced changes to the debate rules ahead of Thursday's final presidential debate.
Under the new rules, President Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden will each have two minutes of uninterrupted time to speak at the beginning of every 15-minute segment of the debate.
"The only candidate whose microphone will be open during these two-minute periods is the candidate who has the floor under the rules," the commission announced. After that, there will be time for discussion with both candidates' microphones open.
The commission says both campaigns have agreed to the two-minute, uninterrupted rule.
It's an effort to allow Trump and former Vice President Biden more equitable time to answer questions in the final presidential debate.
The decision comes after a chaotic first presidential debate that saw significant interruptions from both major party candidates, primarily from Trump.
The Sept. 29 debate, moderated by Fox News' Chris Wallace, was widely criticized for its off-the-rails nature and lack of structure.
Trump and Biden had been scheduled for a debate last week, but that was canceled because of a dispute over safety protocols (Trump had been hospitalized days after the first debate with COVID-19). The presidential rivals separately held competing town halls last week instead… (LINK TO STORY)
Trump taps 2016 brain trust to stage another stunner in 2020 (Politico)
The calls come at all hours.
Donald Trump — confronting grim poll numbers and the increasingly real possibility of becoming a one-term president — has been burning up the phone lines to the people who got him to the White House. Working off a list of cell phone numbers, the president has been reaching out to 2016 campaign loyalists.
How, he wants to know, can he pull this off?
Brian Seitchik, Trump's 2016 Arizona director, was on the road this month when the White House switchboard number popped up on his phone, forcing him to pull into a parking lot. The president told Seitchik he knew he’d been a part of the team for a long time and asked him about his prospects in the state, where polling has consistently shown him trailing. Seitchik reassured that president: Yes, the race is tight in Arizona, but ultimately he'd prevail.
Trump — who on Monday unleashed a tirade against news reporters who've noted growing pessimism within his campaign that he'll lose — is increasingly turning to his 2016 gang to salvage his reelection.
Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie, two key players during Trump's first run before they were frozen out of his political organization, have reemerged as key advisers. Bossie was recently dispatched to make peace between a key campaign operative and Ron DeSantis, the governor of must-win Florida.
Matt Oczkowski, a 2016 alum and former employee of the controversial Cambridge Analytica data firm, has taken an expanded role overseeing voter targeting efforts.
Eric Branstad, the son of longtime former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, has been drawing up plans for his father to crisscross the suddenly competitive state.
For a president who has long put loyalty above all else, the reliance on his 2016 coterie represents a fitting coda to a tumultuous campaign. After spending years developing a massive, corporate-style apparatus, Trump is looking to his originals to pull him across the finish line… (LINK TO STORY)
Sides tiptoe toward a COVID-19 deal, but breakthrough appears distant (The Hill)
Party leaders racing for an elusive deal on a coronavirus stimulus package claimed more progress on Monday, but the slow, incremental headway appeared far short of the breakthrough needed to get more emergency relief to President Trump's desk before Election Day.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the principal negotiators, spoke by phone for almost an hour Monday afternoon, when "they continued to narrow their differences" on policy specifics, according to Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill.
"The Speaker has tasked committee chairs to reconcile differences with their GOP counterparts on key areas," Hammill tweeted.Yet Pelosi had warned a day earlier that Republican concessions on a national testing strategy, which Mnuchin had delivered Friday, gutted 55 percent of the language demanded by Democrats, including provisions designed to tackle the disproportionate harm the coronavirus has had on minorities. The net effect, Pelosi charged, would be the creation of a "slush fund" empowering the administration to withhold funding intended for coronavirus alleviation… (LINK TO STORY)