BG Reads | News You Need to Know (May 10, 2021)
[MEETING/HEARINGS]
[THE 87TH TEXAS LEGISLATURE]
LINK TO FILED HOUSE BILLS (6,016)
LINK TO FILED SENATE BILLS (2,720)
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
Tents pop up around Austin City Hall ahead of camping ban taking effect (KXAN)
Just a few days before the City of Austin’s public camping ban is set to go into effect, you’ll see camps all around city hall.
Dozens of people have pitched up tents there to protest the ordinance taking effect Tuesday.
“We’re out here in solidarity– literal solidarity of our unhoused friends,” says Sam, a member of The Little Petal Alliance, one of a handful of non-profits partnering to organize the camp-in.
They say to break the cycle of homelessness, the city needs to provide housing and better services — like healthcare and mental health help, and until then, people should be allowed to stay in their homes.
“It will be a death sentence for a lot of people if we don’t fight it and make sure the police don’t enforce it,” Sam says.
“At first, it really irritated me and I was like, ‘Hell no, we won’t go,'” says James Ford, who has been experiencing homelessness for about four years.
Now, he says he’s joining the protest because he just wants city leaders to move quickly with resources.
“I would love it if there was more funding to house the homeless,” he says.
He also wants more support– he says it’s hard to balance daily needs, like getting enough food, with finding support services that will help with long-term stability.
“I got schizophrenia, bipolar, paranoia, PTSD and ADHD,” he says.
That’s what he ultimately wants to see come out of Proposition B.
“I want the homeless community to be able to achieve greater things, not be stuck in the same predicament every single day,” Ford says.
For him, that means becoming a mechanic.
On Friday, the city told KXAN that staff is working on a plan to implement the ordinance in phases but hasn’t provided a timeline on when that might be complete.
The city says more details about its plan will be coming out in the next few days… (LINK TO STORY)
Austin housing boom has homebuilders struggling to keep pace, prices soaring (Austin American-Statesman)
Home construction is booming at a rapid pace across the Austin region — but it's still not fast enough to keep up with torrid demand, builders and local housing market experts say.
Builders started work on a record number of new homes in the Austin area in the first quarter, according to Zonda, a firm that tracks the housing market. But supply has still not caught up with demand, and that lag — coupled with factors including higher costs for lumber and other home-construction materials and a surge of newcomers, many of them affluent — continues to drive home prices up.
The demand is being driven in part by the wave of people moving in from other parts of the country. Also playing a role are low mortgage interest rates and buyers who have transitioned to working from home during the coronavirus pandemic and are looking for more space.
Builders are trying to keep up with the increased demand. They started work on 6,664 new homes in the first three months of this year, a 45% increase over the same time last year, and construction began on 23,450 homes during the 12 months that ended in March, a 22% increase from the prior 12-month total, according to Zonda's latest report.
That demand is bringing new competitors into the market. Landsea Homes Corp., a publicly traded residential homebuilder, is buying Florida-based Vintage Estate Homes for $54.6 million. The deal will mark Landsea's debut into the Texas and Florida housing markets.
"Austin is one of the fastest-growing cities in the nation mainly due to relatively affordable home prices, overall quality of life and steady job growth, not to mention a booming tech industry," said Greg Balen, regional president of Landsea's Texas division. "Buyers are flocking from other parts of the country for these reasons and we expect growth will continue throughout 2021."… (LINK TO STORY)
Travis County district attorney outlines justice reform efforts (KXAN)
The Travis County District Attorney’s Office is incorporating new principles to help guide prosecutors. District Attorney José Garza updated Travis County Commissioners Court on those principles Thursday. It’s part of an effort on justice and bail reform.
In Thursday’s meeting, Garza discussed the following guidelines for prosecution of cases: “Bail: Those who have committed heinous crimes and are a danger to the community should remain in custody pending trial. But we must work to ensure that it is not just the wealthy who are given an opportunity to be released when they are not a danger to the community. While we cannot set bail ourselves, we will follow our bail statute, and we will be using this analysis to recommend bail to the Judges who will make the final determination: We will not consider a person who is an attendance risk, meaning they have missed court in the past but have not attempted to evade the police, a flight risk. For anyone charged with a State Jail Felony, there will be a presumption of release with no conditions if it is determined that the person poses no threat to community safety or risk of flight. For anyone charged with a higher-level felony, there will be a presumption of release with the least restrictive condition necessary to ensure that the person is not a risk to the community or risk of flight. Anyone who poses a future risk of harm to our community or a risk of a flight that cannot be addressed by conditions other than pre-trial incarceration should remain in custody.”… (LINK TO STORY)
Barton Springs Pool to require reservations beginning May 21 (Austin American-Statesman)
Barton Springs Pool, 2131 William Barton Drive, will require reservations beginning May 21 to manage capacity for the safety of staff and guests.
Reservation time slots will be available in two-hour increments beginning at 8 a.m. until the pool closes at 10 p.m.
Season pass holders, patrons ages 80 and older, veterans and retired and active duty military members can enter Barton Springs Pool with no reservations; however, everyone else in the party must have a reservation. In-person payment acceptance is suspended until further notice.
The first set of reservations as well as season passes will be available beginning Monday. People will need to pay the standard Barton Springs Pool entry fee ($5 for adult residents) to reserve a ticket.
The modified hours of operation will remain the same, with daily free swimming at one’s own risk from 5 to 8 a.m. and reservation-only guided swimming from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays through Sundays.
To make a reservation: bit.ly/3hbikWi.
To purchase season swim passes: bit.ly/3twXl2y… (LINK TO STORY)
DKG house one step closer to high rise (Austin Monitor)
City Council has granted preliminary approval for Downtown Mixed-Use zoning for the Delta Kappa Gamma house at 12th and San Antonio streets, allowing construction of a 375-foot residential tower. The motion to approve DMU at the requested height got only six votes at last week’s meeting, not the seven needed for all three readings, so attorney Michael Whellan and his team will have to come back for second and third reading.
Council Member Alison Alter abstained from the vote, saying she needed more information. Council Member Kathie Tovo did not participate, because she had recused herself. And due to a “serious family emergency,” Mayor Pro Tem Natasha Harper-Madison did not return to the virtual dais after the dinner break, according to Mayor Steve Adler.
Whellan pointed out that part of the DKG site is already zoned for Downtown Mixed-Use with no height limit. Adding the rest of the site to that category would make the site eligible for the downtown density bonus program and function as a transit-supported project in the future, he said. In addition, he pointed out that the Planning Commission has agreed to the applicant’s request.
The midcentury-modern building is on the National Register of Historic Places and serves as the headquarters for the educational nonprofit Delta Kappa Gamma International. The Historic Landmark Commission could not muster enough votes to recommend it for historic status. Members of DKG say they can no longer stay in the building because of increased maintenance costs and hope to sell the property and relocate.
If Council decided not to grant the DMU zoning and height requested by the developer, Stratus Properties, the city would lose out on funding for permanent supportive housing and the project would no longer have a Great Streets requirement. In addition to the $500,000 Stratus would pay if it received the requested height, Whellan promised the company would also donate $200,000 to the city to help alleviate homelessness.
Although neighbors had originally signed a valid petition objecting to the zoning, several had withdrawn their names by Thursday, making the petition irrelevant to the vote. Assistant Director of Planning and Zoning Jerry Rusthoven told Council that staffers had recommended a 60-foot height limit in accordance with the Downtown Austin plan. Whellan pointed out that new city policies are in contradiction to the heights set forth in the plan.
Rusthoven told Council that the applicant and the neighborhood had also reached an agreement on some additional restrictions in the conditional overlay, including prohibitions on liquor sales, bail bond services, pawn shop services and outdoor entertainment, and to limit cocktail lounge to no more than 25 feet… (LINK TO STORY)
UT diversity and inclusion work takes toll on Black faculty, students, staff (Austin American-Statesman)
Richard Reddick serves on 17 different committees, attends several meetings each week and participates in various ad hoc service activities, many of which have some tie to diversity and inclusion efforts at the University of Texas. He often sees the same people in these spaces, and they’re typically from marginalized groups. Often unpaid for their outside diversity and inclusion efforts, Black faculty and staff members are among those who frequently get called on for the work, said Reddick, the associate dean for equity, community engagement and outreach at UT’s College of Education. Reddick led a committee that looked into the origins of “The Eyes of Texas,” releasing a report on UT’s school song in March.
Amid pressure from students and others on campus, university leaders have put a greater emphasis on diversity initiatives after the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement. At the same time, private efforts have cropped up to respond to the climate on campus, including addressing "The Eyes of Texas." Coined in 1994 by Amado Padilla, a psychology researcher at Stanford University, the term "cultural taxation" refers to the phenomenon that occurs when universities task members of marginalized communities with much of the diversity and inclusion work on campus. For Black faculty and staff, that means serving on committees and boards, speaking on panels and participating in other initiatives that aim to address issues of inequity. “Every (predominantly white institution) has these challenges,” Reddick said.
“It can be a great place in so many ways, but just the microaggressions, the microinvalidations, the climate issues are persistently problematic. And so I think it is stressful. It is burdensome. … You have to sort of set your own limits because they will be set for you.” The reality is that a considerable amount of diversity and inclusion work falls on marginalized groups on campus who are most affected by issues of inequity. That’s why UT's Deseré Cross Ward can’t stop thinking about the rate at which Black professionals are taking flight from their workplaces to seek out more diverse and inclusive environments… (LINK TO STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
Critics decry Democratic chairman’s push to pass transgender sports bill as an act of retaliation (Dallas Morning News)
In a stunning reversal, the Texas House Committee on Public Education approved a highly controversial bill Friday that would require young transgender athletes to compete only on teams that match the sex designated on their original birth certificate. The surprise vote on the bill that would prevent transgender athletes from competing on teams that align with their gender identity came three days after the proposal failed to receive enough votes and appeared to die in the same committee. By Friday morning, the bill was revived in a formal meeting without a livestream after an 8-5 vote in what appears to be retaliation from Chair Rep. Harold Dutton, D-Houston, against his own party.
Before calling the proposal to another vote, Dutton noted a bill he authored that would essentially guarantee the ouster of Houston ISD’s school board. The bill was sent back to committee Thursday after a point of order was sustained as it faced opposition from fellow Democratic lawmakers. “I don’t know how big this problem is, and I wish I did because I’d be in a better position to make this vote,” Dutton said. “But I can tell you this: The bill that was killed last night affected far more children than this bill ever will.” Dutton added, “So as a consequence, the Chair motions that Senate Bill 29 as substituted be reported favorably to the full House … Show the Chair voting aye.” Republicans hold a narrow 7-6 advantage on the committee. After refraining from a vote Tuesday, Dutton was the only Democrat to vote for the measure Friday. Dutton paired with an additional vote from Rep. Dan Huberty, R-Houston, who was absent and did not vote earlier this week… (LINK TO STORY)
Texas delegation requests close to $2 billion in funding request ‘earmarks’ (Dallas Morning News)
Earmarks are back. The congressional practice of members essentially hand-picking projects was banned from Congress in the early 2000?s after it became synonymous with “pork barrel” legislation. But it’s been given another chance under a new system. Twenty-one members from Texas’ 35-member Congressional delegation — the 6th Congressional District in North Texas currently is open — requested a total of close to $2 billion for the 2022 fiscal year. Every Texas Democrat and eight Texas Republicans — Reps. Dan Crenshaw of Houston, August Pfluger of San Angelo, Pete Sessions of Waco, Troy Nehls of Richmond, John Carter of Round Rock, Beth Van Duyne of Irving, Michael Cloud of Victoria and Tony Gonzales of San Antonio — made requests.
Earmarks for The House Appropriations Committee are now dubbed “community project funding,” while earmarks for the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure are called “member designated projects.” Details of the requests are posted on the websites of the House Appropriations Committee and the lawmakers themselves. Member designated projects have not yet been posted on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s website. Earmarks were banned in 2011, after they became tarnished by corruption when four members went to jail for handing out federal money in return for personal favors.
Members were “bringing home the bacon” by asking for thousands of federal dollars for projects that were criticized for being unnecessary, such as Alaska’s famous “bridge to nowhere,” which would have connected the small city of Ketchikan to a small airport on a nearby island racking up costs close to $450 million. Republican Rep. Kay Granger’s $110 million Trinity River Vision project in Fort Worth was also criticized as pork in the early 2000?s. She earmarked the project when she couldn’t get it authorized in a previous bill the House and Senate couldn’t come to agreement on… (LINK TO STORY)
Will Texas Democrats field a viable candidate for governor next year?(WFAA)
As the Texas legislature grinds through its final weeks in Austin, many politicos wonder whether Texas Democrats will field a viable candidate to challenge incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott next year. “I expect that we will," said Matt Angle, the president of Lone Star Project, a Democratic consultant. "I think it is still a little bit early while the legislature is going on. Plus, the uncertainty of redistricting makes it unclear what kinds of districts that legislators and certain members of Congress are going to have, so I think that once the legislature ends, and once redistricting ends, I think we’ll see some pretty strong candidates running for statewide office."
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, 30, is widely seen as a rising star in the Democratic Party. But she told Inside Texas Politics last month that she is not interested in running for that position. Beto O’Rourke told The Dallas Morning News in April that he will not challenge Abbott either. Few other high-profile names have emerged for Democrats right now. Actor Matthew McConaughey has flirted with the idea of political office, and that has fueled speculation that he might challenge Abbott. McConaughey even led a recent poll by The Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas at Tyler, 45% to Abbott's 33%. “I think his performing well in polls is more a reflection of people being dissatisfied with Greg Abbott,” Angle qualified. “I think people are able to convey on Matthew McConaughey everything that they want that Abbott is not.” Democrats narrowly missed a runoff spot in U.S. House District 6. That seat has been vacant since Republican Rep. Ron Wright died in February after a COVID-19 diagnosis. Wright’s widow, Susan, and fellow conservative Jake Ellzey advanced to a runoff after more than 20 candidates entered the race. Since both are Republicans, the seat will not change hands… (LINK TO STORY)
With investors and - possibly - legislators on board, Texas cannabis industry poised for growth (San Antonio Express-News)
The appearance of a humdrum, sunken field of grass across the street from an Army Reserve center here belies the site’s importance to an industry being primed for swift growth in Texas: the cannabis business. Right now, the most visible sign of activity is a mound of dirt used for a mid-April groundbreaking ceremony by the multistate company that’s investing $25 million to build a cannabis cultivation and retail facility here. It’s a bold move that may say a lot about the state of the industry in Texas — and what such a company sees coming down the pike.
“I suspect if you grabbed a random person on the street and asked them if cannabis was legal in Texas, they would probably look at you like you’re crazy and say ‘no,’” said Marcus Ruark, president of goodblend Texas, which is preparing the site for its 63,000-square-foot marijuana growing facility. The notion that it’s “crazy” is because cannabis is still illegal in Texas, which is home to some of the strictest anti-marijuana laws in the nation. But a gradual expansion of the state’s limited medical marijuana program in recent years could soon give way to an industry that’s accessible to a broader swath of Texans. While still relatively low, the number of Texans utilizing the state’s medicinal marijuana Compassionate Use Program has grown by 180 percent over the past year. Some estimate there are about 2 million Texas patients eligible to use cannabis, but many just don’t know about the program. “So we’ve started making an investment in that and getting the word out and increasing awareness, and I think that’s definitely helping,” Ruark said… (LINK TO STORY)
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Cyber attack shuts down top U.S. fuel pipeline network (Reuters)
Top U.S. fuel pipeline operator Colonial Pipeline has shut its entire network, the source of nearly half of the U.S. East Coast's fuel supply, after a cyber attack that the company said was caused by ransomware. The incident is one of the most disruptive digital ransom operations ever reported and has drawn attention to how critical U.S. energy infrastructure is vulnerable to hackers. The shutdown has raised fears of a price spike at gasoline pumps ahead of peak summer driving season if it persists. Colonial transports 2.5 million barrels per day of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other refined products through 5,500 miles (8,850 km) of pipelines linking refiners on the Gulf Coast to the eastern and southern United States.
Colonial said it shut down systems to contain the threat after learning of the attack on Friday. That action also temporarily halted operations and affected some of its IT systems, the company said. While the U.S. government investigation is in early stages, one former official and two industry sources said the hackers are likely a professional cybercriminal group. The former official said investigators are looking at a group dubbed "DarkSide," known for deploying ransomware and extorting victims while avoiding targets in post-Soviet states. Colonial said the incident involved the use of ransomware, a type of malware designed to lock down systems by encrypting data and demanding payment to regain access. Colonial has engaged a cybersecurity firm to launch an investigation and contacted law enforcement and federal agencies, it said… (LINK TO STORY)
Liz Cheney’s months-long effort to turn Republicans from Trump threatens her reelection and ambitions. She says it’s only beginning. (Washington Post)
Rep. Liz Cheney had been arguing for months that Republicans had to face the truth about former president Donald Trump — that he had lied about the 2020 election result and bore responsibility for the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol — when the Wyoming Republican sat down at a party retreat in April to listen to a polling briefing. The refusal to accept reality, she realized, went much deeper. When staff from the National Republican Congressional Committee rose to explain the party’s latest polling in core battleground districts, they left out a key finding about Trump’s weakness, declining to divulge the information even when directly questioned about Trump’s support by a member of Congress, according to two people familiar with what transpired.
Trump’s unfavorable ratings were 15 points higher than his favorable ones in the core districts, according to the full polling results, which were later obtained by The Washington Post. Nearly twice as many voters had a strongly unfavorable view of the former president as had a strongly favorable one. Cheney was alarmed, she later told others, in part because Republican campaign officials had also left out bad Trump polling news at a March retreat for ranking committee chairs. Both instances, she concluded, demonstrated that party leadership was willing to hide information from their own members to avoid the truth about Trump and the possible damage he could do to Republican House members, even though the NRCC denied any such agenda. Those behind-the-scenes episodes were part of a months-long dispute over Republican principles that has raged among House leaders and across the broader GOP landscape. That dispute is expected to culminate next week with a vote to remove Cheney from her position as the third-ranking House Republican… (LINK TO STORY)
Gaetz, Greene take mantle of Trump's populism at rally (Associated Press)
U.S. Reps. Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene, two of the Republican Party's most controversial figures, kicked off their "America First Rally" roadshow Friday with a Trump-centric revival of sorts for the MAGA faithful at a Florida retirement community. The gathering appeared to be an attempt to position the two conservatives as successors to the former president's populism. "Tell me, who is your president?"" Greene shouted after walking out onto a ballroom stage in front of hundreds of supporters wearing "Trump" T-shirts and "Make America Great Again" red ballcaps. "Trump!" the mask-less crowd of retirees wearing MAGA red yelled back.
Joking that he was a "marked man in Congress ... but a Florida man," Gaetz called former President Donald Trump "the undisputed leader of the Republican Party." "Today, we send a strong message to the weak establishment in both parties: America First isn't going away. We are going on tour," Gaetz said. "It's no longer the red team against the blue team. It's the establishment against the rest of us." Gaetz held up himself and Greene as challengers to the establishment and successors to Trump's populism. "They lie about us because we tell the truth about them," Gaetz said of the establishment. The indoor rally took place with just a week until Gaetz associate Joel Greenberg faces a deadline to enter a plea deal that could lead to damaging information against the Florida congressman. Gaetz alluded to the investigation by referencing what he said were distorted descriptions of himself as someone who has wild parties with beautiful women. Both Republican members of the House of Representatives have come under fire in recent months, though for different reasons… (LINK TO STORY)
Blind patients hope landmark gene-editing experiment will restore their vision (NPR)
The study involves the revolutionary gene-editing technique called CRISPR, which allows scientists to make very precise changes in DNA. Doctors think CRISPR could help patients fighting many diseases. It's already showing promise for blood disorders like sickle cell disease, and is being tested for several forms of cancer.
But in those experiments, doctors take cells out of the body, edit them in the lab and then infuse the genetically edited cells back into patients.
The experiment Knight and Kalberer volunteered for marks the first time scientists are using CRISPR to edit DNA when it's still inside patients' bodies.
"This is the very first time that anyone's ever actually tried to do gene-editing from inside the body," says Dr. Lisa Michaels, chief medical officer at the company that is sponsoring the study, Editas Medicine of Cambridge, Mass. "We're actually delivering the gene-editing apparatus to the part of the body where the disease takes place in order to correct it."… (LINK TO STORY)
[BINGHAM GROUP]
BG Podcast EP. 139: Q1 20201 Review: COVID-19's Impact on the Built Environment with Michael Hsu
On today’s episode we speak with return guest, Austin-based Michael Hsu, Principal and Founder of Michael Hsu Office of Architecture.
He and Bingham Group CEO A.J. catch up from their June 2020 show, updating on impacts to the design/built environment sector through Q1 2021.
You can listen to all episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud. New content every Wednesday. Please like, link, comment and subscribe!