BG Reads | News You Need to Know (March 12, 2021)
[BINGHAM GROUP]
NEW // BG Podcast EP. 133: Music, Activism, and Politics with Riders Against the Storm
Today’s episode (133) features Austin-based hip-hop (and husband/wife) duo, Riders Against the Storm aka Chaka and Qi Dad.
You can listen to this episode and previous ones on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud. Please like, link, comment and subscribe!
[MEETING/HEARINGS]
Austin Council Work Session (3.23.2021 @9AM)
Austin Council Voting Session (3.25.2021 @10AM)
[THE 87TH TEXAS LEGISLATURE]
LINK TO FILED HOUSE BILLS (4,538)
LINK TO FILED SENATE BILLS (1,951)
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
Texas Attorney General sues Austin-Travis County over local mask requirements (KUT)
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued Austin and Travis County leaders over what he says is local overstep of the governor's order removing a statewide mask mandate.
“I told Travis County & The City of Austin to comply with state mask law,” Paxton tweeted Thursday, a day after he threatened to sue. “They blew me off. So, once again, I’m dragging them to court.”
The lawsuit, which was filed in Travis County District Court on Thursday, names Austin Mayor Steve Adler, Travis County Judge Andy Brown and interim Medical Director and Health Authority Mark Escott as defendants.
“This case raises a pressing question: who is ultimately responsible for responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and other emergencies?” lawyers for Paxton write in the lawsuit. They argue that state orders override any local ones.
Gov. Greg Abbott lifted a statewide order mandating masks and limiting the number of people in businesses Wednesday. In a new executive order, Abbott wrote that “no person may be required by any jurisdiction to wear or to mandate the wearing of a face covering.”
The order still allows businesses to require customers wear masks.
But leaders in the Austin area have insisted that local rules regarding masking and other health protocols will stay in place.
“I will continue to listen to our public health authority, medical professionals, and the CDC who have consistently said masks save lives," Brown wrote in a statement. "It is unfortunate the attorney general is once again failing to make the health of our community his priority.”
On Wednesday, Travis County reported 227 new cases of COVID-19, a number that has declined since January when the area was tallying upwards of 1,000 daily new cases.
“Judge Brown and I will fight to defend and enforce our local health officials’ rules for as long as possible using all the power and tools available to us," Adler said in a statement Thursday. "We promised to be guided by the doctors, science and data as concerns the pandemic and we do everything we can to keep that promise."
Local leaders argue they can keep these requirements because the state allows cities to adopt rules to protect the health of their residents. They argue Abbott doesn't have the power to override state law through an executive order.
“Cities have independent authority under TX constitution, & state law allows cities to create health rules,” Council Member Greg Casar wrote in a tweet on Monday. “We've spoken with legal experts, and I believe the city's [decision] today is both legal and the right thing to do.”
Last July, the City Council voted to authorize the local health authority to establish public health rules. Escott then adopted rules regarding mask-wearing, specifically that people must wear masks outside of their homes except in several cases, like if they’re exercising or eating or drinking. Businesses are also required to disinfect items that are frequently touched and to limit groups to 10 or fewer people.
According to a city ordinance, people who violate these rules can be fined up to $2,000 per offense.
"The enforcement teams work to educate individuals and businesses on the importance of face coverings/social distancing, and also can and have, issued citations," a city spokesperson wrote in an email.
These rules are currently set to expire on April 15, but local leaders could extend them.
Paxton last prevailed against the City of Austin and Travis County late last year, when he sued over a local attempt to limit on-site dining over the New Year's Eve weekend. While the Texas Supreme Court didn't rule on the merits of the case, it did stop the curfew from going into effect… (LINK TO STORY)
Rescue plan gives Central Texas $500 million (Austin Monitor)
According to U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin), Travis County is set to receive $247.08 million and the city of Austin an estimated $195.8 million under the American Rescue Plan, approved by Congress and signed yesterday by President Joe Biden.
The money for states is generally determined by population, while also using unemployment as a criteria. That puts Texas second in line behind California, the nation’s most populous state. California state and local governments are set to receive $42.3 billion, with $14.6 billion going to local governments. Texas will receive $27.3 billion for the state and local governments. Central Texas governments are poised to receive more than $500 million.
Although the federal government has not released guidelines for spending, City Council members who spoke to the Austin Monitor were hopeful that the funds could be used for the city’s most critical needs.
Mayor Pro Tem Natasha Harper-Madison said via email, “After more than a year of this dual public health and economic crisis, we are finally limping toward the finish line. This federal relief package is a big boost, but our needs are even bigger. Our top priorities should be stabilizing those residents and businesses that have been hardest hit as well as building a more robust community that has the resiliency to stand stronger through the next big crisis.”
Mayor Steve Adler said via email that he hoped that the city would focus on “things like ending homelessness and providing housing to those most in need. The federal money should address things like what happens at the end of the eviction moratorium and also help build back the hospitality/restaurant/entertainment industries that have been so badly hurt. We need to exit the pandemic a more just city than we entered, so it would be appropriate to invest in things like training people for new middle-skills jobs, child care, health equity and getting digital accessibility to all.”
Council Member Alison Alter said in an email, “I believe it is critical that we invest this money to increase the resilience of our community. While some portion will likely provide immediate relief and cover vaccine costs, we need to use these funds to invest in people and the future in ways that strengthen our institutions and ecosystems and offer pathways to better quality of life for Austinites. For me, this means spending on programs like the Austin Civilian Conservation Corps, workforce development (upskilling), child care, our nonprofit ecosystem, our venues and artists and our health care infrastructure.”
Council Member Kathie Tovo was thinking about how to help people in need of basic necessities, such as food and shelter, but like Alter, she is also interested in helping people get jobs and keep the jobs they have. She told the Monitor, “I’m going to look toward what I would regard as the most critical needs, support for food and meals programs, housing, and rental support.” She said Council would probably have conversations similar to those from earlier in the pandemic about how to balance immediate needs with long-term solutions.
Tovo said it was important to her to invest in programs that could meet the needs of more than one group, such as funding caregiver meals provided by restaurants needing financial support. She said it was also important to help quality child care facilities that would in turn allow parents to get back to work.
In addition to Austin and Travis County, Doggett named several other Central Texas communities he expects to receive funding. That includes Hays County, which can expect about $44.64 million; San Marcos, which can expect a little over $18 million; Kyle, which can expect $10.55 million; Buda at $3.69 million; and Lockhart at $3.08 million… (LINK TO STORY)
American Airlines makes play for more market share in Austin with 10 new routes (Dallas Morning News)
American Airlines is adding 10 new routes from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, muscling into the capital of its home state of Texas and trying to take share from rivals Southwest, United and Delta. American said Thursday that it is adding daily routes from Austin starting in May to Nashville, Las Vegas, Orlando and New Orleans. In June, it will start flying to Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina and Tampa, Florida, followed by Washington, D.C.’s Dulles International Airport in August.
Fort Worth-based American is also adding three seasonal flights from Austin to Aspen, Colorado; Los Cabos, Mexico, and Destin-Fort Walton Beach, Fla. Service to the three vacation destinations starts in June, fitting in with a trend among all airlines to offer outdoor and beach destinations as the pandemic drags on. It could be a bold play for American, trying to capture market share as it works to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic that has devastated the travel industry. American, headquartered less than three hours from Austin, has historically flown a modest schedule out of Austin. Before the pandemic, the carrier flew mostly from Austin to major hubs such as Charlotte, DFW, JFK International Airport in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, Philadelphia and Phoenix… (LINK TO STORY)
Big changes coming to Airport and North Lamar with reallocation of 2016 bond funds (Austin Monitor)
Complete makeovers to two prominent streets have moved up the city’s to-do list.
North Lamar Boulevard between U.S. Highway 183 and Rundberg Lane and Airport Boulevard between Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and U.S. 183 are slated for reconstruction by 2024 – earlier than expected – through a $65 million reallocation of 2016 mobility bond funds originally meant for Riverside Drive improvements.
Project Connect will now fund the Riverside work, which will involve overhauling the corridor all at once to provide better pedestrian and bike facilities and accommodate the Blue Line.
Mike Trimble, director of the Corridor Program Office, briefed the Mobility Committee Thursday on the changes. “It really is a win-win between Project Connect and what they’re doing on the Blue Line and now what we’re able to return to our program,” he said.
When the Riverside funds were freed up, Trimble said, “we just went to the next projects in the list.” Projects are prioritized using a scoring system City Council adopted in 2018.
Final designs for Airport and Lamar are not yet complete, but the segments are expected to get the full Corridor Program treatment, which includes:
Realignment and modification of vehicle lanes
Enhanced bike and pedestrian facilities
Pedestrian safety upgrades like pedestrian hybrid beacons and shorter, more visible crosswalks
Streetscape improvements such as landscaped medians, street trees and lighting
New bus stops and other transit improvements
The cost remains uncertain, with each project estimated to cost from $25 million-$45 million. “We’re going to get our consultant teams that are under contract to finish out design, and we’ll get better numbers on that,” Trimble said.
Trimble cautioned that if costs end up being more than expected, the timelines may change: “Our intent is to move forward to full construction. But we’ll have to see what the numbers come back like.”
The improvements aim to support future Project Connect work. The North Lamar project, Trimble said, will lay the groundwork for easy bus, bike and pedestrian access to the Orange Line’s northern terminus at the North Lamar Transit Center.
Riverside users can also expect interim improvements before Project Connect work begins, including transit priority lanes and safety-minded fixes… (LINK TO STORY)
University of Texas president says students should plan to return to campus in the fall (Austin American-Statesman)
University of Texas President Jay Hartzell on Thursday said on-campus classes and activities may return this fall.
Hartzell did not say if in-person activities and classes would resume definitely, but said university officials are planning to return to "near normal" operations in the fall semester, which is scheduled to begin Aug. 25.
Students and faculty members should plan on being in Austin and on campus starting in the fall semester for teaching and research, Hartzell said. He also said staff members should expect the likelihood of regularly being on campus.
"Please know that when it comes to these questions and others like them, our leadership team is working tirelessly to develop comprehensive and detailed plans in coordination with our public health experts," Hartzell wrote in a letter addressed to the UT community. "In general, we expect the fall 2021 semester to look more like the fall 2019 semester than the fall 2020 semester."… (LINK TO STORY)
Waterloo Park set to finish this summer; Creek Show to return in November (Community Impact)
Local artists will once again feature their work in an outdoor installation that will light up downtown Austin. The annual Creek Show, which takes place in November, was canceled in 2020 due to ongoing concerns about the spread of the coronavirus.
In the past, the installations have illuminated Waller Creek between Ninth and 12th streets in downtown Austin. But when the show returns this fall, it will take place at the new Waterloo Park, an 11-acre space just east of the Texas Capitol between 12th and 15th streets. The park, set to open this summer, has been under construction since 2017 and will include the 5,000-person capacity Moody Amphitheater.
Creek Show will take place from Nov. 12-21, and submissions are open for artists through March 26. Any artists who applied in 2020, when the show was canceled, are encouraged to resubmit their work, according the Waterloo Greenway Conservancy, the nonprofit organization that organizes the show and maintains the parks around Waller Creek.
Waterloo Park's opening represents the first phase of the larger Waterloo Greenway project, which aims to create a 1.5-mile park system encompassing 35 acres of connected space from 15th Street down to Lady Bird Lake. The $250 million project is a joint effort between the conservancy and the city of Austin, and the entire network of trails, bridges and green space is set to be complete by 2026… (LINK TO STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick spars with last remaining Public Utility Commission member over readjusting energy prices during winter storm (Texas Tribune)
In an unusual move, Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick joined a senate committee hearing Thursday evening for nearly a half hour to question the chairperson of the Texas utility regulator who was appointed by GOP Gov. Greg Abbott.
Patrick recounted a recent phone call he had with Public Utility Commission Chair Arthur D’Andrea, whom Patrick and other senators have asked to retroactively reduce the market price for power during the deadly winter storm. D'Andrea and the PUC have declined to do so, citing unforeseen consequences of meddling in an electricity market that has already been settled.
“You said you agreed with my view that we needed to correct this,” Patrick said of the phone call.
"Sir, there's no way I agreed with you that we need to correct this," D'Andrea said. "There’s no way I would have done that. This whole thing is because I don’t agree with you. ... it would be very easy if I agreed with you. I don’t. I’m sorry.”
D’Andrea, a lawyer who used to work in the Texas attorney general’s office, said he did not think the PUC has legal authority to retroactively change the market price for power during the time of the winter storm.
“Even if the governor of the state of Texas told you to correct this error and this mistake, or respond to unusual circumstances, are you saying that you would not obey that?” Patrick said.
“I’ve worked for him for a decade and he has never asked me to do anything that I thought was illegal,” D’Andrea said. “...I think it’s illegal, and his first thing he told me when I came to work for him is, ‘We are not doing anything illegal.’”
The lively exchange came on the same day D'Andrea told lawmakers the state’s energy grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, overcharged power companies by roughly $3 billion after the winter storm, pushing back on a previous report from an agency watchdog that said the companies were overcharged by $16 billion… (LINK TO STORY)
Social network Gab fuels latest conflict among Texas Republicans (Texas Tribune)
A fight has broken out among Texas Republicans over Gab, the embattled social network favored by the far right.
The state GOP made clear Thursday it would not delete its Gab account after vice chair Cat Parks called on it to do so two days earlier — and got backup from Gov. Greg Abbott, who said "anti-Semitic platforms like Gab have no place in Texas." That sparked fierce criticism from the company — and new questions from fellow some Republicans about Abbott's own commitment to fighting perceived censorship by social media giants.
The party has had a Gab account since at least January, when GOP discussion over social media policy was at a fever pitch in the wake of Twitter's decision to ban outgoing President Donald Trump after the deadly U.S. Capitol riot… (LINK TO STORY)