BG Reads | News You Need to Know (December 30, 2021)
Downtown Austin
[BINGHAM GROUP]
The BG Podcast is back! EP. 148 features Jose "Chito" Vela III a candidate for Austin's Council District 4.
The immigration and defense attorney declared in early November, following Council Member Greg Casar announcing his candidacy for Congress (triggering an automatic resignation).
Bingham Group CEO A.J. and Associate Wendy Rodriguez discuss Chito's campaign and what he hopes to achieve if elected.
[MEETING/HEARINGS]
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
Austin EMS association says omicron variant adding more strain amid staffing shortage (KVUE)
Austin-Travis County EMS (ATCEMS) officials activated emergency plans to keep the department ready to respond to emergencies "in the face of potentially crippling shortages," the Austin EMS Association announced in a release.
ATCEMS medics are now reportedly being asked to stand by their phones at all hours of day when not at work in case staff is needed, the association said. The emergency plan comes as the department faces a staffing shortage that is worsening as medics are infected with COVID-19.
The association said nearly one in every 15 ATCEMS medic is infected or is suspected of being infected with COVID-19, and are therefore unable to work.
"I am very worried that our members are not going to feel entitled to fully disconnect from work now, that they are not going to get that essential rest,” said Selena Xie, president of the Austin EMS Association. “ATCEMS medics work hard when they are clocked in, and we bear the brunt of the city’s pandemic response during every surge in COVID-19 cases. These surges cause our call volume to spike, and of course, each one brings more risk that more of our medics will get infected. It’s extremely stressful. I’m proud of how our members have handled this for the last two years, but they deserve to rest when they can.”
Xie said the latest spike in cases caused by the omicron variant has only added to an already stressed department that is dealing with chronic staffing shortages. She said that only about 80% of the authorized and funded capacity was available heading into the holidays and than its new hire academy was only about half full.
“We are having serious problems with recruitment. With well over a hundred openings, we aren’t going to get relief from the status quo. Attrition - including early retirement - is at an all-time high, and we anticipate even more openings in the coming months,” Xie said.
In a release announcing the latest developments, Xie again urged the city to recruit and retain medics to help improve the ongoing staffing situation… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin Public Health shifts to Stage 4 of COVID-19 risk-based guidelines as omicron variant surges (Community Impact)
Amid a surging community transmission rate and upticks in hospitalizations, Austin Public Health has moved its risk-based guidelines from Stage 3 to Stage 4, according to a Dec. 29 news release.
The new guidance means APH recommends that the vaccinated population wear masks when gathering with people outside of their household, traveling, dining and shopping. The partially vaccinated or unvaccinated should wear masks, avoid gathering with people outside of their household and only travel if essential.
“Our people have continually stepped up for the greater good and been the example of how to navigate the COVID-19 surges with masking, social distancing and vaccinations,” said Dr. Desmar Walkes, Austin-Travis County health authority, in the news release. “However, as our vigilance begins to wane, our community is falling behind. We can't afford to be lax in our prevention efforts, and I'm confident that Austin-Travis County will once again lead the way."
The seven-day moving average of hospitalizations reached 36 on Dec. 28—the highest since Sept. 26—according to the APH dashboard. APH recently modified its Stage 4 threshold from a seven-day moving average of 30 hospitalizations to 25.
"COVID-19 hospitalizations and the community transmission rate are surging once again. This means our ICUs are filling and that emergency care could become compromised for both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients. We must act now to protect both,” Austin Mayor Steve Adler said in the news release… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Here are six ride-hailing companies in Austin that aren't Uber or Lyft (KUT)
Uber and Lyft dominate the rides-on-demand industry, but Austin has emerged as a battleground where lesser-known companies are fighting against the global juggernauts for a slice of the business.
The relatively sudden emergence of new ride-hailing companies in Austin is reminiscent of the period from mid-2016 to mid-2017 when Uber and Lyft stopped operating here. They pulled out after voters approved more stringent regulations for ride-hailing companies that included fingerprint-based background checks.
The exit of Uber and Lyft ushered in a flood of new companies catering to residents newly trained in using apps to get around — firms like Fasten, RideAustin, GetMe and Fare — most of which gradually disappeared after the Texas Legislature rescinded Austin's ride-share ordinance, and Uber and Lyft returned.
But a handful of entrepreneurs still see opportunity in these streets, and they're diving into a cut-throat industry where the two market leaders are willing to lose billions of dollars to grow their businesses… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin's housing market should keep booming in 2022, experts say (Austin American-Statesman)
Low housing supply. High demand. Higher prices.
Sound familiar?
It's the same formula that has fueled the Central Texas housing market for the past decade or so — and more of the same is ahead in 2022, local housing market experts and real estate agents say.
“You thought 2020 was crazy in the real estate market. Put that energy together with vaccinated citizens and a new outlook on work/life, and you’ve got a frenzy," said Sarah Grimes, a real estate agent with JB Goodwin Realtors in Austin.
Job and population growth are expected to continue in the five-county Austin region spanning from Georgetown to San Marcos. That population growth includes the continued trend of newcomers arriving from states with higher housing costs.
Those and other factors probably signal a repeat of 2021's housing market, industry analysts say. Expect sellers to remain in the driver's seat — with multiple offers and bids above the asking price still common — and affordability to remain an ever-present concern, local and national experts say.
"The Austin area remains in a seller’s market because of historically low interest rates, a booming local economy, and the relocation opportunities that it brings," the Realty Austin brokerage said. "When you mix high demand with low inventory — housing prices are likely to continue to rise."… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
How are Texas schools choosing which books to ban? A look at how one district decides (Dallas Morning News)
Keller parents and school staffers are meeting behind closed doors to determine which books can remain on library shelves. Anonymous committee members will argue the merits of work from authors like Toni Morrison as well as titles that have won national recognition. Such discussions nationwide are egged-on by Republican leaders who are targeting books about race and sexuality. And these debates playing out across Texas are so heated that those on Keller ISD’s Book Challenge Committees were asked to sign confidentiality agreements. The Dallas Morning News obtained reports from the district’s committees through a public records request, shedding some light on this process. The reports provide insight into how books are evaluated and what issues parents raise when they say they shouldn’t be available to kids. The challenge committees’ work has already resulted in books being removed from shelves, as similar moves across the state have sparked condemnation from education and free speech advocates.
School libraries, they say, are often where kids turn to for free access to literature that both reflects their own experiences and expands their understanding of the world. In recent years, school librarians and educators have worked to expand their book selections to include the stories of people who are often underrepresented in the curriculum. Many of the books being challenged across Texas -- and nationwide -- delve into the experiences of people of color and the LGBTQ community. Enraged parents have read out salacious excerpts from material they believe inappropriate at school board meetings. Ashley Hope Pérez, an author and former Texas teacher, questioned whether book committees or school officials are making decisions to placate parents rather than based on what students need from literature. Her book, Out of Darkness, is a work of historical fiction that’s been challenged across the state because it contains some sexual content and violence. “When school districts elevate the interests of this handful of parents who are coming – calling books ‘filth’ that have characters with these identities – they are basically endorsing the marginalization of those young people,” she said… (LINK TO FULL STORY)