BG Reads | News You Need to Know (December 7, 2021)
I Luv Video (R.I.P.), Airport Blvd., Austin, TX
[MEETING/HEARINGS]
Austin City Council Regular Session Agenda (Thursday at 10AM)
NOTE: This will be the final Regular Session of 2021.
[BINGHAM GROUP]
In sports news, A.J.’s Demon Deacons (Wake ‘04) will take on the Aggies on December 31.
Wake Forest to battle Texas A&M in Gator Bowl on Dec. 31 in Jacksonville (Winston-Salem Journal)
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
Austin EMS Association lays out argument for $27 per hour starting pay (Community Impact)
The Austin EMS Association laid out its case for substantially increasing the pay for emergency medics during its third meeting with the city.
The meetings kicked off Nov. 30 and are the first in a series the city will undergo to negotiate contracts with all three of its emergency service branches—the EMS, police and fire departments.
The association is asking the city to increase starting pay for the department to $27, a roughly 42% increase from the current starting pay of just over $19.
Selena Xie, the president of the Austin EMS Association, said it is important the city addresses wages and benefits for EMS personnel because the department is struggling to keep up with Austin’s growing population.
She said the department has about 120 vacancies, which has been steadily increasing since at least 2018, when the department had 43.“We need to make sure we have the staff available to do the job we need to do. Wages and benefits is one of the ways we can make this true,” Xie said.
She said the association is receiving fewer applicants, and fewer individuals are participating in the cadet classes.
At the same time, she said more people are leaving the organization than are joining it. At least 8% of medics surveyed by the department said they plan to leave within the year. At least 20% plan to leave within the next three years, according to Xie’s presentation… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Search for new EMS chief still under wraps (Austin Monitor)
As with last month’s meeting of the Public Safety Commission, Assistant City Manager Rey Arellano had little to report regarding the nationwide search for a new chief of Austin-Travis County Emergency Services.
At Monday’s commission meeting, Arellano reported there were 37 people who applied for the position to replace former EMS Chief Ernesto Rodriguez, who retired this year after 40 years of service. Arellano said he had asked for additional information regarding the first round of finalists and should have more details next week.
According to the list of 37 applicants, five EMS employees applied for the job, including interim Chief Jasper Brown and Selena Xie, president of the Austin EMS Association. Brown is expected to move forward to the next round of interviews in January. Xie told the Austin Monitor she would not be included among the finalists. She believes the consulting firm that interviewed her, Affion Public, wanted her to advance to the next stage of the process, but said for whatever reason, city management did not want her to move forward.
Xie is currently in collective bargaining talks with the city, which likely would have posed a conflict had she proceeded as a finalist. Xie was one of about four women to apply for the chief position.
Some who are following the search process would like the city to hire a candidate who embraces the ongoing work of reimagining public safety in Austin, but they are not holding out hope.
“Will you speak to the diversity of the applicant pool?” Commissioner Rebecca Webber asked. Arellano said he was not prepared to respond to the question. Webber asked about the public aspect of the hiring process and whether the community would have an opportunity to meet the finalists. Arellano said he was planning to hold an open house so that stakeholders and internal staffers would have a chance to engage with the top candidates… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
New NIL program to give Texas offensive lineman $50K to play in Austin (Sports Illustrated)
Texas Football is getting a boost from sponsors next season thanks to the Name, Image and Likeness program set by the NCAA.
Horns with Heart, a nonprofit charity organization based in Austin, will provide every Texas offensive linemen on scholarship with $50,000 annually as part of a new NIL program. This is the latest in a series of launches by Longhorns boosters and supporters in hopes of helping with recruiting and bringing more names towards the program.
The program is set to be named The Pancake Factory, in large part due to blocks set by offensive linemen when trying to open running lanes. It will be the first of its kind, supporting just one football position group for players to participate in charitable endeavors... (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Head of Central Texas Food Bank to leave Dec. 31 after 5 years (KXAN)
Central Texas Food Bank President and CEO Derrick Chubbs’ last day leading the nonprofit will be Dec. 31, it was announced Friday.
Chubbs will move into the same role for Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida in Orlando. Chubbs has led the food bank in Austin since November 2016.
“The Food Bank Board and staff wish Derrick the very best and thank him for his contributions to the fight against hunger,” said Stephen Portner, chairman of the board for Central Texas Food Bank. “He has helped us lay a strong financial and strategic foundation for future success into place. Today, our Food Bank is supporting more neighbors than ever before, and Derrick’s leadership has helped make that possible. While he leaves us, we are pleased that his expertise will continue to benefit the Feeding America network.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin metro breaks record for new jobs announced, more expected before year-end (Austin Business Journal)
As a testament to Central Texas' continued economic boom, the metro has seen more jobs announced from company relocations and expansions this year than ever before — and local leaders expect more to come in the final weeks of 2021.
Through November, companies of different sizes and industries have promised to create roughly 23,150 jobs across the metro, surpassing the previous record of 22,114 jobs announced for the entirety of 2020, according to data compiled by Opportunity Austin, which is the economic development arm of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce. This metric underscores how the Texas capital — already one of the most resilient economies during the pandemic — is poised to keep flourishing.
“2021 will be the Triple Crown in economic development for Central Texas," said Gary Farmer, chairman of Opportunity Austin. "This year has already proved to be the best year for corporate relocations to the region, for corporate expansions in the region and for the greatest number of direct jobs announced in the region.”
Through November, Farmer said 126 companies already in Central Texas have chosen to expand and 86 companies have relocated operations. Dozens of those are likely headquarters relocations; Austin Business Journal has tallied at least 30 such moves this year. And there are likely even more expansion and relocations flying under the radar that chamber officials and the media don't know about… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Employees at Integral Care, Travis County’s mental health agency, want to unionize (Austin Monitor)
Employees at Integral Care, the nonprofit that manages mental health care across the Austin area, intend to unionize. A group of more than 20 employees gathered at Integral Care's South Austin headquarters Monday morning, dropping off a letter to the nonprofit's CEO, David Evans, informing him of their intent. Employees say unionization would help address understaffing and high turnover at the mental health authority. Nearly 90 employees signed a letter in support of the union. Alice Navarro, a community worker with Integral Care, said she's had chronic respiratory conditions that aren't covered by the nonprofit's health benefits.
She's been ill recently and said she's had to balance work while also dealing with her illness. She can't afford to see a specialist currently, and because of her condition, she can't do her job, which consists of meeting in person with folks needing mental and behavioral health services. "I jokingly said to my colleague, I know our vision is 'better living for everyone,' but does that also apply to our staff?" she said. "Because I'm a community worker, and I'm expected to meet with clients in the community, and how can I meet with clients when I'm in this condition?" Navarro said many of her clients are homeless, or, if they are housed, she often has to meet them in their homes, which is tough if she's dealing with a respiratory illness. Raven Rojas, a rehabilitation specialist with Integral Care at the Community First Village, primarily works with folks transitioning out of homelessness. She says the wages she's paid right now aren't livable in light of Austin's perennial issues with affordability. "Our main issue is that we don't have livable wages to maintain housing and bills in Austin," she said. "It's just tragic, because we're providing services to disadvantaged populations, but at the same time we are being oppressed in a way as well."… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
Texas reports its first case of the omicron COVID-19 variant (Texas Tribune)
Texas has identified its first case of the omicron COVID-19 variant, a strain flagged as potentially more infectious than any that has come before it, including the delta variant responsible for surges still happening across the country, state health officials said on Monday.
The variant was identified in Texas in a Harris County woman in her 40s, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services and county Judge Lina Hidalgo.
Many questions still surround omicron, even as it remains high on the radar of state and federal health officials.
While early indicators suggest the variant is very contagious, it’s still unknown whether it will infect people at a faster rate than the delta variant, which currently represents nearly all the active cases in Texas. Little is also known about the severity of disease the omicron variant causes… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Texas cities weren’t ready for a massive winter storm in February. Has that changed? (Texas Tribune)
Officials in major Texas cities say they are in a better position to handle a severe crisis like February’s winter storm than they were before — but big gaps in their preparation remain and won’t be closed until after the upcoming winter.
Texas cities drastically underestimated the severity of this year’s freeze, which left hundreds dead and millions of Texans without heat, water and electricity for days.
The catastrophe exposed shortfalls in local governments’ ability to respond to frigid weather. As the storm blanketed Texas in snow, city officials found they lacked supplies like power generators and water trucks necessary to handle the winter emergency, and they struggled to communicate crucial information to residents. Icy roads and blackouts stranded city workers who otherwise would have been responding to the crisis. Even some of the cities’ best-laid plans were thwarted by statewide power outages.
ow, cities know massive winter storms are not only possible but also capable of great devastation.
“If nothing else, they now know it can happen,” said Reed Williams, a former San Antonio City Council member who helmed a committee to investigate the city’s response to the storm. “So they ought to be paying better attention.”
In the aftermath, local governments looked to zero in on what went wrong with their emergency responses and better prepare for similar disasters in the future. Probes in Austin and San Antonio produced dozens of recommendations like stocking up on emergency supplies and revising outdated emergency planning documents that had downplayed the risk and severity of a winter storm.
Ten months after the freeze, Texas cities have made some headway on storm preparedness, an oft-neglected area of local government. They have bolstered reserves of bottled water for residents in case of water outages, bought tire chains for city emergency vehicles, and implemented measures intended to shorten potential power outages for residents and keep electricity flowing to critical facilities… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
CEO of Astroworld medical provider recalls moment when routine festival spiraled out of control (Houston Chronicle)
Alex Pollak was feeling pretty confident in the moments before Travis Scott stepped out on the stage in NRG Park last month. He’d spent hours walking across the venue, checking on his EMTs and doctors, who were roaming the pit and staffing Paradocs Worldwide’s medical tent. The crowd was full of energy, he recalled, but nothing seemed particularly unusual compared to other concerts his company had worked over the years. But as Scott appeared on stage, just after 9 p.m., what appeared to be a routine music festival would begin to spin out of control. In moments, Pollak and his EMTs found themselves in a rapidly compressing crowd, where festivalgoers were packed so tightly that many could not breathe. For many of the spectators, the air grew thick and hot, and soon, nonexistent. In the front right of the venue, concertgoers became dizzy, then unconscious, collapsing as they were squeezed so tightly that they could not breathe.
By the end of the night, eight people would be dead. Another two people — including a 9-year-old boy and a 22-year-old college student — would be hospitalized, on life support. And Astroworld would become one of the worst modern concert tragedies in American history. Pollak’s account — shared in an exclusive interview with the Houston Chronicle — is the first in which the festival’s medical providers have discussed their experiences during the fatal incident. Most concerts or large events have some medical issues, Pollak said: spectators suffering bumps and bruises or broken bones after spills, or dehydration. He’d seen some underage drinking in the crowd at Astroworld, which wasn’t surprising because it was a younger crowd. While his employees had worked “hundreds” of festivals over the years, it was their first time at Astroworld. By the time Scott stepped onto the stage on Friday night, according to a Houston Fire Department log of radio traffic, Paradocs staff had reported treating about 250 concertgoers, a tiny fraction of the estimated 50,0000 concertgoers who’d shown up to the Astroworld Festival on Nov. 5 to thrill and revel in his music. Some had lacerations on their hands from scaling fences; others had bumps and bruises or other minor medical issues… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATIONAL NEWS]
New York City to mandate Covid vaccines for all private sector workers (CNN)
All private sector employers in New York City will now be required to implement a Covid-19 vaccine mandate by December 27, the city's mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday.
This new move, which de Blasio announced Monday on MSNBC, means everyone who works in the city will now be subject to a vaccine mandate.
"The more universal they are, the more likely employees will say okay, it's time. I'm going to do this. Because you can't jump from one industry to another or one company to another," de Blasio said. "It's something that needs to be universal to protect all of us."
At a press conference later on Monday, de Blasio said the vaccine mandate is the best way to avoid a return to a shutdown of businesses and other public events that other countries have ordered as Covid cases continue to rise… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Americans’ pandemic-era ‘excess savings’ are dwindling for many (New York Times)
Infusions of government cash that warded off an economic calamity have left millions of households with bigger bank balances than before the pandemic — savings that have driven a torrent of consumer spending, helped pay off debts and, at times, reduced the urgency of job hunts.
But many low-income Americans find their savings dwindling or even depleted. And for them, the economic recovery is looking less buoyant.
Over the past 18 months or so, experts have been closely tracking the multitrillion-dollar increase in what economists call “excess savings,” generally defined as the amount by which people’s cash reserves during the Covid-19 crisis exceeded what they would have normally saved.
According to Moody’s Analytics, an economic research firm, these excess savings among many working- and middle-class households could be exhausted as soon as early next year — not only reducing their financial cushions but also potentially affecting the economy, since consumer spending is such a large share of activity… (LINK TO FULL STORY)