BG Reads | News You Need to Know (November 2, 2021)
Downtown Austin
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
Austin’s construction employment one of the most stable in the U.S. (Austin Business Journal)
Construction workers in Austin are often working at breakneck speed, trying to deliver office towers and factories while others chip away at the housing deficit in Central Texas. These workers are dealing with material shortages and often putting in extra work due to labor shortages. The insatiable demand makes Austin one of the most stable places to be a construction worker — and employer, a new study shows.
A recent report from Construction Coverage ranked the Austin metro No. 7 in the U.S. for construction job stability. The construction job turnover rate is 14%, compared to rates of more than 24% in places such as North Carolina, West Virginia, Wyoming and North Dakota.
The Austin metro has the best construction job turnover of all major Texas metros. The San Antonio and Dallas areas both had turnover rates of 15%. Houston did not rank among the top 15.
The Austin metro is in the throes of a housing crisis, with just 1.1 months of inventory available in September, according to the Austin Board of Realtors. A healthy market has around six months of inventory at any one time. This means the demand for new housing is high, and opportunities for construction workers abound.
Austin’s construction employment market is robust, with an average quarterly employment of more than 80,000. Each quarter, 11,680 workers leave their job on average, while another 12,912 are hired, according to the report… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Mexico national team to make first-ever trip to Austin for MexTour match (KXAN)
The Mexican Men’s National Team is coming to Austin for its first-ever match in the city on Dec. 8, Austin FC announced Monday in partnership with the Federación Mexicana de Fútbol (FMF) and Soccer United Marketing (SUM).
Mexico will face two-time Copa America champions Chile at Q2 Stadium as part of its MexTour series. This will be the final match of the 2021 MexTour, which is a U.S. tour of friendlies pitting Mexico against other top national teams.
While the games don’t count toward any sort of qualifying, the tour allows Mexico to prepare for important international fixtures while also connecting with fans in the U.S… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin will keep running Fayette coal power plant, missing key climate goal (KUT)
Austin Energy will not retire its stake in the Fayette coal power plant next year, the publicly owned electric utility announced Monday. Shutting down its portion of the plant by 2022 had been a key part of the city's climate goals.
Austin Energy said it was unable to reach an agreement on the closure with the Lower Colorado River Authority, which co-owns the plant.
"We’ve been talking to LCRA for a while,” Pat Sweeney, Austin Energy’s vice president for power production told KUT. “At the end of the day, we just couldn’t come to terms that both parties could agree to, to allow us to exit at an affordable basis and at the timeline that was contemplated.”
Sweeney said he could not discuss details of the negotiations because they were confidential.
Carbon dioxide is the number one contributor to the global climate crisis. Five years ago, Austin’s share of the Fayette coal plant was found to be responsible for “80 percent of the utility’s greenhouse gas emissions and 28 percent of all Austin’s greenhouse gas emissions.”
Closing Austin’s portion of the plant by 2022 was an important step to achieving carbon-reduction goals outlined in Austin Energy’s Resource, Generation and Climate Protection Plan to 2030. That plan, in turn, was a cornerstone of the city’s ambitious Climate Equity Plan, which aims to reach “net zero” emissions communitywide by 2040… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Central Texas faith leaders and politicians rebuke antisemitic incidents after fire outside Austin synagogue (Texas Tribune)
A series of antisemitic incidents around Central Texas — including a potential arson outside an Austin synagogue this weekend — drew condemnation from a coalition of interfaith leaders and local politicians Monday.
“Hateful acts of intimidation to incite violence is unacceptable, and we will not be silent,” Simone Talma Flowers, the executive director of Interfaith Action of Central Texas, said at a press conference Monday. “We stand united with our Jewish community as they are targeted and victimized by acts of antisemitism.”
Flowers read from a statement signed by more than 500 people, including Austin Mayor Steve Adler and all 10 of his City Council colleagues. The incidents come as nearly 1 out of every 4 Jews in the U.S. indicate experiencing antisemitism over the past year, according to a recently released report by the American Jewish Committee… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Superintendent’s evaluation sparks heated testimony on district’s working conditions (Austin Monitor)
The AISD Board of Trustees faced a grueling round of public testimony at their meeting this past Thursday, with more than a dozen teachers calling in to express intolerable levels of stress. Citing administrative micromanagement, understaffing, excessive hours and poor compensation, speakers illustrated a district reaching a fever pitch of low morale.
With Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde up for evaluation, speakers used the opportunity to provide input on criteria such as staff retention and teacher and student satisfaction. After conducting the evaluation in a closed executive session, the board unanimously voted to extend Elizalde’s contract until 2024.
“I have never seen my colleagues so tired and frustrated,” said Traci Dunlap, who teaches at Maplewood Elementary School. “Almost every teacher I know is considering leaving.”
The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the challenges faced by the notoriously underfunded school district, with teachers and staff facing the brunt of the impact. Teacher resignations have left AISD with 105 position vacancies, forcing remaining faculty to assume extra classes and responsibilities. The staffing crisis extends to a shortage of substitutes, leaving some teachers unable to take time off.
“We are being told that we have to find our own substitutes if we want to have a day off,” said Lena Powell, a special education teacher at Martin Middle School.
Faculty described an environment of bureaucratic micromanagement that has left them overworked and exhausted, with unclear benefits to students’ education. Grievances over mandates included poorly designed district-enforced curriculum, long and uncompensated training requirements and excessive meetings… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
Gov. Greg Abbott chastises school board group with vague accusation of “pornographic images” in library books (Texas Tribune)
Gov. Greg Abbott asked the Texas Association of School Boards on Monday to determine the extent to which “pornography or other inappropriate content” exists in public schools across the state and to remove it if found.
“A growing number of parents of Texas students are becoming increasingly alarmed about some of the books and other content found in public school libraries that are extremely inappropriate in the public education system,” Abbott wrote to Dan Troxell, the group’s executive director, in a Nov. 1 letter.
Abbott, who did not cite examples in his letter, said that the organization has “an obligation to Texas parents and students to ensure that no child in Texas is exposed to pornography or other inappropriate content while inside a Texas public school.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Evan Young, former clerk to conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, appointed to Texas Supreme Court (Texas Tribune)
Gov. Greg Abbott named Austin lawyer Evan Young to the Texas Supreme Court on Monday.
Young is a former clerk for the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and was counsel to attorneys general under former President George W. Bush. Currently, he works as a partner at Baker Botts in Austin, where he chairs its Supreme Court and Constitutional Law Practice.
Young replaces former Justice Eva Guzman, who resigned in June ahead of a campaign for attorney general.
"Evan Young is a proven legal scholar and public servant, making him an ideal pick for the Supreme Court of Texas," Abbott said in a statement. "Evan's extensive background in private practice and public service will be a fantastic addition to the bench, and I am confident that he will faithfully defend the Constitution and uphold the rule of law for the people of Texas."
Young is set to finish Guzman's term in Place 9 on the court, which goes through the end of next year. Place 9 is on the ballot next year.
After clerking for Scalia, Young went to work for the U.S. Department of Justice, serving as counsel to two former attorneys general, Alberto Gonzales and Michael Mukasey. During that period, he spent time in Iraq, helping with U.S. efforts to rebuild the government there.
Young joined Baker Botts' Austin office in 2009. More recently, Abbott appointed Young to the Texas Judicial Council, which oversees the court system in Texas, and he serves on the Texas Supreme Court Advisory Committee… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Supreme Court justices seem to tilt toward abortion providers in Texas (NPR)
The Supreme Court appeared inclined Monday to allow abortion providers to challenge a controversial Texas law that in effect bans all abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, which is before most women know they are pregnant. But if the clues from the three-hour argument are correct, it still is not clear when the court would rule or whether it would temporarily block the law while the lower courts consider it. This is the second time the novel Texas law has come before the court. Two months ago, a conservative court majority, in a midnight ruling, refused to block the law from going into effect. The result was that abortion in the state came to a virtual halt, prompting a national firestorm. On Monday the court heard arguments not just from abortion providers, but from the federal government, which intervened in the case, contending that part of its job is to ensure that a state law does not nullify the Supreme Court's constitutional rulings.
The Biden administration's new solicitor general, Elizabeth Prelogar, told the justices that "if Texas is correct and it can nullify the court's precedents, then no constitutional right is safe." No state "has ever sought to challenge the supremacy of federal law and keep the courts out of the equation in quite the same way," she added. But justices, both liberal and conservative, saw her argument as potentially giving the federal government unprecedented power intervene in state policies "You say this case is very narrow, it's rare, it's particularly problematic, but the authority you assert to respond to it is as broad as can be," said Chief Justice John Roberts. Part of the problem in the case is what Justice Elena Kagan referred to as the "procedural morass" the court has gotten itself into. Justice Stephen Breyer, one of the court's liberals, noted that "4 billion tort suits are filed in the United States, and probably 3 billion of them, somebody thinks something is unconstitutional." So, he asked, can they all sue to prevent the state courts from taking action? And why, asked Justice Samuel Alito, one of the court's conservatives, shouldn't these cases be litigated in the state courts first. "It's unprecedented and it's contrary to our system of federalism to enjoin a state judge from even from hearing a case," he said. "Your answer is a one federal court judge can't enjoin another federal judge, but a federal judge can enjoin state judges because they're lower creatures."… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
U.S. employers must give paid time off, sick leave to vaccinate workers under pending emergency rule (Associated Press)
The federal government will require companies with at least 100 workers to provide paid time off for employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and paid sick leave to recover from effects of the shots, a Biden administration official said Monday. Those requirements will be part of a pending federal rule that will spell out how large employers will meet a requirement that workers be vaccinated or tested regularly for the virus. The White House budget office has completed its review of the rule being written by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which is expected to be released this week. The rule — issued under emergency standards to respond to the pandemic -- will cover firms with 100 or more employees, regardless of how many are located in any particular spot.
“Covered employers must develop, implement, and enforce a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy, unless they adopt a policy requiring employees to choose either to get vaccinated or to undergo regular COVID-19 testing and wear a face covering at work,” a Labor Department spokesperson said Monday. The rule “also requires employers to provide paid time to workers to get vaccinated and paid sick leave to recover from any side effects.” The official said that the Office of Management and Budget completed its review of the OSHA rule on Monday, and the rule will be published in the Federal Register “in the coming days.” The spokesperson declined to give further details, saying that the administration “will provide further updates when we have more information. " Separately, the administration will give federal contractors broad authority on how to treat employees who refuse to be vaccinated, according to guidelines that the White House issued Monday. Under an executive order that President Joe Biden issued in September, contractors have until Dec. 8 to ensure that employees are fully vaccinated. The order has met resistance from some workers at large employers with federal contracts, including American Airlines and Southwest Airlines. The CEO of Southwest said his airline would not fire anybody for refusing to get the shots… (LINK TO FULL STORY)