BG Reads | News You Need to Know (October 15, 2021)
[MEETING/HEARINGS]
[BINGHAM GROUP]
EVENTS // Thursday, October 28 (6PM - 10PM0, A Night In Verde Presented by St. David’s Healthcare - benefiting the 4ATX Foundation (Austin FC’s non-profit arm). -> Table Link
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
Downtown business report finds problems for daytime demand, music venues (Austin Monitor)
A new report on Austin’s downtown economy finds that there is a persistent weakness in weekday business, and that entertainment businesses concentrated around East Sixth and Red River streets have been slow to recover from effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Downtown Austin Alliance produced the report, which supports earlier findings this year that the ongoing absence of office workers who are now working remotely represents the most significant soft spot for the 532 businesses identified as currently operating. The report found 36 new businesses and a total of 740 occupied storefronts, with a 64 percent increase in active businesses compared to a similar study conducted in February.
Recent pedestrian counts along South Congress Avenue, the main north-south artery for the district, were found to be at 80 percent of 2019 weekend counts, but only 60 percent of comparable weekends in 2019.
Looking at the state of entertainment businesses downtown, the report notes, “Total monthly alcohol sales and weekly visits to East Sixth Street and Red River have consistently lagged their counterparts in recovering. This highlights the economic losses these businesses have experienced during the pandemic as live music stages, the key driver to these districts, were closed throughout most of 2020.”
Jenell Moffett, DAA’s associate vice president of strategic initiatives, said the ongoing strong demand for office space downtown is likely to result in a gradual strengthening of daytime business as companies move into available spaces and bring more workers into the area regularly.
“This is such a big experiment with new behaviors coming into play. The office space is still there and the demand is still there, so it’s a matter of how to leverage that demand,” she said. “Once you realize the business you’re in and demands of employees then you make the decisions about what kinds of office space you need and if being downtown is the right fit.”
On the issue of weeknights and other ongoing softness, Moffett said DAA is putting together a new marketing program likely to launch early next year that will encourage Austinites to reconnect with downtown.
To help live music venues in their recovery, DAA staffers are working to identify funding sources and other assistance programs that can provide some cushion for the historically thin-margined industry… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin Chamber calls Abbott's ban on vaccine mandates a 'mistake' (Austin Business Journal)
The fight over vaccine mandates is putting businesses in a tough situation.
For now, the path forward for employers is very unclear. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed Oct. 11 an executive order that bans private employers from mandating vaccines. That contrasts with the Biden administration's looming guidelines that say large companies must mandate vaccinations or conduct weekly tests for Covid-19.
Some Texas-based companies have already made clear that they don't plan to follow Abbott's order. As employers navigate a legal battlefield between the state and federal governments, the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce is calling on Abbott to rescind the order.
“This executive order issued by Governor Abbott banning vaccine mandates by private employers is a mistake," Laura Huffman, president and CEO of the Chamber, said in a statement. "It is contradictory to previous orders the governor issued that reinforced the rights of businesses to choose a path that works best for themselves when navigating the pandemic.
"It also places businesses that are subject to the forthcoming federal government’s vaccine rule in an impossible situation where to follow one order would defy the other. A mandate against mandates is still a mandate and our businesses and community deserve better than this. As we await the conclusion of the inevitable legal battle that will surely be fought over this executive order, businesses will suffer, public health will be endangered, and our state will only be further divided. We respectfully call on Governor Abbott to rescind this order."… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
EMS union joins firefighters in opposing Prop A (Austin Monitor)
The political action committee for the Austin EMS employees union has voted to join the Austin Firefighters Association PAC and AFSCME Local 1624, the civilian employees union, in opposing Proposition A on the November ballot.
Save Austin Now, the PAC that gathered petitions to put the measure on the ballot, has estimated its yearly cost at $30 million, while the city of Austin says it would add between $54 million and $120 million a year to the Austin Police Department budget. The APD budget currently stands at $442 million, while the EMS budget for Fiscal Year 2021-22 is $105 million.
Selena Xie, president of the EMS Association, said in a news release Thursday, “We are asking Austin voters to look past the divisive politics that have intensified the conversation around Prop A and simply consider its implications for sound fiscal management of our city. Please vote no on Prop A.”
As the EMS union explains, there are other complicating factors: “Earlier this year, the 87th Texas Legislature passed HB 1900 which resulted in the Austin Police Department’s budget returning to its 2019 level, and the 2021 Austin City Council added $10 million to that. HB 1900 also prevents the Austin City Council from reducing APD’s budget in the future. In 2019, the 86th Texas Legislature passed SB 2, which caps the city’s ability to increase their overall budget. Due to the combined effects of these two state bills, we fear Prop A will create an irreversible escalation of police costs that will cannibalize Austin’s EMS and other city services for many years to come.”
EMS leaders added,” For perspective, your Austin medics have had great difficulty securing an additional $1 million to $5 million to enhance EMS services. This has been true despite the fact we are still many ambulances short of the city’s needs, more understaffed than the rest of Austin’s public safety departments and underpaid compared to our Austin public safety colleagues.”
Save Austin Now co-founders Matt Mackowiak and Cleo Petricek told the Austin Monitor via email, “This is a regrettable decision by Austin EMS. They have been sold a lie by city leaders who have money to fund every single pet project, but claim they do not have money to restore police staffing to a level of just two years ago. Austinites are tired of living in fear where 911 can no longer respond except in the most extreme circumstances. We can have a safe city again with enough police officers, and the only way is by passing Prop A.”
Firefighters Association President Bob Nicks said, “Prop A solves none of the problems that exist within APD today. Prop A is a poorly written law and will shift at least $75 million from the Fire and EMS budgets, as well as other essential city services.”
Ken Casaday, president of the Austin Police Association, has been a strong supporter of Proposition A. He said the EMS union vote did not concern him “because I think people have already made up their minds … I’m not sure (EMS) entering the fray at the last second” will make a difference… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
Texas’ near-total abortion ban will remain in effect as federal appeals court agrees to hear legal challenge (Texas Tribune)
Texas’ near-total abortion ban can continue to be enforced while the law’s constitutionality is decided, a panel of federal appellate judges ordered late Thursday.
The three justices of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals — considered perhaps the most conservative appellate court in the nation — also agreed to hear oral arguments in the underlying lawsuit the Biden administration filed against Texas over the law.
A U.S. district court previously blocked enforcement of the law for two days before the 5th Circuit initially froze the order. The panel of 5th Circuit justices agreed in a 2-1 decision Thursday to let the law remain in effect until it considers the U.S. Department of Justice’s challenge. Judge Carl Stewart dissented.
The decision means the appellate court will take over the legal challenge to Senate Bill 8 that was being overseen by U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman.
Oral arguments before the 5th Circuit have not yet been scheduled, but it could be months before they take place.
“We are very grateful,” said Kim Schwartz, media and communication director for the anti-abortion group Texas Right to Life. “We ultimately believe that we’ll be victorious.”
The Department of Justice didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment late Thursday. At least one abortion provider denounced the decision… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Southlake school leader tells teachers to balance Holocaust books with 'opposing' views (NBC News)
A top administrator with the Carroll Independent School District in Southlake advised teachers last week that if they have a book about the Holocaust in their classroom, they should also offer students access to a book from an “opposing” perspective, according to an audio recording obtained by NBC News. Gina Peddy, the Carroll school district’s executive director of curriculum and instruction, made the comment Friday afternoon during a training session on which books teachers can have in classroom libraries. The training came four days after the Carroll school board, responding to a parent’s complaint, voted to reprimand a fourth grade teacher who had kept an anti-racism book in her classroom. A Carroll staff member secretly recorded the Friday training and shared the audio with NBC News.
“Just try to remember the concepts of [House Bill] 3979,” Peddy said in the recording, referring to a new Texas law that requires teachers to present multiple perspectives when discussing “widely debated and currently controversial” issues. “And make sure that if you have a book on the Holocaust,” Peddy continued, “that you have one that has an opposing, that has other perspectives.” “How do you oppose the Holocaust?” one teacher said in response. “Believe me,” Peddy said. “That’s come up.” Another teacher wondered aloud if she would have to pull down “Number the Stars” by Lois Lowry, or other historical novels that tell the story of the Holocaust from the perspective of victims. It’s not clear if Peddy heard the question in the commotion or if she answered. Peddy did not respond to messages requesting comment. In a written response to a question about Peddy’s remarks, Carroll spokeswoman Karen Fitzgerald said the district is trying to help teachers comply with the new state law and an updated version that will go into effect in December, Texas Senate Bill 3… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Katy ISD reinstates banned books, reschedules author visit after critical race theory allegations refuted (Houston Chronicle)
Author Jerry Craft’s award winning graphic novels are back on Katy ISD library shelves after a review committee ruled that the books do not contain subversive or offensive material. Craft’s books were pulled from libraries and a speaking event with Craft was postponed after a district parent claimed the books promote critical race theory and anti-white rhetoric. The books, which are winners of numerous illustrious literature awards, focus on the experiences of a Black preteen who attends a predominantly white private school. Craft said the books are based on the actual experiences of his two sons.
“Earlier this week, the review committee met and determined the appropriateness of the book, ‘New Kid,’” a statement from the district said. “The reading material is already back on district library shelves, and the virtual author visit is scheduled to take place on October 25 as part of the instructional day.” The crusade against Craft’s work was led by Bonnie Anderson, a former Katy ISD board of trustees candidate, who once sued the district for $100,000 for requiring masks in the 2020-21 school year. In addition to claiming the books teach critical race theory, Anderson also alleged that they promote Marxism. A now-deleted change.org petition initiated by Anderson garnered fewer than 500 signatures in a district of nearly 90,000 students, but due to district protocol, the books were pulled from shelves and placed under review. Any parent may dispute a library book, said Laura Davis, media relations representative for the district, and doing so will result in the books being automatically removed from libraries and placed under review… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Redistricting commissions descend into political warfare (The Hill)
All across the country, commissions that were intended to make the redistricting process more transparent and nonpartisan have become fraught with political intrigue, finger-pointing and accusations of bad faith.
In Virginia, a commission made up of both citizens and legislators gave up on their efforts to redraw state legislative boundaries, punting to the state Supreme Court before even proposing a final version to debate.
In Michigan, commissioners approved a state Senate map at a meeting in which four of 13 commissioners were absent, after those present voted to suspend the rules. The commission angered some Democrats and anti-gerrymandering advocates in August when it voted to hire a law firm with ties to Republicans to defend its eventual maps in court.
In Colorado, commissioners agreed on new congressional district boundaries in a bipartisan vote and were promptly sued by Hispanic advocacy groups who said the maps dilute Hispanic voters’ political strength. In April, the commission’s chairman was removed from a leadership position after posting conspiracy theories on social media that questioned the outcome of the 2020 elections.
And in Ohio, a commission designed to give both statewide officeholders and legislators control over the process created map lines that so inordinately favored Republicans that the ACLU and national Democrats have filed suit.
Advocates of the commission process say the new panels are making at least some progress that would not have been possible if legislatures had maintained control of redistricting — Virginia’s commission is preparing votes on a congressional district map, Michigan has moved to the congressional process too, and Colorado’s map is now before the state Supreme Court, as envisioned under the law that created the commission.
“It hasn’t always been pretty, but the citizenry has gotten to see the sausage get made,” said Liz White, executive director of OneVirginia2021, the group that led the design of the constitutional amendment that created Virginia’s panel.
Ten states give commissions — either independent or with input from legislators — the power to draw congressional district lines. Five more rely on commissions to provide some form of advice that legislators can either heed or dismiss. Another three, including Ohio, use commissions as backups in case the legislature cannot agree to a solution…(LINK TO FULL STORY)