BG Reads | News You Need to Know (October 28, 2021)
[MEETING/HEARINGS]
Special Called Meeting of the Austin City Council - Agenda (Today at 8AM)
Discuss policy priorities, goals, and the potential impacts on governance for the City of Austin.
Special Called Meeting of the Austin City Council - Agenda (10.29.2021)
Joint Meeting with Captial Metro Board of Directors and Austin Transit Partnership Board of Directors
Regular Meeting of the Austin City Council - Agenda (11.4.2021)
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
Austin's updated City Council district map certified; new boundaries will last through 2020s (Community Impact)
Austin's new City Council district map is certified, firming up new political boundaries in the city for the coming decade.
The volunteer Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, the panel of city residents tasked with using the latest U.S. Census Bureau data to craft a new council map, unanimously voted to certify its plan Oct. 27. The plan was developed after months of community input and commission deliberations and is in line with the final boundary plan set earlier this month.
The new City Council districts feature boundaries that roughly resemble those in place since 2013 with a range of adjustments made to account for population changes identified in the 2020 census. Districts were also reshaped through the process based on resident and commissioner feedback to keep local characteristics and communities intact.
The district lines will be in effect for next year's City Council elections and will next be updated following the release of 2030 census data.
“You have shown what nonpartisan citizen-based redistricting can achieve," said Peck Young, a political consultant who collaborated with the ICRC on behalf of Austin's NAACP/Hispanic Coalition. "One need only look at what has just passed the Legislature and compare it to your map to see what politicians trying to perpetuate their power and pick their voters will do versus [what] the citizens working in good faith will do and will accomplish.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Gaylord Texan owner buys block that includes Austin City Limits venue for $260 million (Austin American-Statesman)
A deal has been revived for Austin-based Stratus Properties to sell its high-profile downtown Austin city block — home to the “Austin City Limits” music venue and the Austin W Hotel & Residences — to Nashville-based Ryman Hospitality Properties for $260 million, the companies said Tuesday. In December 2019, Stratus had announced an agreement to sell Block 21 to Ryman for $275 million. That agreement was terminated in May 2020 by Ryman due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of the termination, Ryman forfeited $15 million of earnest money to Stratus. On Tuesday, however, Ryman announced once again that it plans to buy the mixed-use Block 21 project from Stratus. The $260 million deal is expected to close later this year. Ryman is best known for its ownership of the Gaylord resorts, including the Texan in Grapevine.
The purchase price includes the assumption of about $138 million in existing mortgage debt. In addition, Ryman will receive about $11 million of existing cash reserves, according to the companies. “We are pleased to again have the opportunity to add this one-of-a-kind asset to our growing entertainment portfolio,” Colin Reed, chairman and CEO of Ryman, a lodging and hospitality real estate investment trust, said in a written statement. A division of Ryman Hospitality Properties also owns and operates the Grand Ole Opry. “Much like Nashville, Austin’s leisure and hospitality industry is recovering and is well-positioned for growth in the years ahead,” Reed said. “This acquisition allows us to have a meaningful presence in two of the most dynamic music cities in this country and presents many opportunities to showcase the unique music cultures in each city to millions of fans through our Circle TV network.” The Block 21 complex includes Austin’s ACL Live at the Moody Theater venue, where the Austin City Limits television series is filmed, as well as the Austin W Hotel & Residences. Beau Armstrong, Stratus’ chairman and CEO, said the Ryman team will be “the ideal stewards for Block 21 and ACL Live in the future.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
There are fewer people experiencing homelessness on downtown Austin streets (KXAN)
The Downtown Austin Alliance says the number of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness decreased in that area by 55% since May.
The DAA says on Oct. 20, it counted about 365 people experiencing homelessness on the streets of the Downtown Public Improvement District. In May, its count revealed 813 people.
“I do feel like downtown has gotten a lot safer and a lot cleaner,” said Jon Oliver, a bartender at Cedar Street Courtyard on West 4th Street.
The alliance attributes the decline to the City of Austin’s HEAL Initiative, the reinstatement of the camping ban ordinance and the statewide camping ban, which went into effect in September.
The DAA says housing programs like Mobile Loaves and Fishes’ Community First! Village are also helping. It’s where Kody Allen Wilson has been living since December.
It’s not only provided a home but an inspiration for his future. He wants to start selling his art and music to make money for the cause.
“Everything happened the way it was to come here and meet them and be a part of this and use all my talent… so that I can help be a part of the same mission, and that is ending homelessness in Austin first, and eventually all over the whole world.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Judge tosses Southwest pilots’ lawsuit over vaccine mandate (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
A federal judge jadenied a request from the Southwest Airlines pilots union to block the airline’s vaccine mandate. Earlier this month, the airline announced employees are required to get vaccinated by Dec. 8 unless they receive a religious or medical exemption, in compliance with President Joe Biden’s executive order mandating vaccination for federal employees and contractors.
The Southwest Airlines Pilot Association on Oct. 8 asked a court to temporarily block the company’s vaccine mandate, according to court documents. In the filing, the union argues the mandate violates the Railway Labor Act. “The new vaccine mandate unlawfully imposes new conditions of employment and the new policy threatens termination of any pilot not fully vaccinated by December 8, 2021,” the document read. The union’s request related to the vaccine mandate is the latest in its lawsuit against the company for implementing a forced time-off program and changing other working conditions without bargaining with the union… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
Texas Republicans want to make the state the center of the cryptocurrency universe (Texas Tribune)
To Texas Republicans and entrepreneurs, Texas and cryptocurrencies are a perfect pair. There is a “very natural synergy,” Cruz said, between blockchain and the state’s ethos, which he described as “give me a horse and a gun and an open flame, and I can conquer the world.”
Texas, he added, “lionizes” entrepreneurs. The state’s anti-regulatory laws appeal to the industry, which values privacy. The cryptocurrency community, Cruz argued, is built on “individual freedom, individual responsibility” and a lack of government dependence.
"We came here because of power and the deregulated market,” Harris said. “We knew power was a competitive component. And we knew at large scale, we could get power at a lower price.”
This year, the Texas Legislature this year took several steps toward growing the industry here… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Texas law spurs gun rights group to side with abortion providers (Bloomberg Law)
A gun rights group is siding with abortion providers in the Texas dispute over the nation’s strictest abortion ban. The law, S.B. 8, was designed with procedural quirks that are intended to insulate it from judicial review by allowing private citizens, not government officials, to enforce the ban. The move has been successful, allowing the law to go into effect for nearly two months and halting almost all abortions in the state after six weeks. But Erik Jaffe, who filed the amicus brief on behalf of the nonprofit group Firearms Policy Coalition, fears the law could be used to limit other constitutional rights, in particular the Second Amendment. “It’s hard to miss the parallels between abortion and guns,” said Jaffe, a former clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas who is also part of the team helping to defend Indiana’s abortion restrictions.
The concerns expressed in Jaffe’s brief are shared across the political spectrum. Take almost any individual constitutional right and it “could easily fall into a similar scheme by any state that disfavors that right,” said Brigitte Amiri of the ACLU, which represents the Texas abortion providers. “If a state can do this here, why can’t it do it in other contexts?” Amiri asked. That includes everything from rules restricting guns, requiring face masks, or prohibiting criticism of public officials, Jaffe said. Amiri said the Texas case is about whether a state can “pass an unconstitutional law and do so in a way that would evade court review.” The state argues that judicial review is still available under the law—just not in the way the abortion providers would like. “Petitioners’ constitutional grievances do not permit the federal courts to disregard the limits of their own jurisdiction,” the state told the justices in urging them not to take the case. “Federal courts are not roving commissions assigned to pass judgment on the validity of the Nation’s laws,” it said, saying that the abortion providers must wait until they are sued in state court to challenge the constitutionality of the law… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Houston council shelves probe into housing allegations for 30 days (Houston Chronicle)
The original plan was to delay the vote indefinitely. Mayor Sylvester Turner said during the beginning of the debate: “As far as the city is concerned, this will be the end of this matter.” The mayor and some council members later agreed to table it for 30 days instead. Last month, Turner asked City Attorney Arturo Michel to look into former housing director Tom McCasland’s allegations that the mayor tried to steer $15 million in Hurricane Harvey affordable housing funds to a developer for a senior development in Clear Lake, called Huntington at Bay Area, over four higher-scoring proposals. The mayor promised he would not interfere with Michel’s inquiry. Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin made the motion to delay the vote, and Turner voted to support it. Martin later voted against his own proposal after it was amended to a 30-day delay instead of an indefinite delay that typically kills an agenda item.
Martin said he is confident there is no illegality in the matter, rendering an investigation unnecessary. The internal investigation was not limited to illegalities, though. Turner had asked Michel to review the allegations for “any illegalities, fraud, conflicts of interests, violations of procedures, practices, and policies.” Turner suggested Wednesday the internal investigation no longer was necessary because he withdrew the deal before it reached council or the state General Land Office, which administers the funds, for approval. “I brought (the investigation) forth as a way to clear the air, but what is very, very clear, that has gotten lost by certain members of the media: I haven’t given you anything to vote on. I haven’t given anything to you all to consider,” Turner said. After the meeting, Michel told the Chronicle he agrees with that rationale. “The need for public confidence is kind of dissipated if the project is not going forward,” Michel said. “If there’s no project, there’s nothing for the public to have a lack of confidence in.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATIONAL NEWS]
State attorneys general issue a warning for Halloween about marijuana-type treats (NPR)
As Halloween is approaching this weekend, several state attorneys general across the country have issued warnings to parents to be on the lookout for marijuana edibles that can easily pass as regular candies and snacks.
Attorneys general in Ohio, New York, Illinois, Connecticut and Arkansas all released statements Tuesday, a part of a coordinated effort to advise parents about the dangers of marijuana edibles.
Each attorney general warned that look-alike products may contain high concentrations of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). THC is the main compound found in marijuana and if consumed by children, it could lead to an accidental overdose.
The products are unregulated and illegal in several states.
"Accidental cannabis overdoses by children are increasing nationwide, and these products will only make this worse," said Connecticut Attorney General William Tong in a release… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Dems confront flagging momentum for $1T-plus deal (Politico)
The White House is hosting a flurry of last-minute meetings with influential groups of House Democrats and key senators on Tuesday as party leaders in both chambers raced to resolve disagreements still snarling President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda.
In a sign of potential progress, Biden is meeting with Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) Tuesday evening, according to several sources. The discussions come as the White House tries to close in on a deal on a framework for the party's $1 trillion-plus social spending package before the president leaves for an overseas trip.
Even as they get closer to agreement with Senate centrist holdouts on their social spending megabill, Democrats face hangups over major issues that include taxes, Medicare and Medicaid expansion, and paid leave — all of which are in flux as lawmakers keep negotiating.
As talks drag on, party leaders are still sounding confident. After a caucus lunch Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer insisted his party was "closer to reaching a final agreement" on Biden's agenda even as he offered few specifics on how big-ticket disputes were being handled.
"We're moving toward finding sweet spots in every one of these disputed issues," Schumer said before ending his weekly press conference early, citing a call with the White House waiting for him on negotiations… (LINK TO FULL STORY)