BG Reads | News You Need to Know (October 6, 2021)
[MEETING/HEARINGS]
[BINGHAM GROUP]
AWARDS // Associate LaRessa Quintana will be honored this month with the 2021 Rising Star Award by the Young Hispanic Professional Organization of Austin. She was selected because of her previous work to elevate and support the Austin Latino community, and her commitment to continue this important and necessary work. Congratulations, LaRessa!
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).
Link-> https://seatgeek.com/a-night-in-verde-presented-by-st-davids-healthcare-tickets/mls/2021-10-28-7-pm/5497856?preview_token=5R39m8VbKk
***NEW*** BG Podcast Ep. 147: Redistricting, Austin's Mayoral Election, and a New Police Chief
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
With public comment procedures in flux, two dozen zoning cases postponed (Austin Monitor)
City Council heard many fewer zoning cases than expected last week after city staff decided to postpone the cases because of a surprise reinterpretation of public meeting participation rules.
When staffers originally gave public notice for 24 zoning cases scheduled for Council’s Oct. 1 agenda, the notices said people must testify in person; that was the city’s interpretation at the time of Gov. Greg Abbott’s order ending pandemic exceptions to public meeting rules, which permitted phone testimony. Before the pandemic, people had to come to City Hall to speak or offer comment via videoconference from a public library computer.
But now, because the city’s Law Department reinterpreted Abbott’s order and decided to allow phone testimony last month, staffers renotified the cases “out of an abundance of caution,” Jerry Rusthoven with the Housing and Planning Department told the Austin Monitor, and to give more people a chance to tell Council what they think about the proposed zoning changes.
This was unusual, Rusthoven said: “I don’t think I’ve ever postponed 24, except maybe during a tornado warning or something like that that’s happened a couple times.”
While the renotification of the zoning cases may have inconvenienced those planning to speak at last Thursday’s Council meeting, Rusthoven said that the new setup, with phone and in-person testimony, will allow greater public participation.
“We definitely have heard from people that they appreciate that opportunity just to pick up the phone and call in and not have to take a half a day off work or do whatever,” Rusthoven said. “They have other things going on in their life like a job, taking care of children, those kinds of things.”
The rules extend to Council meetings in general as well as the city’s various board and commission meetings.
While Council’s Oct. 14 meeting is going to be packed with over 30 zoning cases, it’s not a record. Said Rusthoven, “53 or 54 is the record.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Travis County indicates negotiations with Samsung for possible semiconductor deal are ongoing (Community Impact)
Travis County is still in negotiations with Samsung, which is eyeing the area for a $17 billion semiconductor facility.
On Oct. 5, Travis County commissioners voted to direct staff to present Samsung with a preliminary term sheet for a potential performance-based tax incentives agreement for the project, dubbed Project Silicon Silver in documents posted earlier in 2021. The vote came following a discussion in executive session and was the first public move by commissioners to progress negotiations with Samsung since July, when the county announced it had received an application for Chapter 28 economic development incentives from the company.
This vote represents the first public movement on talks between the county and Samsung since Williamson County and the city of Taylor unanimously approved an economic agreement with Samsung, pending the company's approval.
Hector Nieto, Travis County public information officer, said Travis County and Samsung are not yet at the stage of releasing a draft of an economic incentives agreement, which the county must post publicly, per its own Chapter 28 economic development incentives policy.
"This is kind of the first 'here are things we'd like to see in an agreement,'" Nieto told Community Impact Newspaper. "We're at the level of, 'Here are the things we'd like to see, and tell us if this is something you're amenable to so that way we can put up a first draft.'"… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
‘It’s not going to be a perfect system’: Mayor Adler acknowledges limitations in ACL Fest COVID-19 protocols (KXAN)
As Weekend 1 of Austin City Limits Music Festival wrapped up Sunday, local officials are reflecting on the event’s COVID-19 protocols and possible impacts to local case rates. To get into the festival, attendees had to show proof of full vaccination or proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of the festival. Festival organizers reported on day one of the event (Friday) Eight-six percent of festival-goers came prepared with proof of vaccination; 14% came with proof of a negative COVID-19 test; and less than 1% of attendees were turned away Friday for not having proper documentation.
“I thought that it was good that on the first day 86% of the people were committed and demonstrated that they had a vaccination,” Austin Mayor Steve Adler said of the COVID-19 protocols in an interview with KXAN Tuesday. He continued on and said about 1,000 people were turned away for not having documentation. Some festival-goers were skeptical of the numbers reported by ACL, saying barely anyone’s health papers were checked going into the festival. “These numbers are totally fabricated. The floodgates were open, and no one was giving any document more than a momentary glance. There is no chance that this is correct,” one user wrote on Twitter. “I didn’t see anyone getting checked whatsoever. We got there in the afternoon. Was pretty disappointed to see that, tbh,” another person wrote. Adler acknowledged checking everyone’s health documentation wasn’t going to be 100%. “It’s not going to be a perfect system, but you take that into account when you’re deciding whether or not to open up an event like this, because you know there are going to be limitations,” Adler said… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
Leaders of San Antonio's biggest employers take aim at racial inequality with new initiative (San Antonio Express News)
A dozen business leaders in San Antonio — including the CEOs of the Spurs, USAA and Valero Energy — said Monday that they are spearheading an initiative aimed at combating the racial and economic inequality plaguing the nation’s seventh-largest city.
The partnership, called the Corporate Partners for Racial Equity, may be the first of its kind in San Antonio. Members will contribute a combined $13.8 million over five years to support efforts in education, economic opportunity, and safety and justice.
In recent years, major corporations across the U.S. have come under increasing pressure to take stands against police brutality, voter suppression, and gender and LGBTQ discrimination. San Antonio’s large employers, however, have largely stayed quiet on these problems.
“It’s time for our community to listen to each other and to learn about the disadvantaged areas of our community and the impact of inequality that that has on communities over the course of their lives,” Spurs Sports & Entertainment CEO R.C. Buford said in a video provided by the company.
SS&E, owner of the Spurs, has been the group’s main organizer.
Several of the partnership’s CEOs said George Floyd’s murder by a Minneapolis police officer in May 2020 and the ensuing conversations they had with people of color were the prime motivators for creating the partnership… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Harris County DA investigating deal at center of allegations that Turner steered money to developer (Houston Chronicle)
The Harris County District Attorney’s office is investigating the deal at the center of allegations that Mayor Sylvester Turner steered affordable housing money to a certain developer, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the investigation. The sources confirmed the district attorney’s office requested information relating to the deal, which former Housing Director Tom McCasland said the mayor chose to benefit the project’s developers at the expense of four higher-scoring deals that would have created 274 more affordable homes. Two developers included in the deal, who McCasland did not name, are the mayor’s former longtime law partner, Barry Barnes, and another partner at Barnes’ law firm, Jermaine Thomas. The lead company in the deal is MGroup, a Montrose-based firm founded by Laura and Mark Musemeche.
Neither Barnes nor MGroup immediately responded to a request for comment. Turner, who left the law firm when he was elected mayor in 2015, has denied wrongdoing and said he did not know Barnes and Thomas were involved. He said he prioritized the senior housing deal in Clear Lake, called Huntington at Bay Area, because it is in City Council District E, a relatively wealthy district where the city has not placed an affordable development in six years. The project would serve only seniors, however, while three of the four bumped projects are for low-income families — the city’s stated preference for affordable housing investments. An investigator from the district attorney’s office also visited McCasland’s former house in the East End, looking for the former housing director, according to a neighbor who spoke to the investigator. The neighbor showed the Chronicle a picture of the business card the investigator left for McCasland. The sources were granted anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly. McCasland declined comment and would not say whether he has been approached by investigators or any other law enforcement officials. He was careful in his comments last month to say he was not alleging fraud, leaving that determination up to investigators. Turner fired McCasland shortly after he made the allegations during a City Council committee meeting… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Southwest Airlines will require all workers to be vaccinated ‘to continue employment’ (Dallas Morning News)
Dallas-based Southwest Airlines will require all 60,000 of its employees to be vaccinated or get an exemption to “continue employment with the airline,” following industry competitors such as American, United and JetBlue in mandating COVID-19 shots.
Southwest was the country’s largest airline in pandemic-stricken 2020. The company and other airlines are under pressure from the Biden administration to follow the president’s mandates on the COVID-19 vaccines. The company confirmed that it spoke with a White House representative last week.
“Southwest Airlines must join our industry peers in complying with the federal government’s COVID-19 vaccination directive,” Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said in a statement. “I encourage all Southwest employees to meet the federal directive, as quickly as possible, since we value every individual and want to ensure job security for all.”
Southwest said employees would have to be vaccinated by Dec. 8, the reported deadline the White House has been pushing for federal contractors.
The move comes nearly a month after the Biden administration announced that all federal contractors and companies with more than 100 employees must require vaccines. Contractors that fail to comply could lose lucrative government contracts. Large employers could face fines of $14,500 per instance through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
In recent memos to employees, Kelly has reiterated that he thinks employees should have the ability to choose for themselves whether or not to get vaccinated but also said the government has the right to enforce mandates.
“Southwest Airlines is a federal contractor, and we have no viable choice but to comply with the U.S. government mandate for employees to be vaccinated, and — like other airlines — we’re taking steps to comply,” Kelly said in a memo to workers Monday… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATIONAL NEWS]
The Justice Department will address threats against school officials and staff (NPR)
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has directed federal authorities to meet with local law enforcement over the next month to discuss strategies for addressing the increase in "harassment, intimidation and threats of violence against school board members, teachers and workers" in public schools across the country. The one-page memorandum directs the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Offices to meet with federal, state, Tribal, territorial and local law enforcement leaders over the next 30 days in the hopes of opening up channels of communication for threat reporting, assessment and response. "While spirited debate about policy matters is protected under our Constitution, that protection does not extend to threats of violence or efforts to intimidate individuals based on their views," Garland wrote, characterizing threats against public servants as both illegal and "counter to our nation's core values."
The directive comes amidst a surge in confrontations at local school board meetings over topics like masking, vaccine requirements and how race is taught in schools, and a request for federal help. In a six-page letter to President Biden last week, the National School Boards Association detailed instances of threats and acts of violence (mostly related to mask mandates) at school board meetings in states including California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Texas and Virginia. It says such conduct — whether at local meetings or threats sent through mail and social media — endangers students and educators and disrupts school district operations, and notes the growing threat of "extremist hate organizations showing up at school board meetings." As NPR's Anya Kamenetz has reported, these protests are increasingly being coordinated by national groups like Let Them Breathe. "As these acts of malice, violence, and threats against public school officials have increased, the classification of these heinous actions could be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes," the school boards association wrote, asking for federal help investigating and preventing them… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Facebook whistleblower’s testimony builds momentum for tougher tech laws (Wall Street Journal)
Facebook Inc. FB 2.06% whistleblower Frances Haugen testified to Congress Tuesday on internal documents showing harms from the company’s products—from teenagers’ mental-health problems to poisoned political debate—adding fuel to efforts to pass tougher regulations on Big Tech.
The documents gathered by Ms. Haugen, which provided the foundation for The Wall Street Journal’s Facebook Files series, show how the company’s moderation rules favor elites; how its algorithms foster discord; and how drug cartels and human traffickers use its services openly.
“I saw Facebook repeatedly encounter conflicts between its own profit and our safety. Facebook consistently resolved these conflicts in favor of its own profits,” Ms. Haugen told a Senate consumer protection subcommittee. “As long as Facebook is operating in the shadows, hiding its research from public scrutiny, it is unaccountable. Until the incentives change, Facebook will not change.”
Ms. Haugen singled out Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg for criticism, citing his control over the company. Mr. Zuckerberg controls about 58% of Facebook’s voting shares, according to an April regulatory filing.
“There is no one currently holding Mark accountable but himself,” she said. Facebook under Mr. Zuckerberg makes decisions based on how they will affect measurements of user engagement, rather than their potential downsides for the public, she said.
“Mark has built an organization that is very metrics-driven,” she said. “The metrics make the decision. Unfortunately that itself is a decision.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-whistleblower-frances-haugen-set-to-appear-before-senate-panel-11633426201?mod=hp_lead_pos6