BG Reads | News You Need to Know (September 21, 2021)
[MEETING/HEARINGS]
Work Session of the Austin Council (9.28.2021 at 9AM)
Regular Meeting of the Austin City Council (9.30.2021 at 10AM)
[BINGHAM GROUP]
CEO A.J. recently sat down with Voyage Austin for an interview on his path to lobbying and founding Bingham Group. Check it out here.
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
Fee changes to Downtown Density Bonus Program delayed until November (Austin Monitor)
City Council and boards and commissions will have to wait until November to see the latest proposal on adjustments to the costs developers will have to pay to avoid adding affordable housing units to downtown development projects.
Staff members were expecting an update to the fee-in-lieu schedule for the city’s Downtown Density Bonus Program by the end of last month. But a memo released Friday from Rosie Truelove, director of the Housing and Planning Department, said staffers need more time to study and revise the fee structure.
When Council adopted an analysis in April of how much developers should be required to pay to forgo affordable housing, staff was directed to bring forth a complete revision by late August.
Further study is needed in part because of changes to the downtown real estate marketplace caused by the Covid-19 pandemic as well as increased construction costs and the belief by some that the city should prioritize residential units over commercial space in new high-rise projects.
During a presentation at last week’s meeting of the Downtown Commission, Sam Tedford, principal planner for Housing and Planning, reviewed the thinking behind the proposed new fees and expressed some worry in the real estate and development community that could tilt the costs and incentive structure too severely.
An interim revision to the fee schedule for the density bonus program, which is applied to all square footage above what is granted by right to property owners, looks at a matrix of uses and locations to determine how much to charge. On the low end, residential uses in the Rainey Street district are charged $5 per square foot, with commercial use in the central business district calling for $18 per square foot.
The most recent study conducted by EcoNorthwest proposes significant increases, from a low of $12 per square foot for Rainey Street commercial space up to $24 per square foot for residential use in the central business district.
“We have to employ some of the same financial considerations that a real estate developer would use to evaluate the value of bonus entitlements compared to base entitlements, because we know if there’s no incentive to participate in a bonus program that means there are no bonus units, either market-rate or affordable,” Tedford said. “That is why we take some very careful calibration work to maximize the public benefits and achieve our policy goals. We know that as you get additional height or density there’s potentially bonus value from income, but there’s also additional risk to the builder.”
Tedford said another concern for city advocates trying to create affordable housing in new building projects is that high monthly homeowners association fees can put even affordable units out of reach of those making less than the area’s median income… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
APD needs more oversight, Public Safety Committee is told (Austin Monitor)
Police transparency and accountability are still sorely lacking in Austin, according to statistical information presented to the City Council Public Safety Committee on Monday.
Farah Muscadin, director of the Office of Police Oversight, or OPO, provided several grim findings in her report, which grew out of the Austin Police Department’s violent response to the Black Lives Matter protests that erupted here following the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd on May 25, 2020.
At the time, Austin community members were already expressing outrage over the death of Michael Ramos, who was shot and killed by Austin police the month before Floyd’s death.
While Muscadin’s office based its analysis on complaints made between May 29 and Nov. 30 of last year, the most serious charges of police misconduct stemmed from the late spring and summer protests that centered on police reform, social justice and police brutality. As in other cities, Austin police responded with pepper spray and less-lethal weapons that caused serious injury to protesters. Some of those cases are under review by the Travis County District Attorney’s Office.
“This is clearly unprecedented for our city,” Muscadin said of the number of complaints that immediately followed the May 29 protest. Of the 1,000 individual contacts made by phone, email or online, OPO identified 308 complaints and determined that 106 of them were duplicates.
OPO asked APD to investigate 202 complaints, and of that number, the department’s Internal Affairs investigated just 27. Meanwhile, Internal Affairs investigated 21 complaints generated internally by the department.
By August, Muscadin said, OPO was seeing a clear lack of progress in the investigations, with the majority of the 202 complaints dismissed. “Given the enormity of the complaints that we received, we were starting to see some red flags,” Muscadin said of the number of cases that were being rejected outright, or closed without a thorough investigation. On Aug. 12, 2020, she sent a memo to Brian Manley, then chief of police, to express OPO’s “grave concerns.”
As Muscadin told the committee, “We had ongoing issues with cooperation between the department and our staff (regarding) review and access to information.”
Muscadin offered a list of 10 recommendations for APD; chief among them is the necessity for the department to investigate all complaints, regardless of where they originate. Additionally, OPO recommends that officers have their names and badge numbers visible at all times; that APD provide semi-annual crowd-control training to all personnel on duty during community events; and that APD implement crowd management policies “to ensure the safety of all involved and focus on maintaining the value of human life and upholding individuals’ constitutional rights.”
Council Member Greg Casar, vice chair of the committee, issued a press statement shortly after Monday’s meeting, making clear his intent to ensure City Council strengthens the powers of of the Office of Police Oversight.
Voters in May overwhelmingly approved a proposition to place OPO under Council’s authority rather than the city manager. According to Casar, the voter mandate has not been fully implemented.
“Young people were maimed and nearly killed while exercising their right to peacefully demonstrate,” Casar said. “If we don’t want this to happen again, we should be embracing police oversight, not ignoring it.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin ISD's COVID-19 rate lower than nearby districts after first month of school (Community Impact)
With the first month of school behind Austin ISD students, data shows the percentage of students who have contracted COVID-19 in the district is about half that of neighboring districts.
Between Aug. 16 and Sept. 17, AISD recorded 658 COVID-19 cases in its roughly 75,000 students, making up less than 1% of the student population.
Surrounding school districts have recorded between 2.4% and 3.2% of their students contracting COVID-19 since their classes started.Williamson County health officials recommended Leander ISD close down after a surge in case levels in late August. By Sept. 17, LISD recorded about 2.9% of its students had tested positive. AISD believes the relatively low case rate among students is a result of its mask mandate, along with contact tracing efforts and other health and safety protocols, said Eddie Villa, a spokesperson for the district.
Surrounding school districts have not mandated masks, while AISD went against an order from Gov. Greg Abbott to mandate masks before the school year started.
Dripping Springs ISD has recorded 198 COVID-19 cases in students between Aug. 18 and Sept. 17. With 7,983 students enrolled—all but 114 of whom are taking classes in person—about 2.5% have reported COVID-19 cases. The district encourages but does not require mask wearing… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
Texas doctor who admitted to violating the state’s near-total abortion ban sued under new law (Texas Tribune)
A Texas doctor is being sued in two separate lawsuits for performing an abortion illegally under Texas’ new law that nearly bans the procedure, in what appear to be the first lawsuits spurred by the statute's goal of making providers targets of litigation. But one of the plaintiffs says he's not opposed to abortion and the other's lawsuit reportedly asks that the state's new abortion restrictions be ruled unconstitutional.
Dr. Alan Braid, a San Antonio OB/GYN, admitted in a Washington Post column published Saturday that he performed an abortion prohibited by the law earlier this month, motivated by “a duty of care.” He said although there “could be legal consequences,” he “wanted to make sure that Texas didn’t get away with its bid to prevent this blatantly unconstitutional law from being tested.” No other lawsuits have been publicly announced, although because one could appear in a court anywhere in the state, it is unclear if others could have already been filed.
At least two lawsuits have been filed against Braid, both by disbarred attorneys. One was filed by Illinois resident Felipe N. Gomez, who identified himself as a "Pro Choice Plaintiff" and aligns himself with Braid in the lawsuit, KSAT reported. Gomez does not ask for monetary damages in the suit, but asks "the Court to declare that the Act is Unconstitutional, and in violation of Roe v Wade," according to the TV station… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Former state Sen. Pete Flores plans comeback run for San Antonio-area district (San Antonio Express-News)
Former state Sen. Pete Flores, a Pleasanton Republican who lost his San Antonio-area seat last year, is planning a comeback run to return to the Legislature — this time in a new district.
Flores used to represent Senate District 19, a sprawling district running from San Antonio to Pecos. He was unseated in 2020 by state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a San Antonio Democrat.
But the Texas Legislature is redrawing the state’s political maps this fall, and proposed new lines place Flores’ hometown in Senate District 24, currently held by state Sen. Dawn Buckingham, R-Lakeway. She is leaving her post next year to run for Texas land commissioner.
The district currently runs from Abilene to Bandera, through much of the Texas Hill Country. The suggested new district, released Saturday, would run as far south as Atascosa County, where Flores resides.
A retired game warden and self-described pro-business fiscal conservative, Flores was the first Hispanic Republican to win a state Senate seat after he beat Democrat Pete Gallego in a 2018 special election.
“It’s not the old District 19, but it still encompasses the heartland of Texas — the parts of Texas I most closely identify with,” Flores said in a Monday news release. “I know the people and the ideas and values they hold dear. It’s the town squares, cafes and diners, feed stores and Walmarts where I am most comfortable.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATIONAL NEWS]
U.S. COVID death toll surpasses 1918 flu fatalities (AXIOS)
The recorded number COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. has now surpassed the known number of fatalities from the 1918 flu pandemic.
The big picture: The U.S. has now marked more than 676,000 deaths from the coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the 1918 pandemic killed about about 675,000 people.
Yes, but: The 1918 pandemic presented a more proportionally bigger loss, because the U.S. population at that time was smaller than it is today, notes AP.
Fatality estimates of both that influenza outbreak and COVID-19 are likely undercounted.
The full toll of the 1918 flu's fatalities obscured by poor records of the time as well as a lack of understanding of what caused it, per AP.
Worth noting: The U.S. population was 103 million before the 1920s, CNBC reports. Almost 330 million people live in the country.
"That means the 1918 flu killed about 1 in every 150 Americans," CNBC notes.
More than 1 in 500 Americans has died of COVID-19, according to the latest available data.… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
What Trudeau’s win means for Canada-U.S. relations (Politico)
Justin Trudeau’s election win will earn him a congratulatory call from a figure largely forgotten during Canada’s election campaign: President Joe Biden.
But staying on Biden’s radar will be key for Trudeau, as he resettles into the Prime Minister’s Office.
Canada’s election Monday capped a campaign that paid very little attention to foreign policy or the country’s vital relationship with the United States. Trudeau, however, did receive two late-campaign endorsements from Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
The few times U.S.-Canada ties surfaced during the 36-day campaign Trudeau found himself forced to defend how well he has nurtured his connection with Biden. Since the U.S. election, the leaders have met face to face just once, during June’s G-7 summit. They have yet to hold an official, in-the-flesh bilateral visit.
A journalist challenged Trudeau during a leaders debate earlier this month on his ability to get Biden on the phone to discuss key issues like the Covid-19 restrictions at the border.
“Did Mr. Biden forget about you?” the journalist asked Trudeau during the French-language contest after she noted the two leaders had only had three official calls since Biden became president last January.
“On the contrary, we spent a whole day in discussions as soon as he arrived,” Trudeau replied during the Radio-Canada event, noting their virtual meeting in February produced a bilateral “Roadmap for a Renewed U.S.-Canada Partnership.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)