BG Reads | News You Need to Know (September 24, 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) - AGENDA
[BINGHAM GROUP]
***NEW*** BG Podcast Ep. 146: District Organizing with Austin Justice Coalition
A.J. speaks with Austin Justice Coalition (AJC) reps João Paulo Connolly and Rockie Gonzalez about the launch of its new grassroots organizing strategy, District Organizing: Project Engage (DOPE). DOPE is a plan mobilize and build community power at the Council district level. The conversation covers the impetus and vision of the program, and how Austinites can engage. Show link here. with Austin Justice Coalition (AJC) reps João Paulo Connolly and Rockie Gonzalez about the launch of its new grassroots organizing strategy, District Organizing: Project Engage (DOPE). DOPE is a plan mobilize and build community power at the Council district level. The conversation covers the impetus and vision of the program, and how Austinites can engage. Show link here.
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]
State demographer: Regional planning is key to address immense growth between Austin, San Antonio (Austin Business Journal)
The Austin-San Antonio corridor's population surge in recent years is among the most notable growth stories in the country, though experts warn there are growing pains to consider.
The corridor could soon compare to large metroplexes like the Dallas-Fort Worth region, experts have said, and there is evidence that's already taking shape. More huge neighborhoods are sprouting along the corridor, and companies continue to invest in the area with both expansions and relocations. But local governments should be planning ahead on how the region will address the growing population's impact to key elements such as transportation infrastructure, water and energy, state demographer Lloyd Potter said.
Hays County, with San Marcos as its seat, saw its population grow faster than any other county in Texas from 2010 to 2020, according to recent U.S. Census Bureau data. Comal County, with New Braunfels as its seat, was not far behind. New Braunfels was even pegged as one of the fastest-growing cities in the country over the last 10 years among those that had more than 50,000 residents at the beginning of the decade.
And Hays County was the only county in the nation with at least 100,000 residents that grew by more than 50% over the last decade. The county grew by 53% and added nearly 84,000 residents from 2010 to 2020, according to the data.
Potter said the recent Census data shows "tremendous growth" in the state's urban cores and and the surrounding suburbs, while other parts of Texas recorded a loss of population over the last decade.
"When we look at the Austin-San Antonio corridor, pretty consistently, Comal and Hays counties have been up in the top five counties in the country, in terms of percentage change," Potter said. "That's an indicator of the speed of change, and they have been really growing quite dramatically, and much of their growth over the decade ... has been driven by domestic migration, meaning people moving from other places in Texas or other places in the United States."
For the city of Austin, the population shot up 171,465 to 961,855 from 2010 to 2020, according to the Census data. Nationally that trailed only New York City, Houston and Fort Worth for raw growth over that period. Additionally, Austin’s rate of growth of nearly 22% was No. 2 among Texas’ big cities, behind Fort Worth, which grew almost 24%. Austin's population fell shy of the 1 million mark, however, which city experts have said is an indicator that the Texas capital isn't growing as fast as expected… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
British Airways brings back Austin-to-London flights after 17-month absence (Austin American-Statesman)
As more travelers look to return to international travel, British Airways is restarting its nonstop service between Austin and London.
Following a 17-month absence, the transatlantic service will return to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Oct. 13, the airline said Thursday.
British Airways, which has operated in Austin since March 2014, will resume service between Austin and London's Heathrow Airport three days a week on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, aboard a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
“We can’t wait to welcome our customers back on board our Austin flights and we are honored to be playing our part in reuniting families and friends with their loved ones after such a long time apart,” said Marie Hilditch, British Airways’ Head of North America sales."… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin Pets Alive threatens to leave town over disagreement with city (Austin American-Statesman)
In a move that could jeopardize Austin's commitment against killing sheltered animals, the nonprofit Austin Pets Alive has threatened to pack up and leave town unless changes are made to its license agreement with the city.
Since 2011, Austin Pets Alive has partnered with the city by taking in stray and surrendered animals from the Austin Animal Center, which is Austin's taxpayer-funded shelter.
Austin Pets Alive does not accept money from the city, but is allowed to operate a downtown shelter on city-owned land on West Caesar Chavez street.
With the nonprofit's help, Austin has managed a 97% save rate through adoptions,, which is above the 90% national standard needed to be considered a no-kill city and also above the city's 87% save rate in the year prior to the partnership begining. The only pets now being euthanized have incurable medical conditions or were responsible for severe injuries in an unprovoked attack… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
Texas secretary of state’s office auditing four counties’ 2020 elections months after an official called the statewide process “smooth and secure” (Texas Tribune)
The Texas secretary of state’s office announced late Thursday that it has begun a “full forensic audit” of the 2020 general election in four Texas counties: Collin, Dallas, Harris and Tarrant. But the statement from that agency did not explain what prompted the move.
There has been no evidence of widespread voter fraud in Texas in 2020. And earlier this year, an official for the agency called the 2020 election in Texas “smooth and secure."
Sam Taylor, a spokesperson for the office, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The announcement came hours after Republican former President Donald Trump requested Gov. Greg Abbott add an election audit bill to this year’s third special session. While Trump lost his reelection bid, he did win in Texas… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Texas still has one of the nation's worst COVID death rates at 280 per day, even as delta subsides (Houston Chronicle)
After a brutal coronavirus summer, the delta wave is finally subsiding in Texas, though the state still has nearly 12,000 hospitalized coronavirus patients and one of the highest mortality rates in the nation. Health experts warn that Texans cannot let their guard down just yet — even if that’s not the message they are receiving from the state’s Republican leaders. While Gov. Greg Abbott has highlighted the state’s declining case counts and hospitalization rates in recent weeks, public health experts say that infections may rise again this winter as the contagious delta variant continues to spread and the efficacy of immunizations declines over time. They’re offering the same advice now that they have been for more than a year: mask up, social distance and get vaccinated. It’s advice that has worked recently in other big states, like Democrat-led New York and California, while Abbott has instead used his emergency power to prohibit masking and vaccine mandates.
“This will not go down anytime soon,” said Juan Gutierrez, a mathematics professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio who has modeled COVID trajectories in Texas. “We might have an increase in the number of cases later in the year. And this is the result of lack of guidance for our communities regarding sensible public health guidelines.” In the past month alone, more than 5,000 Texans have died of the virus. Hospitalizations — now on a steady two-week decline — peaked at nearly 14,000 earlier this month, roughly the same number as during the winter surge in late 2020 and early 2021. As of Wednesday, 250 children were hospitalized with the virus — down from a record of 345 earlier this month, but still far higher than the state had seen before. Unlike previous waves, the delta surge has hit schools particularly hard, causing some to close down just as the academic year started last month.
Abbott has also banned mask requirements in schools, where many students are not immunized. Children under 12 are not yet eligible for the vaccine. The severity of the state’s outbreak is a constant in both the national and statewide conversations on government-issued public health orders, including mask and vaccine mandates. While states that have embraced those directives saw lower hospitalizations and deaths during this wave, others that have banned or undermined such requirements — including Texas — have borne the brunt of the crisis this summer, experts say… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
El Paso is the first in the state to reach herd immunity against COVID-19 (San Antonio Express-News)
El Paso has become the first city in Texas to hit herd immunity against the coronavirus, officials said this week. As of Monday, 75 percent of El Pasoans 12 and older were fully vaccinated, Jorge Rodriguez, the El Paso Assistant fire chief and emergency management coordinator, told the El Paso County Commissioners Court on Monday. The definition of herd immunity varies, but experts generally say at least 70 percent of the population needs to be immune, either by vaccination or natural infection, for the virus to stop spreading. Some put the percentage as high as 80 to 90 percent.
Because El Paso has such a high vaccination rate, it means that coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths could be pushed down to insignificant levels. Rodriguez said that El Paso is way ahead of federal vaccination goals and is already seeing the benefits. “As other jurisdictions throughout Texas and throughout the country continue to suffer a great deal through COVID, we are actually doing pretty well,” Rodriguez said. “We should be very proud of this effort. El Paso County Health Authority Dr. Hector Ocaranza told commissioners that area hospitalizations are on the decline. Ninety percent of those hospitalized for COVID-19 were not vaccinated. Ocaranza urged those still unvaccinated to get the shot, especially parents who are living with young children.
“It will be great if parents and kids can get vaccinated. In the meantime, they need to continue wearing the mask and parents who still need to get the vaccine need to do so to protect the rest of the family,” Ocaranza said. Ocaranza is encouraged by Monday’s news that Pfizer may get federal approval for children to receive the vaccination. "I hope that authorization will happen in a month. We were hoping for November, but it would be better if it’s October," Ocaranza said… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Thousands of Haitians allowed to stay in U.S. as Texas camp clears out (New York Times)
In Houston, nearly 2,000 Haitian migrants have arrived this week from the small border community of Del Rio, with buses pulling up to a huge shelter nearly every hour. In San Antonio, hundreds more have been allowed by the U.S. authorities onto flights to destinations as far away as New York, Boston and Miami, paperwork in their pockets permitting them to remain in the country.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has deported about 2,000 migrants in recent days on chartered flights to Haiti as the Biden administration tries to deter more people from rushing to the border. But the authorities have also permitted thousands more to travel to cities across America, where they may live for months or years as they await immigration hearings.
“We are so happy to be in America,” said Inso Isaac, 40, who left Haiti years ago and was living in Chile until he, his wife and their 2-year-old son made the dangerous journey across several countries and arrived last week in Del Rio. On Wednesday, the family boarded a flight to New York, where they planned to stay with relatives on Long Island. “We want to start a new life here,” he said… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Biden picks up the tab for Florida school leaders fined by DeSantis (Politico)
The U.S. Department of Education on Thursday repaid several Florida school board members who saw their salary slashed by the DeSantis administration for requiring students to wear masks this fall.
In total, the Biden administration sent school officials in Alachua County $147,719 to make up for fines from the Florida Department of Education, marking the first awards granted by the feds in the fight against Republican-led states and their Covid-19 policies. Alachua is one of 11 school districts in Florida to mandate masks for students in defiance of Gov. Ron DeSantis, who wants parents to have the ultimate say on face coverings in schools.
“We should be thanking districts for using proven strategies that will keep schools open and safe, not punishing them,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a statement.
Since the summer, the Biden administration has clashed with DeSantis over the GOP governor’s resistance to Covid-related restrictions amid the surge in new infections. While the fight over masking children has been the most high profile, the DeSantis also publicly rejected the White House’s push to require large businesses to vaccinate their workers… (LINK TO FULL STORY)