BG Reads | News You Need to Know (August 25, 2021)
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
Austin Councilwoman Kelly says she recorded conversation with Travis GOP Chair Mackowiak because he became toxic, abusive (Quorum Report)
Since her election as the only Republican member of the Austin City Council, Mackenzie Kelly’s most vocal ally has been Travis County Republican Party Chairman Matt Mackowiak, who would often say things like “nobody works harder for Austin” than she does.One of the regular talking heads on local television, Mackowiak has heaped praise on Councilwoman Kelly for her efforts surrounding the city’s policies on homelessness.
That issue also happens to be the organizing principle of Save Austin Now, a political action committee run by the chairman.But things turned ugly between them last month after Kelly felt Mackowiak was unfairly leveraging some of her accomplishments on City Council to promote his PAC. The PAC began attacking her in social media posts with paid promotion on Facebook. It became so heated, in fact, that Kelly said Mackowiak became “toxic and abusive” toward her and her staff. This led Kelly to refuse an in-person meeting and, at the urging of her staff who had witnessed Mackowiak’s verbal outbursts, secretly record a phone call between the two – a recording Quorum Report has now independently obtained.When the call was recorded by Kelly on July 16, Mackowiak and another activist, Cleo Petricek, were at city hall. But Councilwoman Kelly explained to the chairman that she was uncomfortable meeting in person after Mackowiak had displayed hostility on a call that same day.
You can listen to the call in its entirety here. Depending on your browser, you may have to right click and open it in a new tab.
Council takes hard look at what went wrong during winter storm (Austin Monitor)
After taking in an extremely critical report about the city’s response to Winter Storm Uri, City Council members stressed the need to prepare for the next inevitable disaster.
“There’s nobody here that didn’t fight long and hard and sleeplessly and in the cold, and didn’t experience heartache during the course of watching our infrastructure quite literally fail all around us,” Mayor Pro Tem Natasha Harper-Madison said. “As a private citizen, I was also disappointed in my city’s response.
“This is me extending an official apology on behalf of this body,” she said.
On Tuesday, members of the Winter Storm Review Task Force laid out key findings of their report, which was compiled after holding five listening sessions earlier this year and receiving written testimonies from the public.
From its very first line, the report focuses on the lack of a clear communication system and the dearth of communication modes:
“While social media is an effective form of communication, the use of social media during the storm to provide sporadic updates was problematic. Most people had no ability to charge devices or connect to the internet in order to connect on social media. Facebook meetings held by city departments were not helpful, as participants could not ask or hear questions. Televised reports were problematic for the same reason.”
The report notes that there was a need to disseminate information more quickly and more accurately. Incorrect and inconsistent information in the days leading up to and following the storm led to a loss of community trust in authorities, task force member Jeffrey Clemmons noted.
“We were all being told to work together to conserve energy so power could start to be restored safely, while (Mayor Adler) was on camera flagrantly doing the opposite. I remember this viscerally, because at the time I was under three blankets, except for the hand holding the phone. To my knowledge, he never apologized or commented on his action in that moment of severe crisis,” said Lawrence Williams, who was quoted in the report.
The confusion and misinformation continued when it came to city services, with warming centers that shut down at night and weren’t ADA-compliant and confusion about who to call for the many emergencies that occurred throughout the crisis. In many cases, the report says, communication and service gaps were filled by community members, mutual aid networks and community groups that sprang into action.
“I look at it as a strength of our city that we have so many different types of people and different organizations and groups that stepped up. That is what needs to happen in a disaster, but it doesn’t have to be willy-nilly. … It can be structured and nurtured and the ecosystem can be cultivated over time, so that if there is a next time, we are ready,” Council Member Alison Alter said. “And there will be a next time.”
City Manager Spencer Cronk kept his remarks short during Tuesday’s meeting. He told Council members that a formal after-action report from the city will be available by the end of September, and it would be informed by the task force report. He said Austin Energy, Austin Water and emergency operation departments were also doing their own internal reviews… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin health officials considering updated guidance for large events ahead of ACL (Community Impact)
Austin Public Health leaders said Aug. 24 that upcoming large events such as the Austin City Limits Music Festival could require updated health and safety precautions if COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to surge.
Austin-Travis County Health Authority Dr. Desmar Walkes said she anticipated meeting with Mayor Steve Adler and Travis County Judge Andy Brown within the next 24-48 hours to discuss how large events could impact infections and steps needed to prevent potential spread resulting from the gatherings.
"I think that the opening schools is going to have a large impact on our community with regards to the numbers of cases that develop," Walkes said at a joint session of Austin City Council and the Travis County Commissioners Court, in response to a question about ACL and other events held on public land. "As that unfolds, we're going to see that we're going to have to revisit our expectations of what we can do in our city. The way that this virus spreads is through social interaction that's unprotected by masking and vaccinations, and so at this point, we are looking at advising policymakers and making recommendations that are going to put in place—guidance that's based upon the fact that our situation is changing in the wrong direction."
Currently, Austin-area hospitals are averaging 78 new coronavirus-related hospital admissions per day as the delta variant drives up cases. As of Aug. 22, 237 area intensive care unit beds were filled by COVID-19 patients, the most at any time during the pandemic. Travis County staff said Aug. 24 they are making space at the Travis County Expo Center for an alternate care site for coronavirus patients, but Walkes said hospital staffing is currently too limited to support opening an alternate care site. That lack of flex space will be a factor when considering how to handle large events, she said.
"We have to take a serious look at those situations that are going to put more strain on what we're currently experiencing," Walkes said… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin 3D-printing company Icon lands $207 million to continue rapid growth (Austin American-Statesman)
When Icon printed its first home in 2018, co-founder Jason Ballard knew 3D printing had the potential to revolutionize the way we manufacture housing, defense and space.
Less than four years later, the Austin-based construction startup has already use 3D printing technology to build more than two dozen homes and structures, is now working with NASA to develop habitats on the Moon and eventually Mars and has printed barracks for the Texas Military Department.
"I don't think I thought we'd hit all three in three and a half years, but we knew that they were a real possibility for the technology," Ballard said. "It's really the velocity and speed with which we've gone from that first prototype machine at first demonstration house to being ready to graduate to hundreds of homes with serious builders and serious architects in one of America's greatest cities like Austin."
The startup is now gearing up for its next chapter of growth. Tuesday, Icon announced it has raised $207 million in funding as it looks to rapidly grow its team and capabilities… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Plan for Austin city-owned property includes below-market housing units (Austin American-Statesman)
The winning bid to develop 5.5 acres of city-owned land in North Austin includes 344 housing units, with about half of them to be priced at below market rates and a few dozen that would be available to people exiting homelessness.
City staffers received eight proposals, ultimately recommending a plan that also calls for 3.2 acres to be used for parkland and more than 16,000 square feet for retail and community services.
A formal agreement could come Thursday when the Austin City Council is set to vote on executing an exclusive negotiation agreement with the developer, Austin-based 3423 Holdings LLC. The group's portfolio includes a development at 979 Springdale Road, home to the Austin Bouldering Project, Friends and Allies Brewing and Austin Eastciders.
The planned development is on a tract the city purchased in 1997 at 6906 Ryan Drive in the Crestview neighborhood. The original intention for the site was for an Austin Energy storage facility, but that never materialized and city leaders decided it would be better used for housing due to its proximity to the MetroRail Station… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
Texas is out-competing every state in the race for California company relocations (Dallas Morning News)
Texas is claiming the headquarters of California companies at more than four times the rate of its nearest competitor, according to a study by McKinney-based Spectrum Location Solutions and Stanford University’s Hoover Institution released Tuesday. The Lone Star State won 114 California corporate relocations from Jan. 1, 2018, to June 30 of this year, 89 more than Tennessee, which had the second-most wins in that period. Forty-one of those companies planted corporate flags in North Texas. The Austin area claimed 57, Houston got nine and the San Antonio area attracted six. Study authors Joseph Vranich and Lee Ohanian cited high taxes, harsh regulatory policies and rising energy and utility costs as factors contributing to the California exodus.
“Moving a company to Texas, there’s a sense of calmness and a sense of certainty,” said Vranich, a longtime critic of California’s business environment who moved his own firm out of the state in 2018. “Regulations per se are not bad. But having some stability in knowing what they are, how much they might change, that stability is evident in Texas.” North Texas has welcomed dozens of high-profile companies from major West Coast metropolitan areas in recent years, including engineering giant AECOM, which announced its headquarters relocation from Los Angeles to Dallas last week. Other recent California-to-Dallas moves include military-grade eyewear maker Wiley X, financial services firm First Foundation Inc. and mobile infrastructure consulting firm MD7 LLC. The COVID-19 pandemic offered an ideal exit opportunity for companies looking to leave expensive cities like LA, San Francisco and New York. There were nearly 70 relocation and expansion announcements in the D-FW area last year, according to Dallas Regional Chamber data. So far this year, there have been 50. That trend is showing no signs of slowing down. For the first six months of 2021, the number of headquarter relocations out of California happened at twice the rate of previous years. High energy prices proved important to companies, according to the Spectrum study. Though Texas runs in the middle of the pack at 29th for commercial energy prices, it far outperforms California, which placed 48th. California’s average commercial energy price was $17.20 per kilowatt-hour in March, compared to Texas’ average price of $10.41. “For certain kinds of facilities, you’re going to cut your electric bill probably in half,” Vranich said… (LINK TO STORY)
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton cleared by his own office of wrongdoing in bribery allegations (Texas Tribune)
Nearly 11 months after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s former top aides accused him of accepting bribes, Paxton’s office on Tuesday published a 374-page internal report that concludes he's innocent of the allegations.
Last October, seven former employees told authorities that they believed Paxton was using his power as attorney general to aid Nate Paul, a campaign donor and Austin real estate developer, who whistleblowers have said helped Paxton remodel his home and gave a job to a woman with whom Paxton allegedly had an affair. All of those employees were either fired or left the office under pressure after their complaint. Four of the employees filed a whistleblower lawsuit saying Paxton used his position to help Paul’s business interests, investigate his foes and help settle a lawsuit.
But in Tuesday’s report, Paxton’s office said there was no basis for a criminal complaint against their boss, a second-term Republican.
“AG Paxton’s actions were lawful, and consistent with his legal duties and prior actions taken by Attorneys General of Texas,” the report said. “AG Paxton committed no crime.”
The report also said it found “no evidence” that Paxton had taken a bribe or that there was a quid pro quo relationship between Paxton and Paul. And it accuses three of the Paxton aides who reported him of breaking the law.
In a statement, attorneys for the whistleblowers, said the “takeaway from this internal report is that, although Ken Paxton remains under active federal investigation, the people who still work for Paxton say he did nothing wrong.” The FBI is reportedly investigating the claims by Paxton’s former employees.
“Notably, whoever in Paxton’s office wrote this report was not willing to put their name on it. Of course, the one-sided internal report is full of half-truths, outright lies, and glaring omissions,” the statement read. “It is a half-baked self-exoneration by Paxton, who continues to use taxpayer dollars to delay and hide from simple document requests and depositions and pay private lawyers to keep the federal investigation quiet. The truth will come out, but you won’t get it from Ken Paxton.”… (LINK TO STORY)
Dallas developer gets year in prison for bribing city councilwoman who asked for money (Dallas Morning News)
Devin Hall came from a pioneering southern Dallas family who lived up to his promise until his attempts to do business at City Hall hit a snag. His real estate development work had greatly improved his community. And he’d never been in trouble before a Dallas City Council member asked him for money one day. He resisted at first. Then paid her. It wasn’t a lot of money for a political bribery case, the prosecutor acknowledged. A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced Hall, 45, to a year in prison for his conduct. He originally had faced up to five years, but his plea agreement capped that at two years. Chief U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn told Hall she doubted “very seriously” that he would have committed bribery had former council member Carolyn Davis not pressured him to pay up like she’d done to others with business before the council.
“Ms. Davis was selling her office,” Lynn said. “She asked you for money... I have to look at the whole of you.” Lynn noted Hall’s contributions to his community and his family’s admirable legacy, but said bribery “taints” the political system and erodes public confidence in government. She ordered Hall to report to federal prison in October and also to pay a $200,000 fine. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcus Busch said he was “saddened” to see how little money it takes to corrupt someone. He added that he was “moved” by the letters written in support of Hall that included one from longtime U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson. Busch called Hall a hardworking and generous person who provided much-needed help to his southern Dallas community. Davis promised to lobby and vote for his Fair Park apartment project to receive $650,000 in taxpayer money -- but only if he paid her bribes, authorities said. Hall pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to commit bribery of an agent of local government receiving federal benefits. He acknowledged that between 2013 and 2015, he paid Davis, then a Dallas city councilwoman who chaired the city’s Housing Committee, at least $8,000 to “use her political influence to further his real estate projects,” court records show… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
With a full plate of controversial bills to go, Texas House committee OKs funding for virtual learning (Texas Tribune)
With a quorum restored and legislation moving in the Texas House again, GOP lawmakers are hoping to push through a wide array of education-related bills in the next two weeks, covering issues from priorities of the socially conservative wing of the party to restoring funding so schools can offer online learning during the pandemic.
A slew of bills were sent to the Texas House Public Education Committee ahead of Tuesday’s hearing, covering funds for virtual learning funding, a decision on “critical race theory” in schools, treatment of transgender athletes, pro- and anti-masking rules, notifications to parents of positive COVID-19 cases in their children’s schools, and requiring schools to teach and adopt policies regarding child abuse.
The Senate has already tackled most items on the governor’s special session agenda and now it’s the House that must work before the session ends in about two weeks… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATIONAL NEWS]
House Democrats break internal impasse to adopt $3.5T budget plan (The Hill)
House Democrats on Tuesday rallied behind a new strategy to advance President Biden’s economic agenda shortly after Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) struck a deal with a small group of moderates that was threatening to blow up leadership’s carefully laid plans to pass trillions of dollars in federal spending.
The House voted 220-212, strictly along party lines, to adopt a rule that allows Democrats to immediately begin work on a massive $3.5 trillion social benefits package. The rule also requires the lower chamber to take up the Senate-passed bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill by Sept. 27.
In addition, the rule clears the way for the House to vote later Tuesday on legislation that would restore the portion of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that required localities with histories of voter suppression to get federal clearance before making changes to election laws.
The deal Pelosi reached Tuesday provides a brief detente between Democratic moderates and progressives as House lawmakers leave Washington to resume their summer recess.
But the internecine sniping over process, strategy and timing foreshadows just how difficult it will be for the party to stay united when it comes to turning its policy goals into law in the coming weeks as it seeks to show voters that they can govern… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
J&J says Covid-19 booster shots after eight months supported by data (Wall Street Journal)
Johnson & Johnson said Wednesday that a second dose of its Covid-19 vaccine was found in a study to generate a strong immune response, justifying a booster shot after eight months.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said it expects single-dose J&J vaccine recipients would need boosters but has held off on making recommendations as it awaits more data. Wednesday’s findings are expected to inform the U.S. booster strategy set to begin in September, when the U.S. plans to begin offering boosters to people who received messenger-RNA vaccines. Later it is likely to expand the program to include J&J’s viral-vector vaccine.
J&J said researchers found antibody levels increased ninefold among people who received a second dose of its vaccine, compared with one month after they received a first dose. The company didn’t specify exactly when or how many subjects received the second dose, though information posted about the clinical trial in an online government database indicates it was administered six months after the first shot... (LINK TO FULL STORY)