BG Reads | News You Need to Know (March 26, 2021)
[BINGHAM GROUP]
BG Podcast EP. 135: Discussing Austin's Apology for Systemic Racism with Mayor Pro-Tem Natasha Harper-Madison
She and Bingham Group CEO A.J. discuss the Austin Council’s historic March 4th vote for Item 67 (sponsored by the MPT), a resolution formally apologizing for the city’s role in perpetuating racist policies that contributed to historical equity, health and wealth gaps that persist for Black Austinites.
For businesses looking at or new to Austin, this episode will provide insight into a long-standing issue touching residential and commercial land use, consumer facing business, and public safety.
You can listen to this episode and previous ones on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud. Please like, link, comment and subscribe!
[MEETING/HEARINGS]
[THE 87TH TEXAS LEGISLATURE]
LINK TO FILED HOUSE BILLS (5,289)
LINK TO FILED SENATE BILLS (2,446)
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
Assistant Chief Joseph Chacon confirmed as Austin’s new interim police chief (KUT)
Assistant Chief Joseph Chacon will be Austin’s interim police chief starting April 11. City Council approved his appointment Thursday night.
“This is not an easy city, probably, to be police chief,” Mayor Steve Adler told Chacon before the vote. “It’s a city that is really trying to truly draw on a white board and advance and take advantage of opportunities that are not run-of-the-mill or already incorporated by other cities.”
Chief Brian Manley announced in February he’d be leaving the department after three decades, with roughly two years at the helm.
“Some ask, why now? There’s no absolute reason why it’s now. For me, this is right,” Manley said at a news conference in February. “It is time for me to pursue that next opportunity, and I don’t feel that I can give my full attention to the duties of the chief of police as demanded if my heart is now looking for that next opportunity.”
Manley’s last day is Sunday. Chief of Staff Troy Gay will serve as acting police chief until Chacon starts in two weeks.
City Manager Spencer Cronk nominated Chacon to the top job earlier this week; state law requires that City Council confirm a police chief appointment, even if it’s temporary. According to the city, Chacon has spent his entire career with APD, joining the department in 1998.
Cronk said Monday he hopes to nominate a permanent chief by August, after making public a number of finalists over the summer. He characterized his search for Austin’s next police chief as a “national, dare I say international” search… (LINK TO STORY)
Council postpones vote on Rainey towers, Tovo pushes density bonus changes (Austin Monitor)
Council Member Kathie Tovo previewed her upcoming push to change the downtown density bonus rules as part of her opposition to three new residential towers planned for the Rainey Street District.
“I believe we need to have a policy conversation that was deferred from 2014 about what benefits should be embedded within our density bonus programs when projects are proposing to exceed those caps,” Tovo said at Thursday’s City Council meeting.
The towers, which together would provide more than 1,000 homes – including over 50 affordable units – need approval from Council to exceed the floor area ratio allowable by the district’s zoning and the caps set as part of the downtown density bonus program.
“I am not supportive of these cases as they currently are for reasons that I hope we have an opportunity to discuss,” Tovo said, adding that she shares the concerns of Rainey residents who say the new buildings are too dense for the area.
Developers of downtown towers sometimes go through the city’s downtown density bonus program to ask for greater floor area ratio, which allows them to build taller and denser in exchange for community benefits. These benefits may include streetscape, design and green building requirements, in addition to on-site affordable housing and/or a fee-in-lieu for affordable housing elsewhere.
Though Rainey Street does not have height limits for towers, it does cap FAR at 8-1 (or 15-1 through the downtown density bonus program). The towers, with 32-1, 22-1 and 21-1 FAR, would exceed the program’s cap.
Tovo said she will bring forth an amendment to the Land Development Code to address the issue. Council is set to discuss the amendment at its next work session on Tuesday, April 6.
Tovo will likely seek changes to the program that require developers to provide more affordable units. In an interview with KXAN, she said, “We’re leaving money on the table for affordable housing, and we’re really limiting our opportunities for affordable units right here in Rainey.”
“If there’s a way to fix the code and have it apply (to these projects),” she said, “then I’m all for it. I just don’t know that that’s a possibility.” … (LINK TO STORY)
Austin's Everlywell acquires two health tech firms, forms parent company (Austin American-Statesman)
Continuing its rapid growth, Austin-based health technology startup Everlywell has acquired two digital health firms and formed a new company, Everly Health, to serve as the parent corporation for all three operations.
The new parent company, Everly Health, will remain headquartered in Austin and will have a telehealth network in all 50 states. The newly acquired companies, PWNHealth and Home Access Health Corporation, will join Everlywell as subsidiaries of Everly Health.
The combined companies operating under Everly Health will have nearly 500 employees and 350 clients, including many of the largest health plans, employers and labs in the U.S., according to Everly Health.
Everlywell was founded by CEO Julia Cheek in Dallas in 2015, and moved to Austin in 2016. The company makes at-home health care diagnostics, including home test kits for food sensitivity, vitamins, allergies, thyroid issues, hormones and more. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the company has also received authorization for an at-home test kit for COVID-19.
Cheek said the pandemic has resulted in a "watershed moment" across all aspects of the health diagnostics industry, with consumers now demanding simple, affordable, high-quality testing.
"People want seamless, digitally enabled care that fits modern lives. Everlywell provides that for people, businesses, and enterprises," Cheek said. "By uniting these companies, Everly Health is at the forefront of a new category it helped create: the $316 billion at-home testing and telehealth industry."
Employees from the acquired companies will be retained, according to Everly Health. Illinois-based Home Access Health Corporation, which specializes in making self-collected lab tests, will become a subsidiary of Everly Health. New York-based PWNHealth will become Everly Health Solutions and operate as an independent subsidiary. The company, which operates a national clinician network and makes diagnostic testing solutions, will provide diagnostics care for the company's enterprise client base… (LINK TO STORY)
Events, recent storms put squeeze on Austin's rental car market (Austin American-Statesman)
Unless you booked well in advance, you might find yourself out of luck if you're looking to rent a car in Austin through this weekend
A combination of local events, spring break visitors and recent storms that put some vehicles out of commission has left rental operators with little to no inventory, they say.
A professional golf tournament, the 2021 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, is being played at Austin Country Club through Sunday and is drawing out-of-town visitors to Central Texas.
Fan attendance at the event will be limited to about 20% of capacity after almost 15,000 fans were allowed on the course in 2019. It was canceled last year amid the coronavirus pandemic.
In addition to other local events and spring break travel, hail storms temporarily knocked out supply at Enterprise Rent-A-Car in San Marcos, said Alex Gonzalez, a manager's assistant at the chain's South Interstate 35 location.
Enterprise Rent-A-Car at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport was out of stock on Thursday because of the golf tournament, he said.
"The airport is completely booked, and we're trying to accommodate as many customers as possible, but we're booked solid as well," Gonzalez said. "The phones are ringing off the hook."
Gonzalez said the earliest he expects to have rental vehicles available is Monday afternoon… (LINK TO STORY)
Texas winter storm death toll rises to 11 in Austin area, 111 statewide (Austin American-Statesman)
At least nine people died in Travis County, two people in Williamson County and 111 people statewide for reasons related to last month's freeze that left left millions of Texans temporarily without electricity or water, according to new information published Thursday. The Department of State Health Services is tracking the deaths. The state's list is still preliminary and subject to change as more death records are reviewed and more information is gathered, state officials said. Travis and Williamson county officials did not immediately have any information to share about the people who died in their counties. The deaths occurred between Feb. 11 and March 5, state officials said.
The majority of storm-related deaths verified to this point were caused by hypothermia. Multiple people died in car crashes, from carbon monoxide poisoning, medical equipment failure, falls and fires, department officials said. The family of Diana Martinez Rangel, 71, of Manor, believes she died because she did not get the medical attention she required. Her dialysis center was temporarily closed during the freeze. “It just hurts because she wasn’t supposed to go this way,” said her son Miguel Rangel. Additionally, three people died in an East Austin house fire during the freeze. Austin Fire Department investigators said they have not yet confirmed reports that the cause was an indoor fire built to keep warm. Corrine Harris, who was 92 and relied on a wheelchair, and her two live-in caregivers died, according to her family. Harris' family did not release the names of the caregivers, and the Austin Fire Department has not yet released their names… (LINK TO STORY)
Residents at East Austin apartment to be relocated after 34 days without gas, hot water, heat (Austin American-Statesman)
Austin-area faith leaders led a prayer service outside East Austin’s Mount Carmel Village apartments on Wednesday as residents marked Day 34 of no gas, just days before residents face a Friday deadline to move out because of the lack of hot water and heat. On Feb. 20, after enduring a week of subfreezing temperatures that left many without water and electricity, the 100-unit affordable housing complex lost gas after a resident reported a strong odor, prompting the gas company to shut off the gas to the entire property. Since then, residents have been without heat and hot water, and the ability to cook on the units' gas range stoves.
Dallas-based property owners Eureka Multifamily Group, who own several other properties along East 12th Street in East Austin, said the freezing weather exacerbated problems by causing the ground to shift, which then caused the underground gas main to form multiple leaks. Leslie Jaramillo, Mount Carmel property manager, said that after weeks of work pulling permits, conducting various pressurized testing, and coordinating with multiple agencies and vendors, the complex was advised to replace the entire underground gas pipeline, which they said could take up to 90 days to do. For the past few weeks, the complex has been offering free breakfasts and lunches, portable showers, electric skillets, and hotel stays… (LINK TO STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
Texas' George Floyd Act seeks to reform violent police behavior. But a sticking point centers on protecting officers from lawsuits. (Texas Tribune)
The Texas House’s George Floyd Act is a sweeping police reform bill, named after a Black man killed by a white Minneapolis police officer last year, that would in part ban chokeholds and require officers to intervene if their partner is using excessive force. The longtime lawmaker who wrote it presented it as a measure to end systemic racism and protect Texans from police brutality.
But at the center of debate over the bill Thursday was an existing legal shield that protects officers from lawsuits when they’re accused of violating someone’s state constitutional rights. Police officials lamented that House Bill 88 could remove that protection, called qualified immunity. Bill author state Rep. Senfronia Thompson remained adamant that the measure is key to the legislation.
“This bill is not about punishing the good cops. There are many of them out there and we are thankful for their service,” the Houston Democrat told the House Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee. “This bill is about preserving the sanctity of life.”… (LINK TO STORY)
When Texas ended its mask mandate, the event cancellations started — and the losses are adding up (Texas Tribune)
At least four organizations canceled conferences or conventions in Austin, citing health concerns after Texas ended its statewide mask mandate earlier this month. The cancellations cost the Hilton Austin hotel $350,000 in revenue, according to Austin Convention Enterprises, a city-created corporation that owns and manages the hotel.
“These were rooms that were already on the books, and largely what we saw was fallout, ironically, from the governor opening the economy,” said Joe Bolash, Hilton Austin general manager, during a March 16 Austin Convention Enterprises board meeting. “It was groups that were not comfortable returning to a fully opened economy where there was no mask mandate in place.”
Gov. Greg Abbott ended the statewide mask mandate and capacity limits on businesses on March 10, pointing to fewer COVID-19 hospitalizations and cases in the state. Public health experts and political opponents lamented the move, saying it was too soon before the majority of the state was vaccinated against the virus or even eligible for a shot.
Jimmy Flannigan, ACE president and former Austin City Council member, said these cancellations are the latest blow to the hospitality industry in Austin, which has already suffered severe losses due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Flannigan declined to share the names of the organizations that canceled the events. However, he said three of them “had relationships in the medical field” and were concerned with “the message that medical groups might be sending” if they hosted events in Texas.
“This is the worst possible time for any part of the hotel industry to be [losing] business,” Flannigan said. “We’re at the very first few upticks of the recovery of the hotel industry and tourism, which is both important to the hotels themselves, and to the many, many, many jobs that those hotels create in Central Texas.”… (LINK TO STORY)
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Lawmakers vent frustration in first hearing with tech CEOs since Capitol riot (The Hill)
The CEOs of Facebook, Google and Twitter on Thursday faced a congressional grilling over their platforms' roles in the organization of January's Capitol insurrection, but managed to give very few direct answers.
Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai and Jack Dorsey dodged and deflected a broad range of questions over the course of the five-and-a-half hour long hearing before two House Energy and Commerce subcommittees ostensibly focused on misinformation that ended up veering away from that topic for long segments.
The hearing was the first featuring the executives after the deadly insurrection at the Capitol, which was largely organized on social media.
Near the beginning of the hearing, Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Penn.) asked the CEOs whether they felt some responsibility for the attack after misinformation about the results of the presidential election and the #StopTheSteal movement proliferated on their platforms.
Zuckerberg declined to answer the question and was cut off, Pichai said his company “worked hard” around the election but also declined to provide a direct response, and Dorsey said yes before noting that the “broader ecosystem” should be taken into account.
When pressed by Doyle, Zuckerberg said he thinks “the responsibility lies with the people who took the actions to break the law and do the insurrection.”
Like many of the Big Tech hearings before it, Thursday’s event offered lawmakers a platform to raise several targeted concerns and yielded some important answers from the CEOs, but did not offer a clear path forward on legislation.
“Yes or no” questions were a consistent theme throughout, at one point leading Dorsey to post a poll on Twitter with a question mark and the choices “Yes” and “No.”
In addition to questions about the role of social media in encouraging the Jan. 6 riot, many Democratic lawmakers focused on the ways that the algorithms that decide what users see on social media platforms might be boosting disinformation.
Full committee chair Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) accused the platforms of “actively amplifying and spreading” disinformation, during his opening remarks.
Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), who reintroduced legislation Wednesday seeking to remove liability protections from platforms if their algorithms boost dangerous content, said action is needed to treat the “underlying diseases” of automated amplification and targeted advertising.
“You chase user engagement at great cost to our society,” she said.
Pichai and Zuckerberg pushed back on those arguments, saying, respectively, that engagement is not their primary goal and that users don’t want to see misinformation.
Doyle made clear that Democrats are ready to move on algorithmic issues.
“We will legislate to stop this, the stakes are too high,” he said… (LINK TO STORY)
Airlines add routes in fight for Americans ready to travel again (Wall Street Journal)
Airlines are adding scores of U.S. routes as they battle for travelers looking to move around the country after being cooped up because of the coronavirus pandemic.
In recent weeks, airlines have announced plans to fly more than 150 new domestic routes as they try to ferret out pockets of demand and stimulate new markets by connecting pairs of cities that previously hadn’t been easy to travel between. The moves come as business travel remains low and many international borders are still closed.
United Airlines Holdings Inc., for instance, is doubling down on a strategy it first tried out last summer, offering direct links between smaller Midwestern cities and popular vacation destinations. Starting in late May, the airline plans to use 50-seat planes to offer nonstop flights between places such as Cleveland, Cincinnati and Milwaukee to Hilton Head, S.C., Pensacola, Fla., and Portland, Maine.
The airline on Thursday announced more than two dozen new domestic routes for summer, such as nonstop service between Houston and Kalispell, Mont., near Glacier National Park, and between Chicago and Nantucket, Mass.
Overall, United will operate 52% as much flying capacity as it did in 2019, including international routes. Last year, by contrast, United’s May schedule was 14% of 2019 levels. Ankit Gupta, vice president of United’s domestic network planning and scheduling, said bookings have been gaining steam. Earlier in the pandemic, “People just didn’t feel comfortable buying three months out,” Mr. Gupta said. Now more customers are starting to make summer plans, he said. “We’re seeing higher bookings farther out.”
Southwest Airlines Co., which is in the midst of an aggressive expansion, also announced a slew of new routes on Thursday, including new services to Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Bozeman, Mont.—two of the 17 new airports Southwest has added to its network since the start of the pandemic.
With spring break under way, people are already starting to travel again, despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations against it. Passenger volumes at U.S. airports hit a fresh pandemic high this week, with more than 1.5 million people passing security on Sunday, according to the Transportation Security Administration, although volumes are still down about 40% from 2019 levels… (LINK TO STORY)