BG Reads | News You Need to Know (July 28, 2021)
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
Austin's plan for city-backed homeless encampments could be derailed by pushback, new state law (KUT)
After three months of planning, an effort to set up two temporary homeless encampments on city land could be off the table.
At an Austin City Council work session Tuesday, city staff said the projects would be costly and might be prohibited if they're not in place before a state law banning encampments goes into effect Sept. 1. The new law requires the city to get permission from the state to set up encampments on city-owned land.
The plan was also met with skepticism from Mayor Pro Tem Natasha Harper-Madison and Council Member Paige Ellis. The proposed encampments are in their districts, District 1 and District 8, respectively. Council members began looking into the plan in May, shortly after Austin voters reinstated a ban on encampments.
Dianna Grey, the city's homeless strategy officer, said given the time crunch, staff likely couldn't conduct enough outreach before setting up the sites. Over the past couple years, the city's rush to buy hotels and propose shelters for homeless Austinites has been met with pushback from community members.
"Particularly because of the newness of this model, because of what it conjures for people, in terms of the idea of what ... unsanctioned encampments look like right now," she said, "there really would need to be a more extensive community-engagement process before we could move forward."
Grey said the model is resource-intensive and it would cost between $1.3 and $1.8 million to run the two sites annually. The city previously raised these issues in 2019, when it chose not to pursue sanctioned encampments.
Council members will discuss the proposed sites at their meeting Thursday, though both Ellis and Harper-Madison said they think the city should "table" the plan.
Speaking for Harper-Madison, who was not on the dais, Ellis said the two agree the city should look to other options for getting people into housing.
“At this time, the tactic seems way more complicated than the benefit realized," she said.
The discussion came hours after police and city contractors cleared out dozens of camps along the median on East Riverside Drive. Many had been abandoned after an overnight shooting… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Dozen delta variant cases confirmed in Austin area; latest COVID spike straining hospitals (Austin American-Statesman)
At least a dozen cases of the delta variant, a highly contagious mutation of the coronavirus, have been confirmed in the Austin area in a third wave of COVID-19 cases that is straining local hospitals and prompting federal health experts to toughen mask guidelines.
Dr. Desmar Walkes, Austin-Travis County health authority, urged people Tuesday to continue wearing masks in public spaces, regardless of their vaccination status — always when indoors and outdoors whenever social distancing cannot occur — and to get vaccinated if they hadn't already.
"The spread of this is straining our hospital systems," Walkes said about the delta variant. "With every 100 cases of COVID-19 that we have, there is one person who will die from COVID-19. And that is one person too many."
Walkes' statements came just hours before the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday reversed course and urged fully vaccinated people to go back to wearing masks indoors, especially in places where the disease could easily spread.
"The delta variant is showing every day its willingness to outsmart us and be an opportunist," CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Tuesday. "In rare occasions some vaccinated people infected with the delta variant after vaccination may be contagious and spread the virus to others. ... This new science is worrisome and unfortunately warrants an update to our recommendations."
Walkes told Travis County commissioners Tuesday that the delta variant continues to be responsible for a rapid rise in local hospitalizations and new cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. However, a lack of rigorous testing for the variant at the state and local levels have made it impossible to determine how widespread, beyond the 12 confirmed cases, the delta variant has become, she said.
"We are happy to see that the CDC is recommending what Austin and Travis County health leaders recommended last week to our community," Austin Public Health officials said in a statement Tuesday. "We will continue to follow any and all CDC guidelines to help protect our community."… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Public safety looms over city budget talks (Austin Monitor)
The plea for more staff at Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services has reached City Council’s ears. The majority of Council members expressed a desire at Tuesday’s work session to increase that funding for next year, as requested by Selena Xie, EMS association president. However, that request, along with others, would probably fall by the wayside if the Save Austin Now petition passes and Austin is forced to hire hundreds more police officers.
Council Member Alison Alter noted that a study of Fire Department and EMS use is in its final stages and she hoped to get some “high-level recommendations” from it before the budget is complete. Alter and Council members Mackenzie Kelly, Kathie Tovo, Paige Ellis, Greg Casar and Mayor Steve Adler all expressed a desire to beef up EMS funding.
Declining numbers of staff at the city’s 911 call center is another public safety concern. Alter, Kelly and Tovo pointed to the high turnover rate at the call center as highlighted in a recent KXAN report. Alter and Tovo both asked that City Manager Spencer Cronk come back next week and explain why he had not brought the problem to their attention and why there isn’t more money slated for the issue in next year’s budget.
Kelly said she had personally visited the 911 call center, implying that her colleagues had not. Tovo let her know that was not the case, saying she too had been there and that she thought a number of other Council members had as well. Adler said much the same thing, noting his own visit and that of his fellow Council members.
Council members Ann Kitchen and Vanessa Fuentes said they are interested in helping people displaced by Project Connect and Fuentes said the city needs to increase its investment in community health workers. This was the first in-person Council meeting for Fuentes since her election last November… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Recalibrated fees for the Downtown Density Bonus Program won't be ready until fall (Austin Business Journal)
Developers looking to participate in the Downtown Density Bonus Program won't have to worry about another change to the program's fees until later this fall.
City leaders have been retooling the Downtown Density Bonus Program in recent months to bring the popular city program up to date with current market conditions, which means higher fee requirements for added density in tower projects. Interim fee adjustments, based on formulas from 2019, were approved in May while the city continues work on recalibrating the program. That likely means another fee increase is on the way.
But it could be a bit longer before developers need to worry about new calculations. City staff were expected to have the recalibrated formulas to Austin City Council prior to budget approval or by Aug. 26, but staff told Council in a July 21 memo that they won't be able to meet the request.
"Staff are performing research and coordinating with key stakeholders to ensure the fee-in-lieu analysis yields a result that maximizes participation in the DDBP and maximizes community benefits, specifically the funding of low-barrier support for people experiencing homelessness," said Rosie Truelove, director of the city's Housing and Planning Department, in a statement. "Staff need additional time to ensure the recalibrated fees are thoughtfully analyzed, communicated to key stakeholders, and are reviewed by key Council-appointed bodies."
Density bonuses allow developers to exceed the typically allowed floor-to-area ratios, or FAR, which translates into taller buildings for small downtown sites. In return, developers are asked to provide on-site affordable housing or provide fees-in-lieu, as well as meet green building standards, streetscape requirements and urban design guidelines. The fees go towards the city's affordable housing fund, which is intended to fund affordable housing development.
A city spokesperson previously said the fee changes will not impact projects already moving through the entitlement process… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
CDC wants more vaccinated people and schoolchildren to mask up — but Texas keeps it voluntary (Texas Tribune)
Citing new evidence that the delta variant of the coronavirus could be spread through rare “breakthrough” infections in vaccinated people, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday recommended increased public mask use in regions where the variant is spreading quickly and at schools.
The new guidelines are aimed at everyone, regardless of whether they’ve been vaccinated, signaling a reversal by the CDC for the first time since recommendations were relaxed in May.
In Texas, however, Republican state leaders held their ground against allowing local schools and governments to require masks, sticking with statewide bans on pandemic-era restrictions even as hospitalizations continue to rise and large cities and counties in the state have been strengthening their health recommendations… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick names members to select committee on future of college sports in Texas (Dallas Morning News)
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Tuesday named 11 Senators to the Senate Select Committee on the Future of College Sports in Texas to study the economic and athletic impact the University of Texas’ decision to ditch the Big 12 will have on the state. The announcement landed the same day UT released a joint statement with the University of Oklahoma, formally asking to join the Southeastern Conference. The 11-member committee will be chaired by Flower Mound Republican Sen. Jane Nelson, a University of North Texas graduate. “Collegiate athletics bring Texans together in celebration of our state’s rich athletic heritage and our Texas identity,” Patrick said in a statement. “It is vital that the Texas Senate understand the economic and athletic impact of (UT) leaving the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference.”
Conroe Republican Sen. Brandon Creighton, a UT graduate who authored the name, image and likeness bill from the regular session, will serve as the vice-chair. UT and OU informed the Big 12 on Monday of their intentions to leave the conference. The Houston Chronicle first reported the schools’ interest in the move less than a week ago, sending college football, and Texas politicians, into a frenzy. Plano Republican Rep. Jeff Leach quickly condemned UT for a “lack of transparency,” shortly after the news broke. He then announced a bill with Reps. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, Charlie Geren of Fort Worth and Charles Anderson of Waco that would prevent conference realignment without legislative approval. UT and OU moved quickly with their formal announcement, though. “No doubt I tried to put up a good defense and got run over with a freight train,” Leach said in a tweet. “Something Longhorn football fans know a lot about.” Rep. James White, Hillister Republican and Texas agriculture commissioner hopeful, told The Dallas Morning News, “This horse is out of the barn.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATIONAL NEWS]
‘America is not racist’ becomes a GOP 2024 mantra (Politico)
Democrats made structural racism a centerpiece of the 2020 presidential primary.
Now the Republican rebuttal is emerging as an early plank of the 2024 GOP contest: America is not a racist country.
The mantra, used by nearly all of the Republican contenders, is unavoidable in the earliest stages of the GOP’s nominating campaign. At the annual Family Leadership Summit in Iowa this month, all three potential presidential prospects on stage — former Vice President Mike Pence, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem — took turns joining in the refrain, in one form or another.
Top Democrats, including President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, have said publicly they don’t believe America is a racist country. But Republicans are hoping to portray the party as out of step with the thinking of mainstream America. And by attempting to harness lightning-rod issues such as critical race theory and “defund the police,” the GOP is signaling race will again be at the center of the 2024 campaign.
“It’s a winning issue with independents, and it’s good for the base, but I really think rank-and-file American voters who are in the middle, whether you’re center-left, center-right, suburban votes, parents, I think they all feel like America’s not a racist nation, critical race theory is being shoved down everybody’s throat,” said Bob Heckman, a Republican consultant who has worked on nine presidential campaigns, including Sen. Lindsey Graham’s in 2016. “I think this is a case of the Democrats going way too far, and I think it’s a very effective issue.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Martin Shkreli’s Wu-Tang Clan album sold by U.S. (Wall Street Journal)
The U.S. government on Tuesday said it had sold a unique Wu-Tang Clan album previously owned by former pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli, who was convicted of securities fraud in 2017.
The sale of the album, titled “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin,” will cover the balance of the $7.4 million in forfeiture that a judge ordered Mr. Shkreli to pay at a 2018 sentencing where he was also given a seven-year prison term, federal prosecutors said. The sale contract includes a confidentiality provision that protects information about the price and buyer, according to federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, N.Y., where Mr. Shkreli was tried.
Mr. Shkreli has said he paid $2 million for the only existing copy of the album by the New York hip-hop group at an auction in 2015.
Discussions with the government over the sale went on for more than a year, said Peter Scoolidge, a lawyer who said he represented the buyer who wishes to remain anonymous for now.
The album, which came in a hand-carved nickel-silver box with a gold-leafed certificate of authenticity, wasn’t permitted to be released to the public until 2103, according to the website of EZCLZIV/SCLUZAY, which identifies itself as a consortium of private investors that funded and coordinated the creation of the album. Mr. Scoolidge said those original restrictions on the album remain in place… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
States that cut unemployment early aren’t seeing a hiring boom, but who gets hired is changing (Washington Post)
The 20 Republican-led states that reduced unemployment benefits in June did not see an immediate spike in overall hiring, but early evidence suggests something did change: The teen hiring boom slowed in those states, and workers 25 and older returned to work more quickly. A new analysis by payroll processor Gusto, conducted for The Washington Post, found that small restaurants and hospitality businesses in states such as Missouri, which ended the extra unemployment benefits early, saw a jump in hiring of workers over age 25. The uptick in hiring of older workers was roughly offset by the slower hiring of teens in these states. In contrast, restaurants and hospitality businesses in states such as Kansas, where the full benefits remain, have been hiring a lot more teenagers who are less experienced and less likely to qualify for unemployment aid. The findings suggest hiring is likely to remain difficult for some time, especially in the lower-paying hospitality sector.
The analysis also adds perspective to the teen hiring boom, revealing that more generous unemployment payments played a role in keeping more experienced workers on the sidelines, forcing employers to turn to younger workers. It indicates teen hiring could slow further in September, as unemployment benefits are reduced across the country and young people return to school. There’s a growing trend in helpwanted ads of lowering the age and experience requirements, especially in the hospitality sector, according to QuickHire, a recruiting firm in Wichita.ngest employee is 15, and she has many teens working as hostesses, assistant servers and table bussers. Weiss said she has been inundated with applications from teens this summer, but few from workers in their 20s or 30s. “We’ve definitely lowered that minimum age,” said Weiss, a part owner of 715 who has worked there since it opened in 2009.
The federal government is providing unemployed workers an extra $300 a week through Sept. 6, roughly doubling how much the typical unemployed American would otherwise receive in aid. Yet, federal benefits have ignited political debates, because hiring in recent months has been weaker than expected. Republicans say the enhanced payments are playing a major role in keeping workers at home, while Democrats argue the money is a needed lifeline to help people still unable to return to work or those hoping to find a better job… (LINK TO FULL STORY)