BG Reads | News You Need to Know (July 7, 2021)
Photo by Austin Public Library of Austin available through a Creative Commons license
[MEETING/HEARINGS]
Winter Storm Review Task Force - Regular Meeting Agenda (Friday, 7/9 @9AM)
Presentation of the City Manager's proposed budget (Friday, 7/9 @9AM)
The Austin Council next meets for regular business on July 22.
[BINGHAM GROUP]
What Will a Post-Pandemic Austin Look Like? (for Texas CEO Magazine)
Following a prolonged, pandemic-induced pause, Austin is on its way somewhere. Could the city be back in a significant way? That’s possible—and for most of us, it can’t happen fast enough. Arms have been jabbed with vaccines, most mask requirements have been lifted, flight traffic at Austin-Bergstrom International has picked up, and festivals are scheduled to reignite the city’s recent glory as a music lover’s destination—i.e., the “Live Music Capital of the World.”
However, taking an honest temperature of Austin means cogently visualizing both the positives and negatives laid bare during the worst of the pandemic. Yes, Austin is on its way back; but it’s how we politicians, leaders, and constituents collectively choose to steer its direction going forward that will make the difference… (LINK STORY)
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
APD to issue citations beginning Sunday as part of Prop B enforcement (Austin Monitor)
The Austin Police Department could begin issuing citations this Sunday, July 11, for camping, panhandling and resting in the public right of way in downtown, West Campus and part of East Austin – areas where such activities were allowed before Proposition B passed in May – Lt. Lawrence Davis told the Public Safety Commission yesterday.
The department is currently in the second phase of Prop B implementation, which involves written warnings about the reinstated laws and a recommendation that people be prepared to move. As part of the department’s phased approach to enforcing the restored ordinance following the successful ballot measure in May, APD has not issued any citations or made any arrests.
Beginning Sunday, however, people who have received a written warning may receive a citation. After the citation phase, which ends Aug. 7, APD could begin arresting people who do not comply with the law.
A phased approach to enforcement is normal for new (or in this case reinstated) public safety laws, Davis explained. He mentioned that when City Council established penalties for texting and driving in August 2014, APD did not hand out citations until January 2015.
Though APD must enforce the law, it’s hoping for “voluntary compliance” – meaning no citations or arrests. Davis also said that the goal is to divert people to social services and housing, even in cases of citation and arrest.
“We want to do it humanely, and we want to preserve people’s dignity and respect,” Davis said. “We want to ask in everything we do, what harm are we going to cause, and how can we best mitigate that harm?”
“The elephant in the room is, where do we tell these folks to go?” Davis said. As many in the meeting noted, social services and housing for people experiencing homelessness are underfunded – though that could change should Travis County and philanthropists join the city’s call to fund homelessness services and housing.
Those who are charged with violations related to homelessness go through the Downtown Austin Community Court, whose goal is “rehabilitation, not punishment,” Commissioner Rebecca Bernhardt said. “Some commissioners argued that the court isn’t working. The information that I’ve heard from the homeless population is that the community court is really not, and hasn’t been for a long time, a good solution for homeless folks.”… (LINK TO STORY)
Revival Healthcare Capital's new $500M fund to help build Austin's nascent health-tech ecosystem (Austin Business Journal)
For proof that Austin’s nascent yet rapidly growing health-technology sector is taking root, one need look no further than the massive $500 million fund closed in May by Revival Healthcare Capital.
The Texas capital-based private equity firm focuses on the medical device and diagnostic sectors, and it seeks to be a catalyst in Austin’s health-tech arena.
“We’re proud to be part of the Austin community,” said Revival Chairman and Managing Director Rick Anderson.
He added that the firm has held discussions with Dr. Clay Johnston, Dell Medical School dean and vice president for medical affairs, about the possibility of operating out of office space on the school’s campus.
The new Revival fund is another example of the maturation of Austin’s burgeoning health-tech ecosystem, along with the emergence of the city's innovation district — anchored by Dell Medical School, Dell Seton Medical Center, Waller Creek and its chain of parks.
The innovation district is a coordinated effort to recruit health-technology companies to make Austin a national hub for medical and life science innovation. It combines the public and private sectors — within the medical school, there is an incubator where health-tech startups can lease workspaces and collaborate with UT staff and students.
The district is poised for massive growth and redevelopment as millions of dollars are now being invested in buildings and parks on and around the old Brackenridge hospital. Construction began last July on a 17-story office tower. A January 2020 study commissioned by the Downtown Austin Alliance and Capital City Innovation found that if the innovation district is successful it could generate $800 million in economic output and create 2,800 permanent jobs within 10 years.
Anderson said the half-billion-dollar new fund and “the emerging [local] health care system that’s on fire” have combined to create “the perfect storm for growth.”
He said he expects the firm will make five to seven investments from the $500 million fund… (LINK TO STORY)
Monthly rent is cheaper than monthly housing costs with a mortgage in Austin, study finds (KVUE)
The LendingTree study found that, on average, it is $636 less per month to rent a house than own one in Austin. However, once the mortgage is paid off, monthly dues are $551 more for renters.
The study is based on median monthly gross rent and median monthly housing cost with and without mortgage in the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. Both variables include utilities, fees and taxes.
Across all 50 metros, the average difference in monthly median costs was $606.
Austin ranked No. 17 on LendingTree’s list of cities based on difference in monthly rent and housing cost without a mortgage, with No. 1 being the biggest and No. 50 being the smallest. Houston ranked No. 16, Dallas ranked No. 20 and San Antonio ranked No. 35.
On the list based on difference with a mortgage, Austin ranked No. 27. San Antonio came in at No. 28, Houston at No. 29 and Dallas at No. 31.
The median monthly gross rent in Austin is $1,273, according to the study. LendingTree found that the median monthly housing cost is $1,909 with a mortgage and $722 without.
The study says there is no right or wrong answer when it comes to deciding whether to rent or buy. Given what it found though, the author said there are points to consider when making a decision… (LINK TO STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
Texas Legislature prepares for Round 2 of voting rights battle (Houston Chronicle)
As Texas Democrats prepared for a dramatic walkout in May to block Republicans' strict new voting legislation, House Speaker Dade Phelan dropped by with a warning. If you think this bill is bad, they recalled him saying, the next version could be much worse. Progressives and voting rights advocates have spent the past month preparing for as much, and this week they will find out how far the GOP is willing to go when they return to Austin for a special one-month legislative session. Republicans have already distanced themselves from two highly controversial proposals: one to limit voting on Sundays when many Black voters turn out, and another to allow judges to overturn elections with only limited evidence of fraud.
The final draft of Senate Bill 7 during the regular session also would have restricted early and absentee voting, and barred local elections officials from mailing out applications to eligible voters, among other provisions. Democrats contend they represent an assault on the voting rights of Blacks and Latinos. The stakes are high for members in both parties. Phelan, a Beaumont Republican who came to power this year with bipartisan support, is under pressure from conservatives to assert control in the House even as he seeks to hold onto the backing of Democrats he may need to retain his leadership role in 2023. Abbott will seek to show fellow Republicans he can deliver on what has been a central piece of his legislative agenda. And Democrats, long in the minority, are desperate to capitalize on the national attention that their fight has brought as they prepare for the 2022 midterms, when Abbott is up for re-election. “There’s a measure of variability to this that is hard to fully appreciate,” said Matt Mackowiak, a Republican strategist in Austin. Republicans, he said, “have got to work together to find a way to land the plane. It’s in all of their interests to do that.”… (LINK TO STORY)
Former legislative leaders from both parties oppose Abbott veto of legislative funding as state defends him (Texas Tribune)
The state is defending Gov. Greg Abbott's recent veto of legislative funding as a bipartisan group of former state leaders — as well as more Democrats — weigh in against the governor.
The state faced a Monday deadline to respond to a Democratic lawsuit asking the state Supreme Court to overturn Abbott's veto, which he issued after House Democrats staged a walkout that killed Republicans' priority elections bill at the end of the regular session in May. Abbott has promised to bring back the bill in a special session and scheduled one to begin Thursday; he has not announced the agenda yet.
“The Governor properly exercised the veto power bestowed upon him by the Texas Constitution and acted consistently with this Court’s precedent," said the response filed by Attorney General Ken Paxton's office. "Under the Texas Constitution, the Governor has the exclusive power to disapprove any bill."
At the same time, three former state leaders filed an amicus brief arguing Abbott's veto is "an attempt to intimidate members of the Legislature and circumvent democracy." The brief was filed by former House Speaker Joe Straus, a Republican; former House Speaker Pete Laney, a Democrat; and former Lt. Gov. Bill Ratliff, a Republican.
The brief says Abbott's move "should be rebuked by people of all political persuasions."
Abbott's veto stripped a portion of the state budget that funds the Legislature, its staffers and legislative agencies. The budget covers the fiscal year beginning Sept. 1, and Abbott has raised the prospect that he could give lawmakers the opportunity to restore the funding in a special session before then.
The state cited that possibility in its response, arguing Democrats lack standing because they have not been affected by the veto yet. The Democrats' case, the response said, is based on alleged harm that "will occur, if at all, only after a series of unpredictable events in the upcoming month."… (LINK TO STORY)
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Delta is now the dominant Coronavirus variant in the U.S. (NPR)
The highly contagious delta variant now accounts for more than 51% of COVID-19 cases in the U.S., according to new estimates released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The variant, also known as B.1.617.2, was first detected in India and is spreading quickly across the globe.
And in parts of the U.S., the delta strain accounts for more than 80% of new infections, including some Midwestern states like Missouri, Kansas and Iowa.
The delta variant is already causing 74.3% of infections in Western states, including Utah and Colorado, and 58.8% of infections in Southern states like Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma, according to CDC estimates.
The good news is the vaccines being used in the U.S. all appear to be highly effective at protecting against serious disease, hospitalization and death. And public health officials are urging the roughly 140 to 150 million people who remain unvaccinated to get vaccinated.
"Right now we have two Americas: the vaccinated and the unvaccinated America," says Dr. Paul Offit, an infectious disease specialist at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
"We're feeling pretty good right now because it's the summer. But come winter, if we still have a significant percentage of the population that is unvaccinated, we're going to see this virus surge again," Offit says.
And it's crucial to increase vaccinations in other countries, says Saad Omer, a vaccine researcher at Yale. "The world has to get its act together," Omer says. "Otherwise yet another, potentially more dangerous, variant could emerge."… (LINK TO STORY)
Eric Adams wins Democratic primary for New York City mayor (New York Times)
Eric L. Adams, who rose from poverty to become an iconoclastic police captain and the borough president of Brooklyn, declared victory in the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York City on Tuesday, putting him on track to become the second Black mayor in the history of the nation’s largest city.
The contest, which was called by The Associated Press on Tuesday night, was seen as one of the city’s most critical elections in a generation, with the winner expected to help set New York on a recovery course from the economic devastation of Covid-19 and from the longstanding racial and socioeconomic inequalities that the pandemic deepened.
But as the campaign entered its final months, a spike in shootings and homicides drove public safety and crime to the forefront of voters’ minds, and Mr. Adams — the only leading candidate with a law enforcement background — moved urgently to demonstrate authority on the issue.
Mr. Adams held an 8,400-vote lead over Kathryn Garcia, a margin of one percentage point — small enough that it was not immediately clear whether she or any of his opponents would contest the result in court. All three leading candidates had filed to maintain the option to challenge the results. If no one does so, Mr. Adams’s victory could be certified as soon as next week... (LINK TO STORY)