BG Reads | News You Need to Know (January 21, 2021)
[AUSTIN METRO]
Small group funding push for strong mayor (Austin Monitor)
Andrew Allison, founder and treasurer of the political action committee seeking to replace Austin’s Council-manager form of government with a strong-mayor system, has contributed $25,000 to the committee and loaned it $92,000, according to documents filed with the Austin city clerk’s office.
Allison’s mother, brother and wife have contributed an additional $25,000, and old friends, including Kurt Dalton of Scarsdale, New York, and Michael Dearing of Woodside, Calif., have contributed an additional $15,000 to Austinites for Progressive Reform. Between them, Allison and his relatives and friends have donated and loaned a total of $157,000 to pay for the campaign, which seeks to place four different proposals on the May ballot.
The campaign reported raising a little more than $171,000 and spending more than $242,000 between July 20 and Dec. 31, 2020. There are a few small donations, but the majority of the money comes from Allison, his family and friends, and tech entrepreneurs.
On Jan. 11, the group turned in about 24,000 signatures to place four proposals on the May ballot. Besides the strong-mayor proposition, the group seeks to change the date of city mayoral elections to coincide with presidential elections; change from the current runoff system to ranked choice voting (which would require a change in state law); and institute a city-funded campaign finance system known as Democracy Dollars.
Allison told the Austin Monitor Wednesday that even though he has invested considerable money in the effort, he has no personal political ambitions and is not supporting any particular candidate for mayor in the next election. Mayor Steve Adler has said he is not contemplating running again when his current term expires in 2022, though he could probably do so through a petition effort… (LINK TO STORY)
Feds investigating if Austin police officers participated in U.S. Capitol riot (Austin American-Statesman)
ustin Police Chief Brian Manley has been in touch with federal agents investigating the U.S. Capitol riot, and he has offered them the Police Department's collaboration should they uncover evidence that any Austin officer participated in the insurrection or has extremist views, the American-Statesman and KVUE-TV learned Wednesday.
Local law enforcement officials on Wednesday said there is no indication so far that any Austin or Central Texas officer participated in the riot.
Manley’s contact with the FBI, which he disclosed in an email exchange with a city council member last week, is in keeping with recommendations presented to members of Congress by the Major City Chiefs Association, a group of law enforcement officials leading law enforcement agencies in the country's largest metropolitan areas.
The organization recommends that local law enforcement agencies “work with our federal partners in evaluating tips and leads to identify any officers or anyone else who engaged in unlawful behavior,” according to a recent letter from the group in response to questions by several members of Congress. “Through open-source reporting, we now know that several current and former local law enforcement officers, firefighters and military members engaged in unlawful behavior and violated their oath of office.”… (LINK TO STORY)
Gov. Abbott threatens to reinstate ban on homeless camping in Austin (KXAN)
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday if the City of Austin doesn’t reinstate the ban on homeless camping, the state will do it for them.
The governor posted about the ban on Twitter Wednesday, saying “contrary to what Austin leaders think no one has a right to urinate & defecate wherever they want.”
“Homelessness promoted by Austin has also endangered public safety,” Abbott continued.
The city passed an ordinance which largely decriminalized sitting, laying or camping in public places that went into effect July 2019. Supporters of the ordinance have previously said it would help those experiencing homelessness break the cycle.
In a statement to KXAN Wednesday evening, Austin Mayor Steve Adler said the city needs to look at more permanent solutions, like housing.
“Permanent supportive housing is the only solution that will end camping – including at the Governor’s sanctioned camping site. We welcome the state’s help solving for our immediate challenges with mental health and state highway cleanup. But we can’t agree to hide the problem,” the mayor’s statement read.
“All people, even those without homes, need to use the bathroom. The sanitary and humane answer is to give them access to one. I wish it were faster or easier, but we are making progress,” Adler continued… (LINK TO STORY)
Joe Biden, Kamala Harris sworn in; only handful gather outside Texas Capitol (Austin American-Statesman)
It was chilly and mostly empty in downtown Austin on Wednesday morning before President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were sworn in on the steps of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Congress Avenue in the Texas capital was mostly desolate after 10 a.m. The Paramount Theatre's marquee read: "46th and 1st - History is made January 20, 2021." Under overcast skies, temperatures stayed in the 50s for much of the day, according to the National Weather Service. A handful of people stood outside the Texas Capitol, where the grounds were shut down Friday night ahead of the inauguration after the Texas Department of Public Safety uncovered information about possible activity by violent extremists. Additional DPS troopers were deployed to the Capitol.
Law enforcement officials in Washington, D.C., and in Austin increased security measures after Jan. 6, the day that followers of former President Donald Trump rioted and stormed the U.S. Capitol. Austin police were bracing for possible protests, with officers on tactical alert to ensure that any demonstrations in the city remained peaceful, Austin Police Assistant Chief Joe Chacon said Tuesday. During a tactical alert, all the department's officers are uniformed and put on standby to respond to any major event in the city, according to authorities. Police had received information about possible protests in the Austin area, but no organized rallies were widely publicized before Wednesday.
The scene outside state capitols throughout the nation Wednesday looked much like it did in Austin: quiet and empty. Reporters in New York, Florida and Kentucky, among others, shared photos of lone protesters outside the statehouses. Standing alone near 11th Street and Congress Avenue in downtown Austin was 69-year-old Irene Carrillo, a registered nurse. Carrillo, in a gray beanie, held a royal blue sign with red hearts on it that read: “Thank God Biden Harris.”… (LINK TO STORY)
[TEXAS]
Texas warns it will cut COVID vaccine supply after Dallas County limits who can get doses (Dallas Morning News)
State health officials are threatening to cut Dallas County’s supply of COVID-19 vaccines if it moves forward with a plan to prioritize residents from 11 of its most vulnerable ZIP codes, according to an email obtained by The Dallas Morning News Wednesday. The letter comes a day after a divided commissioners court directed the health department to focus its efforts at its Fair Park vaccination mega site on the ZIP codes considered most vulnerable to the coronavirus and those with historic health inequities.
“While we ask hub providers to ensure the vaccine reaches the hardest hit areas and populations, solely vaccinating people who live in those areas is not in line with the agreement to be a hub provider,” wrote Imelda Garcia, associate commissioner for the Texas Department of State Health Services. “If Dallas County is unable to meet these expectations, we will be forced to reduce the weekly vaccine allocation to Dallas County Health and Human Services and no longer consider it a hub provider.”
The state could limit supply as soon as next week if the county does not change course by Thursday morning, Garcia said. The state’s letter was prompted by Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, who in his own letter alerted the state to the policy change. Jenkins openly questioned the legality of the commissioners’ decision during their Tuesday meeting. County Commissioner J.J. Koch sponsored the shift after early data showed the vaccines at the county’s Fair Park site were going to residents from mostly white and affluent ZIP codes above Interstate 30. Local policymakers said they hoped that putting the county’s first vaccine hub in southern Dallas would help provide access to more Blacks and Latinos who lack access to the health care system… (LINK TO STORY)
Gov. Abbott excludes Sylvester Turner, Lina Hidalgo from Houston briefing on vaccine rollout (Houston Chronicle)
Gov. Greg Abbott met with hospital executives in Houston on Tuesday to discuss the state’s coronavirus vaccine rollout, while appearing to snub city and county officials who are overseeing a bulk of the distribution.
The Republican governor said the county, and specifically Houston Methodist Hospital, is leading the state in vaccinations, with more than 250,000 doses administered through the weekend. Dallas County is second for the most shots given, he said.
“Houston Methodist has helped Texas become a national model for the vaccination program,” Abbott said, following a closed-door meeting with executives at the hospital.
Texas became the first state last week to surpass 1 million coronavirus vaccinations, and had administered about another 360,000 more as of Tuesday, including 177,000 second doses overall; the vaccines each require two doses. It is among the top ten states for administering the doses it’s received, according to a Bloomberg news tracker.
The governor’s remarks come as the state continues to pivot toward large-scale vaccination sites capable of administering thousands of shots each day. This week, 79 such mass hubs are receiving doses from the federal government, up from 28 the week before.
Several of those sites are in and around Houston, including one at Minute Maid Park that is run through a partnership with the Houston Health Department and the Astros Foundation.
In a tweet over the weekend, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said city and county health officials had not been invited to participate in the governor’s meeting.
“Any roundtable conversation in Houston about vaccine distribution in Houston, Harris County region should include diverse representation to ensure there is equitable vaccine distribution to at risk, vulnerable communities,” Turner wrote.
Abbott has been repeatedly at odds with Democratic municipal leaders including Turner and County Judge Lina Hidalgo, who have asked for stricter emergency restrictions to slow the spread of the pandemic. The state has recorded more than 32,000 coronavirus deaths since March, and remains in the midst of a massive second surge… (LINK TO STORY)
Texas has a problem with its COVID-19 vaccination data, and the stakes are high. Now the state is scrambling to solve it. (Texas Tribune)
After the staff at Austin’s Tarrytown Pharmacy hustled to vaccinate 500 vulnerable Texans and front-line workers over the holidays, pharmacist Rannon Ching logged into an online state system used to track the vaccines.
Then he panicked.
According to the system, his Tarrytown pharmacy hadn’t vaccinated anyone. The numbers on his screen indicated all 500 doses were still sitting on his shelf.
“I freaked out thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, they’re not going to give me any [more] doses because they think I’m not giving anything,’” Ching said.
As the state began the massive undertaking of distributing the coronavirus vaccine, its early rollout was beset by data problems that left state officials with immunization and dose information that was outdated, incomplete and sometimes misleading.
Health care providers feared those inaccurate numbers, collected by the state’s immunization registry, ImmTrac2, and another system were being used by the state to decide who would get the weekly allotment of vaccine — and by others to decide who would get blamed for moving too slowly as a desperate public clamored for shots.
Health officials say the registry data were not used to dole out vaccines in the early weeks of the rollout — that’s a misconception, they said — but added that the data they’re collecting with ImmTrac2 could soon become a central factor in how many vaccine doses Texas gets from the federal government going forward… (LINK TO STORY)
[NATION]
Biden signs first executive actions as president (The Hill)
President Biden signed his first executive actions on Wednesday afternoon, hours after being sworn in as the 46th commander in chief.
Biden, wearing a mask while seated at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, signed executive actions mandating mask use on federal property to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, rejoining the Paris climate agreement and extending support for underserved communities.
"I thought there's no time to wait. Get to work immediately," Biden told reporters. "There's no time to start like today."
The executive actions were among 15 items that Biden signed Wednesday on his first day in office, White House press secretary Jen Psaki later told reporters.
The actions represent an effort by Biden to turn a page on the administration of his predecessor, former President Trump, by reversing some of his more controversial policy moves, including the exit from the Paris climate accord… (LINK TO STORY)
Struggling local governments may get help from the private sector (New York Times)
For state and local governments, the pandemic has brought financial gloom: Tax collections are down, public health expenses are up, and their infrastructure backlog is growing. Hope for swift relief from Congress was dashed late last year when the Senate refused to go along with a House plan to bolster state treasuries.
For developers and real estate investors, it all spells opportunity.
The fiscal challenges could spur new ways for the private sector to collaborate with state and local governments, said Gabriel Silverstein, managing director of SVN Angelic, a real estate investment and advising firm in Austin, Texas.
“We are in one of those times that necessity is real,” said Mr. Silverstein, who has worked on public-private partnerships, known as P3s. He predicted that there may be “some interesting and creative things happening in the public-private partnership space.”
The partnerships rely on developers and investors to shoulder up-front financial risk, often delaying payments from governments until revenue starts flowing or certain construction benchmarks are reached.
“It can be an incredible use of private markets to help further development, planning and smart growth that cities and towns need but are unable to do on their own,” said Lauren Jezienicki, the founder and chief executive of the One Circle Company, a residential real estate firm, who worked on the partnerships when she was a senior vice president at Bozzuto, a real estate developer… (LINK TO STORY)
'Not Broken But Simply Unfinished': Poet Amanda Gorman calls for a better America (NPR)
When Amanda Gorman, a 22-year-old poet from Los Angeles, took to the stage on Wednesday, it was immediately clear why the new president had chosen her as his inaugural poet.
Gorman echoed, in dynamic and propulsive verse, the same themes that Biden has returned to again and again and that he wove throughout his inaugural address: unity, healing, grief and hope, the painful history of American experience and the redemptive power of American ideals.
Where Biden said, "We must end this uncivil war," Gorman declared, "We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another."
And where Biden called for an American story of "love and healing" and "greatness and goodness," Gorman saw strength in pain: "Even as we grieved, we grew," she said… (LINK TO STORY)