BG Reads | News You Need to Know (January 5, 2021)
[BINGHAM GROUP]
NEW // BG PODCAST - Episode 120: A Discussion with Courtney Santana, Founder and CEO, Survive2Thrive Foundation
On today’s episode Bingham Group CEO A.J. speaks with Courtney Santana, Founder and CEO of the Survive2Thrive Foundation, 501(c)(3). A domestic violence survivor/victor, Courtney founded Survive2Thrive Foundation in 2013 to help provide direct services to survivors of domestic violence.
See also, Nonprofit provides hotel rooms for Central Texas abuse victims (Austin American-Statesman)
PRE-FILED BILLS FOR THE 87TH TEXAS LEGISLATURE:
LINK TO FILED HOUSE BILLS (1017)
[AUSTIN METRO]
Greg Casar: 2020 was the ‘hardest year’ (Austin Monitor)
“I was wrong,” Council Member Greg Casar said. He was recalling his observations of 2017, the first year of the Trump presidency. At the time, he’d called it “a hellish year” – but that was before he knew what a hellish year was really like. It’s a year of pandemic, made worse by an economic crisis, which generally has hit lower-income people and people of color hardest.
This time it’s no exaggeration to say that the past year has been “the hardest year for my constituents and for the community,” he told the Austin Monitor. He gives his fellow Council members high marks for their efforts to alleviate the effects of Covid-19 and the shuttering of many businesses, which resulted in the loss of a multitude of jobs in Austin and nationwide.
Casar had considered running for the state Senate seat vacated by longtime Austin Democrat Kirk Watson, but decided against the run. As it turns out, Casar was already in a pivotal position to make a difference for Austinites. He said, “This year the job of being in local government has been more important than ever.”
Casar recently announced that he wanted to expand his role on Council by serving as mayor pro tem. As of this writing, he may or may not have the votes necessary to get elected by his colleagues since Council members Alison Alter and Natasha Harper-Madison are also vying for the post. Council will not be voting on this position at its inauguration ceremony Wednesday but will wait until Jan. 25 or 27.
Casar cited three big issues for 2020, aside from the pandemic: The beginning of large-scale reforms at the Austin Police Department, the continuing homelessness crisis and Project Connect’s election victory.
Of the first two, Casar said, “Homelessness and policing are two of those really hard issues where the status quo of the past isn’t acceptable, but the present isn’t acceptable either.” He acknowledges that there are deep divisions in the community over policing and alleviating homelessness.
“Based on the contentious election we’ve gone through locally,” in districts 6 and 10, “it’s clear we can’t go backward,” he said. But the city must move forward on police reform and housing the homeless, he said, adding that he believes “many people have the same goal but we have to find a new and better way to get people to come along with us to get to the goal.”… (LINK TO STORY)
Black Leaders in Travis County call for equity amid 'Troubling' roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines (KUT)
Several Black elected officials from Travis County are voicing concerns about unequal access to COVID-19 vaccines in Central Texas.
Austin City Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison and four other leaders released a statement Monday calling for an urgent need to vaccinate Black and Latino communities east of I-35, which have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19.
“This pandemic has cast a harsh light on the regional inequities that have gone unaddressed for far too long and now expand beyond Austin’s city limits,” the statement said. “In the case of the COVID-19 vaccines, we’re once again seeing more signs of those inequities.”
State Rep. Sheryl Cole, Travis County Commissioner Jeff Travillion, Manor Mayor Larry Wallace Jr., and Pflugerville City Council Member Rudy Mateyer joined Harper-Madison in drafting the statement.
The leaders argue that a lack of investment and development in Eastern Travis County over the years has left the area with few grocery stores, pharmacies and clinics. That means Eastern Travis County residents don’t have the same access to vaccine providers as their neighbors west of I-35.
“This is a major concern given that the Black and Latino communities within the [Eastern] Crescent are more vulnerable to COVID-19 and have seen disproportionately higher rates of death due to the illness,” the statement said… (LINK TO STORY)
New Austin chamber chair upbeat on prospects for pandemic recovery (Austin American-Statesman)
Helping lead the Austin Chamber of Commerce is likely to require a varied skillset in 2021, from the business acumen to build on the region's big wins last year — such as Tesla's electric vehicle factory under construction here — to the know-how to help marshal resources for employers and workers slammed by the coronavirus pandemic.
Fortunately, Nikki Graham can check those boxes.
Graham, a 27-year veteran of Bank of America who has been the company's Austin market president since 2013, recently took the reins as chair of the Austin chamber's board for 2021, in the wake of what perhaps is best described as a rollercoaster for the local economy in 2020.
The highs were momentous. In addition to the announcement last year of Tesla's $1 billion assembly plant, they included a decision by software giant Oracle to change the address of its headquarters to Austin from Silicon Valley, as well as plans by tech company BAE Systems to build a new $150 million campus here… (LINK TO STORY)
[TEXAS]
Texas AG Ken Paxton calls on 'all Patriots' to head to Trump rally in D.C. with him (San Antonio Express-News)
Attorney General Ken Paxton is headed to D.C. on Wednesday for a “March to Save America Rally” supporting President Donald Trump as he and other Texas Republicans continue to deny the results of the presidential election. “All Patriots need to be present to stand with President Trump,” Paxton tweeted Sunday night. Paxton led a failed bid last month to have the U.S. Supreme Court toss out the results from four battleground states.
The rally outside the White House is scheduled to take place hours before congressional votes to certify the results of the election. “Democrats are scheming to disenfranchise and nullify Republican votes,” the website for the rally says. “It’s up to the American people to stop it. Along with President Trump, we will do whatever it takes to ensure the integrity of this election for the good of the nation.”
Several Texas Republicans have said they will oppose approving the results, the final step in the presidential election process. They include U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, who is leading an effort in the Senate against certification. Their effort has split Republicans in D.C., where GOP leaders and others, including Texas Sen. John Cornyn, have said they’ll vote to certify the results, which are expected to be approved despite the opposition. Cruz and others, meanwhile, have continued to point to claims of election fraud and “irregularities,” though the president’s lawyers have failed to prove such allegations in dozens of losing court battles… (LINK TO STORY)
Does Fort Worth have too many apartments? Council members want moratorium on rezoning (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
As Fort Worth’s population grows, a group of City Council members are calling for a moratorium on some new apartment developments, citing concerns the city has become over-saturated with multi-family housing. The heart of the issue is whether Fort Worth has jeopardized future commercial growth by giving in to developers who request rezoning for apartments. Councilman Dennis Shingleton at a recent work session called on the council to block new zoning changes that would allow apartments and townhouses on property that isn’t currently zoned for dense housing.
Council members Gyna Bivens and Jungus Jordan joined him in asking city staff to study the number of multi-family developments in progress in Fort Worth and determine if rezoning land is in the best interest of the city’s long-term plan. “When’s enough, enough?” Shingleton asked during a recent interview with the Star-Telegram. “I don’t want a glut of apartments but I don’t want too few of them either.”
The concern mimics anxiety residents and council members voiced nearly a year ago, before the coronavirus pandemic. North Fort Worth residents worried the city’s growth outpaced street projects, while Bivens wondered if Fort Worth had been too cavalier in its attitude toward development. City planning staff are currently analyzing the ratio of single-family to multi-family housing dating back to the 1990s as well as the ratio of employment to housing units in job centers, said Assistant City Manager Dana Burghdoff. She anticipates briefing the council on the analysis and a look at Fort Worth’s population projections through 2045 at a council retreat Feb. 9. Shingleton said he’s worried developers who had plans for commercial ventures, like a grocery store or some other kind of retail, won’t move forward with the coronavirus pandemic cutting into in-person shopping and dining business. Those developers may see apartment complexes as a quick way to turn a profit on vacant land, he said, but he’s not convinced that’s smart for the health of Fort Worth’s growing suburban neighborhoods… (LINK TO STORY)
More vaccines on the way to Texas this week as the state's COVID-19 situation worsens (Texas Tribune)
Less than a week into the new year, the rate of COVID-19 infections and the number of people hospitalized in Texas for COVID-19 are at record levels, while the 7-day average for new cases and deaths are spiking — but only about a third of the vaccine doses allocated for Texans have been given out, according to state numbers.
As Texas health care providers predict that the state’s COVID-19 numbers will get even worse, questions continue to swirl about the state’s vaccine distribution for the 1.9 million Texans who were eligible for the first phase and the millions more who fall into the second tier of eligibility.
The seven-day average positivity rate for confirmed coronavirus tests has exceeded 20%, doubling levels that Gov. Greg Abbott called a “red flag” early in the pandemic. And the number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 on Monday stood at 15,976, up 1,610 from a week ago and exceeding the previous highs reported last summer.
“Just this morning, I heard of two people’s parents passing related to COVID over New Year’s, and thought to myself, ‘Wow, and everyone went to go visit their parents [during the holidays],’” said Dr. Glenn Hardesty, emergency physician at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano… (LINK TO STORY)
[NATION]
In Trump’s final days, lines are drawn for a Republican civil war (Wall Street Journal)
Less than two years from now, after this week’s attempt to overturn the results of the presidential election has long since played out, here is a plausible scenario: A Republican senator or House member, one party leaders are eager to see retain his or her seat, will be challenged in a primary by a disciple of President Trump. The incumbent, after being attacked as a member of a disparaged party establishment, will still win the primary. But that outcome will be challenged by Republican rebels, who, taking a cue from what is happening right now, will charge that the election was “rigged” by the establishment, and go to court to try to overturn it. Such are the forces being unleashed this week within the GOP, where the prospect of a virtual civil war suddenly feels real.
This internal struggle engages the president and his family; lawmakers courting the support of Trump loyalists; and a conservative Republican establishment embodied by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Part of the struggle is ideological, part is simply about power. In any case, it figures to roll through the next two years and into the 2022 mid-term election. The irony is that Republicans might instead be uniting in celebration over what actually was a good outcome for them in the 2020 vote, and allowing attention to focus on Democrats’ own considerable internal ideological schisms. Instead, the party is being pulled apart in the last days of the Trump term. Mr. Trump is setting up this week as a dramatic test of loyalty to him in the form of his last-ditch effort to overturn the victory of President-elect Joe Biden, and his core supporters will be rallying in Washington to underscore the point.
Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri and Ted Cruz of Texas, who aspire to lead the Trump army whenever Mr. Trump isn’t there to do so himself, have engineered a scenario in which each of their colleagues will have to go on record either favoring or opposing the president’s effort to reverse the election. They have done so in defiance of Mr. McConnell, creating in the process a no-win scenario for a series of their colleagues up for re-election in 2022— Roy Blunt of Missouri, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rob Portman of Ohio, Marco Rubio of Florida, John Thune of South Dakota—in which they have to take a stand that either infuriates Trump loyalists back home or energizes Democrats and many independents against them… (LINK TO STORY)
Tom Cotton and Chip Roy inject some logic into the GOP’s alogical electoral college gambit (Washington Post)
For weeks, momentum has been building inside the congressional GOP to launch an unprecedented challenge to the electoral college Wednesday. First, more than 100 House Republicans signed on to an ill-fated attempt to get the Supreme Court to intervene. Then word came down that more than 100 of them would also challenge the certification of certain states this week. Then a dozen Republican senators joined the cause, including Sens. Ted Cruz (Tex.) and Josh Hawley (Mo.). That sign-off from members of both chambers means Congress will have to debate and vote on the matter, despite the lack of any evidence of widespread voter fraud. But late Sunday, some on the party’s right flank began trying to take corrective action.
Leading the charge were two of each chamber’s most conservative members, Rep. Chip Roy (R-Tex.) and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.). Both expressed concern about the legitimacy of the election, but both also argued on federalist grounds that Congress has no constitutional authority to try to overturn the results of a given state’s certified votes. Roy’s tack was particularly novel. Sunday was swearing-in day for members of Congress, and Roy rightfully noted that many of the members being sworn in ran on the same state ballots that his fellow Republicans now say are in question. If President-elect Joe Biden’s win is in doubt, he argued (extremely logically), how can you seat members from those same states? So he forced a vote on seating them.
Just two Republicans voted against seating members in those states, with everyone else apparently accepting their colleagues’ wins as legitimate despite their stances on Biden’s win. Roy’s gambit and opposition to the electoral college end-run is particularly notable given his former job: chief of staff to none other than Cruz. The more significant event on this front, though, arrived Sunday night. In a statement, Cotton outlined his opposition to the effort to challenge the certification of the votes in states such as Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia… (LINK TO STORY)
Google workers make waves with first labor union (The Hill)
This week’s move by more than 200 workers at Alphabet to form a union is being seen as an alternative framework for organizing at other Silicon Valley giants.
The Alphabet Workers Union was organized with the help of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) as what’s known as a minority or non-contract union, meaning the group is not seeking recognition from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), nor will it have formal collective bargaining power.
The model has primarily been used to organize workers at universities and in states that prohibit collective bargaining by government employees, but its roots stretch back to earlier labor movements.
Alphabet Workers Union and CWA representatives who spoke to The Hill gave two main reasons for choosing to pursue this model: growth opportunities and inclusivity.
The union at Alphabet and its subsidiary Google started with a little over 220 members, but they are hopeful that the attention being paid to the group as well as the ability to speak about it in public will increase those numbers.
“I think there’s a lot of latent energy that we’re going to tap into,” said Kimberly Wilber, a software engineer in Google’s New York City office. “We’re expecting to bring in a whole bunch more people now that we can actually talk about it publicly.”… (LINK TO STORY)