BG Reads | News You Need to Know (February 3, 2022)
Republic Square, Downtown Austin
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
Council meeting will be delayed, may be canceled (Austin Monitor)
If you’re planning to speak at today’s City Council meeting, don’t go to City Hall. That’s the word from Mayor Steve Adler, who announced on the City Council Message Board that today’s meeting will have a delayed start time of noon, and may be canceled entirely.
Adler said he will confer with City Manager Spencer Cronk this morning to determine whether the meeting will be canceled or start later, and that updates will be posted on the message board.
If the meeting does go forward, Adler has urged everyone who signed up to speak to do so remotely, considering the winter storm warnings issued for today. He confirmed that, as of yesterday afternoon, the city clerk had contacted “almost all” of the in-person speakers and helped them move to virtual testimony if they wanted.
The mayor made the plea at both Tuesday’s work session and at the end of the meeting of the Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee.
“We’re asking everybody who’s signing up to speak, to speak remotely, whether they intended to speak in person or not,” Adler said. “We know that if someone is not here on Thursday … it means we have less staff that have to come down. We’re asking people to do that not only for their safety but for the safety of our staff.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin area under winter storm warning until 9 p.m. Thursday (KUT)
The Austin area is under a winter storm warning until 9 p.m. Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.
Icing and freezing rain are expected in Central Texas, including Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Hays, Travis and Williamson counties. The NWS has been urging people to stay home if they can, as ice will make travel difficult on roadways, bridges and overpasses. Temperatures will fall from the 30's into the 20's during the morning hours… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
Texans’ trauma from 2021 power grid failure provoked by another winter storm (Texas Tribune)
Many Texans believe state lawmakers did not require all the necessary infrastructure improvements to guard against a repeat of the widespread blackouts, when millions went without power and at least 246 people died. While officials don’t think there will be massive power outages, some localized disruptions could occur if trees take down power lines. Still, many Texans are frustrated and concerned, saying they cannot trust the state to keep the lights on and water flowing… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Texas' gas regulator says 98% of facilities are winterized, but inspectors say the data is flawed (Houston Chronicle)
During a press conference Tuesday, Texas Railroad Commission Chairman Jim Wright sought to reassure worried Texans that the natural gas industry his agency oversees is prepared for winter weather poised to sweep across the state this week. He repeated a claim the Railroad Commission has made for weeks: Inspections found that 98 percent of 4,000 natural gas facilities — helping to generate electricity for some of the 26 million customers on Texas’ power grid — have been winterized. “And the remaining 2 percent were in the process of winterizing when the inspections occurred,” he told a room packed with reporters, Gov. Greg Abbott and the heads of other state agencies.
Results of the commission’s inspections obtained by the Houston Chronicle raise doubts, however, that the state’s natural gas infrastructure is as prepared as state officials would have residents believe. Not only does the 98 percent figure also include oil powered sites — not just those running on natural gas — but reports filed by Railroad Commission inspectors reveal wider suspicions about the regulator’s oversight. The Chronicle reviewed data gathered from inspections of 3,663 oil and gas sites and found that only 41 percent — 1,506 sites — had successfully tested their weatherized equipment or procedures. Operators at nearly 11 percent, or 390 sites, said their winterization efforts didn’t work or that they simply didn’t know. Only about 9.5 percent of the site operators said they had asked the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the state’s grid manager, to be considered as critical infrastructure, which would ensure they maintain power during blackouts…(LINK TO FULL STORY)
O'Rourke keeps fundraising pace with Abbott, but remains well behind in cash on hand (Austin American-Statesman)
Gov. Greg Abbott and Democrat Beto O'Rourke raised money for their respective gubernatorial campaigns at a similar pace in January, with Abbott reporting $1.4 million in contributions and O'Rourke reporting $1.3 million. O'Rourke counted more small-dollar contributions than Abbott, but the governor's massive war chest gives him a significant money advantage over the El Paso Democrat. At the end of January, Abbott had $62.6 million on hand to O'Rourke's $6 million. Kim Snyder, Abbott's campaign manager, said the support the governor has seen for his reelection bid has been "tremendous" and his latest fundraising haul came from more than 19,300 individual contributions, averaging $73. "This report illustrates solid support from small-dollar donors," she said in a statement.
O'Rourke's haul came from 28,600 donations, with an average contribution of $46. "By running a grassroots campaign focused on the people of Texas and the big things that they want to accomplish together, Beto has mobilized thousands of supporters to knock on doors, make phone calls, and contribute what they can," said Nick Rathod, O'Rourke's campaign manager. Monday was the deadline for candidates running for state office to report fundraising figures for the first 20 days of the year. On Feb. 22, candidates must submit a report detailing fundraising and spending during Jan. 21-Feb. 21. After that, candidates must file daily fundraising reports up until the March 1 primary election. Earlier this month, candidates reported fundraising totals for the last six months of 2020. Abbott raised nearly $19 million during that period and had $64 million on hand in December. O'Rourke, who launched his campaign in November, raised $7.2 million. Abbott is facing Don Huffines, Allen West, Chad Prather, Danny Harrison, Kandy Kaye Horn, Paul Belew and Rick Perry (not former Gov. Rick Perry) in the Republican primary. Huffines raised $1.14 million in January, and West raised $331,596 O'Rourke faces Michael Cooper, Joy Diaz, Inocencio Barrientez and Rich Wakeland in the Democratic primary. Early voting starts Feb. 14… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATIONAL NEWS]
NFL investigating Flores allegation that Dolphins owner offered $100K for each loss (The Hill)
The NFL will reportedly be investigating the allegations made by former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores in his lawsuit filed this week, including the claim that the team's owner Stephen Ross offered to pay him $100,000 for every game that the team lost in order to improve their position in the draft.
A source close to the matter told The Wall Street Journal that the NFL planned on investigating all the claims that Flores made in his suit, with the accusation against Ross being the most problematic as it undermines the competitive integrity of the 32-team league.
“His allegations are false, malicious and defamatory. We understand there are media reports stating that the NFL intends to investigate his claims, and we will cooperate fully,” Ross told the Journal in a statement through a spokesperson.
“I welcome that investigation and I am eager to defend my personal integrity, and the integrity and values of the entire Miami Dolphins organization, from these baseless, unfair and disparaging claims," he added… (LINK TO FULL STORY)