BG Reads | News You Need to Know (March 4, 2022)
Circuit of Americas
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
Entertainment permit among actions Council envisions for safer Sixth Street (Austin Monitor)
The city could institute an entertainment permit for nightclubs and other late-night gathering spots downtown as part of its plans to curb violence in the Sixth Street entertainment district.
City Council voted unanimously Thursday to move forward with an assortment of programs and other actions related to the Safer Sixth Street effort that was launched last summer after a mass shooting in the area killed one person and injured more than a dozen others.
The entertainment permit provision directs the city manager to prepare the ordinances required to enact the annual license that would require a safety and communications plan and codes of conduct and training for applicants’ staff, with approvals conducted by the Austin Fire Department and Development Services Department.
The resolution also directs the creation of pilot programs around seating, dining and other activations on sidewalks in the 200, 500, 600 and 700 blocks of Sixth Street, with recommendations for improved pedestrian lighting. It also asks for options for safe gun storage options for those using emergency city housing, as well as information relating to the success of previous gun buyback programs and a recommendation on establishing a new program.
Since initial action was taken last summer, the city has explored promoting alternative uses for business space on Sixth Street, which is dominated by bars and nightclubs that attract customers in the evenings and leave the area largely inactive during daylight hours.
Council Member Kathie Tovo, whose district includes the area, said it would take a variety of actions, including addressing gun violence, to change the nature of the area and make it safer.
“Sixth Street has experienced an increase in gun violence, and it’s an issue of grave concern,” she said.
“I’ve heard a few comments this week about (how) the problem is not going to be solved through the measures that are in this,” she continued. “It’s not intended to be the one and only solution, because we need all of these strategies. And really, we absolutely need to invest in and to promote and to continue to strengthen those programs that are going to reduce the prevalence of guns in our community. That is certainly my number-one goal.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
The city has millions of dollars to support the Austin music scene. But who gets the money? (KUT)
Since the city created the Live Music Fund in 2019, it has grown to more than $3 million.
But the music community hasn’t seen any of that money yet.
One reason is because the fund is the first of its kind; there’s no blueprint for how to dole it out. Another reason is because there’s been a debate about who the money should go to.
One thing the majority of people working on the program agree on is that there should be an equity focus. The city developed a framework called P.I.E., which is centered around the preservation, innovation and elevation of historically underrepresented groups…(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin to pay $2.95 million to another injured protester; payout total reaches $13 million (Austin American-Statesman)
Brad Ayala, a teenager who became a focal point in Austin's May 2020 social justice protests after dramatic video showed him drop to the ground when struck in the head by an Austin police bean bag round, is the latest injured protester to receive a seven-figure settlement from the city.
On Thursday, the Austin City Council approved a payment to Ayala of $2.95 million, bringing the combined amount of money paid by the city to four injured protesters to over $13 million.
That number is likely to grow as the city and its lawyers defend 10 other cases, and face the possibility of additional lawsuits still to come… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
Quest to remove ‘pornography’ has GOP Texas House members asking school leaders to take books pledge (Dallas Morning News)
A group of Texas House Republicans wants school leaders to pledge they won’t partner with book vendors that supply “pornographic materials” to campuses. In a letter sent to superintendents Wednesday, the Republicans said local districts and the Legislature will work to prevent such books from being allowed at schools. But more can be done now, state Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, wrote in the letter signed by 26 additional Republican lawmakers. “[W]e also acknowledge school districts have a lot of power in the market when purchasing books and that if we stand together against explicit materials for children, book vendors will be forced to adjust,” Patterson wrote. Patterson cited the book Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe as a title found in multiple Texas public school libraries that “graphically illustrates child pornography.” The book is a graphic novel that explores the life of the author, who is nonbinary.
The book was purchased from a vendor as part of a bundle of books, Patterson wrote in a social media post. This becomes a prevalent issue at fast-growing districts where administrators purchase thousands of books at a time to set up new libraries, he noted. Patterson asked school leaders to pledge that they would not knowingly partner with, purchase from or associate with a vendor that has supplied pornographic materials to schools or allows them to remain on campus. Gender Queer was previously the subject of Patterson’s ire. Earlier this year, he worked with the political action committee Prosper Citizen Group to seek the removal of the book from Prosper school libraries. At the time, Superintendent Holly Ferguson and other district officials said the book had been removed from the libraries. The PAC also called for the removal of more than 80 other books from the district, which has more than 327,000 books in circulation across its campuses. Politicians are increasingly using fights over what students read in school to energize Texas and national conservative groups. In the fall, a Texas House member opened an investigation into books largely about race and sexuality in schools. Soon after, Gov. Greg Abbott threw responsibility on school boards to shield students from “inappropriate content.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Wayne Christian, incumbent commissioner overseeing oil and gas industry, is headed to a runoff (Texas Tribune)
Incumbent Wayne Christian, chair of the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates oil and gas in the state, is headed for a Republican primary runoff election against Sarah Stogner, an oil and gas attorney who posted a campaign ad of herself mostly naked atop an oil pump jack.
The crowded primary race for a seat on the Railroad Commission was too close to call late Tuesday night, but by Wednesday morning, 98.6% of the votes had been counted and Christian had secured 47.1% of the votes, falling short of the 50% needed to win the election outright. Stogner received 15.2% of the vote… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATIONAL NEWS]
White House knocks down talk of banning Russian oil imports (The Hill)
The White House on Thursday knocked down talk of banning Russian oil imports, warning doing so could further spike the already high price of gas for Americans after Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) threw her support behind the idea.
"Our objective and the president’s objective has been to maximize impact on President Putin and Russia while minimizing impact to us and our allies and partners," press secretary Jen Psaki said at a briefing with reporters.
"We don't have a strategic interest in reducing the global supply of energy and that would raise prices at the gas pump for the American people around the world because it would reduce the supply available," she continued. "And it's as simple as less supply raises prices, and that is certainly a big factor for the president at this moment. It also has the potential to pad the pockets of President Putin, which is exactly what we are not trying to do."… (LINK TO FULL STORY)