BG Reads | News You Need to Know (August 22, 2023)
[BG PODCAST]
Welcome to BG Podcast Episode 212! Bingham Group Associate Hannah Garcia CEO A.J. Bingham review the week (of 8.14.2023) in Austin politics and more. This week we focus Austin Council's passage of the FY 2024 city budget.
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Also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
[AUSTIN METRO]
Why Austin-Travis County EMS has had a 20% vacancy rate for 3 years (Austin American-Statesman)
For the past few years, EMS has been losing talent, much like other public safety sectors. But while the Austin Police Department is seeing more retirements than resignations, EMS workers are mainly just quitting, according to data provided by both departments.
For Austin-Travis County EMS, this is attributed to multiple issues: burnout, a lack of work-life balance, medics taking higher-paying jobs elsewhere and a poor retirement system. Vacancies in EMS aren't unique to the Austin area; they are common across the state and nation.
For all positions, Austin-Travis County EMS currently has a 17% vacancy rate. Since the fiscal year began last October, the agency has had an average vacancy rate of nearly 20% — and that has also been the average for nearly three years. EMS officials said that when the next cadet class graduates, the department should have about a 12% vacancy rate.
Amid the shortages, the average response time for the highest-priority calls has increased 21% in five years, according to data provided to the American-Statesman… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin leaders react to APD chief’s retirement (KXAN)
Amid news of Chacon’s retirement, several city leaders and organizations weighed in on the announcement.
“Chief Chacon led the Austin Police Department with integrity and a deep commitment to the people of the department as well as our community,” Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said in a statement. “I appreciate his work to cultivate mutual respect and trust during a challenging time in which we’re all trying to find the right balance in policing. We wish him a well-deserved and fulfilling retirement, and we are immensely grateful for his years of service.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
'It's going to be a real tough war' | Former colleague speaks about new interim APD police chief (KVUE)
Daniel Eveleth is a retired Austin Police Department officer of 23 years who worked alongside the person who will become Austin's top police leader: Robin Henderson.
"She's a great leader, she's a great officer and, even better, she's a great human being," Eveleth said.
The department has hundreds of vacancies, most of which are in the patrol ranks. Austin Mayor Kirk Watson had announced a partnership with the Texas Department of Public Safety for troopers to help patrol the city, but the partnership ended in July. One of the biggest challenges Eveleth expects Henderson will face is the staffing shortages… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Former APD Chief Art Acevedo calls Chief Joseph Chacon's retirement "a loss for the city" (CBS Austin)
Former Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo and community activists are reacting to current APD Chief Joseph Chacon’s surprise retirement announcement.
“I think it's a sad day for Austin. It's a sad day for the Austin Police Department and the people of Austin. Joe and his wife Yvette are just phenomenal people. He's a great leader, a deeply caring leader, an ethical leader. I think it’s going to be a huge loss for the city,” said Acevedo.
For nearly 10 years Art Acevedo led the Austin Police Department as Chief of Police. It was during that period in 2007 when Acevedo says he met Chief Joseph Chacon, who at the time was a sergeant… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Texas power grid has held up well for summer but still inefficient, energy experts say (Texas Public Radio)
Energy experts say this summer has not seen widespread brownouts or other high-profile grid failures in Texas because of solar and wind energy. ERCOT asked Texans to conserve power on Thursday due to an especially oppressive Summer heat spike. Doug Lewin is a Texas energy analyst and author of the Texas Energy and Power Newsletter. He is one energy analyst who credits solar and wind energy for helping keep the power on during a time when Houston has seen triple digits for the past few months. "They've helped contribute to reliability," he said. "They also have driven prices lower than they would have otherwise been. And I know that's hard for Texans to understand because bills are looking really high right now. But that's really a function of how much power we're using because it's so hot."
Lewin said a study from the University of Texasestimates Texas has saved around $30 billion from solar energy in the past ten years. However, the energy grid is still viewed as inefficient to many energy analysts. Ed Hirs is an energy fellow at the University of Houston and has analyzed energy markets for almost 50 years. He says the power grid is not fixed, which leads to Texans losing money. "The so-called fixes are just little Band-Aids around the side," Hirs said. "One of the Band-Aids is the ERCOT contingency reserve service. ERCOT pays some generators to stay offline during the day with the idea that they can turn them on when needed if the market gets really tight." Hirs said that strategy could drive up the price for electricity bills year-round. He said some power bills from the last month have been three times as much for this time of year. "(ERCOT) services 85% of the population of Texas, and on that measure they've done really well," he said. "The economic model was flawed from the very beginning. It hasn't improved any... during tight periods."… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Texas AG Ken Paxton appears to have approved agency report clearing him of wrongdoing (Dallas Morning News)
Attorney General Ken Paxton appears to have personally vetted a report that was produced by his agency that cleared him of allegations of wrongdoing that is at the center of his impeachment trial, new documents released show. “This content has been vetted by KP and we are nearing completion, so I’m not looking for substantive edits, unless you think they are ESSENTIAL,” Paxton’s top aide and first assistant attorney general Brent Webster emailed another staff member, Aaron Reitz, on March 31, 2021. In August 2021, Paxton’s agency produced a 300-page report purporting to clear him of any wrongdoing. It was unsigned — but the new documents appear to show that the attorney general personally approved the report.
The subject line of the March email was “Can you do a deep read.” The email contains two attachments – the first – was a draft of the report that was released by the agency months later. Paxton is facing the threat of being removed from office if he is convicted by the Senate in his impeachment trial that begins Sept. 5. Tony Buzbee, one of the attorneys defending Paxton said in an email Friday night that they are under a gag order. “The report you refer to was released to the public, compelling, painstakingly documented, and speaks for itself,” he said. The email between Webster and Reitz – among nearly 4,000 pages and 150 exhibits filed by the lawyers leading the impeachment against Paxton that were made public Thursday night – was sent several months after eight high-ranking officials in the attorney general’s office reported the state’s top cop to the FBI. They alleged that they thought Paxton had abused his power by trying to help a real estate developer and campaign donor named Nate Paul… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Tony Buzbee, lawyer for Ken Paxton, running for Houston City Council seat (Texas tribune)
Tony Buzbee, the high-profile lead lawyer defending impeached Attorney General Ken Paxton, filed to run for Houston City Council on Monday.
With hours until the filing deadline, Buzbee livestreamed himself filing to run for District G, currently held by Mary Nan Huffman. The office is nonpartisan, though the district is conservative and covers the affluent neighborhoods of West Houston.
“I’m not sure who all the opponents are, but we’re gonna work very hard to do the very best we can,” Buzbee said on the stream… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
The Worker Bidding War Is Over. Companies Are Cutting Pay for New Hires. (Wall Street Journal)
Pay for new hires is starting to shrivel after years of hefty salary bumps, requiring workers to reset what financial gains to expect from switching to a new job.
Wages, especially for people who changed jobs, climbed in recent years as companies competed for workers to fill pandemic-induced labor shortages. Now, as the job market cools and businesses become more cautious in their hiring, many companies are paying new recruits less than they did just months ago—in some cases, much less.
Among postings for more than 20,000 job titles on ZipRecruiter’s site this year, the average pay for a majority of roles has declined from last year. Some of the steepest drops have been in technology, transportation and other sectors that experienced frenzied hiring sprees in 2021 and early 2022… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Trump decision to skip debate fuels GOP anxiety (The Hill)
Former President Trump’s decision to skip the first Republican presidential primary debate is fueling Republican angst that his rivals will have little opportunity to catch up to him in the polls.
Many senior Republican officials and strategists in Washington think Trump would be a weak candidate in the general election and have an uphill path to beating President Biden in 2024… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Donald Trump says he will go to Atlanta Thursday to be booked on Georgia charges (NPR)
Former President Donald Trump says he will voluntarily surrender on Thursday at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta. Trump faces 13 felony counts in Georgia related to efforts to overturn the state's 2020 presidential election result.
Trump's appearance in Georgia would come a day after the first Republican primary debate, which he says he's skipping. Trump is currently the Republican Party's front-runner for the 2024 presidential nomination… (LINK TO FULL STORY)