BG Reads | News You Need to Know (February 9, 2023)
[AUSTIN METRO]
Fire, EMS stations lost power during ice storm (Austin monitor)
The leaders of the unions representing Austin firefighters and EMS employees both said Wednesday that many of their members had worked through the recent ice storm in stations that had lost power, depriving them of basics like warmth and light.
Bob Nicks, president of the Austin Firefighters Association, reported that he had surveyed firefighters about the power situation at their stations. He said 23 of 51 stations lost power during the storm. Of those who responded to his survey, he said “one-third didn’t have backup power” at all. One-third had a generator that had not been maintained, while others were not connected to the right circuits. Two-thirds of those who said their stations had generators reported to Nicks that there were problems with the generators.
“Every station has a little bit different problem. I think some of the money (Council Member) Alison Alter allocated” after Winter Storm Uri “fixed the problem” for some stations, Nicks said, but “a good deal of it remains unfixed.” He concluded that he would “write up a report to City Council while our memories are fresh.”
Selena Xie, president of the Austin-Travis County EMS Association, said nine stations had lost power, “some in the county, some in the city.” Travis County has a contract with the city to run all affiliated stations. Xie tweeted Tuesday night, “We still have EMS stations that are out of power. Call volumes have been high with people burning all this brush so many fires & injuries. And medics are exhausted from being on shift all week last week so we are extremely short staffed today. Things are going great!”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
A new winter storm and old problems raise questions about Austin leaders’ response to crises (Texas tribune)
Austin officials’ fumbles during last week’s winter storm are prompting deeper questions about how the city responds to crises — and whether a shakeup is needed in the top echelons of the city’s management.
As major winter storms last week and in 2021 knocked out the power for hundreds of thousands of residents, city officials were slow to communicate basic information about when the heat and lights would come back on. Austin officials have also faced criticism over their struggles to keep the water running amid three boil-water notices in recent years.
Frustration with the city’s response to disasters could topple Austin’s chief executive, City Manager Spencer Cronk. The Austin City Council plans to evaluate Cronk’s employment Thursday.
It’s a stark move from newly elected Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, who announced the evaluation weeks after telling Texas Tribune editor in chief Sewell Chan that he had confidence in Cronk. In a Monday interview with the Tribune, Watson wouldn’t say whether he’s lost that confidence but pointed to “perennial” problems that have persisted in Austin, like the city’s inability to communicate with residents during times of crises.
“There’s really not much more basic than keeping the water running, keeping the heat on, keeping the lights on and communicating with your citizens,” Watson said.
In a lengthy statement Tuesday, Cronk apologized for the delays communicating with residents and vowed that the city would make improvements. But he also noted there’s only so much the city can do to prepare for catastrophic weather.
“As a community and as a wider society, we are only just beginning to understand the destructive impact that these extreme weather events will have on our lives in the years to come,” Cronk said. “No amount of preparation or planning can entirely shield us from the destructive side of nature, and it is important to be transparent about our limitations and to work together to find solutions.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin shelters weren’t prepared for outages despite lessons from 2021 winter storm, advocates say (texas Tribune)
Last week’s freeze was the first major test of the changes Austin has made to its cold weather and emergency shelter precautions since the winter storm in February 2021, and it showed that despite improvements in the city’s coordination and planning, weaknesses persist.
Activists and volunteers who work with people experiencing homelessness say the city was better at communicating with them during this storm, but noted that shelters and warming centers were sometimes difficult to reach, lacked accommodations for families with children and weren’t prepared for power outages themselves… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
City of Austin, APA reach four-year labor contract agreement (CBS Austin)
The City of Austin and the Austin Police Association announced Wednesday night that they have reached an agreement on a contract.The four-year contract would help with the recruitment and retention of Austin police officers and it also includes a "progressive police oversight provision."
The City of Austin says this model will likely be used across agencies in Texas and the United States.
The agreement is still subject to City Council approval.
Negotiations for a new contract have been going on for nearly a year.
The current contract was set to expire last September, but it was extended to March 2023 to allow negotiations to continue… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
St. David's Foundation pumps millions more into organizations addressing health, housing (Austin Business Journal)
St. David's Foundation in recent months distributed more than $43 million in grant funding to organizations that provide essential services to residents in need throughout the Austin metro.
The foundation — which ranks No. 2 among the biggest charitable givers in the region — said Feb. 7 that the funds went to 93 organizations through 108 grants awarded from September through December.
The most recent round of grants focused on physical and mental health in an effort to ensure more people have access to medical and behavioral care through safety-net clinics. It is also providing support to low-income older adults allowing them to remain in their homes and stay connected to their communities and to efforts related to housing and homelessness.
Recipients included Community Health Centers of South Central Texas with $2.4 million, Bastrop County Emergency Food Pantry and Support Center with $2.1 million, AVANCE-Austin with $977,197, Austin Community Foundation with $600,000 and Affordable Central Texas with $225,000.
"We are committed to investing in long-term solutions that advance health equity and access to quality care," stated Regan Gruber Moffitt, vice president of community investments at St. David's Foundation. "These grants represent the intersection of our continued support for direct services to meet immediate needs with efforts to address the root causes of health inequity in our region."… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin café sells all of its $150-per-cup coffee (KXAN)
Proud Mary Café in Austin on South Lamar knows what you are thinking – $150 for a cup of coffee. You cannot be serious?
Jak Ryan, who runs the global coffee program for Proud Mary – which has locations in Australia, Oregon and Austin – acknowledges the steep price tag, but said the coffee has earned it.
“It’s kind of special,” Ryan said. “It shows that coffee can be something like an expensive bottle of wine.”
The coffee, called Black Jaguar, was from a winning lot in the Best of Panama competition – a contest started in 1996 that gives Panamanian producers an opportunity to promote their harvests – and is produced by the Hartmann family, who has been growing in the region since the early 20th century. He said elevating the prices of the beans acquired from the region helps the producers get fair wages for their work as well… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Democrats to chair fewer Texas House committees amid GOP pushback (Texas tribune)
Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, announced House committees Wednesday, reducing the number of Democratic chairs and picking new leadership of some key panels.
Phelan selected Democrats to chair eight of the 34 standing committees, down from the 13 he appointed at the start of the last legislative session. He has faced a push from his right to reduce Democratic influence in the GOP-led chamber.
Phelan also tapped fresh faces to lead at least two closely watched committees. He appointed state Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Killeen, to chair the Public Education Committee, replacing a Democrat, Rep. Harold Dutton of Houston. Phelan also appointed Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, to helm the State Affairs Committee, a powerful panel with wide jurisdiction. The previous chair, Rep. Chris Paddie, R-Marshall, did not seek reelection last year… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
North Texas man who killed 23 at El Paso Walmart pleads guilty to hate crimes (Dallas Morning News)
The North Texas man accused of murdering 23 people at an El Paso Walmart in 2019 has pleaded guilty to federal hate crimes and firearms charges. Patrick Crusius’ guilty plea came after the Justice Department announced that it would not seek the death penalty. The Aug. 3, 2019, mass shooting was the deadliest attack targeting Hispanic people in the nation’s modern history and was preceded by the shooter posting an online screed that warned of a “Hispanic invasion” of Texas. Crusius, 24, of Allen, wore a blue prison jumpsuit and a white face mask. He showed little emotion, although at times he appeared exasperated, as U.S. District Judge David Guarderrama cited each count of murder and attempted murder. Relatives of the victims sobbed quietly as the judge read the names of their loved ones.
“I plead guilty,” Crusius said. He repeated “guilty” 90 times for each count. Handcuffed, he occasionally pulled his mask up over his nose. The guilty plea amounted to the first conviction in a case that has dragged on for more than three years. Crusius faces a maximum federal sentence of life in prison. He could still face the death penalty over separate state charges. The mass shooting happened on a busy weekend at a Walmart that is typically popular with shoppers from Mexico and the U.S. In addition to those killed, more than two dozen were injured and hundreds more were scarred by being present or having a loved-one hurt. Many of the dead and wounded were citizens of Mexico. Crusius surrendered to police after the massacre, saying, “I’m the shooter,” and that he was targeting Mexicans, according to court records. Prosecutors have said he drove more than 10 hours from his hometown near Dallas to the largely Mexican American border city. Crusius published a document online shortly before opening fire that said his shooting was in response to what he called “the Hispanic invasion of Texas.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Gov. Greg Abbott tells state agencies to stop considering diversity in hiring (Texas tribune)
Gov. Greg Abbott’s office is warning state agency and public university leaders this week that the use of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives — policies that support groups who have been historically underrepresented or discriminated against — is illegal in hiring.
In a memo written Monday and obtained by The Texas Tribune, Abbott’s chief of staff Gardner Pate told agency leaders that using DEI policies violates federal and state employment laws, and hiring cannot be based on factors “other than merit.”
Pate said DEI initiatives illegally discriminate against certain demographic groups — though he did not specify which ones he was talking about… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
Biden in State of Union exhorts Congress: 'Finish the job' (Associated press)
President Joe Biden exhorted Congress Tuesday night to work with him to “finish the job” of rebuilding the economy and uniting the nation as he delivered a State of the Union address aimed at reassuring a country beset by pessimism and fraught political divisions. In his 73-minute speech, Biden sought to portray a nation dramatically improved from the one he took charge of two years ago: from a reeling economy to one prosperous with new jobs; from a crippled, pandemic-weary nation to one that has now reopened, and a democracy that has survived its biggest test since the Civil War. “Folks, the story of America is a story of progress and resilience. Of always moving forward. Of never, ever, giving up,” Biden said. “It’s a story unique among all nations. We’re the only country that has emerged from every crisis we’ve ever entered stronger than when we got into it.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
ETFs following US lawmakers’ stock trades go live (Financial times)
Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found here.
https://www.ft.com/content/241d73d5-20cb-4848-8d37-053cb39bdd3d
Investors who believe that members of the US Congress have access to information that could give them a trading advantage can now trade two exchange traded funds that follow members’ stock transactions. Subversive Capital Advisor, an asset manager, and Unusual Whales, an option flow platform and data provider, on Tuesday launched the Unusual Whales Subversive Democratic ETF (NANC) and the Unusual Whales Subversive Republican ETF (KRUZ). The two ETFs, whose tickers are a play on the names of US politicians on opposite sides of the political spectrum — congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, the former Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives, and Ted Cruz, the Republican senator — will also invest according to political affiliation.Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found here.
https://www.ft.com/content/241d73d5-20cb-4848-8d37-053cb39bdd3d
NANC will only focus on equities purchased or sold by members of Congress who are registered members of the Democratic party and their spouses, a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission shows, whereas KRUZ will focus on Republican members and their spouses. Both ETFs carry a 0.75 per cent management fee. “We believe members of Congress have more information than the rest of us, and if they can trade on that information, we should be able to do the same, and now we can,” said Christian Cooper, the ETFs’ portfolio manager. Cooper said the investments made by members of Congress often outperformed the market. In 2021 they outperformed the S&P 500 by 1.2 percentage points, but average returns were 17.5 percentage points higher than the market last year… (LINK TO FULL STORY)