Austin to require masks
Austin and Travis County still plan to require that all business owners keep the mask wearing requirement inside their stores as the state mask mandate and other similar state orders are phased out today by the governor. Austin Travis County Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott says his COVID orders have not changed.
“We still have health authority rules in effect, which require masking in businesses throughout the city and the county. Those things will stay in place. The enforcement of those will stay in place,” says Escott.
City documents show those found breaking the codes could face up to $2,000 in fines.
Austin and Travis County are making it abundantly clear that no matter what the governor says, they’ll do all they can to force you to keep wearing a mask. Mayor Steve Adler says council is standing by the orders of the Travis County health authorities.
“So his rules that have been in place now for some time say that people should be wearing masks, makes that mandatory and says that businesses should require masks,” says Adler.
Councilman Greg Cesar says via Twitter he thinks the city has the legal authority to supersede the governor’s orders in the name of public safety under the Texas Constitution.
So as Austin races to crack down on mask wearing, they’ve already been widespread reports for days of businesses that have said they do plan to continue requiring them. George Kelemen with the Texas Retailers Association says there’s no doubt the vast majority will do just that.
“You always saw the signs. No shoes, no shirt, no service. You know, we’re entering into a very similar sort of scenario, except it’s masks and it’s a little bit more politically charged,” says Kelemen
There has been some concern over confrontations with people who refuse to abide by a store’s policy, but Kelemen says the business community does have the backing of law enforcement.
In Wilco, masks not required
In Williamson County, it will be left up to you whether or not you want to wear a mask beginning today, and plenty of business owners are gearing up for the change. Cedar Park pub owner Sonya Holloway tells Fox 7 they’re ready, but they are going to play it smart,
“I’m feeling good about it. Hopefully everybody will still want to wear a mask you know, but we’ll see where it works,” Holloway says.
Employees will still have to wear one, and it will be encouraged for customers, but not required. County Judge Bill Gravell has also announced this week that masks will be optional in all government buildings starting today.
Out in the Blanco County area, the Johnson City School District has decided to end the requirement for masks to be worn. As of today, any student or staff member wanting to come to campus mask-free can make the choice to do so. That decision was not unanimous as the school board narrowly approved the plan in a 4 to 3 vote.
COVID-19 update
The number of COVID patients hospitalized in Travis County has fallen once again down to 220 this morning. And there’s about 150 fewer active cases, with 1,260 being reported by Austin Public Health. The gap between confirmed cases and recoveries has also gotten smaller as well, with 74,823 people having recovered out of 76,855 cases found over the past year.
Austin Energy rates
There appears to be a bit of a silver lining to the catastrophic power outages last month. Austin Energy actually generated more power during the outages and was used by customers. General Manager Jackie Sargent says that means good news for rate hikes.
“There would be a benefit to Austin Energy customers, and that is a benefit that flows through our power supply adjustment,” Sargent says.
Customers shouldn’t see any increases in the rates because of this right now. It’s estimated Austin Energy generated about $54 million in revenue during that time.
Governor Greg Abbott says the correction of any billing errors regarding the Electric Reliability Council of Texas is now an emergency item for the ongoing legislative session. He says that includes inaccurate or excessive charges as well as ancillary service prices.
MDC Vacuum in Pflugerville
The Pflugerville City Council has approved an incentive agreement for California based company MDC Vacuum Products. The company has agreed to make capital investment of almost $4.5 million and bring up to 90 new jobs to the city. In return for meeting its benchmarks, MDC will receive $250,000 in economic incentives.
This news and more on News Radio KLBJ:
https://omny.fm/shows/klbjam-flash-briefing-1/am-newscast-3-10-21
