Camping ban debate
The proposed statewide public camping ban has taken center stage again this week at the Texas capital.State Representative Giovanni Capriglione says the winter storm shows just how little Austin’s camping ordinance has done to help the homeless.
“Ascension Seton Medical Center doctors saw about 50 people with frostbite, including more than a dozen who had to be hospitalized,” says Capriglione.
Shortly after his comments, though, debate began ramping up over enforcement of HB 1925 which would include the immediate removal of people in public campsites. Proponents say campers should at least be given some time to vacate. That bill now has been sent back to a committee for more discussion.
Williamson County got the all clear this week from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for a lawsuit over Austin’s purchase of the Candlewood suites hotel for homeless housing. Attorney General Spokesman Aaron Reitz says recently that Austin’s gotten away with subversive dealings for far too long.
“If they’re going to do business like that, there’s a right way to do it and Ken Paxton is going to ensure that they do,” says Reitz.
And this week Paxton tells County Attorney Dee Hobbs he’s within his right to sue to stop Austin from using the land zoned for non residential developments for residential purposes. Austin leaders said the property is within the city limits of discussion with the county was not required here.
Dell Diamond Vaccination site ending soon
Dell Diamonds in its final days as a mass vaccination site. Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell says this is the final week for first dose shots at the ballpark because the need is no longer there for large vaccine hubs.
“Before this week is out, we will have well achieved herd immunity in Williamson County. In the population of age 65 older,” says Gravell.
Almost 405,000 doses have been given out in the county and 80% of people aged 65 or older have gotten at least one dose. More than 52% are fully vaccinated. Dell Diamond will remain open for people who still need their second shot through Pfizer or Moderna.
Senior prom cancelled
Manor School District parents are wanting some answers following the cancellation of the senior prom. The district only says appropriate safety measures weren’t followed, but parents like Christy Dear tells CBS Austin the kids deserve to really know why.
“We all want answers. You know, we want to know the real reason. The real reason,” says Dear.
It’s the second year in a row, the district has canceled. Prom. The plan had been to allow students to gather indoor for the event, which was set to take place in less than a month
Staffing issues at restaurants
As restaurants try to recover from the pandemic, staffing is still an issue and some owners think unemployment benefits are to blame here. Charles Milligan is the owner of Doc’s Backyard Grill. He tells FOX 7 he can’t find enough people who actually want to work.
“We’re closing down, we can’t see what we have because we don’t have the staff,” says Milligan.
He says he understands there are some people who truly need unemployment but he says the benefits people have been getting have made far too many people unwilling to work anymore. Thousands of Texans that are in the food service industry filed for unemployment just last week.
Illegal dumping in Lake Travis
A Lake Travis marina owner is facing a felony charge of our accusations. He’s been dumping human waste in the water for weeks. The LCRA says Carleton Coburn was dumping waste near the Commander Point Marina through a sewage line that wasn’t attached to a tank. He is charged with unauthorized discharge of human waste.
Census data for Texas
Texas will be getting two additional seats in Congress thanks to the latest figures coming from the U. S. Census. Texas grew by nearly four million since 2010. The total population now tops out at just over 29 million.
“The wide expectation is that most of the population growth will have been fueled by communities of color, with Latino Texans counting for about 55% of the growth. Once that data comes out of Texas will have to hold a special session to draw both legislative and congressional. Perhaps there will almost certainly be a lot of fights about where these two districts go,” says the senior counsel for the Brennan Center for Justice, Michael Li
Li says Texas lawmakers won’t get the demographic breakdown of the new census numbers till mid august.
This news and more on News Radio KLBJ:
https://omny.fm/shows/klbjam-flash-briefing-1/am-newscast-4-27-21
