1. TRUMP’S LATEST BIG RISK TO UNRAVEL
The president’s pursuit of a foreign policy victory has fallen apart after his tweet cancelling secret meetings at Camp David with the Taliban and Afghan leaders.
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2. MCCONNELL’S LEGISLATIVE ‘GRAVEYARD’ BACK IN SESSION
Congress returns Monday with mounting pressure on the Senate majority leader to address gun violence, election security and other issues.
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3. WHAT TECH GIANT IS BEING IS BEING TARGETED AND WHY?
Texas, leading a group of states, is expected to announce an investigation into Google to examine if the company is too big and effective at stomping or acquiring rivals.
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4. HEALTH AND SAFETY CONCERNS RAISED OVER MCKALLA PLACE CONSTRUCTION
This morning, workers will start excavating the city-owned land where the soccer stadium is going up. That land happens to be a little-known toxic chemical plant explosion waste site from the ‘80s. Austin attorney Bill Aleshire says every environmental consultant says workers need special hazmat suits… and heavy equipment needs blast shields.
“A couple of weeks ago, the city staff approved them to go ahead and start doing site work, and did not include those high-hazard excavation standards for the protection of workers, or others that might be around,” Aleshire says.
Travis County Commissioner Margaret Gomez is calling for the workers to be protected or discouraged from working there. However, the City of Austin says the site is clean and safe, citing a determination by the State of Texas in 2005 after the city spent $5-million cleaning the site down to the bedrock.
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5. RED RIVER VENUES GET NEW SAFETY TRAINING
Several music venues in the Red River District have undergone training by the Sims Foundation to help create a safer nightlife. Matt Robertson manages a venue called Scratchouse and tells KXAN the training focused on mental health, substance abuse, and sexual assault.
“Having training so that we can watch out for any warning signs, and then swiftly and appropriately deal with any situation, I think, is really important,” Robertson says.
He also says he feels it’s especially important to create a safer environment now, with a recent uptick in problems in that area related to the ARCH homeless shelter.
