COVID-19 vaccine update
This is the week in which the long awaited COVID-19 vaccine goes before the FDA for approval. Austin Public Health Chief Epidemiologist Cassandra DeLeon says herd immunity is the end goal here, but that is something that will not come for many months after the vaccine has been in circulation.
“It is still critical that we practice those infection control measures that everyone has really talked about, so that we could continue to protect each other until everyone has had the opportunity to access vaccines,” says DeLeon.
Austin will get 13,650 initial doses, but that first round will be shipped to only hospitals in Travis, Williamson and Hays County.
AISD campus learning
After one week of 100% virtual learning, some AISD students return to the classroom today. Those students who were attending class on-campus before the week-long shutdown will be back starting today. Those who were learning from home before the shutdown will continue that virtual learning.
Shooting downtown
A downtown shooting late Sunday leaves one man in critical condition and police searching for a suspect. It happened near 4th Street in Brushy Creek around 8:30 p.m. last night. Police say there was a disturbance between two men. When they got there, they found a man shot with critical life threatening injuries. The suspect remains at large. Police say there isn’t a threat to the general public.
Facebook considers downtown expansion
Facebook considers an expansion in downtown Austin, but it’s not something that would necessarily come easy. According to the Austin Business Journal, Facebook is in the market for about a million square feet. That’s about the equivalent of two Frost Bank towers, and there’s no building that could support that kind of request in downtown. There’s speculation that if Facebook were to acquire that much space, it might have to be split between the Indeed Tower and 6X Guadalupe, which is a condo development at 6th and Guadalupe. Facebook has not commented about this, but if it ends up coming to fruition, it would become the largest employer in downtown Austin.
State legislature during COVID
State Lawmakers are still considering how they’ll run the state legislature next month due to the pandemic
“There is the likelihood it’ll be a limited session limited workload because we won’t be able to have as many committee meetings,” says State Senator John Whitmire, the longest tenured member of the Texas Senate. He says Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick has scheduled a conference call with lawmakers to discuss all options.
“We may actually meet in adjourn for a month or two to allow the vaccine to be distributed, so I’m just giving you ideas that have floated by,” Whitmire says.
Another option thrown out there would be to allow lawmakers to vote from their offices.
Marijuana advocates in Texas
With the US House voting to decriminalize marijuana last week, Texas legalization advocate Amanda Hughes is optimistic.
“It sends a really clear message that they’re trying to sort of line up with what the states have already done. I mean, we have 44 states that have some type of legal access to cannabis,” says Hughes.
CBD is legal in Texas, but marijuana is not. Hughes says 18 bills related to marijuana use have already been filed ahead of next year’s Texas legislative session. Polls have shown that if it was put to a public vote, marijuana would be legal in Texas.
This news and more on News Radio KLBJ:
https://omny.fm/shows/klbjam-flash-briefing-1/am-newscast-12-7-20
