COVID outbreak at Austin school
One Austin area school has had a COVID outbreak, but experts explain the classroom is still safer than most. Austin Area Health Authority Doctor Mark Escott says one area school has at least three rounds of transmissions of COVID-19. He says they’re working with that school and keeping an eye out for what comes next.
“We have offered more proactive testing for further information on that next week. Once all those results are in, that is the only sustained transmission in a school setting we’ve seen and again associate with extracurricular activities,” says Escott.
By the numbers, 32 students and 24 teachers are infected in the Austin Travis County area as of last week.
Project Connect bills
The group Voices of Austin say the proposed Austin property tax increase in Proposition A will not be able to cover Project Connects bills. VOA’s Peck Young says to afford the rail lines, Austin has made a way to issue bonds without your consent.
“What it is, it’s going to give them the capacity to issue things called certificates of obligation, which in Texas are bonds but they’re bonds issued by government authorities,” says Young.
He says that’s why the city set up the Austin transit partnership so they could work around bond elections.
Drop off ballots
The Texas Supreme Court has upheld Governor Greg Abbott’s order closing all ballot drop sites except one per county. The decision overturns the rulings of both the trial court and appeals court. The Texas Supreme Court concluded that the Anti Defamation League, which filed the lawsuit, was unable to demonstrate that limiting the ballot drop sites to one per county was a burden on the right to vote. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton celebrated the decision.
“The 2020 general election is already underway, and the integrity of our election process must be protected and preserved. Governor Abbott’s order rightfully bolsters the security of dropped off ballots,” says Paxton’s spokesman, Alejandro Garcia.
Young voters
Well over half of the registered voters in Travis County already have cast ballots during early voting. Mayor Steve Adler says the turnout is being driven by younger voters. He says so far more than 300,000 people have voted in the city of Austin.
“Of the 300,000+ votes that we have, almost 44% of them are people that are under 40,” says Adler.
Early voting locations
Starting today, there will be six mega centers open until 9 p.m. for early voting. They are at the Ben Hur Shrine Center, Millennium Youth Complex, the Pflugerville ISD Rock Gym, South Park Meadows Suites 400 and 500, and the Austin Central Library. Early voting totals are exploding In Williamson County. With just three days left, 57.2% of registered voters in Williamson County have cast ballots. That does include mail-in votes. Early voting ends this Friday.
Travis County bar update
If you want to go to a bar in Travis County, you’ll have to wait a few more weeks. Travis County Judge Sam Biscoe says the county hasn’t seen significant improvement in COVID-19 hospital bed usage and ICU utilization to allow bars to reopen at this time. The issue, however, will be considered again in two weeks.
This news and more on News Radio KLBJ:
https://omny.fm/shows/klbjam-flash-briefing-1/am-newscast-10-28-20
