June 8, 2020 Mostly home while Council hacks away at election reform, plus protests, mail-in voting, paint projects and more.

Anyone looking for an overview on COVID-19 should check out these 2 recent articles summarizing 6 months of data. They hone in on the things we now know and the things we still don’t understand about the virus.

–Six Months of Coronavirus: Here’s Some of What We’ve Learned  6/2/20 https://www.nytimes.com/article/coronavirus-facts-history.html

–After 6 Months, Important Mysteries About Coronavirus Endure 6/1/20 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/01/health/coronavirus-mysteries.html

Also, this 6 minute video is helpful in understanding the situation.

–How Covid-19 can be more and less deadly than we knew 6/4/20 https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/videos/2020/6/4/21280543/coronavirus-mortality-rate-covid-19-risk-excess-deaths

As always, my Covid-19 page has links to articles added daily, on all aspects of the pandemic.

In the US

What is left to say about the protests?  They are necessary in light of the atrocity that happened in Minneapolis, which was just the best-documented case in a stream of racially motivated police brutality that includes many shameful incidents in Austin. And, the right to gather and speak against authority is what has defined America since 1776.  About the riots and looting?  They are despicable and to some extent orchestrated by entities unconcerned with racism.  But, far worse were the bizarre threats made from the White House to unleash military forces against citizens on American soil.  The military leaders, past and present, refusing to play war games at home must have been a shock, along with the fact that no governors allowed it to happen in their states. Even Gov. Abbott dared to say no thank you, but given the state’s rights mentality in Texas, he had little political choice.  Washington, DC, has no governor to protect it, but Mayor Muriel Bowser, in addition to demanding federal forces exit her city, has had the last word, so far.  Actually, 3 ENORMOUS words emblazoned in neon yellow on the roadway surface of Pennsylvania Avenue leading to the White House: BLACK LIVES MATTER.  Indeed….

Black Lives Matter in Washington, DC

In Texas 

Texas is fighting the trend toward voting by mail in both the state and federal courts.  As of now, both suits have ruled against expanding our ability to vote safely by mail during COVID-19.  But, higher courts will review those rulings, and the issue will likely be decided by the US Supreme Court down the line.  For now, Texas law allows any resident to vote by mail who is 65 or older, has a disability or illness, will be out of the county, or is in jail.  The Texas election code defines disability as a “sickness or physical condition” that prevents a voter from appearing in person without the risk of “injuring the voter’s health.”  And,even the court opinions said that the voter decides whether that applies, and the state cannot question or investigate an application for mail-in ballot stating a disability. 

The Travis County Clerk’s page on this is quite clear—“A voter who requests a mail ballot on the grounds of disability will be accepted as eligible for a mail ballot. Our office has no legal authority to administratively require voters to substantiate their disability at the time the application is submitted.  ….  The voter does not have to declare the nature of the underlying disability. The elected officials [the Legislature] have placed in the hands of the voter the determination of whether in-person voting will cause a likelihood of injury to a physical condition.”

If you want to vote by mail in Travis County, go here for instructions— https://countyclerk.traviscountytx.gov/elections/ballot-by-mail.html

Still worried about fraud from voting by mail?  Read Ken Herman’s recent column for statistics on how it has worked for many years—https://today.statesman.com/express/thursday–may-28–2020/14?utm_source=express-edition&utm_medium=email

In Lakeway

At the June 1 Council meeting (held online), the main issue was a second discussion of possible Lakeway Charter changes for the November ballot.  No formal votes were taken but consensus seems to be 2 year terms, for simplicity if nothing else; the place system and run-off elections that go along with 3 year terms would do Lakeway no favors, and it is critical that voters adopt whatever is put on the ballot, so that our Charter’s current breach of the Texas Constitution gets fixed.  The number of consecutive terms allowed—2 terms (4 years) or 3 terms (6 years) will likely be presented on the ballot as a separate proposition, so as not to confuse things. The same should go for how to handle a vacancy (appointment by Council or special election), but there was less clarity there. Finally, they got to whether to move elections from May to November.  The meeting packet showed local voting numbers for the last 10 years, indicating 50-75% of registered voters came out for November elections, compared to under 25% in May.  Yet, certain council members (Kumar and Howell) argued for May; they don’t want more voters—they want the right voters.  (Yes, that IS frightening….)  Smith declared himself in favor of November yet, oddly, wants to delay the change until next time; Charters can only be amended every 2 years, so that would be late 2022.  Cox said she was undecided.  Higginbotham, Vance and Mastrangelo all support November elections.  As they noted—the statistics prove voters prefer November, because that is when they participate in the process.  The city should put it on the ballot so residents can decide this.

Also, Charter Review Committee suggested several picayune Charter changes.  It sounds like they will be left off the 2020 ballot, for simplicity.  And, certain committee members are seriously peeved their “decisions” were not accepted by Council.  Charter Review is an advisory committee; maybe they should look up the definition of “advisory.”  Also, former mayors and council members have zero authority, and the fact is the election issue amounts to fixing their mistakes when the Charter was illegally changed back in 2014.

The result is that the City attorney is to draft language on a November election proposition, and all this will be discussed again at a July Council meeting.  They have until mid-August to announce propositions for the Nov. 3 election.  Go here & click on item 5 to view the often lively discussion. https://lakewaytx.new.swagit.com/videos/62867

 (As an aside, while I was waiting to dial in and make my citizen participation comments on this issue, I heard a crash, and soon emergency vehicles roared down my street in St. Andrews.  Turns out, a pickup truck veered off Lakeway Boulevard, took out a stone pillar and a large section of wood perimeter fence, flipped a couple times, and came to rest 3 doors down from me.  Lakeway Boulevard was closed, while a rescue helicopter landed there to evacuate the driver. The HOA has significant damage to repair. The accident could not have happened if the 30 mile per hour speed limit had been observed.  Lakeway Boulevard has become a busy and hazardous cut-through for people hurrying between 620 and 71.  Our safety is just another casualty of uncontrolled growth.)

In other matters, Council approved the Special Events Permit, though they did not seem to understand when it would be needed or how it would work.  They also created 2 new city positions.  An Emergency Coordinator will take on much of what Mayor Cox has been doing during the pandemic; the position will also serve The Hills and Bee Cave, but Lakeway will pay 2/3 of the salary, based on population.  (Where the money would come from was left vague, along with whether the position is managerial or administrative.)  A Grants Program Coordinator will seek out grant funding, apply for it on the city’s behalf, and manage reporting paperwork on received funds.  Plus, it was finally admitted that the 620 widening project (that Lakeway has been anticipating pretty much forever to solve its traffic problems) is in serious jeopardy; state funds seem likely to be diverted to match federal dollars recently awarded to improve Interstate 35.  Campo will make a final decision June 8. 6/9/20 UPDATE: CAMPO has deferred indefinitely the planned 620 widening through Lakeway, along with other local projects, instead dedicating the funds to I35 improvements.  Community Impact covered the development here—https://communityimpact.com/austin/central-austin/transportation/2020/06/08/regional-board-defers-rm-620-other-projects-despite-opposition-from-most-austin-travis-county-officials/

Then, the meeting blacked out for EIGHT closed Executive Session discussions (tying the record set at the last meeting).  They popped back online close to midnight to Adjourn with no discussion and no vote on any of the 8 secret items.  

Council also had an odd little online meeting on June 4, calendared at the last minute and with only the CARES Act funding on the Agenda.  It was reported that so far Lakeway has received nothing.  Still, they went dark for over an hour before Adjourning with no discussion and no vote.  I really hope this doesn’t indicate they are considering a lawsuit.  Surely, Lakeway is paying enough in legal fees already….

Finally, on June 4, the mayor announced the annual 4th of July parade is cancelled this year, due to COVID-19 concerns.  Instead, Lakeway will host a fireworks display.

Back to me….

Here’s the small table I painted, before and after.

My latest painting project was a fun one, a nicely made storage bench that just didn’t fit in with anything else.  So, it got painted blue, to match the other odds and ends I use in my closet.  The 2 earlier pieces I worked on were fairly primitive, so I just brushed them; the bench had a smooth finish, so I rolled it. 

I zipped out to HEB and Home Depot for necessities last week and was happy to see everyone still wearing masks.  But, the exciting trip was to the library.  Still closed, they started distributing reserved materials curbside, which is fabulous.  I’m still working through all of Louise Penny’s books in anticipation of the Sept. 1 release of her next one.  But summer TV is severely lacking, and the streaming services are annoying as well as pricey.  So, I’m thrilled to get DVDs from the library again.

Tulip made it nearly 4 months this time but finally needed a depo shot for her allergies.  Terrell Vet Clinic still has its lobby closed, but they run a convenient drive-up service.  It is hard to impress a cat, but I was quite happy with it.

Perspective is key, and it helps to see what has changed. 

Worldwide confirmed cases have soared over 7 million, with over 2 million in the US alone.  Brazil is seeing out of control increases in cases, second only to the US; reports indicate hospitals there are overwhelmed and mass graves are common.

In Texas, cases are increasing instead of decreasing, even though testing here is not rising.  Gov. Abbott, hurrying to open up the state fully, dismisses this as due to surges in nursing homes, prisons and meat-packing plants; even if that is correct, all these groups still have community connections resulting in spreading the virus.  An alarming trend is that the number of Texans hospitalized for COVID-19 has increased steadily the last couple weeks, setting record highs and exceeding 1800 the first time ever on Friday (1855 Friday, 1822 Saturday, and 1878 Sunday).  Weekend numbers like this usually drop, not rise, but we’ll see what happens in coming days.

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