Category: Current Events
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Governor Abbott Caves
The Governor walked backed his weak position on masks by “allowing” local jurisdictions to mandate that businesses require masks. As discussed yesterday, Governor Abbott removed the ability for local jurisdictions to enforce mandated masks. While local officials can still require it, no individual can be fined or jailed for it. In yesterday’s conference (see the…
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Covid in Austin Update (June 16)
Before we jump to today’s update, I wanted to share a little art that Austin Transportation added to Congress Ave today. In addition to the usual data drop, Governor Abbott held a press conference today looking at hospital capacity. Personally, the press conference was overall underwhelming. Numbers are going up, though in some places, Governor…
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Governor Abbott Should Allow Mask Enforcement
Today during his press conference discussing the latest in the State of Texas regarding COVID-19, Governor Abbott repeated that he will not mandate nor allow local governments to mandate mask wearing. Per the Governor’s executive orders, while the Texas Government Code 418.173 allows for fines of up to $1,000 or a year in jail for…
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COVID in Austin Update (June 15)
The good news for today is the daily numbers aren’t worse than the weekend. 119 new cases today, which seems to be our new normal now. 23 new hospitalizations, so we’ll stay in Stage 4. Our 7-day average is 22.6. The 142 currently hospitalized is a record high. We’re stable with 52 people in the…
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The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You
In the news recently is a group of Longhorns student-athletes who, among other things, have asked The University of Texas at Austin to stop singing The Eyes of Texas. The Eyes of Texas is rooted as satire making fun of then-University President Prather who used the phrase “The eyes of Texas are upon you” in…
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COVID in Austin Update (June 14)
The good news is our death rate remains relatively low and stable. Our 7-day average for deaths is an even 1, which is middle of the road over the last few months. We’ve stayed under 1 for long periods of time, but also been as high as 2.4. The bad news is, well, the rest…