ACL’s cancellation will hurt Austin’s economy
Economists say the loss of this year’s Austin City Limits Music festival will hurt local industries that have already been hit very hard by coronavirus. Matt Patton with AngelouEconomics says last year’s festival brought $291 million to the Austin metro’s economy. Furthermore, the loss of this year’s festival means a major loss of revenue.
“Food and beverage represented about $66.4 million and hotels represented about $34.8 million, and general real estate represented about $14.7 million in economic output,” Patton says.
That also means the $119,000,000+ the festival generated through general labor will also be missed with its cancellation.
Layoffs in Austin continue
The first round of shutdowns put thousands out of work in Austin. Now, lay offs are beginning once again. At Bennu Coffee Shop, co-owner Stephanie Williams tells FOX 7 her employees have once again been dealt a blow as businesses are having to scale back.
“We’re having to let go of the staff that we already let go of, you know, two or three months ago and hired back, and it’s absolutely heartbreaking,” says Williams.
The federal PPP loans helped initially, but the money’s gone and trying to maintain the current capacity levels is nearly impossible.
June sales tax revenue dropped by 6.5% from one year ago. Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar says almost $2.7 billion was generated. He attributes a lot of the decline to steep drops in the oil and gas sectors. Over the past three months, sales tax revenue for the state is down by almost 10%.
Direct COVID relief funds process
3 months later, most of the $15 million approved by the Austin City Council for direct COVID-19 relief is still sitting idle. Austin Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza says she thinks the city has been moving at a good pace, all things considered.
“It’s always a disappointment when we can’t do things faster. It’s always a disappointment, especially in these times. But relatively speaking, that money did go out really quick,” says Garza
According to CBS Austin, 78% of the funding for nonprofits has yet to be paid out. However, Garza says most of it has been paid the nonprofits just haven’t updated their reports.
COVID-19 update
As the number of Travis County’s coronavirus cases surpasses the 10,000 mark, the number of recoveries also rises above the 7,000 mark. Since March, Austin Public Health reports 10,124 cases. 376 people are in the hospital this morning. Meanwhile, recoveries keep climbing now up to 7,097, further indicating what some have said is a fairly high survivability rate.
As Williamson County faces a sharp rise in hospital cases, there has been an increase in available bed space over the past 24 hours, albeit very slight. As of today, 28% of beds are open, compared to 27% yesterday. 98 coronavirus patients are in the hospital, currently in Williamson County. A grand total of 2,339 coronavirus cases have been found by Williamson County since March. 1,322 are still active. 39 people have died from the virus, but 932 have made recoveries. More than 17,000 tests have been administered. Right now, the county has a 13% positivity rate overall.
More call for a statewide mandate for masks
State Representative Donna Howard says Governor Greg Abbott has been more of a barrier to progress than anything else.
“He needs to either do this statewide mandate, or he needs to allow the local governments to do what they need to do to keep their communities safe. He has not allowed that either, so he needs to either lead or get out of the way,” says Howard.
Citing a study out of Texas A&M University, Howard says mandates have proven to be the most effective way to slow down the virus.
Austin airport adds news safety features
Austin’s airport has added new tools to keep coronavirus transmission down as more passengers slowly begin returning along with hand sanitizing stations. Protective barriers at the check-in counter have been added and restaurant cleanings will be done every hour and 1/2. Airports also installed a new digital sign encouraging social distancing. Most airlines also now require masks.
Community aids The Broken Spoke after thieves vandalize it
It didn’t take very long for the community to rally around longtime Austin staple Broken Spoke. It was hit by thieves this week as a truck rammed through the front of the venue to steal the ATM. Damage is said to be extensive, but about $4,000 has already been donated to help patch everything back up.
Second Cedar Park crash driver sentenced
Another driver involved in a deadly Cedar Park crash back in 2018 has been sentenced. Blake Kirkpatrick will spend 10 years on probation for his role in the crash that happened when he was raising another driver, Hayden Hammer. The crash killed two young boys and seriously injured their mother. Hammer was sentenced last year to up to a decade behind bars.
This news and more on News Radio KLBJ:
https://omny.fm/shows/klbjam-flash-briefing-1/am-newscast-7-2-20
