Cranes collide at East Austin construction site
It took quite a while to get two cranes in East Austin pulled apart after they collided at a construction site. Austin Travis County EMS Captain Darren Noak says 22 people were hurt and they took 16 to the hospital.
“All of those transports were to various hospitals around the Austin area. All of those injuries are considered non life threatening,” says Naok.
An operator remained high above the ground, in the cranes cabin, with his foot on the brake for eight hours before he could finally come down. The Cadence McShane construction company is now investigating exactly what went wrong.
COVID-19 update
There’s been a fairly significant change in Travis County’s COVID-19 numbers over just the past day. Hospitalizations have now tanked to 74. That’s a decline of a dozen from a day ago. Fewer than 30 people are now in the ICU and 14 patients are in need of a ventilator. 28,103 total cases have been found, and as of this morning, we’re just inches away from another brand new recovery milestone. That number, as of today, stands at 26,997 recoveries.
Much like in Travis County, younger demographics in Hays County are those seeing the biggest jumps in COVID-19 cases right now. County epidemiologist Eric Schneider says the good news is it doesn’t appear those cases are being spread in classrooms. He believes the infections are coming from off-campus gatherings and parties because Texas State University students have now returned.
Should kids return to the classroom?
Austin School District employees union Education Austin want the district to hold off on returning kids back to the classroom until well after October 5th. Citing COVID fears, union President Ken Zarifis says they want the superintendent to ask the TEA permission tomorrow to extend the online learning timeline for another month.
“To make sure that we have plenty of time to increase flexibility for the district as October 5th approaches. And if we see the numbers continue to rise, then we have automatically put in place a way to stay home and to keep it easy and safe for everybody,” says Zarifis
The union also wants AISD to come up with a concrete plan on practices and policies for the inevitable return to campus.
In response, Austin School District Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde now says she will file for that waiver with the TEA, allowing the district to extend its phase-in plan through October. If approved, the waiver would in no way require 100% virtual learning, and all kids who have opted to return on October 5th will be allowed to do so.
Greg Abbott might ease COVID restrictions
Governor Greg Abbott has a press conference scheduled today, and it’s believed he’ll begin easing COVID restrictions in Texas. Back in late August, Abbott replied on Twitter to angry restaurant workers needing clarity in their future, saying he hoped to update the next steps the following week. It’s been a couple weeks where Abbott has heard calls to reopen from many in his party. Rice University political scientist Mark Jones says the governor’s walking a political tightrope.
“What Abbott has to balance is the political pressure from the right, what he believes in the best interest of the health of Texans and what’s in the best interest of the Texas Republican Party,” says Jones.
Grim predictions from the Texas Restaurant Association
A new survey finds at least half of the state’s restaurants could close within six months without more financial help. Kelsey Streufert with the Texas Restaurant Association has said the industry has a huge hole to dig out of.
“And we know that restaurants and bars cannot make a profit at 25 or 50% occupancy,” says Streufert.
More than 25% say they were worse off last month than they were in July. She says that they hope the governor will soon increase capacity for dining rooms and help find ways to cut costs for protective equipment.
Delia Garza under investigation
Austin’s Ethics Review Commission next month, we’ll take a closer look at whether Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza used $1,400 of your tax dollars to pay for her law license. The city audit has already been investigating Garza. In response, Garza claims she’s just the victim of a political attack. She also faces another allegation that she violated campaign finance laws in her bid for county attorney.
This news and more on News Radio KLBJ:
https://omny.fm/shows/klbjam-flash-briefing-1/am-newscast-9-17-20
