MRT: COVID-19 Outbreak Report at FW Medical Prison; Chinese Consulate in Houston Closes; Paul Green to Retire; Castro to Seek Foreign Affairs Gavel
Here's What You Need to Know in Texas Today.
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BY: @MattMackowiak
WEDNESDAY – 07/22/20
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TOP NEWS
"COVID-19 outbreak reported at Texas federal medical prison," via AP -- "More than 500 women at a federal medical prison in Texas have tested positive for the coronavirus, in one of the largest confirmed outbreaks at a federal prison, the Bureau of Prisons said.
The number of confirmed cases at the Federal Medical Center-Carswell in Fort Worth jumped to 510 on Tuesday, just two days after the Bureau of Prisons reported that 200 women there had tested positive for COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Only the federal prison in Seagoville, also located in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, had more infected inmates, with 1,156 cases as of Tuesday.
“We’re like a whole bunch of hamsters in a cage chasing our own tails,” said Carswell inmate Holli Chapman.
Three weeks ago, the prison had reported only three confirmed cases of the virus among inmates. One prisoner, Andrea Circle Bear, died in April. On July 12, 69-year-old Sandra Kincaid became the second woman to die there from the virus. The third, 51-year-old Teresa Ely, died Monday.
FMC-Carswell holds female inmates with medical and mental health issues. It currently has 1,357 prisoners. Since April, many inmates have toldThe Fort Worth Star-Telegram that they were concerned the virus could spread through the prison.
One of the inmates who has tested positive for the virus is Reality Winner, a former government contractor who is serving a five-year prison sentence after she pleaded guilty to mailing a classified report to a news organization.
Carswell’s administration directed questions to the Bureau of Prisons. The agency said in a statement that it is taking precautions to stem the virus’ spread.
“As with any type of emergency situation, we carefully assess how to best ensure the safety of staff, inmates and the public,” the agency said. “All of our facilities are implementing the BOP’s guidance on mitigating the spread of COVID-19.”
Last week, several women at Carswell told the newspaper that the facility did not have enough sanitizing supplies or protective equipment. The women also noted that cells are not immediately cleaned after someone tests positive. Inmate Sandra Shoulders said mattresses used by women who have tested positive are piled up in a TV room.
“We feel basically abandoned,” she said. “(Officers) are saying they’re doing all this stuff for us, that they’re in here with us. But they’re not the ones in 24-hour quarantine, left in a 6-by-6 cell with three other people with 10 minute showers, 10 minutes to be on the phone or email to communicate with their families.”" AP
"Hard hit Texas border counties urge residents to stay home," viaAP -- "While some big cities in Texas are reporting signs that an alarming surge in cases of the coronavirus may be leveling off, officials in counties along the border with Mexico said Tuesday that the outlook there remains bleak.
Dallas County officials said the number of hospitalized coronavirus patients dropped below 1,000 on Tuesday for the first time in more than two weeks, and officials in Houston are seeing signs of optimism.But along the border in Starr County, Judge Eloy Vera said “we’re very close to losing the situation” and plans to issue voluntary stay-at-home recommendations this week.
He said it would be similar to one issued Monday in Hidalgo County, which set a curfew and recommends that all nonessential businesses cease any activity that can’t be provided at curbside or by takeout. The orders, however, are not enforceable under Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s past mandates that do not allow local officials to set their own stay-at-home restrictions.
Texas on Tuesday reported more than 9,300 confirmed new cases and 131 deaths, the state’s second deadliest day of the pandemic. The true number of cases is likely higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected and not feel sick.
Meanwhile, Texas is pressing ahead with plans for high school football this fall. The University Interscholastic League, which governs high school sports in Texas, released guidelines that push back the start of the football season for the largest schools into late September. Attendance will be limited and masks will be required.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death. The vast majority of people recover." AP
"Fort Hood soldier's body found near base; 3rd death in month," viaAP -- "U.S. Army officials on Tuesday said that the body of a Fort Hood solider was found near the Texas army base, marking the third time in a month that a Fort Hood soldier’s body has been discovered.
Pvt. Mejhor Morta, 26, was found unresponsive July 17 in the vicinity of Stillhouse Hollow Lake, according to Fort Hood officials. Stillhouse Hollow Lake is a reservoir located in Bell County and managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Fort Worth District.
“The Black Knight family is truly heartbroken by the tragic loss of Private Mejhor Morta,” said Lt. Col. Neil Armstrong, commander of 1st Brigade 5th Cavalry. Regiment. “I would like to send my heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and loved ones.”
Morta, of Pensacola, Florida, entered the Army in September 2019 as a Bradley Fighting Vehicle mechanic. Since May 2020, he had been assigned to 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, according to a statement from Fort Hood. Morta’s awards and decorations include the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon.
The incident is being investigated by the Bell County Sheriff’s Department, who did not immediately respond to a request from the Associated Press seeking comment.
Officials have not said whether the death is considered suspicious." AP
"China says US orders it to close consulate in Houston to ‘protect American intellectual property’ after officials respond to fire," via KPRC -- "The U.S. has ordered China to close its consulate in Houston in what a Chinese official called an outrageous and unjustified move that will sabotage relations between the two countries.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin condemned the action, which comes at a time of rising tensions between the world’s two largest economies. He warned of firm countermeasures if the U.S. does not reverse its decision.
“The unilateral closure of China’s consulate general in Houston within a short period of time is an unprecedented escalation of its recent actions against China,” Wang said at a daily news briefing.
Besides its embassy in Beijing, the U.S. has five consulates in mainland China, according to its website. They are in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Wuhan and Shenyang.
The U.S. said in a brief statement that the consulate was ordered closed “to protect American intellectual property and American’s private information.” It did not provide any details." KPRC
STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
"Texas Supreme Court Justice Paul Green says he will retire at the end of August after 15 years on the bench,"The Texas Tribune's Reese Oxner -- "After 15 years as a member of the Texas Supreme Court, Republican Justice Paul W. Green said he will retire in August — almost two and a half years before his term was set to end.
“I’m grateful to the people of Texas for electing me to the court three times, and it's been a great honor and privilege to serve,” Green said in an interview. “It’s been a bittersweet kind of day.”
The San Antonio native is the court’s second in seniority, and Gov. Greg Abbott will choose his successor. All nine members are Republican and serve staggered six-year terms.
Green said that he is retiring early because it feels like the right time and to spend more time with his family.
"Well, I'm 68 years old, and there's a lot of things I want to do still," he said.
Green was reelected in 2016, and his term ends December 31, 2022.
“He has consistently provided steady, insightful and wise counsel to his colleagues and to the judiciary — and certainly to me in his role for the past seven years as senior justice,” Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht said in a statement. “To say he will be missed is an understatement.”" Texas Tribune
"Harris County officials recommend, not mandate, that school districts stay closed to in-person instruction until October," The Texas Tribune's Aliyya Swaby -- "Harris County officials on Monday recommended that school districts across the Houston-area refrain from bringing students back for in-person instruction until at least October.
The message from county Judge Lina Hidalgo and Harris County Public Health Dr. Umair Shah did not issue a mandate, unlike what other county health officials have done, and instead "strongly urged schools to follow new Texas Education Agency provisions allowing an 8-week online instruction waiver."
“We continue to urge all in our community to stay home except for essential activities. The faster we bring the virus under control and bring the 'curve down,' the sooner schools will be able to reopen safely and stay open," Hidalgo wrote in a letter to school superintendents, that also acknowledged that schools provide many social services such as "much needed food assistance to many low-income families."
Tarrant County and the cities of Arlington and Burleson mandated Tuesday that public and non-religious private schools cannot reopen for in-person learning until Sept. 28, according to a joint order by local health officials. Officials recommended that private religious schools follow the step, though they aren't affected by the order.
Just last week Dallas County health officials announced Thursday that all public and private schools in the county must keep their classrooms closed through Sept. 7, according to a press release from Dallas County Health and Human Services." Texas Tribune
"Group says it has enough signatures to put homeless camping ban on ballot,"The Austin American-Statesman's Mark D. Wilson -- "A group trying to revive Austin’s camping ban says a petition that has been circulating since February has received enough signatures to bring the item to the November ballot.
Travis County Republican Party Chairman Matt Mackowiak, a founder of Save Austin Now, which circulated the petition and has worked since last summer to reinstate the ban, said Monday the petition received 24,087 signatures.
To get on the ballot, the initiative needed 20,000. The signatures still need to be verified by the city clerk, but Mackowiak said he is confident that they will be verified as most of the signatures were collected through the mail.
Save Austin Now was launched in August 2019 in the aftermath of the Austin City Council’s repeal of a public camping ban ordinance. The group seeks to reinstate a ban on public camping, restore ordinances prohibiting sitting and lying in public places and outlaw panhandling from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.
Those rules had been on the books in Austin until City Council members voted to amend them last summer, sparking a heated debate over the city’s response to homelessness, often pitting Mayor Steve Adler and other local leaders against Gov. Greg Abbott, who often chimed in to oppose Austin’s ordinances, saying they made the city less safe.
Abbott used state resources to clear out and clean local campsites, and carved out state-owned land in Southeast Austin near U.S. 183 for people who are homeless to camp. Mackowiak said people experiencing homelessness should go to Abbott’s camp and local shelters instead of sites on public property throughout the city.
“Our coalition, and we believe our petition signers, all believe that the camping ordinance is not only not good for our city, but not good for the homeless,” Mackowiak said. “It is not compassionate to tell someone they can sleep on the sidewalk in 95-degree heat in July. That is simply not compassionate. It is not the answer.”
Last week, city officials announced more than $60 million in funding dedicated to ending homelessness in next year’s budget. Of that amount, $20.5 million will go to preventing people from falling into homelessness, $31.9 million to crisis mitigation and $8.6 million to empower people who are homeless by providing ongoing access to resources and housing, efforts that Mayor Steve Adler has said will be a significant investment in actually trying to fix homelessness in Austin instead of hiding it." Austin American-Statesman
TEXANS IN DC
"Lawmakers call for military changes after soldier's death," viaAP-- "Members of Congress joined advocates for women Tuesday to continue the call for changes in the way the military handles sexual abuse and harassment following the death of a soldier investigators believe was killed and dismembered by someone stationed at the same Texas base.
Three congresswomen joined about a dozen other women on Capitol Hill to demand systemic shifts in military culture. Many held signs bearing the name Spc. Vanessa Guillen, whose remains were found earlier this month following her disappearance in April from Fort Hood, a U.S. Army base in Texas. Some signs held at a press conference calling for action included the Mexican flag and the hashtag #NiUnaMas, meaning “not one more woman dead,” a rallying cry in Mexico against the murder of women.
Guillen’s family has said she was sexually harassed by the fellow solider suspected of killing her, but the Army has said there is no evidence of that.
“(Vanessa) felt so unsafe that going to them to make any kind of report that she shared with her family and her friends, any kind of report, she knew that she may receive harassment or retaliation,” Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, said during a news conference.
Rep. Julia Brownley, D-Calif., said that at least one in four women veterans has been sexually harassed or assaulted, noting that the numbers could be higher.
“That is far, far too many, but I have to say that this statistic alone, it is staggering. It horrifies me,” Brownley said. “And it is a very deep scar in our military’s history that needs to change, and it needs to change now.”
Guillen’s body was found in Bell County, about 20 miles east of Fort Hood. Investigators say the 20-year-old was bludgeoned to death.
A criminal complaint released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas identified the soldier suspected in Guillen’s slaying as Aaron David Robinson, of Calumet City, Illinois. Authorities said Robinson, 20, pulled a gun and shot himself as police were trying to make contact with him during the investigation on July 1.
Cecily Aguilar, a 22-year-old civilian from Killeen, Texas, near Fort Hood, has been arrested in connection to Guillen’s death. She is facing three counts of conspiracy to tamper with evidence. She has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Robinson enlisted Aguilar to help him dispose of Guillen’s body, according to the complaint.
The Army CID and the League of United Latin American Citizens offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to Guillen’s whereabouts.
Army officials recently announced that it will begin a review of the command climate at Fort Hood following calls by members of Congress and community activists." AP
"Rep. Joaquin Castro seeks leadership of powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee," The San Antonio Express-News' Benjamin Wermund -- "U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro on Tuesday announced his bid to lead the House Foreign Affairs Committee, writing in a post online that he is doing so “with hope of empowering new voices, as well as optimism in America’s capacity to do good in the world.”
The four-term San Antonio Democrat, who is currently the committee’s vice chair, is challenging more senior — and moderate — members of the party for the gavel left by U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel, a New York Democrat who lost a primary to a progressive challenger earlier this month after serving more than three decades in Congress.
Castro is pitching foreign policy centered on “proactive diplomacy” and says that “for too long, our foreign policy has been dominated by military and other coercive tools like sanctions.” It would mark a shift in leadership on the committee after Engel, who was viewed as a hawk and voted for the war in Iraq.
“We need a new generation of foreign policy leadership with a new vision that promotes inclusive prosperity and democracy at home and a more holistic view of security abroad,” Castro wrote. “I believe we must put diplomacy at the center of our strategy and rebuild America’s infrastructure of diplomacy to achieve a more open, peaceful and just world.”" San Antonio Express-News
"Ocasio-Cortez accuses Roger Williams of joining heated Capitol exchange,"The Austin American-Statesman's Nicole Cobler -- "Democratic U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accused U.S. Rep. Roger Williams, a Republican from Austin, of joining a heated discussion outside the Capitol Tuesday, claiming Williams yelled at her about “throwing urine.”
Ocasio-Cortez, from New York, tweeted about the testy exchange Tuesday morning, after a story from The Hill was widely circulated.
The Hill reported that Rep. Ted Yoho, a Republican from Florida, approached Ocasio-Cortez and called her “disgusting” over remarks about poverty and unemployment in New York as she headed into the Capitol building to cast a vote.
Yoho also called Ocasio Cortez a “f------ b----” as he joined Williams after the exchange, according to The Hill’s report, which said the conversation was overheard by a reporter.
But Williams told The Hill he wasn’t paying attention to the back-and-forth between Ocasio Cortez and Yoho.
“I was actually thinking, as I was walking down the stairs, I was thinking about some issues I’ve got in my district that need to get done,” Williams said. “I don’t know what their topic was. There’s always a topic, isn’t there?”" Austin American-Statesman
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
Sonny Perdue guest column: "Under President Trump, USDA hands families farm fresh food during pandemic," via The Houston Chronicle-- "These past few months have been difficult for many Americans, both economically and emotionally. The coronavirus has impacted the way we lead our daily lives, and that includes how we eat. With many restaurants, hotels and schools closed, the food supply chain has had to adapt in order to bring to market the food we need to live. We used to eat over half of our meals out of the house — that has changed dramatically in the past few months. This has caused some disruptions similar to when there’s an accident on a four-lane highway and cars are forced to drive through two lanes — the result is a traffic jam. The same thing happened with the food supply chain, and we are working fast to ensure the food our farmers produced goes to Americans in need.
At the direction of President Donald Trump, USDA built from the ground up an innovative new program called the Farmers to Families Food Box. This $3 billion program is supporting America’s farmers and producers by partnering with distributors to buy food that would otherwise go uneaten and distribute it to families and people who need food. It’s been just a few weeks, and the Farmers to Families Food Box Program has already begun distributing safe, wholesome and nutritious food to communities across the country where it’s needed most.
On May 8, USDA approved 198 contracts totaling over $1.2 billion to support American producers and communities in need through the program. These companies will source surplus food from farmers, producers and ranchers across the country. Over 550 proposals were received for the Farmers to Families Food Box Program, many of which are small businesses and will support local and regional farmers, in order to have the greatest positive impact on American communities.
These businesses right now are purchasing quality food from farmers who normally sell to restaurants: $461 million in fresh fruits and vegetables, $317 million in dairy products, $258 million in meat products and $175 million in a combination box of fresh produce, dairy or meat products.
After purchasing the food, the businesses package it into family-sized boxes with fresh produce, dairy and meat products, and transport these boxes across America — to food banks, community and faith-based organizations, and other non-profits that serve American families.
Texas has distributors committed to purchase and deliver over 3.3 million food boxes across the state and an additional 21.6 million food boxes across the country to non-profit partners who will distribute them to local families in need. I visited the Houston Food Bank on July 16 to see the important work they are doing to get boxes to families in need using an innovative ordering and delivery method.
This new, innovative approach to provide critical support to American farmers and families is the best that America has to offer — pulling together healthy, nutritious food produced by American farmers, being boxed up and put together by American companies impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and then distributed to those in need. It truly is an example of Americans helping Americans, and something we should all be proud of. I truly believe America’s best days are ahead, and programs like this will put Americans on stable footing and enable them to take full advantage of our great American economic resurgence in the coming months." Houston Chronicle
REMAINDERS
UT FOOTBALL: "UT-Austin preparing to let football fans fill half its stadium when games resume Sept. 5" Texas Tribune
TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: "Texas delays some high school football" AP
'MACK ON POLITICS' PODCAST
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We explore how he came to direct the film, what techniques he tried to use, why the story was important to him, how, where and when the film was shot, how it was released, and what the response has been.
Available on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher and on the web at http://www.MackOnPoliticsPodcast.com.
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