TX Sees 2k New COVID-19 Cases; Dallas Makes Arrests as Cities Enforce Curfews; Abbott Declares Statewide Disaster Declaration; TDP Convention Begins Virtually
Here's what you need to know in Texas today.
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BY: @MattMackowiak
MONDAY – 06/01/20
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TOP NEWS
"Texas sees nearly 2,000 more COVID-19 cases, 24 new deaths," via AP-- "The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Texas rose by nearly 2,000 Sunday and there were another 24 deaths tied to the disease caused by the new coronavirus, according to health officials.
There were at least 64,287 cases and 1,949 deaths, the Texas Department of State Health Services reported Sunday, an increase from 62,338 cases and 1,648 deaths reported Saturday.
The true numbers are likely higher, however, because many people have not been tested and studies suggest people can be infected and not feel sick.
The department also estimated there were 20,192 active cases and that 42,423 people have recovered.
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." AP
"Texas Is Showing the World How to Reopen Cautiously,"Bloomberg's Matthew Townsend -- "Over Memorial Day weekend, a club in Houston hosted a pool party that looked straight out of spring break, with loads of bulky bare chests, bikinis and day drinking on an umbrella-filled patio during a balmy Saturday.
A day earlier, Texas Governor Greg Abbott allowed bars—along with rodeos, bowling alleys and bingo halls—to open their doors at reduced capacity in the second phase of the state’s plan to restart the economy after shutting down in early April to slow the coronavirus.
The scene at Clé Houston, which quickly spread on social media, played to stereotypes of Texans—libertarian, don’t-tread-on-me types who prize personal freedom. But the reality of how many of the state’s citizens are behaving is much different. In other parts of the city that Saturday, bars were tame, even boring, with sparse attendance and plenty of crowd control. Some owners marked tables and floors with an X to reinforce social distancing. Another set out squeeze bottles filled with hand sanitizer.
South Padre Island, this was not.
A month into the reopening of one of America’s biggest economic engines, Texas looks a lot like those other Houston watering holes: cautiously coming back from the shutdown. Using a variety of data measuring all kinds of activity—from dining out to how frequently people leave their homes—a picture of the Lone Star State emerges that raises doubts about the pace of the economic recovery. For months, the big question has been how quickly Americans will bounce back. Looking at Texas, the answer is that it’s going to be a while." Bloomberg
STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
"Dallas begins making arrests as Texas cities enforce curfews,"AP's Jake Bleiberg and Jim Vertuno -- "Dallas police enforced a nighttime curfew by making dozens of arrests Sunday night, in a crackdown after several days of demonstrations that saw multiple eruptions of violence.
Dallas officials earlier in the day announced the curfew that would run from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m., and squad cars and police on foot quickly moved in to pick up anyone still on the downtown streets once it started. Dallas police tweeted photos Sunday night as officers started making arrests, and within a few hours announced at least 70 arrests and noted “there is very little activity occurring in the downtown Dallas area.”
Police Chief U. Renee Hall said the curfew could be in effect “for the next several days” and that several suburban police departments had volunteered officers to help.
“We will not tolerate any more damage to our city,” Hall said.
The curfew measure was put in place as Texas cities braced for the possibility of another night of unrest and sought to prevent a repeat of the violence that broke out at weekend protests over the death of George Floyd and the treatment of black people by police.
Thousands of people took to the streets in cities throughout the country Friday and Saturday to protest Floyd’s death after a white Minneapolis police officer used his knee to pin Floyd’s neck down for several minutes as Floyd pleaded for air and eventually stopped moving. Floyd grew up in Houston and his body is set to be returned to the city for burial. ...
Dallas also closed several downtown civic buildings to the public on Monday, including a civil courthouse and the county administration building.
In Austin, the state Capitol grounds were closed Sunday after it was vandalized Saturday. One group cancelled a rally because they felt they couldn’t ensure the safety of African American protesters. But other protesters still gathered outside the Capitol, and marched on city hall and police headquarters.
Some protesters also walked onto an Austin highway and blocked traffic Sunday afternoon. The city didn’t have a curfew and hundreds of demonstrators stayed on the streets between the Capitol building and police department after dark. Smoke billowed over the roadway as police cleared out the protests and then formed a line to stop them from re-entering. Some protesters said the smoke was tear gas, but police said on Twitter that they did not use tear gas.
Late Sunday night, live television cameras showed police firing bean bags or rubber bullets and pepper spray into a crowd of several hundred still gathered outside of the police station." AP
"Tensions escalate but remain nonviolent after peaceful day of protests in Houston,"The Houston Chronicle's Jasper Scherer, Dylan McGuinness and Dug Begley -- "Bracing for a second day of fierce protests, local and state leaders deployed a heavy presence of law enforcement officers across Houston Saturday and were met with largely peaceful demonstrations — along with occasional clashes — by those angered over the death of former Houston resident George Floyd.
By late evening, officials had yet to see a repeat of the chaotic events from Friday night that injured eight police officers, damaged 16 police cruisers and resulted in 137 arrests. The day began with Floyd’s classmates from Yates High School holding a vigil and marching without incident through the Third Ward neighborhood where he grew up, followed several hours later by a second march from Emancipation Park through Midtown to City Hall.
Demonstrators at times butted heads with police who tried to hem them in, though without triggering any violent confrontations. Still, event organizers acknowledged they found it difficult to maintain peace with so many tired and angry at what they viewed as a hostile police and political elite.
“Those that have an agenda that can throw progress off, you have to distance yourself,” said Casper Snow, who urged marchers in the afternoon to stop bickering among themselves. “You just can’t keep everyone in the same emotion.”
What all marchers agreed was there is a schism between police and minorities.
“I’m pissed off like everybody else,” said T. Grant Malone, pastor at St. John Missionary Baptist Church.
Some said they are trying to strike a balance between supporting police and demanding reform within law enforcement agencies that they argue are laden with structural racism.
“We don’t hate officers. We don't like officers who kill people for no reason,” march organizer Justin Jones said.
Tensions escalated later as the sun set and police tried to usher protesters from downtown. At least one person was handcuffed at La Branch and Jefferson when they were ordered to leave the roadway." Houston Chronicle
"Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declares state of disaster after George Floyd protests,"The Texas Tribune's Alex Samuels -- "Gov. Greg Abbott announced Sunday afternoon that the entire state of Texas will be placed under a disaster declaration in response to demonstrators in several Texas cities protesting the death of George Floyd, a black man who was killed Monday in Minneapolis police custody.
The declaration allowed Abbott to designate federal law enforcement officers to perform the duties of peace officers in Texas.
Thousands of protesters marched in Texas cities on Friday and Saturday, outraged after Floyd was filmed crying out for help as a white police officer pinned him to the ground with a knee to his neck. The officer, Derek Chauvin, was later arrested and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
“Every Texan and every American has the right to protest and I encourage all Texans to exercise their First Amendment rights,” Abbott said in a statement. “However, violence against others and the destruction of property is unacceptable and counterproductive.”
His announcement comes a day after he activated the Texas National Guard “in response to protest violence” across the state. In several of the state’s large metropolitan areas — including Houston, Austin, Dallas and San Antonio — protesters clashed with police who sometimes used rubber bullets and tear gas.
Abbott also sent state resources to Houston, Austin, Dallas and San Antonio on Saturday afternoon and said he’s spoken to the mayors of all four cities, as well as law enforcement officials. He said Sunday that he also increased those resources for cities throughout Texas and that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has deployed tactical teams to assist state and local law enforcement." Texas Tribune
"Report: Head of $295M contract awarded by Texas leaders falsified degree,"The Houston Chronicle's Jay Root and Jeremy Blackman -- "The CEO of a technology company that has been entrusted with state contact tracing efforts for Texans exposed to the coronavirus has claimed a doctorate he never got, according to a Houston-based podcast.
Das Nobel, CEO of MTX Group Inc., says in an online profile on LinkedIn that he has a “Doctorate of Management, Organizational Development and Leadership” from Colorado Technical University, and that he attended the school from 2008-2012.
MTX was awarded a controversial $295 million contract to help the state track down people exposed to the coronavirus.
The Jess Fields Show podcast recorded audio of an exchange with the registrar’s office at Colorado Technical University. The woman who answered the phone can be heard telling Fields that Nobel did not get a doctorate degree from the school and that there was no record of attendance past June of 2010.
"This person didn't graduate for that part," the woman says, according to the recording. "His last date of attendance was 2010."
"If this person claims he has a doctorate of management from Colorado Technical University, that would be incorrect?” Fields asks later.
"Correct," she said.
Nobel did not immediately return email and text messages Friday afternoon. A spokeswoman for his company said Nobel "did attend this program and stopped short of completing his dissertation to be formally awarded his PhD, which is why he has never claimed to have one. LinkedIn often encouraged users to list their educational experiences, and in this instance, that is what Das has done."
The university declined to confirm or deny Friday whether Nobel obtained the degree he claims when contacted by a Houston Chronicle reporter.
After the little known MTX Group Inc. was awarded its multi million contract in mid-May, Democrats and Republicans alike have criticized the state for a hasty process and a lack of transparency. Republicans have also expressed concerns about potential privacy violations of people subjected to contact tracing by the company." Houston Chronicle
2020
"GOP voter registration group shutters amid coronavirus challenges,"The Texas Tribune's Patrick Svitek -- "Engage Texas, the massive Republican super PAC focused on voter registration, is shutting down, citing challenges created by the coronavirus pandemic.
The political action committe began last year with the support of some of the biggest Texas GOP donors and raised $12.7 million while building a staff in the hundreds. Yet the group says that the monthslong pandemic has made clear that "person-to-person contact voter registration is going to be challenging for an indeterminate amount of time."
"Leadership has determined that the highest and best use of supporter and donor energies at this point is to phase out person-to-person voter registration, close Engage Texas and encourage our supporters to engage with candidate and party activities ahead of the November election," Engage Texas said in a statement to The Texas Tribune on Friday. "Engage Texas is proud of our highly successful voter registration efforts and believes that conservative voter registration will successfully continue through the Republican Party of Texas Volunteer Engagement Project."
Engage Texas, which had $6 million cash on hand at the end of March, is in the process of redistributing its remaining funds to other GOP groups with similar goals. The reallocations are expected to be detailed on its next quarterly report to the Federal Election Commission, which is due July 15." Texas Tribune
"‘Who’s who’ of Democratic stars addressing state party a sign of the growing interest in Texas,"The Houston Chronicle's Benjamin Wermund -- "The Texas Democratic Party on Monday kicks off its first-ever online convention, with a schedule packed with some of the Democratic Party’s biggest names — and its presumptive presidential candidate — as the party works to make Texas the biggest battleground in the nation this November.
While Democrats haven’t won statewide in decades, they say the lineup — which includes Joe Biden, giving what the party says is the first address by a presumptive presidential nominee in recent memory — is a sign of how seriously Democrats outside the state are now taking Texas.
Slated to speak are Biden’s former presidential rivals U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris, as well as Texans Beto O’Rourke and former San Antonio Mayor and U.S. Housing Secretary Julián Castro. As are House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez and U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, who leads congressional Democrats’ campaign arm.
“When you see top U.S. senators and former presidential candidates and the nominee and all of these national committees — it’s a who’s who of Democratic leadership from across the country, and they’re joining Texas Democrats in this fight,” said Manny Garcia, the state party’s executive director." Houston Chronicle
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
"After two decades in Washington, Texan Chad Wolf faces scrutiny as enforcer of Trump immigration policies,"The Dallas Morning News' Paul Cobler -- "Chad Wolf hasn’t always been a contentious figure in Washington.
In the early days of the Transportation Security Administration, the Texan helped craft policies to keep air travelers safe. For more than a decade after that, he worked as a lobbyist at a famously bipartisan firm.
But as he rose through the ranks at the Department of Homeland Security, culminating with his appointment as acting secretary of Homeland Security late last year, he’s gained a more mixed reputation.
Before that, as chief of staff to former DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, he helped implement the “zero tolerance” that led to separation of thousands of migrant children from their parents two years ago. Now, as the acting secretary, he’s at the center of a crackdown aimed at halting immigration entirely until the coronavirus pandemic ends — enforcing some of the toughest restrictions yet under President Donald Trump.
Former coworkers describe Wolf, 43, as a policy wonk who has been successful in every role he’s undertaken. Critics say his tenure at DHS will be forever defined by Trump’s harsh immigration policies." Dallas Morning News
REMAINDERS
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