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Last week I wrote about the Republican state government attacks on local citizens both in schools and in private companies. This week, I am delighted that – for now, at least as we go to press – these attacks on local control, health policy and just common sense seem to have been fought decisively on both. fronts.
The 116th Dallas District Court issued a temporary injunction this morning, blocking state enforcement of Abbott’s famous ruling GA-38 and allowing the Dallas County Judge Jenkins clay require masks or face coverings in Dallas County “to cope with the particular local disaster … in light, among other things, of the number of infections, hospitalizations and the overall ripple effect on the health system.”
This legal battle has been going on for some time in Dallas; it was the first and most important of the state’s legal attacks on School districts that required masks at the start of the fall semester. The ruling only applies to Dallas County, but should be a good sign and a good precedent for those districts, including Austin ISD, who continue to defy the governor’s extraordinary order. The Dallas court also set Jan. 10 as a date for a final hearing on the merits of the case which, virus-willing, could be moot by then.
Speaking of moot points, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commissionthe brief application of Senate Bill 968 – the recently adopted state law which prohibits companies from requiring vaccinations as a condition of entry authorization or service provision – seems to be running out of steam. Several restaurants and local places received a notice from TABC weeks ago that their new policies requiring vaccinations were in violation of the law and could jeopardize their liquor license (Read more). The law is silent on the requirement of a negative COVID test, however, and observers have suggested that while it is legal to require a recent negative test as a condition of entry, it should be legal to require a negative test OR proof of vaccination, a seemingly “too easy circumvention” Of the new law. Some shows and venues have started using this policy, and the theory got its first high-level test last weekend, as the Willie nelson show to Circuit of the Americas had a widely advertised policy “require proof of a negative COVID-19 test result within 72 hours OR a full vaccination to attend. “Meanwhile, the Austin City Limits Festival announced that they would follow a similar policy, and TABC has been silent on both.
So … crisis avoided?
Last month I wrote about a dust in the city Historic Monuments Commission As it concerns Austin Community Collegeplans to demolish a storefront on 12th Street that houses Skateshop non-compliant, a staple of the local skateboarding community. In support of their campaign to stay, City Historic Preservation Officer Steve sadowsky defended the small 1946 storefront as architecturally significant and presented municipal staff’s recommendation for a historic designation. The matter was postponed for a month for further consideration, and to VAC’s credit, they announced an agreement this week to extend No-Comly’s lease and help the store find a new home.
This is rightly hailed as a “win-win” solution, although the underlying question of the building’s historic status remains open: while the demonstration permit is on “hiatus”, ACC is sure to bring it back to at some point, and we’ll see at this point, if the importance of the building, minus the skate shop community, is still enough to save it.
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