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What the Covid-19 crystal ball predicts for Texas in July Jun 30, 2020

Show notes

This week, Yall-itics makes its first stop all the way up in Philadelphia, PA. The Jasons talk with the man heading up a renowned research team there. The scientists have been modeling how the pandemic will affect different metros across the country. And when they ran the numbers for Harris County recently, they were ‘alarmed’. The potential case-count nearly went off the chart as they took a look out four weeks into the future. The trajectory is definitely going in the wrong direction, but the research team there says recent reopening rollbacks and some simple, but critical changes in our individual behaviors may prevent their worst-case scenario graph from becoming reality.

June brought a swell of Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations in Texas, particularly in some of the larger metro areas, like Harris County. From Pennsylvania, Yall-itics makes its way into the heart of the Texas Medical Center, often referred to as the largest complex of medical facilities in the world. One expert there explains why medical professionals are calmer than they were when they first encountered the virus this spring. The headlines from the medical center have been dire lately, but this well-positioned expert says there is still plenty of capacity to take care of new patients. But he warns against complacency, noting how easily this virus can exploit our failure to stay vigilant…saying that we will only be able to keep the economy open by getting better at maintaining safety precautions.

Policy Lab Covid-19 mapping

Texas Medical Center Bed Capacity

This Is Sports for the Unathletic Jun 23, 2020

Show notes

Are Republicans nervous about winning Texas in November? Vice President Mike Pence is coming to Dallas on Sunday. President Trump just visited 10 days ago. Why is the Trump campaign spending time, money and resources in a state that has been a GOP lock for them for decades? Joining the Jasons this week are two of the smartest minds in Texas politics: Abby Livingston, D.C. Bureau Chief for the Texas Tribune, and Vinny Minchillo, Principal at Glass House Strategies. The podcast discusses how big of a flop Trump’s Tulsa rally was, who Biden might pick as a running mate, and why history cannot predict what will happen in November.

We Just Want a Job Jun 16, 2020

Show notes

In a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling, the justices ruled 6 to 3 that employers cannot discriminate against LGBTQ employees because of sex. And one of the court’s most conservative justices wrote the ruling. In fact, Justice Neil Gorsuch said, “the answer is clear.” The ruling is important to a great many Texans, who have long been denied this protection. In this edition of “Y’all-itics,” the two Jasons sit down with Stacy Bailey, a Mansfield ISD teacher who was suspended after showing a picture of her partner, the woman who would become her wife, to students in her elementary classroom. And they’re also joined by Katie Hays, the lead evangelist at Galileo Church in Fort Worth – a church with a large LGBTQ community

https://www.galileochurch.org/

Katie Hays on WFAA

So What Now? Jun 09, 2020

Show notes

It’s been two weeks since the death of George Floyd in police custody. And America has witnessed days and days of protests in cities all across the country. So what now? In this week’s episode of Y’all-itics, the two Jasons take an in-depth look at police reform and some of the concrete ideas on the table. Here in Texas, for instance, there is already discussion about “See Something, Say Something” legislation. And law enforcement experts tell the Jasons the incident – and the days that followed – are unlike anything the country has ever seen… and could lead to meaningful reform.

Harvard Implicit Bias Test

My Skin is not a Weapon Jun 02, 2020

Show notes

An educator. An Author. A Politician. A reporter. In this week’s episode of Y’all-itics, the two Jasons are joined by a panel of African-Americans who share their voices and thoughts on what’s happening in their communities following the death of George Floyd while in police custody. From protest to policy, this powerful conversation examines past, present and future as it relates to the African-American experience and what the country needs to do to move past one of the most challenging times in American history.

American Astronauts. American Spacecraft. American Soil. May 26, 2020

Show notes

On Wednesday May 27th, America is scheduled to return to space for the first time in nearly a decade. Astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley will fly on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft for an extended stay at the International Space Station. And as usual, the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston will play a leading role. As you might guess, it’s not easy to get into space. And it is never 100% safe. In this episode of Y’allitics, the two Jasons have an in-depth conversation with JSC Director Mark Geyer about the mission, acceptable risk and the hard work that got us ready to launch America.

First the pandemic. Now property appraisals. A big tax battle is about to begin. May 19, 2020

Show notes

No matter if you own a house or rent an apartment, when property taxes increase, so does your monthly payment. And if you’ve lived in Texas for a few minutes, property taxes almost ALWAYS increase in this state. But during a pandemic? Texans are getting valuations right now from Central Appraisal Districts that show their properties have gone way up in value over the last 12 months. Dallas County said significantly more properties increased in value than decreased. Harris County said it’s already seeing a 47-percent spike in protests – the highest percentage in three decades. Cities and counties are hurting for cash during the coronavirus. Federal aid for them is mired in party politics in D.C. So, who’s going to end up paying? There are ways to reduce what you owe. That’s what the Jasons dive into on this episode of Yallitics.

LINKS:

Chandler Crouch

KHOU Investigation

Disinfection theater, robots, and bright lights May 12, 2020

Show notes

Texas is reopening. While that very decision is mired in politics, there’s another “P” word that will also play a big role in how the economy spins back up. That second “P” word is “PSYCHOLOGY.” Texans are going to have to feel it’s safe enough to go out before they actually do so. We begin this episode with a psychotherapist in Dallas who tells the Jasons how she arrived at a comfortable point to start re-engaging in society. But the Jasons then went to a Westin hotel in Houston to learn how robots are opening a new front in the virus battle. And these aren’t imports either. We’re talking good old-fashioned Texas robots that are blasting the invisible enemy. Once they were fixtures just in hospitals. Now they’re roaming the rooms of hotel and the halls of the Texas state capitol building. The San Antonio company that makes them says this isn’t the ‘disinfection theater’ you might find in some places where unproven procedures are being carried out just to make people feel safer in the Covid-19 world. That company is now ramping up to try to keep up with all the different businesses who want their own virus-zapping robot.

GUESTS:

Leigh Richardson, psychotherapist, The Brain Performance Center

Archit Sanghvi, VP of Operations Pearl Hospitality

Dr. Mark Stibich, co-founded Xenex

Disinfection effect of pulsed xenon ultraviolet irradiation on SARS-CoV-2

The cubicle’s comeback, standup meetings and social distancing at the office May 05, 2020

Show notes

Laura Dickey, the CEO of Dickey's Barbecue Pit, says that the initial stages of reopening are not at all profitable for businesses. They are simply taking the steps , trying to figure out this new way forward and to demonstrate to potentially leery customers how businesses are going to try to keep them safe. This is sort of a trust-building exercise. It is also an exercise in planning and managing a supply chain, without knowing what demand is really going to look like.

Carol Roehrig explains how Covid-19 will totally change how we work. She expects many more people to start working hybrid shifts---some at home, some at the workplace. She says workplaces will be configured differently to minimize face-to-face arrangements. She says this likely means the cubicle will make a big comeback, probably with taller dividers.

Planning for the office of the future could mean more cubicles, screens between them, anti-microbial laminate desk tops, fewer conference rooms, better use of space, more distance between employees, and standing meetings in the conference rooms so attendees can maintain distance from each other.

Angela Farley, COO at the Dallas Regional Chamber, says a survey from member companies shows they are planning less travel, more work from home flexibility, less attendance at large gatherings, even single-person elevator rides. She also predicts that economically...there is a thought that we might not be back to 'neutral' (basically---where we were before all this) for another two years.

The struggle is real. Now the UNEMPLOYMENT AGENCY is having to borrow money. Apr 28, 2020

Show notes

Another 280,000 Texans have filed for unemployment. That makes 1.3 Million Texans who have lost work in a little more than one month.
Many are receiving benefits, but problems persist for a lot of Texans who are desperately trying to get through to the Texas Workforce Commission.
We are talking with the head of TWC about some of the problems…and possible solutions. We are also finding out from him how the agency will be able to keep handing out payments as its funding dwindles, and what TWC plans to do if another Covid-19 outbreak happens down the road after Texas gets more back to normal.
Without paychecks, many Texans have been counting on those IRS emergency relief checks commonly called stimulus checks. But the wait continues for many people. And some say their money is going to the wrong accounts.
There is also relief this week, after the federal government approved another $321 Billion dollars for small businesses to keep their staffers on the payroll. More businesses in Texas received those forgivable loans than any other state in the country. But we hear from one business owner who tells us about the problems behind the scenes that have prevented many small employers from having access to that much-needed money.

WEBSITE LINKS:
https://www.twc.texas.gov/jobseekers/unemployment-benefits-services
https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/get-my-payment
DrMarkMazow.com

Full interview with TWC Director:

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