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Voting for President… in your Pajamas Apr 21, 2020

Show notes

If you could vote from your sofa with a cold pint and a laptop to look up the candidates and issues, would you? That’s the reality in five states right now. And with Covid-19 creating concerns about being out in public, a lot of Texans think it might be safer if they vote from afar. In fact, Texas Democrats had a big legal win last week after a judge ruled that any Texan can now request a mail-in ballot – not just senior citizens and those with a disability. Conservatives are concerned about ballot security and people influencing your vote. But in places like Washington state, vote by mail has worked well for years. In this episode, we get a Texans take on it after she just moved from Seattle to Dallas. The Jasons also heard from the former elections administrator from Denver, Colo. who now runs a national non-profit advocating for voting at home across the country and they got the Secretary of State from Washington state on the line – Kim Wyman – who is one of the few Republicans elected to statewide office on the west coast. She tells the Jasons why it works in Washington.

LINKS:

https://www.voteathome.org/

https://www.sos.wa.gov/office/kim-wyman.aspx

Hydroxy-what? The most politicized pharmaceutical of the moment Apr 13, 2020

Show notes

It looks difficult to pronounce but seems everyone right now knows about hydroxychloroquine. President Trump said it appeared promising in the fight against Covid19. Democrats quickly and correctly pointed out that it is unproven for that use. But forget the politics. What do Texas doctors say? There’s a doctor in Galveston County who has had prescribed this anti-malarial drug for 39 elderly patients who have the coronavirus. What’s the verdict? Did they experience severe side effects? Did it really help those 39 people improve? Turns out, there is one unwelcome side effect to all this. Now, hydroxychloroquine is not readily available at every pharmacy for folks who require daily doses for things like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. When a woman from Facebook questioned one of the Jasons posts about hydroxychloroquine, we called her up on the phone.

Caller please hold, a Texas Workforce Commission update Apr 10, 2020

Show notes

In the weekly jobless report, we find out that an additional 314,000 Texans have filed for unemployment after losing their jobs last week.

In the past three weeks, more than 800,000 Texans have applied for unemployment. That’s more than in all of 2019. Many have been able to file online for benefits. But for different reasons, some people have to call in to claim unemployment.

And we are hearing from desperate Texans who are frustrated by phone lines that have been jammed for weeks. Some have tried hundreds of times each day to get through, to no avail. In this week’s episode, the Texas Workforce Commission announces they are increasing the number of call centers…and next week they will increase the call-in hours to 12 hours, 7 days a week.

Also, the TWC explains why some people who were recently denied unemployment benefits should apply again.

And the agency gives an update on when out-of-workTexans might finally start seeing the additional $600 per week in federal unemployment benefits.

https://www.twc.texas.gov/jobseekers/unemployment-benefits-services

Give us a call ‪(214) 509-8156‬

What’s it really like in a COVID unit? A Texas nurse tells us. Apr 06, 2020

Show notes

Joanna Hernandez first poured out her thoughts and emotions to her Instagram followers after a long day at the hospital. She is a traveling nurse and currently working at a south Texas hospital where soon after arriving, she was assigned to the COVID unit. Hernandez speaks candidly about the struggles her patients experience, trying to reassure their worried relatives, and what she did with one elderly woman suffering from severe symptoms. This assignment in the COVID unit has changed her career trajectory, as well. She’s now considering taking a job in New York or New Jersey where the number of infections are the country’s worst.

Covid 19: Unemployment questions and answers Apr 02, 2020

Show notes

SYNOPSIS:
In the weekly jobless report on April 2nd, Texas unemployment claims jumped by more than 275,000. Last week, the number of Texans who filed for unemployment benefits was 150,000. As extraordinary as those numbers are, they only reflect part of the staggering number of jobs in the state that have been lost in recent weeks as the economy grinds to a halt during the Covid-19 pandemic. Not included in the numbers are all those who have been without jobs for weeks, but who have been unable to file for unemployment compensation because the Texas Workforce Commission website, inundated with requests, has been freezing and crashing. Worse yet, many Texans have complained the website directs them to call the TWC, and phone lines there have been jammed for weeks. We talk to one woman who has been trying to get benefits for herself and her son, since bother of them have lost work. She explains her frustrations navigating the system…and she poses a few questions for the TWC. We ask those questions and many more when we get a spokesman for the agency on the line. He explains how they are trying to ramp up to an overwhelming demand that isn’t expected to abate any time soon.

WEBSITE LINKS:

Texas Workforce Commission

Covid-19: Beer trucks, egg deliveries, and RVs for MDs Mar 30, 2020

Show notes

Two moms in rural Collin County have come up with an ingenious way to protect doctors and their families from getting sick after long shifts at the hospital. Medical staff don’t just need PPEs right now. They also need RVs. Emily Phillips is married to an ER doctor and got worried that her husband could bring home COVID19 since both she and their 8-year-old son suffer from asthma. So, Emily got on Facebook last week and asked if she could borrow an RV to allow her husband to come home – but still stay outside to prevent any possible exposure. Within six days, Emily’s one Facebook request has turned into an entire Facebook Group with a couple thousand members and RV owners across the country lending their motorhomes to doctors they’ve never even met. Emily Phillips and her new friend, Holly Haggard, joined the Jasons in a lively conversation. Also, in the episode, COVID19 blindsided a lot of businesses in our state. But not the grocer, HEB. In January, the popular Texas supermarket chain started making calls to suppliers and retailers in China to see what kind of impact they were experiencing from the coronavirus. Those phone calls paid off. By March, when cases began surfacing in Texas, HEB was ready. It enacted an emergency plan, raised hourly pay for workers and changed store hours to address the conflict. Dan Solomon, a writer for Texas Monthly, called the Jasons from Austin to share some fascinating details from his magazine story of how HEB planned for the pandemic.

More Infos:

Rvs 4 MDs

Inside the Story of How H-E-B Planned for the Pandemic, Texas Monthly

"We can't buy our way out of a crisis" Mar 26, 2020

Show notes

Republican Dallas County Commissioner J.J. Koch speaks to us after tens of thousands of people watched a Facebook video in which he admonished Texans to take Covid-19 more seriously. He also lamented that the governor (from his own party) was ‘leading from behind’. Commissioner Koch also breaks down the number of ventilators available, and how Dallas County will likely be the first in Texas to have a ‘crash’ of cases coming into the healthcare system.

Dr. Deborah Birx, who has been helping to head up the national Coronavirus Response Task Force, offers what could be some positive news about the expected peak of Covid-19 cases in the U.S.

Texas nurse practitioner Sara Phillips, who has responded to outbreaks around the world, including Ebola and H1N1, says she is disappointed with the federal response to Covid-19. She talks about big missed opportunities to contain the virus, and about how the outbreak is a test of the American psyche, “As Americans…we have a bit of an invincibility complex”.

And Glenn Martin, a Tarrant County resident who tested positive for Covid-19, talks about what he has been through, and what treatment has helped him turn the corner in his recovery. His advice, “Stay positive you can do it…you can overcome it if you do get it”.

Covid-19: The layoffs are coming, but there's still some hope Mar 23, 2020

Show notes

The economic toll of the Coronavirus is tremendous, and this is just the beginning. Layoffs have already jumped, but Andrew Challenger, Senior VP at outplacement firm Challenger, Christmas, and Gray, says the official numbers are even reflective of what is really happening---that a lot of smaller businesses are cutting jobs, and those losses are big and have yet to be truly tallied. Additionally, Challenger predicts the job losses that will be announced soon will be in much larger numbers. One interesting note, though…this expert says his firm is surprised they didn’t see far more layoffs already from larger employers---they believe large companies have been trying to hold on to workers as long as possible to keep our collective situation from getting far worse. There are some glimmers of hope, though. Challenger says some industries are desperate for workers right now, and that there are some things you can do to try to insulate your job from being cut.

Even as we hear about the job losses from this global pandemic, there is one industry that’s surging with demand right now.

Ike Brown is president of NFI Industries. It’s a global logistics firm that operates thousands of tractor trailers and millions of square feet of warehouse space and has a large presence in Texas.

Brown said not only are warehouses full of things like toilet paper and paper towels that his drivers are delivering to stores right now, but he is also preparing for ships from China to start arriving again at the end of next month.

Early Release: This became an economic pandemic long before it became a health pandemic Mar 13, 2020

Show notes

The coronavirus outbreak is starting to change our daily lives in dramatic ways. The crisis is, of course, a health and humanitarian one first. But the economics of the outbreak could have a tremendous impact on governments, businesses, and many people. We get the perspective on Main Street from a Texas business owner who is missing out on his most profitable day of the year because of coronavirus preparations. We also talk to one of the most plugged-in economists in the country (who herself was a patient in the Swine Flu Pandemic) to get a comprehensive overview of what the Coronavirus pandemic is doing to the economy, what kind of job losses we can expect, what this will mean to Texas, and how involved the government is going to have to be to prop up individual Americans as this situation unfolds. Finally, we hear from a Texas state senator right after he finishes a call with the governor. He explains what’s being done to get protective supplies to health workers, what’s happening with testing, how Texas students will be able to learn (and in many cases eat) if school is cancelled, and what’s being talked about at the state level to offset the costs of the coronavirus response (hint: it could involve even higher property taxes).

More Info:

Greenville Ave Pizza Company
Lowest Greenville Collective
Grant Thornton’s Covid-19 section
State Senator Nathan Johnson
More coronavirus info

Where do old voting machines go to die? (+ a Texas coronavirus update) Mar 10, 2020

Show notes

Where do old voting machines go to die? Turns out, many are being resurrected in Texas. Harris County, for example, is now planning to purchase 2,000 used eSlate machines that Travis County just retired. Harris County told the Jasons that it’s worth the money for extra voting booths before potentially long lines in November like many voters experienced on Super Tuesday. The 2,000 used machines would be in addition to the 8,000 Harris County already has. But there’s another novel election-related idea under discussion in Texas. It’s something called Ranked Choice Voting. Other states already use it. At the polls, voters select their top two or three candidates and rank them in order of preference. The concept saves money and prevents voter fatigue by eliminating runoff elections. Perhaps no one welcomes it more than state Rep. Anna Eastman in Houston. She has gone through three elections in five months – and has two more to go by November. Eastman answered her phone when the Jasons surprised her with a phone call. But they begin this episode by calling health reporter and world traveler Sonia Azad for an update on the coronavirus in Texas and by laying out the economic and political implications already unfolding.

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