Councilmember Eric Mitchell often complains that his council salary ($30,000)
is too low. He must not be counting the fringe benefits. At last week’s council
meeting, he may have once again violated city and state ethics laws by voting
to award a city contract that could reap financial returns for his insurance
company, Wormley Mitchell & Associates. The contract is a $78,000 loan to
Prism Development, which is owned by Michael Van Ohlen, head of the Capital
Metro board. Prism plans to use the new loan to double its operations and to
relocate and renovate property at 2705 and 2713 E. Fifth St. All of that, of
course, requires more insurance, and Van Ohlen says Mitchell’s company has been
a longtime provider of Prism’s insurance needs. Perhaps Mitchell should have
abstained… — A.M.
Step up to the mike tonight (Thursday) and have your say on the six-point
Electric Utility Dept. proposal, including the proposed rate reductions for
large corporate consumers. Public comments at 6:30pm in council chambers (see
“Council Watch” for details)…
Bursting at the seams in cramped and dreary digs, the Govalle Branch Library
is ready for a complete makeover. Last week, the city awarded Flynn
Construction Inc. a $1.2 million contract to build a new library at Seventh and
Pleasant Valley. In other library developments (proving that some bond
elections actually materialize into something concrete), the new Oak Hill
branch opens in early 1997, and the new Millwood site opens in June. Plus, a
new Dove Springs site is underway, while the Hancock Street site is still on
the drawing boards…
The Guatemala Action Network of Austin (GANA) plans to give the Phillips-Van
Heusen clothing company a dressing down, of sorts, as part of a national day of
protest against the corporate giant. GANA says the company has refused to
negotiate in good faith with workers in PVH’s Guatemala factory. GANA will
protest outside PVH stores in the San Marcos outlet mall. Meet between 9-9:30am
Saturday, Dec. 14, at Pato’s Tacos, 1400 E. 381/2, for a free ride
down. Call 474-5677 for more info. — A.S.
`C’ World Adventures
If city councilmembers were not elected at-large, you might think EricMitchell’s single-member district was Circle C. In late October, you may
recall, Mitchell was the only councilmember who wouldn’t agree to the city’s
lawsuit against House Bill 3193, which many believe unconstitutionally prevents
the city from annexing the autonomous Circle C’s lucrative tax base. Mitchell
boycotted city council’s closed-door briefings on the suit, hissing that it
would bring down retribution from the Lege.
Although he promised forthrightness at his re-election announcement in
October, Mitchell hasn’t informed Austinites about his ties with Circle C
residents and landowners. His kick-off fundraiser, “The Eric Mitchell Golf
Tournament,” was held at the Circle C golf course, and it came just two weeks
after he protested the lawsuit. You see, Circle C residents don’t want to be
annexed because they’ll have to pay higher taxes. And Circle C developers don’t
want annexation either, because it means the still-developing district will
have to adhere to the city’s water-quality standards, which would eat up their
profits.
So the thousands of dollars that Mitchell has received over the past three
years in campaign contributions from Circle C developer Gary Bradley and other
Circle C interests should continue. And though residents there can’t even vote
for him, they may feel inclined to help the Circle C sugar daddies shore up
Mitchell’s campaign war chest, which held a lowly $5,000 this summer.
Last weekend, another benefit for Mitchell was held beyond the tree-lined
esplanade that marks the entrance into the duchy. Circle C resident Angela
Shelf Medearis, author of numerous African-American children’s books, threw a
Books and Ballots Benefit for Mitchell. Part of the proceeds went to Mitchell’s
re-election campaign, and the rest to buy books for underpriviledged schools in
East Austin. Though only a handful of guests attended, Mitchell may have a
challenge from Northeast Austin neighborhood activist Willie Lewis, so he’ll
need all the money he can get.
When Mitchell announced his re-election hopes, the councilmember made another
promise. He promised to “continue to represent everyone.” Apparently, he didn’t
just mean Austin voters. — A.M.
Drag Strikes a Pose
Everyone who has lived in Austin for a while knows that the Drag — that stripof businesses on Guadalupe between Martin Luther King and 29th — has seen
better days. Business prof E. Lee Walker and a cadre of students are on a
mission to revitalize the area, and they began the process last Wednesday at a
presentation and brainstorming session with some 200 academic, business and
community leaders.
Walker, an ardent Save Our Springs supporter and former president of Dell
Computer, teaches a UT graduate business course in Frontline Management and an
undergraduate course in Community Building, which has a spin-off service club
called The Good Society. MBA students and club members joined forces this
semester to poll Drag patrons and conduct other studies of the area as part of
an ongoing Guadalupe Street Revitalization Project.
Last week, they presented their findings at the UT Thompson Conference Center.
Although the types of businesses and organizations with a stake in the Drag is
very diverse, the pollsters were able to identify three common areas of
concern: Safety, maintenance, and the economic viability of the district.
Toward that end, both UT and Capital Metro have earmarked millions of dollars
for a Drag renovation.
In historic terms, the Drag has bustled with pedestrian shoppers since the
turn of the century. Today, there’s a concern that the district is a haven for
street people. The students’ poll found that 80% of respondents feel unsafe
walking on the Drag, and 40% have actually been threatened, although incidences
of crime in the area remain low. However, the pollsters’ findings revealed that
the influx of transients is not the sole root of the Drag’s problems.
Respondents described the area as unattractive, uninviting and difficult to
maneuver on foot because of heavy automobile traffic.
Retooling the parking, planting trees, amending ordinances to allow sidewalk
cafes, banning cars on the Drag, and tearing down the wall that borders the
campus side of the street were held up as possible solutions. “It’s
extraordinary to note how much we’re trying to invent right now what existed
before,” Walker noted. Jeanette Nassour, proprietor of the Cadeau since 1952,
was cheered by the fact that last week’s session was the first time in 40 years
that the entire community concerned with the Drag were together in the same
room. Work continues in January. — K.V.
Austin’s Bad Air
Austin could face major ozone obstacles if proposed new air-quality standardsgo into effect nationwide. That’s bad news for drivers who may have to cough up
extra money for emissions inspections and cleaner fuel, but good news for
asthmatics and others who suffer from chronic lung problems.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reckons that, nationwide, its
proposed stricter standards for ozone and airborne industrial particulates
would save 20,000 lives a year, reduce severe asthma attacks by 250,000, and
prevent 250,000 children from developing acute respiratory problems.
Under the current regulation, cities become nonattainment for air quality if
they show at least four one-hour readings of 120 parts per billion (ppb) of
ozone in a three-year period. The proposed new standard (which may be
officially adopted in June) would average together the third-highest eight-hour
ozone readings for each of three consecutive years. If the average is greater
than 80ppb, the city becomes nonattainment. Bottom line: Austin would have
failed the new standard had it been on the books for the years 1993-95.
Ozone is produced when nitrogen oxide and hydrocarbons are heated by the sun’s
rays; 62% of Austin’s nitrogen oxide and half of its hydrocarbons come from
automobile-related emissions. Rather than encouraging less time behind the
wheel, early-stage EPA regulations for nonattainment areas typically
concentrate on reducing ozone by requiring stricter emissions inspections.
But according to Austin’s former air quality coordinator, Charles Albert, the
city’s current freeway build-out and consequent urban sprawl growth pattern
continue to dramatically increase the amount of area driving, along with the
average number of trips a person takes in a day, and the average length of each
trip. All of these factors are likely to defeat the purpose of car emissions
improvements. — N.E.
Crackdown on Greens
Given the bloody history of the Indonesian dictator, Suharto, it’s notsurprising that his government would crack down on dissidents. But the timing
of the latest enforcement appears to be related to the increasing activism of
Indonesian environmental groups.
On Nov. 4, the Indonesian government informed 31 environmental groups —
including WALHI, the Indonesian Environmental Forum which has been critical of
Freeport-McMoRan’s mining operation in Irian Jaya — that they could be
disbanded if their criticism of the government continues. On Nov. 20, eight
American environmental and human rights groups asked Vice President Al Gore to
remind the Suharto regime that America will not allow environmental groups to
be intimidated. “Indonesia’s crackdown on environmentalists reminds us of
similar efforts of the Kenyan government to silence environmental advocate
Prof. Wangari Maathai and of the Nigerian military’s silencing of
environmentalist and writer Ken Saro-Wiwa,” the groups wrote in their letter to
Gore. “We believe that no country can feign environmental awareness when its
citizens are forbidden to speak freely, when they are forbidden to assemble, or
when they are persecuted for protecting the environment,” they wrote. —
R.B.
This article appears in December 13 • 1996 and December 13 • 1996 (Cover).