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Austin may soon be home to a tech plant that would dwarf the Tesla Gigafactory in both investment and job creation.
Samsung Electronics Co. is considering starting construction on a $10 billion memory chip plant in Austin as soon as this year, Bloomberg reported Friday.
<p>The Samsung plant would compete with industry leader Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which is scheduled to begin construction on a $12 billion semiconductor factory in Phoenix <a href="https://azbigmedia.com/real-estate/taiwan-semiconductor-launches-38b-phoenix-presence-by-signing-major-lease/#:~:text=Taiwan%20Semiconductor%20Manufacturing%20Company%20is,to%20begin%20production%20by%202024." rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">later this year</a>. </p><p>Samsung is capitalizing on a federal effort to draw advanced manufacturing plants away from Asia, Bloomberg reported. </p><p>Samsung Austin Semiconductor LLC purchased roughly 258 acres of land in Northeast Austin in late October, near its existing chip manufacturing plant. Last month, Austin City Council approved a rezoning request from the company to allow for industrial use. </p><p>"The proposed (zoning) agreement will reflect almost the same conditions approved on the current Samsung Austin Semiconductor site," Case Manager Sherri Sirwaitis wrote in <a href="https://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=351517" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a staff report</a> submitted to the council. </p><p>Samsung opened its first Austin plant in 1997 and has since expanded its campus, which now spans roughly 300 acres and employs around 3,000 people, <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2021/01/22/austin-could-be-home-to-10b-samsung-plant.amp.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">according to the Austin Business Journal</a>. </p><p>The company also has a long history of working with state and local governments on tax incentive deals. Between 2009 and 2019, Travis County rebated Samsung $65 million as part of an ongoing incentives agreement. </p><p>One of the people close to the matter told Bloomberg that the company may go ahead without such an incentives agreement. But the Travis County Commissioners Court is scheduled to consider whether to accept an application for an economic incentive agreement on Tuesday. A spokesperson would not say which company has filed the application—nicknamed "Project Silicon Silver." </p><p>Travis County commissioners last considered an unnamed economic incentives agreement application in May 2020, which was later revealed to have been filed by Tesla. They later approved a multimillion-dollar incentives agreement for the electric automaker, which is currently building a $1.1 billion Gigafactory in Southeast Travis County. </p><p>In response to criticism regarding the agreement, Travis County commissioners voted unanimously <a href="https://austonia.com/travis-county-incentives" target="_self">last month</a> to amend its economic incentives policy to include community input requirements. As a result, if commissioners vote to accept the Project Silicon Silver application, the court will be required to post draft agreements publicly and host public hearings before taking action on any incentive agreement. </p>
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(Ascension Seton)
The COVID-19 vaccine is now being distributed across Texas by both Pfizer and Moderna, with frontline healthcare workers and EMS first responders among the first recipients. With wider access on the horizon, some are wondering: Will I be required to get vaccinated to return to work?
Legally, yes, local employment lawyers told Austonia. And economically, a mandate or incentive program to ensure employees are inoculated just makes sense.
<p>"I would say that it's going to lean pretty seriously toward (businesses) requiring vaccines for all employees," trial lawyer Daniel Ross told Austonia. </p><p>Ross's firm, Ross Scalise Law Group, specializes in employment law and has heard from a number of employees concerned about pandemic-era workplace protections. </p><p>Although there are exemptions that would apply if a business decided to mandate a vaccine, such as in the case of religious beliefs, pregnancy and disability, generally an employer can require its employees to be vaccinated. </p><p>"The (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) has basically said that privacy rights of employees to refuse a vaccination does not overrule the benefits of health and safety to the other employees and the population in general," Ross said. </p><p>The pandemic is unprecedented in recent American history, but a vaccine mandate wouldn't be totally new.</p><p>Schools often require students to be vaccinated against certain diseases as a condition of enrollment, although they too must observe exemptions protected under the law.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-height="3000" data-rm-shortcode-id="6fbd867d254fc2fe02300ffa90b778cf" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTE2NTQ2Ni9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MDE1MDIxOH0.mCZtDQQiy3GYfAwqq1t6QL5_TP6Akw60KUpCCVAYPZg/img.jpg?width=980" data-width="4500" id="2f86a" type="lazy-image"/>
</p><p>And some states require hospital workers to get vaccinated against the seasonal flu each year, said Stephanie Taub, an attorney at the First Liberty Group, a Plano-based law firm that focuses on religious freedoms.<br/></p><p>But there are exemptions that apply in the case of current workplace policies—and would if a business imposed a vaccine mandate. </p><p>Typically, an employee and employer would work together to arrive at an accommodation that serves both parties.</p><p>Tuab gave the example of an employee who observes the Sabbath. In such cases, the employer may allow for the person to work other days of the week to ensure their religious freedoms are protected. </p><p>During the pandemic, many employees have raised concerns about working in an office because of underlying conditions or their age, both of which could put them at risk for a more severe case of COVID-19—and dying from it. An employer, in this case, may allow that person to work from home. </p><p>"That's a very common accommodation," Ross said. </p><p>None of Austin's major employers—which include tech companies such as Apple, Dell and IBM; government entities such as the city of Austin, Austin ISD and the University of Texas at Austin; and hospital systems such as Ascension Seton and St. David's HealthCare—have yet announced a vaccine mandate.</p><p>But they could, legally. They may also consider an alternative route.</p><p>Daniel Hamermesh, a professor emeritus in UT Austin's economics department, said he would consider an incentives program, such as giving employees a $100 bonus if they receive the COVID vaccine. </p><p>"If I were an employer who depends upon customers coming in, I would like to be able to advertise all the people who would be serving you as coronavirus-free because they had been vaccinated," he told Austonia. "To me, this is a very good way to attract customers."</p><p>Such a program would likely appeal to offices and other workplaces—in addition to retail establishments—because of the costs of absenteeism and healthcare premiums, both of which could increase if employees return to work without being vaccinated. </p><p>An incentive program also skirts the legal requirements of a mandate—and the possibility of any political backlash.</p><p>"No one's going to refuse to go to a place because the workers are vaccinated," Hamermesh said.</p>
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Austin is ringing in the new year with a near-record high cedar pollen count Monday, clocking in at a whopping 31,587 pollen grains per cubic meter of air and topping the record for this season.
<p>This is the second-highest pollen count Austin has seen since the city started keeping daily records 25 years ago. This year in particular, Austin has been seeing cedar pollen counts in the highs—allergy sufferers survived <a href="https://austonia.com/cedar-fever-at-high" target="_self">29,745 grains per cubic meter</a> on Dec. 30.</p><p>The highest recorded pollen count was 32,000 grains per cubic meter, which hit in the mid-1990s, which is just over 400 above the current count.</p><p>Cedar pollen typically spreads best in dry and windy weather, worst in rainfall, so last weekend's weather created the perfect climate for a surge of sneezes. </p><p>Cedar fever is about reaching its peak season this month. Cedar fever is the named coined for the seasonal allergy caused when people inhale the pollen from mountain cedars, drought-resistant evergreen trees common in Central Texas. </p><p>Come February and early March, Austin can expect a decline in pollen counts. On an average day, cedar counts range from 100-500 grains per cubic meter of air.</p><p>Austinites have been feeling the sting of cedar fever this year especially.</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="bdfe33c16298ac2e7c3b10ecc69d4e36" id="e5237"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1346155012733472768"><div style="margin:1em 0">Cedar fever is in full effect 🤧😭 https://t.co/5oTXTdhK5V</div> — Nay (@Nay)<a href="https://twitter.com/XcuseMyFro/statuses/1346155012733472768">1609783340.0</a></blockquote></div><p><br/></p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="618a1d1bea56ccefb9365b94d917aef3" id="f8342"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1346169169776160768"><div style="margin:1em 0">I have suffered allergies while living in Florida, Minneapolis, San Francisco and now Austin from the winter cedar.… https://t.co/ZSaEVkLieM</div> — Adam Singer (@Adam Singer)<a href="https://twitter.com/AdamSinger/statuses/1346169169776160768">1609786715.0</a></blockquote></div><p>In a time where COVID-19 is dominating, it can be nerve-wrecking to come down with symptoms, especially since the two sicknesses mirror each other in their effect. However, there are ways to distinguish between the two.<br/></p><p><br/></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-height="768" data-rm-shortcode-id="320987f1bcde328002c4b399671fff5e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTE4MTU5MC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMjIxMDY0OH0.zxulIkFs1R4CmxUmWV_A81mPkePWe2WN9v_qjXmLbSo/img.png?width=980" data-width="1024" id="55e77" type="lazy-image"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">(Laura Figi)</small></p><p>If you're feeling under the weather due to cedar fever, the best ways to combat the allergies are to stay indoors, use over-the-counter allergy pills or drops, eat local honey daily, use a neti pot or for serious allergies, a HEPA home filter.<br/></p>
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(Strollers/CC)
In a time when COVID-19 is spreading fast, a simple cough or sneeze at the grocery store could land you some dirty looks. If you've been feeling a little more under the weather recently, you're not alone.
<p>Austin is reporting some of the highest cedar pollen counts of the last decade. Pollen counts reached 29,745 grains per cubic meter of air, <a href="https://www.kxan.com/weather/cedar-pollen-levels-explode-to-near-record-level/?fbclid=IwAR0K5veBHO5Lxst20VLiKC_cFrjRzSBEDheodWtemHzFKWb5c4IGUx7Mad4" target="_blank">KXAN reported</a>, the third-highest count since daily records began 25 years ago.<br/></p><p>On an average day, cedar counts would range from 100-500 grains per cubic meter of air. Cedar pollen counts haven't been this high since the mid-90s, at 32,000 grains per cubic meter.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-height="2048" data-rm-shortcode-id="9bedd29c23009361010396e62abe90a5" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTEyMjgyMC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY3Mjg4OTk5Nn0.SgGBPVqe0iOZBn3iWNnlQdJxtrP7_w_L44Ls3VdcLXw/img.jpg?width=980" data-width="2041" id="5a6dc" type="lazy-image"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">The pink dots are pollen grains under a microscope.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">(Sheila M. Amar, M.D.)</small></p><p>Cedar fever has been soaring since last weekend, so buckle up. Cedar fever is a seasonal allergy caused when people inhale the pollen from mountain cedars, drought-resistant evergreen trees common in Central Texas. Allergies tend to be most severe in December, January and February.</p><p>Unfortunately, there seems to be some overlap between cedar fever and COVID-19. If you have itchy, watery eyes and frequent sneezing, you may have nothing to worry about.<br/></p><p>Overlapping symptoms include a cough, fatigue, runny nose, sore throat and headaches. If you're experiencing those plus some COVID-19 symptoms, high fever, chills, body aches, loss of taste and smell, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea, a test might be in order.</p><p>Austinite Ruth Belmonte said cedar fever has made her miserable this year.</p><p>"My nose constantly runs, (and I get) a pounding headache which eventually turns into a migraine," Belmonte said. "I've taken meds and nothing helps. I wear masks constantly, which have to be removed 24/7 because I have to blow my nose."</p><p>Austinites are certainly suffering, much like every year.</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c889db6bb5db1688422b57ef5e3870d6" id="21c31"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1343961809900941319"><div style="margin:1em 0">my purely cedar pollen-based portfolio is performing very well! 📈 https://t.co/C5YnD8Us4Y</div> — eric@home (@eric@home)<a href="https://twitter.com/eric_b_wood/statuses/1343961809900941319">1609260439.0</a></blockquote></div><p><br/></p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e5e1d992cb1ff9e89102852d1f7e5144" id="104c0"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1342986131915354114"><div style="margin:1em 0">Cedar pollen arrived in Austin in force today--almost as powerful a deterrent to leaving home as the coronavirus. 😨</div> — David Waldron (@David Waldron)<a href="https://twitter.com/DaveWaldron/statuses/1342986131915354114">1609027819.0</a></blockquote></div><p>The good news is, wearing a mask can actually help mitigate allergy symptoms because most of the pollen will stick to the outside of the mask, with the added benefit of protecting against the spread of COVID-19 and the seasonal flu.</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="17ffd103f04d192c2a49a46a395cd46e" id="e2d51"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1343659216612040705"><div style="margin:1em 0">Another benefit of masks: they reduce amount of cedar pollen that enters my airways. #WearAMask</div> — danielle @ 🏡 + 😷 (@danielle @ 🏡 + 😷)<a href="https://twitter.com/stapledee/statuses/1343659216612040705">1609188295.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Ideally, allergy sufferers should limit their time outside, make use of a neti pot, eat some local honey, pop some over-the-counter allergy pills and maybe invest in a HEPA filter for home.<br/></p><p><br/></p><p><strong>More on cedar fever: </strong></p>
<h2><a href="https://austonia.com/cedar-fever-austin" target="_self">Fever pitch: When the pandemic and cedar fever season collide in Central Texas</a></h2>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDk0ODA3Ny9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMzAzNzM1NX0.2-3bdwmOp3rtcANqx0nO5fP-jaXu-BTLYyZBqE1ylX0/img.jpg?width=980" id="b4474" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f94a4596b1bcd4825f309c0e77f48df0" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Fever pitch: When the pandemic and cedar fever season collide in Central Texas
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