I dearly hope we never do, but it's seeming more and more like that number isn't too terribly far off.
That is my main concern. Cause I am thinking we hit it before the end of May. The way it is going . . .. . unchecked. It will be a sh!tstorm if we hit 200K by the end of June. Rocket River
I had my concern with her, being new and without experience that Emmett had. I thought she did a good job so far in handling this crisis. 20/20, she could have acted faster, but given blindness due to lack of testing, she acted pretty fast and that was always key in limiting the spread. The min I ask for leaders in crisis is to listen to data, science and stay out of politic. I thought she did that. How Lina Hidalgo Is Navigating Coronavirus And Conservative Backlash In Texas’ Biggest County Harris County has seen new cases plateau under the county judge. But her orders designed to slow the spread of the new coronavirus have generated outrage among some conservatives. https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/...onservative-backlash-in-texas-biggest-county/ Conservative activists have called her underqualified, a socialist and the face of “government overreach” during a public health crisis. Comments on her social media posts often invoke even more extreme language. And Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has referred to her as not “ready for primetime,” later likening her to another young Latina in left-wing politics, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. “You’re always going to have detractors,” Hidalgo said. “I’m not going to put approval ratings on a pedestal. That’s not the point.” Her supporters, meanwhile, have lauded the young immigrant and political rising star as a fighter with a plan to keep Texans safe, and they credit her with acting more decisively than the state’s Republican leadership. “I think she’s taken some necessary and bold actions to protect the people of Harris County,” said U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, who also supported Hidalgo’s election bid in 2018. “Emmett was fairly well liked, and people, even some Democrats, were unsure if she’d be able to come in and do the job well. I think she’s pulled that off so far.” ... Her critics so far have been unrelenting. Most have come from the right, including conservative activist Steve Hotze, who has sued her several times, accusing her of being too quick to impose restrictions that infringe on personal liberties. And she has also faced some pushback for allowing the Houston Rodeo to continue for eight days while other large gatherings around the country were canceled. .. “Initially, I think Judge Hidalgo wanted to put the stay-at-home order in place sooner than I did,” said Turner, noting that while he initially had concerns about the edict, after looking at the increasing coronavirus numbers, he “certainly came around and agreed” with it. .. All three actions preceded similar ones from Gov. Greg Abbott, with Hidalgo sometimes moving more swiftly than the state’s chief executive by several days or more. Hidalgo said all of her decisions so far have been guided by conversations with a group of Rice University researchers, “best practices across the country and world,” and discussions with experts at local medical centers, among others. She was determined, she said, to heed the advice of health experts above all. “I have this physical feeling that there’s literally no room in my brain for politics,” Hidalgo said. “I’m willing to be painted as the person who did too much if I saved lives and ensured that our economy is resilient and that we’re not just lifting and putting orders up and down.” But her response has made her the subject of much scrutiny and a target for some of the city’s and state’s Republicans who see inconsistencies in her approach. Hidalgo at one point signed an executive order that would have released inmates deemed low risk from Harris County jails. While a spokeswoman for Hidalgo said the order was in effect for some time, a local judge later intervened, ruling the order void. Attorney General Ken Paxton also fought the order, saying it released “hardened criminals” into the streets. In late April, Hidalgo mandated face masks in the county, which resulted in a lawsuit against her and complaints from local police unions that it was “tremendously bad public policy.” Those who didn’t abide by her rules faced a fine of up to $1,000 until Abbott overruled her order. “She tried really hard to get people out of the jail, and then was turning around and saying people could be fined or subject to jail time if they weren’t wearing a mask,” said state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston. (Although an initial draft of the order mentioned jail time as a punishment, a spokesperson for Hidalgo later said that the penalty for not wearing a mask would’ve only resulted in a fine.) “You can’t talk out of both sides of your mouth,” Bettencourt said, adding that “there’s a consistent overreach on public policy on her executive orders.” Her peers in local government have called her out as well; neighboring Galveston County Judge Mark Henry called her mask order unconstitutional. Hidalgo’s backers think her gender, age and ethnicity — she’ll regularly repeat her announcements during press conferences in Spanish to her constituents, more than 40% of whom are Hispanic — have contributed to the criticisms. Case in point: By the time she issued her face mask edict, Bexar, Dallas and Travis counties had already enacted similar orders. Farther south, Laredo’s mask rule was also in place. But only Hidalgo was publicly lambasted by Patrick, the state’s lieutenant governor, and was the subject of potential legal action. He referred to her as the “29-year-old AOC acolyte in Harris County,” a jab comparing her to Ocasio-Cortez. Not that it appears to have fazed Hidalgo. “We can’t wait until things fall apart to fix them.” — Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo “All these decisions have been inflection points in their own way. I derive no joy from putting such strain on the economy, from requiring people to wear masks, from requesting folks from nonviolent crimes be released from jail,” Hidalgo said. “These have all been decisions that have been made with extreme seriousness and with much thought and consultation. “Nobody wanted to put our economy in such a position, but it was within what we knew we needed to do,” she added. “But we can’t wait until things fall apart to fix them.” Turner, who has worked hand in hand with Hidalgo in navigating Houston and Harris County’s response to the virus, said he feels politics have played a large role in the flak Hidalgo has received in her coronavirus-response tactics. To add fuel to the fire, her mask order, which Turner supported, “came at a time when some people were becoming wary of stay-at-home orders and social distancing,” he said. Overall, though, he praised her leadership — “she’s smart, she’s analytical, she picks up on things very quickly and is easy to deal with” — despite the pushback she’s received from those in the opposing political party. “There’s no better way to learn than when dealing with these unprecedented challenges,” he said. And there have also been moments when she’s been able to work amicably with her political opposites. While Abbott has quarrelled with Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, the governor has had few visible fights with Hidalgo. When other Democrats suggested that Abbott put lives at risk by opening up the economy sooner, Hidalgo held off. Instead, the two issued joint press releases on drive-thru testing sites in Harris County. For now, further challenges lie ahead. Not only does Houston, like the rest of the state, have to worry about restoring its economy whenever the coronavirus passes, Hidalgo is also going to have to juggle tanking oil costs and presumably falling tax revenues. Plus, hurricane season is right around the corner. Hidalgo said she’s already grappling with what the energy sector and economy will look like for Harris County in the long term, but she acknowledges that getting back to normal is going to be “very difficult,” especially for energy-rich Houston. “While we are ground zero for the petrochemical industry, we are also ground zero and a prime example of the effects of climate change,” she said. “I think folks recognize that. … Nobody [on county government staff] is scared to talk about climate change. Nobody is scared to ask experts and get an answer they don’t want to hear. “We might flood this year,” she added. “But all we can do is put our head down and get to work on what lies in the future.”
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo is expected to extend the county's stay-home, work-safe order through at least June 10, according to an emailed statement provided to the Houston Chronicle. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott let the state's stay home order expire as planned on April 30 and approved phase 2 of a reopening plan this week. As was done with Hidalgo's first stay-home order extension, the extended order will also be amended to conform with Abbott’s updated plan. “The truth is that we are no safer today from this virus than we were in March,” Hidalgo said in the statement. “There is still no vaccine, no treatment, no cure. Thanks to the people of Harris County we have already saved thousands of lives from this awful virus, but we must stay the course. I urge residents to continue to stay or work from home unless it is necessary to go out, and get tested if you feel you may have been exposed.” The new order has yet to be signed and is currently being reviewed by the County Attorney’s Office. A spokesperson with the judge's office said the order could be officially signed as early as Thursday. There is still no vaccine, no treatment, no cure so lockdown forever!!!!
Reason why white house has people sitting close together without masks is because they have access to daily tests. How about we work on bringing that to the people like what South Korea or evil China did instead of playing Russian roulette because our economy is going down the toilet since we're still flying blind after three full months
Lina Hidalgo has my vote in the future. I was very concerned when she was elected because she was young, relatively inexperienced, new and replaced a strong performer. She has handled herself in an exemplary fashion and consistently has been on point in tone and content.
Yep. You could see the tentative young woman in the beginning. But she has backbone. And she's going to need it. Funny how the Governor and Lt. Governor go after her, who has committed two atrocious sins in politics. Female. Latina. OH LAWD.
Young, attractive, brilliant, successful, great life story... it would take the combined SWAT, FBI, and US Marines to extract me out of there...
good news https://www.click2houston.com/news/...tive-for-coronavirus-continues-to-quarantine/ Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo tests negative for coronavirus, continues to quarantine
