>>> THE FIRST AND OVERRIDING CONCERN IS THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND
SAFETY OF THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE
HERE AND THE PEOPLE THAT WOULD
VISIT US.
VISIT US. THAT WAS THE FOCUS AND IT
REMAINED THE FOCUS THROUGH ALL
THE DISCUSSIONS.
THE DISCUSSIONS. BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, THIS
IS A HARD CALL TO MAKE BECAUSE
IT DOES HAVE A HUGE ECONOMIC
IMPACT.
IMPACT. YOU KNOW, I’M HEARTBROKEN FOR
THE BUSINESSES IN OUR COMMUNITY
THAT REALLY RELY ON THIS EVENT
FOR THEIR INCOME FOR THE YEAR.
>> IN A MAJOR MOVE, CITY
OFFICIALS TODAY IN AUSTIN
DECLARED A LOCAL DISASTER AND
CANCELED THIS MONTH’S POPULAR
SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST FESTIVAL.
THIS OVER CORONAVIRUS FEARS.
THE DECISION WILL NO DOUBT HAVE
AN ENORMOUS ECONOMIC IMPACT ON
THE CITY AND THE AREA.
THE "NEW YORK TIMES" REPORTS
QUOTE, LAST YEAR THE VARIOUS
EVENTS ASSOCIATED WITH SOUTH BY
SOUTHWEST, WHICH ALSO INCLUDE
PROGRAMS ON GAMING, COMEDY AND
EDUCATION, CONTRIBUTED
EDUCATION, CONTRIBUTED $356 MILLION TO THE ECONOMY OF
AUSTIN ACCORDING TO FIGURES
CIRCULATED BY THE FESTIVAL.
HERE WITH US TONIGHT, MAYA
WILEY, FORMER ASSISTANT U.S.
ATTORNEY FOR THE SOUTHERN
DISTRICT OF NEW YORK NOW WITH A
NEW SCHOOL HERE IN NEW YORK, AND
VICTORIA DEFRANCESCO SOTO AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS IN AUSTIN.
VICTORIA, YOU ARE AT THE SCENE
OF WHAT WE WERE JUST TALKING
ABOUT, SO LET ME ASK YOU ABOUT
IT.
IT. FOR FOLKS WHO AREN’T IMMEDIATELY
FAMILIAR WITH SOUTH BY
SOUTHWEST, I’VE HEARD OF IT FOR
YEARS.
YEARS. I’VE NEVER BEEN.
DESCRIBEHAT THIS MEANS TO
AUSTIN, WHAT THE EVENT MEANS AND
WHAT THE IMPACT OF CANCELING IT
WILL BE.
WILL BE. >> RIGHT, SO THE IMPACT IS
MULTIDIMENSIONAL, AS WE HEARD
MAYOR ADLER TALK ABOUT THE
NUMBERS, THE FIGURES, HUNDREDS
OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF
REVENUE COME IN WITH SOUTH BY
SOUTHWEST.
SOUTHWEST. THERE’S THAT PIECE OF IT.
THERE’S THE CULTURAL COMPONENT.
SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST HAS BEEN A
FEATURE OF THE AUSTIN CULTURE
FOR OVER THREE DECADES.
IT IS PART OF WHO WE ARE.
IT IS PART OF OUR DNA HERE IN
AUSTIN SO MY HEARTACHES IN
KNOWING THAT SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST
IS CANCELED, AND THEN THE OTHER
PIECES IS UNDERSTANDING THAT
SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST HAS ALWAYS
BEEN THIS BEAUTIFUL SPACE OF
CREATE
CREATE CREATIVITY THAT REALLY IS A
LAUNCHING PAD FOR CREATIVITY
NATIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY.
SO LATELY WE’VE COME TO THINK
ABOUT SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST ABOUT
THE GOOGLES AND THE TWITTERS AND
THE FACEBOOKS, BUT REALLY IT’S
ABOUT THESE THOUSANDS OF
FILMMAKERS MUSICIANS, WRITERS
WHO COME HERE AND HAVE A SPACE
TO CREATE AND AS OF LATE, WE
ALSO SEE EDUCATORS, GAMERS, ALL
TYPES OF CREATIVE TYPES COME
HERE, AND THIS IS THEIR SPACE.
THAT IS NO LONGER THE CASE.
AND I THINK THE OTHER TWO GROUPS
THAT ARE REALLY GOING TO BE
SEVERELY AFFECTED BY THE
CANCELLATION SMALL BUSINESS
OWNERS AND THEN THE SERVICE
INDUSTRY.
INDUSTRY. FOR TEN DAYS ALL RESTAURANTS,
HOTELS, BARS, AND EVERYTHING IN
AUSTIN IS PACKED.
WHAT THIS MEANS IS A LOT OF
HEADACHES FOR US, BUT WE TAKE
IT, WE DON’T MIND IT BECAUSE WE
KNOW IT IS SO IMPORTANT TO
ECONOMY, SO IMPORTANT TO THE
FOLKS HERE.
FOLKS HERE. I CAN’T EXPRESS TO YOU HOW MUCH
IT HURTS.
IT HURTS. KNOWING AGAIN THIS WAS A MOVE
THE MAYOR HAD TO MAKE.
>> THAT’S MY OTHER QUESTION TO
YOU.
YOU. I WONDER IF THIS IS SOMETHING
CITIES AROUND THE COUNTRY AND
AROUND THE WORLD ARE GOING TO BE
DEALING WITH IN THE COMING WEEKS
AND MONTHS, HAVING TO MAKE
WRENCHING DECISIONS WITH REAL
ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES JUST LIKE
YOU’RE DESCRIBING.
YOU’RE DESCRIBING. THE REACTION ON THE GROUND, THE
FOLKS YOU’RE TALKING WITH THERE,
DO THEY SHARE WHAT YOU JUST
EXPRESSED THIS SENSE OF THIS IS
TERRIBLE FOR AUSTIN, BUT IT IS
THE CORRECT DECISION?
>> YOU KNOW, I THINK IN THE LAST
COUPLE OF DAYS AS WE’VE SEEN THE
CRISIS OF THE LACK OF TESTING
KITS COME TO THE FORE, I THINK
THAT HAS PUSHED FOLKS TO
UNDERSTAND THAT THIS WAS THE
LESSER OF TWO EVILS.
THERE HAD BEEN A PETITION TO
CANCEL SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST THAT
HAD BEEN, I DON’T KNOW, FIVE OR
SIX DAYS.
SIX DAYS. I WOULD SAY IN THE LAST TWO TO
THREE DAYS, WE SAW THAT RAMP UP,
AND THAT’S WHEN WE SAW THESE
CONVERSATIONS, BECAUSE OF THE
LACK OF LEADERSHIP THAT WE’RE
SEEING FROM THE WHITE HOUSE.
WE’RE SEEING THE CDC NOT GIVING
US THE ANSWERS THAT WE AS A
NATION WANT, SO I THINK THAT
WHAT WE SAW IN THE LAST 48 HOURS
WAS THE PRECIPITATING CAUSE OF
THIS AND WHAT ULTIMATELY IS
MAKING FOLKS SAY THIS SUCKS.
WE’RE GOING TO LOSE A TON OF
MONEY, BUT BETTER SAFE THAN
SORRY, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE WE’RE
NOT SEEING THE FEDERAL REACTION.
WE’RE LOOKING TO THE STATE AND
LOCAL LEVEL TO PROTECT US.
>> SO MAYA, VICTORIA’S TELLING
US WHAT’S HAPPENING IN AUSTIN,
TEXAS.
TEXAS. WE’RE SITTING HERE IN THE
LARGEST CITY IN THE UNITED
STATES AND THERE HAVE BEEN SOME
REPORTED CASES AROUND HERE,
CERTAINLY IT’S IN THE NEWS HERE
AS IT IS EVERYWHERE ELSE.
WHAT IS YOUR EXPECTATION OF BIG
CITIES LIKE NEW YORK AND WHAT
THEY’RE GOING TO BE DEALING WITH
IN THE COMING WEEGSEING WEEKS?
>> I THINK WE’RE GETTING A
PREVIEW IN AUSTIN.
GOI TO SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST EVERY
YEAR WEARING MY FACULTY HAT.
THE NEW SCHOOL IS REPRESENTED
WELL IN SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST.
I COMPLETELY AGREE WITH
VICTORIA.
VICTORIA. I’VE ALSO HAD THE PLEASURE OF
KNOWING MAYOR ADLER WHEN I
WORKED WITH MAYOR BILL BLAZDE
BLASIO.
BLASIO. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE’RE
FACING.
FACING. I THINK I WANT TO UNDERSCORE
WHAT VICTORIA SAID.
MAYOR DE BLASIO HAS BEGGED FOR
MANY
MANY MORE TESTS.
MORE TESTS. THAT’S BECAUSE AS A CITY, IF
YOU’RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT
WHERE THE -- WHERE YOU NEED TO
CONTAIN A PROBLEM IN ORDER TO
PREVENT MORE PEOPLE FROM GETTING
SICK, IT’S BECAUSE YOU CAN TEST
AND SEE WHERE IT’S HAPPENING.
HERE IN NEW YORK WE HAVE -- WE
LEARNED JUST THIS WEEK THAT WE
HAVE MORE -- ALMOST 3,000 PEOPLE
IN SELF-QUARANTINE.
IN SELF-QUARANTINE. 3,000.
3,000. THOSE ARE PEOPLE WHO IF WE COULD
TEST THEM MIGHT NOT NEED TO BE
IN QUARANTINE.
IN QUARANTINE. THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO GO TO
SCHOOL.
SCHOOL. THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO GO TO WORK
KNOWING THAT THEY’RE NOT
INFECTING ANYONE.
INFECTING ANYONE. SO THIS NOTION OF THE TEST
ITSELF, ITS AVAILABILITY,
CRITICALLY IMPORTANT TO EVERY
COMMUNITY, RURAL, URBAN,
EVERYWHERE, IN ORDER TO MAKE
SOUND DECISIONS INCLUDING TO BE
ABLE TO NOT OVERREACT.
HOW CAN YOU BE SURE YOU’RE
PROTECTING YOUR RESIDENTS IF YOU
DON’T GET TRUSTWORTHY
INFORMATION, IF YOU’RE NOT
GETTING CONSISTENT INFORMATION,
AND IF YOU CAN’T DO THE TESTING?
>> AND ALL OF IT SO CRITICAL,
ESPECIALLY A CITY LIKE NEW YORK
AND OTHERS LIKE IT.
THE POPULATION JUST SO CLOSE
TOGETHER, SO DENSELY POPULATED.
>> RIDEING SUBWAYS.
>> EVERYBODY COMING INTO CONTACT