BG Note | News - What We're Reading (November 8, 2017)
[Austin Metro]
Voters approve $1.1B Austin ISD bond, largest in Central Texas history (Austin American-Statesman) LINK TO STORY
Voters overwhelmingly approved the Austin district’s $1.1 billion bond, the largest bond package to pass in Central Texas history.
The final unofficial results showed 66,512 votes cast, with 72 percent in favor of the bond and 28 percent against, or 47,931 votes for and 18,581 votes against.
The bond funds will pay to rebuild multiple schools, construct new campuses and address overcrowding, and comes after voters rejected half of the district’s bond package in 2013...
Travis County bond passes with 73 percent of voters in favor (Community Impact) LINK TO STORY
Finalized tallies for Travis County’s $185 million bond released at 10:54 p.m. showed 73 percent of voters in favor...
Alter: Council is letting garbage company rewrite lobbying rules (Austin Monitor) LINK TO STORY
City Council Member Alison Alter said Tuesday that her colleagues were allowing one company to rewrite city lobbying rules, suggesting that an ongoing rewrite of the Anti-Lobbying Ordinance was largely the result of bullying by Texas Disposal Systems, a waste hauler that has accused city lobbying regulations of infringing on its First Amendment rights.
Alter’s comments came after city staff recommended delaying adoption of a new lobbying ordinance by another six months, and a number of Council members said they were against a measure she proposed that would subject an upcoming contract for biosolids disposal to certain lobbying restrictions...
MORE:
BG Advisor Note | TDS Wants Its Cake and Austin's Too (Andy Cates, 10.17.17)
Music Commission seeks city properties list, but who’s got it? (Austin Monitor) LINK TO STORY
Austin’s Music Commission is making another push to have the city’s Office of Real Estate Services compile a list of city-owned properties that are currently unused and could be made available for creative groups and music venues that get priced out of their locations.
At Monday’s meeting, Commissioner Rick Carney brought up the fact that the commission and other groups of creative stakeholders have received little response or cooperation from the real estate staff in recent years when trying to obtain what has come to be known in those circles as “the list.”...
[STATE]
Free of criminal charges, state Rep. Dawnna Dukes says she was victimized (Texas Tribune) LINK TO STORY
In her first public appearance since being cleared of criminal charges, state Rep. Dawnna Dukes, D-Austin, said Tuesday she had been maligned by the Travis County district attorney, other Austin-area Democratic lawmakers and the news media.
Dukes, speaking at a Texas Tribune event in Austin, said she was motivated to give extensive public comments, for the first time since her criminal charges were dropped, “because it’s an opportunity to tell the real story.” ...
MORE:
Dukes blames Statesman, Reps. Howard, Israel for working against her (Austin American-Statesman, 11.8.17)
Texans Add Seven Amendments To State Constitution (KUT) LINK TO STORY
Voters added seven amendments to the Texas Constitution on Tuesday. The mostly noncontroversial propositions won by wide margins of up to 70 points.
Texas lawmakers send about five to 10 constitutional propositions to voters during each legislative session. Many race through the legislative process with little to no public debate...