BG Reads | News You Need to Know (August 1, 2023)
[BG PODCAST]
EPISODE 209 // Welcome to Episode 209! Bingham Group Associate Hannah Garcia CEO A.J. Bingham review the week (ending 7.28) in Austin politics and more.
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[AUSTIN METRO]
Austin hopes to have a new city manager by September 2024. Here are the city's next steps. (Austin American-Statesman)
Austin city officials hope to have a new chief administrator in office by Sept. 1, 2024, nearly 19 months after the City Council ousted City Manager Spencer Cronk.
The council voted to fire Cronk in February, at least in part due to the city's preparedness for and response to an ice storm that left more than 100,000 homes and businesses without power. The council then appointed Jesús Garza, a former Austin city manager, to the post until a permanent replacement is named.
"September 1, 2024, is the target. It is only a target. If things go beyond that, so be it," Austin Mayor Kirk Watson previously said. "We all want to be thoughtful, and there’s no need to rush to a decision if, at the time, we feel we want more time. This is too important of a decision."… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Stream Realty starts planning for hotel, residential tower on 6th StreeT (Kxan)
An ordinance went into effect Monday that allows Stream Realty — which owns dozens of properties on Sixth Street — to build up to 140 feet high between Neches and Sabine streets. Previously, developers could not build higher than 45 feet on the historic strip.
Stream is now working on plans to build a 150-to-160-room hotel and a 10-floor residential tower in the area, according to the Austin Business Journal, a KXAN media partner.
“On Sixth Street, there’s not a lot going on during the day,” Richard Suttle, Stream’s attorney for the project, said. “The goal is to bring back restaurants, music venues, office buildings, hotels. Places people want to go during the day. Because as everybody knows, activity tends to discourage bad behavior.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin urban developer StoryBuilt enters a voluntary receivership (Austin American-Statesman)
StoryBuilt, one of Austin’s most active urban developers, said Monday it has agreed to enter a voluntary receivership as it addresses deep financial issues.
Earlier this month, the Austin-based firm sent a letter to shareholders announcing a major reorganization, which included the departure of two top leaders and furloughing employees.
In the statement on Monday, StoryBuilt said of the receivership: "The decision, made considering recent market challenges, marks a strategic move towards the company's restructuring.
"In a concerted effort to stabilize operations and navigate through the financial landscape, StoryBuilt carefully considered the alternatives available and under professional advisement determined that a voluntary receivership would maximize the potential recovery to all shareholders," the company said… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Report: AI could displace 13% of Austin's workforcE (Axios Austin)
Austin is among the top 25 metro areas where artificial intelligence threatens the workforce, per a new analysis from research website ChamberofCommerce.org.
Driving the news: Roughly 13% of Austin's workforce is at risk of AI-related job loss, according to the group, which used U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data to analyze employment numbers within the 50 most-populated metro areas.
Potential job loss estimates were based on the percentage of at-risk jobs within each metro area, according to ChamberofCommerce.org.
Why it matters: AI software and large language models — including ChatGPT — may soon be able to do all manner of jobs, raising concerns that a number of industries could replace workers with the technology… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin police misconduct costs exceeded $73M over past decade, report finds (Community Impact)
Alleged misconduct by Austin police officers cost the city at least $73 million over the course of a decade, according to a recent review of dozens of incidents that led to litigation against the city from 2013-22.
That price tag is accompanied by less tangible costs that “far exceed” the financial outcomes of legal complaints against Austin Police Department employees, according to consultants with Kroll Associates Inc., a firm that’s monitored APD training and operations since late 2020.
“The impact on police-community relationships and the damage caused by police misconduct incidents to community trust of the police is incalculable,” Kroll analysts wrote… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial will shape Texas GOP primaries (Dallas Morning News)
As Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial draws closer, the political fallout inside the GOP is brewing. The most interesting GOP divide over Paxton is in Collin County, where some Republicans angry over the impeachment are recruiting candidates to challenge House incumbents in next year’s GOP primary. A potential recruit is Wayne Richard, one of Donald Trump’s most loyal North Texas activists. He is considering campaigning against Rep. Matt Shaheen, a Collin County Republican who voted to impeach the embattled Paxton. A major caveat: Richard is waiting to see how Paxton’s Sept. 5 Senate trial unfolds. If the case against Paxton is weak and overblown, he’ll mount a District 66 campaign against Shaheen. If the evidence against Paxton is damning, Richard will likely opt against challenging the incumbent, who has held the seat since 2015.
The Senate trial, which promises to be one of the biggest political spectacles in Texas history, will determine not only whether Paxton will be allowed to serve out his term, but whether the movement against Republicans who voted to impeach him expands or fizzles. Now House Republicans who voted for impeachment are bracing for challenges from Paxton loyalists in 2024. A gag order issued by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is being used by lawmakers to avoid talking publicly about the trial and the politics surrounding it. Based on conversations with some lawmakers before the gag order, I can sum up their views on how conservative voters will view their vote to impeach Paxton. They believe evidence and testimony at the trial will make it difficult to cast Paxton as a victim of the process. Sorting out the allegations of bribery and corruption, along with details of an alleged extramarital affair, will be hammered into the public sphere during the trial. It will hit different from the original news accounts of whistleblower allegations against Paxton. Imagine a debate at a community center or church hall, when a 2024 candidate blasts the impeachment of Paxton as political, and the incumbent rehashes the impeachment articles against the attorney general. The Republicans who voted to impeach Paxton believe a Senate trial will be vindication of their decision. Conservatives against impeachment will continue to argue that the process is flawed and that Republicans are being used for a greater scheme that plays into the hands of Democrats and Paxton’s rivals. While some voters will be swayed by that approach, the trial will create a stench that will persist even with the holding of a nose… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Buc-ee's has turned convenience stores into Texas-sized destinations (Houston Chronicle)
Clean bathrooms. A staggering array of snacks, including a whole wall of jerky. A ball-capped beaver mascot, beaming from T-shirts, beach towels, insulated mugs and toys. From these building blocks Buc-ee’s, headquartered in Lake Jackson in Brazoria County, has built one of the leading convenience store brands in the United States since opening its first store in 1982. That’s no small feat, considering it’s still a relatively small chain, with just 46 locations in Texas and another 12 across six states. A 2023 survey of 1,011 Americans by Payless Power found Buc-ee’s ranked second as the nation’s favorite gas chain overall, and first for customer service. A key finding from the survey was that respondents are willing to drive 21 minutes out of their way to visit Buc-ee’s: it’s a destination gas station, food emporium and souvenir shop. (What store could possibly sell more Texas-related apparel and home decor?)
Not a truck stop, mind you: Although many Buc-ee’s travel centers are large, offering more than 100 fueling stations and plenty of parking, the chain does not accommodate 18-wheelers. The focus is squarely on consumers. “Ever since our inception in 1982, we have been committed to providing a clean, friendly, and in stock experience for our customers,” its website explains. “Regardless of where you may find us, if the store is big or small, near or far, the mission remains the same.” The ethos at hand is a light-hearted one, exemplified by the slogans on Buc-ee’s billboards. (“My overbite is sexy” or “Potty like a rock star”) But there’s a serious upside to some of its policies. Buc-ee’s stands out among its industry peers for paying employees above-market wages, as well as offering health and dental benefits, a 401(k) plan with company match, and three weeks of paid vacation. As a result, the company has said, it’s been able to maintain strong staffing levels even in the tight post-pandemic labor market. The “clean, friendly” environment is also an appealing one to travelers concerned about safety. They can stop in a Buc-ee’s at any hour of the night and find the store well-lit and well-populated. The sheer size of Texas means that its homegrown companies — like Buc-ee's and H-E-B — have plenty of room to grow without ever leaving the state. But in 2019, Buc-ee’s opened its first location outside the state, in Alabama, and has since opened more travel centers in that state, as well as in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee. Additional Buc-ee’s stores are scheduled to open Colorado and Missouri this year… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
In first trial for feeding homeless outside Houston library, jury finds Food Not Bombs not guilty (Houston Chronicle)
The first of a controversial series of tickets Houston has issued the volunteer group Food Not Bombs went to trial Friday. And before the end of the day, a jury found the volunteer, Phillip Picone, not guilty of violating city law for feeding those in need in front of the Central Library. The ordinance was put in place by City Council in 2012 but largely had gone unenforced for over a decade, municipal records show. The city began issuing tickets after funding its own dinners at a police parking lot just outside the courthouse doors where the trial was being heard. Houston has declared that the lot is the approved public site for any group that wants to give away meals. In an emailed statement, a city spokesperson explained that the meal program Houston is funding at the police parking lot is designed to use food to attract people to a place where they can engage with an array of services “on a reoccurring basis.”
“This is why we fight back,” Picone said after the verdict. As of the hearing, Food Not Bombs had received 45 tickets, each seeking $254, for continuing to pass out meals at the library instead. Volunteers have argued that the law is immoral and violates their freedoms of expression and religion. Nine more tickets are scheduled for court Thursday and Friday. During jury selection Friday, Picone’s lawyer, Paul Kubosh, explained the Houston law to potential jurors with slices of cake wrapped in cellophane. One by one, he placed them atop a wooden partition separating him from the jurors, recalled two Food Not Bombs volunteers present. If he gave five slices to people in need, without permission of the property owner, he was fine, he said, according to the volunteers. If he gave six, he’d be violating the ordinance. And if he gave them to people who were not in need, that was also fine. (Kubosh is representing a number of people in Picone’s situation free of charge.) The lawyer representing the city called up the officer who issued the ticket as a witness. Adam A. Ancira, an officer with 14 years of experience with the Houston Police Department, works with the crime suppression unit. He said he had gone to the Central Library the evening of March 3 because Lt. Jennifer Kennedy had told him to issue a citation for violating an ordinance against charitable feeding… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Texas A&M to pursue settlement with Kathleen McElroy (Houston Chronicle)
Texas A&M University System regents voted Sunday to pursue a potential settlement with Kathleen McElroy, whose botched hiring ignited a firestorm over allegations of conservative interference in faculty affairs at the flagship.
Multiple media outlets reported the decision after the regents deliberated for more than three hours in executive session.
McElroy, a Black journalist who walked away from negotiations to lead Texas A&M University’s revived journalism program, has said the school watered down her contract in response to “outside” concerns about her past research in diversity and inclusion and her prior employment at the New York Times.
McElroy has not filed a lawsuit, but she has retained an attorney, according to the Texas Tribune… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
After McConnell's and Feinstein's episodes, should age limits be on the table? (NPR)
Can someone be too old to hold office?
That age-old question was front and center last week after awkward episodes from two of the oldest members of the U.S. Senate.
On Wednesday, Sen. Mitch McConnell, 81, abruptly froze for over 30 seconds during his weekly news conference. A day later, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, 90, had to be reminded by a colleague to "Just say, 'Aye' " while casting her vote for the military budget… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
College Applicants Ask: Can I Mention My Race, or Not? (Wall street Journal)
Colleges are scrambling this summer to respond to a Supreme Court ruling that sharply curtails how they can consider an applicant’s race in admission decisions.
That leaves rising high-school seniors eyeing the most selective schools in uncharted territory, making an already fraught process far more stressful. Most college applications go live on Aug. 1.
Yvonne Espinoza, an independent college counselor in Austin, Texas, whose current caseload is mainly public-school students, said some of her clients of color initially thought their applications would be dismissed by admissions offices if they mentioned their race. “Like they needed to somehow conceal that, or it would be a disadvantage to talk about their life experiences if it related to culture or race,” she said.
The Common Application, used by more than 1,000 colleges and universities, will keep an optional check box in which students can mark their race or ethnicity, but this year offered to send schools applications that omit that section, if so requested.
Admissions directors say that even though a school can’t consider race itself as a factor to tip the scales on whether an applicant gets in, some essay prompts not only allow but outright encourage more discussion about their backgrounds, a nuanced way to give applicants an opportunity to mention how their race shaped them... (LINK TO FULL STORY)