BG Reads | News You Need to Know (July 26, 2023)
[BG PODCAST]
EPISODE 207 // Bingham Group Associates Hannah Garcia and Wendy Rodriguez review the week in Austin politics and more.
The discussion covers:
• City Council returned from Summer break for a regular meeting on July 20th, 2023 → services.austintexas.gov/edims/docume…fm?id=411224
• City of Austin Staff released expedited timeline for housing code amendments → www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2023/0…de-amendments/
• Texas has increased funding for school meals allowing more AustinISD Students will eat free breakfast → www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2023/0…-school-meals/
• The proposal to reorganize Equity, and Civil Rights offices drawing criticism from community members. Interim City Manager Jesus Garza explained motivations for changes → www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2023/0…ights-offices/
• Council voted to formalize $200 minimum pay for musicians at city events at their Thursday meeting → www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2023/0…t-city-events/
Also check out our previous podcast covering the release of The City of Austin FY23-24 Budget → The-bingham-group-llc – Ep206
>>> SHOW LINK <<<
Also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
[AUSTIN METRO]
Williamson County opens office in South Korea to court Samsung suppliers (Austin BUSINESS JOURNAL)
The Williamson County Economic Development Partnership announced July 25 it has opened an office in South Korea as it continues to court companies from the Asian country.
The group advocating for businesses in the region north of Austin wants to capitalize on interest from suppliers of Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. as the company continues to build a multibillion-dollar chipmaking factory in Taylor.
The office in Seoul, which opened July 1, will be used "to identify and assist South Korean companies who are looking at expanding to the United States and to encourage them to locate in Williamson County," according to the announcement… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Georgetown, the fastest-growing city in the U.S., is struggling to meet its water demands. Why? (KUT)
Georgetown, the fastest-growing city in U.S. and home to more than 86,000 people, is struggling to meet its water demands.
At a press conference Tuesday, city officials blamed the struggle on excessive irrigation, water supply challenges and severe drought conditions.
"The largest driver of why we're in restrictions today, is specifically ... the heat that we're experiencing and the amount of water that's having to be demanded in order to keep to keep grass green," City Manager David Morgan said.
Morgan estimated that about 75% of the city's total daily water use goes toward outdoor watering and irrigation… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Texas DPS has new focus on downtown Austin patrolS (KXAN)
As the Texas Department of Public Safety continues its patrols in Austin, there’s a new focus on downtown deployments.
“When we technically ended the partnership, that was one of the areas we added troopers to have a bigger impact on the overall crime,” DPS Regional Director Vincent Luciano said during a forum with the Downtown Austin Alliance this month. “We’re looking at historical data, typically late night was one of the big issues, we have more troopers that are downtown late night when [there’s] a lot of the crime.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin police union launch podcast addressing the ongoing impact of the city council's 2020 defunding (FOX News)
The Austin Police Association has launched a podcast chronicling the impact of the push to defund the department. The series, "Defunded," will feature interviews with officers and detectives from units that have had their funding slashed or were disbanded altogether.
"I just wanted to sit down and talk about the history of the last six years, and how we got to the situation where we as an agency defunded and disbanded several units," says APA President Thomas Villareal in the debut episode… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Disability commission pushes city to pick up pace of sidewalk improvements (Austin Monitor)
Improved access to public transit and bike-share programs – possibly including free service for all residents – is among the policy moves the Transportation and Public Works Department intends to ask City Council to consider later this year.
During a presentation last week to the Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities, John Eastman, division manager with the department, shared some of the details specific to sidewalk improvements included in a planned update to the city’s Strategic Mobility Plan. Along with discussing plans for installing more than 1,500 miles of sidewalks and shared streetscapes over the next 20 to 30 years to improve accessibility, Eastman shared five policy points related to transportation that tested well with survey respondents… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Rising rent, location restrictions hinder live music venues in Austin, city says (Austin American-Statesman)
The city of Austin could soon expand its footprint for live music venues as some say rising rents and the need for additional space pose serious threats to the live music scene. Live music venues are currently treated as cocktail lounges in city code, which heavily restricts the areas in which they're allowed to operate, said Donald Jackson, business process consultant for the city's Economic Development Department. Defining live music venues that way is detrimental to their business models, advocates say. They're pushing for a definition specific to the venues themselves. "What we're trying to do is put in (a definition) that recognizes the distinct importance of live music venues to Austin, and the Austin economy, and the Austin community that lets them be in more parts and more zones throughout the city without necessarily sacrificing community oversight," Jackson said.
But not all agree, as some fear this change could simply spur the growth of venues more interested in alcohol sales than providing live music. The definition changes are still in draft form, subject to revisions, though they're likely to be presented to the City Council before the end of the year. The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the code changes at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the City Council Chambers at City Hall. The proposed definition's current language stipulates that performance venues, which incude live music venues, must allocate a minimum of 50% of gross floor area for production and programming space, including "stages, green rooms, box offices and ticketing booths, audience areas, and equipment dedicated to producing plays, motion pictures, or other performances." Erica Shamaly, music and entertainment division manager for the department, said the additional expenses associated with operating a live music venue, paired with the prime rent locations they oftentimes inhabit, put enormous financial strain on the businesses that bars have easier times overcoming. "There's just really not enough beer that you can sell in all of the world to cover the cost of all of that," Shamaly said… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
'We do not surrender': San Antonio sues state of Texas over law that would limit local authority (San Antonio Express-news)
The city of San Antonio has joined Houston's lawsuit to overturn a new state law that will block local officeholders from adopting regulations over business and labor practices and other key aspects of urban life — unless they get the approval of the Legislature. House Bill 2127, which critics call the "Death Star bill," puts a slew of local regulations in doubt and allows businesses and individuals to sue cities they believe have imposed regulations in violation of the law. The city of Houston filed suit against the state this month contending that HB2127 violates the Texas Constitution and is unenforceable.
At a news conference announcing the decision to intervene in Houston's lawsuit, Mayor Ron Nirenberg called the new law "big government overreach" that "demonstrates the dangers of a radical agenda being codified session after session at the Capitol." San Antonio officials have filed a petition to join Houston in state District Court in Travis County. The law, officially named the Texas Regulatory Consistency Act, is set to go into effect Sept. 1. But the court could rule at an Aug. 17 hearing to put the measure on hold until the lawsuit is resolved. "HB2127 tries to preempt home-rule cities' local regulation of multiple areas of local authority through broad, generalized statements of preemption," the petition states. Home-rule cities have broad authority under the state constitution to adopt ordinances that meet the needs of its residents, as long as the measures are not forbidden by state or federal law… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Texas A&M University System to investigate esteemed journalist's botched hiring (HOuston Chronicle)
The Texas A&M University System has launched an investigation into the botched hiring of Kathleen McElroy, a Black journalist who backed out of negotiations to lead the flagship’s new journalism department because of changes that watered down her contract. Two administrators, including Texas A&M University’s president, resigned in the fallout. McElroy’s original offer regressed when school officials bowed to “outside” concerns about her research and past work in diversity and inclusion, as well as her former employment at the New York Times, she first told the Texas Tribune. The university system’s office of general counsel is in the “early stages” of a probe, which includes a “review of all events, communications and related documentation as well as interviews” with former President M. Katherine Banks, Department of Communication Director Hart Blanton and other university officials, said Laylan Copelin, vice chancellor of marketing and communication at the A&M System.
“University and System officials have read, heard and understood the concerns of our Aggie community stemming from the attempt to hire Dr. Kathleen McElroy to lead the university’s journalism program,” Copelin said in a statement. “We are determined to get to the bottom of what happened and why, learn from the mistakes and do better in the future.” A&M officials initially celebrated the decision to hire McElroy, a Third Ward native who directed the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Journalism, where she is now a tenured professor. The deal fell apart within weeks. McElroy’s potential employment became ensnared in “DEI hysteria” as higher education institutions determine how to handle a statewide ban on diversity, equity and inclusion offices, she told the Tribune. McElroy said she believed her job would have little to do with diversity and equity, but the outside concerns still prompted her to ditch the tenured spot she was offered for a five-year nontenured position, the Tribune reported. A third offer then came to hold a one-year nontenured professorship and a three-year appointment to serve as an at-will director of the journalism school — and McElroy stepped away from the position… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Facing sex discrimination claims, Texas begins jailing migrant women under border crackdown (Texas Tribune)
Facing sex discrimination lawsuits for targeting men under the state’s border security crackdown, Texas has begun putting migrant women in state prisons, too.
Since last week, women arrested under Gov. Greg Abbott’s yearslong Operation Lone Star have been sent to a state prison facility in Edinburg, prison and state police officials confirmed. By Tuesday, 25 women, most accused only of trespassing, were being held at the Lopez State Jail, which typically houses men convicted of low-level crimes.
Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesperson Amanda Hernandez said officials had cleared out one building in the facility to house up to 200 females… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
FTC readies lawsuit that could break up Amazon (Politico)
The Federal Trade Commission is finalizing its long-awaited antitrust lawsuit against Amazon, four people with knowledge of the matter told POLITICO, a move that could ultimately break up parts of the company.
The FTC has been investigating the company on a number of fronts, and the coming case would be one of the most aggressive and high-profile moves in the Biden administration’s rocky effort to tame the power of tech giants. The wide-ranging lawsuit is expected as soon as August, and will likely challenge a host of Amazon’s business practices, said the people, who were granted anonymity to discuss a confidential matter. If successful, it could lead to a court-ordered restructuring of the $1.3 trillion empire and define the legacy of FTC Chair Lina Khan.'
Khan rose to prominence as a Big Tech skeptic with a 2017 academic paper specifically identifying Amazon as a modern monopolist needing to be reined in. Because any case will likely take years to wind through the courts, the final result will rest with her successors… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
U.S. Rep. Chip Roy helps bend powerful House committee further to the right (Texas Tribune)
In the U.S. House, the Rules Committee is an influential if little understood power player on Capitol Hill, providing its members with the clout to shape headline-making legislation and policy debates.
The Rules Committee is so important that Republicans, who hold 51% of the seats in the U.S. House, occupy nine of the committee’s 13 seats, or just under 70%.
Operating as a supermajority — typical for the party in power — gives Republicans outsized influence for a committee that sets the terms of floor debate and determines what amendments can be voted upon for major legislation… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[WORLD]
Rival Koreas mark armistice anniversary in two different ways that highlight rising tensions (Associated Press)
The truce that stopped the bloodshed in the Korean War turns 70 years old on Thursday and the two Koreas are marking the anniversary in starkly different ways, underscoring their deepening nuclear tensions.
North Korea has invited delegations from China and Russia as it prepares to stage huge celebrations with thousands of citizens who have rehearsed for months to commemorate the armistice it sees as a victory in the “Grand Fatherland Liberation War.” The festivities are likely to be capped by a giant military parade in the capital, Pyongyang, where leader Kim Jong Un could showcase his most powerful, nuclear-capable missiles designed to target neighboring rivals and the U.S. mainland.
The mood is more somber in South Korea, where President Yoon Suk Yeol has invited dozens of foreign war veterans to honor the fallen soldiers of the 1950-53 conflict, which killed and injured millions and set the stage for decades of animosity among the Koreas and the United States… (LINK TO FULL STORY)