BG Reads | News You Need to Know (December 16, 2019)
[BINGHAM GROUP]
NEW -> BG Podcast Episode 65: Commercial Real Estate Market from Banking Perspective with Allan Rayson, Regions Bank (LINK TO SHOW)
[AUSTIN METRO]
Elizabeth Warren opens Austin office (Austin American-Statesman)
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaign opened an Austin office Saturday, less than three months before the Texas Democratic primary, which comes early on the nominating calendar. The offices are part of the Massachusetts senator’s latest push to expand her campaign’s presence in the Lone Star State. On Wednesday, Warren’s campaign revealed that it has hired more than two dozen full-time senior staffers and organizers across Texas.
“Just because we live in Texas doesn’t mean that our voices should be any less heard,” Warren’s Texas state director, Jenn Longoria, told a crowd of more than 150 volunteers at the North Lamar Boulevard office. Longoria, who was named the campaign’s Texas state director in October, said Texas has remained a red state because of low voter turnout. “We really believe that the Warren campaign and the current climate is going to help bring those people out,” Longoria told reporters. As a 2020 presidential candidate, Warren has visited Austin, Dallas and Houston… (LINK TO STORY)
Long-awaited AISD headquarters redevelopment on cusp of starting (Austin Business Journal)
Schlosser Development Corp.’s long-awaited redevelopment of the Austin Independent School District headquarters west of the Central Business District is expected to get underway in the first quarter of 2020.
Expect two four-story office buildings, including the new home for Austin-based law firm McGinnis Lochridge, with some ground-floor space reserved for shops on the 2.7-acre site at 1111 W. Sixth St.
Schlosser will demolish four of the five red brick structures on the site to make way for a new, 109,000-square-foot building, according to the developer. That is where McGinnis Lochridge has leased about 35,000 square feet as the building's first tenant, according to both parties. The building will have 85,300 square feet of office space plus 23,700 square feet of retail space on the first floor. An underground parking garage will be expanded… (LINK TO STORY)
Can APD Chief Brian Manley weather the storm? (Austin American-Statesman)
Outrage, shock and disgust are words that have been thrown around with frequency since news of alleged racist comments and homophobia from some of Austin’s top law enforcement officers surfaced in November.
The allegations have shaken the Police Department.
When Brian Manley was being considered for Austin police chief in 2018, detractors questioned whether a homegrown cop who spent his entire career in Austin could be an agent of change. A year and a half later, critics now wonder how he will navigate the turmoil.
“My sister is a police officer. She’s married to a police officer. I have cousins. I have uncles. My father was a firefighter, and I was an Austin firefighter. I have tremendous respect for our public safety,” Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza said. “But repeated incidences by our department have really shaken my faith in many ways, and in some ways, I’ve lost a lot of faith.”… (LINK TO STORY)
A look at the future of S. 1st and S. Congress corridor (KXAN)
Neighborhoods along South First Street and South Congress Avenue already have 2.61 million square feet of office space and more than 11,000 apartment or condo units, but those numbers will get even higher in the near future.
According to data from commercial real estate company JLL, six new office properties are either under construction or planned, and three multifamily properties will add 548 new housing units to the corridors.
At 900 S. First St., Story Built recently opened a mixed-use development called Frank. The project has condos, townhomes and detached houses, as well as office space.
He said, the development is “trying to create a more pedestrian oriented street, continuing to build amenities like restaurants and additional retail. [It] also bring[s] some daytime users to the… (LINK TO STORY)
[TEXAS]
Court finds ‘no undue burden’ in delaying paid sick leave, sets trial date (Rivard Report)
State District Court Judge Peter Sakai set a September 2020 court date for a trial over the City of San Antonio’s paid sick leave ordinance. Sakai also issued his findings Thursday in granting a temporary injunction Nov. 22 to a coalition of business groups suing the City over the ordinance. With the judge setting a court date for the trial that’s more than nine months away – Sept. 21, 2020 – both parties expect to avert a trial altogether because the case is likely to be superseded by a higher-court decision.
“We set it in September with the expectation that the Supreme Court will rule on the 3rd Court of Appeals opinion and that should obviate the need for a trial,” said Ricardo Cedillo, attorney for the business groups. In November 2018, the 3rd Court of Appeals declared Austin’s paid sick leave ordinance, which is similar to San Antonio’s, unconstitutional. The case is now pending in the Texas Supreme Court. The local Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance would have required all employers to provide one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked starting Dec. 1. In a Nov. 7 hearing, Cedillo argued that paid sick leave is a wage by definition and is thus preempted by the Texas Minimum Wage Law. An attorney representing the City said the ordinance was lawful because paid sick leave is a benefit, not a wage… (LINK TO STORY)
See also:
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner coasts to second term (Houston Chronicle)
Mayor Sylvester Turner won a second term at the helm of Houston government Saturday, declaring victory over Tony Buzbee and casting the outcome as proof that the city’s working class residents still can achieve upward mobility. Turner, who was vastly outspent by Buzbee’s self-financed campaign, delivered an emphatic victory speech laden with mentions of his poverty-stricken upbringing in Acres Homes. “Let this campaign be a reminder that you can grow up and still live in the ‘hood, and still be the mayor of the fourth largest city in the United States of America,” Turner said. "My dad and mom said to their nine kids, 'You can compete. You can do well. We may not have what somebody else has. We may not drive what somebody else drives. But Sylvester, you can still compete.' And tonight in this city, you have reaffirmed the message of my parents."
Flanked by a laundry list of local Democratic officials, Turner took the stage at his watch party at the George R. Brown Convention Center shortly before 10 p.m. as Election Day returns showed him with a still-ascending double-digit lead over Buzbee. A crowd largely filled with government officials, union leaders and members of the business community listened on as Turner’s speech touched on a slew of progressive themes, urging cooperative policing between officers and residents, and acceptance of immigrants. “Whether you are documented or undocumented, you have a right to be in this city,” Turner said, generating thunderous applause. With complete, unofficial returns counted, Turner captured 57 percent of the vote. Though the mayor declared victory, Buzbee had not yet conceded late Saturday, despite acknowledging his chances were slim. In a speech to supporters at his campaign headquarters, Buzbee also was insistent that his campaign — which had spent almost $12 million through early December — was not a total loss… (LINK TO STORY)
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Cisneros wins by whisker, other incumbents cruise in council runoffs (Houston Chronicle)
A Dallas Company Plans To Be Among The First To Process Texas Hemp (KUT)
The Texas Department of Agriculture this week released a proposed set of rules for growing hemp, which had been illegal until the federal government's 2018 Farm Bill cleared the way for production.
The new rules will help would-be growers understand how the crop will be regulated. And when the hemp is ready to be harvested, a Dallas company has a plan for processing it.
A lot of people in Texas are excited about growing hemp. The crop has big profit potential, thanks in large part to the boom in cannabidiol, or CBD, products. But experts are cautioning would-be growers to be careful before they take a big leap. One reason is that growing hemp is just one part of the equation. Another is processing it – extracting CBD oil, or breaking the plant down so you can use its fiber… (LINK TO STORY)
See also:
Episode 61: CBD Market Talk with Prohibition Creamery's Laura Aidan
BG Episode 62: Cree Crawford, Founder and President, Ionization Labs
Episode 63: The Future of Texas Hemp Farming with Robert Head, CEO, Blue Cord Farms
In San Antonio, Biden says he’d look into another round of base closures (San Antonio Express-News)
Former Vice President Joe Biden said that if he wins the White House, he would consider more military base closures and consolidations to save the nation billions of dollars and reposition the military for a new era of conflicts. “Were I president, I would ask the Congress for a base closure review, but any base closures recommended, I would have to be assured communities are completely taken care of,” Biden told the San Antonio Express-News. Knowing that bases can be the major economic driver, particularly in smaller communities, Biden said there would have to be efforts to protect those communities.
It’s been almost 15 years since the last round of base closures, but the Pentagon has consistently told Congress and previous administrations that it has 20 percent more infrastructure than it needs for today’s military. Biden said military needs have changed. He said no longer is it about needing large forces for a land war. Instead, he said, it’s more about building coalitions and working to deal with rogue nations and enemies. “I would support a commission that looked at excess capacity, consolidated capacity, as well as base closures,” Biden said. The last Base Realignment and Closure, or BRAC, was in 2005. In 1995, the BRAC commission voted to close Kelly AFB, which once had more than 25,000 employees… (LINK TO STORY)
[NATION]
On Verge Of Impeachment Vote, First-Term, Moderate Democrats Weigh A Political Risk (NPR)
Last month, Democratic freshman Rep. Elaine Luria of Virginia took a giant, political risk.
The veteran Navy commander released a dramatic, 2-minute video declaring her support for the formal House impeachment inquiry.
The move expanded the Republican target on her back, as the GOP vies to take back the seat she flipped to Democrats last year… (LINK TO STORY)
[WOLRD]
UK’s Johnson claims Brexit mandate as Tories secure majority (Associated Press)
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party has won a thumping majority of seats in Britain’s Parliament — a decisive outcome to a Brexit-dominated election that should allow Johnson to fulfill his plan to take the U.K. out of the European Union next month. With 642 of the 650 results declared on Friday, the Conservatives had 358 seats and the main opposition Labour Party 203.
Johnson said it looked like the Conservatives had “a powerful new mandate to get Brexit done.” The victory makes Johnson the most electorally successful Conservative leader since Margaret Thatcher, another politician who was loved and loathed in almost equal measure. It was a disaster for left-wing Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who faced calls for his resignation even as the results rolled in. Corbyn called the result “very disappointing” for his party and said he would not lead Labour into another election, though he resisted calls to quit immediately. Results poured in early Friday showing a substantial shift in support to the Conservatives from Labour. In the last election in 2017, the Conservatives won 318 seats and Labour 262… (LINK TO STORY)
The Bingham Group, LLC is an Austin-based full service lobbying firm representing and advising clients on municipal, legislative, and regulatory matters throughout Texas.
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