BG Reads | News You Need to Know (December 19, 2019)
[BINGHAM GROUP]
NEW -> Episode 66: Generational Leadership with Michael Linehan, Land Strategies Inc., and Preston Flynn, Flynn Construction Inc. (LINK TO SHOW)
[AUSTIN METRO]
U.S. Census: Cedar Park, Leander continue to trend above state, U.S numbers (Community Impact)
The latest U.S. Census figures show that Cedar Park and Leander continue to trend higher than Texas and the U.S. in important economic indicators, such as household income and home values.
The U.S. Census Bureau released the latest American Community Survey five-year estimates for 2014-18 on Dec. 19. According to the U.S. census, the annual data release “helps local officials, community leaders, and businesses understand the changes taking place in their communities.”
Median home values continue to climb for both cities. In 2018, Cedar Park climbed to $279,900, while Leander increased to $235,900. Both are well above the median home prices for Texas—$161,700—and the U.S.—$204,900… (LINK TO STORY)
A divided landmark commission recommends Green Pastures Hotel (Austin Monitor)
In the decades since Green Pastures opened in 1946, the restaurant has become a beloved venue known for its elegant, porch-wrapped home and verdant grounds. It was noteworthy when the proposed addition of a hotel to the property swept through the Historic Landmark Commission with full support in 2016.
The approved project remained unrealized on the ground until this week, when a revised set of plans reappeared in front of the commission at its Dec. 16 meeting. The new design was not as warmly received.
In the end, the commission voted 6-2 to grant a Certificate of Appropriateness for the design. Commissioners Terri Myers and Beth Valenzuela voted against the motion.
“To me this looks like a modern office building,” said Myers. “I think it’s not appropriate for this site.”… (LINK TO STORY)
Which flights out of Austin make the most money? (Austin Business Journal)
The Austin airport's millions of annual passengers mean billions of dollars flowing through the facility.
But which routes are making the most money for the airlines operating out of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport?
New data from British airline analytics firm OAG helps point the way. OAG collects tons of information on the aviation industry and compiles lists such as the top unserved long-haul international routes at Austin-Bergstrom and other major American airports… (LINK TO STORY)
[TEXAS]
No Texans cross party lines in votes to impeach President Trump (Texas Tribune)
Texans serving in the U.S. House moved in a party-line vote to impeach President Donald Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, the third time in the nation's history the chamber took such action.
There was little suspense in the proceedings, as the larger chamber mostly reflected the Texas delegation's partisan split. But U.S. Rep. Michael Cloud, a Victoria Republican, briefly voted yes on impeachment and then quickly switched his vote to no. Soon after the vote, he made his position clear in a tweet.
"Despite unfair and, even at times, secret hearings, this impeachment investigation uncovered no evidence that the president committed impeachable offenses," he wrote. "This is a single-party effort to remove a sitting president."… (LINK TO STORY)
Texas, Google battle over experts in states’ antitrust probe (The Washington Post)
Texas investigators are defending their decision to employ some of Google’s longtime foes as part of an antitrust probe into the search giant, saying in a court filing that the recent legal objections raised by the company threaten to “severely compromise” states’ scrutiny.
At issue are a number of consultants retained by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is leading an inquiry into Google’s ad business that’s backed by 50 other attorneys general. The experts include people who previously have worked on behalf of Google’s rivals, including News Corp., in antitrust battles around the world.
In October, Google lawyers asked a Texas court to limit those consultants’ access to the tech giant’s secrets. Almost two months later, Texas officials told a judge in Travis County that Google’s requests are highly problematic, serving only to try to block much-needed experts from contributing in a complicated matter. The Washington Post obtained the documents, dated Dec. 9, through an open-records request… (LINK TO STORY)
Individual mandate is unconstitutional, federal appellate court rules in Texas-led Affordable Care Act lawsuit (Texas Tribune)
The individual mandate, a critical provision of President Barack Obama’s landmark Affordable Care Act, is unconstitutional, a panel on the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday in a case that has pitted a conservative coalition of states led by Texas against a counter-team of blue states led by California.
A three-judge panel on the New Orleans-based appeals court shipped the rest of the law back to a federal district court in Texas, charging the judge there with reassessing how much of the sprawling legislation may stand without the individual mandate provision.
In February 2018, the Texas-led coalition asked a federal judge in Fort Worth to strike down the law as unconstitutional, arguing that the landmark health care law must fall in its entirety after Congress in 2017 gutted one of its major provisions, the individual mandate. The conservative-led states won an early victory in December 2018, when U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor — who has a reputation for issuing rulings friendly to the conservative Texas Attorney General’s Office — ruled the entire law unconstitutional…(LINK TO STORY)
[NATION]
House votes to impeach Trump (The Hill)
House Democrats took the historic step Wednesday of impeaching President Trump, a momentous move that will send long-lasting reverberations throughout the Capitol and the country, both already fiercely divided over the truculent figure in the Oval Office.
The two articles, which charge Trump with abusing power in his dealings with Ukraine and obstructing Congress in their investigation of those actions, passed almost exclusively along party lines, marking the most sectarian and contentious of the three presidential impeachments since the nation’s founding — and the first to target a president in his first term.
Lawmakers voted 230 to 197 on the resolution accusing Trump of abusing his power, with all Republicans opposed and only two Democrats — Reps. Collin Peterson (Minn.) and Jefferson Van Drew (N.J.) — crossing the aisle in dissent. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii), a Democratic presidential candidate, voted “present.”… (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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