BG Reads | News You Need to Know (November 12, 2019)
[BG PODCAST]
NEW -> Episode 60: Opportunity Zones with Christine Maguire, Redevelopment Division Manager at City of Austin (LINK TO SHOW)
[BG BLOG]
NEW -> In the Weeds: Hemp legislation updates from USDA and State of Texas (LINK TO BLOG)
[AUSTIN METRO]
Campaign contribution limits going up (Austin Monitor)
While candidates for state and federal offices have been gearing up to run in the March 2020 primary, likely City Council candidates have also been considering whether to run in next November’s election. In fact, candidates for Council have been able to start collecting campaign donations since Nov. 4.
Austin voters approved new campaign finance regulations in 1997 that limit the amount an individual can give to each candidate. City Clerk Jannette Goodall has announced that the amount has risen from $350 to $400 under the city’s campaign finance laws.
Goodall informed Council of the change in a memo last week. She noted, “The limits are increasing for the first time in a number of years based on the Department of Labor’s Consumer Price Index.”
There is one other small change: Candidates will now be allowed to collect $38,000, rather than $37,000, “from sources other than natural persons eligible to vote in a postal ZIP code completely or partially within the (city of Austin) limits.”… (LINK TO STORY)
Music commissioners push ACL Fest promoters for more local involvement, equity (Austin Monitor)
Members of the Music Commission appear to have opened the door for a partnership between the city and local concert promotion giant C3 Presents to feature more Austin musicians at Austin City Limits Fest and other festivals run by the company around the world.
The Nov. 4 meeting featured something of a first for the commission, with two executives from the company in attendance to discuss ACL Fest’s role and impact on the city. The agenda item featured no action and came after several months of pushing by the commission and city staff to receive updates from C3 and the organizers of South by Southwest on festival performance and related issues.
The discussion started with Emmett Beliveau, C3 chief operating officer, sharing details from the company’s most recent economic impact analysis – measured at $264 million for the 2018 festival. Talk shifted quickly to the number of local acts booked over the two weekends each year when the festival takes over Zilker Park and draws 75,000 people a day… (LINK TO STORY)
More towers on the rise at Austin’s Domain (Austin American-Statesman)
Two more high-rise projects are underway at the Domain -- a 19-story apartment building called the Bowen and a 24-story office tower that will be the tallest building at the development.
The office building, called Domain Tower 2, will have 330,000 square feet of office space. Directly across Alterra Parkway, the 340-unit Bowen will be the first high-rise apartment tower at the Domain.
Domain Tower 2 and the Bowen are Stonelake Capital Partners’ fourth and fifth buildings, respectively, at the Domain. Stonelake, founded in Austin in 2007, is a real estate private equity firm with offices in Austin, Dallas and Houston.
Both projects are within Stonelake’s Domain | South End development, a 33-acre mixed-use section within the Domain… (LINK STORY)
[TEXAS]
All Eyes On Texas Governor As Calls Grow To Halt Rodney Reed's Execution (KUT)
In his five years as Texas' governor, Republican Greg Abbott has overseen the execution of nearly 50 prisoners while only once sparing a condemned man's life.
But Abbott — who has proudly referred to the death penalty as "Texas justice" — has never confronted such intense pressure to halt a lethal injection like he is facing in the case of Rodney Reed, who is set to die this month for a 1996 killing despite new evidence that even a growing number of Republican legislators say raises serious questions about his guilt… (LINK TO STORY)
Tenant leases complicates Alamo makeover project in downtown San Antonio (San Antonio Express-News)
The owner of amusement attractions in the historic Woolworth and Palace buildings on Alamo Plaza says he doesn’t want to vacate before his leases expire in 2027 and 2028 — unless he’s paid $20 million. Getting attractions owner Davis Phillips to leave the buildings could become a problem because officials want to complete the $450 million Alamo Plaza overhaul project by 2024, the tricentennial of the 1724 founding of the final location of Mission San Antonio de Valero, which became the Alamo.
The high figure proposed by Phillips, president and CEO of Phillips Entertainment, which includes Ripley’s Haunted Adventure and Tomb Rider 3D, is appropriate, he says. “That figure is based on the fact that our company spent close to $9 million between 2001 and 2005 to build these businesses,” Phillips said. “That is 15-18 years ago, and the cost of construction has doubled. This does not even take into account the cost of downtime between moving locations.” The Texas General Land Office purchased the two 1920s buildings that house the tourist attractions, as well as the 1882 Crockett Building, in 2015, for $14.4 million… (LINK TO STORY)
Fracking may indeed be causing earthquakes in Texas, according to UT study (Dallas Morning News)
Since Texas earthquake rates first picked up in 2008, academic scientists, regulators and oil and gas companies have publicly agreed on one thing: fracking was not to blame. Instead, studies tied the quakes to the disposal of wastewater from oil and gas production.
Now, a new study suggests for the first time that some Texas earthquakes — specifically, those in West Texas — may indeed be connected to hydraulic fracturing, the process of injecting fluid, sand and chemicals underground at high pressure to release oil and gas.… (LINK STORY)
[NATION]
As Illinois Prepares To Legalize Pot, Public Housing Tenants Not Allowed To Partake (NPR)
Recreational pot is about to become legal in Illinois, but Chicago's Housing Authority says not in our backyard or front yard or anywhere on public housing premises, for that matter.
Housing voucher recipients received a letter from the agency last week, warning them about the ramifications of smoking or possessing pot on federally funded grounds even after it becomes legal on Jan. 1. In a nutshell, those who violate the federal law could face eviction.
"While federal law prohibits marijuana use and possession in federally subsidized housing, the [Chicago Housing Authority] is working to educate and inform residents so they understand all applicable laws related to cannabis and federally-funded housing," spokeswoman Molly Sullivan said in a statement.… (LINK TO STORY)
As SpaceX Launches Dozens Of Satellites At A Time, Some Fear An Orbital Traffic Jam (NPR)
SpaceX successfully launched 60 communications satellites on Monday using a single rocket.
It's the second time in less than a year that Elon Musk's company has made such a launch, marking a dramatic increase in the number of satellites in orbit.
Over the next year, SpaceX and a rival company, OneWeb, plan to put hundreds of networked satellites in orbit to eventually provide high-speed Internet to any point on Earth. But critics worry that lax regulations, poor infrastructure and Musk's go-fast ethos could lead to chaos.… (LINK TO STORY)