BG Reads | News You Need to Know (November 4, 2019)
[BG PODCAST]
NEW -> Episode 59: Land Development Code Draft 1 with Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza (LINK TO SHOW)
[AUSTIN METRO]
New version of AISD School Changes plan focuses on 2020-21 changes; includes 4 updated consolidation scenarios (Community Impact)
The second version of Austin ISD’s ongoing School Changes plan outlines four schools Austin ISD trustees could consider later this month for future consolidation—Sims, Metz, Pease and Brooke elementary schools.
The new version—which was released Nov. 1—focuses on 12 total scenarios, most of which could be implemented for the 2020-21 school year if approved by trustees Nov. 18. Over 20 additional scenarios are listed as needing more planning and community engagement before being voted on possibly this spring. The full updated plan can be viewed here.
… (LINK TO STORY)
Council OKs tax credits for affordable housing (Austin Monitor)
Council gave its blessing Thursday to an application for low-income housing tax credits issued through the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, for the redevelopment of a 62-unit affordable housing project to be known as the Oaks on North Plaza. Such approvals are generally routine and members of the public rarely show up for the public hearings on the financing.
But Lanell Espinosa, a member of the tenants organization at the Oaks on Lamar, another property managed by the same company, Related Affordable LLC, addressed Council members, telling them that Related had worked with her tenants organization at her complex as well as two other complexes… (LINK TO STORY)
Austin’s Railyard condo project sells for $104M (Austin American-Statesman)
Add one of Austin’s oldest downtown condominium projects to the list of sites destined to be transformed with new high-rise development.
Los Angeles-based Karlin Real Estate confirmed that is has purchased the Railyard condominiums, a property with 112 units that spans two adjacent half city blocks at 201 E. Fourth Street and 301 E. Fourth Street.
“We’re pleased to complete the purchase of the Railyard Condominium site in downtown Austin today,” Matthew Schwab, Karlin’s managing director, said in a written statement. “Our team is proud to add this property to our growing global portfolio, and we look forward to announcing long-term plans for this location in the near future.”… (LINK TO STORY)
[TEXAS]
Castro forges forward after 11th-hour fundraising drive, O’Rourke exit (Texas Tribune)
And then there was one.
Julián Castro became the sole Texan in the presidential race after Beto O’Rourke ended his campaign Friday, a sudden departure that creates new opportunity for Castro. But the former U.S. housing secretary is facing an uncertain fate of his own and trying to forge forward despite the long odds, sharpening his pitch as a unique advocate for the voiceless in the still-crowded primary field.
“This campaign has marched to the beat of its own drummer,” Castro said Friday night here at the Iowa Democratic Party’s Liberty and Justice Celebration. “We’ve been a little bit different from all the other campaigns. We haven’t been the same. We’ve been speaking up for the most vulnerable folks in this country — people sleeping on the streets and in storm drainage tunnels in Las Vegas, folks who are the victims of police brutality.”… (LINK TO STORY)
San Antonio’s biggest school districts are eyeing the charters next door (San Antonio Express-News)
Northside ISD has resumed growing. North East ISD continues to shrink. San Antontio ISD has leveled off after a decade-long slide. Bexar County’s largest independent school districts are counting students for a state-required official enrollment “snapshot” for the 2019-2020 school year. The pace of suburban development — and the prevalence of families with children — have driven such changes for years.
But competition from charter schools is now just as important a factor, maybe more so, and superintendents interviewed this week all spoke of a need to better market their own schools to contend with expanding options available to parents. One charter network, IDEA Public Schools, had more than 13,000 students in its local campuses on Oct. 25, the snapshot date — a larger enrollment than more than half of the county’s 16 traditional school districts. IDEA and other expanding charter networks plan to open half a dozen new schools here next fall… (LINK TO STORY)
[NATION]
Trump threatens to cut US funding for California wildfires (PBS)
President Donald Trump is threatening to cut U.S. funding to California for aid during wildfires that have burned across the state during dry winds this fall.
Trump tweeted Sunday that California Gov. Gavin Newsom has done a “terrible job of forest management.” He tweeted that when fires rage, the governor comes to the federal government for help. “No more,” he said.
Newsom replied with a tweet: “You don’t believe in climate change. You are excused from this conversation.”… (LINK TO STORY)
Whistleblower willing to answer questions from House GOP, attorney says (Washington Post)
An attorney for the whistleblower who filed a complaint about President Donald Trump's apparent efforts to pressure Ukraine for information he could use against political rivals said Sunday that Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee could submit questions directly to his client instead of going through the panel's Democratic majority.
Mark Zaid confirmed his client's offer to the top Republican on the Intelligence Committee, Rep. Devin Nunes of California, to answer written questions under oath and with penalty of perjury, while also protecting the individual's identity. In recent days, Trump and his allies have ramped up efforts to expose the whistleblower's identity, amplifying theories regarding the person's motives. Questions "cannot seek identifying info, regarding which we will not provide, or otherwise be inappropriate," Zaid tweeted, adding that the offer reflects his client's desire to be seen as nonpartisan… (LINK TO STORY)