BG Reads | News You Need to Know (October 18, 2019)
[BG PODCAST]
NEW -> Episode 57: Micromobility Policy with the City of Austin’s Jason Redfern and Jacob Culberson (LINK TO SHOW)
[AUSTIN METRO]
Austin Reinstates Limited Bans On Camping And Resting In Public (KUT)
The Austin City Council reinstated partial bans on camping, sitting and lying down in public on Thursday. After hours of debate, Council approved the new ordinance on a 7-4 vote.
The city's new rules ban camping, sitting and lying down within 15 feet of a doorway to a home or an open business, as well as within the area of a city-operated emergency shelter, including the immediate area around the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless and within a half-mile of any future city shelter.
The vote comes after months of scrutiny and outright divisiveness after Council voted to roll back its previous ordinances outlawing public camping and resting in June. That divisiveness was on display at City Hall on Thursday as well, with the discussion ultimately being riven by competing views over how the city should regulate behavior related to homelessness… (LINK TO STORY)
Austin City Council approves zoning changes for controversial 97-acre “urban village” on East Riverside (Community Impact)
As protesters’ chants carried into chambers from outside City Hall, Austin City Council members voted 6-3 to approve zoning changes for 4700 Riverside, a 97-acre mixed-use project planned at the intersection of East Riverside Drive and South Pleasant Valley Road.
Council Member Alison Alter abstained from the Oct. 17 vote, saying she could not condone how some opponents of the project “harassed” her colleagues and those associated with the developer, incidents that involved police. Council Member Kathie Tovo was absent.
Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza and Council Members Greg Casar and Leslie Pool voted against the rezoning.
The developer, a joint venture between Los Angeles-based investment firm Nimes Capital and Texas-based property management firm Presidium, requested zoning changes to include a mix of uses, taller buildings and the chance to participate in the city’s density bonus program.
The project, however, has been a source of controversy for months as council members requested more assurances of affordable housing and environmental protection in exchange for the zoning changes requested… (LINK TO STORY)
Plan revealed for tallest tower at The Domain (Austin Business Journal)
Construction has started on the next tallest tower at The Domain.
When completed in fall 2021, Domain Tower 2 from developer Stonelake Capital Partners will be 24 stories and have 330,000 square feet of office space, according to the developer. JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citizens Bank and Frost Bank provided construction financing.
Domain Tower 2 on Alterra Parkway will be the fourth building from Stonelake at the south end of The Domain, the massive mixed-use development that’s known as Austin's second downtown.
At the opposite end of The Domain, numerous office towers are in various stages of construction from developers Endeavor Real Estate Group LLC and Cousins Properties, which bought TIER REIT Inc. earlier this year. These companies are meeting the demand from major technology employers such as Indeed, Amazon and Facebook for an employment and entertainment hub on the north side of Austin… (LINK TO STORY)
'Equity' Keeps Coming Up In Austin’s School Closure Conversations. But What Does It Mean? (KUT)
The word “equity” has been thrown around a lot over the last month, since the Austin Independent School District announced its plan to close and consolidate 12 schools. On the first page of the district’s proposal released on Sept. 5, it says these changes are being made “with equity in mind.”
But the meaning of the word “equity” means different things, depending on who you talk to.
As the district moved forward with gathering community feedback and answering questions about the proposal, equity, and what it means, was at the center of the conversation… (LINK TO STORY)
[TEXAS]
Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry tells Donald Trump he will resign as energy secretary (Texas Tribune)
Rick Perry, the former governor of Texas, will resign as secretary of energy later this year, President Donald Trump said during a visit to Texas on Thursday.
Perry drew scrutiny after being entangled in the president's efforts to push Ukraine officials to investigate the son of a political rival.
Perry's resignation was anticipated for several weeks, prior to news coming out about his involvement in the Ukraine scandal, in which Trump made efforts to convince the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, to investigate a company that formerly worked with Hunter Biden, the son of former Vice President Joe Biden, according to The New York Times… (LINK TO STORY)
Eric Johnson: "I cannot abide" Bonnen’s insults of Texas cities (Dallas Morning News)
Last year, when I was a member of the Texas House, I supported Dennis Bonnen to become our speaker. While I had made the deeply personal decision to seek the speakership myself, I stepped aside because I believed he had the potential to unify the House and help our state address critical issues, such as school finance, that for far too long had been left unresolved.
In the time since the speaker election, I was fortunate enough to be elected mayor of Dallas, a place that I have called home my entire life. I cannot abide by what I heard the speaker say in that recording about our state’s great cities and their leaders. “Any mayor, county judge that was dumbass enough to come meet with me, I told them with great clarity, my goal is for this to be the worst session in the history of the Legislature for cities and counties,” Bonnen is heard saying on the recording of a meeting with conservative activist Michael Quinn Sullivan in June… (LINK TO STORY)
Austin joins legal fight against Permian Highway Pipeline (KUT)
The city of Austin is signaling it intends to sue Kinder Morgan, the company behind the proposed Permian Highway Pipeline — a 430-mile natural gas line that has provoked major opposition in the Texas Hill Country. In filing its Notice of Intent to sue, Austin joins opposition already being mounted by San Marcos, Kyle, the Barton Springs Aquifer Conservation District and a property-owner group called the TREAD Coalition.
The pipeline has already been the subject of suits and counter suits. In June, the Austin City Council announced its opposition to the project, but this is the first time the city itself has stepped into the legal fray. Here’s why. You know the old expression to “have a dog in the fight?” City of Austin environmental officer Chris Herrington says the city has “two Salamanders in the fight.” They are the endangered Austin blind salamander and the Barton Springs salamander. Herrington says the pipeline project could hurt or kill these animals… (LINK TO STORY)
[NATION]
Trump has awarded next year’s G-7 summit of world leaders to his Miami-area resort, the White House said (Washington Post)
President Trump has awarded the 2020 Group of Seven summit of world leaders to his private company, scheduling the summit for June at his Trump Doral golf resort in Miami, the White House announced Thursday. That decision is without precedent in modern American history: The president used his public office to direct a massive contract to himself.
Trump’s Doral resort — set among office parks near the Miami airport — has been in sharp decline in recent years, according to the Trump Organization’s own records. Its net operating income fell 69 percent from 2015 to 2017; a Trump Organization representative testified last year that the reason was Trump’s damaged brand. Now, the G-7 summit will draw hundreds of diplomats, journalists and security personnel to the resort during one of its slowest months of the year, when Miami is hot and the hotel is often less than 40 percent full. It will also provide a worldwide spotlight for the club… (LINK TO STORY)
Mulvaney acknowledges Ukraine aid was withheld to boost political probe (Politico)
Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney told reporters Thursday that President Trump blocked nearly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine in part to force the government in Kyiv to secure a politically motivated investigation of Democrats, a startling acknowledgment after the president’s repeated denials of a quid pro quo. Mulvaney defended the maneuver as “absolutely appropriate.”
But hours later, Mulvaney scrambled to walk back his comments in an official statement blaming the media for misconstruing his words “to advance a biased and political witch hunt against President Trump.” “Let me be clear, there was absolutely no quid pro quo between Ukrainian military aid and any investigation into the 2016 election,” he said in a written statement. “There was never any connection between the funds and the Ukrainians doing anything with the server ... there was never any condition on the flow of the aid related to the matter of the DNC server.”… (LINK TO STORY)
Juul Suspends Sales of Flavored Vapes And Signs Settlement To Stop Marketing To Youth (NPR)
E-cigarette maker Juul Labs announced Thursday it will suspend sales of most of its flavored products, including mango, fruit and cucumber. These types of flavors are considered an on-ramp to vaping for teenagers.
The move comes as the industry faces immense scrutiny. Several states have instituted bans on flavored products, and the Trump administration has signaled that a federal ban may be in the works.
Juul Labs new CEO K.C. Crosthwaite said the company is focused on "earning the trust of society" and is working to "combat underage use while providing an alternative to adult smokers," according to a company release announcing the change.
At a time when 25% of high school seniors surveyed in the U.S. say they've vaped within the last 30 days, the company is also under pressure to limit marketing and advertising to youth… (LINK STORY)