BG Reads | News You Need to Know (February 11, 2020)
[BINGHAM GROUP]
NEW -> Episode 73: Emily Blair, Executive Vice President, Austin Apartment Association (LINK TO SHOW)
[AUSTIN METRO]
City Council Will Take A Second Vote On New Land Code, And 6 Other Things Happening This Week (KUT)
Austin City Council members are expected to take the second of three votes on a proposed new land development code sometime this week; they've put aside time on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to discuss and potentially vote.
Council members took the first vote on the new land code in December… (LINK TO STORY)
County attorney race could hinge on experience question (Austin American-Statesman)
The dilemma facing Travis County Democrats in the race to select a new county attorney is whether courtroom experience or public policy experience is more helpful for leading one of the most influential legal agencies in town. Those who believe the office should go to a seasoned lawyer have two choices: longtime government attorney Laurie Eiserloh, or former misdemeanor courts judge Mike Denton. Both have been practicing law for 30 years or more and have spent time in the office they are aiming to run.
The contrasting choice is two-term Austin City Council Member Delia Garza, whose track record in softening penalties involving small crimes has highlighted her campaign. Garza, though, has had to deal with critics who have pointed to her limited legal experience and suggested she’ll be in over her head if elected. The three years she has practiced law is more in line with defense attorney Dominic Selvera — an underdog in the race who is less than four years removed from law school — than with Eiserloh or Denton. Concerns about Garza’s candidacy prompted the formation of a political action committee last month whose apparent purpose is to harm her chances. The PAC, Austin Communities First, launched a website criticizing Garza’s credentials that prompts visitors to make financial contributions. The site does not say where the money will go. Austin Communities First treasurer Monica Maldonado did not return a message for comment Monday… (LINK TO STORY)
See also:
BG Podcast Episode: Land Development Code Draft 1 with Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza
Dell Children’s Medical Center to spend more than $300 million over next 3 years to expand Mueller campus (Community Impact)
The Dell Children’s Medical Center campus in Mueller is set to break ground on an expansion plan following the announcement of significant investment over the next three years.
The pediatric hospital Feb. 10 announced a $300 million investment in capital, equipment and programming over the next three years, made possible due to a “substantial investment” by Ascension, as well as a $30 million matching grant from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, according to a company news release.
“The time is now to continue expanding complex pediatric care in Central Texas,” said Christopher Born, the president of Dell Children’s Medical Center, in the Feb. 10 news release… (LINK TO STORY)
Yeti Coolers sponsors Austin FC jerseys (Austin Business Journal)
Yeti Coolers will be the main jersey sponsor for Austin FC when the Major League Soccer franchise debuts in 2021.
A multiyear sponsorship deal was announced Feb. 10 at Yeti's flagship store on South Congress Avenue. It represents one of the most critical branding partnerships yet for the forthcoming MLS franchise. The event was attended by Yeti leadership as well as the Austin FC ownership group — including majority owner Anthony Precourt and actor Matthew McConaughey.
“Yeti stands for Austin," Precourt said. "It’s millennial, it's outdoors, it's healthy. It couldn’t be a better partner.”
Financial details were not released. But a source recently told Sports Business Journal that the Austin FC jersey sponsorship would be among the most lucrative in MLS, which would place it north of $4 million annually.
The actual design of the jersey is expected to be released during the 2020 holiday season.
Ahead of the Feb. 10 announcement, an Austin FC billboard was unveiled above the Yeti flagship featuring the statement "Soccer's about to get Wild," accompanied by logos for both Yeti and Austin FC. Team-branded Yeti cups were also unveiled during the ceremony, which began at 11 a.m.
The next major branding milestone is expected to be a stadium naming rights announcement, which is expected in mid-2020. The team has already turned down a 10-year, $35 million offer for the naming rights, according to SBJ… (LINK TO STORY)
See also:
BG Podcast Episode 46: Austin FC Updates from Club President Andy Loughnane
[TEXAS]
Texas asks U.S. Supreme Court to end California law banning state-funded travel (Texas Tribune)
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to strike down a 2016 California law that bans state-funded travel to states with discriminatory laws — a list Texas landed on nearly three years ago after the Legislature approved a religious-refusal law for adoptions in the state.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, whose office maintains a list of qualifying discriminatory laws, said in June 2017 that the Texas law "allows foster care agencies to discriminate against children in foster care and potentially disqualify LGBT families from the state’s foster and adoption system." The ban prevents California agencies, public universities and boards from funding work-related trips to Texas.
Paxton, who has made religious liberty a top priority of his office, criticized the California statute as an unconstitutional and misguided attempt to police other states.
“California is attempting to punish Texans for respecting the right of conscience for foster care and adoption providers,” he said.. (LINK TO STORY)
In Houston, Democrats running for White House focus on the black community (Houston Chronicle)
While most of the other Democratic candidates for president were toiling through Iowa or New Hampshire, Mike Bloomberg was back in Texas recently doing the same thing he did weeks earlier: Trying to win over black voters. Bloomberg, speaking in Greater Greenspoint, addressed hundreds of members of African Methodist Episcopal Churches from around the nation, bluntly telling them something he never talked much about as mayor of New York City.
“The truth is, if I had been black I wouldn’t have had the same opportunities and my life would have turned out very differently,” the billionaire told the crowd. “At the same time, I think it’s mostly true, that many black Americans of my generation would have ended up with far more wealth if they had been white.” He’s far from the only candidate making outreach to black voters a key part of campaign visits to Houston, and Texas overall. During his last trip through Texas, in between private fundraisers, former Vice President Joe Biden spoke to the National Baptist Convention in Arlington, a predominately black audience. And in the fall Biden campaigned on the campus of Texas Southern University — one of nine historically black universities in Texas. Biden spent 45 minutes shaking hands, posing for selfies and hugging students... (LINK TO STORY)
Beto O’Rourke’s flock remains loyal while his party debates whether to move on (Texas Tribune)
In 2018, Jacqueline Westman fell in love with her first political candidate.
It was Beto O’Rourke, then a no-name congressman mounting a long-shot bid for U.S. Senate against Ted Cruz. Westman, who lives in California, was so inspired by his message — “He’s the type of person who could not only help Texas, but our country,” she said — that she hosted long-distance phone banks for him and traveled to El Paso the weekend before the election to knock on doors for his campaign.
O’Rourke lost, but Westman stuck around. When the 47-year-old ex-congressman launched a presidential bid, Westman joined a 50-plus person team of loyalists known as Beto Road Warriors, who paid out of pocket to follow him across the country to campaign on his behalf. Westman visited seven states.
“It’s like Willie Nelson said, ‘Anything he wants to do, I’m with Beto,’” said Westman, a 32-year-old fashion designer.
No Texas politician has a fiercely loyal following quite like O’Rourke’s. His fans often compare him to Barack Obama circa 2008: a handsome, hopeful young Democrat with a precocious political rise and an optimistic message. In O’Rourke, who got within 3 percentage points of beating Cruz in 2018, they see something of a messiah who could usher in a new, blue era for Texas… (LINK TO STORY)
[NATION]
Brexit brings "Special Relationship" down to size (AXIOS)
Polls suggest Americans consider the U.K. to be their country's closest ally, a distinction prized by a succession of British leaders and supported by decades of shared history and close cooperation.
Why it matters: President Trump has reveled in Brexit Britain’s rejection of multilateralism, in general, and the EU, in particular. But the U.K.'s voice will now count for less in Brussels and Berlin, and likely in Washington as a result.
Driving the news: The post-Brexit era is off to an inauspicious start for the "special relationship." Shortly after Brexit was sealed, Prime Minister Boris Johnson revealed that China’s Huawei would be allowed a role in building out the U.K.’s 5G networks — over vehement objections from Washington… (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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