BG Reads | News You Need to Know (February 14, 2020)
[BINGHAM GROUP]
NEW -> Episode 74: Episode 74 : Austin Public-Private-Partnerships with John Rosato, Southwest Strategies Group (LINK TO SHOW)
[AUSTIN METRO]
'Whether We Want It Or Not, We're Growing': Austin Council Takes Second Vote On New Land Code (KUT)
The Austin City Council is one vote away from finalizing a new land development code, as members took the second of three votes Thursday night. The final vote is expected in roughly two months.
The vote was split 7-4, characteristic of the divide throughout the process so far. Council Members Leslie Pool, Alison Alter, Kathie Tovo and Ann Kitchen – who represent parts of Central and West Austin – opposed the code rewrite Thursday, as they did on the first vote in December.
“It’s pretty apparent that there are seven people on this council that are ready to vote to pass the code,” Mayor Steve Adler said after the vote.
After a three-day debate on roughly 80 amendments, council members approved measures to allow for bigger duplexes, to attempt to preserve existing affordable apartments and to expand the amount of housing that can be built in West Campus. The majority rejected proposals to limit so-called "transition areas," which allow for more housing in neighborhoods near busy roads, and to tie tenant protections to development… (LINK TO STORY)
‘Topgolf-style’ robotics arena coming to Cedar Park (Community Impact)
An Austin architectural and design firm plans to build a large arena for robotics competitions and entertainment in Cedar Park, according to a company spokesperson.
Gensler Austin, an architectural and design firm, announced plans Feb. 13 to build a “Topgolf-style” robotics arena and released renderings of what the facility might look like.
“While still in the early planning stages, the Cedar Park-based arena will be the first of its kind in the nation,” Gensler spokesperson Anuradha Koli said in an email. “In addition to hosting robotics competitions, the arena will also be open to the public as a ‘Topgolf-style’ venue for gamers and robotics enthusiasts.”
A specific lot has not yet been secured, but Gensler Austin plans to build in Cedar Park, according to Koli. Similar to Topgolf, the venue will be an entertainment destination serving food and drinks. In addition to competitions, customers may also be able to bring their own robots and drones or rent them on-site.
Gensler Austin also created the master plan for Indigo Ridge, a planned $1.5-billion development in Cedar Park. It is also helping design the Austin FC Stadium in Northwest Austin and the Moody Center on The University of Texas-Austin campus, according to its website… (LINK TO STORY)
Austin's downtown office rent growth tops any U.S. submarket, minus San Francisco, CoStar says (AuSTIN BUSINESS JOURNAL)
Only six submarkets in the country — all in the San Francisco Bay area — saw rent growth higher than Austin’s Central Business District since 2007, according to CoStar Group Inc.’s Central Texas economist.
Over the last 13 years, Austin saw office rents downtown increase by 80%, Sam Tenenbaum said. In the last year, Austin’s metro saw 5.2% rent growth due to low vacancies and an extremely low unemployment rate hovering around 2.6%.
Largely because of these factors, Austin is currently building the most office space in the country based on percentage of inventory, he told a group of real estate professionals Feb. 12 at Crew Austin and CCIM Central Texas’ fifth annual Real Estate Summit… (LINK TO STORY)
[TEXAS]
Claims of carpetbagging fly in Texas congressional primaries (Texas Tribune)
There are political outsiders, and then there are outsiders — literally.
Across Texas’ most competitive congressional primaries, leading candidates are weathering scrutiny of their ties to the districts they are running for, fueling a dominant theme ahead of the March 3 primary. The dynamic is playing out across the state, mostly in GOP primaries and particularly in more rural districts, where there is a premium on local connections.
“We’re not Dallas or Houston or San Antonio — we’ve got different issues, different concerns,” said Josh Winegarner, who is running for the Panhandle's 13th District and just received the backing of the retiring incumbent, Rep. Mac Thornberry, in the 15-way primary. “I don’t understand how anybody thinks they can represent an area they’ve never lived in, worked in or raised a family in."
There is, of course, no law that mandates candidates live in the districts they are running for, let alone hail from them. And this is far from the first election cycle in Texas — a state rife with political ambition and plenty of districts to choose from — to feature accusations of carpetbagging and district shopping… (LINK TO STORY)
Gov. Abbott tasks Texas leaders to develop a plan that ensures more students are workforce ready (Dallas Morning News)
Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday charged education and workforce leaders to identify specific strategies to help more students complete college or career programs that lead to high-paying jobs. Abbott wants the Tri-Agency Workforce Initiative -- whose members are the commissioners of the Texas Education Agency, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Texas Workforce Commission -- to look across the educational pipeline to see where the pitfalls are for students and how to help them.
For example, strategies should address how to improve early childhood programs; how to strengthen middle school learning; and how to increase the number of Texans who complete college or credential programs. "We must continue in our efforts to ensure Texans of all ages have access to high-quality education and workforce skills training that empowers them to achieve their full potential,” Abbott said in a statement. Abbott’s move is tied to the historic school finance overhaul passed last spring, which included additional state funds for efforts that address college, career or military readiness… (LINK TO STORY)
Texas Researchers Say They Found A Way To Help Cops ID Pot With 100% Accuracy – Using Lasers. (Texas Public Radio)
Marijuana is in a hazy spot in Texas, legally speaking.
It's illegal, sure, but law enforcement has more or less been defanged when it comes to enforcing that ban on pot in the Texas Criminal Code. Since last summer, when its cousin hemp was legalized, officials have had to prove suspected marijuana is actual marijuana. That is, it contains a specific amount of THC – the psychoactive ingredient in pot. Because testing is cost-prohibitive, many counties effectively stopped prosecuting people for low-level possession.
Now, researchers from Texas A&M say they've found a cheap, accurate method for cops to discern whether seized material is illegal.
In a study released last month, Texas AgriLife researchers Dmitry Kurouski and Lee Sanchez touted their new testing method as a way for law enforcement to determine whether a substance is pot or hemp – by using lasers.
Put simply, a laser from a spectrometer hits a substance and then maps it out on graph. A substance without THC maps differently than one that contains it, providing a near-instant readout of whether a substance violates the state ban on substances with more than 0.3%-concentration of THC or whether it's legal hemp… (LINK TO STORY)
See also:
BG Podcast Episode 62: Cree Crawford, Founder and President, Ionization Labs
BG Podcast Episode 63: The Future of Texas Hemp Farming with Robert Head, CEO, Blue Cord Farms
[NATION]
Barr: Trump’s Roger Stone tweets “make it impossible for me to do my job” (AXIOS)
Attorney General Bill Barr told ABC News in an interview Thursday that President Trump's "constant background commentary" about the Justice Department “make it impossible for me to do my job," adding, “I think it’s time to stop the tweeting about Department of Justice criminal cases."
Why it matters: It's a rare public rebuke of the president by the attorney general, who has faced allegations of politicizing the Justice Department… (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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