BG Reads | News You Need to Know (February 19, 2020)
[BINGHAM GROUP]
NEW -> Episode 75 - Austin Real Estate Talk with Development Legend Perry Lorenz (LINK TO SHOW)
[AUSTIN METRO]
State Sen. Kirk Watson to retire from Texas Senate (Texas Tribune)
State Sen. Kirk Watson, an Austin Democrat, is retiring from the Texas Senate.
His resignation is effective at midnight April 30, the Austin American-Statesman first reported Tuesday. Watson is leaving office to become the first dean of the University of Houston's Hobby School of Public Affairs.
"This is a chance to build a world-class public affairs and policy school essentially from the ground up," Watson said in a statement. "It is transformative work at a creative and ambitious university, located in one of the country's largest and most diverse cities. ... Only a unique opportunity to serve this state — and a compelling platform for that service — would cause me to leave."
Watson, an attorney and former mayor of the city of Austin, represents Senate District 14, a historically Democratic seat. It covers Bastrop County and parts of Travis County. He was first elected to the seat in 2006, taking office in early 2007… (LINK TO STORY)
Race to replace Kirk Watson is underway (Austin American-Statesman)
The race to replace state Sen. Kirk Watson began shortly before news broke Tuesday that the Austin Democrat will leave office early.
Watson disclosed his plans during an early-morning conference call with five Texas House Democrats from Austin, spurring a frenetic examination of options and ambitions for politicians who would be seen as early front-runners for a rare open Senate seat.
But Austin has no shortage of local officials and activists who are also weighing a bid to fill the remaining two years of Watson’s term, then enter the 2022 elections as an incumbent.
Those who said they are looking into a possible campaign included state Reps. Eddie Rodriguez, Donna Howard and Celia Israel, D-Austin; Austin City Council Member Greg Casar; Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt; immigration lawyer Chito Vela III, who lost a close Democratic primary runoff to state Rep. Sheryl Cole of Austin in 2018; and Austin lawyer Adam Loewy.
In addition, state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, said she’s been asked to run but added that it was too early to discuss a potential campaign. “I’m absorbing the news and all its ramifications,” she said.
Cole is not interested in running, a spokesman said.
The yet-to-be-scheduled vote also caught the attention of Republicans who have learned that low-turnout special elections offer an opportunity to flip seats in solidly Democratic districts.
“I have not yet heard any names on our side, but I do expect that we’ll have a strong person step up and run for the seat, and we’ll work hard on that,” said Matt Mackowiak, chairman of the Travis County Republican Party… (LINK TO STORY)
Austin City Council calls for timelines on homeless goals (Austin American-Statesman)
Austin City Council members on Tuesday pressed the city’s staff for firmer timelines on efforts addressing homelessness, both to help manage community expectations and to hold the city accountable as it forges ahead with several homelessness initiatives.
The city for months has been working on two key programs aimed at creating new housing units and connecting people who are homeless to services and shelter. But the time frame for when critical components of those initiatives, the Guided Path Program and Motel Conversion Strategy, could be completed or developed has remained amorphous, even as the city drives ahead with plans to expand them.
The council in November approved up to $8 million for the city to purchase the Rodeway Inn along Interstate 35 in Southeast Austin to convert into a homeless housing complex. The 87-unit motel would begin as bridge housing and then be converted into a long-term housing option. However, three months after winning council approval, the date the motel will be ready to take in people who are homeless hasn’t been nailed down… (LINK TO STORY)
Low-Level Drug Possession Arrests Are Hurting Travis County, Report Finds (KUT)
Low-level drug possession arrests are ineffective and harmful to people who need community-based help, rather than jail time, a new report concludes.
The report, released Tuesday by the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, Grassroots Leadership, the Texas Harm Reduction Alliance and the UT Law Civil Rights Clinic, analyzed Travis County data that found people of color are disproportionately arrested for these kinds of crimes.
Though black people made up less than 9% of Travis County's population between 2017-2018, for example, they accounted for almost 30% of possession arrests made during that time… (LINK TO STORY)
[TEXAS]
Irving-based Boy Scouts files for bankruptcy amid child abuse allegations (USA Today)
Boy Scouts of America filed for bankruptcy protection early Tuesday amid declining membership and a drumbeat of child sexual abuse allegations that have illuminated the depth of the problem within the organization and Scouts’ failure to get a handle on it. After months of speculation and mounting civil litigation, the Chapter 11 filing by the scouting organization’s national body was unprecedented in both scope and complexity. It was filed in Delaware Bankruptcy Court overnight.
The exact effects on Boy Scouts’ future operations are unknown, leading to speculation about the organization’s odds for survival, the impact on local troops and how bankruptcy could change the dynamic for abuse survivors who have yet to come forward. Some fear that at a minimum it will prevent survivors from naming their abuser in open court. “They’re going into bankruptcy not because they don’t have the money,” said Tim Kosnoff, who has tried thousands of child abuse cases, including many against the Boy Scouts and Catholic Church. “They’re going into bankruptcy to hide ... a Mount Everest in dirty secrets.” In a statement, the organization said: “The BSA cares deeply about all victims of abuse and sincerely apologizes to anyone who was harmed during their time in Scouting.” “The BSA intends to use the Chapter 11 process to create a Victims Compensation Trust that would provide equitable compensation to victims. “Scouting programs will continue throughout this process and for many years to come. Local Councils are not filing for bankruptcy as they are legally separate and distinct organizations.”… (LINK TO STORY)
Should UT publish names of professors punished for sexual misconduct? (Austin American-Statesman)
If a professor is found to have violated a sexual misconduct policy, does the whole community have a right to know about it? For months, students at the University of Texas have been calling on leaders to allow the names of professors found guilty of misconduct to be made public.
UT has released names in the past via open records requests, and put out an updated list in January, but students say they want such a list to be up-to-date, public and permanently online. The students argue that they have a right to know if they’re taking a class from someone who has a history of misconduct and, if necessary, avoid those teachers altogether. While administrators and experts say they understand students’ concerns, some worry publishing such a list could have adverse complications… (LINK TO STORY)
[NATION]
Bloomberg makes debate stage, facing Dem rivals for 1st time (Associated Press)
Billionaire Mike Bloomberg has qualified for the upcoming Democratic presidential debate, marking the first time he’ll stand alongside the rivals he has so far avoided by bypassing the early voting states and using his personal fortune to define himself through television ads. A new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll published Tuesday shows Bloomberg with 19% support nationally in the Democratic nominating contest.
The former New York City mayor, who launched his presidential campaign in November, will appear in Wednesday’s debate in Las Vegas alongside former Vice President Joe Biden, Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Fellow billionaire and philanthropist Tom Steyer is still hoping to qualify. Bloomberg’s campaign said that it was seeing “a groundswell of support across the country” and that qualifying for Wednesday’s debate “is the latest sign that Mike’s plan and ability to defeat Donald Trump is resonating with more Americans.” “Mike is looking forward to joining the other Democratic candidates on stage and making the case for why he’s the best candidate to defeat Donald Trump and unite the country,” Bloomberg campaign manager Kevin Sheekey said in a statement… (LINK TO STORY)
Airbnb to America’s cities: See you in court (Bloomberg)
Airbnb is one of the most litigious startups in Silicon Valley and it has been ramping up court dates as the clock ticks on a stock market debut. The world’s biggest home-sharing company has been fighting against short-term rental regulations in cities across the U.S., seeking to clarify its legal status and protect thousands of listings. Airbnb has filed at least 11 lawsuits against an American city or state government since its founding in 2008 and has appealed an adverse decision at least three times.
Half of these legal challenges have come in the past two years alone, according to a Bloomberg analysis of state and federal cases. At the same time, legal assaults against Airbnb have also increased. The company has been involved in some 230 cases through the end of 2019, ranging from petty disputes over refunds to secret video cameras in bedrooms, severe bedbug infestations and one guest who burned down a home by tossing a lit cigarette into the trash. As it has grown from a San Francisco-based couch-surfing startup to a global platform with more than 7 million listings worldwide, Airbnb has found itself increasingly at odds with municipalities concerned about its impact on housing supply and rental prices… (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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