BG Reads | News You Need to Know (June 15, 2021)
[MEETING/HEARINGS]
The Austin City Council will next meet for regular business on Thursday, July 22 to receive public comment on the city’s proposed 2022 budget.
Today, 10AM: News Conference on Phase 2 of Camping Ban Implementation ATXN 1
Wednesday, 9:30AM: Audit and Finance Committee Regular Meeting
Thursday, 3PM: Parks and Recreation Board - Finance Committee
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
Austin Police officers clear homeless encampments around City Hall (KUT)
Austin police officers on Monday cleared encampments set up by people experiencing homelessness around City Hall. The city said in a statement that officers were moving people from the corner of Guadalupe and Cesar Chavez streets for construction work.
The city said officers met with people staying in tents in the morning and told them they had to leave. Those who refused would be given a citation or face arrest for violating the reinstated city ordinance banning camping in public places, the statement said.
Proposition B, the ballot measure to reinstate the city's previous rules on camping, officially went into effect May 11, but the city is implementing a staggered approach to enforcement. On Sunday, officers began issuing warnings and tickets, punishable by a fine of up to $500.
APD is advising officers to issue tickets only as a last resort for now, but starting July 11 they will issue them to people who don't heed warnings.
Officers also moved people on the north side of City Hall for trespassing on private property, the city said. Officials said the people camping there were told about the construction project and the trespassing issue over the past 30 days. While several people were arrested Monday morning, it's unclear what they were arrested for. Nor is it clear how many citations were issued. KUT has reached out to APD for comment, but has not yet heard back… (LINK TO STORY)
Austin EMS union proposes $800K downtown emergency units following Saturday mass shooting (KXAN)
On a typical weekend night in downtown Austin, Austin Travis County Emergency Medical Services Association President Selena Xie said first responders already have a difficult time responding in the downtown corridor, between crowded streets and barriers cutting off vehicular traffic.
On Saturday, those difficulties were made all the more challenging by an early morning mass shooting that killed one person and injured 13, she said.
“I think that the response [to Saturday’s shooting] went exactly as planned,” Xie said. “It was planned that because we know that ambulances have a really hard time accessing downtown, that we might need to rely on police. And so what I’m trying to say is in the future, that should not be the plan. The plan should be that we have adequate EMS to be able to transport all patients to the hospital.”… (LINK TO STORY)
39-Year-Old Downtown French Restaurant Chez Nous Closes Permanently (Austin Eater)
Longtime stellar French restaurant Chez Nous is now officially closed permanently in downtown Austin, according to an email newsletter sent by co-founders and co-owners Sybil Reinhart-Regimbeau and Pascal Regimbeau on Monday, June 14.
“We have been honored and humbled to serve you for the past 39 years,” Reinhart-Regimbeau and Regimbeau wrote in the newsletter, “but it is time for Chez Nous to say goodbye, to bid you farewell.”
Since the coronavirus pandemic began in March 2020, they kept the 510 Neches Street restaurant temporarily closed. In the newsletter, they described the pandemic as “a trying 15 months.” They opted against reopening for dine-in and takeout services despite the eventual lifting of dining capacities and restrictions, due to safety concerns.
Chez Nous was one of the city’s first French restaurants when it opened in 1982 by friends/co-founders/Paris natives Reinhart-Regimbeau, Regimbeau, and Robert Paprota (who passed away in 2000). The bistro menu focused on excellent regional fare from the European country, offering everything from duck confit, escargots, rillettes, pates, to crepes… (LINK TO STORY)
End of Chapter 313 will speed up Central Texas projects but could have lasting impacts (Austin Business Journal)
The $10 billion program that has played a large role in Central Texas landing blockbuster investments, such as Tesla Inc.'s $1.1-billion gigafactory, is expected to expire at the end of next year.
That's left many in economic development worried about Austin's ability to attract large-scale manufacturing projects in the future. The Chapter 313 property tax abatement program — which cuts the amount of property taxes paid to local school districts — has been a key tool for making it possible for companies to make high-dollar investments because of Texas' high property taxes in lieu of no income tax.
For Central Texas in particular, experts said the program's fate will likely speed up site selection decisions in the coming year and a half. Though the number of active Chapter 313 agreements in the Austin metro can be counted on one hand, sources said Austin will have trouble attracting massive manufacturing and energy projects in the long term — some of which have become staples of the local economy and spurred recent manufacturing growth — because of the massive property tax bills they'll incur.
Lawmakers recently had a chance to renew the program but that effort died in the final days of the session. Many legislators have questioned the program's effectiveness in its current form, while others are opposed to corporate incentives all together. Lawmakers could bring this issue up in a special session, but sources said it's unlikely because of the many opinions surrounding the program… (LINK TO STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
Gov. Greg Abbott signs bill allowing college athletes to profit off their own name and likeness (Texas Tribune)
College athletes in Texas will soon be able to receive compensation from outside businesses that want to use their name, image or likeness under a new law Gov. Greg Abbott signed Monday evening.
State Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, said he sponsored the bill to keep Texas collegiate athletic programs competitive as other states have passed similar legislation. At least 15 states have passed bills lifting the ban on allowing student athletes to be paid by outside parties since California was the first state to approve the change in 2019.
NCAA rules currently ban athletes from receiving any kind of compensation other than a scholarship for playing college sports. This law would not change that ban on direct payment by a college or university, but would allow college athletes to receive payment elsewhere.
The bill overwhelmingly passed the Texas House and Senate, though some lawmakers expressed concern it would negatively affect college sports, which multiple lawmakers said should “be played for the love of the game.” Supporters said college athletes deserve to benefit from the industry in which they play a major role.
“The biggest winner in this needs to be all of the student athletes,” said state Sen. José Menéndez, D-San Antonio, on the Senate floor in April. “We gain entertainment. Universities gain revenue, and they need to share in that because of their hard work.”
The NCAA Board of Governors had voted to allow players to be paid for their name or likeness in October 2019, but the Division I Council postponed a vote on specific rules in January as they continued discussions with the federal government over rules.
In recent months, federal lawmakers have rushed to pass a federal bill that would provide national guidance on the issue before five state bills across the country go into effect July 1. Currently, students who accept money for their stature as college athletes could lose eligibility to play in the NCAA… (LINK TO STORY)
Another Texas power outage "appears unlikely" this week, but severe weather this summer could prompt an electricity crisis (Texas Tribune)
Electricity outages in Texas could occur again this summer — just a few months after the devastating winter storm that left millions of Texans without power for days — if the state experiences a severe heat wave or drought combined with high demand for power, according to recent assessments by the state’s grid operator.
Experts and company executives are warning that the power grid that covers most of the state is at risk of another crisis this summer, when demand for electricity typically peaks as homes and businesses crank up air conditioning to ride out the Texas heat. Texas is likely to see a hotter and drier summer than normal this year, according to an April climate outlook from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and 2021 is very likely to rank among the 10 warmest years on record globally.
“This summer, I am as worried right now [about the grid] as I was coming into this winter,” said Curt Morgan, CEO of Vistra Corp., an Irving-based power company. “Sounds like I’m the boy that cries wolf, but I’m not. I’ve seen this stuff repeat itself. We can have the same event happen if we don’t fix this.”
As state lawmakers continue debating how to improve the grid after February’s storm nearly caused its collapse, on Tuesday Texans were asked to conserve electricity because the supply of power could barely keep up with demand. A significant chunk of the grid’s power plants were offline due to maintenance this week, some a result of damage from the winter storm… (LINK TO STORY)
Eva Guzman, former Texas Supreme Court justice, moves to challenge Paxton (Houston Chronicle)
Former Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman has taken steps to challenge Attorney General Ken Paxton, which would make her the second well-known Republican to seek to unseat the embattled incumbent. The former judge, who resigned from the high court on Friday, would join a field that also includes Land Commissioner George P. Bush, who announced his candidacy earlier this month.
The move would complicate what was already a high-profile GOP primary, with the heir to the Bush political legacy moving aggressively to replace Paxton, who has faced years of legal troubles, including a pending state securities fraud indictment and corruption accusations by former aides, which are being investigated by the FBI. Paxton has denied any wrongdoing. Guzman has not made a formal announcement but has filed the necessary paperwork with the Texas Ethics Commission, according to the Texas Tribune, which obtained a copy and first reported on her planned run. In a statement to the Tribune, a political consultant said Guzman would be disclosing more soon. Guzman, 60, was the first Hispanic woman elected to statewide office in Texas when she won a full term on the Supreme Court in November 2010. She had previously served on the Houston-based 14th Court of Appeals, to which she was appointed by then-Gov. Rick Perry. Bush's uncle, former Gov. George W. Bush, first appointed Guzman to the 309th District Court in Harris County in 1999. Her second full term on the court was set to expire next year, leaving Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to appoint her replacement on the all-GOP court… (LINK TO STORY)
Dallas city corruption trial begins for local developer accused of bribing former Council members (Dallas Morning News)
It’s a transaction that happens routinely in politics: the payment of money by a business owner to a public official with the expectation of some future favor. But when is that payment an illegal bribe and when does it fall into the category of normal political influence peddling? A Dallas federal jury will soon decide the matter – at least in the case of local developer Ruel Hamilton, who is accused of bribing two former Dallas City Council members. A jury was picked on Monday to hear the federal corruption trial in downtown Dallas. The government will begin presenting testimony and other evidence on Tuesday morning following opening statements. Prosecutors say Hamilton, 65, a longtime developer of affordable housing, made payments to Carolyn Davis and Dwaine Caraway in exchange for their help on the council with his real estate properties.
The alleged $40,000 in bribes to Davis included “illegal campaign donations for the candidates of her choice,” prosecutors say. The idea was to help establish Davis as a political consultant after she left the council so she could lobby for Hamilton and others, prosecutors said. At the time of the alleged bribe, Davis was chair of the council’s Housing Committee. She pleaded guilty in March 2019. She died four months later in a car crash that also claimed her daughter. The trial is the latest in a string of Dallas City Hall corruption cases to hit the federal courts over the years. It’s expected to last about three weeks. The case is notable because it targets a white businessman who is said to have paid the bribes. Previous federal corruption trials in Dallas have mainly involved local Black politicians, leading to accusations from community members of racial bias in prosecutorial decision making.
The government says the money Hamilton paid was part of an illegal quid pro quo; an agreement for specific official acts. But Hamilton has argued in court filings that he was legally giving campaign money to local politicians like any other donor. “There is no denying the fact that many people mistakenly equate the exercise of perfectly legitimate First Amendment activities as corruption, including the sort of making of campaign contributions and cultivating friendships with elected officials that are at issue in this case,” said one of his attorneys, Abbe Lowell, in a trial brief… (LINK TO STORY)
Bribery case at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph has a major defense contractor under scrutiny (San Antonio Express-News)
“Contract award is complete. You better get that Audi RS5 on order. The Millions are coming!” The Sept, 18, 2013, text was from Keith Alan Seguin, a former civilian worker at Randolph Air Force Base, to government contractor David Bolduc Jr. It came after the pair had secretly worked together to rig a $413 million contract for flight simulation products and services to steer it to megacontractor Booz Allen Hamilton. Bolduc, of Herndon, Virginia, stood to profit because the Beltway-area company he co-owned, QuantaDyn Corp., collected about $100 million from the deal as a subcontractor. Seguin, who made about $65,000 at his government job, got a cut from the secret arrangement to sustain his high-rolling lifestyle. The text instructed Bolduc to pay for a high-performance car — it cost about $70,000 at the time — because the tainted cash was about to flow, according to federal investigators.
Seguin, 55, of Spring Branch, has signed an agreement with prosecutors and is set to plead guilty Tuesday in federal court in San Antonio to wire fraud conspiracy. He has admitted conspiring with Bolduc and others to fix a series of government contracts between 2006 and 2018 so he could collect $2.3 million in bribes. Seguin also plans to admit stealing items meant for fulfilling some of the contract work and selling them online, and to not reporting the money he got in the bribery scheme to the IRS. The kickback scheme, which continued even after Seguin retired from the government in 2017, is the largest military graft case to come out of San Antonio in at least a decade. Had an audit not uncovered discrepancies, he and Bolduc would have collected on another rigged contract worth $1.2 billion to $1.8 billion, records show. “This thing was huge,” said one federal source familiar with the investigation, which lasted several years. “These (defendants) were about to cut a deal of over a billion dollars until they were stopped.” Another co-owner of QuantaDyn already has pleaded guilty on behalf of the company to charges that it participated in the bribery scheme. U.S. District Judge Fred Biery sentenced QuantaDyn in October to five years’ probation and ordered it to pay tens of millions of dollars in fees and penalties to resolve criminal liability with the Justice Department… (LINK TO STORY)
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Lumber prices are falling fast, turning hoarders into sellers (Wall Street)
Futures for July delivery ended Monday at $996.20 per thousand board feet, down 42% from the record of $1,711.20 reached in early May. Futures have declined 14 of the past 15 trading days, the last two by the most allowed by exchange rules.
Cash lumber prices are also crashing. Pricing service Random Lengths said Friday that its framing composite index, which tracks on-the-spot sales, dropped $122 to $1,324, its biggest ever weekly decline. The pullback came just six weeks after the index rose $124 during the first week of May, its most on record. Random Lengths described a chaotic rout in which sawmill managers struggled to provide customers with price quotes.
Economists and investors have wondered if sky-high prices for wood products would doom the booming housing market. Builders raised home prices and many stopped selling houses before the studs were installed, lest they misjudge costs and sell too cheaply. Lumber became central to the inflation debate: whether a period of runaway inflation was afoot or high prices were temporary shocks that would ease as the economy moved further from lockdown.
The rapid decline suggests a bubble that has burst and the question now is how low lumber prices will fall. Even after tumbling, lumber futures remain nearly three times what is typical for this time of year. Lumber producers and traders expect that prices will remain relatively high due to the strong housing market, but that the supply bottlenecks and frenzied buying that characterized the economy’s reopening and sent prices to multiples of the old all-time highs are winding down.
During the run up, wood was hoarded by builders, retailers and others worried about running out of material during a construction season set into overdrive by historically low mortgage rates and federal stimulus payments… (LINK TO STORY)
New York City mayoral race is harbinger for politics of crime (The Hill)
In one corner, a retired police captain who vows to crack down on crime. In another, a former MSNBC contributor backed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)
On June 22, one week from today, Democratic voters will select their nominee to be mayor of New York City. Their choice has national implications.
It’s not just that the two top candidates in one recent poll — New York Police Department veteran Eric Adams and civil rights attorney Maya Wiley — can be slotted so neatly into the larger story of the left-versus-center struggle that is roiling the Democratic Party.
The race is also a test of how voters react to rising crime rates.
Violent crime is climbing in many cities across the country, not just New York. Politically speaking, that’s something that worries Democrats and gives hope to Republicans.
Put simply, voters in fear tend to turn right, not left.
“Crime is an issue that works on behalf of the Republicans and on behalf of those who want ‘law and order’ — and that catchphrase will become very salient if this is going to continue to be a hot issue,” said Doug Muzzio, a professor of political science at Baruch College and an expert on New York politics.
Murders in New York City shot up a shocking 45 percent in 2020. They have continued to rise this year. And crime now outranks every other issue in terms of its importance to voters… (LINK TO STORY)