BG Reads | News You Need to Know (March 16, 2021)

News
Written By AJ Bingham
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[BINGHAM GROUP]

[MEETING/HEARINGS]

  • Austin Council Work Session (3.23.2021 @9AM)

  • Austin Council Voting Session (3.25.2021 @10AM)

  • 2021 Council Calendar

[THE 87TH TEXAS LEGISLATURE]

[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]

Austin now has $25 million in rent assistance available. Here's what you need to know. (KUT)

The City of Austin has started accepting applications for a third round of rent help for people affected financially by the pandemic. You can apply here.

“Austinites are still reeling from social injustices, an unprecedented winter storm and a global pandemic,” Rosie Truelove, director of Austin’s Housing and Planning Department, said during a news conference Monday. “Our city is made up of strong and resilient people and we want to ensure that our most vulnerable communities get help to stay housed.”

The city has $25 million in federal funds to dole out from the COVID-19 relief bill passed in December. It intends to use the money to pay roughly 22,000 months of rent. That’s nearly twice what it made available to tenants in the past two rounds of rent assistance.

Last year, low-income renters and nonprofits helping them apply for assistance complained of a burdensome application process, among other issues with the program.

This time around, the city and the local housing authority, which administer the program jointly, have made some changes. Tenants won’t be asked to provide documentation until they’re chosen to receive rent, and the city has sped up the amount of time it gives landlords to reply before issuing a rent check… (LINK TO STORY)

Music, Downtown commissions explore options for preserving downtown venues (Austin Monitor)

With music venues and creative spaces becoming more endangered as real estate prices continue to climb, members of the Downtown Commission and Music Commission are looking to enlist other groups in an effort to include those spaces in new developments.

August Harris, chair of the Downtown Commission, spoke to the Music Commission at this month’s meeting and said his group wants to support any ideas brought forward to preserve and increase the number of music venues in the downtown core. Music Commissioner Doug Leveton was recently appointed as a complementary member of the Downtown Commission in a bid to increase collaboration between the two bodies.

Harris said the city’s renowned live music scene came about because of the growth of shopping malls in the ’70s and ’80s that pulled retail tenants out of downtown and opened attractive space up for lower-margin uses like bars and clubs. That dynamic has changed in recent years as the city has grown, with downtown property selling for $1,000 or more per square foot and making it too expensive to run a music space affordably.

Harris and the commissioners talked over the need to approach downtown developers – likely in concert with the Downtown Austin Alliance or other stakeholder groups – and push plans to include clubs or other creative uses within hotels and condominium projects. That strategy would have to be adjusted on a case-by-case basis, he said, because many development companies operate nationally and have established models and financial pro formas that might not perform as well if a music venue or creative space were included.

“Together with folks like Downtown Austin Alliance, we need – with developers – to find out if there’s a way to create and sustain a venue space, performance space or practice space that you need to keep your music industry vibrant,” he said. “I don’t know what it’s going to look like, but we’ve got to figure out some solutions.”

Harris said the string of historic buildings along Sixth Street that have property tax protections represent the most financially friendly properties in all of downtown to hold music venues. Looking out into the wider real estate landscape, he said the assorted commercial spaces once owned by World Class Capital Group that have gone into foreclosure could offer short-term solutions to be used as creative spaces.

Another potential opening for placing creative spaces downtown comes from the likelihood that office and commercial buildings are projected to have vacancy rates of 15 percent to 20 percent in the aftermath of the pandemic, due to the shift toward remote working. That change in work habits has caused companies nationwide to reduce their real estate footprints, which could have a sizable effect on the more than three-dozen tower projects planned for downtown in the coming years… (LINK TO STORY)

Capital Factory launches new kind of investment fund to funnel money to startups (Austin Business Journal)

Capital Factory has launched an investment fund that operates under something akin to a software-as-a-service, or SaaS, model.

It is the first rolling fund for the investment arm of Capital Factory, a startup accelerator and coworking company based in downtown Austin. Capital Factory has launched “more than a dozen funds” to date, founder and CEO Joshua Baer said.

California-headquartered AngelList in February 2020 founded rolling venture funds.

“Fund managers can now accept new capital in the form of auto-renewing quarterly commitments” in rolling funds, wrote AngelList Venture CEO Avlok Kohli in the rolling fund announcement. The structure also enables “fund managers to raise a fraction of a traditional fund and start investing in startups right away,” Kohli said. Even better, he wrote, fund managers may “continuously increase the fund size so they never need to raise another fund again.”

Like a software-as-a-service subscription, rolling venture funds enable investors to re-up at a set amount on a regular basis.

Capital Factory’s rolling fund will be quarterly, Baer said. A hypothetical investor in Capital Factory’s rolling fund could sign up for a quarterly commitment of $100,000, he said, totaling $400,000 over a full year. That investor also may stop investing at any time… (LINK TO STORY)

5G infrastructure project launches in Austin (Austin Business Journal)

What could become part of the bedrock infrastructure that enables the real-world, commonplace use of 5G wireless technology is part of an Austin-based project at Camp Mabry.

“We’re enabling the ecosystem to build things that will empower all connected things,” said Jeffrey DeCoux, chairman and fellow at the Austin-based Autonomy Institute, a public-private partnership of individuals and entities from government, industry and academia focused on autonomy and artificial intelligence.

Internet-of-things tech pervades the public infrastructure network node (PINN), which will help reduce latency — or, how long it takes for data to travel from one wireless device to another. Reducing latency is key to implementing tech such as self-driving cars.

Autonomous cars require latency of less than 10 milliseconds, for instance, said John Cowan, CEO of North Carolina-headquartered EDJX, an edge-computing company whose legal name is InfinX USA LLC, that is working with the institute to develop a network of nodes. Austin-based intelligent and autonomous infrastructure company Atrius Industries Inc., where DeCoux is president and CEO, and the Texas Military Department also are project partners.

“We plan a full deployment of 21 to 34 PINNs at Camp Mabry by May,” DeCoux said. That will span more than 300 acres. Community engagement and collaboration with the city of Austin and Texas Department of Transportation will pave the way for use by those outside Camp Mabry.

The first deployment of a node occurred at the University of Texas at Austin’s J.J. Pickle Research Campus in North Austin, DeCoux said. Designers further developed it on MoPac Expressway, he said.

DeCoux is the founder and former CEO of Hangar Technology, a startup using drones to collect data, and founder and chief executive of multiple other companies over the years.

Autonomy Institute and Camp Mabry officials first began working together in mid-2019. That collaboration led officials to choose Camp Mabry as the location for the pilot project.

Plans exist ultimately to place nodes throughout the country and the world. The institute currently is working with Dallas, Denver, Pittsburgh and Raleigh, in addition to Austin, about the possibility of developing node networks.

Among the goals is to “eliminate the digital divide in the next two years,” DeCoux said. Be it the student learning from home or the employee working from the road, the new broadband infrastructure, 5G, he said, “requires antennas, computers and sensors deployed on sidewalks. The biggest issue of 5G is the deployment of the physical technology itself.”

5G is the next generation of high-speed wireless service — one that will deliver more bandwidth and faster data transfer, while also improving wireless reliability and connectivity. Many suggest it will usher in a fourth industrial revolution.

Funding for the projects will come from private-sector and public-sector sources, according to partnership officials. Companies such as California-based Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. (NYSE: HPE) are helping bring the node networks to fruition.

The collaborative approach is critical, Cowan said, because “not every company can afford” to develop its own 5G infrastructure to power its products.

The program behind the nodes represents “the first unified open standard to support 5G wireless, edge computing, radar, lidar, enhanced GPS and intelligent transportation systems,” according to a March 10 announcement.

Nodes will contain sensors, computing capabilities and IoT to support autonomous technology. Beyond autonomous vehicles, other node-enabled technologies include industrial robotics, autonomous delivery, 9-1-1 drone responders and automated road and bridge inspections… (LINK TO STORY)

Torchy's Tacos planning IPO with help of major banks (Austin Business Journal)

Austin-based Torchy's Tacos is reportedly considering an initial public offering that would value the company at about $1 billion.

Bloomberg reported March 14 that the growing chain — which expects to have 100 locations by the end of 2021 — is working with Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Corp. on an IPO plan that could raise $300 million and be completed as soon as this year. JP Morgan Chase & Co. is also said to be involved.

The report, which emphasized that no final decision has yet been made by the company, relies on anonymous sources with knowledge of the matter. Torchy's Tacos on March 15 declined a request for comment from Austin Business Journal.

Known for its "Damn Good" tacos that mix Tex-Mex staples with American and fusion flavors, Torchy's has seen explosive growth since Michael Rypka founded the company in a food truck in 2006. As of February it had 83 locations across seven states and roughly 5,000 employees.

CEO GJ Hart said in February that he expects revenue to reach $300 million in 2021.

Torchy's, which does business as Success Foods Management Group LLC, already raised $400 million last November, led by majority stakeholder General Atlantic. Hart said in February the cash infusion would help the company expand into Arizona and Florida in 2022. Torchy's had previously announced expansions into North Carolina, Indiana, Ohio and Tennessee in 2021.

Hart in February denied a rumor that Torchy's was raising additional capital, calling it "categorically not true."

This would be the second Austin-based Tex-Mex chain to have a place on Wall Street. Chuy's Holdings Inc. has long been on the Nasdaq under the ticker CHUY. A few years ago, the stock had the honor of being the city's top-performing, based on percentage increases in a single year… (LINK TO STORY)

[TEXAS NEWS]

Texas Senate passes bill to authorize reversal of $16 billion in charges during winter storm (Dallas Morning News)

​The Senate took less than three hours on Monday to file and completely pass a bill that would allow the state’s top utility regulator to claw back $16 billion in charges for wholesale electricity incurred by market participants during the state’s power outage last month. “The Senate has acted,” said Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who leads the chamber and has made the issue a top priority this session. “We are asking the governor to join us and I think if he will say he’ll sign this bill, it may help us get this bill through the House.” Gov. Greg Abbott has made the issue an emergency item this session. Having moved past the Legislature’s bill filing deadline on Friday, the Senate employed a parliamentary procedure during an unscheduled floor session on Monday to rescind its vote to adjourn last Thursday. That meant the chamber was operating as if it was Thursday, one day before the bill filing deadline, which allowed Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, to present the bill and have it referred to the Senate Jurisprudence Committee.

The committee, led by Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, quickly approved the bill without any discussion or testimony by a vote of 3-1. Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, was the no vote. About an hour later, the Senate reconvened and Hughes laid out his bill which says there is a “compelling public interest” for the state’s Public Utility Commission to reverse $16 billion in wholesale electricity charges incurred during the final days of last month’s winter storms. Those charges come from a decision by the commission and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to implement a $9,000-per-megawatt-hour cap on Feb. 15, during the first day of the power outages to incentivize generators to create more power.

But by Feb. 18, the worst of the power crisis had passed and the cap was no longer necessary, the state’s independent market monitor said earlier this month. Still, PUC and ERCOT officials left the cap in place for an additional 32 hours on Feb. 18 and 19, which the independent market monitor said amounted to $16 billion in charges that would have been much lower if the cap had been removed. PUC officials, however, have warned that reversing the charges could erode trust in the Texas power market, lead to unforeseen economic consequences and result in lawsuits… (LINK TO STORY)

Turner says Acevedo departure caught him by surprise, will announce new chief by end of week (Houston Chronicle)

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo’s abrupt announcement that he was going to leave caught his boss by surprise, and was also news to many Miami officials conducting a nationwide search for a chief. Acevedo hadn’t formally applied for the Florida job, and the much smaller Miami department wasn’t what the Houston political community expected as the next step in the chief’s career. Acevedo informed Mayor Sylvester Turner of his decision Sunday at around 5 p.m., the mayor said at a news conference Monday, acknowledging he had received no prior hint about his police chief’s departure. Acevedo never formally applied to be Miami’s top cop and was not on anyone’s radar there “other than just a few people at City Hall,” the Miami Herald reported Monday. “I hate to see him leave the city of Houston,” Turner said. “But I also realize this is an excellent, extraordinary opportunity for him at a time when he is one of the nation’s leading voices in law enforcement.”

Turner said Acevedo will stay in Houston for a few more weeks. He said he would announce a new chief by the end of the week, though he declined to say whether it would be an interim or permanent replacement, or from inside the department or elsehwere. Former chief Charles McClelland said, “There’s certainly enough talent and leadership within HPD to move forward.” Turner downplayed the significance of the chief’s departure, while praising his tenure in Houston. "No one person is indispensable,” Turner said. “It is about the organization and the institution that you put together." Houston political observers have speculated about the chief’s political future since he took over , and it was widely assumed he was positioning himself to run for mayor or a different elected office in Texas. Some framed the move as lateral at best, given that the Miami Police Department is about a third the size of Houston’s.

At a Miami press conference announcing Acevedo’s appointment, Mayor Francis X. Suarez called Acevedo “the best chief in America” and predicted that Acevedo would make the Miami department “the best on the planet.” Acevedo said at the Miami news conference that he “wasn’t looking for this opportunity” but had begun thinking about his next move, given that Turner’s second and final term expires at the end of 2023. “Politics are not in my heart, because as you know I have no home. I piss off the left and the right, to be honest with you, because they’re both extreme,” said Acevedo, who came to Houston in late 2016 after leading the Austin Police Department. “But service is in my heart and making a difference is in my heart.”… (LINK TO STORY)

Gov. Greg Abbott formally opens Texas GOP bid to clamp down on local efforts expanding voting access (Texas Tribune)

Joining a nationwide movement by Republicans to enact new restrictions on voting, Gov. Greg Abbott indicated Monday he will back legislation to outlaw election measures like those used in Harris County during the 2020 election aimed at expanding safe access to the ballot box during the coronavirus pandemic.

At a press conference in Houston, Abbott served up the opening salvo in the Texas GOP’s legislative response to the 2020 election and its push to further restrict voting by taking aim at local election officials in the state’s most populous and Democratically controlled county. The governor specifically criticized officials in Harris County for attempting to send applications to vote by mail to every registered voter and their bid to set up widespread drive-thru voting, teeing up his support for legislation that would prohibit both initiatives in future elections.

“Whether it's the unauthorized expansion of mail-in ballots or the unauthorized expansion of drive-thru voting, we must pass laws to prevent election officials from jeopardizing the election process,” Abbott said on Monday. Harris County planned to send out applications to request a mail-in ballot, not the actual ballots.

Harris County officials quickly fired back at Republicans’ proposals in their own press conference.

“These kinds of attempts to confuse, to intimidate, to suppress are a continuation of policies we’ve seen in this state since Reconstruction,” Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said. “It is a continuation as well of the big lie that’s being peddled by some far-right elements that the election in 2020 was somehow not true and should be overturned.”…(LINK TO STORY)

[NATIONAL]

Dems' momentum hits quagmire over infrastructure plans (The Hill)

Democrats are facing big headaches as they try to craft a sweeping infrastructure and jobs package.

Fresh off a victory on the coronavirus relief bill, where they eschewed GOP support, President Biden and congressional leaders are homing in on one of Washington’s biggest legislative white whales as their next legislative priority.

The goal could test Democratic unity due to razor-thin margins in both chambers and early signs of contention over how to pay for the spending, including talk of a tax hike, and whether the bill should be narrowed in order to make it bipartisan.

“Writing tax law is, in the best of circumstances, challenging. When you’re looking at all these moving pieces, yes, this is very different. It’s going to be a big lift, but the stakes are so important,” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Roy Wyden (D-Ore.) told The Hill about passing  an infrastructure package.

Democrats are leaving the door open to making the bill bipartisan, which would have big ramifications for everything from the scope to the cost, as well as the policies eventually included in the final product. But at the same time, they’re seeking movement within the next two months, leading some to predict Democrats will attempt to use reconciliation to pass it.

Democrats want to pass a bill out of committee by Memorial Day and get a bill to Biden by September, though Congress is under pressure to move faster. It’s unlikely the White House would unveil its plan this month as officials take a victory lap on the COVID-19 relief bill and juggle a burgeoning border crisis.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg declined to specify a timeline Monday but told reporters that Biden would release an infrastructure proposal “in short order.”

“We’ve got a clock on everything we’re doing, especially because the present surface reauthorization is up in September. We’re not waiting until September in order to act. Conversations are taking place right now, as you’ve seen, Oval Office meetings with the president and leaders from both parties from both houses,” Buttigieg said.

The White House has said that Biden would like to move forward in a bipartisan fashion on infrastructure legislation, but it has not ruled out pursuing the budget reconciliation process… (LINK TO STORY)

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AJ Bingham
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