BG Reads | News You Need to Know (January 6, 2022)
Downtown Austin
[BINGHAM GROUP]
The BG Podcast is back! EP. 148 features Jose "Chito" Vela III a candidate for Austin's Council District 4.
The immigration and defense attorney declared in early November, following Council Member Greg Casar announcing his candidacy for Congress (triggering an automatic resignation).
Bingham Group CEO A.J. and Associate Wendy Rodriguez discuss Chito's campaign and what he hopes to achieve if elected.
[MEETING/HEARINGS]
Five finalists named for EMS chief post (Austin Monitor)
City Manager Spencer Cronk has named five finalists to advance to a second round of interviews for the position of chief of Austin-Travis County Emergency Services. The national search produced 37 applications from candidates vying to fill the vacancy created last year with the retirement of former EMS Chief Ernesto Rodriguez.
The city manager and other executives will conduct internal interviews with the finalists this month. A community input meeting with the top finalists will be held Jan. 13, 6-7:30 p.m., in Council chambers at City Hall.
The five finalists are:
David Abrams, who has been EMS chief for Charleston County Government in South Carolina for six years. He also co-founded and operated a private advanced life support emergency medical service, worked in the corporate sector as an EMS director and was EMS director for the Medical University of South Carolina. A nationally registered paramedic since 1996, Abrams holds a law degree from Mercer University in Macon, Georgia.
Jasper D. Brown has been interim chief of Austin-Travis County EMS since June 2021. Brown has worked in public safety for almost three decades, starting as a volunteer firefighter while studying criminal justice at Texas State University. He is a certified EMT and spent three years with an EMS system that provided 911 services in South Texas. Brown has been with Austin-Travis EMS since 1997, serving as a communications medic, commander, assistant chief of operations and chief of staff.
Robert Luckritz, chief operating officer of Transformative Healthcare, a multi-state EMS, medical transportation and public health organization in New England. Luckritz previously served as both the chief and executive director of Jersey City Medical Center EMS, the exclusive EMS provider for Jersey City, and medical 911 and paramedic provider for Hudson County.
William Sugiyama, former EMS division chief with the city of Oakland, Calif. Sugiyama has worked in both the public and private health care field for more than 30 years. During his tenure as president of the International Association of EMS Chiefs, he provided testimony to the White House National Security staff, the offices of the Vice President and the First Lady, the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA, and other federal offices. A licensed paramedic, Sugiyama holds degrees in nursing and homeland security as well as an MBA from Louisiana State University at Shreveport.
Jim Winham, president and chief executive officer of Emergency Medical Services Authority in Oklahoma City. Winham, who has over 37 years of working for several Oklahoma first-responder agencies, has served as CEO of Oklahoma City’s EMS Authority since 2017. He is responsible for a $76 million budget and 600 members. A former Tulsa firefighter/paramedic, Winham spent 10 years as a medic and flight nurse for Tulsa Lifeflight. He earned degrees in EMS and nursing from Tulsa Community College and Oklahoma City University, respectively… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Semiconductor giant Micron scouts Central Texas for major factory, sources say (Austin Business Journal)
One of the world's largest semiconductor companies is considering an investment in Central Texas as it moves forward with a $150 billion plan to expand its chipmaking capabilities, according to multiple sources.
Boise, Idaho-based Micron Technology Inc., a maker of memory chips and computer data storage with facilities around the world, has been scouting the region for several months and is considering Caldwell and Williamson counties for its next fabrication plant, sources said. No decision has been made, and the status of these major economic development projects can change at any time.
Micron officials did not immediately return requests for comment.
Triangle Business Journal in North Carolina reported Jan. 4 that Micron is also eyeing Chatham County, which is west of Raleigh. Multiple sources told TBJ that the factory, if it comes to fruition, could represent a capital investment of $40 billion or more with 5,000 to 10,000 jobs at full buildout. The publication also reported Micron is considering sites in Texas, California and Arizona.
Micron (Nasdaq: MU) announced in October plans to invest more than $150 billion over the coming decade to help address the global chip shortage and boost domestic semiconductor production, according to the Wall Street Journal. Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra told WSJ the company will expand existing chipmaking facilities and possibly construct new plants with that funding.
If such a a project were to land in Central Texas, it would add another crown jewel to the region's semiconductor industry, which experts have said is already ascending after Samsung Electronic Co. Ltd. in November picked Taylor for a $17 billion chipmaking plant. It would also jolt the local economy with thousands of direct and indirect jobs and millions of dollars of spending for years to come, based on the estimated price tag.
A Micron spokesperson told TBJ the company is vetting opportunities around the world and weighing factors, such as "access to a strong talent pool, reliable and cost-competitive utility services, alignment with our corporate sustainability objectives, and a favorable regulatory environment."… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin is no longer Zillow’s hottest housing market in 2022 (KXAN)
Zillow has released its rankings for the top 10 hottest housing markets in the United States and Austin is no longer #1.
According to the Zillow study, the housing market in 2022 is going to stay hot, and Florida’s heat is coming from more than just the sun. Three Florida cities are in the top 10.
Austin has been previously ranked by Zillow as the hottest housing market…but it slipped for 2022 by several spots.
Zillow ranked Tampa as the hottest housing market for the year, expecting it to top the list as a result of its relative affordability and high job growth, according to its 2022 forecast.
Here are the top 10 markets in the U.S. for 2022:
Tampa, Fla.
Jacksonville, Fla.
Raleigh, N.C.
San Antonio, Texas
Charlotte, N.C.
Nashville, Tenn.
Atlanta, Ga.
Phoenix, Ariz.
Orlando, Fla.
Austin, Texas
The real estate company said markets in the Sun Belt have “historically not been particularly sensitive to rising mortgage interest rates or a slowing stock market.”
As a result of shifting demographics and continuing inflation, the price for monthly rent and monthly mortgages has risen across the country. In hotter housing markets, it’s even more noticeable… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
At least 63 Texans — including a state House candidate — are accused of taking part in the Capitol insurrection (Texas Tribune)
On Jan. 6, 2021, Frisco real estate agent Jennifer Leigh Ryan joined a mob of Donald Trump supporters storming the U.S. Capitol, broadcasting her experience live on Facebook.
But exactly one year later, she’s sitting in prison because of her role in the chaos.
Ryan was among hundreds who repeated baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump as they stormed the U.S. Capitol and interrupted Congress’ certification of the results.
“We are going to f---ing go in here. Life or death, it doesn’t matter,” she said during the Facebook Live, according to court documents.
Ryan turned the camera on her own face before saying, “Y’all know who to hire for your Realtor. Jenna Ryan for your Realtor.”
Ryan, who recently began her 60-day prison sentence for parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol Building, is one of at least 63 Texans who were charged with various crimes for their actions that day. That includes Mark Middleton — charged with assaulting an officer and multiple counts of obstruction — who is currently running for a Texas House seat.
The number of Texans facing charges continues to grow as the FBI proceeds with its investigations and makes arrests. Charges against participants — and the punishments they face — range from misdemeanors with minor penalties to felonies that could result in years of prison time.
Trump had called on his supporters to rally in Washington, D.C. And at a protest earlier in the day, he acknowledged that rallygoers were going to march toward the Capitol to encourage lawmakers not to certify the vote.
“I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to, peacefully and patriotically, make your voices heard today,” he said.
Texas Republicans often took the lead on baseless lawsuits that sought to dismiss the results of the 2020 election and tried to rally Trump supporters to protest his loss… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATIONAL NEWS]
A long, hard year for Republicans who voted to impeach after Jan. 6 (New York Times)
The 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Donald J. Trump did so with the same conviction — that a president of their party deserved to be charged with inciting insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021 — and the same hope — that his role in doing so would finally persuade the G.O.P. to repudiate him. But in the year since the deadliest attack on the Capitol in centuries, none of the 10 lawmakers have been able to avoid the consequences of a fundamental miscalculation about the direction of their party. The former president is very much the leader of the Republicans, and it is those who stood against him whom the party has thrust into the role of pariah. Since they cast their impeachment votes on Jan. 13, Representatives Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois have announced their retirements amid death threats from voters and hostility from colleagues. Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming has gone from a star in the House Republican leadership to an exiled party gadfly and truth teller.
Representatives Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington, Peter Meijer of Michigan and Fred Upton of Michigan have Trump-endorsed primary challengers on their heels and uncertain political futures. Four others — John Katko of New York, Dan Newhouse of Washington, Tom Rice of South Carolina and David Valadao of California — have gone to ground, silent if not silenced, in the apparent hope that the entire episode will be forgotten. The fate of the 10 over the past year has offered a bracing reality check about the nature of today’s Republican Party, one that has fully embraced the lie of a stolen election and its main purveyor, and sidelined the few remaining members who have dared to publicly question Mr. Trump or his actions. “There’s been this waiting game and an arbitrage between an individual’s political future and the trajectory of that guy, assuming the apex has passed,” Mr. Meijer said in a lengthy interview, referring to Mr. Trump. “The view among some was that this would be essentially a self-correcting issue,” and that Mr. Trump’s power would fade. “I think that’s proven overly optimistic,” Mr. Meijer added. The 10 could be forgiven for believing that their votes last January would not leave them so exposed. In the immediate aftermath of the Capitol riot, some of Mr. Trump’s most stalwart allies quit the government in disgust. Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the House Republican leader, voted against impeachment but declared, “The president bears responsibility for Wednesday’s attack on Congress by mob rioters.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Corporations seek to rebuild bridges with GOP objectors ahead of midterms (The Hill)
Major U.S. corporations are looking to quietly restore ties with Republicans who objected to certifying the 2020 election results following the Jan. 6 insurrection, believing that they cannot afford to burn bridges with the party that is favored to win back the House in the 2022 midterms. Companies that froze PAC donations to the Republican objectors were met with outrage from GOP leaders, prompting many to reverse or soften their stance. More firms are preparing to resume giving this year, according to lobbyists at corporations and K Street firms. In total, corporations and trade groups have already made more than $8 million in PAC donations to GOP objectors’ reelection campaigns since last year’s Capitol attack, according to a report released by liberal watchdog group Accountable.US this week.
Another tally from left-leaning watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington found that companies that initially pledged to pause their PAC donations to the 147 Republicans have since given $2.4 million to those lawmakers’ campaigns and leadership PACs. Industry giants such as Boeing, General Motors, Raytheon Technologies, Altria Group and UPS rank among the top corporate PAC donors to those Republicans. Most of those checks are going to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who is eyeing the Speaker’s office, and House Republicans who would take control of key congressional committees if the GOP wins the lower chamber. "When Republicans run committees, they will have the power to call the administration up to the Hill, flex their muscle over agency budgets, issue subpoenas, and much more,” said Jonathan Slemrod, a former Senate GOP and Trump administration aide who lobbies for Harbinger Strategies. “Oversight will be very important to the business community when priorities align with Republicans.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)