BG Reads | News You Need to Know (June 22, 2021)
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[MEETING/HEARINGS]
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
Austin's unemployment rate fell to 4.2% in May, the lowest since COVID (Austin American-Statesman)
In the latest indication that life in Austin is returning to normal as the pandemic fades, the local unemployment rate has fallen for four consecutive months and is at its lowest point since before the coronavirus first sent the economy into a tailspin.
The jobless rate in the Austin metro area came in at 4.2% in May, according to the Texas Workforce Commission, down from 4.6% in April. The local jobless rate had been in the 5% to 6% range since August.
The current rate is still nearly double pre-pandemic levels, as the local unemployment rate registered at 2.4% in May 2019. But it is a significant rebound from Austin's pandemic-era highs of 11.8% and 10.4% in April and May last year, when millions of workers nationwide lost their jobs amid the initial shock of the pandemic.
The rapid comeback in comparison with past downturns is not surprising, said Ray Perryman, an economist based in Waco.
"The pandemic was an entirely different animal," Perryman said. "There were no big speculative bubbles or structural issues that you see in a normal downturn. It was a massive health crisis. Thus, from the outset, it was apparent that once the health crisis was resolved, the economy could come back relatively rapidly."
Employers in the Austin metro area, which encompasses Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop and Caldwell counties, added about 4,500 non-farm workers to payrolls last month, continuing a hiring trend that has been gaining steam now that vaccines have become widely available and infection rates have declined… (LINK TO STORY)
Gómez, Woody prepare for rematch at ballot box (Austin Monitor)
Margaret Gómez, who has served as Travis County Commissioner for Precinct 4 since 1995 and who was the first Mexican American woman in a county commissioner position, declared Monday that she is not done yet.
Susanna Woody announced last week that she would be running for the job also. The two will face each other, and possibly other candidates, in the March 2022 Democratic primary.
Gómez, 78, defeated Woody in the Democratic primary in 2018 with 67 percent of the vote. With no Republican on the ballot four years ago, winning the primary was the same as winning the race. Travis County Republican Party spokesman Andy Hogue told the Austin Monitor it’s too early to know whether any Republican will sign up for the race this year.
In her press announcement, Gómez said, “The challenges we face are simply too big and too urgent for me not to run. I have the experience and know how to make sure we build back better after Covid, make much needed reforms to our criminal justice system, and address crucial infrastructure deficits.”
Woody, 38, is a project manager at AMD, serves on the Del Valle Independent School District Board of Trustees and is president of the Del Valle Community Coalition. One of her most vocal supporters is community activist Paul Saldaña, a former Austin ISD trustee who supported Gómez in the past, including in her 2018 race against Woody. But now, he said, “I think for me … and especially for the Latino community, we need to support the next generation of leaders.”
In announcing the incumbent’s candidacy for reelection, political consultant Nate Walker gave Gómez credit for the successful vaccine clinic at the Circuit of the Americas, “right in the heart of Precinct 4.” He also called attention to her vote on June 15 to delay consideration of a new women’s jail, a major request of criminal justice reform advocates. Walker told the Monitor he is working on a volunteer basis and will be helping put together Gómez’s campaign team… (LINK TO STORY)
Robots have arrived in Austin, and they’re delivering pizza (KUT)
In a narrow glimpse of the increasingly automated future awaiting humanity, 10 silver robots shaped like ice-cream carts are delivering Southside Flying Pizza to hungry Austinites in Travis Heights and the Central Business District.
The company behind the three-wheeled machines is hoping to grow its fleet exponentially and be part of a technological revolution in how people receive their deliveries.
"Robots are your friends," said Luke Schneider, CEO of Michigan-based Refraction AI. "Robots are going to make your life more convenient. They're going to make your city more sustainable, and they're going to make your life better."
The battery-powered devices, called REV-1s, go up to 15 mph and can recognize traffic lights and signs. They don't go as fast as a delivery person traveling in a car would, but Refraction AI argues they can take more efficient routes through traffic and don't have to look for parking. The REV-1 can go up hills, but if you live in a third-floor apartment, you'd have to walk downstairs to pick up your pie.
Multiple REV-1s can be monitored remotely by a single person with a stable internet connection, reducing labor costs compared to bicycle delivery. That person can intervene if hands-on operation is required.
For now, an attendant follows on an electric scooter. Once the robot's artificial intelligence learns to navigate Austin's unpredictable streets, the attendant will no longer be needed… (LINK TO STORY)
Seattle-based law firm eats up 18,000 square feet at 405 Colorado (Austin Business Journal)
Seattle-based law firm Perkins Coie has committed to an 18,000-square-foot lease at 405 Colorado — the brand new 25-story and 206,000-square-foot tower in downtown Austin. The lease was announced on June 21.
The law firm will move into the tower’s 17th floor in early 2022 as part of its expansion into Austin and Texas.
Perkins Coie, which entered the Central Texas market in February 2020 and has had an office downtown in the 500 West 2nd Street tower with Google's name on it, has 16 attorneys and nine staff in Austin. The firm has more than 1,200 attorneys in its offices worldwide. Its practices include corporate law, commercial litigation, intellectual property and regulatory.
“Austin is a well-known and growing hub for the technology sector and the Western District of Texas is now one of the most active patent litigation forums in the country. Our successful growth in the market reflects our strong capabilities and tech-focused practices,” Jose Villareal, Perkins Coie’s Austin office managing partner and a patent litigation and trial attorney, said in a statement. “Our strength in providing effective legal counsel to clients across the technology industry in corporate, transactional and litigation matters positions us well amid the expected growth of Austin’s economy in the coming years.”… (LINK TO STORY)
Springdale Green developers detail plans for recently approved East Austin office and restoration project (Community Impact)
The development team behind the East Austin office campus Springdale Green shared new details June 21 on their plans for redeveloping the 30-acre former tank farm site over the coming years.
Located at 1017 Springdale Road, Austin, the Springdale Green project will center around a pair of six-story office towers containing around 872,500 square feet of rentable space. Those buildings as proposed would include amenities such as a 23,000-square-foot fitness center, an 18,000-square-foot conference center and 36,000 square feet of "garden-like" terraces throughout, according to property owner Jay Paul Co. The site will also include a parking garage with dozens of electric vehicle charging stations and storage space for hundreds of bicycles.“Springdale Green represents a new type of office campus integrated within the fabric of the neighborhood, offering unique outdoor spaces that promote productivity, health and wellbeing,” Janette D'Elia, chief operating officer at Jay Paul, said in a statement. “The campus design reflects the eclectic spirit and creativity of East Austin while prioritizing sustainability with a number of environmental restoration efforts for the surrounding landscape.” (LINK TO STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
Texas’ unemployment rate has fallen by nearly half since the record high in April 2020 (Texas Tribune)
The unemployment rate in Texas was 6.5% in May, which is down from the record high of 12.9% in April 2020.
The decrease comes as Gov. Greg Abbott in May said Texas will opt out of federal jobless assistance to encourage people to go back to work. Jobless Texans will lose access to all additional federal pandemic unemployment aid — including a $300-per-week supplemental benefit — on June 26.
Hundreds of thousands of Texans were receiving federal pandemic assistance as of the week ending May 1 — for many, one month isn’t enough time to apply for and find a job. But economists are optimistic that increased coronavirus vaccinations will help stabilize and improve the state’s economic recovery.
Throughout the pandemic, the state’s outdated and understaffed unemployment insurance office left countless Texans struggling to receive unemployment benefits as they navigated the Texas Workforce Commission’s confusing processes.
Business shutdowns and limits battered Texas companies, which can now largely operate at full capacity. But businesses must choose whether customers are required to wear masks.
During the legislative session, Texas lawmakers approved a $248 billion two-year state budget for 2022-23 that is headed to the governor’s desk. The plan takes into account federal funding for coronavirus relief. Earlier in May, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar increased the projection for state funds available for the 2022-2023 budget by $3 billion — to a total of $116 billion — eliminating the budget deficit from the pandemic…(LINK TO STORY)
Fort Hood identified as least-safe post for female soldiers: study (The Hill)
Female soldiers have the highest risk of being sexually assaulted at Fort Hood, Texas, making it the least-safe post for women in the Army, according to a new RAND Corp. study. The report, released Friday, found that female soldiers at Fort Hood have an 8.4 percent risk of sexual assault, nearly one-third higher than the 5.8 percent risk faced by the average woman in the Army. In comparison, the study found the average risk of sexual assault for men in the service was 0.64 percent. Other bases with a higher-than-average risk for women, in descending order, include Fort Bliss, Texas; Fort Riley, Kan.; Fort Campbell on the Kentucky-Tennessee border; and Carson, Colo.
RAND, which studied the risk of sexual assault and harassment for Army soldiers between August 2017 and July 2018, found that of the 5,883 women based at Fort Hood between those dates, 494 were sexually assaulted — about 1 in 12. Women serving at the Pentagon had the lowest risk of sexual assault at 1.8 percent, or about 1 in 50. The study linked the likelihood of sexual assault with the age and rank of the women typically assigned to either location. “Fort Hood and Fort Bliss have large numbers of young, unmarried, less-educated, and junior-ranking soldiers, who are known to be at higher risk of sexual assault,” according to the study. In contrast, women serving at the Pentagon are, on average, likely to be “older, more senior-ranking, more highly educated, and might have other personnel characteristics associated with lower total sexual assault risk.” When researchers studied adjusted sexual assault risk, comparing posts with similar soldier demographics, Fort Hood and Fort Bliss were still highest on the list. Fort Hood and Fort Bliss also topped the list as having the highest risk of sexual harassment for women… (LINK TO STORY)
Eva Guzman, former Texas Supreme Court justice, officially starts campaign for attorney general (Texas Tribune)
Eva Guzman, the Republican former justice on the Texas Supreme Court, officially began her campaign against embattled Attorney General Ken Paxton on Monday, pledging to bring "honor and integrity" to the office as well as an extensive legal background that could set her apart from another primary candidate, George P. Bush.
"I'm just what Texas needs because I have the experience, the proven integrity, the conservative values," Guzman said in an interview, adding that she has shown she can "put together winning teams" — a reference to her distinction as the highest vote-getter in Texas history at the time of her last statewide race.
Guzman's formal entrance into the race comes 10 days after she left the court — and a week after news broke that she filed paperwork to run for the office. Bush, the land commissioner, announced his Paxton challenge early this month.
Guzman made her bid official in a roughly two-minute video during which she talks about growing up in Houston's East End, going from "humble beginnings to the Texas Supreme Court" and working to secure justice for families like hers. She says she is running for attorney general "to protect our border, to ensure elections are fair, to fight the overreach of the federal government and to alway support the police who keep us all safe."
She quickly picked up a major endorsement from Texans for Lawsuit Reform, the powerful tort reform group that supported Paxton for attorney general in the 2014 and 2018 general elections. The chairman of the group's PAC, Richard J. Trabulsi Jr., said in a statement that Guzman "has the breadth of legal experience and the personal and professional integrity that we must require of our state’s highest legal officer."… (LINK TO STORY)
Booming prices provide boon for Houston's chemical industry (Houston Chronicle)
Texas refineries and petrochemical companies are benefiting from soaring prices as their raw materials — used to make everything from takeout food containers to paint — remain in short supply. The surging revenue is a boon to the multibillion-dollar industry that employs thousands of workers at dozens of plants along the Texas Gulf Coast and is vital to the prosperity of a Houston economy so closely tied to fossil fuels. It’s also a welcome reversal of fortune. Before the coronavirus pandemic hit in early 2020, industry analysts expected the U.S. and China — in a battle for domination of the chemicals market — to produce more raw materials than the world needed. But as the pandemic caused economies around the world to shut down, e-commerce and food delivery soared, boosting demand for packaging, containers and bags made with plastics including polyethylene and polypropylene.
As producers along the Texas Gulf Coast struggled to keep up with demand amid a devastating and deadly pandemic, weather hampered operations through most of the year and into 2021. A record hurricane season sent 11 named storms barreling into the Gulf of Mexico. Eight made landfall along the Louisiana and Texas coasts, home to most of the nation’s refining and chemical operations. The largest was Hurricane Laura, which made landfall Aug. 27 in Cameron Parish, La., south of Lake Charles, as a Category 4. It impacted capacity at several area petrochemical producers, including chemical manufacturer Westlake Chemical and oil refiner and chemical company LyondellBasell, both based in Houston. February’s winter storm delivered an even larger punch to Gulf Coast refineries and petrochemical plants, which were forced to shut down quickly, resulting in damaged equipment and lengthy outages that strained supply chains. The storm put about 80 percent of total U.S. production of polypropylene and polyethylene on ice, according to IHS Markit, a research and analysis company. “The freeze that hit the industry here in the U.S. in February shifted the whole dynamic in terms of pricing power and profit margins in a way that was really unexpected and unprecedented,” IHS Market analyst Nick Vafiadis said. To-go containers are arranged on a table during a portrait session Friday, June 4, 2021, at a Beck's Prime location in Houston… (LINK TO STORY)
Texas Ag Commissioner Sid Miller running for reelection, instead of challenging Gov. Greg Abbott (Texas Tribune)
Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller announced Monday he would seek reelection, putting to rest speculation that he could challenge Gov. Greg Abbott for the top elected position in the state.
“I really have the best and most rewarding job in the world,” Miller said in a statement. “That’s why, after listening to the advice of supporters, friends and my team, I have decided that I can best serve Texas by continuing this important work.”
“Today I am announcing my campaign for reelection as your Texas Agriculture Commissioner,” he said.
Miller is in his second term as agriculture commissioner but was seen as a potential challenger to Abbott because of his vocal criticism of the governor’s handling of COVID-19. Miller is also a close ally of former President Donald Trump, whose endorsement will likely carry significant weight among Republican primary voters.
In May, the Conservative Republicans of Texas political action committee had cut a video ad to recruit Miller to run against Abbott, declaring: "He was right on Trump, he'll be right for Texas." Miller appeared to be pondering the decision, announcing weeks later that he was running for statewide office but not saying for which position.
"I'm convinced that our current governor cannot get reelected in the general election," he said on a podcast with Sery Kim, a former congressional Republican candidate.
Earlier this month, Trump endorsed Abbott… (LINK TO STORY)
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Supreme Court backs payments to student-athletes (New York Times)
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled Monday that the NCAA cannot bar relatively modest payments to student-athletes in the name of amateurism. The decision, based on antitrust law, came as the business model of college sports is under increasing pressure. Last year, a federal appeals court ruled that the NCAA was not free to limit benefits tied to education for Division I football and basketball players. The decision allowed payments for things like musical instruments, scientific equipment, postgraduate scholarships, tutoring, study abroad, academic awards and internships. It did not permit the outright payment of salaries. The court rejected the NCAA’s argument that compensating athletes would alienate sports fans who prize students’ amateur status.
“Uncapping certain education-related benefits would preserve consumer demand for college athletics just as well as the challenged rules do,” Chief Judge Sidney R. Thomas wrote for a unanimous three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in San Francisco. “Such benefits are easily distinguishable from professional salaries,” he wrote, as they are linked to education and could be provided in kind rather than in cash. “The record furnishes ample support,” Thomas added, “that the provision of education-related benefits has not and will not repel college sports fans.” The Supreme Court last considered how antitrust laws applied to the association in 1984, ruling that its restrictions on television coverage of college football games were unlawful. But the decision, National Collegiate Athletic Association v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma, included an influential passage on student-athletes… (LINK TO STORY)
Chip shortages are starting to hit consumers. Higher prices are likely. (Wall Street Journal)
The global chip shortage is pushing up prices of items such as laptops and printers and is threatening to do the same to other top-selling devices including smartphones.
Price increases are snowballing their way through suppliers and key materials in chip making as the industry rushes to meet rising demand and plug supply holes. As a result, many of the world’s large chip makers are raising prices they charge to the brands that make PCs and other gadgets. Industry officials say the increases may continue.
Consumers are starting to feel the pinch. Prices of popular models of some laptop computers have crept up over the past two months, among other electronics becoming more expensive at retailers. A laptop geared toward videogamers—made by Taiwanese manufacturer ASUSTek Computer Inc. —that Amazon lists as its bestseller rose from $900 to $950 this month, according to Keepa, a site that tracks prices. The cost of a popular HP Inc. Chromebook rose to $250 from $220 at the beginning of June.
HP has raised consumer PC prices by 8% and printer prices by more than 20% in a year, according to Bernstein Research. HP Chief Executive Enrique Lores said the increases are driven by component shortages and that the company may adjust prices further to reflect cost increases.
Other PC makers have struck a similar note. “As we think about component cost increases, we’ll adjust our pricing as appropriate,” Dell Technologies Inc. Chief Financial Officer Thomas Sweet said on a recent earnings call. An ASUSTek executive in May said that the company was reflecting component cost increases in its pricing… (LINK TO STORY)