BG Reads | News You Need to Know (March 23, 2021)
[BINGHAM GROUP]
BG Podcast EP. 134: Exploring San Francisco's Tech Exodus and Where Austin Fits
Today’s episode (134) features Jennifer Stojkovic, Executive Director of sf.citi, the tech trade association of San Francisco.
With 1,000+ members and supporting companies, such as Google, Salesforce, and Microsoft, sf.citi engages in policy and projects serving the larger San Francisco community.
She and Bingham Group CEO A.J. discuss the impact COVD-19 has had on San Francisco, particularly how the pandemic has accelerated an exodus to rising Tier 1 cities like Austin.
You can listen to this episode and previous ones on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud. Please like, link, comment and subscribe!
The BIG 3, the three top headlines Austinites need to know (Video, 3.22.2021).
#1 City of Austin Launches Plan To Bring Events Back Safely
#2 Austin Council takes up $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan
#3 City Manager Spencer Cronk to name Austin Police interim chief
New post every Monday and Friday. We’d love your feedback and story suggestions as we develop this offering. Email at: info@binghamgp.com
[MEETING/HEARINGS]
[THE 87TH TEXAS LEGISLATURE]
LINK TO FILED HOUSE BILLS (5,241)
LINK TO FILED SENATE BILLS (2,421)
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
The deadline to register to vote in Austin's May election is April 1 (KUT)
There are eight City of Austin propositions on the May 1 election ballot. In order to participate, you need to be registered to vote by April 1.
The propositions address local issues including campaign finance, election dates, the structure of Austin's city government and anti-camping ordinances that would affect people experiencing homelessness.
You can check your voter registration information at votetravis.com.
To register to vote in Travis County, you can visit the Travis County Tax Office in person. You can also mail in a voter registration card available from a public library or post office or printed from VoteTexas.gov. Your card or printout must be postmarked by April 1 in order to be able to vote in the upcoming election. Bruce Elfant, the Travis County tax assessor-collector and voter registrar, said he recommends mailing it at least two to three days before that deadline.
“In the November election, we probably had a thousand applications that I bet were mailed on time and didn’t get a timely postmark,” Elfant said.
Williamson County residents can drop off or mail completed voter registration cards to the Elections Department in Georgetown. You can check your voter registration information here.
If you were already registered, but have changed your name or moved within a county, you can update your registration information here. If you are getting a new driver's license, you can choose to register or update the address on your voter registration information.
Travis County has 97% of voting-aged citizens registered to vote. Elfant said that’s more than any other urban county in the state. Pre-COVID, the county had thousands of volunteer deputy registrars stationed at public events, farmers’ markets, city parks, music concerts and local businesses to register new groups of qualified voters… (LINK TO STORY)
Assistant Chief Joe Chacon selected interim Austin police chief; city announces national chief search (Austin American-Statesman)
Austin City Manager Spencer Cronk on Monday tapped Assistant Chief Joe Chacon to lead the Police Department on interim status during a national search for a permanent chief — a process Cronk said he will complete by summer's end.
The announcements come at a time of deep community interest in the operations of Austin police and amid calls to more aggressively jettison policies and practices that many activists and police critics say negatively and unfairly affect minorities and those suffering from mental illness.
Cronk vowed that the hiring process will heavily involve community input.
"The search will be transparent and inclusive with engagement at every level," he said. "This is a critical time for our community and the Austin Police Department."
In selecting Chacon, a 22-year department veteran, to be interim chief, Cronk bypassed Troy Gay, the department's chief of staff and second-in-command, who had been expected to fill the position during the search. Chacon, who has been an assistant chief for nearly five years, will face City Council confirmation this week and will formally take over when Police Chief Brian Manley departs Sunday… (LINK TO STORY)
Texas philanthropist, educator and leader Teresa Lozano Long has died at age 92 (Austin American-Statesman)
Teresa Lozano Long, major philanthropist, longtime educator and community leader, died after a long illness Sunday evening at age 92.
For decades, she and her husband, retired lawyer Joe Long, gave money and provided leadership for the performing arts, health science and education. Their total gifts to Texas nonprofits and universities have topped $150 million.
“The beautiful, brilliant and beloved Dr. Teresa Altagracia Lozano Long was a dairy farmer’s daughter from Premont who became a legend in her own time," said state Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo. "Altagracia translates literally into 'high grace' or 'very gracious,' so 'gracious' really is Terry’s middle name. Known as the University of Texas’ Mother Teresa, she was as kind and lovely as she was fierce and focused on creating a better future, especially for low-income Mexican Americans, through education and the arts."… (LINK TO STORY)
Three residential towers near Rainey Street could be approved in Austin this week (KXAN)
The Austin City Council could vote as soon as Thursday to approve three residential towers in the Rainey Street District.
Three separate developers of proposed residential high-rises — 9092 Rainey, 84 East, and the River Street Residences — are asking for waivers to exceed the city’s cap on the amount of square footage that can be built on their lots. City code requires council approval when a project’s floor-to-area ratio (FAR) is greater than 15:1… (LINK TO STORY)
Hindered by traffic concerns, ZAP punts on rezoning case (Austin Monitor)
Members of the Zoning and Platting Commission disagreed Tuesday on the proper zoning for an apartment project at 1434 Genoa Drive in South Austin, letting the zoning case move to City Council without their input.
The commission’s main sticking point proved to be the right number of new homes – or rather, cars – the area could handle.
“What is that (traffic) impact we’re willing to accept to have more housing?” Commissioner David King asked.
The apartment project would add more cars to Bilbrook Place, the only outlet to Slaughter Lane for a 623-acre swath of land burgeoning with new residential development. The Bilbrook-Slaughter intersection, like many others in the city, sees more traffic than it was designed to handle.The developer originally requested Multifamily-High Density (MF-5) zoning for the 5.2-acre agricultural property, which is currently Development Reserve (DR), a temporary designation for unused land that requires rezoning upon development. City staffers recommended Multifamily-Moderate Density (MF-3) zoning.
After talking to neighbors, the developer agreed to seek Multifamily-Moderate Density (MF-4) zoning, which would allow up to 240 apartments. But for some neighbors and commissioners, 240 was still too many.
“We appreciate the need for additional housing and we are not opposed to development,” said neighbor Ashley Kelm. “We are simply opposed to a high-density option on this very small parcel.”
Several neighbors who spoke at the meeting worried about the day-to-day delays they would experience from more cars using the Bilbrook-Slaughter intersection. They pushed for lower-density apartments or single-family homes to lessen the traffic impact.
“I do think there is some legitimacy in the arguments that neighbors are making about ‘one access in, one access out,’” Commissioner Ann Denkler said.
Commissioner Roy Woody, the new District 2 appointee, said, “Higher-capacity housing is good for some cases, but I’m not sure it is good for this specific case.”
Other commissioners minimized the traffic concerns. “I feel like ATD had already taken a good look and is providing the best they can,” Commissioner Nadia Barrera-Ramirez said, adding that a developer of a nearby subdivision is already paying for improvements to the intersection.
Commissioner Ellen Ray argued that concerns about traffic shouldn’t prohibit dense development. “If we’re going to wait to improve an intersection, we’re never going to build anything at a higher density. And if we continue to build single-family homes, our affordability crisis is only going to worsen.”… (LINK TO STORY)
Universal Technical Institute plans campus in North Austin, takes 100,000 SF off market (Austin Business Journal)
A technical training institute is expanding to Central Texas and has grabbed a large chunk of real estate in North Austin.
Universal Technical Institute Inc. (NYSE: UTI) announced March 22 that it plans to open an Austin campus in early 2022. Automotive, diesel and welding technology programs will be initially offered at the school, according to an announcement.
The company has leased about 100,000 square feet at CM Techridge in North Austin, about a mile east of I-35. HPI Real Estate Services and Investments handles the leasing for the space, according to its website, and the facility was listed as 100% leased by press time. Officials with HPI declined to comment.
The campus will be designed to support UTI's blended-learning curriculum with both digital and hands-on training elements, according to the announcement.
This will mark UTI's third Texas campus, with locations also in the Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth metros. Its headquarters is in Phoenix, Arizona, and UTI has roughly a dozen other campuses in the U.S.
"We are excited to be expanding in Texas where UTI has a 38-year history of supporting students and graduating them with the skills employers want so they can be employed in good jobs," UTI CEO Jerome Grant said in a statement. "An Austin campus will offer a convenient solution for students to train ... where our proven evaluation criteria shows extremely strong prospective student interest in our programs and employer demand for skilled technicians."… (LINK TO STORY)
Austin FC to hold watch party for 1,000 fans at Long Center for inaugural match (Community Impact)
Austin FC and its fans will be able to watch the team’s first-ever match in history by the shores of Lady Bird Lake.
The newest Major League Soccer franchise announced March 22 it is hosting an official watch party at the Long Center for its April 17 debut game against Los Angeles FC.
The free event, held in partnership with Austin FC jersey sponsor Yeti, was limited to the first 1,000 fans to sign up for the event online.
Sign-ups for the event were already closed within one hour of the team opening sign-up slots to fans at 11 a.m. on March 22.
“We look forward to sharing this milestone event with our fans, friends, and neighbors who have helped to make this historic moment possible,” Austin FC President Andy Loughnane said in a March 22 news release… (LINK TO STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
Migrants are not overrunning U.S. border towns, despite the political rhetoric (Washington Post)
The way many Republicans describe it, President Biden has thrown open the border between Mexico and the United States so that anyone who wants to come into the country can do so, illegally or legally. Former president Donald Trump accused Biden of “recklessly eliminating our border, security measures, controls, all of the things.” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) says Biden has rushed to implement “open border policies.” Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) says the new president “sent a message around South and Central America that our border is open.” But many of those who live along the border in Texas say that while there has been a dramatic increase in the number of migrants caught crossing illegally, the border itself has been heavily restricted for nearly a year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Last March, the Trump administration closed the border to nonessential pedestrian and vehicular traffic from Mexico, halting not just asylum seekers but also Mexicans who regularly crossed international bridges to legally shop, dine and spend money in border communities. Border cities, many of which struggle with high rates of poverty, depend on the fees collected from bridge traffic and have seen their coffers empty with the closures. In Texas’s Rio Grande Valley — home to 13 international bridges for pedestrians and vehicles — traffic at the crossings is down 50 to 60 percent, representing millions in losses, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection and local officials. In Hidalgo County alone, leaders say cross-border commerce represents about a third of its revenue. The same is happening at the 15 other international bridges and border crossings in the state.
“There’s no open borders here,” Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez said. “The border is shut down to most everyone.” Customs and Border Protection is on pace to make more than 130,000 arrests and detentions in March, up from 100,000 a month ago and 34,000 a year ago. There has been a marked increase in the number of migrant children and teenagers arriving without their parents, and the Biden administration has struggled to find space in shelters for them as they await placement with a vetted relative or sponsor…(LINK TO STORY)
Another former Fort Worth mayor, also a former state senator, endorses Mattie Parker to replace Betsy Price (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
Former Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief and his wife Rosie on Monday endorsed Mattie Parker in the race to replace Betsy Price. Price, who won’t seek a sixth term as mayor, also endorsed Parker, a former City Council chief of staff. The Moncriefs, in a statement, said they believed Parker would listen to citizens and solve problems with innovation and collaboration. “She has what is required to do the job. After careful consideration, we are proud to support Mattie Parker and her vision for the future of Fort Worth,” the couple said in a statement.
Mike Moncrief was mayor from 2003 to 2011, when Price was first elected. Parker is the founding CEO of education nonprofits Fort Worth Cradle to Career and the Tarrant To and Through Partnership. She has several prominent endorsements, including from the Fort Worth Police Officers Association. The list includes Republican state Reps. Phil King and Craig Goldman as well as Democrat Pete Geren, a former congressman, outgoing councilman Dennis Shingleton and former council members Danny Scarth, Bill Meadows and Zim Zimmerman. Ramona and Lee Bass, Sid Bass, Mike Berry and Dee Kelly Jr. are among prominent citizens backing Parker. Tarrant County Democratic Chairwoman Deborah Peoples also has a growing list of endorsements including County Commissioner Roy Brooks, Texas Board of Education member Aicha Davis and The Collective PAC, a national political action committee focused on electing Black candidates to local offices. Councilman Brian Byrd has been endorsed by Republican U.S. Rep. Kay Granger. Other candidates include councilwoman Ann Zadeh and real estate broker Steve Penate… (LINK TO STORY)
Texas Republicans begin pursuing new voting restrictions as they work to protect their hold on power (Texas Tribune)
Republican lawmakers in Texas are attempting to cement more bricks into the wall they hope will shield their hold on power from the state's changing electorate.
After more than 20 years in firm control, the GOP is seeing its dominance of Texas politics slowly slip away, with some once reliable suburbs following big cities into the Democratic party's fold.
This legislative session, Republicans are staging a sweeping legislative campaign to further tighten the state's already restrictive voting rules and raise new barriers for some voters, clamping down in particular on local efforts to make voting easier.
If legislation they have introduced passes, future elections in Texas will look something like this: Voters with disabilities will be required to prove they can't make it to the polls before they can get mail-in ballots. County election officials won’t be able to keep polling places open late to give voters like shift workers more time to cast their ballots. Partisan poll watchers will be allowed to record voters who receive help filling out their ballots at a polling place. Drive-thru voting would be outlawed. And local election officials may be forbidden from encouraging Texans to fill out applications to vote by mail, even if they meet the state’s strict eligibility rules.
Those provisions are in a Senate priority bill that was set to receive its first committee airing Monday, but Democrats delayed its consideration by invoking a rule that requires more public notice before the legislation is heard. Senate Bill 7 is part of a broader package of proposals to constrain local initiatives widening voter access in urban areas, made up largely by people of color, that favor Democrats.
The wave of new restrictions would crash up against an emerging Texas electorate that every election cycle includes more and more younger voters and voters of color. They risk compounding the hurdles marginalized people already face making themselves heard at the ballot box… (LINK TO STORY)
[NATION]
Democrats agonize over ‘defund the police’ fallout (Politico)
As Democrats turn toward defending their congressional majorities next year, the party is running headlong into one important piece of unfinished business: the bitter debate over whether protesters’ push to defund the police seriously damaged their prospects in 2020.
Nearly five months after Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) angrily scolded her colleagues in a widely leaked call for saying “defund the police when that's not what we mean,” the argument over its impact is still raging.
In private email exchanges and on public social media platforms, Democratic elected officials, operatives and aides continue to battle over whether the issue that has come to be known as simply “defund” is so radioactive that it nearly cost the party its majority — or whether it had any impact at all on the outcome.
The competing efforts within the party to shape the narrative surrounding the issue could have far-reaching effects on how Democrats position themselves in the midterm elections. It could also influence their relationship with base voters who will be key to the party’s success in 2022, particularly Black people, Latinos and young Americans… (LINK TO STORY)
Biden Administration Officials Put Together $3 Trillion Economic Plan (Wall Street Journal)
Administration officials are crafting a plan for a multipart infrastructure and economic package that could cost as much as $3 trillion and fulfill key elements of President Biden’s campaign agenda, according to people involved in the discussions.
The first proposal would center on roads, bridges and other infrastructure projects and include many of the climate-change initiatives Mr. Biden outlined in the “Build Back Better” plan he released during the 2020 campaign.
That package would be followed by measures focusing on education and other priorities, including extending the newly expanded child tax credit scheduled to expire at the end of the year and providing for universal prekindergarten and tuition-free community college, the people said.
The packages could face a difficult path through the narrowly divided Congress, and Democrats aren’t all in agreement on how they should move forward with their spending and tax proposals. Mr. Biden is expected to be briefed on the details of the proposals this week, and the people warned that the strategy is preliminary. Mr. Biden would need to sign off on the legislative strategy for it to move forward… (LINK TO STORY)
Marty Walsh, Boston Mayor with union roots, confirmed as Labor Secretary at key time (NPR)
Marty Walsh, the two-term mayor of Boston, was confirmed as the Labor secretary by the Senate in a 68-29 vote on Monday, becoming the first union leader to run the department in over four decades.
Walsh will become the head of the Labor Department at a critical time, as the pandemic has left millions unemployed and raised concerns about workplace safety.
The former union leader will also serve in a Biden administration that has pledged to protect the power of unions and is looking to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.
"Right now, this work is critical to the future of our economy, our communities, and our families," Walsh told senators at his confirmation hearing last month. "I believe we must act with urgency to meet this moment to strengthen and empower our workforce as we rebuild."
Chris Lu, who served as deputy labor secretary under President Obama, says he can't imagine a bigger moment than right now for the department.
The unemployment rate remains above 6 percent and the number of people who have been unemployed for more than six months is at levels not seen since the Great Recession… (LINK TO STORY)
Kim Janey is first woman, person of color to be mayor of Boston (Associated Press)
Boston has a new mayor in Kim Janey, who became the city’s first female and first person of color to take the office Monday.
Marty Walsh resigned Monday evening to become President Joe Biden’s labor secretary. The Boston City Council President Janey, who is Black, stepped into the role of acting mayor and is scheduled to have a ceremonial swearing in Wednesday.
Walsh, the latest in a long line of largely Irish-American Boston mayors stretching back the better part of a century — with one notable Italian-American exception — said he welcomed the change.
“History will be made tonight,” Walsh said earlier in the evening. “We’re an extremely diverse city from different backgrounds and different nationalities and different skin colors. I think it’s a good thing for our city. I think it’s a great thing for our city.
Janey took to Twitter to wish Walsh well following his confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
“Congratulations on your confirmation, Secretary Walsh. You are a proud son of Dorchester who will bring our city with you,” she tweeted. “The working people of America will benefit greatly from your passion.”
“Now, we look ahead to a new day — a new chapter — in Boston’s history,” Janey, a fellow Democrat, added.
Walsh said for the past two months he’s had regular meetings and conversations with Janey. The two have also held extensive planning sessions, he said.
“Together the council president and myself and our teams have worked diligently to ensure a smooth transition,” he said… (LINK TO STORY)