BG Reads | News You Need to Know (April 22, 2022)
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[BG PODCAST]
Episode 156: Managing Growth in the City of Leander with Mayor Christine DeLisle
Today’s episode (156) features City of Leander Mayor Christine DeLisle. She and Bingham Group CEO A.J. discuss the growth and associated challenges with one the fastest growing cities in the nation.
Elected Mayor in May of 2021, Mayor DeLisle previously served a three-year term as Place 4 on the Leander City Council.
Located just 30 minutes northwest of downtown Austin, Leander has experienced substantial growth in its population over the past decade. In May 2020, the U.S. Census Bureau announced Leander, Texas was the fastest-growing large city in America between 2018 and 2019 -> EPISODE LINK
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
Micro-apartments coming to south Austin (KXAN)
Austin-based StoryBuilt announced this week plans to develop a community at 2001 S. First St. It will include 42 attainable “micro-units” as well as 3,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial and retail space.
The community, named Bruno, will include 38 studio units and four one-bedroom units for rent. The units will range from 308 square feet to 703 square feet.
StoryBuilt, which will be both the developer and the manager of the building, has not yet announced pricing for the units, but executives say they aim to make them “attainably priced.” Four of the units will be designated affordable for those making less than half of the area’s median family income level… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin postpones vote on pilot program to provide basic income to struggling families (KUT)
Elected officials in Austin decided Thursday to delay a vote on a program that would have sent a monthly stipend to low-income families — no strings attached.
Council Member Mackenzie Kelly, who represents Far Northwest Austin, first called for a postponement. “There are parts of this item that have raised questions that remain to be answered,” she wrote on an online message board used by council members Wednesday.
Kelly said she wanted to understand how the city’s first guaranteed-income pilot program would be evaluated before taking a vote. City staff have said those details still need to be worked out with a nonprofit the city is hiring to implement the program.
The vote to postpone was 10-1, with Council Member Leslie Pool absent… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin City Council approves increasing Austin Water's budget by $1.4M, among other items (CBS Austin)
For two weekends this spring, the Zilker Botanical Garden will transform into an immersive, neon art exhibit for visitors to explore.
Designed by Sharon Keshishian and the Ion Art team, The Surreal Garden is a “botanical-themed neon surrealism” art display that will include interactive sculptures visitors can engage with, along with food, craft cocktails, live music and dancing.
The Surreal Garden will open to the public with a VIP event Thursday evening. General admission for the exhibit runs Friday and Saturday this week, with a final weekend on display April 28-30.
This is the first Surreal series Ion Art has put on since the start of the pandemic and its first time collaborating with the Zilker Botanical Garden Conservancy, Keshishian said. She added she’s excited to help put a spotlight on both the beauty of neon art and the botanical garden — a place she dubbed the “jewel” of downtown.
“We have high hopes to help the garden and support arts,” she said. “We feel like this is the perfect partnership — I mean, it support arts in Austin, and it’s supporting this little jewel of a garden that’s here in downtown Austin that so many people don’t know about right now.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Elon Musk's Boring Company lands largest investment deal in Austin history (Austin Inno)
The world has never seen this kind of entrepreneur, and the Austin area has never seen this big of a venture capital investment.
Elon Musk's The Boring Company announced April 20 it has raised $675 million series C investment that gives the tunneling startup a nearly $5.7 billion valuation.
The deal is the largest venture investment ever in the Austin area. The next closest was the $300 million series E investment secured earlier this year by energy industry labor marketplace Workrise, which laid off an undisclosed number of staffers in late March.
Boring Co.'s massive funding was led by Vy Capital and Sequoia Capital. Others in on the round included Valor Equity Partners, Founders Fund, Austin-based 8VC, Craft Ventures and DFJ Growth. 8VC declined to comment and officials from Boring Co. couldn't immediately be reached for comment… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
As Texas home values skyrocket, state officials wrestle with how to slow property tax increases (Texas Tribune)
As Texas’ exploding real estate market dramatically drives up home values, homeowners are getting sticker shock after receiving notice of their properties’ new appraised values — which help determine how much they pay in property taxes.
The growth rate of home values in the state’s major metropolitan areas has surged by double digits. In Harris County, the state’s most populous county, residential values have risen between 15% and 30%, according to Roland Altinger, the county’s chief appraiser.
In Bexar County, the median value of a home appreciated nearly 25% to $265,540.
And in Travis County, where the state’s housing crunch has been most apparent, the median home value has skyrocketed — climbing more than 50% since last year to $632,208.
“We have never seen anything like this,” said Marya Crigler, chief appraiser at the Travis County Appraisal District. “This is unprecedented for us in Travis County. And I think that same unprecedented appreciation is being seen statewide.”
But an increase in value doesn’t necessarily guarantee a dramatically larger tax bill, appraisers and property tax experts caution.
“Many factors complicate how property taxes are calculated,” said Adam Perdue, a research economist at the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University…(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Busing migrants, halting trade: Abbott bets future on divisive border plans (Washington Post)
The news blindsided some of the most powerful people on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. Customs brokers sent panicked text messages. Truckers called warehouse operators. Bank executives puzzled over dinner. Elected leaders called emergency cross-border meetings. They all wanted to know what Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s latest border gambit would mean. The Republican had ordered secondary inspections of commercial trucks entering from Mexico — triggering chaos as traffic snarled on international bridges, and stalling already-strained supply chains of products ranging from auto parts to jalapeños. As produce spoiled and traffic worsened, Abbott touted his move on Fox News.
“The Biden administration has abandoned the immigration laws of America. … They have no idea about the chaos they have caused by their open border policies,” Abbott said, exaggerating last week during one of at least four appearances on the network favored by many conservative viewers. “They refuse to come down and see firsthand and talk to the people who are really most adversely affected.” Like Abbott’s other recent border directives, the order was panned by critics, including some Republicans, as unnecessary and ineffective. Abbott, facing widespread disapproval from business leaders and others, ultimately reversed his decision. The contentious episode underscored what allies and critics alike said is at the core of the conservative stalwart’s political strategy as he seeks a third term for governor this fall and eyes a potential presidential run in 2024: establishing himself as President Biden’s most visible adversary on immigration and the staunchest border hawk in his party.
“Those of us who live, work and get hit on the border by all these riptides caused by external forces in Washington and Austin pay the price,” said Gerry Schwebel of the International Bank of Commerce, one of the largest companies on the border. “It’s not the first time and it won’t be the last time. You never let your guard down. But this affected everyone in North America.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Fewest Americans collecting jobless aid since 1970 (Associated Press)
Applications for unemployment benefits inched down last week as the total number of Americans collecting aid fell to its lowest level in more than 50 years. Jobless claims fell by 2,000 to 184,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week average of claims, which levels out week-to-week volatility, rose by 4,500 to 177,250. About 1.42 million Americans were collecting traditional unemployment benefits in the week of April 9, the fewest since February 21, 1970.
Two years after the coronavirus pandemic plunged the economy into a brief but devastating recession, American workers are enjoying extraordinary job security. Weekly applications for unemployment aid, which broadly track with layoffs, have remained consistently below the pre-pandemic level of 225,000. Last year, employers added a record 6.7 million jobs, and they’ve added an average of 560,000 more each month so far in 2022. The unemployment rate, which soared to 14.7% in April 2020 in the depths of the COVID-19 recession, is now just 3.6%, barely above the lowest point in 50 years. And there is a record proportion of 1.7 job openings for every unemployed American. The U.S. job market and overall economy has shown remarkable resiliency despite ongoing supply chain breakdowns, the economic consequences of Russia’s war against Ukraine and the highest consumer inflation in 40 years… (LINK TO FULL STORY)