BG Reads | News You Need to Know (August 22, 2022)
[BG PODCAST]
Episode 162: Discussing Austin Entrepreneurship and the Black Leaders Collective with Terry P. Mitchell
Today's (162) episode features Austin community leader and serial entrepreneur, Terry P. Mitchell.
She and Bingham Group CEO A.J. discuss her path into the business world, and the founding of the Black Leaders Collective-> EPISODE LINK
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[HEARINGS AND MEETINGS]
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
[AUSTIN METRO]
Industry leaders look to grow Austin's semiconductor sector following Chips Act passage (Austin American-Statesman)
Politicians and tech industry leaders are looking to grow Austin’s semiconductor ecosystem and workforce, after federal legislation aimed at boosting the industry recently won approval.
The bill — dubbed the Chips and Science Act — passed in July and is designed to encourage companies to expand and build semiconductor manufacturing facilities in the United States.
It includes more than $52 billion in funding for companies that make computer chips, as well as billions more in tax credits to encourage investment in chip manufacturing and tens of billions of dollars to fund scientific research and to encourage innovation and development of other U.S. technologies.
“I think for the long-term impacts, this is probably one of the most significant pieces of legislation we've had in decades,” said U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, who co-authored the legislation in the House. “As the (U.S.) Secretary of Commerce told me, Austin is going to benefit and so is Texas, probably more than any other state in the country.”
On Friday, McCaul and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who led the effort in the Senate to pass the bill, toured Austin Community College’s new labs and classrooms that are designed to help train technicians to work in the industry, and they praised the importance of ramping up such job programs following passage of the legislation. The bill won final approval last month, more than two years after the original version was first introduced… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Ken Casaday retiring from APD, Austin Police Association (KXAN)
Ken Casaday, a 25-year veteran of the Austin Police Department and president of the Austin Police Association, said Sunday he’ll retire “sometime around midweek.”
Casaday told KXAN that he plans to stay in law enforcement and that “another job opportunity opened up.”
The City of Austin and APD are in the middle of contract negotiations with the current agreement expiring Sept. 30. If a deal isn’t reached by then, however, negotiations could be extended up to six months. Once an agreement is reached, it will go in front of the Austin City Council for a vote.
The last APD contract the city approved was in 2018.
At the same time the city and APD are trying to agree to their next contract, the city and Austin EMS Association came to a tentative one-year agreement Friday that gave medics a $4.2 million boost in pay… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Homebuyers regain some power in Austin as inventory continues to climb (Austin Business Journal)
Homebuyers continue to gain negotiating power in the Austin area, a welcome change of pace in a market that has been defined for much of the past two years by blistering conditions.
The latest numbers from the Austin Board of Realtors convey good — or at least better — news for this home-starved market and people struggling to find a home. They also signal a comforting trend that would help Austin avoid a housing crash after years of phenomenal appreciation.
Housing inventory increased in July for the second straight month, to 2.7 months for the region and 2.4 months for Austin city limits, according to ABOR. Instead of a summer outlier, this now seems to point to a trend of decreasing demand, especially in light of rising mortgage rates, combined with homebuilders rallying to bring new homes to the landscape.
It's important to note those inventory levels are still far below what's considered a balanced market. Many experts consider six months of inventory necessary to showcase an equilibrium between supply and demand.
But rising inventory and slowing appreciation show the market is normalizing, said Cord Shiflet, 2022 ABOR president and a top-selling agent with Moreland Properties.
"On top of rising housing inventory, home price growth is much closer to the 4-5% annual growth that is typical for a healthy market," Shiflet stated. "In addition, homes sold slightly below list price for the first time since December 2020, proving that buyers are gaining negotiating power in the market."… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
City works to prioritize non-vehicular transit (Austin Monitor)
ATX Walk Bike Roll, a collaborative effort to improve the city’s sidewalks, urban trails and bicycle paths, is rolling right along. Representatives from the project met with the Environmental Commission last week to discuss how things are coming along as the second phase of the planning process begins to wrap up.
With an equity focus in mind, ATX Walk Bike Roll has a multitude of goals, such as updating the modal plans on where to build urban trails, sidewalks and bikeways; incorporating maintenance into plans so paths don’t become neglected; and figuring out how to build the pathways efficiently and make them safer.
The project, which has been in the works since the start of 2021, has been in its second phase for about a year. In phase two, the team, which is run by Austin Public Works and the Austin Transportation Department, has worked on shaping the programs and policies behind their plan in addition to thinking about how they’ll build out and prioritize their network of pathways. A large part of this objective centers around community feedback, and figuring out where Austinites want to improve their sidewalks and trails.
The team surveyed Austin residents and found that the respondents were hopeful for places to bike, walk and roll for myriad reasons. While health and fitness ranked at the top, most respondents said getting places with ease, looking out for the environment, connecting with the community, and saving money were important as well.
While ATX Walk Bike Roll is an ambitious undertaking, the team leaders were confident that Austin has the resources and the community support to do the job, and do it well.
“Relative to other American cities, Austin is just investing tremendous amounts of time and effort into these areas, but it’s inertia, right? We went through decades and decades … where we literally had no funds devoted for sidewalk maintenance for something like 50 years,” John Eastman from Public Works said… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Walmart expands abortion coverage for its employees (Dallas Morning News)
Walmart, the nation’s largest employer and one of the largest in Texas, is expanding its abortion coverage for employees after staying largely mum on the issue for months after the Supreme Court ruling that scrapped a nationwide right to abortion In a memo sent to employees on Friday, the company said its health care plans will now cover abortion for employees “when there is a health risk to the mother, rape or incest, ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage or lack of fetal viability.” The new policy will also offer “travel support” for workers and dependents covered under their health care plans so they can access services that are not available within 100 miles of their locations, Donna Morris, the retailer’s chief people officer, said in the memo. Walmart employs nearly 1.6 million people in the U.S. In Arkansas, where the company is based, abortion is banned under all circumstances unless the procedure is needed to protect the life of the mother in a medical emergency.
There are no exceptions for rape or incest. Abortion is also banned in Texas, which is Walmart’s biggest state by store count and employees. The retailer’s 178,594 employees in Texas operate 593 stores and other operations such as distribution centers. Texas is one of many states that have taken action to strengthen abortion laws or implement bans since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. A Walmart spokesperson did not immediately reply for a request for comment on whether the company’s health plan — or travel support — will cover elective abortions. Previously, the company’s benefits plan had covered abortion only in cases “when the health of the mother would be in danger if the fetus were carried to term, the fetus could not survive the birthing process, or death would be imminent after birth,” according to a copy of the policy viewed by The Associated Press but not confirmed by Walmart. Many companies — including Meta, American Express and Bank of America — have said they will cover travel costs for their employees in the aftermath of the high court ruling that tossed out Roe v. Wade. But dozens of other corporations and organizations that represent some of the nation’s most powerful companies have continued to stay quiet… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Texas leaders shut renewables out in planning the power grid’s future (Texas Monthly)
At last count, there were 214 wind farms and 111 solar farms in Texas. Dozens more are under construction, and hundreds more under consideration. Those in operation generate about a quarter of the state’s electricity, and both wind and solar broke electrical output records this year. Solar, in particular, has emerged this summer as a breakout star in preventing blackouts. So after Texas leaders created an advisory committee last year and charged it with devising a “comprehensive state energy plan” to fix what ails the power grid, you would think someone on that committee would have a substantial history of developing renewable energy in Texas. You would be wrong. Not only that, but the only member of the committee with any experience at all in renewable energy (mostly in China) has raised unorthodox ideas that veer into the realm of conspiracy theory. E. Patrick Jenevein III, a 64-year-old Dallas businessman, introduced himself to a Texas Senate committee in 2021 as a U.S. defense contractor and former wind-farm developer with “over a quarter of a century working with the Communist Party’s biggest defense contractor in China.”
Lieutenant governor Dan Patrick looked at Jenevein’s CV and decided he was the right person to help plot the future of Texas energy. According to attendees at the committee’s first meeting, in June, Jenevein asked a panel comprising two top executives of the Texas power grid and a meteorologist whether it was true that wind farms can change the earth’s magnetic field. (“No way,” says Patricia Reiff, a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University, when I asked if this was possible.) His question was met with uncomfortable silence. At the second meeting, earlier this month, Jenevein asked a variation of the question, according to someone in attendance: Could the use of renewable energy alter the earth’s magnetic field and affect the climate? (Again, not a chance, says Reiff.) It’s unclear whether Jenevein has any experience building wind or solar farms in Texas’s complicated, competitive marketplace. His company, Tang Energy Group, built a couple of wind farms and some gas power plants in China in the late nineties and early aughts, in partnership with a large Chinese defense contractor, according to court records. In 2008, Jenevein created a Dallas-based company, Soaring Wind Energy, to develop wind farms in the U.S. in partnership with the state-owned Chinese defense contractor. “Soaring Wind Energy’s sole objective was to build wind farms around the world that used Chinese equipment,” he said on a 2016 Council on Foreign Relations podcast. “Starting in one of the best markets in the world, Texas, was a natural for us.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Child care costs can put higher education out of reach for student parents in Texas (KUT)
Juggling the costs of college and child care is the primary challenge facing students who are parents, according to new research from The Education Trust. The nonprofit advocacy group looked at the expenses low-income student parents face in all 50 states. Nationwide, more than two-thirds of student parents live at or near the poverty line and 52% are grant recipients.
The cost of child care alone can be prohibitive for parents pursuing a postsecondary degree, said Jinann Bitar, director of higher education research and data analytics at The Education Trust.
“I think what surprises people is that child care often rivals or is even more expensive than public tuition,” she said.
This was the case for Isabel Torres, who began taking classes at Austin Community College after having her daughter. Assistance from the Texas Workforce Commission helped her cover the cost of school, books and even gas, but child care was another story… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Drought is here. But is San Antonio truly water-secure? (San Antonio Express News)
Earlier this year, the San Antonio Water System installed a new billboard off U.S. 281 heading into the downtown area. High above speeding traffic, the blue-and-white message is clear for residents and visitors alike — “Water: Secure for the future.” For decades, San Antonio’s water company has searched for ways to protect the city from the impacts of major drought now and into the future. As the city’s population grows explosively and new development expanding in every direction, SAWS must meet a new water demand, one with no end in sight. Now, as one of the hottest and driest summers in San Antonio history presses on, questions over water security, drought, climate change and the future of South Central Texas are front and center, putting San Antonio’s water company right in the middle of it. While many are reassured by SAWS’s actions in addressing water, others are not so sure.
Development already strains the water supply in Texas Hill Country, experts say, and for some, the drought this year feels different, longer and more intense than before. Fears of endless parched lands have come up again and again, and just this past week, the Edwards Aquifer Authority declared Stage 4 drought restrictions, prompting many regional water permit holders to adjust their aquifer water usage. The declaration changed again to Stage 3 on Friday, but is teetering between the two. San Antonio, meanwhile, insists the city is prepared for new development and interested businesses. Since the inclusion of the highly controversial Vista Ridge Pipeline, the water system pulls from nine different water sources. In a statement this week, SAWS CEO Robert Puente said the community is better equipped to handle widespread drought and avoid a water crisis than ever before. “We’ve created a culture of water stewardship and conservation that is making the community water-secure, while demonstrating what could be a model for other cities,” Puente said. For now, the system is staying with Stage 2 watering restrictions. The drought, however, continues… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
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