BG Reads | News You Need to Know (December 28, 2022)
[AUSTIN METRO]
Study: Austin leads Texas metros in financial health (Austin Business Journal)
Austin, Houston and Dallas all landed among the top 10 spots in a recent study that reviewed the financial health of the 55 largest metropolitan areas in the United States.
The Financial Health Index, as the survey is called, was published this month by the Credit Review, a personal finance website that provides advice and connects potential customers to financial services.
According to the study analyzing data from 2022, the three Texas cities are among the nation's leaders in regard to financial health of their local governments, businesses and citizens. The study reviewed metros with populations greater than one million residents… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Ellis to push for more progress on housing in 2023 (Austin monitor)
Fresh off the heels of a decisive reelection win, City Council Member Paige Ellis is ready to hit the ground running in 2023 with initiatives related to housing, transportation and workforce retention.
Ellis won reelection with 58 percent of the vote in November, avoiding a runoff. She told the Austin Monitor that the margin of victory didn’t surprise her, even though some regard District 8 as purple (state Rep. Ellen Troxclair, a Republican, represented the district before Ellis).
“Most of that is just because I know we’ve worked so hard over the past four years to really deliver meaningful improvements for the neighborhoods people live in,” Ellis said… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Leslie Pool is ready to take on more duties in 2023(Austin monitor)
December was a busy month in the busy year of 2022 for District 7 City Council Member Leslie Pool. As chair of the Council Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee, her most important duty was shepherding through the utility’s rate change, which will bring Austin Energy much-needed revenue but was not popular with some advocates for low-income ratepayers. The utility and Council have been working all year on the update that finally passed on Dec. 8.
Pool was particularly adamant that Austin Energy should increase its revenues by more than $30 million. AE General Manager Jackie Sargent said the utility needed an increase of $31.3 million. Several Council members balked at the idea and the number ultimately came down to about $29 million… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
City of Austin Announces Austin Water Director (City of AUstin)
Austin City Manager Spencer Cronk has appointed Shay Ralls Roalson as the Austin Water Director. Roalson was selected from a group of 55 applicants and is the first woman to serve in this role. This appointment is effective January 1, 2023.
“I am pleased to announce Shay Ralls Roalson as the City of Austin’s next Austin Water Director,” said City Manager Spencer Cronk. “I am confident that her extensive knowledge of Austin Water’s services and programs will bring the leadership and vision we are seeking for the future of our water utility services.”
Roalson has 29 years of experience working with water utilities on the planning, design, and construction of complex water and wastewater infrastructure projects. She joined Austin Water as Assistant Director in April 2020, where she leads the engineering services team responsible for delivering the utility’s $1.4 billion five-year capital program. Her team also supports utility operations and leads numerous cross-program area initiatives to maintain and improve system performance and resiliency… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin seeks to build affordable housing on east side (Austin business Journal)
Austin City Hall could be planning a new affordable housing development in East Austin.
Libertad Austin would be built at 900 Gardner Road, a 36-acre stretch of land owned by the city just off of U.S. Highway 183, according a site plan application filed with the city. The development is a partnership between City of Austin subsidiary Austin Housing Finance Corporation, Missouri-based housing developer The Vecino Group and the nonprofit Caritas of Austin, said Mandy de Mayo, deputy director of the Austin Housing and Planning Department… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Southwest Airlines’ holiday meltdown brings on federal investigation(TExas Tribune)
Dallas-based Southwest Airlines faces a federal investigation into whether it violated its own legally required customer service plan amid a blizzard of flight cancellations that ruined plans and angered travelers over the Christmas holiday.
In a statement late Monday, officials at the U.S. Department of Transportation called the service meltdown, which resulted in the cancellation or delay of most of the carrier’s flights over the holiday weekend, “disproportionate and unacceptable.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Southwest Airlines slashes thousands of flights in days ahead to ‘reset’ after meltdown (Dallas MOrning News)
Passengers are still stranded, and Southwest Airlines is still scrambling. Dallas-based Southwest Airlines canceled another 2,500 flights for Wednesday after five horrific days of air travel where more than 10,700 flights were cut following icy and windy weather that crippled key hubs last week and then created a cascade of crew scheduling issues that only got worse over the next few days. After trying through Christmas to rebook passengers and reroute pilots and flight attendants lost in the confusion of technology meltdowns and interrupted flight plans, the company is canceling two-thirds of its schedule until it can get enough crew members and planes in place to restart operations. Southwest is attempting to “reset” operations, the company told staff in a message late Monday night, reducing daily flights from about 4,000 to around 1,300 nationwide… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
At the ‘apex’ of his power, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick rules absolute in Texas Senate (Dallas Morning News)
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is heading into the 2023 legislative session with perhaps more power than any lieutenant governor in Texas history. With a new crop of Republican senators expected to be more loyal to Patrick than their predecessors, political experts expect Patrick to have more power and sway than ever over next year’s legislative session. The chamber he rules has one more Republican than it did in 2021, delivering him a comfortable margin to usher legislation that fits his agenda to passage. And through redistricting and the power of his endorsement, Patrick will no longer need to deal with two Republicans who were considered not in lockstep with the staunchly conservative lieutenant governor. The result is that Patrick will have near absolute power in the Senate and an outsize role in influencing legislation that could affect Texans’ lives from their property tax bills, abortion access, power bills and the ability to gamble on a Cowboys game… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Gov. Abbott responds to critics of 'heartless' Christmas Eve drop-off of migrants, children (HOuston Chronicle)
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is firing back at the White House after it harshly criticized him for busing migrants to Washington, D.C., on Christmas Eve in sub-freezing temperatures. D.C. officials reported 139 migrants were dropped off near Vice President Kamala Harris’ residence, many of them lacking proper winter clothing. As White House officials called the move “cruel, dangerous and shameful,” Abbott Communications Director Renae Eze blamed the White House for not doing more to secure the border. Since April, Abbott has bused thousands for migrants to cities with Democratic mayor and governors. On Tuesday, Abbott announced he has now sent 15,900 migrants to D.C., New York City, Chicago and Philadelphia. More than 8,900 people have been dropped off in Washington, D.C… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
Race for G.O.P. chair obscures the party’s bigger problems (New York times)
Since former President Donald J. Trump’s narrow victory in 2016, the Republican Party has suffered at the ballot box every two years, from the loss of the House in 2018 to the loss of the White House and Senate in 2020 to this year’s history-defying midterm disappointments. Many in the party have now found a scapegoat for the G.O.P.’s struggles who is not named Trump: the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, Ronna McDaniel. But as Ms. McDaniel struggles for a fourth term at the party’s helm, her re-election fight before the clubby 168 members of the Republican National Committee next month may be diverting G.O.P. leaders from any serious consideration of the thornier problems facing the party heading into the 2024 presidential campaign… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
The co-leader of a plot to kidnap Michigan's governor gets 16 years in prison (NPR)
The co-leader of a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was sentenced Tuesday to 16 years in prison for conspiring to abduct the Democrat and blow up a bridge to ease an escape.
Adam Fox returned to federal court four months after he and Barry Croft Jr. were convicted of conspiracy charges at a second trial in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
They were accused of being at the helm of a wild plot to whip up anti-government extremists just before the 2020 presidential election. Their arrest, as well as the capture of 12 others, was a stunning coda to a tumultuous year of racial strife and political turmoil in the U.S… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[BG PODCAST]
Bingham Group Week in Review (12.21.2022)
Bingham Group Associate Hannah Garcia and CEO A.J. catch-up on the short holiday week including:
Council staff picks; Official runoff election results (LINK TO FINAL RESULTS: bit.ly/3FMlZEv); and this week’s winter storm advisory
Episode 178
The BG Podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, and Spotify
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