BG Reads | News You Need to Know (December 6, 2022)
[AUSTIN METRO]
How Austin’s housing crisis has shaped the race for a new mayor (Texas Tribune)
In the race for Austin’s next mayor, the capital city’s dire housing affordability crisis has taken center stage.
Virtually no corner of Texas has gone untouched as rents and home prices surged amid the COVID-19 pandemic. But no major Texas city felt the crunch as acutely as Austin, where record demand sent already rising housing costs sky high.
The two remaining mayoral candidates — state Rep. Celia Israel and former state Sen. Kirk Watson, who are in a runoff — have put forth lengthy platforms for how to tackle the city’s housing problems. While both have acknowledged the magnitude of the crisis and have diagnosed similar issues, they’re approaching it through different philosophies: Israel is looking to enact sweeping reforms to alleviate Austin’s housing shortage and Watson is trying to balance the need for more housing with neighborhood interests… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
City Council delays vote on Austin Energy base rate increase (Austin Business Journal)
Austin County Council postponed a vote on whether to increase Austin Energy's base rate by about $15.
Instead of taking up the item Dec.1, Council is set to consider the matter on Dec. 8.
The base rate increase would pay for recurring expenses on services, including employees and equipment.
The proposed increase follows an October decision by Council to allow Austin Energy to increase its power supply adjustment charge, which is expected to annually bring in $34.7 million over the next three years to help the city-owned utility make up a $104.2 million deficit projected by the end of the year… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin deals with growing pains of being rare real estate ‘supernova’ (Austin monitor)
If the last decade of booming real estate growth has earned Austin the designation of being one of four “supernova” markets, according to the national Urban Land Institute (Nashville, Raleigh/Durham and Charlotte being the others), then the onset of an expected slowdown will likely come with an increase in growing pains related to affordability, infrastructure and changes in the labor market.
That, at least, was the opinion of the real estate and planning experts who participated in last week’s ULI Emerging Trends panel discussion, which looked at broader national trends and their impact on a still-favorable market like Austin… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin Public Safety Commission hears concerns over re-imagined police training(KVUE)
During a meeting of the Austin Public Safety Commission Monday, members raised concerns about how the new training is being received.
"There is a kind of ridiculing of the whole idea of re-imagining training," said Phil Hopkins of the Austin Police Academy Citizen Review Panel. "There is significant resistance."
"The messaging isn't matching what's happening," said Nelly Ramirez with the Austin Public Safety Commission.
The commission didn't make any decisions Monday but said they will be monitoring training closely.
A total of 63 new APD officers joined the department as a result of the most recent cadet classes… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin's airport passenger traffic up 31.57% for October 2022 compared to last year (CBS Austin)
The Austin-Bergstrom International Airport reports passenger traffic was up in October 2022 compared to last year.
More than two million people flew in and out of ABIA during the month -- that's a 31.57% increase compared to October 2021… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick diverge ahead of the legislative session on property taxes, power grid (Texas tribune)
The legislative session is more than a month away, but fault lines are already emerging between Texas’ top two Republican leaders on two major issues.
Both Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick want to use the state’s massive budget surplus to deliver property tax relief, but they appear split on how far to go — and how to pay for it. And in a starker contrast, Patrick has deemed it a top priority to continue fixing the power grid, while Abbott has declared the issue resolved.
“Everything that needed to be done was done to fix the power grid in Texas,” Abbott famously said after the 2021 regular legislative session… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
LULAC sues Houston, challenging 'gross underrepresentation' of Latinos at City Council (Houston Chronicle)
The League of United Latin American Citizens on Monday filed its long-anticipated lawsuit against the city of Houston, seeking to get rid of at-large City Council seats it says leave Hispanic residents with insufficient representation at City Hall. The group, one of the largest Hispanic civil rights organizations in the country, first announced plans to take legal action against the city in January. While 45 percent of Houston residents are Hispanic, Robert Gallegos of District I is the only Hispanic person holding a seat on the 16-member body, even though the city previously created two other Hispanic-opportunity districts, H and J… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
As results come in, Nirenberg says it’s too soon to gauge Ready to Work training program’s success (San Antonio Express-news)
A jobs training program that the city of San Antonio rolled out during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic has placed more than 2,200 people into jobs — below the city’s original goal, but increasing graduates’ average wages by $2.50 an hour. The city paid roughly $20,000 per job placement. Called Train for Jobs, the program was launched in summer 2020 with the goal of helping lower-income residents who became unemployed due to the pandemic learn new skills and land better-paying jobs. It also served as a pilot program for the Ready to Work job training initiative that voters approved two years ago and was launched in May. As its numbers are being finalized, Train for Jobs has illustrated the challenge of building a citywide workforce initiative that can meet lofty expectations of reshaping San Antonio’s economy… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
Supreme Court weighs 'most important case' on democracy (Associated press)
The Supreme Court is about to confront a new elections case, a Republican-led challenge asking the justices for a novel ruling that could significantly increase the power of state lawmakers over elections for Congress and the presidency. The court is set to hear arguments Wednesday in a case from North Carolina, where Republican efforts to draw congressional districts heavily in their favor were blocked by a Democratic majority on the state Supreme Court because the GOP map violated the state constitution. A court-drawn map produced seven seats for each party in last month's midterm elections in highly competitive North Carolina… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[HEARINGS THIS WEEK]
TUESDAY
(6PM) - Urban Transportation Commission - Regular Meeting Agenda
(6PM) - Zoning and Platting Commission - Regular Meeting Agenda
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
(10AM) - Austin City Council Meeting Agenda
[BG PODCAST]
Bingham Group Week in Review (12.5.2022)
Bingham Group Associate Hannah Garcia and CEO A.J. recap the week (and the week ahead) in City of Austin Politics. (Episode 172)
Happy Thanksgiving!
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