BG Reads | News You Need to Know (January 18, 2022)
Downtown Austin
[JOB MOVES]
City Manager Announces New Assistant City Manager
January 14, 2022 // City Manager Spencer Cronk has selected Veronica Briseño as Assistant City Manager (ACM) for the 'Government that Works for All' strategic area, following a competitive recruitment process.
Briseño, who will begin her new position on January 18, 2022, will be responsible for providing leadership to support City government to make it work effectively and collaboratively for everyone, and to ensure government is equitable, ethical, and innovative, as outlined in the City’s Strategic Direction Plan. She will oversee a portfolio of City departments which includes a $258.3 million budget and over 1,072 full-time equivalent employees in Building Services, Civil Rights, Communications and Public Information, Communications and Technology Management, Financial Services, Human Resources, Intergovernmental Relations, and Labor Relations. (LINK TO FULL RELEASE)
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
Two EMS chief finalists introduce themselves to the public (Austin Monitor)
Any day now, City Manager Spencer Cronk will announce his choice of two finalists to lead Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services.
Interim Chief Jasper Brown and Robert Luckritz, chief operating officer of a multi-state organization in New England that handles EMS, medical transportation and public health, are the two candidates who rose to the top among five finalists. The job posting drew 37 applicants from across the country.
The selection of a new chief is occurring at a critical time. The EMS system is taking on more duties as part of the city’s reimagining public safety endeavor, and the organization, like others across the nation, is transitioning to a community health model while trying to address staffing challenges. Additionally, EMS union members are in the midst of contract negotiations with the city… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Council to vote on marijuana and search warrant ordinance, allowing hybrid city meetings Jan. 18 (Community Impact)
Austin City Council will decide whether to enact the "Austin Freedom Act of 2021," a two-part measure that would end no-knock police warrants and essentially decriminalize marijuana in the city, during a specially-called meeting Jan. 18.
The Freedom Act was developed by voter engagement group Ground Game Texas, whose successful petition for the proposal garnered tens of thousands of signatures in support last year. With Ground Game's petition now certified, council members on Jan. 18 will choose to either enact the ordinance themselves or call a special election in May and put the question to city voters.
Council most recently decided the fate of a citizen-backed petition last year after Proposition A, which would have set a required police staffing level in the city, also earned enough signatures for council consideration. Officials chose to call an election for that item given their near-unanimous opposition to the concept and also edited the proposition's ballot language—a change that prompted a legal dispute.
While citizen-initiated petitions are a regular fixture in Austin elections, council may decide to pass the Freedom Act from the dais instead given the body's previous support for elements of the proposal. Council already voted unanimously to end misdemeanor marijuana enforcement by the Austin Police Department in 2020, a change that initially saw some pushback from police leadership but is now department practice. The approval of the Freedom Act either by either council or city voters would cement that policy, as well as a total ban on no-knock search warrants, in city code… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Council expands virtual participation in city meetings (Austin Monitor)
Due to the omicron variant disrupting in-person city meetings this month, City Council will allow boards and commissions to gather mostly virtually sooner than planned.
Council is set to approve an ordinance today requiring that only one board or commission member be physically present, giving other members the option to participate via videoconference or in person.
The change was approved in November and was scheduled to take effect Feb. 28, but it will now take effect immediately in order to keep meeting participants safe during a time of heightened Covid risk.
While video participation has been available since the beginning of the pandemic, a majority of members have had to attend in person since Sept. 1, when Gov. Greg Abbott ended pandemic exceptions to the Texas Open Meetings Act. The city later reinterpreted Abbott’s direction and moved to allow just the presiding officer to be present. To assist with hybrid meetings, Council approved the hiring of five new employees in December, at a cost of $453,058 for Fiscal Year 2023.
The move toward virtual participation will come as welcome news to the city’s nearly 100 boards and commissions, many of which have struggled to make in-person quorum this month amid an unprecedented Covid outbreak. Eighteen board and commission meetings have been canceled so far in January according to a city spokesperson, though it is unclear whether omicron was at fault in all of the cancellations… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
N.C. site out of running for major Micron factory, sources say, boosting Central Texas' odds (Austin Business Journal)
The Triangle Innovation Point megasite in Chatham County, North Carolina, is no longer in the running to land a massive semiconductor facility, sources familiar with the project told Triangle Business Journal.
Sources added that North Carolina's inability to come to terms with the building of a post-treatment facility and the multibillion-dollar ask for incentives that included tax credits for decades may have been reasons why the chipmaker decided to pass over the TIP site, formerly known as the Moncure Megasite. The project faces stiff competition from several states.
The company notified North Carolina officials of its decision in the past couple of days, sources added.
Dubbed "Project Autumn," sources had previously tied the project to Idaho-based Micron Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: MU), which has already announced a $150 billion expansion of its chipmaking capabilities. The company noted it is exploring new sites in the U.S. and abroad.
Austin Business Journal reported earlier this month that Micron was scouting locations in Central Texas for a chip factory. The sources said that included sites in both Caldwell and Williamson counties.
Given the size of the semiconductor project, it was inevitable that tax breaks, grants, infrastructure and workforce assistance would play a critical role in landing the project. "The (incentive) number being discussed would have dwarfed the Apple incentive package," one source added.
Figures from the North Carolina Department of Commerce show the state's incentive package for Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) topped $835 million to secure $1 billion in investment over the next 10 years. Apple's incentives run for about 39 years. Last April, Apple announced $430 billion in new investments for its facilities that would eventually add 20,000 more workers to its payroll. As part of the global expansion, Apple's Research Triangle Park campus is expected to create some 3,000 jobs.
It is unclear at this point whether North Carolina officials will reach out to the chipmaker with a new set of benefits and breaks to sweeten the incentives pot… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Round Rock sets sights on future downtown growth and development for 2022 (Community Impact)
Round Rock city staff and council members have begun to flesh out future development priorities for the city.
During a pre-retreat meeting held Dec. 9 by the Round Rock City Council, much of the discussion centered on downtown growth and development in 2022 and beyond.
The pre-retreat is a discussion session held ahead of the annual retreat set for February, during which the council’s goals and plans for the coming year will become more clear, according to city staff.
Possible developments for the downtown area include additional parkland near the Brushy Creek waterfront, as well as additional housing developments in the downtown area… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
After raising $100M, convenience store chain expanding to Austin (Austin Business Journal)
With the injection of $100 million in series C funding into Foxtrot Ventures Inc., the Chicago-based convenience store and food delivery company has decided to expand into several cities, with plans to open two Austin stores this summer.
The business combining brick-and-mortar retail and e-commerce also transitions throughout the day by offering coffee in the morning, turning into a cafe at midday and in the evenings selling bread and wine.
Beyond the first two Austin locations at 1804 S. 1st St. and 2270 Guadalupe St., several more stores are in the pipeline in the next 12 to 18 months, co-founder and CEO Mike LaVitola said.
"We've been able to provide a home for everything that's new, exciting and delicious in food," LaVitola said, "so we were fortunate to partner up with investors who saw the opportunities, how big it can be and want to back these sort of next-generation food and drink entrepreneurs."… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Charlotte Regional Business Alliance aims to revive annual trip in March with visit to Austin (Austin Business Journal)
The Charlotte Regional Business Alliance plans to revive its annual peer city trip with a visit to Austin in March. Dozens of business, civic and political leaders typically attend.
In October 2019, CLT Alliance disclosed Austin would be the destination for its 2020 trek, but Covid-19 scuttled those plans.
For decades, the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce — the predecessor to CLT Alliance — organized an annual, multi-day visit to another city. The trips emphasized tours and panel discussions with counterparts on infrastructure, health care, business development, education and other topics.
In past years, 90 to 100 people have gone on the fact-finding missions. According to the CLT Alliance website, confirmed attendees for the Austin trip include Mayor Vi Lyles; Kieth Cockrell of Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC); Board of Education Chairperson Elyse Dashew; Carol Lovin of Atrium Health; County Manager Dena Diorio; and Charlotte Center City Partners CEO Michael Smith.
CLT Alliance spokesperson Tanya Mendis told CBJ that registration for the trip has been open only for a few weeks, and it’s unknown whether the Austin trip will have the same number of participants as in past years… (LNK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
Texas synagogue hostage-taker likely radicalized in hometown (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
Malik Faisal Akram was banned from a U.K. Magistrate court three weeks after 9/11. He told a court usher he wished he had been on one of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center. More than 20 years after the 9/11 attacks, Akram, 44, was let inside a Colleyville synagogue under the guise that he needed shelter. He cocked a handgun he bought off the street and held Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker and three members of Congregation Beth Israel hostage. He demanded the release of Aafia Siddiqui, the first female terrorism defendant arrested after 9/11. She is incarcerated at a federal prison in Fort Worth. “You get my sister on the phone,” he was heard in a livestream of the synagogue’s Sabbat service, referring to Siddiqui. Her family has said they are not blood relatives. It is common for people who support Siddiqui to refer to her as their sister.
Akram was killed at the end of the standoff after the hostages safely escaped. Police have not said if Akram shot himself or if members of the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team killed him. He had accepted his death hours before it happened, based on what he could be heard saying on the livestream. “I’m going to die at the end of this, all right? I am going to die, so don’t cry over me,” he said. Subscribers can now comment on a variety of articles. Join the conversation. The FBI is investigating the standoff as an act of terrorism. In the days following, U.S. officials have released little information about Akram and how he got to North Texas. What we do know raises many questions. On Sept. 12, 2001, as first responders covered in gray ash continued their rescue efforts in New York, Akram was once again causing a stir inside the Blackburn magistrates court in Northgate, roughly 30 miles north of Manchester, England. He wasn’t scheduled for court but had been known to cause trouble there, according to a 2001 report from the Lancashire Telegraph. His 9/11 ramblings caused the courts to ban him from returning. This followed a warning letter sent to him in May of that year related to a previous, unknown incident. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram contacted the court and local police for more information on Monday, but a response wasn’t immediately received. Akram told the Lancashire Telegraph in 2001 that he was innocent of the allegation that he had talked about 9/11 in court… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Dallas Fed stresses diversity, transparency in search for Rob Kaplan’s replacement (Dallas Morning News)
The co-chairs of a search committee to find the next Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas chief say they are committed to diversity and transparency in the wake of a stock-trading controversy that’s led to three top-level departures at the nation’s central bank. Dallas Fed President Rob Kaplan and Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren left their posts in September after revelations that they actively traded stocks during the pandemic. Last week, Fed vice chair Richard Clarida became the third, when he resigned before his term expired. While the investments were permitted under the Fed’s rules, the stock trades raised concerns about monetary policymakers profiting during a pandemic that continues to vex health officials. Kaplan, 64, retired after it was disclosed he traded $1 million or more in 22 stocks in 2020.
Since then, the Federal Reserve cracked down on the investments its leaders can own. The new rules bar them from purchasing individual stocks, limiting them to diversified investments like mutual funds. Reserve Bank presidents would also have to provide 45 days’ advance notice of any trade, receive approval from ethics officials and publicly disclose financial transactions within 30 days. The Fed said the rules would be incorporated in coming months. In a town hall meeting last week, the co-chairs of the Dallas Fed’s six-member presidential search committee were asked if the new rules would discourage successful business leaders from applying. “There may be some candidates that won’t choose to participate, but they probably were candidates that maybe weren’t interested in public service,” said co-chair Thomas Falk, retired CEO of Irving-based Kimberly-Clark Corp. The job specifications for the Dallas Fed president run nine pages long. While no one can check off every box, Falk said, there are three main qualifications the committee is seeking in candidates. The committee wants a successor who can represent the Dallas district well on monetary policy, run a complex bank and embrace community outreach… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Dallas ISD head Michael Hinojosa would buck political norms by challenging Eric Johnson for mayor (Dallas Morning News)
Outgoing Dallas ISD superintendent Michael Hinojosa is poised to test whether incumbent Dallas mayor Eric Johnson can be defeated. In a news conference last week announcing his December departure, Hinojosa didn’t fully address specific questions about challenging Johnson, who will be up for reelection in 2023. But it’s widely known that Hinojosa has had discussions with supporters about ousting Johnson. Johnson is aware of Hinojosa’s deliberations and will be ready, making the 2023 mayoral race a watershed event in Dallas history. “There’s no precedent for what we’re looking at here,” said Paul Quinn College President Michael Sorrell. “This would be a fascinating political science study.”
Historically, Dallas mayors don’t face serious reelection competition. In 2015 Mike Rawlings faced a light challenge from Dallas lawyer Marcos Ronquillo. Like Rawlings, Tom Leppert and Ron Kirk never faced significant mayoral reelection challenges. The most competitive reelection contest occurred in 2003, when former Mayor pro tem Mary Poss, who served as mayor when Kirk resigned in 2001 to run for U.S. Senate, challenged incumbent Mayor Laura Miller’s bid for reelection. Miller rolled up 50 percent of the vote. When it comes to mayoral elections, the Dallas way has been to wait for an incumbent to finish their limit of two consecutive terms, instead of mounting what could be difficult challenges to entrenched incumbents. That concept has been cemented by the city’s business elite that largely funds mayoral campaigns. A Hinojosa candidacy against Johnson would change the game, particularly since he’s a well-known actor of the Dallas political scene. “You have to assume that there’s some frustration that Hinojosa has with the climate and environment in which he has to operate,” said SMU political scientist and longtime Dallas political observer Cal Jillson. “He’s decided that at age 65, you can keep muddling along in a job that you’ve held off and on for 15 years, or you can try to alter that environment. It looks like he’s looking at that prospect.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Sinema, Manchin slammed as Senate begins voting bill debate (Associated Press)
Facing stark criticism from civil rights leaders, senators return to Capitol Hill under intense pressure to change their rules and break a Republican filibuster that has hopelessly stalled voting legislation.
The Senate is set to launch debate Tuesday on the voting bill with attention focused intently on two pivotal Democrats — Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia — who were singled out with a barrage of criticism during Martin Luther King Jr. Day events for their refusal to change what civil rights leaders call the “Jim Crow filibuster.”
Martin Luther King III, the son of the late civil rights leader, compared Sinema and Manchin to the white moderate his father wrote about during the civil rights battles of the 1950s and 1960s — a person who declared support for the goals of Black voting rights but not the direct actions or demonstrations that ultimately led to passage of the landmark legislation… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Trump dogs "dull" DeSantis ahead of potential 2024 matchup (AXIOS)
Donald Trump is trashing Ron DeSantis in private as an ingrate with a "dull personality" and no realistic chance of beating him in a potential 2024 showdown, according to sources who've recently talked to the former president about the Florida governor. Why it matters: The two are among the most popular Republicans in the country, and as the former president eyes another run in 2024, he's irked by DeSantis' popularity and refusal to rule out running against him. DeSantis is a favorite of Republican voters when pollsters remove Trump from the hypothetical 2024 field.
The governor also hasn't been beyond tweaking his fellow Floridian. DeSantis said on the "Ruthless" podcast, recorded Thursday, one of his biggest regrets in office was not speaking out "much louder" in March 2020, when Trump advised the American public to stay home to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Behind the scenes: "In the context of the 2024 election, he usually gives DeSantis a pop in the nose in the middle of that type of conversation," said a source who recently spoke to Trump about DeSantis. The source, who shared the private remarks on the condition of anonymity, has heard Trump criticize DeSantis on multiple occasions. The source said Trump makes a point of saying he isn't worried about the Florida governor as a potential 2024 rival. "He says DeSantis has no personal charisma and has a dull personality," the source added. A spokesman for Trump did not comment when presented with this reporting… (LINK TO FULL STORY)