BG Reads | News You Need to Know (June 28, 2022)
[MEETINGS]
[AUSTIN METRO]
Taylor braces for a boom as $17B Samsung plant moves ahead (Austin American-Statesman)
As Samsung makes progress on its $17 billion next-generation semiconductor facility in Taylor, the small Williamson County city is adapting as it moves into a new chapter of its history.
The South Korea-based tech giant's project is considered the largest direct foreign investment in Texas history and is expected to transform Taylor. The city of about 17,000, which previously was best known for its barbeque and small-town feel, is about 25 miles northeast of Austin and counts a local Walmart among its top private employers.
While an official groundbreaking ceremony has yet to be scheduled, site prep work is being done and a fast ramp-up is expected, with plans calling for an operational facility by 2024.
Samsung says the project is moving ahead on schedule.
“Preparation for the Taylor site is progressing well and the timeline is on track. No formal groundbreaking has been scheduled at this time," Michele Glaze, a company spokesperson, said in a written statement. "Samsung is working to fulfill our commitment to the city, school district and county to be good partners and neighbors.”
The company plans to build its 6 million-square-foot advanced chip factory on a tract of more than 1,000 acres southwest of the city's downtown, near U.S. 79 and County Road 401. Taylor beat out other sites under consideration, including Austin, and drew the project in part with incentives packages from the Taylor school district, city of Taylor, Williamson County and the state worth hundreds of millions of dollars combined… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Consumer advocates warn Austin Energy’s rate increase could have devastating impact on residents (Austin Monitor)
As they prepare for next month’s public hearing, participants in Austin Energy’s rate review case are pushing back against a proposal to significantly alter pricing of the city’s electricity supply.
The utility proposes to reorganize the five-tiered structure used to calculate residential service rates into three tiers, eliminating existing premiums for higher consumption brackets and implementing a uniform change to the monthly customer fee from $10 to $25 for all residential consumers. Factoring in adjustments to small and large business rates, Austin Energy claims such shifts will amount to an average base rate increase of 7.6 percent, but others argue that the figure for residential consumers is closer to 17.6 percent.
“It’s a complicated set of decisions, and it’s a lot of money,” John Coffman of the city-appointed independent consumer advocate team told the Austin Monitor. “The cost of living in Austin is a big issue by itself … and this could be a significant amount of money that residents lose in discretionary income. All of these decisions have economic impacts, and this alone could affect the economy in Austin.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin Habitat for Humanity CEO earns 2022 Vision Award (Austin Business Journal)
Austin Habitat for Humanity CEO Phyllis Snodgrass has spent the past two decades leading community engagement efforts to create a positive change for families and communities in the city and throughout Texas.
Until she retires from her post later this year, she stands at the epicenter of the city’s most pressing issue: the need for more affordable housing in the Austin area amid the region’s exponential growth in recent years — a situation only heightened by the soaring cost of land and construction, plus intensified by land-use policies that have remained unchanged for decades.
In recognition for her continued work to uplift the community and create a better Central Texas for all, Urban Land Institute Austin has named Snodgrass the recipient of its 2022 Vision Award.
“I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the recognition,” Snodgrass said. “The people that they have honored are all amazing and the fact they would choose me is really humbling. It is really hard to feel deserving when I have such an amazing team. I could not do this work without them.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Capital Metro announces leader of transit police force (Austin Monitor)
The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors has approved Eric Robins, the former chief of police of Sugar Land, Texas, to become the new chief administrator of the Capital Metro transit police.
Robins will serve as chief administrator starting Aug. 1, until the nascent transit police department is certified by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. At that point, Robins will become the first chief of police of the department, Gardner Tabon, Capital Metro chief safety officer, said at the board meeting Monday.
Born in Houston, Texas, Robins has worked in law enforcement for over 30 years. He served as chief of police in Sugar Land, a city with just over 100,000 people outside of Houston, since 2018. He retired from the position earlier this month.
Robins has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Houston-Downtown and a masters in criminal justice from Sam Houston State University. He is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives and the Texas Police Chiefs Association.
“He’s far exceeded our expectations with regard to qualifications (and) background checks, that were numerous …. We are so pleased to have Mr. Robins on board,” Tabon said.
Capital Metro board members expressed their excitement that Robins is taking on this new role.
Chair Jeffrey Travillion noted Robins’ excellent reputation. “He’s been in law enforcement for a long time, and he has a passion for working with and building trust with community members,” he said in a statement.
“I had the opportunity to engage with him and ask him some pointed and detailed questions,” Board Member Eric Stratton said. “I’m really looking forward to him coming to the team with his vision for what (the police department) is, and for what the community has wanted.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
At least 46 people found dead in abandoned 18-wheeler in San Antonio (Texas Tribune)
A tractor-trailer found near Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio contained the bodies of 46 dead people, along with 16 others who have been taken to hospitals, local officials in San Antonio said on Monday evening.
“This is nothing short of a horrific human tragedy,” San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said at a news conference near the scene.
Local officials said federal authorities were now investigating the case and that three people were in custody, but it was unclear if they were connected to the incident. A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson said Homeland Security Investigations is leading a criminal investigation with the support of San Antonio police… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Sen. John Cornyn stands behind work on gun law despite continued conservative criticism (Dallas Morning News)
Sen. John Cornyn on Monday downplayed conservative criticism of the gun violence package he helped shepherd into law and defended the final product as evidence Congress can still come together behind bipartisan compromise to address pressing issues. Cornyn recounted being disappointed but hardly shocked at the raucous jeering that greeted his address to the Texas Republican convention earlier this month. Some of his state party’s most die-hard faithful took strong exception to his role in the gun talks sparked in large part by the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde that left 19 children and two teachers dead. Boos and shouts of “No red flags” and “Don’t take our guns” at least partly drowned out Cornyn’s remarks as he sought in vain to make his case to the convention delegates. “Unfortunately, that was an unpleasant experience but I showed up knowing that it might happen the way it did, thinking that maybe some people would actually listen,” Cornyn said Monday during a conference call with Texas reporters. “Unfortunately, the people who wanted to listen could not hear because of those who were . . . shutting down any kind of dialogue or conversation.”
President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law the bill Cornyn helped craft despite attacks from conservative pundits, gun rights advocates and even former President Donald Trump. Cornyn described the measure as worthwhile for its substance: funding a network of community-based mental health clinics, bolstering school security practices and making modest changes to gun laws intended to keep weapons away from dangerous individuals. But he also said it sends a message to Americans questioning whether the country’s institutions have become so politically polarized they can no longer function. The sausage making involved wasn’t always easy, though, and the high-profile convention heckling came at a delicate point in the negotiations. Cornyn had been tapped by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to represent Republicans at the table. But Cornyn became frustrated that the pace of their work had slowed and walked out of a negotiating meeting as he rushed to catch a plane back to Texas ahead of his big speech. Negotiators at the time were struggling to nail down language on the bill’s federal funding for state-level red flag laws, with Cornyn pushing to grant equal funding to states such as Texas that pursued alternate approaches to address potentially dangerous individuals… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[BG PODCAST]
Episode 160: Talking Public Relations, Career advice, and Austin with Kristin Marcum, CEO of ECPR
Today's special weekend episode (160) features Kristin Marcum, owner and CEO of ECPR, Austin's preeminent public relations firm.
Kristin and Bingham Group CEO A.J. discuss her path into PR and her career leading to the C-suite and ownership of the firm.-> EPISODE LINK
Enjoyed this episode? Please like, share, and comment!
SUBSCRIBE / CONTACT US AT: info@binghamgp.com