BG Reads | News You Need to Know (March 28, 2022)
[MEETING/HEARINGS]
Actions taken by the Austin City Council (Thursday, March 24, 2022)
AGENDA - Regular Meeting of the Austin City Council (Thursday, April 7, 2022)
OF NOTE
Sponsors: Mayor Pro Tem Alison Alter, Mayor Steve Adler, Council Member Vanessa Fuentes, Council Member Paige Ellis.
[BG Podcast]
Episode 152: Discussing Municipal Crypto and Blockchain Policy
Today’s episode (152) features Elijah John Bowdre, Chairman of the Miami-Dade County Cryptocurrency Task Force.
Created in May 2021 (led by the efforts of Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins), Task Force is comprised of eight industry-expert appointees who shall work to study the possibility of incorporating cryptocurrency as a form of payment for County taxes, fees, and services and other recommendations that may be beneficial to Miami-Dade County.
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
Austin City Council votes to fund diverse alliance of chambers for economic marketing, prosperity work (Community Impact)
Austin City Council voted this week to fund a group of diverse chambers of commerce as part of a strategy to promote the regional minority and LGBT business scene.
Funding items approved March 24 will send a total of $2.52 million to four local chambers, collectively the Diversity and Ethic Chamber Alliance, in the coming years. Members of that alliance include the Austin LGBT Chamber, the Greater Austin Asian Chamber, the Greater Austin Black Chamber and the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
With new contracts in place, DECA organizations are now tasked with advancing Austin as a home to a diverse workforce and a destination for minority and LGBT business. The chambers will also develop a regional plan aimed at fostering economic opportunity and addressing slipping prosperity metrics among some of the city's minority populations.
"Austin, Texas, has long been one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities, and over the last decade, it has been known for its strong economy and increasing diversity. What is not so well known is that Austin shows how a growing population, and economy does not equally lift up all people," DECA members said in a statement. "Austin is an example that even with growth, historically disenfranchised communities can be left further and further behind."… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
In defiance of Attorney General Ken Paxton, Austin ISD’s Pride Week marches on (Texas Tribune)
On Saturday morning, the courtyard at Eastside Early College High School in Austin looks like a “rainbow threw up,” according to Melissa Kender.
There are rainbow flags, rainbow pins, rainbow dresses and shirts and face paint. Kender, an assistant principal at Dobie Middle School, wears a T-shirt proclaiming “Dobie Pride” in rainbow letters.
Kender attended Saturday’s “Pride Out!” event, the culmination of Austin Independent School District’s weeklong celebration of LGBTQ identities, with her wife, Caitlin.
“It’s just really important to us that kids know that we will protect them and celebrate them, no matter how they identify,” Melissa Kender said.
Austin ISD employees Melissa and Caitlin Kender cheer on models as they walk past during a fashion show at the district’s “Pride Out!” event at Eastside Early College High School in Austin. The Kenders have been married for a week. “When we want to establish a family, this is somewhere we want our kids to be a part of,” Melissa Kender said. They said they moved from Dallas to be a part of Austin ISD. Credit: Lauren Witte/The Texas Tribune
The event was part block party, part resource fair. High school students from the Gay Straight Alliance helped younger students with crafts and face paint. A children’s author read his new book, “That’s Betty!” about Betty White. PFLAG, a support and advocacy group for parents of LGBTQ kids, handed out literature.
The kids were focused on the fun — and free Popsicles. But for many parents, teachers and administrators, attending Saturday’s event was a small act of defiance.
Austin ISD has been hosting Pride Week since 2014, largely without much attention. But earlier this week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ignited a political firestorm by sending the district a letter equating Pride Week festivities with “human sexuality instruction.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Builders plan 700 new homes in two Austin-area developments (Austin American-Statesman)
More than 700 new homes are set to be built in two Austin-area developments as area builders continue to try and keep up with the region's soaring demand for housing .
About 25 miles west of Austin, in rapidly growing Dripping Springs in Hays County, Tri Pointe Homes and M/I Homes said they have started construction on a 188-acre subdivision called Heritage.
Tri Pointe and M/I Homes each will build 293 houses in the project for a total of 586. Tri Pointe expects to break ground on its first homes this year.
The development is along RR 12 north of U.S. 290. It will be built in four phases, with about 150 lots to be developed in each phase.
South of Austin, in the booming Kyle-Buda area, Taylor Morrison said this week that it has kicked off sales in Turner’s Crossing. The 468-acre subdivision is along FM 1327, a mile and a half east of Interstate 35 and about 15 miles south of downtown Austin… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Business leaders see continued growth with airport’s expansion plans (Austin Monitor)
Even with expansion plans somewhat scaled back because of the financial impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, local business leaders see the continued growth of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport as vital to the region’s long-term economic prospects.
At a recent panel held by Urban Land Institute Austin, airport executives laid out the revised scope and schedule of the expansion that is expected to begin later this year and wrap up in 2027.
Before the pandemic, the 2040 master plan for the facility, which was completed in 2018, laid out a roughly $4.5 billion schedule including 61 projects that would be completed in four phases. The revised three-phase plan is now focused on optimizing the Barbara Jordan Terminal, making improvements to airfield infrastructure and developing a midfield B concourse to accommodate continued growth to 30 million annual passengers by 2037.
While traffic at the airport fell drastically through the pandemic, it returned to posting year-over-year increases last summer. Forecasts now call for 20-30 percent monthly year-over-year increases, with travelers spending aggressively on ancillary items like food and beverage items, said Mukesh Patel, the chief finance officer for the airport.
“Our region is what supports the airport, and the vice versa is the airport is what drives people and commerce in our community,” he said. “As we look at 2022, it’s like Covid never happened. It’s a very strong and resilient market and we’re seeing traffic come back in a strong way.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin’s home value growth soars to top of national rankings (KXAN)
It’s no secret that home prices have skyrocketed across the country since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, with SmartAsset’s findings reporting an average 17% growth in 2021 alone.
And here in Austin, those prices continue to climb well into 2022. The Austin Business Journal reported the city’s median home price at just shy of $500,000 in February — nearly double January 2016’s median sticker price, listed at just under $255,000.
Financial technology company SmartAsset conducted an analysis of 400 metro areas and housing markets to determine which regions are best for both home value growth and stability. From its findings, Austin led the way in home value increases, with the costs of homes in the Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area soaring 368% since 1997.
And Austin is not alone in representing the Lone Star State on national listings. Texas cities accounted for 50% of the top metro markets, with 10 metro areas represented among SmartAsset’s Top 20… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
Texas adds nearly 78,000 jobs in February as jobless rate dips (Dallas Morning News)
Texas added 77,800 nonfarm jobs in February, and the state’s unemployment rate ticked down again as COVID-19 cases declined and the economic expansion continued to gain momentum. The Texas economy got a strong lift from rising oil and gas prices as the fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine spread. Texas added 4,500 jobs in mining and logging, a gain of 2.3% in February. For the past year, mining and logging jobs grew over 13%, double the rate of the total Texas labor market, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. There was widespread strength in the job market last month with notable growth in both the goods-producing sector and services. Texas also added 40,000 to the civilian workforce, which is important to filling thousands of open jobs in the state. And Texas’ unemployment rate was 4.7%, down 0.1 percentage points from January.
“It looks like the labor market in Texas is firing on all cylinders,” said Pia Orrenius, a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. “We have healthy job growth and good labor force growth, and the unemployment rate is falling. What’s not to like?” February’s monthly job gains were the most since October and November, before the omicron variant swept through the state and sent hospitalizations soaring. January’s job gains were also revised upward from 29,000 to over 50,000, suggesting that the Texas economy weathered the omicron wave better than expected. “The economy seems to be growing more resilient to COVID,” Orrenius said. Texas surpassed its pre-pandemic peak for employment in November, topping 13 million nonfarm employees, and it recorded nearly 13.2 million workers last month. It’s now in expansion mode with jobs growing 0.6% in February, faster than U.S. job growth for the month… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
San Antonio Spurs sell $200,000 in Popovich NFTs, Food Bank benefits (San Antonio Express-News)
Digital collectible items created to honor Gregg Popovich’s coaching career with the San Antonio Spurs sold for the equivalent of $200,000 — buyers used the cryptocurrency Ethereum — in the first 96 hours of an auction to raise funds for the San Antonio Food Bank. Money is still pouring in. The non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, remain on sale. “This is the first Spurs’ NFT project,” said Becky Kimbry, vice president of brand engagement at the Spurs Sports & Entertainment, the parent company of the Spurs. “It was an incredible project to be able to work on knowing that it’s going to such a great cause.”
NFTs are digital images and audio and video files that have been authenticated by blockchain, an online ledger that records transactions on countless computers across the internet. The tokens exist in a digital wallet belonging to the buyer. Professional sports leagues in the U.S. have gone big into NFTs. The NBA pioneered the selling of the digital collectibles with NBA Top Shot Moments. The league’s video clips are like digital trading cards. Popovich thought up the Spurs’ NFT project shortly before breaking Don Nelson’s record for most regular-season career coaching wins in a 104-102 victory over the Utah Jazz on March 11 at the AT&T Center. The Spurs partnered with a Toronto-based cryptocurrency platform Cultos to mint the “1336 Coach Pop Collection.” The series includes five of Popovich’s hand-drawn offensive play cards and five of his court designs… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Dallas mayor Eric Johnson to visit Monterrey, Mexico City to promote Dallas, renew ties (Dallas Morning News)
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson will visit Mexico City and Monterrey next week, his first international trip since he took office in 2019. Johnson will travel to the Mexican capital on Monday and will be flying back to Dallas on Thursday from Monterrey. The mayor will meet with Mexican government officials and local business leaders to promote connections with Dallas. In Mexico City, he will meet with Roberto Velasco Álvarez, Mexico’s chief officer for North America for foreign affairs. He will also meet with Mexican tourism secretary Miguel Torruco and economy secretary Tatiana Clougheri Carrillo, the mayor’s office confirmed. Johnson will tour Monterrey and will meet Mayor Luis Donaldo Colosio Riojas and Nuevo Leon Gov. Samuel García Sepúlveda. “This trip comes at the right time. After enduring two difficult years of the pandemic, Dallas is back — and we want the world to know it,” Johnson said in a news release. “I am thrilled for the opportunity to visit the great cities of Mexico City and Monterrey. And I am confident that our time in both cities will help our city build new relationships and strengthen long-standing ties.”
The consul general of Mexico in Dallas, Francisco de la Torre, will be with the mayor throughout his trip. “I am thrilled that Mayor Johnson’s first official international trip is to Mexico visiting Mexico City and Monterrey — two of Dallas’ top trading partners,” de la Torre said. “This trip is especially important because of the sister city relationship between Monterrey and Dallas.” Johnson’s trip follows up with measures to restore commercial ties between cities in Texas after the pandemic. The border between Mexico and the United States was closed to visitors for 19 months due to COVID-19 restrictions. In 2019, Mexican tourists spent almost $460 million on their trips to Dallas, according to Visit Dallas, an organization that promotes tourism in Dallas. That represented 44% of international visitor spending in North Texas that year. According to the Dallas Regional Chamber, trade between the Dallas region and Mexico totaled nearly $1.5 billion in 2021. Commercial ties between Mexico and the Dallas-Fort Worth area have significantly grown in recent decades. Companies such as telecommunications conglomerate AT&T, snack maker Frito Lay and cosmetics company Mary Kay have subsidiaries and multimillion dollar investments in Mexico… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Biden says to expect ‘real’ food shortages due to Ukraine war (Bloomberg)
President Joe Biden said that the world will experience food shortages as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and production increases were a subject of discussions at a Group of Seven meeting on Thursday. “It’s going to be real,” Biden said at a news conference in Brussels. “The price of the sanctions is not just imposed upon Russia. It’s imposed upon an awful lot of countries as well, including European countries and our country as well.”
Ukraine and Russia are both major producers of wheat, in particular, and Kyiv’s government has already warned that the country’s planting and harvest have been severely disrupted by the war. Biden said that at the G-7 summit in Brussels earlier that he and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau both discussed increasing their nation’s agricultural production to try to make up for shortfalls. Biden said he’s also urging all nations including those in Europe to drop trade restrictions that could restrict exports of food… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
California grocery workers vote to authorize strike (NPR)
Thousands of central and Southern California grocery workers have voted to authorize their union to call a strike against several major supermarket chains as contract negotiations are set to resume this week.
About 47,000 workers at hundreds of Ralphs, Albertsons, Vons and Pavilions voted starting last week and the results were announced Sunday.
The possible walkout would involve grocery clerks, meat cutters, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians represented by seven locals of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.
No strike was immediately set. The union said talks would resume Wednesday and if bargaining breaks down again, it would decide what steps to take next.
Negotiations with Ralphs, owned by Kroger, and Albertsons, owner of Albertsons, Vons and Pavilions stores, ended without agreement before the latest three-year contracts expired March 6.
The union said the next day that the companies' wage proposal amounted to a 60-cent increase that was "shockingly low" and well below workers' cost-of-living needs. Employees were asking for a $5-an-hour raise, among other proposals… (LINK TO FULL STORY)