BG Reads | News You Need to Know (May 10, 2022)
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[AUSTIN METRO]
Two candidates sign on for City Council races (Austin Monitor)
District 1 Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison is hosting her reelection kickoff party at Mr. Catfish, 1144 Airport Blvd., at 5:30 p.m. tonight. Harper-Madison was first elected to the northeast Austin seat in 2018. So far, her only announced opponent is Clinton Rarey, a political unknown. His wife, Christina, is listed as his campaign treasurer.
Christina Rarey, whose Twitter handle is @DutchGirlsGrow, says her husband’s two Twitter accounts have been “permanently suspended.” Twitter will permanently suspend a user’s account for “abusive behavior, like sending threats to others.”
There is also a new official candidate for mayor, Gary Spellman, the owner of Ultimate Face Cosmetics. When Spellman filed his designation of campaign treasurer on April 15, he put in a mailing address in Round Rock. When we asked Spellman whether he lives in Round Rock or Austin, he said he has lived in Austin for 20 years. However, he said he was following the directions given to him for the treasurer form, which said not to use a home address, and that he would look into fixing it. Austin City Code requires candidates for mayor to have lived in the city for at least six months prior to the filing deadline. This year that deadline is Aug. 22… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
New research: The gap is growing between family income, housing prices in the Austin metro (KXAN)
Median family income in the Austin metro area grew by 11.5% from 2021 to 2022, but that hasn’t been enough to keep up with housing affordability, according to researchers.
In their new housing affordability outlook report for the area, researchers at Texas A&M University’s Texas Real Estate Research Center said the rise in home prices has been outpacing the increase in income.
They said the year-over-year growth in median home sales price was 21.8%.
“What we’re seeing in the Austin Round Rock MSA is that there’s this increased differential, right, between median home price and median family income and generally as that… differential grows, it becomes increasingly more challenging for a household earning the median family income to qualify for that median priced home,” explained assistant research economist Clare Losey.
According to the Center, in 2021, the median home price was $431,000, with the median family income at $98,900. That’s a gap of $332,100… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Jordan Robinson named Round Rock Chamber president and CEO (Community Impact)
The Round Rock Chamber announced May 8 that the board of directors named Jordan Robinson the chamber's president and CEO effective May 1.
Robinson was appointed interim president and CEO in December 2021 and took over the position after per predecessor, Jason Ball, announced his relocation to Lincoln, Nebraska, in January.
Previously, Robinson held roles within the Governor's Office of Economic Development, the Greater Houston Partnership and Development Counsellors International.
“We’re very excited to welcome Jordan as the Chamber’s President and CEO,” said John Howard, chair of the Round Rock Chamber board of directors, in a statement. “We look forward to working with Jordan in her new leadership position as she continues to serve and make a positive impact on the Round Rock community.”
Robinson joined the chamber in August 2020 as vice president for economic development… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
City staffing shortages to delay Live Music Fund deployment until mid-2023 (Austin Monitor)
Musicians, promoters and other creatives will have to wait another year to enter into a contract of $5,000-$10,000 from the city’s Live Music Fund. The delay is due to a staffing shortage in the city, including 20 positions in the Economic Development Department, with the management of the fund headed for a third-party contractor.
During a presentation at last week’s Music Commission meeting, staff reviewed the latest timeline for the first rollout of the $3 million fund, which was first approved by City Council in 2019. The solicitation process of the program administrator is expected to conclude in December, with selection by next March and a two-month contract application process for artists ending in June.
The Live Music Fund uses money from the city’s portion of Hotel Occupancy Tax receipts, which fell drastically during the Covid-19 pandemic but has rebounded over the past year. While the contracting process outlined by the city’s Purchasing Department is the cause for the most recent extension of the rollout, earlier delays in opening it up to applicants came because the Music Commission wanted to stress equity concerns in evaluating applicants and pushed for smaller contract amounts so more awards could be made to help more projects… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Dallas mayor thinks city could host second NFL team alongside Cowboys (Dallas Morning News)
Could the city of Dallas join the likes of Los Angeles and New York as NFL host cities with more than one team? Dallas mayor Eric Johnson thinks so. In a series of tweets last week in response to NFL on CBS, Johnson pitched the idea of adding an expansion franchise to the land already run by the Dallas Cowboys. “We [the city of Dallas] are about to pass the Chicago metro and become the #3 metro in the US, which would make us the largest US metro WITHOUT 2 teams. Football is king here. Dallas needs an expansion team and we would be able to sustain 2,” Johnson tweeted. “So, if a deal can be made that benefits the NFL, the other owners, the City of Dallas, and possibly the Cowboys, it’s a no brainer.”
Tristan Hallman, chief of policy and communications for the mayor, said no discussions have occurred yet, but “Mayor Johnson believes Dallas should be part of any conversation about potential NFL relocations or expansions.” But while the mayor may wish to see another team, the man who would truly swing the biggest stick in NFL circles is Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. And would the Jones family even be interested in adding another team into the stomping grounds of America’s Team, a brand annually on Forbes’ list of most valuable sports franchises? “But here’s the rub: if it benefits all of the stakeholders I just mentioned except Jerry Jones, does that mean a deal couldn’t/shouldn’t happen? I’m not so sure and it’s my job as mayor to ask these types of questions when my city and its residents stands to benefit,” Johnson said. “I’m both a sports fan and a lover of Dallas. If LA and NY can both support a NFC and an AFC team, then Dallas, the capital of football, surely can! “I don’t think the Lakers or Yankees are bothered one bit by the existence of the Clippers or Mets. Cowboys are a stronger brand with a more global fan base than either of these two. You’re underestimating Jerry Jones AND DALLAS!”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Texas wants to be home to the Biden administration’s new biomedical research agency (Dallas Morning News)
A coalition of science advocates wants Texas to permanently stake its claim in the biotech world by welcoming the federal government’s new biomedical research agency. And it’s waging an aggressive, targeted campaign to convince lawmakers that the state is the agency’s perfect new home. Officially established in mid-March, the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, or ARPA-H, is an ambitious Biden administration venture to speed up biomedical and health research with $1 billion in funding. While the agency will live administratively within the National Institutes of Health, its physical location is yet to be determined. Enter the Coalition for Health Advancement and Research in Texas, an alliance of hospital systems, research institutions and chambers of commerce dedicated to presenting Texas as the best option for the federal government’s new biotech arm. The coalition created a detailed choose-your-own-adventure plan for ARPA-H that presents the benefits of each major city in the Lone Star State, as well as proposed building sites and institutional partners.
Dallas points to biotech hub Pegasus Park and research giant UT Southwestern in its pitch to house the agency. “This is a really terrific opportunity to take a leap forward in breakthrough science research, and we want to be part of it,” said Thomas Graham, coalition spokesperson and CEO and president of Crosswind Media and Public Relations in Austin. “The concept is that we want to demonstrate to the Biden administration and to members of Congress, the appropriators, that Texas is the best place for this agency. If you’re going to do it, it should be done in Texas.” The foundation of ARPA-H in North Texas would serve as yet another investment in the area’s decades-long push to become a biotech behemoth. Already, Dallas-Fort Worth claims more than 60 biotech and life sciences companies and several prominent research universities. Pegasus Park’s sprawling 23-acre campus, previously home to Mobil Corp., boasts a biotech-specific hub anchored by BioLabs, a coworking lab space company designed to help launch and expand other emerging companies. In its argument for Dallas, the Coalition for Health Advancement and Research in Texas highlights Pegasus Park’s central location, less than a mile from the UT Southwestern Medical District, nine minutes from downtown Dallas, and less than 20 minutes from both Dallas Love Field and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. “There is space there that, if the Biden administration chose to locate it in Dallas, this space is ready to move in. Same thing in Houston, same thing in San Antonio, same thing in Austin — there are places that are ready to move,” Graham said. “All they’ve got to say is ‘Yeah, we like this idea.’”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[BG PODCAST]
Episode 157: Discussing the Austin Economic Development Corp. w/Anne Gatling Haynes, Chief Transactions Officer
Today’s episode (157) features Anne Gatling Haynes, Chief Transactions Officer for the the Austin Economic Development Corporation (AEDC). She and Bingham Group CEO A.J. discuss the impetus for its founding and the work ahead. -> EPISODE LINK
[HEARINGS]
Tuesday (5/10)
Wednesday (5/11)