BG Reads | News You Need to Know (May 19, 2022)
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[AUSTIN METRO]
Stream Realty reveals plans for reinventing ‘dirty Sixth’ (Austin Monitor)
If the downtown Sixth Street entertainment district is going to achieve a successful transformation in the coming years, the first real glimpse of its future will come from the improvements planned for the north side of the two blocks between Neches and Sabine streets. Dallas-based Stream Realty Partners owns an uninterrupted stretch of properties there – part of a portfolio of more than 30 in the district – and plans to bring offices, hotels, restaurants and entertainment uses to an area that has long been dominated by nighttime and weekend drinking.
The company’s three-year purchasing spree and its vision for the area are coming public at an opportune time when city and business leaders are eager to change the character of the district. In the past year a series of late-night shootings outside of bars and nightclubs have injured more than two dozen people and resulted in two deaths.
The city’s ongoing Safer Sixth Street initiative is focused on increasing safety and getting illegal guns off the street, and bringing more daytime and early evening uses to the 80-plus storefronts.
In a presentation earlier this month at the Historic Landmark Commission, attorney Richard Suttle said the hope is to eventually transform sections of the district with wider festival sidewalks, only three lanes of traffic and the construction of four- and five-story buildings 15 feet back from some of the historic facades of the properties Stream has purchased… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin's airport now wants people to arrive three or more hours before departure (KUT)
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is busier than ever. With more than 250 flights a day, the airport is drawing an unprecedented number of passengers. But airline counters, TSA screening lines and concession businesses don't have enough employees.
The result has been notoriously long lines.
With a busy Memorial Day weekend around the corner, the people who run the city-owned airport are now recommending people arrive two and a half hours before boarding, not departure, for domestic flights, and three hours early for international flights. That's a half hour earlier than the previous recommendation issued in late March.
Southwest, the largest operator of flights out of Austin, says planes board 30 to 45 minutes before departing, depending on the type of aircraft. Delta says domestic flights begin boarding at least 35 minutes prior to departure. Starting June 2, that will increase to 40 minutes. International departures usually have a longer boarding period.
That variation in how early people board before departing is what prompted the new guidance, ABIA says… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin ISD superintendent lone finalist for top job with Dallas ISD (KXAN)
Austin Independent School District superintendent Dr. Stephanie Elizalde has been named as the lone finalist in Dallas ISD’s search for a new superintendent.
Elizalde has been with AISD since August 2020. Prior to joining, she worked for Dallas ISD as the chief of school leadership.
In a press release sent on Wednesday evening, Dallas ISD said that the state requires a 21-day review period for the superintendent position.
After those three weeks, trustees are expected to offer Elizalde a contract for employment.
AISD Board of Trustees President Geronimo Rodriguez issued a statement via AISD’s Twitter account responding to the news.
“Thank you to Dr. Elizalde for her steadfast leadership through what has been an unprecedented and challenging two years,” the statement said. “Her commitment to our AISD mission allowed our community to safely move through the pandemic and stay laser-focused on academic achievement.”
If confirmed by trustees, she’d be the second woman to serve as superintendent in the district’s history. The current superintendent at Dallas ISD, Michael Hinojosa, is leaving the district after 13 years at the end of the year… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Chapter 313 incentives: What they are, why they're suddenly the talk of the town (Austin Business Journal)
With NXP Semiconductors NV considering Austin for a major expansion, Central Texas is a potential landing spot for at least three large, high-technology manufacturing projects.
Austin Business Journal has reported on two similar projects in recent months. Infineon Technologies AG, another semiconductor company, could invest $700 million at its existing Southeast Austin plant, while Applied Materials Inc., which supplies equipment and software used in the production for semiconductors, is weighing an investment of $2 billion-plus in Hutto that could create 800 jobs.
In concert, they represent about $5.3 billion in combined potential investment and 1,700 new jobs possible for the region.
And those are only the projects we have verified. There are others being floated across the Austin area, including a Chapter 313 application that Round Rock Independent School District trustees are scheduled to discuss behind closed doors on May 19… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Court opens way for flood of Texas "censorship" lawsuits (AXIOS)
Tech platforms are facing a new reality: Unless the U.S. Supreme Court intervenes, Texans could immediately start suing giants like Meta and YouTube over content moderation decisions they don't agree with. Driving the news: The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed an earlier ruling that had stopped Texas from enforcing its social media law, HB 20, last week. Industry groups asked the Supreme Court Friday for an emergency stay. The law's supporters see it as a way to get Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and other social media companies to stop what many on the right have long viewed as "censorship" of conservative viewpoints. Opponents point out that the law is likely to let virtually anyone challenge any content-related decision by the platforms, even though most content moderation involves blocking spam and porn and barring harassment and bullying.
Details: HB 20, which applies to platforms with 50 million or more U.S. monthly users, bars "censorship" based on "viewpoint." It defines "censorship" as acts that "block, ban, remove, deplatform, demonetize, de-boost, restrict, deny equal access or visibility to, or otherwise discriminate against expression." It empowers individuals to bring legal action against companies that violate the law. How we got here: Texas passed HB 20 last September, but a federal district court judge blocked it from going into effect in December. Last week's appeals court ruling reversed the lower court and will allow the law to take effect unless the Supreme Court steps in. What they're saying: "HB 20 strips private online businesses of their speech rights, forbids them from making constitutionally protected editorial decisions, and forces them to publish and promote objectionable content,” Chris Marchese, counsel for NetChoice, one of the groups appealing the ruling, said in a statement. “The First Amendment prohibits Texas from forcing online platforms to host and promote foreign propaganda, pornography, pro-Nazi speech, and spam.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
With Texas renewable power generation growing, energy secretary says storage is next challenge (San Antonio Express-News)
Expanding America’s ability to store energy is the key to making renewable power available any time — even when there’s no wind or sun — U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm told the Clean Power 2022 conference Wednesday in downtown San Antonio. “Storage is a huge priority because that’s what is going to make renewable power dispatchable,” she said. “If we can get the cost right, and if we can get the (storage) duration up, there’s this potential to turn these variable renewables into 24/7 baseload.” Increasing storage capacity could, for example, allow operators to store solar energy produced midday in batteries and send that power to the grid when demand is highest, typically in the evening.
To make that a reality, the Department of Energy’s $1 billion “earthshot” initiative is aiming to cut the cost of long-duration storage of greater than 10 hours by 90 percent this decade. Duration refers to the amount of time it takes for a fully-charged storage system to discharge that power to the grid. Most lithium storage batteries today have a duration of up to four hours. Reducing the cost of long-duration storage technology such as hydrogen would make it “the most cost effective choice for electricity consumers,” Granholm said. The Biden administration is directing more $3 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to manufacture more energy storage batteries in the U.S., she said. With solar and wind generation growing rapidly in Texas, energy storage is being explore in San Antonio and elsewhere. The amount of power generated from solar panels jumped 82 percent in April from the same month last year, according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. Wind generation grew 32 percent last month from a year earlier. In a San Antonio pilot project, CPS Energy is preparing to sign a contract for a 50 megawatt battery storage system and another to purchase 900 megawatts of solar power. CPS’ interim CEO has called the project a “sizable pilot.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[BG PODCAST]
Episode 158: Managing Growth in the City of Kyle - A Discussion with Council Member Dex Ellison
Today’s episode (158) features City of Kyle Council Member Dex Ellison. He and Bingham Group CEO A.J. discuss the growth and associated challenges with one the fastest growing cities in Texas.
According to the U.S. Census, the city grew from a populations of 5,000 in 2000, to just over 52,300 (and growing) in 2020.
First elected to Kyle City Council in November 2019, Council Member Ellison was re-elected in November 2019. -> EPISODE LINK