BG Reads | News You Need to Know (May 9, 2022)
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[AUSTIN METRO]
Austin voters overwhelmingly say yes to marijuana, no-knock warrant ballot measure (Austin American-Statesman)
Austin voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure that prevents the city's police officers from enforcing laws against possessing small amounts of marijuana and from entering properties unannounced using no-knock warrants.
Proposition A — which removes police discretion by cementing these two policies into law — passed with 57,967 votes in favor, or 85.5%, while there were 9,839 votes against it, or 14.5%, according to final but unofficial results from elections officials.
The measure was Austin's lone proposition on the Saturday ballot and generated limited buzz ahead of the vote. After hotly contested fights in Austin elections on homeless camping in May 2020 and police officer hires in November, Proposition A did not even draw an opposition campaign… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Tesla taps into Bastrop ISD for entry-level gigafactory hires (Austin Business Journal)
Central Texas’ new Tesla Gigafactory wants to tap into the future of local talent, and they’re looking at Bastrop Independent School District.
The electric carmaker interviewed about 70 high school seniors May 5 who have been recruited for the past three weeks.
Tesla said they have at least 20 positions available for them as production associates, if not more, according to BISD Associate Superintendent Kristi Lee.
Once hired, Tesla will pay for graduating BISD seniors to attend Austin Community College for seven weeks of training, along with $17 per hour while in classes, Lee said. They would start those classes next month. Lee said once they complete their ACC certification, students will earn $18.50 as full-time Tesla employees… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Leander voters choose to keep Capital Metro service (KUT)
Voters in Leander have elected to stay in Capital Metro's service area, affirming for the fourth time since 1985 the city's partnership with the regional transit agency.
With all votes counted in Williamson and Travis Counties, the partnership with CapMetro was supported with 59% of the vote. Leander is mostly in Williamson County but part of the city stretches into Travis County.
The election results mean Leander will keep a commuter rail link into Austin, a commuter bus route and an on-demand minibus called Pickup. The city will also continue paying a 1% sales tax to Capital Metro.
The sales tax generated almost $10 million in 2021. Collections this year are up by 28% compared to the same time last year.
That stream of sales tax revenue became the center of a political debate that prompted Leander City Council to call the election.
Opponents of Proposition A argued not enough people were riding the bus and train to justify the expense. But critics of CapMetro membership differed on what should be done with the sales tax revenue… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Texas Republicans say if Roe falls, they’ll focus on adoptions and preventing women from seeking abortions elsewhere (Texas Tribune)
During their 20 years in control of the Texas Legislature, Republican lawmakers have steadfastly worked to chip away at abortion access.
Bound by the limits of Roe v. Wade, which stopped them from enacting an outright ban on the procedure, lawmakers got creative. They required abortion clinics to have wide hallways and deputized private citizens to sue providers in an effort to shut down facilities that offer the procedure.
Future lawmaking on the topic will likely not require such ingenuity. A leaked draft of a U.S. Supreme Court opinion, published last week by Politico, suggests the court will reverse the landmark abortion ruling in the coming weeks, allowing states to regulate abortion as they see fit. Texas has a “trigger law” that would make performing an abortion a felony, which would go into effect 30 days after the Supreme Court overturns Roe… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Ken Paxton says he’s being sued by the state bar for misconduct over his lawsuit challenging the 2020 election (Texas Tribune)
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the state's top lawyer, said Friday the state bar was suing him for professional misconduct related to his lawsuit challenging the 2020 presidential election.
"I have recently learned that the Texas State Bar — which has been waging a months-long witch-hunt against me — now plans to sue me and my top deputy for filing Texas v. Penn: the historic challenge to the unconstitutional 2020 presidential election joined by nearly half of all the states and over a hundred members of Congress," Paxton said in a statement released on social media. "I stand by this lawsuit completely."
A few hours after saying he was being sued by the bar, Paxton’s office announced an investigation into the Texas Bar Foundation for "facilitating mass influx of illegal aliens" by donating money to groups that "encourage, participate in, and fund illegal immigration at the Texas-Mexico border." The foundation is made up of attorneys and raises money to provide legal education and services. It is separate from the State Bar of Texas, which is an administrative arm of the Texas Supreme Court… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Developers put down billions in bets on DART’s new Silver Line (Dallas Morning News)
Developers are ready to take a ride on DART’s new Silver Line. Billions of dollars in building deals are already in the works along the 26-mile rail line — also called the Cotton Belt Route — running between DFW International Airport and Plano. While the commuter transit line won’t open until 2024, developers are planning projects around the more than half-dozen stations stretching across Dallas’ northern suburbs. “It’s huge for us,” said Lucy Billingsley, whose Cypress Waters development has the first transit stop from the airport. “Because of the Silver Line, we have been able to expand our office footprint by at least 2 million square feet.” Billingsley Co.’s Cypress Waters is already one of the most successful real estate developments in North Texas, providing offices for more than 16,000 workers plus thousands of apartments and retail space.
So far, most of the development at Cypress Waters has been between LBJ Freeway and the south shore of North Lake. But the new DART line will open up the north end of the 1,000-acre project to new construction, Billingsley said. “That edge of our property is next to neighborhoods in Coppell and some industrial areas,” she said. “That doesn’t scream out major office building opportunities. “But put the Silver Line in and a convention hotel on the lake, and now we have a hub of activity.” Billingsley Co. is already laying out plans for vacant properties that surround the planned DART station to be constructed near East Belt Line Road. “We want it to be an active entrance to the entire development,” Billingsley said. “We think it is going to be much more significant than most lines and stations in the city. “I think the east-west rail connection is hugely important.” A few miles away in downtown Carrollton, city planners are eager for the first Silver Line trains to show up. “With the Silver Line on the way, we expect new development to continue at this location,” said Ravi Shah, Carrollton’s director of development services… (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)