BG Reads | News You Need to Know (November 2, 2022)
[AUSTIN METRO]
2022 Travis County early voting turnouts trail behind 2018 midterms 7 days in (KXAN)
It’s one week into early voting and as of Sunday evening, just shy of 19% of Travis County registered voters have already cast a ballot.
By comparison, nearly 28% of registered voters had already cast their ballots seven days into early voting during the November 2018 midterms. In total, more than 47% of registered Travis County voters cast a ballot by mail or in person during the 2018 early voting period… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Changes likely for City Council speaker rules (Austin Monitor)
City Council has been operating under rules designed for a city living with a pandemic. Now that Covid rates have declined significantly, some Council members are thinking about how the rules for speakers addressing Council might be changed to allow better communication between citizens who want to weigh in on the meeting agendas and Council.
During Tuesday’s work session, it became clear that some members are more anxious for changes than others. Currently, community members are allowed to speak for one minute only, even if they are addressing two disparate items. Mayor Steve Adler noted that the city was trying to limit speaking time to one hour in the morning and one hour in the afternoon. The effect of those rules is that a speaker may address an issue at 10:30 in the morning, followed by another speaker addressing an entirely different subject. Then the third speaker will talk about something else on the agenda. In the afternoon, the same is true only for zoning cases. So Council members may not remember everything they heard when it is time to vote and speakers will not necessarily be in the chambers when Council votes on their issue… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Colony Park project moving closer to becoming 'transformational investment' in Northeast Austin (Community Impact)
City officials are poised to approve a financial plan that would move the Colony Park Sustainable Community in Northeast Austin closer to reality.
The Colony Park initiative would bring a new community with hundreds of homes and apartments, office and commercial space, a health clinic, and parkland to more than 200 acres of undeveloped city-owned land off Loyola Lane. The community and its hundreds of new residents will also be accessible from two future light rail stations on the Project Connect Green Line.
The city is partnering with Mueller developer Catellus Development Corp. on the long-held plan for what District 1 Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison called a "transformational investment" that will bring hundreds of new affordable housing units and other amenities to an underserved area of town… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
New neighborhood set to bring 1,700 homes to Elgin (Austin Business Journal)
Nearly 2,000 single-family homes are set to sprout in one of the smaller cities surrounding Austin.
Plano-based Green Brick Partners Inc. and Colorado-based Century Communities Inc. are partnering to develop the Trinity Ranch neighborhood in Elgin, said Ryan Jerke, Austin division president of Trophy Signature Homes, the Green Brick subsidiary handling the project.
The neighborhood will consist of more than 1,700 homes, according to a late October announcement. It is yet another example of the immense growth coming to the eastern edge of the Austin metro area… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Texas ERCOT response to lawmakers’ Bitcoin mining concerns still a work in progress (Dallas Morning News)
ERCOT said this week it’s still working on a response to inquiries from members of Congress about whether its approach to crypto mining is putting undue pressure on the state’s power grid, ripping off ratepayers and contributing to climate-damaging pollution. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., raised the concerns and requested detailed information about the Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ handling of crypto mining in an Oct. 12 letter signed by two other Senate Democrats and several House Democrats, including Rep. Al Green of Houston. Warren asked ERCOT’s new CEO Pablo Vegas to provide answers no later than Monday. “ERCOT is still working on a response and will publish when ready,” according to a statement late Monday from the state’s main electric grid operator. “No further updates at this time.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
For third time this year, AG Ken Paxton fails to disclose campaign donors as required by law (Houston Chronicle)
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whose office has declined to enforce campaign finance laws, has also failed to file his own fundraising disclosure forms with complete lists of donors three times in the past year. The latest reports, which cover the period Sept. 30 to Oct. 29, show the two-term Republican incumbent raised nearly $2.4 million, spent $5 million and still has almost $3 million in his war chest. Paxton has long had an antagonistic relationship with the Texas Ethics Commission, the state regulatory agency that levies fines for violations such as late or incomplete reports. As of July, it had been almost three years since his office had sued candidates who haven't paid their fines, though it's part of his job. He has also declined to represent the ethics commission in court as his political allies seek to dismantle it with a lawsuit… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
Elon Musk, plus a circle of confidants, tightens control over Twitter (The New York Times)
Elon Musk and a group of his advisers have tightened their grip over Twitter, meeting with company executives to work on layoffs, ordering up product changes, talking with advertisers and reviewing content moderation policies, according to more than a dozen current and former employees involved in the efforts.
The priorities for the world’s richest man and his advisers at Twitter are twofold, five of the people said: They are working on how to trim the company’s ranks while also exploring a slew of changes to Twitter’s mobile app… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[HEARINGS/MEETINGS]
[BG PODCAST]
Episode 168: Market Talk - Lobbying in Philadelphia with Mustafa Rashed of Bellevue Strategies
Today's episode (168) features a discussion on entrepreneurship and lobbying with Mustafa Rashed, Founder and President, of Philadelphia-based Bellevue Strategies.
He and Bingham Group CEO A.J. also discuss current municipal issues in the Philadelphia market.
Enjoyed this episode? Please like, share, and comment!