BG Reads | News You Need to Know (October 20, 2022)
[AUSTIN METRO]
Austin’s growing pains impacting housing, jobs east of 130 (Austin Monitor)
The push of economic development flowing from Austin has officially hit the SH-130 corridor, and is bringing the same pressure on infrastructure, housing and workforce development that have become regular talking points in Austin political circles for years.
At a recent Urban Land Institute Austin luncheon hosted by Huston-Tillotson University, leaders from Taylor and Caldwell counties shared some of the details of the after-effects of negotiations and deals to bring major tech manufacturing facilities to their communities. In Taylor, where a $17 billion Samsung facility will be constructed in the coming years, assessed property values have doubled in a year, with “more prospects than we have available sites,” Mark Thomas, president and CEO of the Taylor Economic Development Corporation, said… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin bonds on November ballots total more than $3B (AXIOS Austin)
The breakdown: Austin ISD has a $2.44 billion package, split into three propositions, that would pay for security upgrades, air-conditioned buses, cafeteria improvements and stadium overhauls — among many other things.
The American-Statesman has a great tool breaking down the slated improvements at your local school.
The City of Austin has a $350 million affordable housing bond on the ballot to underwrite more rental units and set aside housing for people transitioning out of homelessness.
Austin Community College has a $770 million package on the ballot to expand job training in high-demand fields like health care and advanced manufacturing, and build new community college campuses… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Audit criticizes city’s services for older adults (Austin Monitor)
The team from the Austin city auditor’s office scrutinizing services for aging adults found numerous problems with how the city communicates about its programs and lacks a plan for measuring the performance of those programs. Auditor-in-charge Kelsey Thompson reported on the findings to the Council Audit & Finance Committee Wednesday… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Monday was the busiest day ever at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (KXAN)
Austin’s airport just set a new record for the most passengers in a single day.
A total of 35,357 passengers were recorded departing from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Monday, October 17, the first day after the second weekend of the ACL music festival… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
'Biggest surf park development on the planet' could soon come to Austin (KVUE)
Austin could soon be home to the "biggest surf park development on the planet."
A company called Surf Lakes builds wave parks where people can surf, even in landlocked areas. They're planning to put one of their facilities south of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, about 20 minutes from downtown… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Inside the secret plan to bring private school vouchers to Texas (Texas Monthly)
The proposal landed on Greg Bonewald’s desk like a pipe bomb. Bonewald, a soft-spoken career educator, had served as a teacher, coach, and principal in the fast-growing Hill Country town of Wimberley for fifteen years. In 2014, he took a bigger job as an assistant superintendent in Victoria, about two hours to the southeast. But he maintained an affection for Wimberley, and when its school board sought to bring him back as superintendent this year, he was thrilled. His honeymoon would be short. In a document obtained by Texas Monthly, stamped “Confidential” and dated May 3—the day after Bonewald was named the sole finalist for the job—a Republican political operative and a politically connected charter-school executive laid out an explosive proposal for “Wimberly [sic] ISD.” (Out-of-towners frequently misspell “Wimberley,” much to the annoyance of locals.) Apparently, the plan had been in the works for months and had been vetted by the outgoing superintendent. But Bonewald said no one had bothered to mention it to him. One of the authors of the plan was Aaron Harris, a Fort Worth–based GOP consultant who has made a name for himself by stoking—with scant evidence—fears of widespread voter fraud… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Ken Paxton targets biggest banks for plans to ‘starve’ fossil fuel companies of credit (Dallas Morning News)
Attorney General Ken Paxton says Texas is joining a multi-state investigation of the biggest names in banking over whether the financial institutions agreed to block credit to companies involved in fossil fuel-related activities. The attorney general said Wednesday that he believes the banks — Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup — each pledged that their lending practices would reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. That agreement under the Net Zero Banking Alliance could violate consumer protection laws because it would “starve” certain companies of credit on national and international markets, Paxton said. “The radical climate change movement has been waging an all-out war against American energy for years, and the last thing Americans need right now are corporate activists helping the left bankrupt our fossil fuel industry,” Paxton said in a statement… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
U.S. factories emerge as a strong point in a weakening economy (NPR)
It's been a very good year for U.S. manufacturing. Factories added 467,000 jobs in the last 12 months. And factory production in September was the highest in 14 years, according to the Federal Reserve. Even as other industries struggle under the weight of rising interest rates, factories keep churning out products to meet consumers' insatiable demand for cars, computers and candy bars. Now manufacturers are working to expand their capabilities, while struggling with supply and labor scarcities and looking to the near-future, where some economists and many on Wall Street say a recession looms. Auto production has see-sawed in recent months, as carmakers continue to struggle with a shortage of semiconductors. But September was a good month for auto manufacturing, with production climbing by 1%… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
JPMorgan adds crypto policy head after Dimon’s ‘ponzi’ quip (Bloomberg)
JPMorgan Chase & Co. has hired a new head of digital assets regulatory policy, less than a month after CEO Jamie Dimon told lawmakers that cryptocurrencies are “decentralized Ponzi schemes.” Aaron Iovine joined the company this week as executive director for digital assets regulatory policy, a newly created role, a JPMorgan spokeswoman confirmed. He was previously head of policy and regulatory for cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network Ltd., whose bankruptcy filing has roiled the digital asset market. JPMorgan is looking to build out its policy ranks in the evolving digital asset space amid increased regulatory scrutiny and a downturn in cryptocurrency values. Iovine didn’t respond to a comment request. Dimon and other JPMorgan executives have been vocal critics of digital assets… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[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!