BG Reads | News You Need to Know (September 26, 2022)
[AUSTIN METRO]
Many Central Texas school districts still struggling with shortage of bus drivers (Austin American-Statesman)
One month into the fall semester, many Central Texas school districts are still struggling to find enough bus drivers to cover their routes, despite beefed-up recruiting efforts and increased pay.
District officials say the driver shortage is due to several factors, including the rising cost of living in the area making the job less attractive, and competition from other school districts and private delivery companies. They say they are trying to make themselves more competitive by increasing drivers' pay and providing incentives such as bonuses and extra hours.
Officials with the Eanes, Hays, Huttoand Georgetown school districts said they have enough bus drivers to maintain all of their routes. But at least two area districts have canceled some of their routes, forcing parents to find other ways to get their children to and from campuses, and others are turning to school staff members to fill in as drivers… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Ascension Seton Medical Center nurses vote to unionize (Austin Business Journal)
Nurses at Ascension Seton Medical Center have voted to unionize, the latest example of a labor organization wave seen in Austin and across the United States.
Axios Austin reported that more than two-thirds of 800 eligible nurses voted this week in favor of the union in a National Labor Relations Board election.
They will be affiliated with the National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United, the largest nurses' union in the country.
Axios quoted organizers worried about staff conditions. Meanwhile, an Ascension spokesperson told the digital news organization that the Catholic hospital system respects "our nurses' right to organize themselves through union representation."
Next up comes contract negotiations… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Esperanza’s hiatus underscores city’s lack of shelter options for homeless campers (Austin Monitor)
The staff at the Camp Esperanza site in Southeast Austin that is currently under construction to provide permanent small homes to formerly homeless residents acknowledge they will likely continue to receive visits from people they are unable to help for another two to three months.
Although the site is currently closed to new campers due to construction that began in the spring, Austin police officers patrolling downtown have for months continued to tell homeless people that Esperanza is the one place in the city where they may legally camp. That ongoing communication problem was revealed at a Downtown Commission meeting last week during a presentation on the state of homelessness in the downtown core.
“The surprise came that APD is telling its officers downtown that if someone can’t comply and the police officer says you can’t be here and they say to go to Esperanza community … the reality is there’s nowhere for them to go and that’s been the issue with the continued (encampment) cleanups outside of the HEAL initiative,” said Commissioner David Gomez, who works with the Other Ones Foundation, which manages Camp Esperanza.
“Until our site is no longer a dangerous construction site, we can’t have more people come here. Our hope is we can create a safe and stable environment where they feel they can lock up their stuff and go about their business and make the necessary connections to leave homelessness,” he said… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
New abortion restrictions are impractical and resource-draining, Texas prosecutors say (Texas Tribune)
The state’s new abortion restrictions continue to confound Texas district attorneys, who now face the possibility of prosecuting medical professionals and may be called to prosecute in another county if another district attorney refuses to do so.
“The criminal justice system is meant to keep people safe,” Fort Bend County District Attorney Brian Middleton said during the 2022 Texas Tribune Festival on Saturday. “I don’t think it’s right to criminalize a medical decision.”
Middleton appeared during the Festival’s “With Conviction” panel and was one of five prosecutors in Texas who signed on to a joint statement over the summer vowing not to pursue abortion-related charges… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
San Antonio looks to leverage Seguin's big win into more semiconductor jobs (San Antonio Business Journal)
The decision by Japanese-owned Maruichi Stainless Tube Texas Corp. to build a 125,000-square-foot manufacturing facility approximately 36 miles east of the Alamo City in Seguin could have far-reaching economic implications.
Recruiters involved in the deal believe the project will position the San Antonio region to grab a larger share of Texas’ more than $15 billion semiconductor industry activity.
Currently, San Antonio, home to Tower Semiconductor Ltd., has a limited presence in the sector. By comparison, about 87% of the state’s nearly 41,600 semiconductor manufacturing jobs were in counties in the Dallas and Austin metro areas, based on 2020 data provided by the Texas Comptroller's Office.
The deal that landed Maruichi in Seguin could provide the San Antonio region a timely lift and an opportunity to secure more of the roughly $6 billion in wages the industry has paid out in Texas in 2020 alone. The average wage for those jobs was north of $141,000, according to the comptroller.
The arrival of Maruichi to the San Antonio region could kickstart some momentum… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Voyager Space, Hilton partner on space station design (Houston Business Journal)
Denver-based Voyager Space, which is affiliated with a Houston company, and hotel giant Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HLT) are collaborating to make a private space station more comfortable for astronauts during their stays in orbit.
Voyager Space has named McLean, Virginia-based Hilton the official hotel partner for the Starlab commercial space station, which is planned to be in orbit this decade.
The goal is to make the crew suites less like the utilitarian spaces seen aboard spacecraft and the International Space Station and more like what guests on earth might expect from somewhere they’re going for an extended stay.
"Starlab will be more than just a destination, it will be an experience made infinitely more unique and artful with the Hilton team's infusion of innovation, expertise, and global reach," Dylan Taylor, founder, chairman and CEO of Voyager Space, said in a statement. “Voyager and Hilton are acutely focused on creating innovative solutions for the future of humanity, and this partnership opens new doors to what is possible for comfort-focused space exploration and habitation."… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[BG PODCAST]
Episode 166: Discussing the CHIPS Act and Austin's Semiconductor Ecosystem with Tyson Tuttle
Today's episode (166) is a continued discussion of the CHIPS and Science Act and its impact on Central Texas, with a lens on the region's semiconductor ecosystem.
Joining us is returning guest, Tyson Tuttle.
Tyson served as CEO of Austin-based Silicon Labs from 2012 to 2021, with leadership roles at the company including Chief Operating Officer and Chief Technology Officer.
We last had Tyson on for Ep. 52 where we discussed the Internet of Things, of which he led Silicon Labs transformation to a pure-play leader in.
-> EPISODE LINK <-
Enjoyed this episode? Please like, share, and comment!