BG Reads | News You Need to Know (April 4, 2023)
[AUSTIN METRO]
Austin district vows collaboration through state's special education involvement (Austin American-Statesman)
A day after the Texas Education Agency announced it will install a conservator to oversee the Austin school district's special education department due to “systemic noncompliance," district officials said that any state-appointed staff probably wouldn't begin work in the district until late spring.
In a report released Friday, the TEA announced it will appoint a board of conservators to get the Austin district's special education department back on track, specifically in dealing with a growing backlog on evaluations for services.
District officials said during a news conference Saturday that they were committed to working collaboratively with the state, but some community members worried about the state education agency's intervention as it has been a source of federal scrutiny over its own special education policies… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Sunbelt Cities Nashville and Austin Are Nation’s Hottest Job Markets (Wall Street Journal)
To find the best job markets in America, head to the South.
Nashville, Tenn., topped the list of 2022’s hottest job markets, followed by Austin, Texas, and Jacksonville, Fla. Other cities known for tourism—notably Orlando, Las Vegas and New Orleans—climbed the ranks last year.
Those Sunbelt cities benefited from a continued recovery in travel and a hiring boom at restaurants, hotels and music venues, consistent with the resurgent services sector driving the U.S. economy in recent months. Many remained relatively affordable as high inflation gripped the nation. Meanwhile, some Western job markets that heated up after the pandemic took hold—including Salt Lake City, Phoenix and Denver—cooled last year… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
New cooperative nonprofit will "honor, preserve, and enhance" every acre of Austin's Zilker Park (CultureMap Austin)
The Zilker Area is one of Austin’s largest, most central treasures, and many people have been tasked with taking care of it. Those ranks now include a brand-new nonprofit called Zilker 351 (named for the number of acres in the park), announced on April 3 by a community board of directors.
The organization exists to “honor, preserve, and enhance the natural, cultural, and recreational treasures of [the] 351-acre Zilker Metropolitan Park for all,” according to an exclusive release sent to CultureMap. As most protectors of the park emphasize, this is a matter of long term preservation for “current and future generations.”
Zilker 351 makes its contributions through organizing: addressing needs in advocacy, fundraising, volunteering, and “streamlining communications among the Zilker groups.” … (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin is short lifeguards every year. One problem is the application process. (KUT)
Austin consistently struggles to fully staff its public pools.
A report out last week from the city’s auditor suggests part of that struggle is due to an overly complicated — and unreliable — application process to become a lifeguard.
To fully staff its 34 pools, Austin Parks and Recreation says it needs at least 860 lifeguards during the summer. Shortages last year led to a delayed opening for some pools.
The report found more than 1,100 people applied over a nine-month period in 2021 and 2022, but the city hired just 650 lifeguards last year. Auditors suggested hundreds of those applications were improperly declined… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Bills to expand gambling access in Texas clear House committee (Texas Tribune)
A Texas House committee advanced the two main proposals to expand gambling in the state Monday, giving them a burst of momentum even as they continue to face long odds in the Senate.
The movement represents more progress than the proposals made last legislative session, when they got hearings in committee but were never voted out. Gaming advocates, including the casino empire Las Vegas Sands, have been targeting Texas as their next frontier for two sessions in a row now.
Without discussion, the House State Affairs Committee approved legislation Monday afternoon that would let voters decide whether to legalize casinos and online sports betting in Texas. The votes were all 9-3, with Republicans making up the opposition… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Texas drops effort to punish Harris County over its law enforcement spendinG (Texas Tribune)
Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar on Monday backed off his claim that Harris County “defunded” a constable’s office in violation of a state law intended to prevent cities and counties from cutting their police budgets, ending the latest standoff between the state’s Republican leaders and Democratic officials heading the state’s most populous county.
Hegar accused Harris County leaders in February of cutting the constable’s budget without getting voter approval — a requirement under a 2021 state law passed in the wake of the George Floyd protests. The comptroller barred the county from being able to set their property tax rate, which prompted Harris County officials to sue Hegar.
Local government technicalities and number-punching differences led state and county officials to opposite conclusions of whether Harris County did in fact reduce that constable’s budget… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
Chicago chooses between progressive, moderate for mayor (AP News)
Voters in Chicago will choose a new mayor on Tuesday as two candidates with contrasting views on issues including crime, taxes, schools and investment in policing compete to lead the heavily Democratic city, the country’s third-largest.
The race pits former Chicago schools CEO Paul Vallas, a moderate Democrat endorsed by Chicago’s police union and major business groups, against progressive Brandon Johnson, a former teacher and union organizer backed by the Chicago Teachers Union. Both men finished ahead of current Mayor Lori Lightfoot in a February election, making her the first incumbent in 40 years to seek reelection in the city and lose.
The top two vote-getters in the all-Democrat but officially nonpartisan race moved to the Tuesday runoff because no candidate received over 50% of the vote… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
The Nashville school shooter planned the attack for 'months,' police say (NPR)
The Metro Nashville Police Department released new findings on Monday about Audrey Hale, the assailant who fatally shot six people at an elementary school in Nashville, Tenn., last week.
In a press release, MNPD said the investigation so far suggests that Hale had planned the shooting for months.
"It is known that Hale considered the actions of other mass murderers," MNPD wrote in a press statement… (LINK TO FULL STORY)