BG Reads | News You Need to Know (April 5, 2023)
[AUSTIN METRO]
Austinites have until April 6 to register to vote in May police oversight election (Community Impact)
Austinites have a few more days to register to vote in the city's upcoming May 6 election over a pair of propositions regarding police oversight.
The voter registration deadline for the May election is April 6. Eligible residents may register through the Travis County Tax Office, either at its main facility at 2433 Ridgepoint Drive, Austin, or at any of its satellite locations. Austinites may also apply to register to vote using the county's online form… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Spurs head to Austin for home games on Thursday, Saturday night (KSAT)
The San Antonio Spurs’ 50th anniversary season is taking them to Austin for back-to-back games as part of the team’s drive to deepen their regional fanbase.
Led by coach Gregg Popovich, the Spurs will host the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday, April 6 and the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday, April 8 at the Moody Center in Austin… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Czech Trade opens Austin office (Austin business journal)
The Texas state capital is now home to a government trade promotion agency from the Czech Republic, yielding another example of Austin’s growth as an international city.
Czech Trade, an extension of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic, now has a permanent presence in Austin to further its objective to develop international trade and cooperation between businesses based in the central European nation and foreign entities.
Austin is the fourth location in the United States where Czech Trade maintains a presence, following Chicago, New York and San Francisco.
Currently operating out of a downtown WeWork office at the One American Center, located at 600 Congress Ave., the team is led by Levan Bokeria. It is one of the only offices of the organization operating in a city without the presence of an embassy.
"We help Czech companies to find partners overseas and Texas is a huge economy," said Bokeria, director of the organization's Austin program. "I have a lot of requests from the Czech companies that want to make it in Texas. I'm meeting with one of the associations and chambers of commerce. It's not just we're helping Czech companies to find partners here, we're also helping American companies to find partners in the Czech Republic."… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Lawmakers again target Austin Energy, but what would that mean for you and me? (KUT)
When an ice storm struck Austin in February, downing tree limbs and leaving hundreds of thousands without power, Republican state Rep. Ellen Troxclair was quick to offer a solution: private enterprise.
“Break up the AE monopoly to allow Austin Energy customers to choose their energy provider,” the former Austin City Council member tweeted while outages were ongoing. "This would ultimately lead to better services and rates and compel more competent management.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
State retirees struggle through inflation while budget plans leave them out (Texas Tribune)
The Texas House is set to debate its two-year budget proposal on the chamber floor Thursday.
While it’s likely to change by the time it’s voted out of the GOP-dominated chamber, the $302.6 billion spending plan includes $1.2 billion for pay increases for current state employees, $3.5 billion for retired teachers and additional funds for a pay raise for current teachers. More is offered in a separate bill that allocates about $5 billion in general revenue for programs to be paid for this year, including extra money for state employees and retired teachers.
The plan, as it stands before the vote, would spend $136.9 billion in general revenue in the 2024-25 budget cycle. The two-year budget proposal also leaves most of a historic $32.7 billion budget surplus sitting unspent in state coffers… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Bill intended to force Texas prosecutors to pursue abortion, election cases advances in Senate (texas tribune)
A bill intended to rein in district attorneys who decline to pursue certain cases preliminarily passed in the Senate on Tuesday. The bill, a priority for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, is part of a larger effort to limit the power of elected prosecutors, especially in Texas’ largest, left-leaning counties.
Some district and county attorneys in Texas have said they will not prosecute people accused of violating the state’s near-total abortion bans. There’s also conflict over whether prosecutors will pursue allegations of election fraud, as well as cases involving first-time drug offenders or low-level theft.
Prosecutors have wide latitude to decide what cases their office will pursue. But conservative lawmakers have filed more than 30 bills intending to limit this “prosecutorial discretion.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
Johnson elected Chicago mayor in victory for progressives (AP News)
Brandon Johnson, a union organizer and former teacher, was elected as Chicago’s next mayor Tuesday in a major victory for the Democratic Party’s progressive wing as the heavily blue city grapples with high crime and financial challenges.
Johnson, a Cook County commissioner endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union, won a close race over former Chicago schools CEO Paul Vallas, who was backed by the police union. Johnson, 47, will succeed Lori Lightfoot, the first Black woman and first openly gay person to be the city’s mayor.
Lightfoot became the first Chicago mayor in 40 years to lose her reelection bid when she finished third in a crowded February contest.
Johnson’s victory in the nation’s third-largest city capped a remarkable trajectory for a candidate who was little known when he entered the race last year… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
After outcry, Jill Biden's office says White House invitation is for LSU women's team (NPR)
It's customary for the winner of the NCAA women's basketball championship to receive an invitation to visit the White House. But earlier this week, first lady Jill Biden was all in to host both Louisiana State University and the University of Iowa following Sunday's game — even though LSU won.
Now, the first lady has walked back her apparent dual invitation, following lots of negative reactions across social media and television. A particularly strong objection came from LSU star player Angel Reese, who called the dual invite "A JOKE" in a tweet… (LINK TO FULL STORY)