BG Reads | News You Need to Know (August 18, 2023)
[Bingham Group]
Urban Land Institute - Austin 2023 Impact Awards
The East 11th Street Urban Renewal District Development Study, an Austin Economic Development Corporation project involving Bingham Group (community engagement and consulting), has been nominated in the Big Idea category for the ULI Austin 2023 Impact Awards. Learn more here.
[BG PODCAST]
EPISODE 211 // Welcome to Episode 211! Bingham Group Associate Hannah Garcia CEO A.J. Bingham review the week (of 8.7..2023) in Austin politics and more.
>>> SHOW LINK <<<
Also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
[AUSTIN METRO]
Council-approved budget contains record-high police funding, sparking dissent from both sides (Austin monitor)
Three years after mass protests against police violence and racial injustice spurred the now-defunct Reimagining Public Safety initiative, City Council on Wednesday voted 10-1 to approve the Fiscal Year 2023-24 budget, which includes record-high police funding and sets a new minimum for future city spending. Council’s decision has provoked both the police union and police reform advocates, who agree that increased funding will do little to alleviate police staffing shortages – and on little else… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Travis High School cancels classes after student found dead outdoors on campus (Austin American-Statesman)
The Austin school district canceled classes Thursday at Travis Early College High School, 1211 E. Oltorf St., after staffers found the body of an 11th grade student on the campus grounds, district officials said.
Travis High will also be closed Friday, according to the district.
Students and staff weren't in danger and the campus was safe, Austin school district Police Chief Wayne Sneed said during a news conference Thursday morning.
Campus staff members found the body of the teenage girl outside on the southwestern side of campus and flagged a district police officer doing a regular patrol about 7:39 a.m. Thursday, Sneed said. Emergency responders arrived on campus about a minute later, and a Travis County medical examiner's representative pronounced the girl dead about 7:55 a.m., Sneed said.
By 8:30 a.m., district officials canceled classes for the day and sent a notice to parents. The district posted a tweet just before 9 a.m. Thursday announcing the cancellation… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
San Antonio Spurs get dates for Austin return (Austin business journal)
It's official: The San Antonio Spurs are returning to Austin.
Next year, the Spurs will play the Denver Nuggets, the reigning National Basketball Association champions, on March 15 and the Brooklyn Nets on March 17 at Moody Center, on the University of Texas at Austin campus. That first game will be at the tail end of the annual South by Southwest festival, which runs March 8-16.
The NBA released its 2023-24 schedule Aug. 17.
This marks the second year in a row that the Spurs will play games in Austin. In April, the first-ever regular season NBA games in the city produced record crowds at Moody Center, including a standing-room-only crowd of 16,148 on April 8, when the Spurs fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
The ACL Fest 2023 schedule is out. (Austin american-Statesman)
The day-by-day schedules for both weekends of the Austin City Limits Music Festival were released on Thursday afternoon. The festival will take over Zilker Park for two weekends, October 6-8 and October 13-15.
Whether you already have tickets, or you're still trying to decide if you should go, here are a few things you need to know… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Texas drivers vexed by toll road payment problems got little relief from state lawmakers (Texas tribune)
Lawmakers have been hesitant to intervene in the state’s toll road system, a mishmash of agencies and contractors that generates more than $2 billion a year and has improved mobility in Texas’ largest metropolitan areas, but often forces drivers to pay to get from one point to another — and deal with the frustration of an unexpected bill.
During this year’s regular legislative session, lawmakers filed at least nine toll-related bills, including proposals that sought to cap fines and fees, eliminate misdemeanor charges for delinquent users and make toll roads free to use once the bonds issued to build them are repaid. Only one of those bills, House Bill 2170, became law. It requires toll entities to notify users with electronic tags when an automatic payment is rejected. The law takes effect Sept. 1… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
At Camp David Summit, Japan, South Korea and U.S. Present a United Front (NEw York Times)
President Biden plans to cement a newly fortified three-way alliance with Japan and South Korea during a landmark summit at Camp David on Friday, bridging generations of friction between the two Asian powers to forge mutual security arrangements in the face of an increasingly assertive China.
Mr. Biden will host Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan and President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea at the presidential retreat in Maryland, the first time he has invited foreign leaders there and the first time the leaders of the three countries will have met in a stand-alone session rather than on the sidelines of larger international gatherings.
While the United States has long been allied with Japan and South Korea individually, historic animosities between Tokyo and Seoul stemming most acutely from Japan’s brutal 35-year occupation of the Korean Peninsula have frustrated American efforts to knit the three into a cohesive partnership. But Mr. Yoon’s recent moves toward rapprochement with Japan have dramatically shifted the dynamics in northeast Asia and Mr. Biden hopes to establish a closer, more enduring alignment… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
The Dutch defense minister says the US has approved the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine (Associated Press)
The United States has given its approval for the Netherlands to deliver F-16s to Ukraine, the Dutch defense minister said Friday, in a major gain for Kyiv even though the fighter jets won’t have an immediate impact on the almost 18-month war
“I welcome the US decision to clear the way for delivery of F-16 jets to Ukraine. It allows us to follow through on the training of Ukrainian pilots,” Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said in a message on X, formerly known as Twitter. “We remain in close contact with European partners to decide on the next steps.”
Ukraine has long pleaded for the sophisticated fighter to give it a combat edge. It recently launched a long-anticipated counteroffensive against the Kremlin’s forces without air cover, placing its troops at the mercy of Russian aviation and artillery… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
The Ozempic Craze Could Put These Companies on a Crash Diet (Wall Street Journal)
The obesity epidemic has taken a horrible toll on Americans, and not just their health: It costs the country about $200 billion a year through health-related problems such as diabetes and heart disease.
We could now be at a turning point, with a new class of medications helping people lose serious amounts of weight. For industries whose bottom lines are directly tied to America’s love of sugary drinks and fatty foods, that could be a problem. A few affected companies have taken the attitude of “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” and been richly rewarded by investors.
The big winners of the weight-loss drug craze have been clear for some time: The combined market capitalizations of Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, the companies that make Mounjaro and Ozempic, respectively, is approaching $1 trillion dollars. By contrast, Pfizer, whose products were instrumental during the pandemic, is worth $200 billion… (LINK TO FULL STORY)