BG Reads | News You Need to Know (January 24, 2023)
[AUSTIN METRO]
‘Parking district’ proposal may solve South Congress parking woes (Austin monitor)
The dicey parking shuffle on South Congress is about to get a bit more predictable, thanks to the city’s Transportation Department.
City Council’s Mobility Committee rang in 2023 with the welcome announcement that a new South Congress Parking & Transportation Management District, if approved, will bring an expanded paid parking program to the area in just a few months. The plan would institute meterless paid parking clustered mainly up and down South Congress Avenue, as well as “hybrid” zones of shared paid parking and residential permit space throughout the surrounding neighborhood.
SoCo’s shoppers, diners, workers and neighbors have for years bemoaned the district’s unreliable parking infrastructure, which has seen little improvement since the back-in angle parking project. A parking study conducted in 2019 largely confirmed these frustrations, finding high demand with little turnover, inconsistent rules, poor wayfinding and underused side-street space all contributing issues… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Emerson won't nominate director slate at takeover target NI (Austin business journal)
Emerson Electric Co., a Missouri-based automation and software giant, said Jan. 23 that it will pursue a buyout of National Instruments Corp. (NI) without nominating a slate of directors for election at NI's upcoming annual meeting, while keeping its bid the same.
The decision not to nominate independent directors is a sign of potential progress in negotiations between the two public companies, and stands in contrast to the more aggressive tact taken by Emerson (NYSE: EMR) a week earlier when it said NI executives aren't responding to offers.
On Jan. 17, Emerson revealed that it had submitted a proposal to NI's board in November to acquire the Austin, Texas-based maker of automated testing equipment (Nasdaq: NATI) for $53 a share in cash, a deal that gave NI an enterprise value of $7.6 billion. Emerson said last week it was making the deal public after what it characterized as “limited engagement” and “months of delay" by NI, which had announced Jan. 13 that was exploring strategic options following acquisition interest from other companies… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
UT Austin doesn't have enough beds to house the freshman class(KVUE)
A new report has found that almost half of University of Texas at Austin's first-year class doesn't live in on-campus housing due to lack of availability and rising costs of living.
According to an article from KVUE's news partners at the Austin American-Statesman, 40% of the freshman class at UT had to live off campus in the Fall 2021 semester.
The report, which came from the Common Data Set, found that students lived off campus because of lack of availability and rising cost of living in Austin. The university has not expanded its on-campus housing footprint since 2007, forcing new students to find housing elsewhere.
The cost to live off campus for students averages between $13,058 and $13,280, according to the report, whereas living on campus costs $12,729 for a nine-month living contract, including an unlimited meal plan… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Longhorns Hire Austin LBJ Coach Jahmal Fenner Sr As Director of High School Relations (Sports illustrated)
The Texas Longhorns named Austin LBJ head football coach Jahmal Fenner Jr. as the program's director of high school relations on Monday, the school announced.
"We’re really excited that Jahmal is joining our staff,” Steve Sarkisian said. “He’s a guy who brings a lot to the table, is well known and respected throughout the Texas High School Coaches Association, has deep roots in Austin, and is so well connected in our community, as well as across the state. What he did in taking LBJ Football to historic heights through the most challenging of times was impressive, but seeing and hearing about the impact he had on his players and how he did it as a mentor, teacher and coach was something that really stood out… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick unveils committee assignments with one Democratic chair(texas Tribune)
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Monday announced Senate committee assignments, keeping his key lieutenants in leadership positions. And despite pressure from conservative GOP activists to ban members of the minority party from leading committees, Patrick reappointed Democrat John Whitmire to chair the Senate Criminal Justice Committee.
In a statement, Patrick, who presides over the Senate, said the committee assignments would “ensure we succeed in addressing the priorities of the people of Texas.” In an acknowledgement of the debate over appointing Democratic lawmakers to positions of power, Patrick said: “The overwhelming majority of bills voted on by the chamber will have bipartisan support. But make no mistake, the priority bills will address the concerns of the conservative majority in Texas.”
A small but vocal group of hardline conservative activists have pushed for legislative leaders like Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan to refrain from giving leadership positions to Democrats, arguing that they would hold up the passage of conservative legislation. Earlier this month, hundreds of activists streamed into the House and Senate galleries wearing bright red shirts that read, “Ban Democrat Chairs.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Houston leaders, Asian groups decry Abbott plan to ban Chinese, others from buying Texas land (Houston Chronicle)
An emerging battle over a bill that would ban citizens and companies from China and three other countries from buying land in Texas landed at Houston City Hall on Monday, where at least 100 protesters joined local, state and national officials in denouncing the measure as racist and xenophobic.
Senate Bill 147 would ban citizens and companies from China, North Korea, Russia and Iran from buying property in the Lone Star State. It was filed in November by Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, who said she was concerned about rival governments buying large swaths of land, especially near military bases. Opponents of the bill argue that it will stir up anti-Asian racism, which spiked at the beginning of the pandemic, and say that it wrongfully targets immigrants who have lived and worked in the state for years. State Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, organized Monday's rally, which drew dozens of outraged, mostly Chinese protesters of all ages, who shouted "no hate" and held signs reading "Say No to Discrimination." Wu began his remarks by holding up a photo of the modest, single-family home he'd lived in as a child. His parents bought the Sharpstown property after emigrating from China, he said, noting that their dream wouldn't have been realized if SB 147 had been law at the time. He spoke forcefully about the legacy of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which banned Chinese people from immigrating to the United States, and the Japanese internment camps during World War II, which affected over 100,000 Japanese Americans, including many U.S. citizens. Wu said he felt SB 147 shared the same mindset… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Further state-level boycotts of financial firms could come at a steep price (Houston Chronicle)
States that boycott financial firms over eco-friendly investing practices — a trend pioneered in Texas that has piqued the interest of other red states — can expect to pay a steep price for doing so, according to a new analysis. Were Louisiana to take a page from Texas' playbook and pass legislation boycotting firms that "boycott" the oil and gas industry, for example, taxpayers would be looking at an additional $51 to $131 million in interest payments as a result of reduced competition, the study found. West Virginia, $9 - $29 million. In Florida, such a boycott would add up to $361 million to the taxpayers' tab, according to the analysis. In Texas, of course, the question is not a hypothetical one. The state in 2021 passed legislation targeting financial firms that have embraced the burgeoning environmental, social, and governance (ESG) movement, which emphasizes alternatives to fossil fuels and is therefore seen, in some quarters, as "discriminating" against oil and gas.
The legislation, among other things, barred Texas municipalities from doing business with such banks. This led five major underwriters, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Bank of America and Fidelity, to leave the state's municipal bond markets, reducing competition and raising borrowing costs. A 2022 study from economists with the University of Pennsylvania and the Federal Reserve System found that Texas cities incurred an additional $300 million to $500 million in interest on $31.8 billion in bonds issued during the first eight months after the law took effect. The new analysis, was conducted by Econsult Solutions on behalf of The Sunrise Project — a nonprofit focused on climate change — builds off of the 2022 study focused on Texas. It looked at municipal bonds issued in Kentucky, Louisiana, West Virginia, Florida and Oklahoma over the past twelve months, and analyzed what would have happened had those states put similar restrictions on their municipal bond markets… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
Jan. 6 intruder who sat at Pelosi office desk convicted on all charges (Politico)
Richard Barnett, who famously put his feet up on a desk in Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office as rioters swarmed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was convicted by a Washington jury Monday of all eight charges he faced, including four felonies.
Barnett, 62, was convicted of obstructing Congress’ Jan. 6 proceedings, a charge that carries a 20-year maximum sentence, as well as disorderly conduct in the Capitol while carrying a dangerous weapon: a “Hike ‘N Strike” walking stick that doubles as a stun weapon. He was also convicted of stealing an envelope from the desk in Pelosi’s suite… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
U.S. Weapons Industry Unprepared for a China Conflict, Report Says (Wall Street Journal)
The war in Ukraine has exposed widespread problems in the American armaments industry that may hobble the U.S. military’s ability to fight a protracted war against China, according to a new study.
The U.S. has committed to sending Ukraine more than $27 billion in military equipment and supplies—everything from helmets to Humvees—since Russia’s invasion of the country last year. The infusion of arms is credited with helping the Ukrainian forces blunt Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion in what has become the biggest land war in Europe since World War II.
But the protracted conflict has also exposed the strategic peril facing the U.S. as weapons inventories fall to a low level and defense companies aren’t equipped to replenish them rapidly, according to the study, written by Seth Jones, a senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
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