BG Reads | News You Need to Know (July 28, 2023)
[BG PODCAST]
EPISODE 208 // On this episode we welcome guest Dave Porter, Executive Director, Williamson County Economic Development Partnership.
The Williamson County EDP was founded in 2014 to create a partnership between Williamson County and city economic development leaders to market and promote economic development in Williamson County.
Members from each of the contributing government entities make up Williamson County EDP's board of directors.
Dave was hired in October 2022 as the Partnership's first Executive Director.
He and Bingham Group CEO A.J. discuss the past several months and what's ahead for the Partnership and Williamson County.
EPISODE 208
LINKS:
• Williamson County Economic Development Partnership → williamsoncountytxedp.com/
• Williamson County Economic Development Partnership announces new office in South Korea (Community Impact, July 26, 2023) → rb.gy/yrmz0
• Connect with Dave on LinkedIn -> rb.gy/c1ump
ABOUT THE BINGHAM GROUP, LLC
Bingham Group works to advance the interests of businesses, nonprofits, and associations at the municipal and state level.
Follow Bingham Group on LinkedIn at: bit.ly/3WIN4yT
Connect with A.J. on LinkedIn at: bit.ly/3DlFiUK
Contact us at: info@binghamgp.com
We are a HUB/MBE-certified Austin lobbying firm.
>>> SHOW LINK <<<
Also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
[AUSTIN METRO]
$65 million awarded to Austin community groups addressing homelessness (KXAN)
The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, or TDHCA, awarded nearly $65 million to Austin community groups addressing homelessness, according to Austin Mayor Kirk Watson.
For context, the City of Austin’s proposed budget for all of next fiscal year dedicates roughly $55 million for homelessness.
“About $60 million has been earmarked to support the planning for and expansion of the non-congregate shelter model in Austin with a City goal of establishing an estimated 700 additional bed capacity,” Watson said… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Largest Austin-area Employers (Austin business journal)
The 2023 list of the largest private-sector job providers in the Austin area includes publicly and privately held firms. The list is for all companies operating in the Austin area, not just those headquartered here. Government entities and school systems are highlighted alongside the printed list but not included in the online ranking.
Overall, the top 50 employers on the list provide about 18,3235 local jobs, not including contract workers. Last year, the 50 listmakers reported a total of 178,376 employees for the region… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin Community College names sole finalist for new chancellor (COmmunity impact)
Austin Community College’s board of trustees named Russell Lowery-Hart as the lone finalist for the next chancellor for the district in July.
The board unanimously approved Lowery-Hart to be the new chancellor at a July 24 meeting. He will take the place of current Chancellor Richard M. Rhodes, who will retire in January after 12 years of service.
“Dr. Lowery-Hart is a visionary with a proven history in the community college,” ACC Board Chair Barbra Mink said in a news release. “His focus on student success and his deep understanding of what students need to succeed is evident in his remarkable tenure, and it’s what will take ACC into the future.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Massive vision revealed for old Alcoa plant in Milam County (Austin business journal)
A Dallas-based developer has finally revealed its massive plans for the roughly 31,000-acre former Alcoa aluminum plant in Milam County, northeast of Austin.
Roughly a year and a half after an entity connected to Xebec Holdings LLC purchased the property in Rockdale for roughly $240 million, the company said July 26 that it plans to develop 3,300 of those acres into up to 50 million square feet of industrial space for what it's calling the Advanced Manufacturing and Logistics Campus.
The site — once marketed as Sandow Lakes Ranch, and pitched as a long-shot bid for Amazon's HQ2 — was purchased in November 2021 by SLR Property 1 LP, which is tied to Xebec. The land stretches across Milam and Lee counties and is located about 15 miles east of Taylor, where Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. is building a multibillion-dollar computer chip factory… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
First of Georgetown's 3D-printed homes hit the market (Community Impact)
A community of 100 homes being built with 3D-printer technology in Georgetown’s Wolf Ranch neighborhood reached a milestone July 22, when the first model home opened to the public.
Construction technology company ICON, in partnership with homebuilder Lennar, architecture firm Bjarke Ingles Group and developer Hillwood Communities, has been steadily printing walls using its Vulcan robotic construction systems since the project was announced in November. With the first model home now completed, the group has begun selling its tech-forward houses with the first residents set to move in this September… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Faculty worry about Texas A&M’s future after controversies over higher ed politicization (Texas tribune)
Faculty expressed shock at the extent to which political pressures have interfered in a university whose values of integrity, respect and excellence appear to have been challenged. They’re uneasy over the scandals’ potential chilling effect on speech or the possible creation of a fearful environment in which professors agonize over the political ramifications of their work — leading some to consider looking for other jobs.
Most of all, they worry that the damage to the university’s reputation will slow efforts to recruit and retain academic talent, eclipse decades of work, and erode the love and devotion that students, instructors and alumni have poured into an institution they believe in… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Mayor Turner says HISD's Miles has 'gone too far' with plan to turn libraries into discipline areas (Houston Chronicle)
Details about the new Houston ISD administration's plan to eliminate librarians under the New Education System model have sparked outrage from Mayor Sylvester Turner and other elected officials. During a City Council meeting Wednesday morning, Turner called on Superintendent Mike Miles to reverse course on his policy related to libraries. Miles plans to cut librarians at most of the 85 NES and NES-aligned schools and convert the libraries into so-called Team Centers where misbehaving students will watch their class on Zoom. "When you close the libraries, you have gone too far," the mayor said, adding that Miles is "dismantling the largest educational district in the state of Texas. You cannot educate the kids and close the libraries, and then turn them into disciplinary centers. What is the message that you are telling our kids?"
Turner has been among the most vocal opponents of the Texas Education Agency's intervention in HISD since the takeover was announced in March. In response to the mayor's outcry, Miles penned a public letter to Turner on Wednesday evening, inviting the mayor to join him at some of the NES and NES-aligned campuses during the first week of school. "You will see first-hand the unique attributes of this model and its ability to support student achievement," the superintendent wrote. "In most campuses, we position Team Centers in libraries because they provide the physical space to support differentiated learning experiences and are centrally located within the campus itself." The new superintendent has said his whole-scale reform model will funnel additional resources to the targeted schools, many of them located in northeast Houston, such as pay raises and stipends for educators, a curriculum with prepared lesson plans, and international trips for some students. The goal is to raise proficiency among students, close the achievement gap and prepare students for their future, according to Miles, and his decision to cut libraries and librarians is about prioritizing resources accordingly… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
U.S. Capitol Police to open Texas field office, citing rising threats against members of Congress (Texas tribune)
In response to increasing threats against members of Congress, the U.S. Capitol Police plans to open regional field offices across the country, including in Texas.
Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger announced the plans at a joint oversight hearing of the Capitol Police Board, describing a 300% increase in threats to members of Congress over the past seven years.
In addition to an office in Texas, the agency plans to open field offices in Milwaukee and Boston, Manger told the committee Wednesday. A Texas location has not yet been determined, a department spokesperson said.
The Capitol Police department, which is responsible for protecting Congress and its members, opened its first field offices in Florida and California after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump. The offices have helped his officers respond to threats more quickly and efficiently, Manger said… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
Senate approves Cornyn bill on U.S. tech investments in China (Dallas Morning News)
The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly to require American companies to report investments in Chinese technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum information science. The measure, co-authored by Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn and Sen. Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat, reflects concerns that have grown for years about Chinese business practices and the implications for U.S. national security. The reporting requirement becomes part of the must-pass defense authorization bill the Senate is expected to approve later this week. Major differences with the House still have to be worked out. The Outbound Investment Transparency Act covers investment in advanced semiconductors and microelectronics, hypersonics and satellite-based communications.
“When American companies invest in technology like semiconductors or AI in countries like China and Russia, their capital, intellectual property and innovation can fall into the wrong hands and be weaponized against us,” said Cornyn. “This bill would increase the visibility of these investments.” Casey and Cornyn introduced similar legislation in 2021, though that would have required federal review of U.S. investments in critical sectors. The vote Tuesday was 91-6 on a scaled-down measure that only requires notification, though the Biden administration is drafting an executive order to further tighten controls on technology, as is the European Union. “I hope that this is just the start,” Casey said, lauding the “bipartisan consensus to meet the challenge posed by the Chinese government.” The bill’s passage by the Senate comes as the White House finalizes an executive order that would restrict U.S. investment in Chinese technologies. Members of the Texas Legislature have tried to limit foreign influence by introducing legislation that would bar citizens and companies from China, Iran, North Korea and Russia from owning farmland in the state. The Texas Senate approved the ban but the bill died in the Texas House in May… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Niger Coup Upends U.S. Security Plans in West Africa, Handing Russia an Opportunity (Wall Street Journal)
This week’s military coup in Niger threatens to disrupt the entire U.S. strategy for fighting Islamist militants as they expand across western Africa, and potentially hand Russia a strategic advantage as it tries to widen its own influence in the region.
The centerpiece of the U.S. approach to regional security has been dispatching American commandos to train elite local forces to take on al Qaeda and Islamic State, whose violent ideology has spread rapidly from the Middle East and South Asia into the Sahel, the semiarid band south of the Sahara, over the past six years.
Now, with the dust still settling after military officers ousted Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum on Wednesday, the U.S. finds itself constrained by American law that prohibits it from providing most security aid to military regimes. And with the Nigerien Armed Forces saying Thursday they backed the revolt, the worry in Washington is that the coup leaders risk ceding more ground to the militants after splitting with the U.S., and could turn instead to Russian mercenaries to help them fight back… (LINK TO FULL STORY)