BG Reads | News You Need to Know (July, 6, 2023)
[BG PODCAST]
EPISODE 203 // On this episode we welcome Daniela Silva with Political Action Committee, Equity Action.
Equity Action is spearheading the campaign in support Community Investment Budget (CIB) ahead of the Austin Council's vote on the FY24 budget, set next month.
Daniela and A.J. discuss the 35 item budget package covering a range diversity of community needs including Early Childhood Education and Development, Climate Equity, Park Maintenance and much more.
Note: Bingham Group has no contractual affiliations with Equity Action and/or work related to the CIB.
LINKS:
• City of Austin Budget Timeline -> bit.ly/3JHevpd
• Equity Action -> equityactionatx.org
• The Community Investment Budget -> bit.ly/3NZVG1Z
• Connect with Daniela on LinkedIn -> www.linkedin.com/in/daniela-m-silva/
>>> SHOW LINK <<<
Also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
[AUSTIN METRO]
Austin Energy under new leadership with Bob Kahn taking over as general manager (Austin American-Statesman)
Austin Energy has a new leader at the helm.
Bob Kahn served his first day as general manager of Austin's public utility company on Monday, months after Jackie Sargent, its previous leader, announced her retirement.
Kahn took the reins from Stuart Reilly, who had served as interim general manager since Sargent's departure. Sargent retired in late March, and she is the first and only woman to serve in the position.
Austin Energy has a new leader at the helm.
Bob Kahn served his first day as general manager of Austin's public utility company on Monday, months after Jackie Sargent, its previous leader, announced her retirement.
Kahn took the reins from Stuart Reilly, who had served as interim general manager since Sargent's departure. Sargent retired in late March, and she is the first and only woman to serve in the position… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Memo details progress, plans for African American Cultural Heritage District (Austin Monitor)
The city is preparing to solicit an outside consultant to create an action plan for development of the portion of East Austin known as the African American Cultural Heritage District.
Economic Development Department Director Sylnovia Holt-Rabb last month sent a memo to City Council, providing updates on development efforts for the two city-owned parcels known as blocks 16 and 18, which are currently home to the Victory Grill and Kenny Dorham’s Backyard music venues.
The outside consultant would use feedback from a group of community stakeholders, which the city will identify, and potentially gather insight from direct interaction with them. Feedback sessions are expected to be concluded in the next six to 12 months, with the discussions guided by the goals of the 2021 resolution that sought to preserve and enhance the district… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Final phase of Mueller Business District gets start date (Austin Business Journal)
The third and final phase of construction for an office district within the Mueller community is set to begin early next year.
San Francisco-based developer Shorenstein Properties LLC plans to start construction on the Charlie and Delta buildings in what it calls the Mueller Business District in January, according to a June 29 filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. The two buildings — expected to total nearly 334,000 square feet combined — represent the last phase of the roughly 800,000-square-foot district, a large chuck of which is slated to be the new headquarters of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.
The new buildings carry estimated construction costs of $90 million, according to the TDLR filing, though such figures are preliminary and subject to change throughout the lengthy development process… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Eve Stephens Sworn in as UT Austin Chief of Police (UT News)
After an extensive national search, The University of Texas at Austin today administered the oath of office to Eve Stephens, the new chief of police and assistant vice president of campus security. Stephens is a transformational law enforcement veteran who rose to numerous leadership ranks with the Austin Police Department (APD). At UT Austin, Chief Stephens will lead more than 100 sworn officers to navigate the evolving security needs of one of the nation’s leading research centers and a campus community of nearly 75,000 students, faculty members, staffers and visitors at the center of a large and thriving city environment… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Mark Duval named CEO of Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce (Austin Business journal)
Mark Duval, a longtime real estate professional, is taking on the role of CEO at the Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce after a brief stint as its interim leader.
The change became effective July 5, ending the chamber's months-long search for a new leader after Fang Fang left the position in January.
"I'm keen to jump deep into our ‘think global, act local’ strategy so we will continue to promote Central Texas as an international city and investment location," Duval said in an email. "At the same time, we will focus on programs to celebrate/engage/promote the local Asian business community. I am honored to be appointed as CEO of the Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber has a proud legacy, a deeply committed board, and a highly engaged membership. We have great partners and we are incredibly well positioned to help accelerate Austin’s global momentum, grow our support for the local [Asian American/Pacific Islander] business communities in Central Texas, and make a substantial positive difference in the continuing development of Greater Austin.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
New Texas courts for businesses, state agencies face backlash (HOuston Chronicle)
Republican state leaders’ plan to create two new types of statewide courts is facing backlash from critics who say they are unconstitutional and will unfairly benefit large businesses and strip legal cases away from Democratic judges. The courts — one for cases involving state agencies or laws and another for large-dollar commercial disputes — were approved by the Texas Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott last month. Abbott was an early supporter of the business court, whose seven judges he will personally appoint, saying it would help keep Texas an attractive place to do business and also bring a more “intellectual, methodical, judicial approach” to complicated cases that can often drag on for years in other courts.
Bill author and state Rep. Andrew Murr, R-Junction, said it would help Texas “strengthen its reputation as the best state in which to do business.” More than two dozen other states have some form of business or complex litigation court. Mike Tankersley, an attorney representing the Texas Business Law Association, testified that the courts would bring quicker resolutions to cases, and their judges would bring specialized business expertise that would make for more consistent and easily searchable opinions. Under House Bill 19, judges appointed to the court must have at least 10 years’ experience practicing complex civil business litigation or business transaction law, or have served on a civil court bench, or both. “The cases that will go to this court are very expensive,” Tankersley said. “What the business court is intended to do is to basically shrink the time from filing to, generally, settlement. Because most of these cases do settle when they’re finally forced to, more or less, by an active judge that sets a firm trial date.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
U.S. Rep. Colin Allred raises $6.2 million in first 2 months of Senate race (Texas Tribune)
U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, raised nearly $6.2 million in roughly the first two months of his campaign against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. He also transferred an additional $2.4 million from his House campaign account.
The numbers, first shared with The Texas Tribune, mean Allred will report about $8.6 million in total receipts between when he launched his Senate campaign on May 3 and the end of the second quarter, which was June 30. His campaign previously announced raising over $2 million in its first 36 hours.
Allred’s second-quarter fundraising cements his formidability as a fundraiser. Cruz’s last Democratic opponent, Beto O’Rourke, was a fundraising juggernaut at the height of the race, but it took him his first three fundraising quarters — nine months — to raise the $6.2 million that Allred collected in 59 days… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass Is Trying to Get Homeless People Off the Street Fast (Wall Street Journal)
The operation is part of Inside Safe, the mayor’s signature initiative, which started shortly after Bass took office in December. Polls show homelessness ranks as the top concern of Los Angeles residents. It was the primary issue in last year’s mayoral campaign and Bass, a former Democratic congresswoman, has staked her political reputation on successfully addressing it.
“I want Angelenos to see that tents are disappearing and not coming back,” she said in an interview.
Many L.A. residents are cynical about whether political leaders can do anything to fight homelessness, as the problem has grown worse in recent years despite voter-approved tax increases intended to address the issue.
Bass and other local officials released preliminary figures Thursday showing that the number of homeless people in Los Angeles County grew to an estimated 75,518 individuals as of January 2023 from 69,144 in January 2022. Some 70% had no shelter… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
NYC’s mayor has found his archrival. His name is Brad Lander. (Politico)
There’s something eating at New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
His name is Brad Lander.
Several times over the last year, Adams has launched into diatribes against the city comptroller, a little-known position outside the five boroughs that commands expansive oversight powers over the executive branch. During his 1.5 years in office, Lander has served as a rhetorical counterbalance to City Hall messaging and penned reports highlighting shortfalls in governance. Last week, he released his first major audit of the administration.
The mayor has not been a fan. While unveiling the city’s $107 billion budget last week, Adams went out of his way to needle the Brooklyn progressive. And during a media briefing weeks before that, he lit up New York City political Twitter by mocking Lander with an unflattering impersonation… (LINK TO FULL STORY)