BG Reads | News You Need to Know (June 12, 2023)
[MEETINGS/HEARINGS]
Monday (Today)
Tuesday (June 13)
Wednesday (June 14)
Council is now be on Summer Recess for regular business. They return for Work Session on July 18. Revised 2023 Council Meeting Schedule
[AUSTIN METRO]
Council proposes allowing more homes in single-family zoning (Austin Monitor)
City Council on Thursday voted to create a program that would allow more homes on single-family lots, as long as some homes are priced affordably.
“What we are trying to accomplish here, from a high level, is to create an ownership density bonus program that allows for affordable units to be built without subsidy,” said Council Member Ryan Alter, who sponsored the proposal.
The program, dubbed Opportunity Unlocked, is one of many recent proposals intended by Council to increase housing supply. The policy was the centerpiece of Alter’s housing platform during his campaign last year for the District 5 seat.
Unlike other density bonus programs, Opportunity Unlocked ties requirements to bedrooms instead of units – a move aimed at incentivizing developers to build affordable homes for families… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
City Manager Announces Leadership Changes, Including new General Manager for Austin Energy (City of Austin)
City of Austin Interim City Manager Jesús Garza announced several key leadership appointments on Friday, June 8, including industry veteran Bob Kahn as Austin Energy’s next General Manager.
“Since returning to this organization in February, I have spent considerable time assessing the strengths of our organization and identified opportunities to reorganize to ensure we are operating cohesively, effectively and efficiently,” Garza said. “I am confident the changes announced today will strengthen the City of Austin as we continually work to improve the services we provide to our residents.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin Homeland Security and Emergency Management appoints new director (Community Impact)
Juan Ortiz, director of the Austin office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, will step down from his role, and effective June 19, Ken Snipes, director of Austin Resource Recovery, will take over the position.
Ortiz served as HSEM director in Austin for over six years and had over 29 years in the emergency management field.
“I am honored to have served our community for the last six years,” Ortiz said in a news release. “I have offered my full support to the incoming department director and to the Austin community to ensure a smooth transition.”
Snipes began as ARR director in 2019. Richard McHale will serve as interim director of the department… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Nate Paul charged with 8 felony counts of making false statements to financial institutions (Texas Tribune)
Nate Paul, the Austin real estate investor central to allegations of illegal conduct by suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton, has been charged with eight counts of making false statements to financial institutions.
Paul, 36, allegedly overstated his assets and understated his liabilities to fraudulently obtain loans, according to a 23-page indictment filed by federal prosecutors Friday.
The government is seeking $172 million in restitution from Paul.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Dustin Howell laid out the charges — which focus on actions Paul took in 2017 and 2018 to allegedly mislead mortgage lenders and credit unions — Friday morning to ensure Paul understood them… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Texas Sen. John Whitmire formally launches campaign for Houston mayor (KHOU)
Texas state Sen. John Whitmire officially entered the race for Houston mayor on Saturday. Whitmire has been a state senator since 1983. He kicked off his campaign at Minute Maid Park surrounded by hundreds of people. "Together, we can make Houston better," he said as he launched his campaign. Among those showing support were lawmakers, elected officials and union leaders from the Houston police and fire departments. "I support John Whitmire for mayor," said Houston Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia. "There's a person in this room that I believe will make those hard decisions and work in this city," said a representative for the Houston Police Officers' Union. "In this city, we're going to support our law enforcement. In this city, we're going to support our firefighters."
Whitmire is the longest-serving member of the Texas Senate, being elected in 1982 after serving 10 years in the state House. He was the first candidate to publicly announce his plans to run for mayor, despite only officially launching his campaign on Saturday. "It's gonna be a tough campaign," he said. The race for Houston mayor aims to replace the term-limited incumbent Sylvester Turner come November. Among his competitors is Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, who's spent nearly three decades in Congress. KHOU 11 political analyst Bob Stein said Jackson Lee is Whitmire's main competition. "Right now, Whitmire probably is advantaged by Sheila entering the race and if she stays in the race without any opposition in the African-American community, she is a formidable opponent to John Whitmire," Stein said. During his time in the Senate, Whitmire has worked on criminal justice and public safety. He said he'll bring his experience as a state senator to help get the City of Houston the funds it needs. "We need state resources on our infrastructure, our water supply, our public safety," he said. "So I will bring Austin and Houston leadership to work together. And with the county, the county and the city are going to have to work closer together."… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Texas to use eminent domain to seize Fairfield Lake State Park from private development (Dallas Morning News)
Texas to use eminent domain to seize Fairfield Lake State Park from private development (Dallas Morning News)
Gov. Greg Abbott’s property tax cut plan raises alarm from Texas school districts and advocates (San Antonio Express-News)
Although the Republican-pushed property tax cuts under consideration in the Legislature backfill the revenue they’re taking from local school districts, education policy experts around Texas are concerned about what they mean for the long-term finances of schools. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas House favor a $12.3 billion plan based on tax rate compression that sends state funding to schools to cover maintenance and operation costs, the largest item on most property tax bills. Texas schools face major funding hurdles, and education advocates who tried and failed to win extra financial support from the Legislature — through an increase to what’s known as the “basic allotment,” or per-student funding — are warning that property tax compression will make school districts even more reliant on the state over time.
Meanwhile, Abbott and the conservative state Senate prioritized a private school voucher program that would divert per-student funding away from public schools. “Not only do we not know where the money is going to come from in the future to replace this, but then we’re not going to be able to make any improvements,” said Chandra Villanueva, a policy expert with the left-leaning think tank Every Texan. “Instead of raising the basic allotment which would allow districts to keep more money, they started messing with the tax rate.” Under existing state law, passed as part of a massive school finance overhaul in 2019, property value growth greater than 2.5 percent automatically triggers compression, costing the state billions. Under consideration currently is pouring additional billions to speed up that compression process, with the ultimate goal of eliminating certain property taxes altogether. “Texans want to own their own property, not rent it from government. We must provide that by eliminating property taxes in Texas,” Abbott said in a recent public appearance… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
Cuba to Host Secret Chinese Spy Base Focusing on U.S. (Wall Street Journal)
China and Cuba have reached a secret agreement for China to establish an electronic eavesdropping facility on the island, in a brash new geopolitical challenge by Beijing to the U.S., according to U.S. officials familiar with highly classified intelligence.
An eavesdropping facility in Cuba, roughly 100 miles from Florida, would allow Chinese intelligence services to scoop up electronic communications throughout the southeastern U.S., where many military bases are located, and monitor U.S. ship traffic.
Officials familiar with the matter said that China has agreed to pay cash-strapped Cuba several billion dollars to allow it to build the eavesdropping station and that the two countries had reached an agreement in principle.
The revelation about the planned site has sparked alarm within the Biden administration because of Cuba’s proximity to the U.S. mainland. Washington regards Beijing as its most significant economic and military rival. A Chinese base with advanced military and intelligence capabilities in the U.S.’s backyard could be an unprecedented new threat… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Trump vows to stay in the race even if convicted (Politico)
Donald Trump vowed Saturday to continue running for president even if he were to be convicted as part of the 37-count federal felony indictment that was issued against him this week. “I’ll never leave,” Trump said in an interview aboard his plane. “Look, if I would have left, I would have left prior to the original race in 2016. That was a rough one. In theory that was not doable.” Trump is not legally prohibited from running for president from prison or as a convicted felon. But such a bid would nevertheless provide a massive stress test for the country’s political and legal systems.
The former president leveled harsh criticisms at special counsel Jack Smith and argued that the case against him was politically motivated and flimsy. “These are thugs and degenerates who are after me,” he said. Trump predicted he would not be convicted and said he did not anticipate taking a plea deal, though he left open the possibility of doing so “where they pay me some damages.” He sidestepped the possibility that he would pardon himself should he win the presidency in 2024. “I don’t think I’ll ever have to,” Trump said. “I didn’t do anything wrong.” While Trump said campaign fundraising had skyrocketed since the indictment was issued, he conceded it was an unwelcome development. “Nobody wants to be indicted,” said Trump. “I don’t care that my poll numbers went up by a lot. I don’t want to be indicted. I’ve never been indicted. I went through my whole life, now I get indicted every two months. It’s been political.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
George Soros Hands Control to His 37-Year-Old Son: ‘I’m More Political’ (Wall Street Journal)
George Soros, the legendary investor, philanthropist and right-wing target, is handing control of his $25 billion empire to a younger son—Alexander Soros, a self-described center-left thinker who grew up self-conscious of the family’s wealth and wasn’t thought to be a potential successor.
The 37-year-old, who goes by Alex, said in the first interview since his selection that he was broadening his father’s liberal aims—“We think alike,” the elder Soros said—while embracing some different causes. Those include voting and abortion rights, as well as gender equity. He plans to continue using the family’s deep pockets to back left-leaning U.S. politicians.
“I’m more political,” Alex said, compared with his father. He recently met with Biden administration officials, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) and heads of state, including Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to advocate for issues related to the family foundation... (LINK TO FULL STORY)