BG Reads | News You Need to Know (June 20, 2023)
[MEETINGS/HEARINGS]
[AUSTIN METRO]
Austin starts search for next city manager (Austin Monitor)
The search for Austin’s next city manager is underway.
In a post to the City Council Message Board on Thursday, Mayor Kirk Watson outlined a process for the search. Watson has appointed a sub-quorum of Council to act as a search committee, which includes Mayor Pro Tem Paige Ellis and Council members Vanessa Fuentes, Chito Vela, and Leslie Pool.
Watson’s outline suggests releasing a request for proposal for a search firm by the end of July. However, Watson told Council members in his message board post that the dates in the outline are merely suggestions.
“(The schedule) is meant to be general to allow for flexibility,” Watson wrote. “It sets a target for a new manager to start on September 1, 2024. (That) is only a target.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
City code amendments moving slowly, including change to parking requirements (Austin monitor)
Remember all those amendments to Austin’s land use regulations that City Council directed city staff to write – ideas that seem particularly important in light of the housing shortage? They’re moving slowly.Those amendments include eliminating parking requirements from the land use regulations for new residential and retail developments outside the central business district. Parking requirements have already been eliminated downtown, outside of those required by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
District 9 Council Member Zo Qadri was the lead sponsor on the resolution to eliminate the parking requirements, which asked for an amendment to the city’s regulations by the end of 2023. But it seems likely, given the information that the Housing and Planning Committee heard last week, that parking requirements will continue to be part of city code for many months… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
NYT report: Austin gained 28K remote workers during pandemic (KXAN)
A new report from The New York Times’ The Upshot found approximately 28,000 remote workers relocated to Austin during the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, marking the analysis’ highest recorded net gain of remote workers nationally.
The analysis found New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco were the three metros accounting for the highest losses of remote workers, with 116,000, 53,000 and 32,000 workers relocating from those areas, respectively. In contrast, Austin’s net gain of 28,000 remote workers, Denver’s additional 23,000 remote employees along with Nashville and Dallas’ 10,000 additional remote workers each rounded out the top influxes… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Gov. Greg Abbott vetoes more than 70 bills amid property tax impasse (KUT)
Gov. Greg Abbott followed through with his perceived threat to veto a large number of bills in the absence of a House-Senate compromise on property taxes. The governor vetoed more than 70 bills this past week, most of which originated in the Senate, adding fuel to his feud with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
The common theme in many of his vetoes: The bills can wait until after lawmakers figure out property taxes.
"At this time, the legislature must concentrate on delivering property tax cuts to Texans," Abbott said in multiple veto proclamations.
Abbott vetoed almost 30 bills on Sunday, bringing the total this session to 76, which is the second highest in state history. Former Gov. Rick Perry holds the record for most vetoes, issuing 83 in 2001, according to the Legislative Reference Library… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
State Sen. Angela Paxton will “carry out my duty” and attend her husband’s impeachment trial (Texas Tribune)
After weeks of speculation, state Sen. Angela Paxton announced late Monday that she will attend the impeachment trial of her husband, suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton, the McKinney Republican said in a statement issued late Monday.
“Each time I was elected, I took an oath to uphold the Constitution and the laws of this great state, and Texas law compels each member of the Senate to attend when the Senate meets as a court of impeachment, Sen. Paxton’s announcement stated. “As a member of the Senate, I hold these obligations sacred and I will carry out my duties, not because it is easy, but because the Constitution demands it and because my constituents deserve it.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Attorney fees, senator stipends among costs for Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial (Dallas Morning News)
The cost of the high-stakes impeachment trial for Attorney General Ken Paxton is largely a question mark and will depend on the length of proceedings. Lawyers hired by House impeachment managers to argue that Paxton should be removed from office will make $500 an hour, plus travel costs, according to public documents obtained by The Dallas Morning News. The state’s senators, who will sit as jurors, will receive daily stipends. And while Paxton’s lead defense lawyer said he won’t be paid with public funds, he has not said how the team will be paid, including six staffers who took a leave of absence from the attorney general’s office to join their boss’s legal team. A trial in the Senate must begin by Aug. 28 in the state’s first impeachment in nearly half a century. On Tuesday the chamber is expected to announce the rules, the possible start duration and a firmer start date.
The senators will ultimately make the final decision on whether Paxton can stay on as the state’s attorney general. He’s currently suspended from the job without pay. Paxton, a third-term Republican with close ties to former President Donald Trump, is accused of taking bribes and abusing his office to help a campaign donor, among other alleged misdeeds. He has denied wrongdoing and cast the impeachment proceedings initiated by fellow Republicans as an illegal attempt to thwart the will of voters, who reelected him in November. No one knows how much the impeachment trial will end up costing Texas taxpayers, but legal experts say such expenses are critically important to self-governance. “We are spending $25 million in construction to replace the roof of the Capitol. It’s a building,” David Gonzalez, a trial attorney who worked as a special prosecutor in a criminal case against Gov. Rick Perry, said in a written response. “I think we all believe what happens under the dome is far more valuable. Our principles. The Integrity of our Government.” The 20 articles of impeachment against Paxton include making false statements on his personal financial records, obstructing justice by delaying a trial on securities fraud charges he’s faced since 2015, and for bribery for allegedly abusing his office to help a campaign donor… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
Beijing Plans a New Training Facility in Cuba, Raising Prospect of Chinese Troops on America’s Doorstep (Wall Street Journal)
China and Cuba are negotiating to establish a new joint military training facility on the island, sparking alarm in Washington that it could lead to the stationing of Chinese troops and other security and intelligence operations just 100 miles off Florida’s coast, according to current and former U.S. officials.
Discussions for the facility on Cuba’s northern coast are at an advanced stage but not concluded, U.S. intelligence reports suggest. The Biden administration has contacted Cuban officials to try to forestall the deal, seeking to tap in to what it thinks might be Cuban concerns about ceding sovereignty. Beijing’s effort to establish a military training facility in Cuba hasn’t been previously reported.
The White House declined to comment.
The heightened anxiety in Washington over China’s ambitions in the Caribbean and Latin America comes as the administration is seeking to tamp down broader tensions with Beijing that have been stoked by a host of other issues, including U.S. support for Taiwan. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was on a high-profile visit to China these past few days, meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Blinken Visit Reveals Chasm in How U.S. and China Perceive Rivalry (New York Times)
An austere greeting on the airport tarmac in Beijing sans a red carpet. A stone-faced handshake from China’s top foreign policy official. A seat looking up at the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, perched at the head of a long table.
To international audiences, the optics of Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken’s two-day visit to Beijing barely raised any eyebrows. Foreign ministers are rarely, if ever, met with much fanfare at the airport. And an audience with a head of state alone is a sign of great importance and respect.
But to nationalist-leaning audiences in China, especially on social media, the scenes tell a different story. To them, Mr. Blinken arrived only after months of pleading for an invitation. And during his visit, he was schooled on respecting China’s interests and played supplicant to Mr. Xi. Chinese social media users gleefully noted that Mr. Blinken arrived on Father’s Day, the implication being — using the parlance of the internet — that Mr. Xi was America’s daddy… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Democrats divided on whether to attack or ignore RFK Jr. (The Hill)
The surprising early strength of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign is sparking unease among Democrats — and leaving them divided about what to do about it.
Kennedy has drawn support between approximately 15 percent to 20 percent in recent polls of Democratic voters.
It’s a level that is not high enough to indicate he is seriously endangering President Biden’s march to his party’s nomination.
But, for a candidate often derided as an anti-vaccine crank who is running against an incumbent president, it is enough to make some Democrats sweat.
Party strategists cleave into two camps on the question of how Biden and his campaign should respond… (LINK TO FULL STORY)