BG Reads | News You Need to Know (March 9, 2023)
[AUSTIN METRO]
Fire, EMS unions echo calls for city to review extreme weather policies (Austin monitor)
An ice storm last month prompted fears of a Winter Storm Uri redux, with widespread power outages, and concerns among city officials, including about the leadership of since-terminated City Manager Spencer Cronk. Now, fire and EMS union representatives have joined the call for policy reforms.
Austin Firefighters Association President Bob Nicks and Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services Association President Selena Xie said the city’s public safety agencies need more generators and other resources to keep stations running during extreme weather events. They also proposed changes to the city’s extreme weather shelter activation criteria, echoing a recent City Council resolution.
“We’re seeing more extreme conditions in Austin than ever seen before,” Nicks told the city’s Public Safety Commission on Monday. “And I suspect it’s gonna keep up with a lot of the global warming changes and things like that.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Potential Applied Materials factory hits snag as Hutto returns $200K for land option (Austin business journal)
One of the largest potential economic development deals in Central Texas remains in limbo.
Applied Materials Inc., a critical link in the global semiconductor supply chain, has given up its option to buy hundreds of acres along U.S. Route 79 in Hutto.
Bob Farley, the city's economic development director, told Austin Business Journal on March 8 that discussions with the company — codenamed "Project Acropolis" in economic development discussions — are ongoing. However, the city is no longer earmarking the land in the desirable stretch of Williamson County for the Silicon Valley-based behemoth… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
City of Austin overtime pay soars over $112 million in 2022 (KXAN)
City of Austin overtime payments jumped 30% in fiscal year 2022 – exceeding $112 million in all – driven mostly by public safety, emergency services and utilities, according to city data obtained by KXAN.
The Austin Police Department paid the most overtime of any city department. APD employees clocked over 537,000 hours of overtime last fiscal year at a cost of more than $34.7 million. Two APD officers’ ample use of overtime placed them in the top five highest-paid employees in the city.
The top five city employees who received the most in salary and overtime combined – were Austin Energy General Manager Jackie Sargent, whose salary was $403,000; City Manager Spencer Cronk whose salary was $350,000; an Austin-Travis County EMS captain who earned $348,000 by working an additional 3,500 hours of overtime; an APD detective who earned over $339,000 with over 2,700 hours of overtime; and another APD officer who made $315,000 with over 2,700 overtime hours, city data shows. Sargent and Cronk didn’t clock any overtime last year… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Ken Paxton’s whistleblowers ask Texas Supreme Court to take up their case as $3.3 million settlement in jeopardy (texas Tribune)
Attorneys for four former employees who sued after they were fired by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton asked the state Supreme Court on Wednesday to take up their whistleblower case again, worried that their $3.3 million settlement agreement may be falling apart.
The move comes after the former employees claim Paxton’s team would not agree to a deadline to finalize legislative approval of the settlement. The two sides had agreed to put the case on pause while they sought the approval of the payments from the Legislature.
The whistleblowers are former deputies to Paxton who say they were fired in retribution for accusing him of corruption to law enforcement… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
A&M chancellor warns universities to 'get off their butts' to recruit diverse students (houston chronicle)
Texas A&M System Chancellor John Sharp on Friday told leaders at his universities and state agencies to “get off their butts” and recruit diverse students after he issued a directive removing diversity statements as requirements in admissions and hiring applications. In a memo sent to CEOs at the system’s 11 universities and eight agencies, Sharp clarified that his instructions on Thursday don't diminish a commitment to diversity but come with plans to enhance it. He added that A&M has missed opportunities to recruit minorities in the past — about 2,000 Black students in Texas graduated in the top 10% of their classes but didn’t enroll in college, he said, not specifying a year.
“That’s OUR fault for not getting those kids into our classrooms,” he wrote. “All of The Texas A&M System universities should be recruiting those students aggressively! I’m tired of our people thinking that they are focusing on improving diversity by just putting words on a website and having more and more staff sitting in diversity administrative offices. It takes more than that!” A&M University System institutions are among several around the state that are no longer requiring job or admissions candidates to submit statements surrounding their commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. The University of Houston System issued a similar directive last week, after Gov. Greg Abbott's chief of staff sent a letter on Feb. 6 warning state agencies, including public universities, that programs based in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion might run afoul of anti-discrimination laws. Abbott is one of many conservative Republicans nationwide seeking to eliminate diverse hiring programs, arguing that they potentially discriminate against job candidates if some demographic groups are favored over others… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
Fed Chair Powell says interest rates are ‘likely to be higher’ than previously anticipated (CNBC)
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Tuesday cautioned that interest rates are likely to head higher than central bank policymakers had expected. Citing data earlier this year showing that inflation has reversed the deceleration it showed in late 2022, the central bank leader warned of tighter monetary policy ahead to slow a growing economy.
“The latest economic data have come in stronger than expected, which suggests that the ultimate level of interest rates is likely to be higher than previously anticipated,” Powell said in remarks prepared for two appearances this week on Capitol Hill. “If the totality of the data were to indicate that faster tightening is warranted, we would be prepared to increase the pace of rate hikes.” Those remarks carry two implications: One, that the peak, or terminal, level of the federal funds rate is likely to be higher than the previous indication from the Fed officials, and, two, that the switch last month to a smaller quarter-percentage point increase could be short-lived if inflation data continues to run hot. In their December estimate, officials pegged the terminal rate at 5.1%. Current market pricing moved higher following Powell’s remarks, to a range of 5.5%-5.75%, according to CME Group data. Powell did not specify how high he thinks rates ultimately will go… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
The U.S. wants Europe to stand up to China. Europe says: Not so fast. (POlitico)
The U.S. is trying to charm and cajole Europe into linking arms to confront China. But Europe has other priorities in mind.
Ahead of President Joe Biden’s meeting with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen in Washington on Friday, U.S. officials have been offering Europe both urgent warnings about Beijing and pledges to smooth over trade disputes.
On the warning side, the U.S. government has been sharing intelligence with Europe suggesting China is considering arming Russia in its war on Ukraine — overtures that Europe has met with a mix of caution and toughness. Some European leaders — like German Chancellor Olaf Scholz — have issued stern warnings to China against doing so, while others — including von der Leyen — have been more careful about broadcasting the U.S. claims.
On the pledges side, U.S. officials are assuring Europeans their companies will get access to some tax credits and subsidies from a landmark U.S. climate bill passed last year.
But Europe’s response has been ambivalent at best, with many countries hesitant to pull away from the profitable Chinese market — not least Germany, which has strong trade links… (LINK TO FULL STORY)