BG Reads | News You Need to Know (May 9, 2023)
[AUSTIN METRO]
Austin passed a sweeping police oversight measure. Here's what happens next.(KUT)
Austin resoundingly approved an expansion of police oversight on Saturday.
About 80% of voters in the city approved Proposition A, while the same percentage of voters shut down the opposing proposition, Prop B.
Now, comes the hard part… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Erwin Center demolition marks latest change in ever-shifting health care district (Austin monitor)
Demolition of the Frank Erwin Center arena on the University of Texas campus is expected to begin next month, following approval last week from UT leaders to move ahead with the $25 million teardown of the longtime home for both university basketball teams.
The vote by the UT Board of Regents also spells the end for the neighboring Denton Cooley Pavilion basketball training facility. Once the demolition is complete next fall, the property will be made available for further expansion of the Dell Medical School, which is currently focused around the Dell Seton Medical Center that opened in 2017.
There are no definite plans for how the medical school or its surrounding health care Innovation District will use the former Erwin Center site, but a 2013 master plan suggested academic and research buildings, parking and housing could be located there.
The opening of the Moody Center arena nearby last spring spelled the end for the 46-year-old arena, with the demolition serving as the latest change for a portion of downtown that is in transition both in terms of redevelopment efforts and what direction the medical school will take in the coming years… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Journal Profile: How Ali Khataw achieved American dream as engineering CEO, chamber chairman (Austin Business Journal)
When Ali Khataw isn’t in Austin, he is often roaming the African Serengeti toting his camouflaged telephoto lens while teaching others how to see and capture the image of a lifetime. Photography and education are both longtime passions for Khataw, an engineering CEO and influential figure in local economic development.
Throughout his career, Khataw has served on dozens of boards and special committees. He is currently active in eight organizations including as 2023 board chair for the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce. He's been a member of the Austin Area Research Organization the longest and considers the people he has served with over his decade there to be like mentors. Khataw now feels it is his turn to share his wisdom with the next generation… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Mueller adds more restaurants, retailers — including Chuy's, Hopdoddy (Austin business Journal)
The Mueller neighborhood continues to embody the live-work-play ethos that's all the rage in Austin development. The latest evidence was this week's announcement of new restaurant and retail tenants for the varied community north of downtown.
Restaurant chains Chuy's Tex-Mex, Hopdoddy Burger Bar and Honest Mary’s, men’s salon chain Boardroom Styling Lounge and veterinary office Modern Animal will take up roughy 18,000 square feet combined in the Aldrich Street District of Mueller… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
State Rep. Bryan Slaton resigns ahead of expulsion vote over inappropriate relationship with aide (Texas tribune)
Rep. Bryan Slaton resigned from the Texas House on Monday after an investigation determined that he had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a 19-year-old woman on his staff, providing her with enough alcohol before their encounter that she felt dizzy and had double vision.
Pressure had mounted on the Royse City Republican to resign since Saturday, when the House General Investigative Committee released a 16-page report finding Slaton, who is 45 and married, had engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct with his aide. The committee of three Republicans and two Democrats recommended that Slaton be the first state representative expelled from the body since 1927… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Bruising battle on tap in Senate race between Ted Cruz, Colin Allred (Dallas Morning News)
In launching his U.S. Senate campaign, Democrat Colin Allred wasted little time going after incumbent Republican Ted Cruz. “Texans don’t have to be embarrassed by their senator,” Allred told The Dallas Morning News. “We can get a new one.” He called Cruz extreme and said the incumbent Republican “does not care about the families like mine.” “He cares about himself,” said Allred, who is serving his third term in Congress. “Most Texans understand that.” Later that day, Cruz struck back. “He’s been a Democrat congressman from Dallas who’s done very little,” he said. “I’ve had no occasion to interact with him because he’s not been involved in many significant issues in his limited time here.”
The early hours of the Allred and Cruz Senate showdown foretell a hard-fought contest that will feature both candidates hurling verbal barbs and pointed exchanges through campaign materials, television ads and third-party surrogates. There’s a method to it all. Allred has determined that the biggest issue in the Senate race will be Cruz himself. He says if you remove Cruz from the Senate, the dialogue and legislation needed to move Texas and the country forward could begin. Allred is also banking that Cruz doesn’t have the crossover appeal of other Texas Republicans, including Sen. John Cornyn and Gov. Greg Abbott. In 2018, Cruz beat former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke by 2.6 percentage points, a close call given that Democrats haven’t won a statewide race since 1994. In 2020, Cornyn beat Democrat MJ Hegar for reelection by 10 points. Last year Abbott beat O’Rourke by 11 points. Allred wants to exploit any unpopularity Cruz may have with general election voters, so he’ll contrast their positions on issues like health care, curbing gun violence and women’s reproductive rights early and often… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
Biden’s approval rating hits new low (Politico)
President Joe Biden’s approval sank to a new low, an ABC News/Washington Post poll found, two weeks after the president announced his reelection campaign.
Biden’s approval rating dipped to 36 percent, down from February and just below his previous low in 2022. A significantly higher percentage of people — 56 percent — disapprove of the job the president has done so far, and the majority of the Democrats surveyed (58 percent) said they would rather Democrats pick someone else to be the presidential nominee… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
DeSantis signs bill that bans Chinese citizens from buying land in Florida (The Hill)
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed multiple bills on Monday that prohibit Chinese citizens from purchasing land in the state.
In a news release, DeSantis signed bills SB 264, SB 846, and SB 258 into law, noting how he called on his state legislature last year to build upon its efforts to combat corporate espionage and higher education subterfuge carried out by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its agents… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
People are trying to claim real videos are deepfakes. The courts are not amused (NPR)
Thanks to advances in artificial intelligence, it's easier than ever to create images and video of things that don't exist, or events that never happened. That's spurring warnings about digital fakery being used to spread propaganda and disinformation, impersonate celebrities and politicians, manipulate elections and scam people.
But the unleashing of powerful generative AI to the public is also raising concerns about another phenomenon: that as the technology becomes more prevalent, it will become easier to claim that anything is fake.
"That's exactly what we were concerned about: that when we entered this age of deepfakes, anybody can deny reality," said Hany Farid, a digital forensics expert and professor at the University of California, Berkeley. "That is the classic liar's dividend."
The liar's dividend is a term coined by law professors Bobby Chesney and Danielle Citron in a 2018 paper laying out the challenges deepfakes present to privacy, democracy, and national security… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Wall Street primary wide open as DeSantis stumbles (Politico)
Wall Street is firmly in the Never Trump camp. Finding a Republican who can make “never” happen is another question.Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had been seen as the top pick to lock down the support of financial titans who have already pumped millions into his state campaigns.
But as he stumbles through gaffes over everything from his personal demeanor and stance on Ukraine to his snacking habits, Wall Street donors are keeping the door open to his competitors, according to more than a dozen bankers, attorneys and political consultants interviewed for this story… (LINK TO FULL STORY)