BG Note | News - What We're Reading (August 21, 2017)
Analysis: A victory for the locals, at least for a while (Texas Tribune) LINK TO STORY
The latest battle in the state’s war on local government ended with victory for the little guys.
They won’t face state-ordered spending limits. They won’t face automatic elections when they raise property taxes faster than the Legislature wants them to.
They won’t be subject to most of the ideas on Gov. Greg Abbott’s list of 20 things he had hoped the Legislature would put into law during the special session that ended last week. He went 9 for 20 — a pretty good average, considering, but far short of what he wanted.
City Budget: Austin weighs in (Austin Monitor) LINK TO STORY
For the past month or so, City Council has been working through the details of this year’s proposed budget. At their most recent meeting, Council members heard from Austinites in a 2 1/2-hour public hearing that focused on the shape Austinites would like to see this year’s city spending take.
On Thursday, Council held a public comment hearing on the proposed city budget. Council will hold a second public hearing on the budget at its Aug. 31 meeting, and it is scheduled to adopt a property tax rate on Sept. 11, though that deadline can be extended to Sept. 13 if necessary.
Memo identifies preliminary locations for temporary homeless shelters (Austin Monitor) LINK TO STORY
As part of a recent push to help Austin’s homeless, the city has been looking into using city-owned buildings to help ease overcrowding in downtown shelters. Last week, the Parks and Recreation Department provided a list of recreation centers that could work as temporary shelters, though that use could interfere with existing programming.
The Aug. 17 memo, written by Interim Parks and Recreation Director Kimberly McNeeley to Mayor Steve Adler and City Council, identifies six facilities for consideration as temporary shelters for the city’s homeless population. Those sites are Austin Recreation Center, Givens Recreation Center, Gus Garcia Recreation Center, Northwest Recreation Center, Parque Zaragoza Recreation Center and South Austin Recreation Center.
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Job declines linked to affordability, immigration policies in chamber report (Austin Monitor) LINK TO STORY
When considering a recent decrease in the number of jobs available in the Austin area, a top official with the Austin Chamber of Commerce points to slow action at the city and state levels to keep Central Texas attractive for business.
The chamber’s July job postings report notes a decrease of 3,300 available jobs in the area compared to July 2016 with the July 2017 area openings dipping below 40,000, the first time the July frame has fallen below that number since 2014.
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Two Austin Schools Try New Approach To Prepare Students For Workplace (KUT) LINK TO STORY
Students can earn an associate's degree during their four years in high school through a new program starting this year at two Austin schools.
Career Launch is a partnership between the Austin Independent School District and local companies. Students at Reagan Early College High School and LBJ High will take classes through Austin Community College in one of two areas: cybersecurity or health science.
Tech firms' fight against hate could haunt them (Politico) LINK TO STORY
The tech industry’s crackdown on racism could complicate one of its biggest fights in Congress, where Silicon Valley is lobbying hard against legislation aimed at weeding out other harmful online content.