Hoping to help eliminate barriers to higher education, Austin Community College Chancellor Russell Lowery-Hart floated a proposal: What if ACC made tuition free?

Lowery-Hart proposed to ACC's board of trustees during its meeting Monday night that the school offer free tuition to this year's class of high school seniors, with the goal of eventually scaling up the program to offer free schooling to everyone.

“When we looked at our data on who our students are and who needs us the most and isn't accessing us, it's students that have told us that the affordability of college and the subsequent debt that they would incur is keeping them from gaining a credential that leads to a family-sustaining wage,” Lowery-Hart told the American-Statesman.

“We feel like that we have the resources to at least start this conversation while we engage the community in figuring out how we can scale it for all students.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Link to ACC Board of Trustee Minutes and Recording here

Austin confronts legal challenge to 10-mile light-rail plan (KUT)

Austin City Council and the Austin Transit Partnership (ATP) are firing back against a lawsuit aiming to terminate the vision for a 10-mile light-rail network — the single most ambitious public transit project in the city's history.

In legal filings in Travis County civil court, the City Council and ATP don't cede any ground. They deny all claims in the lawsuit by plaintiffs including Dirty Martin's Place, a 98-year-old burger joint slated for demolition in earlier light-rail plans.

“ATP will uphold the mission of the organization and defend against any lawsuit that attempts to stop ATP from advancing its mission," the agency's executive director Greg Canally said in a statement.

The Council has already authorized spending up to $350,000 in the court fight with the international law firm Norton Rose Fulbright.

Those suing to slam the brakes on the transit expansion argue the city lost its authority to collect taxes for light-rail when the plans changed after the 2020 election to authorize a property tax hike… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Will the Austin police union and city reach a long-term contract this year? What we know. (Austin American-Statesman)

It’s been nearly a year since the last long-term contract between Austin and its police officers ended, and it's not certain when another one will be reached. While both the Austin Police Association and the mayor seem to agree that a contract would improve various problems plaguing the department — such as high attrition rates and low morale — there are other factors at play slowing down the two getting back to the bargaining table. Michael Bullock, the newly elected president of the police union, said he doesn't believe the city will be able to bargain in good faith until a court issues a ruling on a lawsuit filed last month by the advocacy organization Equity Action. Equity Action, the organization responsible for getting an expansion of civilian oversight of police on the ballot last May, sued prominent members of the city and Police Department last month, claiming that the city has failed to implement key aspects of the voter-approved amendment.

“Equity Action has painted the city into a corner where they effectively can't negotiate a contract right now because we don't know what the city can or can't talk to us about,” Bullock said. “There's differing interpretations about state law and the oversight ordinance. So until that gets worked out, we're kind of stuck in this position where we have to wait and see what a court is going to say.”

At the crux of the lawsuit are questions about the "G-file," a secret file on aspects of complaints against officers that police departments are allowed to keep under state law. The Austin Police Oversight Act, which was overwhelmingly approved by the voters, eliminated that file to increase transparency, but it still exists. The city says it would be breaking state law if the Austin Police Department were forced to get rid of the file. Advocates with Equity Action disagree… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

IBM signs lease for lab space in Northeast Austin (Austin Business Journal)

IBM Corp. is making some big changes to its Austin operations.

Big Blue, one of Austin’s original tech titans, settled on the location for its future regional hub at the northern tip of The Domain in the first half of 2023, and now it is adding 50,000 square feet of lab space in Northeast Austin to its real estate inventory, according to a Jan. 9 announcement. IBM (NYSE: IBM) plans to outfit a state-of-the-art development lab at Karlin Real Estate LLC’s Parmer Impact Labs, located along East Parmer Lane not far from Samsung's Austin factory.

IBM's lease at the facility is the latest example of an entity with a research-and-development focus making a move to the Parmer campus, following the University of Texas at Austin’s announcement last year that it would set up its first off-campus wet lab there.

“We are pleased to be a part of the Parmer innovation hub as we invest in new modern spaces for employees in Austin, which is an extraordinary, growing center for talent innovation,” said Dexter Henderson, IBM’s senior executive in Austin. “This new technical space will allow IBM to upgrade our Austin lab facilities to meet the needs of future development, continuing what our company has done since its founding, working with creators, partners and clients to put technology to work in the real world.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

(Click above for meeting times and agendas of this week’s Austin public meetings)

[TEXAS NEWS]

In debate, GOP candidates for Texas House special election mirror statewide intraparty tensions (Texas Tribune)

Two Republican candidates in a closely watched special election runoff for a Texas House seat in northeast Texas faced off Tuesday night in their only anticipated debate, showing why the race has become a microcosm for the Texas GOP civil war.

One of the candidates, Brent Money, wasted little time before leaning into the intraparty contrast, comparing the 10 House Republicans who have endorsed rival Jill Dutton to his high-profile backers, which include Gov. Greg Abbott, Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz... (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[US/WORLD NEWS]

The US is dealing with an Israeli leader who’s losing control (Politico)

U.S. officials have to work with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they try to contain the Israel-Hamas war, but some are starting to wonder if he’s really in charge.

The Israeli leader is trying to stay in office and avoid prison on corruption charges, two linked desires that have long made him vulnerable to the demands of far-right members of his governing coalition. Now, an Israeli Supreme Court ruling against his effort to overhaul the judiciary may make him even more susceptible.

The far-right figures — notably ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir — harbor deep anti-Palestinian views and are resistant to U.S. proposals that they consider too friendly to the Palestinians. If they abandon Netanyahu’s coalition, he could lose his prime ministership, increasing his legal peril.

That has made Netanyahu reluctant to take American advice on the war, and it suggests that U.S.-Israeli tensions will grow as Palestinians struggle to survive Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

“It’s not always clear who’s driving the train” in Israel, said a U.S. official familiar with American-Israeli discussions.

“There have been times where [Netanyahu] has intimated or even been more explicit in telling us, ‘My hands are tied. You know, I have this coalition. It’s not me. It’s a coalition. It’s not me. It’s the political imperatives that I’m facing.’” The official, like a number of others I talked to, was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive talks… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Is America’s ultra-processed diet that bad? Big food fights back (The Wall Street Journal)

Move over GMOs and high-fructose corn syrup. There is a new phrase making the food industry pucker: ultra-processed foods.

A battle is brewing over the latest term for many packaged food products that manufacturers fear could infiltrate U.S. food policy and scare off consumers.

Food-industry groups and makers of goods from ice cream to pasta sauce are stepping up lobbying, pushing back as the U.S. government probes the health effects of heavily processed food. It is a new front in a struggle that could reshape America’s approach to nutrition and threaten profits for companies behind foods throughout much of the supermarket.

Opposition to ultra-processed foods—your frozen pizza, potato chips and other mass-produced goods made with industrial ingredients and additives—is gaining steam worldwide. Scientists are still studying why diets high in ultra-processed foods have been tied to health problems, and any potential U.S. policies could be years away.

The foods are facing rising scrutiny as concerns grow over their outsize role in American diets. They are under review ahead of the next dietary guidelines, the every-five-years advice from regulators on what Americans should eat. Federal researchers are studying the foods, and lawmakers are holding hearings highlighting possible health risks.

Big food companies and their allies are marshaling a defense, with some seeking to forestall recommendations in the coming dietary guidelines. Industry groups and companies such as

Unilever and Barilla have touted the benefits of processing to regulators, arguing that it has made food safe, convenient, accessible and affordable… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[2024 Austin City Council Race Watch]

Next fall will see elections for the following Council positions, District 2, 4, 6, 7, 10, and Mayor. Candidates can’t file for a place on the ballot until July 22, 2024.

Declared candidates so far are:

District 2