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BG Reads 1.16.2024

BG Reads 1.16.2024

🗞️ Bingham Group Reads - January 16, 2024

January 16, 2024

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January 16, 2024

Today's BG Reads include:

✅ ERCOT asks Texans to conserve electricity again Tuesday morning

✅ Council’s Work Session begins at 9AM.

✅ Attorney General Ken Paxton campaigns against House Speaker Dade Phelan

✅ Trump notches a commanding win in the Iowa caucuses

Read on!

[CITY HALL WATCH]

🔎 City Council will be meeting for it’s planned 9AM Work Session today. View live at ATXN.

🔎 Council Message Board

Winter Weather Update - 1/15/24

🔎 City Manager Search

The application process for Austin’s next city manager is open.

Click Here to review the posting

Applications will be accepted until February 12th.

🔎 2024 Austin Council Meeting Schedule

[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]

ERCOT asks Texans to conserve electricity again Tuesday morning amid freezing temperatures (KUT)

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas is asking people to conserve electricity Tuesday morning, the second such request issued by the grid operator this week as freezing weather continues to grip the state.

In a media release Monday, ERCOT asked people to conserve between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. Tuesday. The grid operator said it is expecting electricity supply to be tight with “the winter storm encompassing the entire state and temperatures forecasted to be colder this evening and into tomorrow morning."… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Airport commission hears update on Concourse B and Connector project (Austin Monitor)

In a Jan. 10 presentation at the Airport Advisory Commission’s regular meeting, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport deputy chief development officer Lyn Estabrook gave an update on the Concourse B and Connector Project, part of the airport’s $164 million expansion of the Barbara Jordan Terminal.

She showed a map of the overall Airport Expansion and Development Program and noted updates on the status of specific projects. The west parking garage is currently in the solicitation phase. The Barbara Jordan Terminal Optimization Area Two, otherwise known as the atrium infill, is in the design phase. The west infill and the west gates are currently in construction. The central utility plant is currently in the procurement phase. Future projects include the arrivals/departures hall, the northeast apron and a potential expansion of the international area.

The Concourse B and Connector Project is also entering the procurement phase. Estabrook revealed a conceptual layout of Concourse B that lays out potential construction phasing options. Although the layout is tentative, it shows what a 40-gate concourse would look like “beyond 2030.” Phase one includes the Connector to the Barbara Jordan Terminal and 20 initial gates, and phase two includes six additional gates. An additional 14 gates make up phase three… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Samsung supplier chooses Round Rock as US headquarters (Community Impact)

MSS International, a supplier of gas sensor and piping to Samsung’s semiconductor supply chain, recently purchased office space at 3000 Joe DiMaggio Blvd., Round Rock. It remains unclear when the company will begin operating. Meanwhile, Samsung's Taylor plant is expected to be fully operational by 2025.MSS International President Min Jung Kim said in a news release the company chose Round Rock because “it is a very business-friendly environment while providing close proximity to the major economic centers of activity in the Greater Austin area.”

Dave Porter, executive director of Williamson County Economic Development Partnership, was part of a delegation of Williamson County officials to visit Samsung in South Korea in April. He said the company told the group of government and economic development leaders that roughly 150 more suppliers will be needed within an hour’s distance from Samsung’s Taylor site… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Apple is moving an AI team from San Diego to Austin. Most of them are unwilling to relocate (Fortune)

Apple Inc. is shutting a 121-person team related to artificial intelligence operations in San Diego, leaving many employees at risk of termination, according to people familiar with the matter. The group, known as Data Operations Annotations, was told Wednesday that they would be relocating to Austin to merge with the Texas portion of the same team, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans haven’t been announced.

Apple told employees that they have until the end of February to decide if they will relocate, according to the people. If they don’t, the workers will be terminated on April 26. The group, which also has offices in China, India, Ireland and Spain, is responsible for improving Siri by listening to queries to the voice service and determining if it heard and handled questions accurately. The announcement to close the San Diego group was made by Christine DeFilippo, a top deputy to Apple AI chief John Giannandrea, the people said.

An Apple spokeswoman confirmed the relocation decision, saying the company is bringing its “Data Operations Annotations teams in the US together at our campus in Austin, where a majority of the team is already based.” She added that “everyone currently employed will have the opportunity to continue their role with Apple in Austin.”

The company also said it’s “deeply committed to San Diego,” where it has “grown significantly,” and that it is continuing to hire as Apple expands its engineering teams. In other countries where the affected team operates, Apple keeps all the employees in one office. For the San Diego staff, the move came as a surprise. The AI team had been working from an office that Apple is renting, according to the people. But the company had told staff recently that they would be relocated to a new Apple campus in the area at the end of January. Earlier this month, Apple distributed packing boxes to employees to prepare for a relocation within the city. Instead, they’ll now have to move to Texas. People familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that the majority of affected workers have indicated that they’re unwilling to relocate to Austin. Apple told employees that they could apply for other jobs, but some don’t think they’ll be eligible for many roles because they don’t have engineering backgrounds, the people said… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Click here for this week’s Austin public meeting meeting times and agendas.

[TEXAS NEWS]

Attorney General Ken Paxton campaigns against House Speaker Dade Phelan in his own district (Texas Tribune)

Attorney General Ken Paxton on Monday ramped up his political revenge tour following his impeachment last year with a visit to the district of his biggest target: House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont.

Paxton spent the day in southeast Texas campaigning with David Covey, a GOP activist from the area who is challenging Phelan in the March primary. The Phelan-led House, including most Republicans, impeached Paxton in May on abuse-of-power charges and the Senate acquitted him after a trial in September.

Appearing together Monday evening in Beaumont, Paxton praised Covey for his “tremendous courage” in challenging the speaker and bashed Phelan as being too deferential to Democrats.

“We have to protect Texas, and it’s guys like David Covey that are gonna go down there and undo what the speaker has done,” Paxton said… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Migrant mother, two children drown near Eagle Pass; Rep. Henry Cuellar blames Texas policy (Austin American-Statesman)

A senior congressman from South Texas is laying the blame for the drowning deaths of a migrant mother and two children near a sealed-off park in Eagle Pass along the U.S.-Mexico border at the feet of state officials whom he accused of refusing to allow federal agents to try a rescue. “Border Patrol personnel were forced out of Shelby Park earlier this week by the Texas National Guard under order of Governor (Greg) Abbott," U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, said in a statement Saturday. "In this situation, the Texas Military Department and the Texas National Guard did not grant access to Border Patrol agents to save the migrants. This is a tragedy, and the State bears responsibility.” Cuellar, who has served in Congress since 2005, said the bodies of the unidentified migrants were discovered Saturday morning by Mexican authorities at the Rio Grande.

Around 9 the night before, Cuellar said, U.S. Border Patrol agents contacted state National Guard officials deployed to the region as part of Abbott's Operation Lone Star near the Shelby Park entrance but were told that even in an emergency, the federal agents would not be allowed to enter the park. Late Wednesday, Texas authorities commandeered the public park over the objection of Eagle Pass Mayor Rolando Salinas Jr. as part of the state's effort to combat unlawful immigration. In a statement to news outlets, the Texas Military Department confirmed that it is not allowing anyone who is not part of the state's operation to enter the park but said it did not see migrants in distress before the bodies were found.

“The current posture is to prepare for future illegal immigrant surges and to restrict access to organizations that perpetuate illegal immigrant crossings in the park and greater Eagle Pass area,” the military department said. "At no time did TMD security personnel along the river observe any distressed migrants, nor did TMD turn back any illegal immigrants from the US during this period," the statement continued. "Also, at no point was TMD made aware of any bodies in the area of Shelby Park, nor was TMD made aware of any bodies being discovered on the U.S. side of the border regarding this situation." U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued a statement criticizing the state's policy of restricting access near Shelby Park… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

City Council reprimands District 10 Council Member Whyte after DWI arrest (San Antonio Express-News)

The San Antonio City Council voted 10-0 on Sunday morning to censure District 10 Council Member Marc Whyte after his arrest on a charge of driving while intoxicated in late December. Whyte’s reprimand is the third that council has leveled against members in the last 14 months. Mayor Ron Nirenberg said the censure sent a message that council does not take drinking and driving lightly and that when one member of council behaves badly, it tarnishes San Antonians’ trust in city government.

“Nobody on this dais is eager to discipline a colleague, but we are linked as members of the City Council, and it’s our duty to protect that reputation,” he said. “As community leaders, elected officials are held to a higher standard, and rightfully so.”

Such measures are symbolic, carrying no concrete penalties for the affected council member’s misbehavior. However, Nirenberg did punish Whyte in a tangible way, suspending the Northeast Side council member last week from three council committees on which he sat.

His suspension will make it harder for Whyte to influence city policies, many of which take shape in council committees. The first-term council member sat on the Public Safety, Audit, and Economic and Workforce Development committees. Nirenberg has not said when he will let Whyte return to committee assignments. Sunday’s resolution states that Whyte’s actions and pending DWI charge have “negatively impacted his and the City Council’s ability to conduct its business.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[US/WORLD NEWS]

Trump notches a commanding win in the Iowa caucuses as DeSantis edges Haley for second place (Associated Press)

Former President Donald Trump scored a record-setting win in the Iowa caucuses on Monday with his rivals languishing far behind, a victory that affirmed his grip on the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

In what was the lowest-turnout caucus in a quarter-century, participants endured life-threatening cold and dangerous driving conditions to meet in hundreds of schools, churches and community centers across the state. But those who ventured out delivered a roughly 30-point win for Trump that smashed the record for a contested Iowa Republican caucus with a margin of victory exceeding Bob Dole’s nearly 13-percentage-point victory in 1988… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

New York plans to spend billions more on migrant crisis (The Wall Street Journal)

New York state officials said they would direct another roughly $2 billion to fund the cost of caring for migrants in New York City, adding to the fiscal toll of a crisis that has overwhelmed the city’s normal network of homeless shelters.

Both Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday will unveil proposed budgets for the next fiscal year. Particularly in the city, the cost of caring for tens of thousands of migrants who have come to New York, usually after crossing the southern border illegally, has come to dominate municipal spending calculations.

The extra state funding from Hochul will be welcomed by city officials, who project the cost of providing food, shelter, medical care and other services to the migrants to reach around $10 billion through the summer of 2025. The number of people in the city’s care has steadily increased to around 69,000 since Republican officials in border states began sending migrants north on charter buses in the summer of 2022… (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