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- BG Reads 1.16.2025
BG Reads 1.16.2025
🟪 BG Reads - January 16, 2025
Bingham Group Reads
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January 16, 2025
➡️ Today's BG Reads include:
🟪 Memos: City of Austin executive changes
🟪 Austin Council committee clarity
🟪 Austin seeks public input on potential new Airbnb regulations (KVUE)
🟪 Austin Energy to add hundreds more EV charging ports over next five years (Austin Chronicle)
🟪 Winners and losers from the Texas House speaker’s race (Texas Tribune)
Read On!
[CITY OF AUSTIN]
💬 Council Message Board:
Updated List of Council Committees and Appointments (1.14.2025)
Council Committee Ordinance
An ordinance draft posted on the Council Message Board provides clarity on two new Council Committees, including the:
Economic Opportunity Committee: This committee may review topics including industry growth, emerging technology, job creation and retention, workforce development, education, childcare initiatives, small and minority business development, economic incentives, improvement districts, downtown matters, economic development corporations, trade and commerce, local and regional partnerships, minority- and women-owned business contracting policies, tourism, cultural arts, entertainment, and related matters.
📝 City Memos:
Short-Term Rental and Preservation Bonus Code Amendments (1.10.2025)
City Executive Changes
In a city memo released yesterday, City Manager T.C. Broadnax announced the retirement of Assistant City Manager Veronica Briseño, effective February 28, 2025.
Mr. Broadnax also stated that in the coming days, he will announce his plans for appointing a new Assistant City Manager to oversee the Austin Convention Center, Economic Development, Housing, Planning, and Development Services departments.
Robert Goode is now Interim Director of Capital Delivery Services and Mobility Officer for Project Connect Office. He most recently served as Assistant City Manager (ACM) over Austin Water, Aviation, Capital Delivery Services, Project Connect, and Transportation and Public Works departments.
Effective January 13, Michael Rogers assumed the role of Assistant City Manager overseeing those departments.
Before joining the City of Austin, Michael served as Assistant City Manager for the City of Fresno, California, where he provided strategic leadership for key city functions, including Airports, Transportation, Economic Development, the Convention Center, and Emergency Preparedness.
Michael was also the Director of Transportation for the City of Dallas from 2017 to 2020 and Director of Transportation for the City of Raleigh, North Carolina from 2016 to 2017.
Council District 10 Staff
Per Council Member Marc Duchen’s newsletter, his staff are:
Carrie Smith, Special Assistant to the Council Member / Acting Chief of Staff
Annie Candido, Constituent Liaison
Laura Yeager, Senior Policy Strategist
Sophia Mirto, Communications Director
ℹ️ Helpful City Links:
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
➡️ Austin seeks public input on potential new Airbnb regulations (KVUE)
Austin city leaders are looking at new rules for Airbnb properties and other short-term vacation rentals in the city – but they want to hear from the public first.
The rules could add regulations for short-term rental owners and require rental platforms to collect hotel occupancy taxes.
City staff say these could help address issues like noise and parking at short-term rentals while looking at how those properties affect housing costs.
This isn't Austin's first attempt at regulating short-term rentals. Previous rules approved in 2016 ended up being struck down by a federal court.
City leaders will host several public meetings to talk about the new proposals, starting on Jan. 21.
The full council could vote on the rules by April… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
➡️ Austin officials share updates on Sixth Street safety changes amid district renewal (Community Impact)
Austin is revamping some safety strategies in the Sixth Street entertainment district as a project to restore and revitalize several of the corridor's historic buildings moves ahead.These changes include reopening the block to vehicle traffic on busy weekend nights."The truth is that our downtown, Austin’s living room for the entire community, needs a little bit of renovation," Mayor Kirk Watson said Jan. 15. "Any street, any district or any neighborhood, without careful attention and investment, will begin to lose its luster. Even one that is as famous and storied as this one."… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
➡️ Austin Energy to add hundreds more EV charging ports over next five years (Austin Chronicle)
As Austin Energy inches closer and closer to its goal of being carbon-free by 2035, U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett is kicking off 2025 with an effort to support that plan. Last Tuesday, Doggett announced $15 million in federal funding for AE to install new publicly accessible electric vehicle charging ports.
The funding comes from the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and will be used to power the install over the next five years. “Austin is on an electrifying path to limit our dependency on gas-guzzling vehicles that pollute the air we breathe and contribute to the climate crisis we can feel,” Doggett wrote last week.
Austin’s proximity to the Tesla Gigafactory coupled with the nationwide EV boom alone would be enough to warrant this investment, but there’s another incentive: Austin’s Climate Equity Plan stipulates that by 2030, 40% of the city’s total vehicle miles should be electrified, translating to more than 37,000 charging ports needed. Austin Energy currently operates around 1,500 Level 2 charging ports as well as 30 DC fast chargers in the Austin area – the new funding will double the number of fast chargers and add a total of over 200 new ports altogether... 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
➡️ Austin real estate developer Nate Paul pleads guilty, ending federal fraud case (KXAN)
Real estate developer Nate Paul agreed to plead guilty Wednesday to one charge of making false statements to a lending institution. The plea ends his 18-month federal bank and wire fraud case related to his work as head of World Class, according to court proceedings.
The government recommended no more than six months in prison, five additional years of supervised release and a maximum $1 million fine. The sentence is not yet set.
The case is being sent to the U.S. Probation Office for a pre-sentencing evaluation. If the plea deal is accepted, the sentence is capped at 6 months. The remaining 11 counts against Paul will be dismissed, according to U.S. Magistrate Judge Dustin Howell, who oversaw the plea… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
➡️ Firefly Aerospace's, NASA successfully launch Blue Ghost lunar lander to moon (Austin American-Statesman)
A Cedar Park-based aerospace company designed the lunar lander that successfully launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket early Wednesday, with the aim of landing on the moon in March.
Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lunar lander launched at 1:11 a.m. Wednesday from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on the SpaceX rocket before separating an hour later. The lunar lander — part of a mission known as Blue Ghost Mission 1 or Ghost Riders in the Sky — will spend 45 days in orbit and 14 days on the surface of the moon.
The mission brings 10 science and technology instruments to the moon as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, which allows commercial companies to send certain technology experiments to the moon to help NASA better prepare for human missions. These demonstrations, according to a news release about the mission, include surface drilling, sample collections, X-ray images and dust mitigation… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
➡️ Winners and losers from the Texas House speaker’s race (Texas Tribune)
After he was elected speaker of the Texas House on Tuesday, Rep. Dustin Burrows promised that his door would be open to everyone in the chamber — even those who supported his rival, Rep. David Cook, R-Mansfield.
“I commit to you today, every member will have a voice,” said Burrows, R-Lubbock. “Every district will have a seat at the table.”
Still, one of the most contentious speaker’s races in Texas history likely will leave scars on the chamber. Upon winning the gavel, speakers have historically directed the spoils — from prized chairmanships to high-profile legislation — to members who were in their corner early and remained loyal under pressure to defect. And while some speakers have had a bigger punitive streak than others, it is an equally well-worn tradition for House leaders to mete out some form of discipline to those who challenged them or bet on the wrong horse.
With the dust still settling from Tuesday’s floor vote, here are some winners who stand to gain from Burrows’ ascent to the speaker’s dais — and some potential losers who might see their clout diminish… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[US and World News]
➡️ Takeaways from Pete Hegseth’s confirmation hearing (Washington Post)
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, publicly faced senators for the first time after weeks of questions from Democrats — and praise from Republicans — about his “unconventional” resume.
Hegseth, a combat veteran and former TV news host, says he will be a “change agent” and a “warrior” as Republicans demand new and strong leadership at the Pentagon. Democrats say Hegseth’s lack of experience running a huge department, his past comments about women and Black troops, and allegations of excessive drinking and sexual misconduct make him unfit to serve.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., called Hegseth’s nomination “unconventional” but compared him to Trump, saying that may just be what makes him an “excellent choice.”
Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, the committee’s top Democrat, said Hegseth lacks “the character and the competence” to lead the Defense Department. Reed said he has voted to confirm the nine previous defense secretaries, including in Trump’s first term, but will not support Hegseth… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
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