- The BG Reads
- Posts
- BG Reads 1.21.2025
BG Reads 1.21.2025
🟪 BG Reads - January 21, 2025
Bingham Group Reads
Presented by:
www.binghamgp.com
January 21, 2025
➡️ Today's BG Reads include:
🟪 Austin-Travis County leaders say to "stay home" with snow & sleet expected overnight (CBS Austin)
🟪 Federal report shows city’s progress, shortfalls in addressing housing needs (Austin Monitor)
🟪 The Trail Conservancy appoints new CEO (Austin Business Journal)
🟪 It's Day 1 of Trump in office. Here's how his second term could impact Texas. (Houston Chronicle)
🟪 Trump signs executive actions on Jan. 6, TikTok, immigration and more (NPR)
Read On!
[CITY OF AUSTIN]
ℹ️ Helpful City Links:
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
➡️ Austin-Travis County leaders say to "stay home" with snow & sleet expected overnight (CBS Austin)
he Winter Storm Warning for Central Texas took effect at 6 p.m. Monday. EMS and fire crews are already dealing with an uptick in emergency calls. Austin-Travis County EMS responded to 11 cold-related incidents on Sunday.
The Austin Fire Department responded to one structure fire overnight that was determined to be potentially weather-related.
The Austin-Travis County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) activated Monday at 7:00 a.m. in response to anticipated winter weather.
“According to the National Weather Service we could see a half inch to an inch and a half of snow and sleet that could make travel difficult, hazardous, and at times dangerous,” said Austin Mayor Kirk Watson at a press conference on Monday. Austin and Travis County are already pretreating roads with a brine solution that lowers the freezing point for any precipitation… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
➡️ Federal report shows city’s progress, shortfalls in addressing housing needs (Austin Monitor)
A report recently submitted to the federal government offered a picture into how the city has progressed in achieving its housing goals using federal dollars, while also highlighting areas where improvement is needed to make sufficient progress on its most recent five-year housing plan.
At its most recent meeting, the Community Development Commission (CDC) reviewed the city’s Housing Department’s Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER), a federally required document that details progress in addressing housing and community development goals.
The city showed success in areas such as the Down Payment Assistance program, which exceeded expectations by serving more households than projected, and the successful implementation of some home repair initiatives.
The report also identified shortcomings, including difficulties in meeting targets for tenant-based rental assistance and special needs housing, with factors such as rising housing costs, administrative hurdles and market constraints contributing to these challenges. The city’s efforts to support vulnerable populations – including veterans and people experiencing homelessness – were noted, though concerns were raised about the accessibility and transparency of these programs… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
➡️ The Trail Conservancy appoints new CEO (Austin Business Journal)
The Trail Conservancy, the nonprofit that oversees Austin’s Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail around Lady Bird Lake, has a new executive leading it.
Lifelong Austinite Julie Fisher, who most recently served as global community impact senior manager at tech giant National Instruments, has been named the new CEO of The Trail Conservancy, according to an announcement.
Fisher will succeed Kimberly McNeeley, who assumed the role of interim CEO in June, as the chief executive.
“The Butler Trail holds a special place in my heart,” Fisher said in a statement. “It’s where I’ve trained with running groups, honored my parents with commemorative bricks, and found joy in volunteering. Leading The Trail Conservancy is a dream come true, and I can’t wait to work alongside this incredible team to ensure the Trail remains a welcoming and inspiring space for all Austinites.”… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
➡️ Dan's Hamburgers gearing up for demolitions to rebuild bigger and better (Austin Business Journal)
Before Dan’s Hamburgers shifts its focus to adding new locations, the iconic Austin burger chain has been following a different strategy to maintain and grow its customer base — demolishing its existing restaurants and starting fresh.
Dan’s Hambugers, which is preparing to celebrate 52 years in business this month, has already done that with its restaurant at 4308 Menchaca Road. Two others are up next: Its restaurant at 844 Airport Blvd., followed by its restaurant at 5602 N. Lamar Blvd. about a year from now, according to Katie Congdon, the second-generation owner of the local burger chain.
Congdon is aiming to keep the chain's legacy going by revamping its restaurants to better accommodate larger crowds and by adding drive thru options. “We know that we've got some very loyal customers, and we're hoping they'll go eat at our other locations" while the projects are underway, Congdon said. "I think that as long as they know we're coming back bigger and better that we'll be okay.”… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
➡️ It's Day 1 of Trump in office. Here's how his second term could impact Texas. (Houston Chronicle)
As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take the oath of office for a second time, Texans are already bracing for big impacts in a state that the returning president has shown time and again he admires. “I'm very optimistic about the opportunities that we've been provided,” U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said about Trump’s incoming term in the White House. “I believe we have a window, maybe of the next year and a half, to get some important things done.”
During his first term, Trump made 18 visits to Texas — more than double the number of trips President Joe Biden has made — and he has been back more than a dozen times since to campaign and fundraise. Those visits have helped him deepen relationships with key Texas officials like Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, both of whom will be in Washington on Monday when Trump is sworn in. From oil to agriculture and disaster responses, here are some of the key areas where Texas could see changes under the new president.
Trump has proposed a mass deportation plan that many fear could be disruptive to Texas families and the economy. Just Houston alone has an estimated 586,000 people who lack permanent legal status, according to the Department of Homeland Security, making them potential targets of the program. Trump’s incoming border czar, Tom Homan, an Abbott ally, has insisted the program will focus first on dangerous criminals who are in the country illegally, but key Texas voices like U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, say they're worried that could mean harassing Hispanic families even if they are native Texans. On top of that, he said it could have a huge impact on Texas businesses that need immigrant workers to survive.
Trump’s border program could also stand to save Texas billions of dollars it has been spending on the Texas border to build border walls and position police and soldiers in South Texas. Texas spent over $11 billion over the last two years on Abbott’s Operation Lone Star border security program, which could now become more of the federal government’s operations. U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw. R-Houston, said he’s already talking to members of Congress about including a big repayment back to Texas for some of its expenses as part of the massive budget bill Trump wants passed early in his term.
“We need to repay Texas for Texas’ expenses from the border,” Crenshaw said. Trump has left no question about his energy policy, declaring on social media he will be pushing for “drill baby drill” everywhere. But more directly for Texas’ energy sector, the incoming president is expected to immediately sign executive orders during his first days in office to end the Biden administration's pause on new liquified natural gas permits.
In addition, Trump is considering another order to help LNG operators get export permits renewed more easily…🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
➡️ Longtime Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards dies after battle with brain cancer (Texas Tribune)
Cecile Richards, a lifelong advocate for women’s rights who led Planned Parenthood for 12 years, has died at the age of 67 after a battle with brain cancer, her family said in a statement Monday morning. Richards, the eldest daughter of former Texas Gov. Ann Richards, forged her own path as an activist and political force for women across Texas and the United States.
Richards helped reshape Planned Parenthood into a political powerhouse as well as the nation’s leading provider of reproductive and sexual health care. She led the organization during a tumultuous time of attacks from Republicans, state efforts to defund the clinics and the first election of President Donald J. Trump. After leaving the organization in 2018, she remained active in Democratic politics and the fight for reproductive rights until her death.
Even after being diagnosed with glioblastoma, an incurable brain cancer in mid-2023, Richards continued pushing, helping amplify the stories of women impacted by abortion bans and working on a abortion information chatbot. She first shared her diagnosis with The Cut in January 2024… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[US and World News]
➡️ Trump declares U.S. will withdraw from the World Health Organization (NPR)
President Trump is making good on his pre-election pledge to withdraw from the World Health Organization. In one of many orders issued after his inauguration, he announced the start of the process for terminating U.S. membership in the U.N. agency that oversees global health issues. Trump's frustration with WHO goes back to the height of the COVID era. He's repeatedly criticized the organization for being too slow to respond to the pandemic and being "owned and controlled by China." "World Health ripped us off," Trump said during an extended, relaxed discussion with reporters as he signed executive actions.
It will take a year for Trump's pledge to become official. That's the time frame the U.S. set for any future withdrawal when it joined the global health body in 1948. In Trump's first term, he halted funding to WHO and initiated the process of withdrawing. But before the one-year mark had been reached, Biden took office and reversed course immediately.
The consequences of Monday's announcement for WHO are significant. They'd lose arguably their most important member — and their biggest donor by far. The U.S. gave $1.284 billion to WHO during 2022 and 2023 – hundreds of millions of dollars more than Germany, the second-place donor. Critics of Trump's call believe that the U.S. will also face consequences.
WHO monitors global health threats, evaluates new vaccines and medications, coordinates the response to emerging health crises as well as ongoing issues and provides expert support to countries, particularly when they face a health emergency – among other things. The U.S. would lose easy access to critical data on outbreaks and a seat at the table when health standards are set and disease responses are decided… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
➡️ Migrants stranded when thousands of appointments to enter the US are canceled as Trump takes office (Associated Press)
They came from Haiti, Venezuela and around the world, pulling small rolling suitcases crammed with clothing and stuffed animals to occupy their children. They clutched cellphones showing that after months of waiting they had appointments — finally — to legally enter the United States.
Now outside a series of north Mexico border crossings where mazes of concrete barriers and thick fencing eventually spill into the United States, hope and excitement evaporated into despair and disbelief moments after President Donald Trump took office. U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced Monday that the CBP One app that worked as recently as that morning would no longer be used to admit migrants after facilitating entry for nearly 1 million people since January 2023.
Tens of thousands of appointments that were scheduled into February were canceled, applicants were told… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
➡️ Trump signs executive actions on Jan. 6, TikTok, immigration and more (NPR)
President Trump on Monday signed a flurry of executive orders, memorandums and proclamations after his inauguration, reversing many of his predecessors' policies and reinstating actions from his first term in office.
He signed the first batch in front of a packed crowd at Capital One Arena, drawing cheers, before then moving to the Oval Office to sign more. Trump and his officials also signaled a slew of other executive actions to come soon, ranging from campaign priorities like border security to culture war issues like DEI policies.
Here are some of the key orders either signed or signaled on Monday… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
➡️ How Musk helped boot Ramaswamy from DOGE (Politco)
Elon Musk has already achieved his first cut at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency: his co-leader Vivek Ramaswamy. Musk, the tech tycoon and Donald Trump confidant, made it known that he wanted Ramaswamy out of DOGE in recent days, according to three people familiar with Musk’s preferences who, like others for this article, were granted anonymity to discuss them.
An ill-received holiday rant on X by Ramaswamy about H-1B visas apparently hastened his demise.
ust 69 days after Trump announced the team, Ramaswamy is now leaving DOGE and planning to announce a run for Ohio governor next week. Musk’s ability to ice out Ramaswamy, who for a variety of reasons had irked some Republicans in Trump’s circle, is the latest sign of his influence in the incoming administration.
And it presages an encore of all of the infighting that marked Trump’s first term. Ramaswamy “just burned through the bridges and he finally burned Elon,” said a Republican strategist close to Trump advisers.
“Everyone wants him out of Mar-a-Lago, out of D.C.” One main reason for some Republicans’ frustration with Ramaswamy was a post he made on X during a discussion of H-1B visas. In late December, Ramaswamy criticized American culture, saying that tech companies hire foreign workers in part because of a mindset in the country that has “venerated mediocrity over excellence.” “They wanted him out before the tweet — but kicked him to the curb when that came out,” said one of the three people familiar with his departure… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
www.binghamgp.com
Copyright (C) " target="_blank">unsubscribe