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BG Reads 1.22.2024

BG Reads 1.22.2024

🗞️ Bingham Group Reads - January 22, 2024

January 22, 2024

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January 22, 2024

Today's BG Reads include:

✅ Austin tops Texas cites for business HQ relocations over past 5 years

✅ Austin Council reaction to Art Acevedo hire

✅ Report: Hispanic women most affected by 2021 abortion ban in Texas

✅ Facing backlash, some corporate leaders go ‘Under the Radar’ with D.E.I.

Read on!

[CITY HALL WATCH]

🔎 Council Message Board

Tuesday: Public Apology to Sexual Assault Survivors (2PM at City Hall)

Context: Posted Sunday by Council Member Alison Alter (District 7), this comes in response to Friday’s news of former Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo being rehired by Interim City Manager Jesús Garza to oversee the police department.

🔎 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]

Study finds that Texas is top state business headquarters relocated to in the past 5 years, Austin at top of list (Spectrum News 1)

The study (http://tinyurl.com/ms538vbn) was done by CBRE, a global commercial real estate services and investment firm, to look at the trends in headquarter relocations and what the implications of those trends mean for businesses. It reviewed nearly 500 publicly announced relocations from 2018 to 2023.

Some of the key findings of the study were that it was an active five years in relocations, with 2021 having the most relocations at 137, and the technology industry saw the most movement, with the manufacturing industry following close behind.

It would then make sense why Austin came out on top because of its emergence as a tech hub, with the city being dubbed by some as the new Silicon Valley.

“Austin has emerged as a global tech hub, offering cost and culture advantages,” the study said. “An HQ relocation from Silicon Valley to Austin typically saves 15% to 20% in tech employee wages. Austin also has a markedly lower cost of living than Silicon Valley (although not to the extent of other Texas cities).”

One of the major relocations the study discussed was Elon Musk’s decision to move his Tesla’s headquarters to Austin back in 2021.

In total, the study said Texas gained 209 business headquarters, with 66 of those moving to Austin, 32 to Dallas and 25 to Houston… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

City likely to increase wealth cap for minority businesses seeking contracts (Austin Monitor)

The city likely will increase the limit on personal net wealth for individuals looking to take part in the city’s procurement program aimed at hiring businesses owned by women and/or minorities.

That adjustment was supported by an analysis of the local economy that found the city’s business growth is likely to have substantially increased the wealth of small businesses intended to benefit from the procurement program.

The procurement program has been under several rounds of study and review in recent years to make sure it is serving its intended purpose of providing opportunities for a larger pool of small businesses and contractors.

If supported by Council, the program’s cap on personal net wealth – generally calculated as the sum of all assets (not including a primary residence) minus any debts or liabilities – would likely increase to almost $2.1 million, up from the current $1.69 million... (LINK TO FULL STORY)

CapMetro adding security guards to major bus stops, transit areas (KVUE)

CapMetro has plans to add private, unarmed security guards to some of its major bus stops and transit centers across Austin in an effort to boost safety among riders.

The major transit hubs included are Republic Square Park, South Congress Transit Center, North Lamar Transit Center and Tech Ridge Park & Ride.

"We want to start at least with a handful and see if we need to expand," said Gardner Tabon, CapMetro executive vice president of systemwide accessibility and chief safety officer, during CapMetro's meeting on Jan. 17.

It's a first for the transit agency, which decided to take action based on feedback it received from the public, customers and its employees, who felt a greater presence was needed… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

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

[TEXAS NEWS]

Report: Hispanic women most affected by 2021 abortion ban in Texas (Houston Chronicle)

A new report from the University of Houston found that Hispanic women in Texas have been especially affected by the state's 2021 abortion ban. The report from the Institute for Research on Women, Gender and Sexuality covered 2022 fertility trends after Texas' abortion ban was introduced. Researchers found that Hispanic women saw the most increases in fertility and birth rates compared to women of other backgrounds. Hispanic women from Harris County older than 25 saw an 8.5% increase in fertility.

Texas introduced one of the strictest abortion bans in the country in September 2021, banning nearly all abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. In 2022, Texas enacted another near-total abortion ban with civil and criminal penalties for violators alongside 20 other states. The result is that women living in the state may have to travel long distances to access an abortion, a news release said.

In December, a Dallas woman who wanted an emergency abortion announced that she choosing to leave the state to get the procedure. The overall fertility rate in the state rose by 2%, and researchers expect another increase when 2023 data is released to reflect the effects of the 2022 law. Another key finding is that there was a slight increase in teenagers who gave birth in the state, mostly seen among Hispanic, Black and Asian populations. The birth rate among teenagers has been declining since 2007, according to the report.

The report notes that access to contraceptives in certain parts of the state could also decrease birth rates. "The results don't signal that individuals of other groups are unaffected by the abortion ban, but they indicate that Hispanic women as a group are facing more challenges in accessing reproductive care," said Elizabeth Gregory, IRWGS director, in a news release.

"Unplanned births often directly impact women's workforce participation and negatively affect the income levels of their families."… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Another hot, dry summer may push water supplies in parts of Texas to the brink (Texas Tribune)

Two consecutive summers of brutal heat and drought have left some parts of Texas with notably low water supplies going into 2024.

A wet year or a well-placed hurricane could quickly pull these regions back from the brink. But winter rains have disappointed so far. Recent downpours are the first in weeks for parts of the state, and they won’t hit the watersheds that need them most.

Looking ahead, forecasters increasingly expect another scorching summer here this year… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[US/WORLD NEWS]

U.S. pushes hostage-release plan aimed at ending Israel-Hamas war (Wall Street Journal)

The U.S., Egypt and Qatar are pushing Israel and Hamas to join a phased diplomatic process that would start with a release of hostages and, eventually, lead to a withdrawal of Israeli forces and an end to the war in Gaza, diplomats involved in mediating the talks said. Neither side in the conflict has agreed to the terms of the new proposal—which includes steps at odds with the stated positions of Israel and Hamas. Taher Al-Nono, a media adviser to Hamas, said there was no real progress, and Israeli officials didn’t respond to a request for comment. But people briefed on the talks said Israel and Hamas at least were again willing to engage in discussions after weeks of stalled talks following the end of the last cease-fire on Nov. 30.

Negotiations were set to continue in Cairo in coming days, the people said. The two parties’ “willingness to discuss the framework was a positive step. Mediators are now working to bridge the gap,” one of the people briefed on the talks said.

The new proposal, backed by Washington, Cairo and Doha, represents a new approach to defusing the conflict—aiming to make the release of Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas part of a comprehensive deal that could lead to an end to hostilities. In November, a pause in fighting lasted a week and was accompanied by an exchange of 100 Israeli hostages in Gaza for more than 300 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. And Israeli negotiators have continued to push for a two-week halt to fighting to allow for hostage-prisoner exchanges and have been reluctant to discuss plans that envision a permanent cease-fire, Egyptian officials said.

Hamas, on the other hand, is seeking to gain maximum advantage from the captives it holds, and only wants to trade them for thousands of Palestinian prisoners and a permanent cease-fire. Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar believes that the Israelis will prioritize hostages over the battlefield and that Hamas needs to hold out as long as possible to exhaust Israel and keep international pressure on it, the officials said. Sinwar is willing to release hostages but wants a longer cease-fire and better terms than last time, the officials said. Hamas took more than 200 hostages in a surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7 that Israel says also left about 1,200 people dead. Some of those killed were tortured and raped, according to Israeli officials. Israeli officials have said the attack profoundly changed Israeli society and have vowed to destroy Hamas and kill its leaders… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

With Trump closing in on nomination, the effective audition to become his vice president is underway (Associated Press)

As she addressed a crushing crowd of volunteers and media at Donald Trump’s New Hampshire headquarters on Saturday, New York Rep. Elise Stefanik received a welcome chant.

“VP! VP! VP!” one man shouted across the room.

While vice presidential candidates typically aren’t picked until after a candidate has locked down the nomination, Trump’s decisive win in last week’s Iowa caucuses and the departure of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis from the race have only heightened what had already been a widespread sense of inevitability that he will be the Republican nominee.

That has given the campaign trail stops by Stefanik and other Republicans the feel of a public tryout reminiscent of Trump’s days as a reality TV host… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Facing backlash, some corporate leaders go ‘Under the Radar’ with D.E.I. (The New York Times)

In recent months, hundreds of companies have been re-examining those initiatives after a series of challenges to diversity programs: the threat of litigation in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision striking down race-conscious college admissions, criticism of D.E.I. initiatives from some high-profile business leaders, and a wave of layoffs in the tech industry that heavily affected D.E.I. teams.

This pushback — which has come as more than 20 states weighed or passed new laws last year targeting D.E.I. initiatives — has had a chilling effect on some corporate D.E.I. offices, according to diversity advisers.

“When the economy is booming and when the politics are amenable, we see a lot of growth in diversity programming,” said Frank Dobbin, an expert on D.E.I. at Harvard and author of the 2022 book “Getting to Diversity.” “When there’s either a change in the political winds — which is what’s happening now — or a recession, we’ve seen cutbacks.”

The backlash, Dr. Dobbin said, has pushed some human resource professionals to keep their D.E.I. efforts “under the radar.” At recent conferences he has attended, Dr. Dobbin added, corporate leaders have discussed how to approach D.E.I. “in a less in-your-face way.”

Some have explored moving away from initiatives that attract a lot of public attention, like mandatory anti-bias trainings, and instead focusing on lower-profile D.E.I. strategies, like diversity task forces that bring together leaders from different corporate departments.

“If companies lighten up on things that are ineffective, that could be a good outcome,” Dr. Dobbin said, noting that mandatory anti-bias trainings have been shown to sometimes even worsen bias. “But I do worry that the baby will go out with the bath water.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)