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- BG Reads 1.7.2025
BG Reads 1.7.2025
🟪 BG Reads - January 7, 2025
Bingham Group Reads
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January 7, 2025
➡️ Today's BG Reads include:
🟪 The 2025 Austin City Council Inauguration Ceremony + Mayor Pro Tem elections
🟪 As bitter cold sweeps through Texas, ERCOT says the power grid is stable (Texas Tribune)
🟪 Travis County Commissioner Brigid Shea urges local climate resilience initiatives to combat coming federal turn (Austin Monitor)
🟪 In 2025, Travis County Commissioner Ann Howard eyes building more supportive housing and strengthening climate resilience (Austin Monitor)
🟪 Commissioner Travillion finds integration of public services as key to success (Austin Monitor)
Read On!
[CITY OF AUSTIN]
🟣 Council Member Vanessa Fuentes (District 2) was elected by Council peers to serve as the 2025 Mayor Pro Tem, with Council Member Chito Vela (District 4) set to serve as Mayor Pro Tem in 2026. The Mayor Pro Tem performs the duties of mayor in case of the absence or inability of the mayor.
➡️ Review: The 2025 Austin Council page
➡️ Review: The 2025 Austin Council Meeting Calendar
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
➡️ Travis County Commissioner Brigid Shea urges local climate resilience initiatives to combat coming federal turn (Austin Monitor)
Travis County Commissioner Brigid Shea has been a mainstay of the Austin environmental movement for decades. Though she’s seen many gains in that area since her political career began, the relentless changing climate of our region has kept up the challenges as well.
“Nothing else will dictate the fate of the region more than the loss of water,” Shea said in an interview with the Austin Monitor. “Nothing destroys the economy, ruins all real estate values, causes the engine of the economy to absolutely grind to a halt than if you run out of water.”
The county doesn’t have direct control over any water use except in its county buildings, but Shea urges, “We can control how we use our water, and we can be thought leaders in the region. We can’t change the fact that it’s getting increasingly hot and there will be more and more evaporation from our large reservoirs, Lake Travis and Lake Buchanan, but we can change how much we waste water, and we can save and stretch our water supply.”… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
➡️ In 2025, Travis County Commissioner Ann Howard eyes building more supportive housing and strengthening climate resilience (Austin Monitor)
Coming from her background in affordable housing at the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition, Travis County Commissioner Ann Howard has always prioritized the same throughout her tenure at the county. 2024 saw two big wins on that front, she says: “There’s some things that we’ve been working on for a long time that I think are going to finally come to fruition.”
“There’s been sort of two different bodies of work. This last year was the big heavy lift of getting the contracts completed for 11 different (housing) projects using the federal American Recovery Plan Act money,” she said. “It’s been now two and a half years since we passed a resolution at the county to invest $110 million of those funds into housing, and we have gotten nine of the 11 contracts executed. So that was a really heavy lift, just administratively, because we were also coordinating with the city of Austin’s neighborhood housing department to make sure that each project had enough money to know that they could really spend our federal money.”
In September, the county signed two contracts with LifeWorks and Foundation Communities to provide $27 million to add more than 200 affordable supportive housing units for people experiencing homelessness…
➡️ Commissioner Travillion finds integration of public services as key to success (Austin Monitor)
In 2024, Travis County Commissioner Jeff Travillion approached his work with a clear conviction: The challenges facing East Austinites are deeply interconnected. To truly serve his constituents, he recognized that solving these issues required a multidimensional approach – what he calls the integration of public services – rather than tackling them one by one.
“If you’re growing up in poverty, oftentimes there is no one thing that interrupts you,” Travillion said, emphasizing that barriers to access are often interdependent. “We want to have access to affordable housing, but affordable housing in and of itself is not enough. We need to have access to public transportation; that public transportation needs to get me to work, to the doctor and to the grocery store.”
A central question frames his policymaking efforts: “How do we take a very complicated set of resources – that grow in different silos of public policy – and integrate them in such a way that we make them easy and accessible?”… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
➡️ As bitter cold sweeps through Texas, ERCOT says the power grid is stable (Texas Tribune)
As an arctic blast settled over Texas on Monday, dropping temperatures into the low 20s in some areas, the state’s grid operator said it’s not expecting any power disruptions this week.
Meteorologists predict increased precipitation later this week, which is likely to bring icy conditions and snow to parts of the state: North Texas is likely to get 1 to 4 inches of snow, according to one forecast, while Central Texas could see ice.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas has issued a weather watch until Friday but has not requested that Texans reduce their power usage.
“At this time, grid conditions are expected to be normal, and there is no current expectation of an energy emergency,” ERCOT said in a written statement, adding that it will continue to monitor weather conditions closely… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Governor Abbott activates state emergency response resources ahead Of severe winter weather (Office of the Texas Governor)
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to activate state emergency response resources ahead of the winter storm. Freezing temperatures are expected across much of the state, and up to 5 inches of snow is possible beginning Thursday, Jan. 9, in North Texas. A wintry mix is forecast for Central Texas.
“The State of Texas is working around-the-clock to ensure Texans have the resources and support needed as severe winter weather impacts communities across Texas,” said Abbott said in a statement. “As temperatures begin to drop below freezing and regions of Texas face snow, ice, and freezing rain, it is crucial that everyone remain weather-aware, check DriveTexas.org before traveling, and heed the guidance of state and local officials.
Texans can find the warming center nearest them at tdem.texas.gov/warm. I thank emergency management personnel and first responders for working tirelessly to help Texans prepare and stay safe during this winter weather.”
The Department of Transportation began treating roads, bridges and overpasses over the weekend, the Governor’s Office said. Additionally, the Texas Division of Emergency Management is working with local authorities to update warming center maps, the Texas National Guard is ready to help stranded motorists, and crews from the Texas A&M Forest Service are prepared to help clear snow and ice, the Governor’s Office said in a statement. The Public Utility Commission of Texas is monitoring and coordinating with utilities, Abbott’s office said, though ERCOT said grid conditions are projected to be sufficient over the coming days… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[US and World News]
➡️ Trump’s one-bill pronouncement settles nothing: ‘We still need a plan’ (Politico)
If Donald Trump thought he was settling the GOP’s most important strategy dispute, Senate Republicans are not getting the message. Less than 24 hours after Trump endorsed “one powerful bill” to carry his domestic policy agenda, a dozen senators said in interviews that the legislative path to its enactment remains an open question.
It underscores the mounting confusion as Republicans feel pressure to show quick progress on border, energy and tax priorities. The senators do agree on this: They’re ready to follow Trump’s lead. But they’re not convinced he is firmly planted yet in the one-bill camp. Trump fueled the latest uncertainty Monday morning in an interview where he acknowledged he wasn’t necessarily wedded to any plan: “I’m open to either way as soon as we get something passed as quickly as possible,” he told radio host Hugh Hewitt. Asked what he thought Trump wanted, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) responded with a laugh: “What day is it?”’
It’s an early reality check heading into a second Trump term. The returning president’s decision-making isn’t exactly reliable, raising the risk that Republicans who presume to know what he wants might soon find themselves crosswise with his actual wishes. The stakes are huge, with the call over whether to move one bill or two having major implications for whether Trump can follow through on his campaign pledges before potentially losing unified GOP control of Washington in two years.
“I’ve heard the president say that he’s now on the ‘one’ side, but he doesn’t oppose the ‘two’ side,” said incoming Senate Finance Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), who will play a lead role in advancing tax cuts that Trump wants.
“We still need a plan.” Republicans on both ends of the Capitol had been privately hoping that Trump would publicly make a play call, ending the debate that has split the top two congressional leaders. Newly minted Senate Majority Leader John Thune wants two bills, allowing for a quick border-focused package, while Speaker Mike Johnson , mindful of uniting his tiny House majority, has thrown his weight behind just one… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
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