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October 19, 2023

In today's BG Reads:

✅ APD Training Academy audit shows improvement – but not enough to curb attrition

✅ Giga Texas has brought $2B in economic activity, 15K employees in Travis County

✅ Biden to deliver a prime-time foreign policy address Thursday

Read on!

[BINGHAM GROUP]

Council to consider city manager search firm this week 🎙️ BG Podcast Ep. 222:

• On this episode the Bingham Group CEO A.J. Bingham and Associate Hannah Garcia wrap up the week of October 9th in Austin politics.

• The BG Podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

🔎 Jobs List

• Austin Convention Enterprises, Inc.: Project Administrator

• Austin Economic Development Corporation: General Counsel

• Cruise: Senior Government Affairs Manager, Southern California ($135,700/yr - $199,500/yr)

• Lime: Regional General Manager ($122,000/yr - $163,000/yr)

• Opportunity Austin: Vice President of Policy & Advocacy ($110,000/yr - $125,000/yr)

[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]

APD Training Academy audit shows improvement – but not enough to curb attrition (Austin Monitor)

An external audit of the Austin Police Department’s 148th cadet class, which graduated in September, shows progress in “reimagining public safety,” but attrition remains a constant challenge.

Under internal audit protocols developed by Kroll Associates in March 2022, APD is required to report to City Council the progress of each cadet class and of ongoing academy reforms. After a delay, APD leadership reported the inaugural audit’s findings – for the 147th class – in August. Kroll followed up with its presentation on the 148th class to the Public Safety Committee on Monday.

The 148th class began with 34 cadets and graduated 19, for an attrition rate of 44 percent. Rick Brown, a Kroll consultant, told committee members that this rate increased for underrepresented groups… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Note: Kroll is a Bingham Group client

Could San Antonio and Austin become a "combo loco" metro? (Texas Public Radio)

San Antonio and Austin are two of the fastest growing cities in the United States. The Austin-San Antonio corridor is expected to add 4 million people by 2030, and it doesn’t take a great imagination to leap to prophecies that that the two cities will one day merge into one giant metroplex.

But the question is, will the two cities mix like oil and water or find a way to organically mend and move to increase local incomes and quality of life for the residents? With proper planning, investments and cooperation from the leaders of all the municipalities in the SA-Austin I-35 corridor there is the opportunity to create the model mega metro of the 21st century.

The strong economy in the region is a leading factor driving the growth in the Austin-San Antonio corridor. Both Austin and San Antonio are home to a number of Fortune 500 companies, and the unemployment rate in the corridor is below the national average… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Giga Texas has brought $2B in economic activity, 15K employees in Travis County (Community Impact)

In 2022, Tesla promised its new headquarters—Giga Texas—would bring in thousands of jobs for Travis County residents, boost the local economy and support students in Del Valle Independent School District. An Oct. 17 presentation from the company says those promises are being delivered… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

San Marcos forced to pay $175,000 to Wendy Davis, other Democrats after “Trump Train” incident (Texas Tribune)

San Marcos police officers and professional staff must receive training on responding to political violence and voter intimidation and ways to develop community trust as part of a legal settlement approved Tuesday over a 2020 incident in which a caravan of Trump supporters were accused of harassing a Biden campaign bus as it drove on Interstate 35.

The city will also pay $175,000 to four individuals on the bus: former state Sen. Wendy Davis, who was running for Congress at the time; former Biden campaign staffer David Gins; campaign volunteer Eric Cervini; and bus driver Timothy Holloway. They accused San Marcos law enforcement in a 2021 lawsuit of ignoring multiple requests for a police escort as they traveled on I-35 from San Antonio to Austin days before the 2020 presidential election. They said they were surrounded by the Trump supporters who allegedly drove dangerously close to the bus while honking and shouting, forcing it to slow to a crawl… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[TEXAS NEWS]

A shift in how we build commercial buildings could be a boon for East Texas (Texas Tribune)

Three miles west of Lufkin, off of state Highway 94, sits a new 10,000 square foot building that appears starkly different from other offices — instead of steel or concrete, the structure is made entirely of wood.

The construction in Hudson, an East Texas town of about 5,000 residents, is one of a growing number of commercial projects in Texas using mass timber, a category of engineered wood products that uses glue or nails to bind layers of lumber together, making it strong and stable enough for commercial construction.

The recent growth in mass timber comes as East Texas foresters face a glut of wood and limited markets to sell it. East Texas is home to 12 million acres of timberland, which accounts for more than half of the region’s land, and most is privately owned. Demand and prices for lumber have swung wildly over the years, with a huge drop in prices during the 2008 housing crisis that East Texas foresters never fully recovered from. Although wood prices rebounded during the pandemic, an oversupply of trees has meant that growers are still paid less than they have been before… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

This Texas city will be Amazon’s test site for prescription drone deliveries to doorsteps (Dallas Morning News)

Amazon will soon make prescription drugs fall from the Texas sky when the e-commerce giant becomes the latest company to test drone deliveries for medications.

The company said Wednesday that customers in College Station can get prescriptions delivered by a drone within an hour of placing their order.

The drone, programmed to fly from a delivery center with a secure pharmacy, will travel to the customer’s address, descend to a height of about 4 meters — or 13 feet — and drop a padded package.

Amazon says customers will be able to choose from more than 500 medications on a list that includes common treatments for conditions like the flu or pneumonia, but not controlled substances.

The company’s Prime Air division began testing drone deliveries of common household items last December in College Station and Lockeford, Calif. Amazon spokesperson Jessica Bardoulas said the company has made thousands of deliveries since launching the service and is expanding it to include prescriptions based in part on customer requests… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[US/WORLD NEWS]

Biden to deliver a prime-time foreign policy address Thursday (NBC News)

President Joe Biden will deliver a prime-time foreign policy speech to the country on Thursday night, White House officials said Wednesday. The Oval Office address is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET and will address the administration's response to Hamas’ terrorist attacks against Israel and Russia’s war in Ukraine. It comes after Biden flew to Tel Aviv on Wednesday pledging his support for Israel in the wake of the sprawling attack carried out by Hamas terrorists this month.

In remarks there after meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden said, “Israel was born to be a safe place for the Jewish people in the world.” "While it may not feel that way today, Israel must again be a safe place for the Jewish people," he said, promising that the U.S. would "do everything in our power" to make sure it is. He also stressed the difference between Hamas and the Palestinian people, who he said are "suffering greatly."

“The vast majority of Palestinians are not Hamas. Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people,” he said. “Hamas uses innocent families in Gaza as human shields, putting their command centers or weapons or communications tunnels in residential areas.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Home-sales report to show how much high rates squeezed market (Wall Street Journal)

Thursday’s home sales report will show how the housing market is responding to soaring mortgage rates.

• Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal estimate sales of previously owned homes fell a seasonally adjusted 3.5% in September from August, which would mark the fourth consecutive monthly decline.

• Home sales have trended sharply lower as mortgage rates rose to the highest level since 2000. Rates have risen steadily in recent weeks and hit 7.57% in the week ended Oct. 12, according to Freddie Mac.

• The National Association of Realtors is scheduled to release the September existing-home sales report at 10 a.m. Eastern time Thursday… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

_________________________

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