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October 23, 2023

In today's BG Reads:

✅ A campaign is underway to rename Austin’s airport after LBJ

✅ Council pushes for pause on I-35 expansion

✅ Americans’ faith in institutions has been sliding for years. The chaos in Congress isn’t helping

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]

Council pushes for pause on I-35 expansion, citing air quality concerns (Austin Monitor)

Citing concerns over possible environmental and air quality impacts, City Council wants to delay the start of the reconstruction of Interstate 35.

By a 7-3 vote, Council approved a resolution Thursday that asked the Texas Department of Transportation and Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization to hold off on any funding for the $4.5 billion project until a pair of environmental studies – CAMPO’s Regional Mobile Emission Reduction Plan and the Austin MSA Climate Plan – are completed. Mayor Kirk Watson and Council members Leslie Pool and Mackenzie Kelly voted against the resolution, and Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison is away on medical leave.

The resolution followed many of the same concerns and talking points of a recent recommendation by Council’s Mobility Committee. Along with the environmental concerns, that recommendation raised the issue of the city needing to identify by next December a funding source for $450 million to construct caps over several portions of the expressway… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Applicants wanted for Project Connect community advisory committee   (Austin Business Journal)

As work continues on Project Connect, Austin’s multibillion-dollar initiative to expand the city’s train and bus system, the key entities tasked with carrying out the in the taxpayer-funded project are looking for input from residents.

A community advisory committee is being formed with the intention of providing counsel on anti-displacement and equity matters.

Applications for the committee will close Friday, Nov. 17. The committee will be comprised of 11 members.

In order to be eligible for the committee, applicants must:

• Be residents of either the City of Austin or CapMetro’s Service Areal;

• Not be a person who is registered or required to register as a lobbyist;

• Not an employee of the city, CapMtero or the Austin Transit Partnership;

• Not have a contract for land, goods or services with city, CapMetro or ATP, or be employed by such a contractor; and

• Be willing to abide by the ATP Ethics, Conflicts and Nondisclosure Policy.More info can be found here… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

A campaign is underway to rename Austin’s airport after LBJ (KUT)

Could Austin’s gateway to the world be renamed after a Texas political titan?

Yes, if the LBJ Foundation has anything to say about it. The Austin organization has quietly begun a campaign to rename Austin-Bergstrom International Airport after President Lyndon Baines Johnson – a shrewd politician from the Hill Country whose mixed legacy includes helping pass landmark civil rights legislation while driving the United States deeper into the Vietnam War.

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson has discussed the renaming idea with the LBJ Foundation, a nonprofit that raises money for the LBJ Presidential Library and LBJ School of Public Affairs.

Watson briefly spoke with the foundation’s president and CEO Mark Updegrove about the proposal outside the LBJ Library in early September, emails obtained under the Texas Public Information Act show. Watson later told Updegrove he liked the idea... (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[TEXAS NEWS]

House, Senate bills at odds over power to boost future funding for Texas school voucher program (Texas Tribune)

The Texas House and Senate are at odds over how much discretion to give state leaders in funding a private-school voucher program — the latest flashpoint in the ongoing battle between the two chambers over whether the state should help schoolchildren pay for a private education.

A key difference between Republican proposals in each chamber lies in whether to allow state leaders to grow the program by sweeping money from other agencies without approval of the Texas Legislature.

House Bill 1, by Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Killeen, states explicitly that Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and the Legislative Budget Board cannot use the board’s budget authority to boost the amount of tax dollars for the bill’s education savings accounts.

The Legislative Budget Board — composed of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, House Speaker Dade Phelan, and appointed budget leaders from both chambers — and the governor share “budget execution” authority, which gives them the power to shift money around without legislative action... (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Gov. Abbott directs Texas schools to resources for teaching about Israel-Hamas war (Texas Tribune)

Gov. Greg Abbott urged Texas schools Friday to utilize additional resources provided by the Texas Education Agency in teaching about the Israel-Hamas war.

In a statement on Friday, Abbott said Texas “stands strong with Israel and our Jewish neighbors,” and that the state will work to prevent “misinformation and prejudice” that could “undermine the support the Jewish community needs during this time of conflict.”

The resources include materials about the history of the conflict from the Institute for Curriculum Studies, an organization that provides instructional materials on Jewish history, and a guide to having “conscientious conversations” from the Anti-Defamation League, an anti-hate organization that works to counter antisemitism.

Also included is an article on U.S. policy toward Israel and the Palestinian territories from New York City-based think tank the Council on Foreign Relations and a resource for how parents should talk to their children about violence from Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that helps parents choose age-appropriate entertainment and media options. These resources will be available for Texas schools in addition to existing curriculum on Israel, antisemitism, genocide and the Holocaust, according to the governor’s statement… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[US/WORLD NEWS]

House speaker race widens to 9 Republicans vying for nomination (NPR)

After Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, failed in his bid to become speaker of the House, a new crop of candidates is jumping into the race.

Nine Republican representatives announced their intention to seek their conference's nomination for the top job ahead of the Sunday deadline: Jack Bergman of Michigan, Byron Donalds of Florida, Tom Emmer of Minnesota, Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, Mike Johnson of Louisiana, Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania, Gary Palmer of Alabama, Austin Scott of Georgia and Pete Sessions of Texas… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Americans’ faith in institutions has been sliding for years. The chaos in Congress isn’t helping (Associated Press)

For many Americans, the Republican dysfunction that has ground business in the U.S. House to a halt as two wars rage abroad and a budget crisis looms at home is feeding into a longer-term pessimism about the country’s core institutions.

The lack of faith extends beyond Congress, with recent polling conducted both before and after the leadership meltdown finding a mistrust in everything from the courts to organized religion. The GOP internal bickering that for nearly three weeks has left open the speaker’s position — second in line to the presidency — is widely seen as the latest indication of deep problems with the nation’s bedrock institutions.

“They’re holding up the people’s business because they’re so dysfunctional,” said Christopher Lauff, 57, of Fargo, North Dakota… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

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