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- BG Reads 10.9.2023
BG Reads 10.9.2023
🗞️ BG Reads | News - October 9, 2023
October 9, 2023
In today's BG Reads:
✅ Austin's weather expected to be a 'roller coaster' this week
✅ Paxton endorses candidates challenging House Republicans who impeached him
✅ Israel ‘at war’ after unprecedented assault by Hamas militants from Gaza
Read on!
[BINGHAM GROUP]
On this episode the Bingham Group CEO A.J. Bingham welcomes returning guest, Ed Latson, CEO, Austin Regional Manufacturers Association (ARMA).
He and Bingham Group CEO A.J. discuss the Austin City Council's recent approval of Ch. 380 agreement with NXP, and its importance to Austin and Central Texas.
The BG Podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
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[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
Austin's weather expected to be a 'roller coaster' this week (Austin American-Statesman)
After Austin finally saw some of its first fall weather this weekend, the National Weather Service predicts the coming week could be a bit of a "roller coaster," with some rain in the middle of the week and hot summer temperatures to end the week.
However, people can expect "perfect" conditions for Saturday's annular eclipse, as a cold front is expected to come in and the current forecast doesn't show a lot of clouds in the sky, said Orlando Bermudez, a meteorologist with the weather service.
The highest chance of rain this week comes on Tuesday night heading into early Wednesday morning. Other than that, it's expected to be a dry week, Bermudez said.
By Thursday, a quick heat wave is expected to raise temperatures into the lower 90s, but high humidity levels will make the weather feel hotter. Those higher temperatures are expected to persist on Friday, but without the muggy feeling for the first day of Austin City Limits Festival weekend two, according to the weather service…
Texas Education Agency appoints monitors to oversee Austin ISD's special education plan (KUT)
Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath on Thursday named a pair of monitors tasked with ensuring the Austin Independent School District is taking state-mandated action to improve special education services.
The appointment comes about six months after the Texas Education Agency released the results of an investigation that found Austin ISD was violating state and federal law by repeatedly failing to conduct timely evaluations and provide services to students with disabilities.
Morath told the school district in a letter that he is appointing Sherry Marsh and Lesa Shocklee to serve as monitors.
Austin ISD will be paying the monitors $125 per hour, according to Morath. The district will also cover the monitors’ travel expenses… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Q&A: Get to know Russell Lowery-Hart, Austin Community College’s new chancellor (Community Impact)
Russell Lowery-Hart began as the new chancellor for the Austin Community College District on Oct. 1 after serving as the president of Amarillo College since 2014. His hiring follows the retirement of former ACC Chancellor Richard Rhodes this year.Lowery-Hart spoke with Community Impact about his plans for the ACC District and approach to higher education… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin FC overhauls scouting, player personnel departments after missing MLS playoffs (KXAN)
A day after they were eliminated from the Major League Soccer playoffs, Austin FC announced changes within its scouting and player personnel departments.
Manuel Junco, who has been the club’s chief scout since 2020, has left and Sean Rubio, the senior vice president of player personnel, has accepted a job with another MLS club. Rubio also filled in as sporting director after Claudio Reyna resigned.
Austin FC also added five new full-time scouts who are “stationed throughout Europe and South America.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
Primary threats loom over House Republicans as lawmakers again consider school vouchers (Texas Tribune)
The easy way or the hard way.
That’s how Gov. Greg Abbott has described the choice for state lawmakers in his own party as they enter a third special session focused on his yearlong crusade for “school choice.”
They could pass a bill that satisfies him and allows state funds to be used for private school options — the easy way — or they could keep gridlocking and face his wrath in the Republican primary — the hard way.
Abbott’s framing has set a stark political overtone for the special session, which begins Monday — about a month before candidate filing opens for the March primary… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Ken Paxton endorses candidates challenging House Republicans who impeached him (Texas Tribune)
Attorney General Ken Paxton on Friday endorsed a slate of primary challengers to state House Republicans who voted to impeach him, a new front in his political revenge tour since the Texas Senate acquitted him.
Paxton threw his support behind seven challengers, including those running against House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, and Rep. Andrew Murr, R-Junction, chair of the House impeachment managers. Paxton’s campaign described it as an initial round of endorsements and promised more details soon on a “statewide Fall tour,” including campaign stops with the candidates.
“Texas conservatives have seen their State House hijacked by liberal RINO Republicans for far too long,” Paxton said in a statement. “I’m making these endorsements to begin restoring a conservative majority in our state House.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
The SEC's conquest of Texas is nearly complete (Yahoo Sports)
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey will attend Saturday’s Oklahoma-Texas Game played amidst the Texas State Fair in Dallas. Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark will not. This is notable because the Sooners and Longhorns are members of the Big 12 and this is a Big 12 Conference match-up with significant implications for the Big 12 championship. At least for now. Texas and Oklahoma will, of course, join the SEC next season as the league expands to 16-teams strong. Saturday, as such, is a chance for Sankey and his league to get an early sample of fried Oreos under the Big Tex statue and grabbing a little of the clout that the Red River Showdown brings, especially when both teams are 5-0.
It is also a continuation of a process that former SEC commissioner Mike Slive began nearly 15 years ago, when he looked at his league’s southern footprint and began staring longingly to the west — deep into the heart of Texas. No state does football quite like Texas, and the SEC has long coveted its massive television markets, its growing population, its Fortune 500 companies and, of course, its endless stream of top recruits. The goal was simple, even if the challenge was considerable: turn Texas, long the foundation of the Big 12 (and Southwest Conference before it), into SEC territory. In 2012, the league established a foothold by adding Texas A&M. The league further set up ties to Texas-based bowl games, sent Alabama, Florida, LSU and others to regular season games in Houston and Arlington and began staging the annual A&M-Arkansas Game at JerryWorld. Finally, two summers ago, Texas finally agreed to jump and brought Oklahoma with it… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[US/WORLD NEWS]
Israel ‘at war’ after unprecedented assault by Hamas militants from Gaza (Washington Post)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Saturday that “we are at war” after Hamas militants from Gaza launched a surprise, multipronged attack across central and southern Israel, killing an estimated 250 Israelis and wounding 1,000 more. The assault began early Saturday when Hamas launched thousands of rockets toward Israeli cities and sent militants into Israeli territory overland and by using paragliders and speedboats. Gunmen seized control of pockets of southern Israel, taking hostages and leaving bodies of civilians in the streets. The Israeli air force launched airstrikes throughout the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Health Ministry said at least 232 people were killed and 1,697 wounded in Gaza. As night fell, the death toll kept climbing and Hamas said it fired a fresh fusillade of roughly 150 rockets at Tel Aviv.
Israel ordered residents of towns along the Gaza border to remain inside, as gun battles raged through the day. There were active hostage situations in the southern communities of Kibbutz Beeri and Ofakim, according to the Israeli military, which said militants were holding civilians in their homes and at a community dining hall. Earlier, Palestinian militants claimed to have taken dozens of Israelis captive — including senior military officers, Hamas deputy chief Saleh al-Arouri told Al Jazeera. He indicated that Hamas wants to trade its hostages for militants imprisoned in Israel. Israeli social media and radio stations were flooded with desperate pleas from families looking for loved ones. Tom Weintraub Louk, 30, told The Washington Post that her first cousin, Shani Louk, was missing after militants overran an outdoor dance party near Kibbutz Urim on Saturday morning.
As news of the attack circulated, family members tried to contact Shani, who is in her early 20s. “We knew she was in the party. She didn’t answer,” said Louk. Family members also failed to get through to her Mexican boyfriend. Later in the morning, as videos of hostage-takings flew across social media, another cousin recognized Shani in one of them — in the back of a pickup truck, surrounded by armed militants… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
U.S. sends aircraft carrier group to eastern Mediterranean in response to Hamas attack on Israel (CBS News)
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced Sunday that he has ordered American military ships, including an aircraft carrier and additional aircraft, to move closer to the eastern Mediterranean in response to Hamas' unprecedented, multi-fronted attack on Israel. At least four U.S. citizens were among the more than 700 people killed in Israel amid Hamas assault, according to a Sunday night statement from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
"Today, in response to this Hamas attack on Israel, and following detailed discussions with President Biden, I have directed several steps to strengthen Department of Defense posture in the region to bolster regional deterrence efforts," Austin said in a news release.
The USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group includes the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, which is the largest warship in the world, in addition to the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS Normandy and four Arleigh-Burke-class guided missile destroyers — USS Thomas Hudner, USS Ramage, USS Carney and USS Roosevelt… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
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