View this email in your browser

Was this email forwarded to you? Click Here to Sign Up!

November 8, 2023

In today's BG Reads:

✅ Aggrieved citizens sue over funding Project Connect

✅ Austin's airport safety is under scrutiny after a string of near misses

✅ Abbott calls lawmakers back for fourth time

Read on!

[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]

Aggrieved citizens sue over funding Project Connect (Austin Monitor)

A group of prominent citizens has filed suit against all members of City Council and members of the Austin Transit Partnership Board of Directors, claiming that ATP may not legally spend city property taxes or issue debt needed to build Project Connect because what is being built is drastically different from what was promised to voters in 2020.

Plaintiffs include former state Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos, Travis County Commissioner Margaret Gómez, former Austin Council Member Ora Houston and activist Susana Almanza. The lead plaintiff is Dirty Martin’s, which has served hamburgers on Guadalupe since 1926. Project Connect threatens the continued existence of the restaurant.

Project Connect, as presented to voters, included a $7 billion plan for two light rail lines, called Blue and Orange, and a commuter rail line, called Green, that would have gone through East Austin to the airport, a 20-block downtown transit tunnel with underground shopping. That dollar amount also would have covered new rapid bus routes as well as funds to mitigate community displacement. The estimated time for completion was 13 years… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Austin Convention Center project manager close to being chosen (Austin Business Journal)

San Antonio-based project management and technical services firm Project Control of Texas Inc. is slated to be selected as a key partner overseeing the planning and construction of the new Austin Convention Center.

During its Nov. 9 meeting, Austin City Council is scheduled to vote on a $30 million contract with the business to oversee the downtown convention center’s transformation anticipated to begin in 2025 and cost a total of about $1.6 billion. When completed, the redeveloped center’s economic impact on the city is expected to rise from $468 million to more than $750 million, according to a 2020 study conducted by the hospitality-focused consulting firm HVS.

As outlined in city documents, Project Control is set to work collaboratively to provide the following services to ensure the successful delivery of the new convention center by early 2029: Project management, cost management, scope and change control, risk management, communication, reporting, regulatory compliance, schedule management, technical services and inspection services… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

City of Austin officially takes over airport's South Terminal after legal battle (KVUE)

The City of Austin has officially taken over the airport's South Terminal after a lengthy legal battle. A federal judge officially closed the case on Tuesday.

The city agreed to pay $88 million dollars to take over that property and use it for an expansion project. That settlement was approved in June and ended lawsuits between the City of Austin and Lonestar Airport Holdings LLC.

The settlement now allows for the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to move forward with its Airport Expansion and Development Program (AEDP).

The expansion program was announced in 2021 as a way to address airline and passenger activity growth.

The program would create a new midfield concourse and supporting infrastructure, which includes a new connector tunnel to the main terminal and new taxiways. This would mean the South Terminal facility and 30 other vacant airport-owned buildings would need to be removed… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Austin's airport safety is under scrutiny after a string of near misses (KUT)

A disturbing string of dangerous incidents at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport — including near-misses and two tarmac deaths this year — has elected officials clashing with city staff over safety at an airport where passenger volumes have more than doubled in the last decade.

Now, some of those frustrations are boiling into public view.

Austin City Council Member Vanessa Fuentes, whose district includes the city-owned airport, wants city staff to let council members know immediately when something serious happens.

"They certainly can be and should be doing a job of notifying council," Fuentes told KUT. "There have been times with the near misses between the planes where I found out through the media versus from our own airport staff. That's not OK."… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

WeWork intends to maintain all Austin offices following bankruptcy filing (Austin Business Journal)

WeWork Inc. looks to remain the top coworking firm in the Austin metro following its Nov. 6 Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

As part of the filing, WeWork is requesting the ability to reject the leases of certain locations that the company called "largely non-operational," adding all affected members have received advanced notice. However, a second filing on Nov. 7 that listed leases WeWork planned to reject did not include any of leases that the company holds in Austin.

WeWork has about 558,000 square feet of office space — about as much as six Walmart stores — for rent in Austin, according to ABJ's list of coworking firms. The No. 2 listmaker, Capital Factory, has 90,000 square feet.

"Austin remains a key market for WeWork and we are fully committed to providing our members here with world-class, flexible workspace solutions for the long term,” read a statement provided by a WeWork spokesperson. “We have exceptional confidence that we will emerge from this process a financially stronger company so we can focus on investing in our products, our services, our growth, our employees, and our members."

WeWork plans to reject 69 leases in Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Phoenix, Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco, Denver, Seattle and St. Louis. In August, WeWork had approximately 18 million square feet of office space in the U.S… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[TEXAS NEWS]

Abbott calls lawmakers back for fourth time to try again on school vouchers and border security (Texas Tribune)

The third special legislative session ended with a whimper Tuesday morning without a deal on school vouchers — Gov. Greg Abbott’s top priority — as well as several border security bills he had asked for.

The governor, undeterred, called lawmakers back for a fourth special session beginning the same day.

"There is more work to be done," Abbott said in a statement. "I am immediately calling lawmakers back... to complete their critical work to empower Texas parents to choose the best education pathway for their child while providing billions more in funding for Texas public schools and continuing to boost safety measures in schools."

Abbott's agenda for the new session includes four items: boosting funding for schools, including through the creation of a voucher program; school safety measures; legislation to create criminal offenses for crossing the Texas-Mexico border illegally; and funding for border walls and border security operations, including more police for the Liberty County community of Colony Ridge… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Houston mayor election results: Whitmire and Jackson Lee advance to runoff (Houston Chronicle)

State Sen. John Whitmire and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee are headed to a December runoff in Houston’s mayoral race, as the two longtime politicians held a commanding lead in the crowded contest to lead City Hall for the next four years.

As of early Wednesday, Whitmire (42.5%) and Jackson Lee (35.7%) led their 16 challengers by large margins with about 91% of Election Day voting centers reporting, and early voting and mail-in ballots preliminarily counted. Former Metro Chair Gilbert Garcia (7.2%) and former Councilmember Jack Christie (6.9%), perhaps their most well-known challengers, were trailing the front-runners.

State Sen. John Whitmire and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee are headed to a December runoff in Houston’s mayoral race, as the two longtime politicians held a commanding lead in the crowded contest to lead City Hall for the next four years.

As of early Wednesday, Whitmire (42.5%) and Jackson Lee (35.7%) led their 16 challengers by large margins with about 91% of Election Day voting centers reporting, and early voting and mail-in ballots preliminarily counted. Former Metro Chair Gilbert Garcia (7.2%) and former Councilmember Jack Christie (6.9%), perhaps their most well-known challengers, were trailing the front-runners… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[US/WORLD NEWS]

House votes to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib over her Israel-Hamas rhetoric in a stunning rebuke (Associated Press)

The House voted late Tuesday to censure Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan — the only Palestinian American in Congress — an extraordinary rebuke of her rhetoric about the Israel-Hamas war.

The 234-188 tally came after enough Democrats joined with Republicans to censure Tlaib, a punishment one step below expulsion from the House. The three-term congresswoman has long been a target of criticism for her views on the decades-long conflict in the Middle East.

The debate on the censure resolution on Tuesday afternoon was emotional and intense. Republican Rep. Rich McCormick of Georgia pushed the measure in response to what he called Tlaib’s promotion of antisemitic rhetoric. He said she has “levied unbelievable falsehoods about our greatest ally, Israel, and the attack on October 7.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Cherelle Parker makes history: Philly elects first Black woman mayor (NPR)

Philadelphia voters have elected Cherelle Parker as the city’s 100th mayor — making her the first woman and the first Black woman to hold the post.

Her defeat of Republican opponent former City Councilman David Oh Tuesday was hardly a surprise, with Democrats outnumbering Republicans in Philadelphia 7-to-1. Parker succeeds fellow Democrat and outgoing Mayor Jim Kenney, who is term-limited… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

China and Russia claim moral high ground over Palestinian deaths (Wall Street Journal)

The bloody war in Gaza is providing America’s main geopolitical rivals China and Russia with a valuable opportunity to garner support around the world, enabling the two repressive autocracies to harness a wave of sympathy for the Palestinians and to position themselves as champions of humanitarian values and peace.

While both Moscow and Beijing maintained close relations with Israel for decades—Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu even used billboards of himself with Russian President Vladimir Putin during last year’s election—the two powers have pointedly declined to criticize Hamas for the Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel that triggered the war.

Distancing themselves from Israel, Russia and China have since focused on framing the war as part of a global power struggle against the U.S., with Israel reduced to little more than Washington’s regional pawn.

Putin, whose forces have flattened several Ukrainian cities, said in an address last week that his “fists clench and eyes tear up” as he watches the Israeli bombing of Gaza. Russian soldiers in Ukraine are fighting the same American “root of evil,” he said, and their battles “will decide the fate of Russia, and of the entire world, including the future of the Palestinian people.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

_________________________

🔎 Have questions or in need of lobbying services? Fill out Bingham Group’s Service Interest Questionnaire and let us see how we can help.

SHARE BG READS FEEDBACK HERE

⬇️

Was this email forwarded to you? Click Here to Sign Up!

Copyright (C) " target="_blank">unsubscribe