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- BG Reads 12.13.2024
BG Reads 12.13.2024
🟪 BG Reads - December 13, 2024
Bingham Group Reads
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December 13, 2024
➡️ Today's BG Reads include:
🟪 Austin City Council passes Austin Energy's updated 'Climate Protection Plan' (KVUE)
🟪 Austin's Marshalling Yard homeless shelter operations extended with $6.75M of city, federal funds (Community Impact)
🟪 Austin's economic development director to retire (Austin Business Journal)
🟪 First-time homebuyers flock to Williamson County (Austin Business Journal)
🟪 In Dallas, Gov. Abbott pitches water security, nuclear energy as legislative
priorities (Dallas Morning News)
🟪 Biden’s record-setting clemency act leaves allies only wanting more (Politico)
Read On!
[CITY OF AUSTIN]
🟪 The Austin Council has concluded it regular meetings for 2024:
🟪 MEMO: City of Austin Executive Leadership Team and Organizational Announced (Effective November 4, 2024)
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
➡️ Austin City Council passes Austin Energy's updated 'Climate Protection Plan' (KVUE)
On Thursday, the Austin City Council approved Austin Energy's Resource, Generation and Climate Protection Plan to 2035.
The unanimous vote capped off a packed final city council meeting of 2024, which featured an agenda of more than 140 items.
The vote came after about an hour of public comment, where dozens of Austinites showed up to speak out both in favor and against the plan.
Austin Energy said the proposal will provide low-cost energy, but some environmental groups said it abandons the city's climate goals.
"There are some major loopholes that prevent us from truly going carbon-free, and if done the wrong way, there are ways in which this will increase air pollution," Shane Johnson with the Lonestar Sierra Club said. "On the hottest days of the year, when ozone is already a problem, they're adding new units, and they run all their old units, air pollution absolutely will increase, and that's going to harm the people, the communities of color, and the people and the kids living and playing and going to school near there."
In 2021, the city council adopted a climate equity plan with the goal of making the city net zero emissions by 2040. After Winter Storm Uri in February 2021 and the peak demand for energy over the last two summers, the utility company has been looking for ways to provide reliable energy consistently… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
➡️ Austin's Marshalling Yard homeless shelter operations extended with $6.75M of city, federal funds (Community Impact)
A 300-bed temporary homeless shelter will remain open on the east side at least until at least fall 2025, after city officials voted to once again extend its operations with millions of dollars in new funding.
In response to lacking capacity across Austin's shelter network, city leaders converted the Austin Convention Center Marshalling Yard warehouse into an emergency shelter facility last year.The Marshalling Yard served more than 1,000 clients from its launch in August 2023 through this October, according to Homeless Strategy Officer David Gray. Its first year of operations cost more than $9 million, and while it was previously expected to close in early 2025 officials recently approved an extension until March for $500,000.On Dec. 12, City Council voted to spend an additional $6.75 million on a six-month extension that will now keep the shelter open through next September. The Marshalling Yard could still continue operating beyond then as well, but the city is now searching for alternative sites for the hundreds of beds going forward… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
➡️ Austin's economic development director to retire (Austin Business Journal)
The head of economic development efforts for the city of Austin is retiring.
Sylnovia Holt-Rabb, who has served as director of the city's Economic Development Department since early 2022, will be replaced on an interim basis by Deputy Director Anthony Segura beginning Jan. 1, according to a Dec. 10 department newsletter.
Holt-Rabb worked in the department in various capacities since 2009 — including roles as assistant and deputy director — before being promoted to director in February 2022. She has worked for the city since 2000, according to her LinkedIn page.
She's credited with awarding over $21 million in grants to creative professionals and organizations, establishing 13 emergency economic recovery programs amid the Covid-19 pandemic and providing workforce training to over 2,500 Austinites, T.C. Broadnax, Austin's new city manager, said in a memo.
"I am proud of what we have accomplished to support the community of Austin," Holt-Rabb said in a statement. "As I move into this next chapter, I will always cherish my time with the city and look forward to seeing the department continue its impactful work."
Segura has been with the Economic Development Department since January 2024 and has worked for the city in various roles since 2012. As deputy director, he has overseen redevelopment efforts, global business expansion, the small business division and the department's finance and strategic planning teams, Broadnax said… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
➡️ First-time homebuyers flock to Williamson County (Austin Business Journal)
In October, the most recent data available, the median sales price of a home in Williamson County clocked in at $420,000 compared to $510,000 in Travis County and $565,000 in the city of Austin, according to the Austin Board of Realtors’ and Unlock MLS’ latest market data.
While the more affordable inventory in Williamson County is attractive to first-time homebuyers, the job market fueled by employers such as Apple and Samsung is also a major driver of demand in the region.
Kent Redding, ABOR's 2024 president, said buyers are comparing the average sales price of a home in Austin to other areas of the metro and deciding they simply can’t afford a house in Austin — especially at a time when mortgage rates are elevated.
The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage as of Dec. 5 was 6.69%, according to Freddie Mac.
Williamson County’s more affordable inventory has been attractive to first-time homebuyers in 2024, added Clare Losey, ABOR's housing economist. As a result of mortgage rates climbing in 2022, first-time buyers “sidelined” themselves through 2023, expecting mortgage rates to lower in 2024. Though mortgage rates have not fallen significantly in 2024, many of those first-time buyers have since been re-entering the market… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
➡️ Hospitals, medical offices follow the rooftops in growing Williamson County (Austin Business Journal)
One industry in particular has grown considerably alongside Williamson County's booming population: health care.
On the heels of two childrens hospitals being added near Lakeline Mall, at least $876 million worth of hospitals and other projects are in various phases of construction in the county. That includes:
A $230 million expansion by Ascension Seton to its hospital in Round Rock, which held a groundbreaking in September;
An ongoing $220 million expansion by Baylor Scott & White Health in Round Rock;
St. David's Healthcare investing $182 million in the construction of a Leander hospital with existing medical office buildings, which has wrapped up its design phase, and completing a $53.1 million expansion at its Round Rock location;
Dell Children's Medical Center North completing a $191 million expansion at its North Austin campus;
And a flurry of medical office buildings popping up throughout the region, including Ryan Companies U.S. Inc.'s medical office project in Leander's Northline project.
The reason is simple: it's a numbers game. Williamson County has ballooned from 422,000 people in 2010 to 697,000 in 2023, according to U.S. Census Bureau numbers. That figure could reach 1.4 million people by 2045…
➡️ Judge tosses lawsuit to remove Travis County District Attorney José Garza from office (KUT)
Travis County District Attorney José Garza has fended off a monthslong lawsuit to kick him out of office.
State Judge Dib Waldrip on Thursday dismissed the lawsuit, which claimed he should be removed because his office ignored complaints about a sexual assault.
Mary Dupuis filed suit in April, alleging Garza was incompetent and had engaged in "official misconduct." Waldrip said earlier this year that Dupuis didn't provide proof Garza had failed to prosecute certain crimes.
Texas' so-called rogue prosecutor law allows residents to sue any county or district attorney to remove them from office. This was the second challenge Garza has faced since the law took effect in 2023.
Garza has characterized the lawsuits as politically motivated.
In a statement Thursday, he said his office has "never deviated" from his goals to uphold the rule of law in his tenure as Travis County DA… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
➡️ In Dallas, Gov. Abbott pitches water security, nuclear energy as legislative
priorities (Dallas Morning News)
Speaking to Dallas-area business leaders Thursday, Gov. Greg Abbott said Texas’ energy sector is poised for growth under a second Trump Administration and called on state lawmakers to prioritize securing water resources and exploring nuclear energy during the upcoming legislative session.
The Republican governor said projections show that within the next year, Texas' economy will surpass that of France, making it the world’s seventh-largest economy if counted separately from the United States. The state’s energy sector, specifically the oil and gas industry, make up the underpinnings of the Texas economic success story — and he said it’s about to be untethered.
“It’s going to be ‘game on’ January 20th,” Abbott said Thursday, referring to the date President-elect Donald Trump is set to return to power. Abbott’s remarks came during a moderated discussion hosted by the Dallas Citizen Council, a nonprofit helmed by local business leaders who weigh in on local policy issues.
The governor shared the 40-minute discussion with Kelcy Warren, co-founder and board chair of Energy Transfer, a pipeline company. Warren, a Dallas billionaire, has been a longtime financial supporter of Republican candidates, including Trump and Abbott.
During the discussion, Abbott praised the state’s recent economic successes, including efforts to persuade corporate leaders to relocate their headquarters, such as Elon Musk’s Tesla and X, the social platform formally known as Twitter, to Texas. Tesla’s decision to build a manufacturing facility on more than 2,500 acres of Travis County, just outside of Austin, was realized in under 18 months — a testament to the state’s practice of expediting permitting and regulatory processes, Abbott said… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
➡️ Lina Hidalgo deflects John Whitmire's claim that she may not run again (Houston Chronicle)
County Judge Lina Hidalgo said she hasn't decided whether to run for office in 2026 in response to a claim made Thursday by Mayor John Whitmire that she will not pursue another term as county judge. Whitmire, in an interview with the Houston Chronicle, said he had heard that Hidalgo was “fixing to announce that she’s not going to run.”
He alluded to the judge's personal struggle with depression and the pressures that accompany the job as county judge. “She’s not enjoying her work,” Whitmire said.
“And she’s happy now. I saw on social media she got back this weekend from her wedding destination. But let me tell you what, this is a tough job at any level. You definitely lose your privacy. She’s obviously documented some of her emotional issues, which, this is a terrible profession to be in if you’re struggling with pressure.”
In a statement to the Chronicle, Hidalgo said she is "fully focused on serving the people of Harris County" but didn't directly say whether Whitmire’s comments about her political future were accurate. "At this time, we have no announcement to make regarding future elections," her office said.
Whitmire and Hidalgo have had an adversarial relationship since the mayor took office in January. Hidalgo supported Whitmire’s opponent, former U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, in the race for mayor.
Whitmire did not say whether the pair had met in an official capacity in his first year in office, but told the Chronicle that he would “work with anyone” and that the pair had worked together during the Kingwood flooding in May.
While the pair initially held separate press conferences to brief residents on flooding updates, Hidalgo and Whitmire eventually met for a joint conference at Houston TranStar, where they began to spar about who should speak at the microphone. Whitmire invited Commissioner Lesley Briones to speak. Hidalgo objected, saying all county precincts had been impacted, not just Briones'. "I'm glad I made the approval list," Whitmire told Hidalgo. "Mayor, this is a disaster," Hidalgo replied. "This is not the time."
Hidalgo already has one potential challenger for the position, former Houston Mayor Annise Parker, who may run for county judge as a Democrat. Parker told the Chronicle in April she hadn’t decided any plans for the future… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
➡️ SpaceX wants to turn its Texas launch site into a city (Texas Tribune)
SpaceX’s goal is to colonize Mars. But first, it wants to create an official city in Texas.
Employees living on the site of SpaceX's operations in South Texas are requesting a special election to determine whether the site can be incorporated into a city.
Current residents of Starbase, the company’s South Texas headquarters and launch site, submitted a petition to Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño Thursday, according to a SpaceX spokesperson.
"We are investing billions in infrastructure and generating hundreds of millions in income and taxes for local businesses and government, all with the goal of making South Texas the Gateway to Mars," said Starbase General Manager Kathryn Lueders in a letter to Treviño… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[US and World News]
➡️ Biden’s record-setting clemency act leaves allies only wanting more (Politico)
As the Biden administration entered its last months, a group of officials quietly sifted through thousands of clemency applications, debating who should be included in what was envisioned as a splashy, record-setting act of mercy.
Then Joe Biden went rogue and pardoned his son, Hunter, ahead of everybody else.
he president’s surprise decision divided the Democratic Party, upending what had been a methodical clemency process that many hoped would spark a groundswell of appreciation for Biden on his way out.
Instead, allies and criminal justice advocates say, Biden’s act of mass clemency on Thursday now feels like something of a consolation. And even as Democrats applauded the move to grant nearly 1,500 commutations and 39 pardons, they warned the White House still has plenty more to do to satisfy a criminal justice movement eager for others to receive the same level of sympathy as the president’s son.
“The White House knows, and he knows, that he needed to do a big list of pardons,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), who was among the Democrats critical of Biden’s blanket pardon for Hunter.
“We’re still looking for the next list of people,” she added. “I’m hopeful that there will be a next list.”
The White House’s commutation announcement was limited to only people who had already been released from prison and served at least a year of home confinement, leaving out sizable populations of convicted people. The vast majority were men, according to a POLITICO analysis of inmate data, with the ages of those receiving commutations ranging from 25 to 89… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
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