BG Reads 12.17.2024

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December 17, 2024  

➡️ Today's BG Reads include:

🟪 For local preservationists, Council facilitates a miracle on East 12th Street (Austin Monitor)

🟪 Ghizlane Badawi is 'chaos manager' at Austin's airport (Austin Business Journal)

🟪 Austin taps bond, development funds for hundreds of affordable homes and apartments (Community Impact)

🟪 Dustin Burrows walks a tightrope seeking Republican and Democratic support for Texas House speaker bid (Texas Tribune)

🟪 Biden, Harris thank major Democratic donors and urge them to stay engaged after tough loss to Trump (Associated Press)

Read On!

[CITY OF AUSTIN]

🟪 Review: The 2025 Austin Council Meeting Calendar 

🟪 MEMO: City of Austin Executive Leadership Team and Organizational Announced (Effective November 4, 2024)

[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]

➡️ For local preservationists, Council facilitates a miracle on East 12th Street (Austin Monitor)

City Hall was abuzz with more than just the holiday spirit last Thursday, with City Council adjourning its final meeting to the sound of cheers at a rare victory for preservationists at 1500 E. 12th St.

The fate of the Eisenbeiser building, a historic grocery and saloon turned barbershop and music venue, seemed grim just months prior, when it landed at the feet of the Historic Landmark Commission as a request for demolition. Yet against all odds, an application to zone the site historic cleared the extraordinary requirements to rule against a property’s owner’s wishes, which include a supermajority vote both at Planning Commission and Council. The case cleared that final bar in a 9-2 vote, with Council members Natasha Harper-Madison and Paige Ellis against.

The case first made waves this past summer, when landmark commissioners blasted owner Eureka Holdings for the site’s blatant neglect and levied accusations of bad faith arguments for  demolition. Since then, what began as a last-ditch effort to save the century-old storefront has become an existential battle over East Austin’s heritage, galvanizing a sprawling coalition of civic organizations and neighbors and amassing 1,600 signatures in a petition for historic zoning. 

The groundswell is unsurprising given the growing resentment for Eureka Holdings, which after nearly a decade has yet to put forth plans to develop its numerous properties along the corridors of 11th and 12th streets. With the exception of their begrudging rehabilitation of the I.Q. Hurdle House, done only after the Historic Landmark Commission’s threats to pursue demolition by neglect, the real estate group’s stock of empty lots and vacant buildings continue to amass complaints as they languish in disrepair…  🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

➡️ Austin taps bond, development funds for hundreds of affordable homes and apartments (Community Impact)

City officials approved new investments in hundreds of lower-income apartments and dozens of affordable homes this month, backed largely by Austin's 2022 bond.

City Council, through the Austin Housing Finance Corp., signed off on more than $28 million in loans with several builders for projects around Austin on Dec. 12.Those updates included funding like $2 million through the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas for The Roz, a 100-unit permanent supportive housing complex for tenants exiting homelessness. Another supportive housing project, the 150-unit Cairn Point Montopolis, will receive $2 million from both city bond funds and Downtown Density Bonus Program revenue collected from high-rise developers… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

➡️ Ghizlane Badawi is 'chaos manager' at Austin's airport (Austin Business Journal)

As a native of Morocco living in the Austin metro, Ghizlane Badawi is no stranger to long-distance flights.

But unlike most travelers just trying to get from point A to point B, Badawi doesn't mind taking her time.

"Whenever I go see my family, I intentionally connect through different airports, especially large airports in the U.S., Canada or Europe," she said. "I am Curious George, so I love discovering what other airports are doing, looking at their processes, looking at their passenger experience, and just bringing all those ideas back here to Austin."

It's an ideal trait for her current job: CEO of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

Badawi started working for ABIA in 2008 as an auditor and subsequently held a variety of roles before being named interim CEO in January. She was hired to the permanent position in April.

Her duties entail simultaneously overseeing routine operations at ABIA — which recently set a record of over 44,000 people screened in a single day — as well as its “once in a generation” multibillion-dollar expansion meant to cement its transition from a medium to large-sized airport. 

The expansion will add at least 20 new gates, a new concourse and accompanying tunnel, a new arrivals and departures hall and a new baggage handling system. Traffic patterns also are being redesigned, both for vehicles going to the airport and for airplanes taking off and landing… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

➡️ New data shows Georgetown’s growth in population, annual household income (Community Impact)

New information from the U.S. Census Bureau shows the city of Georgetown experienced population growth and higher annual household incomes in 2023.

According to the bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey five-year estimates, the city’s total population has grown from 71,004 in 2019 to 78,803 in 2023, a 10.98% increase.

Additionally, the five-year ACS shows Georgetown’s average family size has gone down slightly from 3.12 people in 2019 to 2.88 in 2023. The city of Georgetown’s median age also went down in the last five years from 46.3 to 44.3… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[TEXAS NEWS]

➡️ Dustin Burrows walks a tightrope seeking Republican and Democratic support for Texas House speaker bid (Texas Tribune)

Five years ago, Rep. Dustin Burrows’ reputation sustained a major blow among his House colleagues.

The Lubbock Republican resigned as chair of the House GOP Caucus after it was revealed that he and then-Speaker Dennis Bonnen tried to collude with a right-wing activist by providing a list of 10 GOP members they believed should be targeted by the activist’s political organization in the upcoming primary.

The actions amounted to a shocking betrayal from House leaders who had previously threatened consequences for any incumbents who campaigned against fellow members in future elections. One of the would-be targets, Rep. Drew Darby of San Angelo, said it was time for the House to “begin to heal and rebuild trust” — something that could only happen if Burrows was “no longer in leadership.”

Bonnen retired. Burrows retreated from the spotlight, but steadily worked behind the scenes regaining his standing in the chamber.

Five years later, Burrows finds himself at the center of another Republican House leadership skirmish. Yet again, he got there because of his proximity to a sitting House speaker — this time Dade Phelan — who lost favor with a majority of GOP members. And once again he is at odds with many of the same political powers that contributed to his original demise… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Potential Trump-Texas deportation partnership puts spotlight on rural Starr County (Dallas Morning News)

Starr County, a lightly populated stretch of farms and ranchland along the Texas-Mexico border, made a splash last month by supporting a Republican presidential candidate for the first time in 132 years.

National headlines followed a few weeks later when Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham invited President-elect Donald Trump to build an immigrant detention center on a state-owned 1,400-acre ranch less than a 10-minute drive from Rio Grande City, the county seat. Residents of Rio Grande City aren’t sure what to make of the plans. Many have seen vague reports on the news but lack key details, and city officials also have been kept in the dark about the state’s plans. Some residents, viewing illegal immigration as a security threat, are supportive. Others are opposed, seeing a deportation processing camp as a black eye for the community.

Mindful that the county’s median household income is half that of the typical Texas family, still others see a potential source of sorely needed jobs.

“This has been, traditionally, one of the poorest areas in the country,” said GOP state Rep. Ryan Guillen, who lives in Rio Grande City. “This could increase the type of income for the area as well.” Trump’s promise to deport millions of immigrants who lack legal status would require massive detention facilities, and Buckingham said Texas wants to help.

“We are completely united with President Trump to rid our country of illegal, violent criminals,” Buckingham said at a recent news conference. Carrying out a massive number of deportations would require coordination among several federal agencies and a large commitment of law enforcement personnel. Additional detention space also would be a priority. Most of the 41,000 beds in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities are already in use, with more than 38,000 people in ICE custody on Nov. 3, according to data compiled by Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

➡️ Dallas city manager search drags on after Monday's special meeting (Dallas Business Journal)

It’s still unclear when exactly Dallas' city council will make a final selection on who will be the city’s next city manager after a meeting this morning failed to reach a quorum. 

In special meeting that started Dec. 16 at 9 a.m., city council members expressed their frustration over delays in the hiring process, noting a recent timeline change took place without their consultation. The search committee recently extended the hiring decision by three and a half months.

The permanent role has been vacant for nearly a year, after former City Manager T.C. Broadnax resigned in February for the same role in Austin. Kim Tolbert was appointed to the role as interim city manager in May, and is on the short list for the permanent role. 

Other candidates in the running are William Johnson, Fort Worth assistant city manager; Mark Washington, Grand Rapids, Michigan city manager; and Zachary Williams, Georgia’s DeKalb County manager. Search firm Baker Tilly first shared the list of the four semifinalists on Oct. 24. 

City council member Omar Narvaez said during the special meeting, called last week by three members to expedite the hiring process, that the council was supposed to decide on the role by Oct. 31. However, the morning meeting did not meet a quorum of nine council members, preventing the council from conducting any official business. Only five members showed up. 

Narvaez expressed disappointment that the rest of the city council did not show up to deliberate and interview the four candidates. The goal of the meeting was to finalize a single candidate for the role and hire someone by the end of January… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[US and World News]

➡️ Biden, Harris thank major Democratic donors and urge them to stay engaged after tough loss to Trump (Associated Press)

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday thanked deep-pocketed Democratic donors who raised record sums in last month’s election loss to President-elect Donald Trump and urged them not to lose hope and to remain politically engaged. Biden and Harris, along with their spouses, in remarks at the Democratic National Committee holiday reception sought to buck up key donors who the Democratic Party needs to stay committed as it tries to pick up the pieces.

Republicans scored a decisive victory taking the White House and Senate while maintaining control of the House in an election where donors of all political stripes spent about $4.7 billion. “We all get knocked down. My dad would say when you get knocked down, you just got to get up,” Biden said.

“The measure of a person or a party is how fast they get back up.” Harris, who stepped in as the party’s presidential nominee after Biden ended his campaign in July following his disastrous debate performance, praised donors for putting their time — and checkbooks — into backing her and Democrats that they believed in.

Democrats, their allied super PACs and other groups raised about $2.9 billion, compared to about $1.8 billion for the Republicans. Harris noted that Democrats raised a whopping $700 million over just 700 events organized by the Democratic finance committee.

“You rallied, you opened your homes, you reached out to your friends and your family,” said Harris, who will soon begin weighing in earnest her own future and whether to make another White House run. “You put your personal capital — and by that I mean your relationships — at stake to talk with people because you care so deeply, and you connected with people and took the time to remind them of what is at stake and what was at stake.”

While Biden acknowledged the sting that Democrats continue to feel about last month’s loss, he said they should take pride in what they accomplished.

The administration’s signature achievements include a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act to boost semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S., and a surge in federal environmental spending through the Inflation Reduction Act, which Biden signed into law in 2022 after it cleared Congress solely with Democratic votes… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

➡️ Jerome Powell and the Fed head for another collision with Trump (New York Times)

Inside the halls of the Federal Reserve’s headquarters overlooking Constitution Avenue in Washington D.C., casual mentions of the incoming Trump administration are cautious and infrequent.

That’s by design. Donald J. Trump had a fraught relationship with the politically independent Fed during his first term. The president wanted central bankers to lower interest rates more aggressively and faster than they thought was economically appropriate. When officials refused to comply, he blasted them as “boneheads” and an “enemy.” He flirted with trying to fire Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair. He tried (and failed) to appoint loyalists to central bank leadership roles.

As the Fed enters a new Trump era with interest rates higher than they were at any point in his first term, tensions seem poised to escalate once again — and America’s central bank is on high alert. Fed analysts try to avoid casually discussing tariffs in email or Microsoft Teams meetings, wary that the information could become public and make the Fed look anti-Trump, according to one staff economist who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.

Hallway chatter has taken a negative tone but is often studiously generic and apolitical, according to people familiar with the mood inside the building who also requested anonymity. And while Fed officials and economists have had to begin to consider what Mr. Trump’s promised policies might do to growth and inflation, they have avoided publicly speculating. Central bankers are, in effect, keeping their heads down to stay out of the limelight.

But try as they might, they appear destined for another crash course with Mr. Trump. The president-elect promised “interest rates cuts the likes of which you have never seen before” while campaigning. Fed officials have been cutting rates since September and are on course to lower them further as inflation cools, but they are unlikely to reduce them as much as Mr. Trump is hoping.

A combination of strong growth, a resilient labor market and somewhat stubborn price increases could add up to slower Fed rate cuts in 2025 than central bankers themselves expected as recently as September. Mr. Trump’s policies could further delay rate reductions if they seem likely to stoke higher inflation.

And even in a best-case scenario, few if any economists think that Mr. Powell’s Fed will return its policy rate to the near-zero level that prevailed in 2020 — the setting that was the backdrop for the record-low mortgage rates that Mr. Trump has been promising to bring back… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

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