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BG Reads 12.19.2023

BG Reads 12.19.2023

🗞️ BG Reads | News - December 19, 2023

December 19, 2023

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December 19, 2023

Today's BG Reads include:

✅ Central Health names new CEO Dr. Patrick Lee

✅ Gov. Greg Abbott signs bill making illegal immigration a state crime

✅ U.S. Steel to be bought by Japanese rival after takeover drama

Read on!

[BINGHAM GROUP]

Bingham Group Associate Hannah Garcia has been named Rockstar Rookie of the Year by the Austin Young Chamber. She was acknowledged last week for her stand out efforts and volunteerism since joining the chamber in March. Please join us in congratulating her!

[BG PODCAST]

Welcome to BG Podcast Episode 227.

On this episode the Bingham Group CEO A.J. Bingham and Associate Hannah Garcia wrap up the week of December 11th in Austin politics.

TOPICS INCLUDE:

✅ A Travis County Court signs final order overturning three zoning ordinances

✅ Updates on the city of Austin's demographics

✅ Austin ISD board names its lone finalist for superintendent and more.

LISTEN ON!

Apple Podcasts

SoundCloud

Spotify

[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]

Central Health names new CEO Dr. Patrick Lee (Community Impact)

Central Health, Travis County’s health care district for low-income residents, announced its new CEO Dec. 18.Dr. Patrick Lee, a practicing internal medicine physician and most recently the system chairman of New York low-income hospital system One Brooklyn Health, was selected by the board of managers after a six-month national search. Lee is a graduate of Princeton University, the University of California and San Francisco School of Medicine, and he received training at Massachusetts General and Harvard Medical School, according to a news release.Lee succeeds Mike Geeslin, who will finish serving his six-year tenure as CEO on Dec. 31. Lee will begin his role on Jan. 29.

Lee will begin his new role following a controversial year regarding Central Health’s budget, performance and an ongoing legal battle with Ascension Seton that’s persisted since January… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Life sciences talk brings major development news at Urban Land Institute panel (Austin Monitor)

The life sciences industry in Austin is so active and bustling with deals and investments that, over the course of an hour’s discussion last week, leaders in the field dropped a pair of hints about forthcoming significant developments for the local economy.

At Urban Land Institute Austin’s monthly panel discussion on the area’s future as a life sciences hub, Charisse Bodisch, senior vice president of economic development for Opportunity Austin, said a major life sciences company will soon be building or taking over 250,000 square feet of space in the Austin region. And later in the talk, Harold Strong, executive director of Texas State University’s STAR Park incubator, said the outfit is preparing to announce the creation of a 64-megawatt solar farm on one of its campuses to meet some of the high-capacity energy needs of life sciences companies.

Broadly speaking, life sciences covers an array of fields including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, biotechnology, health diagnostics, contract research organizations and medical and health technology. While those fields have historically been focused in California’s Bay Area, greater Boston and the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill triangle in North Carolina, more than a decade ago Austin leaders saw the creation of the Dell Medical School as the starting point for becoming a player as well... (LINK TO FULL REPORT)

Austin Convention Center to be demolished, rebuilt soon (Austin Business Journal)

In the heart of downtown, the Austin Convention Center is poised to undergo a complete redevelopment intended to further foster the city’s reputation as a preferred location for large-scale gatherings.

The transformation is anticipated to begin in 2025 and cost $1.6 billion. When completed, the redeveloped center’s economic impact on the city is expected to grow from $468 million to more than $750 million, according to a 2020 study conducted by the hospitality-focused consulting firm HVS.

The city began assembling the project team this year. City Council recently approved a contract for up to $1.2 billion with JE Dunn Construction Co. and Turner Construction Co. for pre-construction and construction services, plus a joint agreement with Seattle-based LMN Architects LLP and Austin’s Page Southerland Page Inc. for up to $65 million to engineer and design the new facility.

San Antonio-based project management and technical services firm Project Control of Texas Inc. was selected to oversee the planning and construction process through a $30 million contract. The firm will oversee 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)

[TEXAS NEWS]

Texas governor signs bill that lets police arrest migrants who enter the US illegally (Politico)

Testing the limits of how far Texas can go to keep migrants out of the U.S., Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday signed into law sweeping new powers that allow police to arrest migrants who cross the border illegally and give local judges authority to order them to leave the country.

Opponents have called the measure the most dramatic attempt by a state to police immigration since a 2010 Arizona law — denounced by critics as the “Show Me Your Papers” bill — that was largely struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. Texas’ law is also likely to face swift legal challenges.

Immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility. But Texas Republicans have increasingly blurred those boundaries under President Joe Biden, saying his administration isn’t doing enough to stop people from entering the country illegally. Texas has bused more than 65,000 migrants to cities across America and installed razor wire along the banks of the Rio Grande, which has snagged and injured some asylum-seekers… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

After years of losing battles with GOP leaders, some big city Texas mayors strike friendlier tone (Texas Tribune)

After nearly a decade of high tensions between Republicans running the state and leaders of the state’s bluer urban areas, some mayors of major Texas cities are trying a new playbook: play nice with the state.

Republican lawmakers and local officials have little they haven’t fought about, sparring in recent years over matters like hurricane relief funds, local police budgets, voting access and COVID-19 response measures. After years of trying to undo local progressive policies they disagreed with, GOP legislators this year passed a sweeping law intended to block cities from enacting them in the first place.

To some, the contentiousness between city and state leaders hasn’t been productive for either side. In his successful bid for Houston mayor this year, John Whitmire, a longtime Democratic fixture in the Texas Senate, promised to mend the relationship between the state’s largest city and lawmakers in Austin.

“I just want to fix things regardless of who you have to work with,” Whitmire said at a November debate.

That echoes the more diplomatic tone struck by Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, another veteran Democratic state legislator who served as mayor in the late 1990s and returned to the seat this year. Austin has often been in the crosshairs of Republican lawmakers — and the city’s previous mayor openly feuded on social media with Gov. Greg Abbott over pandemic measures like mask mandates and occupancy restrictions… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[US/WORLD NEWS]

U.S. Steel to be bought by Japanese rival after takeover drama (New York Times)

U.S. Steel agreed on Monday to sell itself to Nippon Steel for $14.1 billion, capping months of speculation about the fate of the American industrial heavyweight.

U.S. Steel, which was formed more than a century ago from a part of Andrew Carnegie’s industrial empire, has been weighing several takeover bids, including by a domestic rival, Cleveland-Cliffs. A little-known steel producer, Esmark, made an even larger bid — one that was light on details — before withdrawing days later.

In the end, U.S. Steel chose an offer by one of its biggest global competitors that was worth significantly more than Cleveland-Cliffs’ initial offer: Nippon Steel will pay $55 a share in cash, compared with the $35-a-share cash-and-stock bid that Cleveland-Cliffs made in August.

The combination with Nippon Steel would create “a truly global steel company with combined capabilities and innovation capable of meeting our customers’ evolving needs,” David B. Burritt, U.S. Steel’s chief executive, said in a statement… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Biden takes hits from Democrats on multiple fronts (The Hill)

President Biden is taking hits on multiple issues from within his own party, with Democrats bashing the president for recent policy choices including immigration, foreign policy and the environment.

The criticisms, largely originating from the left and progressive flanks, come as the president heads into a reelection year struggling to raise his approval rating and much enthusiasm among several key contingent of voters ahead of a possible 2024 rematch against former President Trump.

Here are the major topics where Democrats are breaking with Biden… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[2024 Austin City Council Race Watch]

Next fall will see elections for the following Council positions, District 2, 4, 6, 7, 10, and Mayor. Candidates can’t file for a place on the ballot until July 22, 2024.

Declared candidates so far are:

District 2