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BG Reads 2.19.2024

BG Reads 2.19.2024

🗞️ Bingham Group Reads - February 19, 2024

February 19, 2024

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Bingham Group Reads

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February 19, 2024

Today's BG Reads include:

🟣 Austin will see the hottest day of the year so far this week

🟣 Austin Police Association highlights staffing issues at APD

🟣 Austin Energy’s plan to build a power plant faces opposition from oversight board

Read on!

[BG BLOG]

✅ NEW - City of Austin org chart red line (as of 2/9/2024)

[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]

Austin will see the hottest day of the year so far this week and it's only February (Austin American-Statesman)

Spring might be closer than we thought.

Higher than normal temperatures are expected in Central Texas this week, with highs in the low to mid-80s likely in Austin on Wednesday and Thursday, attributed to southerly winds from South Texas and Mexico. Normal mid-February temperatures usually hover between 45 to 65 degrees, according to the National Weather Service's record-keeping.

Chances of precipitation are at zero for the next seven days, though Bob Fogerty, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in San Marcos, says that could still change… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

'We are at our breaking point' | Austin Police Association highlights staffing issues at APD (KVUE)

As the number of vacancies within the Austin Police Department (APD) have grown and response times have worsened in recent years, Austin Police Association (APA) President Michael Bullock wants to put a spotlight on how it's affecting the city.

On Feb. 17, Bullock took to social media to discuss the staffing crisis, pointing to an incident where an entire area in East Austin went unpatrolled for two hours. A couple of days earlier, on Feb. 15, he posted about the lack of officers available to answer 911 calls… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Austin Energy’s plan to build a power plant faces opposition from oversight board (KUT)

Austin Energy’s plan to build a new power plant was rejected this week by a key working group of the city’s Electric Utility Commission, which warned the project was too expensive and not in line with city climate goals. The criticism, though not unexpected, puts the city-run utility even further at odds with many on the commission.

Austin Energy had worked for the past two years on the proposal to build a natural gas plant that the city-run utility said could eventually be converted to use hydrogen fuel.

The Resource Generation Plan Working Group on Monday rejected the idea of building the natural gas power plant, citing concerns over air pollution and water usage… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Kenyan runners Onyancha and Areba both successfully defend their Austin Marathon titles (Austin American-Statesman)

Kenyan runners George Onyancha and Damaris Areba made it two-for-two Sunday morning, topping a field of about 5,300 to successfully defend their titles in the Austin Marathon. They both led from start to finish while racing in picture-perfect marathon conditions — sunny, in the mid-40s with no wind.

When course record-holder Kelsey Bruce had to withdraw with the flu, she left the door wide open for a Kenyan sweep in the women's race, and that's exactly what happened. Areba moved to the front at the start on Congress Avenue, leading a pack that included fellow Kenyans Leah Rotich and Hellen Jepkurgat along with Mexico’s Sonia Laguna Lopez… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Austin guaranteed income pilot program: Does it work? (FOX 7)

[Last] week, the city of Austin announced its guaranteed income pilot program will be making a comeback this spring.

This comes after 135 households received $1,000 a month for a year starting in 2022 as part of a collaboration between the city and the nonprofit Up Together.

FOX 7 Austin's John Krinjak spoke with Mary Bogle, a researcher with the Urban Institute, which recently released a report about how that trial run went, and what we learned… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[TEXAS NEWS]

Judge rejects attempts to toss indictments against Texas AG Ken Paxton, keeps April trial on course (Texas Tribune)

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton remains on track to be tried for felony fraud this spring after the presiding judge shot down his attempts to have the charges thrown out.

During a Friday court hearing in Houston, Harris County District Court Judge Andrea Beall rejected Paxton’s arguments that his right to a speedy trial had been violated.

Beall’s decision means that, barring another unexpected delay, Paxton’s securities fraud trial will kick off on April 15.

The proceedings are much anticipated; the attorney has been under active indictment for nearly nine years. He has pleaded not guilty.

Special prosecutor Brian Wice applauded Beall’s decision and said Paxton was the reason these cases have not yet gone to trial… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Who is behind the DEI hidden-camera footage at Texas colleges? (Dallas Morning News)

The group that released hidden-camera footage Thursday showing Texas college employees discussing DEI has a history of using the tactic to expose employees who seem to be breaking laws regarding critical race theory. The video released on Thursday showed Texas college employees suggesting that they are continuing to pursue diversity, equity and inclusion work on their campuses despite a statewide ban on the efforts.

In the seven-minute video published to YouTube by the group known as Accuracy in Media, people identified as university staffers respond to questions about DEI. On Jan. 1, a state law banning DEI efforts at state colleges and universities went into effect. University officials said Thursday they’re complying with the new law and will investigate whether any employees are acting against the state law. After the video was published on social media, at least one employee has been put on leave while the University of Texas at Tyler investigates.

What is Accuracy in Media? The group lists its mission as using “citizen activism and investigative journalism to expose media bias, corruption, and public policy failings.” It visited college campuses across Texas aiming to expose employees it believes are continuing DEI work despite the new law. Some university officials said their employees were unaware they were being recorded and thought they were talking with a recent graduate looking for a job on campus. In previous years, Accuracy in Media focused on critical race theory bans and exposing teachers who were ignoring state laws that banned the theory.

Who is behind Accuracy in Media? Adam Guillette, 42, is the group’s president. He is the former vice president of Project Veritas – a group known for publishing undercover videos of liberal individuals and media organizations. Guillette said he has been outraged by the behavior of university administrators ever since he was in college. “I engaged in a lot of activism at the University of Florida and, just like in Texas, ran into university administrators who just did whatever they wanted and trampled over people’s rights,” he said… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Texas to build 80-acre base in Eagle Pass for National Guard troops (Texas Tribune)

Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday announced that the state is building an 80-acre base camp in Eagle Pass for Texas National Guard soldiers who are deployed for Operation Lone Star, the $10 billion state effort to deter people from immigrating into Texas illegally.

Abbott said the new facility will house between 1,800 to 2,300 soldiers — the base would reach the higher figure if the state deploys more troops to the border — and each will have individual rooms.

“Before this effort here, they had been living in conditions that were atypical for military operations,” Abbott said during a news conference in Eagle Pass. “Because of the magnitude of what we're doing, because of the need to sustain and actually expand our efforts of what we're doing, it's essential that we build this base camp for the soldiers.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[US/WORLD NEWS]

Inside Kamala Harris’ quiet effort to break through the Biden campaign’s information bubble (CNN)

For some, it’s been a conversation off to the side at the White House congressional holiday party. Others have gathered at actress Eva Longoria’s house in Los Angeles.

Still more have huddled on Air Force Two or gathered for a series of Saturday sessions and dinners that Vice President Kamala Harris has been hosting at the Naval Observatory. More than two dozen sources tell CNN that Harris has been gathering information to help her penetrate what she sometimes refers to as the “bubble” of Biden campaign thinking, telling people she’s aiming to use that intelligence to push for changes in strategy and tactics that she hopes will put the ticket in better shape to win. Multiple leading Democrats, anxious about a campaign they fear might be stumbling past a point of no return, say their conversations with Harris have been a surprising and welcome change, after months of feeling sloughed off by the White House and Biden campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware.

“The ‘bedwetting’ complaints are running thin with people,” said a person who attended one of the meetings, describing the general state of anxiety circulating in top Democratic circles.

“The West Wing and the campaign need to be better.” Harris did a good job fielding those responses, the person added, “and deserves credit for it.” Many of those people also say that the conversations have shifted their opinions of the vice president, seeing her now as a more integral and complementary part of the reelection effort.

arris’s stepped-up efforts come at a critical moment. Her office has largely stabilized after early years of intense dysfunction, and she has been slowly asserting herself more confidently in public, including in her speech Friday at the Munich Security Conference that was aimed at reassuring Europeans alarmed about a potential Donald Trump return to the White House. But Republican forces have been capitalizing on her low approval numbers and Joe Biden’s advanced age by making the 2024 campaign more about Harris and the chance she could become president, especially as questions about the president’s mental acuity continue to define his own candidacy. There are even Democrats who still gripe that the best thing Biden could do for his chances would be to engage in the fantasy of dumping his vice president from the ticket... (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Trump hawks $399 branded shoes at 'Sneaker Con,' a day after a $355 million ruling against him (Associated Press)

As he closes in on the Republican presidential nomination, former President Donald Trump made a highly unusual stop Saturday, hawking new Trump-branded sneakers at “Sneaker Con,” a gathering that bills itself as the “The Greatest Sneaker Show on Earth.” Trump was met with loud boos as well as cheers at the Philadelphia Convention Center as he introduced what he called the first official Trump footwear.

The shoes, shiny gold high tops with an American flag detail on the back, are being sold as “Never Surrender High-Tops” for $399 on a new website that also sells other Trump-branded shoes and “Victory47” cologne and perfume for $99 a bottle. He’d be the 47th president if elected again. The website says it has no connection to Trump’s campaign, though Trump campaign officials promoted the appearance in online posts.

The unannounced launch came a day after a judge in New York ordered Trump and his company to pay a whopping $355 million in penalties, finding that the former president lied about his wealth for years, scheming to dupe banks, insurers and others by inflating his wealth on financial statements. That penalty came after Trump was ordered to pay an additional $83.3 million to the writer E. Jean Carroll for damaging her reputation after she accused him of sexual assault. With interest payments, Trump’s legal debts might now exceed a half-billion dollars — an amount it is unclear he can afford to pay. Trump’s appearance was met with clashing boos from his detractors and chants of “USA!” from supporters who arrived at the sneaker event decked out in Trump gear. The dueling chants made it difficult, at times, to hear Trump speak. Some had been given signs that read “SNEAKERHEADS LOVE TRUMP.”

“There’s a lot of emotion in this room,” Trump said of the reaction, after holding up and showing off a pair of gold shoes, then placing one on each side of his podium… (LINK TO FULL STORY)