BG Reads 2.4.2025

🟪 BG Reads - February 4, 2025

February 04, 2025

Bingham Group Reads

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www.binghamgp.com

February 4, 2025

➡️ Today's BG Reads include:

🟪 Austin groups granted $14M in federal funding to address homelessness (KXAN)

🟪 Save Austin Now to get rehearing on enforcement of Prop B (Austin Monitor)

🟪 Texas Stock Exchange submits registration to SEC (Austin Business Journal)

🟪 Trump pauses tariffs on Canada imports for 30 days after doing the same for Mexico (CNBC)

🟪 Trump is weighing big cuts to the U.S. Education Department (NPR)

Read On!

[CITY OF AUSTIN]

ℹ️ Helpful City Links:

[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]

➡️ Save Austin Now to get rehearing on enforcement of Prop B (Austin Monitor)

Save Austin Now, the group that pushed for and won an election to make the city enforce a ban on camping among homeless residents, has won a victory at the 3rd Court of Appeals. Save Austin Now filed suit in early 2023 alleging that the city was not enforcing the camping ban, which was reinstated by voters as Proposition B in 2021. Prop B re-criminalized lying down on a public sidewalk and sleeping outdoors downtown and near the University of Texas.

District Judge Amy Clark Meachum ruled in 2023 that the plaintiffs lacked standing and therefore the court lacked jurisdiction over the matter. The appellate court agreed on the question of standing but said the judge should have allowed the plaintiffs to replead their case and have another hearing. It will be up to the plaintiffs – Robert Mayfield, Laura North, Stuart Dupuy and Bob Woody – all of whom own Austin businesses, to offer new reasons that the court should consider their lawsuit.

Those plaintiffs allege that that the city is refusing to enforce the camping ban and “as a result, unnamed individuals are committing various criminal acts on and or near their business property.” ECHO, the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition, estimated that 5,308 people were experiencing homelessness last September. New data is expected to come out this spring after the January point-in-time count… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

➡️ Austin groups granted $14M in federal funding to address homelessness (KXAN)

Austin-Travis County groups working to address homelessness have been awarded funding from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), according to the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO). Eight organizations will receive a cumulative nearly $14 million, which will go toward housing, services for people experiencing homelessness and “system coordination,” a release from ECHO said.

“These federal resources strengthen our local initiatives to ensure that more people have access to the support they need to thrive,” said Austin Mayor Kirk Watson.

“I want to thank former Acting HUD Secretary Adrianne Todman for supporting Austin’s homeless response efforts. And I look forward to working with HUD Secretary nominee Scott Turner, who knows Texas and knows first-hand what can be accomplished when we work together.”… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

➡️ By bike or by car, ARMA's Kevin Fincher likes to hit the road (Austin Business Journal)

After working remotely during the pandemic, Kevin Fincher's method of reconnecting with the world has been to hit the road — whether in his vehicle or on his bicycle. "I never imagined myself falling in love with (cycling)," said Fincher, who became CEO of the Austin Regional Manufacturers Association in December 2023 after nearly three decades as an accountant.

"I just really enjoy the freedom of being out on the bike and being away from the daily grind." The Marine Corps veteran and lifelong runner pivoted to cycling after a meniscus tear led him to get a Peloton to stay in shape while gyms were closed. He eventually moved to cycling outdoors — and he's since completed more than 500 miles in the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, as well as more than 100 miles at the El Tour De Tucson.

His love of cycling is similar to his love of getting out and about in his car as head of the manufacturers association, in the wake of what he recalls as essentially living "in a cave" during the Covid-19 pandemic. During his first year on the job, he did more than 40 site visits with ARMA members and plans to do another 50 this year. It's allowed him to see manufacturing techniques for everything from rocket and spacesuit parts to tiny widgets critical to the semiconductor sector, as well as various processes used in food production... 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Note: ARMA is a Bingham Group client.

➡️ New businesses on tap for Dripping Springs despite high costs and other challenges (Austin Business Journal)

A new lineup of restaurants and retailers is cropping up in Dripping Springs, even as some experts say high real estate prices and other issues make the Hays County city difficult for businesses to navigate. Located about 25 miles west of Austin, Dripping Springs is set to get Italian restaurant Cousin Louie’s, a Roxie’s, Shipley Donuts, a potential revamp of an H-E-B grocery store, Short Mama’s and more.

Additionally, Chuy’s Tex-Mex has purchased property in the city of about 9,000 residents. That may sound like a solid roster, but Susan Kimball, president and CEO of Dripping Springs Chamber of Commerce, said it might contain even more names if not for real estate prices.

A new lineup of restaurants and retailers is cropping up in Dripping Springs, even as some experts say high real estate prices and other issues make the Hays County city difficult for businesses to navigate.

Located about 25 miles west of Austin, Dripping Springs is set to get Italian restaurant Cousin Louie’s, a Roxie’s, Shipley Donuts, a potential revamp of an H-E-B grocery store, Short Mama’s and more. Additionally, Chuy’s Tex-Mex has purchased property in the city of about 9,000 residents. That may sound like a solid roster, but Susan Kimball, president and CEO of Dripping Springs Chamber of Commerce, said it might contain even more names if not for real estate prices… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[TEXAS NEWS]

➡️ Texas Stock Exchange submits registration to SEC (Austin Business Journal)

The company behind the planned Texas Stock Exchange has taken a key step toward making "Y'all Street" a reality. Dallas-based TXSE Group Inc. announced late Jan. 31 that its subsidiary, Texas Stock Exchange LLC, has filed registration paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The move begins what could be a long and arduous approval process, but one that, if successful, could shake up the New York-dominated trading industry and further cement the standing of Texas as a key financial hub in the United States.

While the filing is not yet public, TXSE said in its announcement it proposes trading, listings of corporate issuers and exchange-traded products, auctions and a range of data products. The filing will become public once the SEC publishes it, but TXSE officials do not know when that will occur. 

It has taken longer than expected to file the registration and TXSE now said it intends to launch trading in early 2026, with listings by the end of the same year. CEO James Lee originally said he expected the company to submit its registration in December, with the hope of beginning trades in 2025 and the first listing to occur in 2026…

➡️ Texas National Guard to make immigration arrests under agreement with Trump administration, Abbott says (Texas Tribune)

Texas National Guard soldiers now have the authority to make immigration arrests and help detain and deport undocumented people under an agreement between the state and the Trump administration that requires those duties be done under the supervision and direction of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection official.

Guard members exercising the authority must be in contact at all times with a CBP official, but that can be through cellphone, radio or other technology, according to a copy of the agreement released by Gov. Greg Abbott’s office.

“This boosts manpower for border security,” Abbott said in a Sunday social media post about the agreement — the details of which were first reported by Breitbart Texas.

The Texas Military Department referred questions to Abbott’s office. CBP did not respond to requests for comment Monday… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[US and World News]

➡️ Trump pauses tariffs on Canada imports for 30 days after doing the same for Mexico (CNBC)

President Donald Trump on Monday agreed to pause the implementation of planned U.S. tariffs on imports from Canada for at least 30 days, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.

The pause was announced in a tweet by Trudeau hours after Trump and Mexico’s president said Trump would pause for one month planned tariffs on imports from Mexico.

In both cases, the pauses came after those countries agreed to take steps toward preventing the trafficking of the deadly opioid fentanyl into the U.S.

Trump on Saturday said he would impose 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, and 10% tariffs on goods imported from China. Trump had also planned to impose a 10% tariff on energy resources from Canada.

Trudeau on Saturday warned that his country would implement a 25% tariff against $155 billion in U.S. goods in retaliation for Trump’s tariffs… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

➡️ U.S. frackers and Saudi officials tell Trump they won’t drill more (Wall Street Journal)

President Trump wants to boost oil drilling. His allies in the U.S. shale industry and Saudi Arabia are pushing back. Trump for months has encouraged the U.S. shale industry to “drill, baby drill,” but another American oil boom isn’t in the cards soon, no matter how many regulations are rolled back, according to oil executives. After many producers overdrilled themselves into bankruptcy during the shale boom’s heyday, the industry is now focused on keeping costs down and returning cash to investors.

The president’s advisers concede that U.S. frackers won’t pump much more, according to people familiar with the matter. The advisers say his best lever to bring down prices might be to persuade the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Saudi Arabia, the group’s de facto leader, to add more barrels to the market. But Saudi Arabia has told former U.S. officials that it also is unwilling to augment global oil supplies, say people familiar with the matter.

Some of those former officials have shared the message with Trump’s team. The president believes a fresh tidal wave of oil would solve many of his problems: It could quell inflation and pave the way for interest-rate cuts. It could also strengthen his hand in coming confrontations with petrostates Russia and Iran. In a January speech, Trump said he planned to ask Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members to bring down oil prices. The president is planning to visit the kingdom in one of his first foreign trips of his second term, and he is expected to push for higher Saudi oil production in person.

Trump’s fixation on oil prices is vexing to some in the industry. Currently around $73 a barrel, prices are relatively low compared with 2022, when they averaged over $94 a barrel and the national average gasoline price hit a record over $5 a gallon. Gasoline prices are averaging $3.10.

The president has declared a national “energy emergency” and vowed to cut Americans’ overall energy costs in half. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, has said global producers should try slashing oil prices to $45 a barrel, to pressure Russia into ending the war with Ukraine. Such prices could be disastrous for U.S. frackers and Saudi Arabia—Trump’s two most powerful friends in the global oil market. The last time prices sank below $45, during the pandemic in 2020, it prompted a painful war for market share between Saudi Arabia and Russia and pushed dozens of shale drillers into bankruptcy… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

➡️ Trump is weighing big cuts to the U.S. Education Department (NPR)

The Trump administration is exploring dramatic cuts to programs and staff at the U.S. Department of Education, including executive action shuttering department programs that are not protected by law and calling on Congress to close the department entirely. The executive action could come as early as this week, according to multiple government sources who were not cleared to discuss the administration's plans publicly.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment. News of the Trump administration's plans was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. This potential executive action comes after the Trump administration, in recent days, placed dozens of Education Department staff on paid administrative leave with little explanation, saying only that the moves were the result of President Trump's executive action targeting federal diversity programs. Taken together, the news has unsettled department staff and is sure to come up in the Senate confirmation hearing for Trump's nominee to be education secretary,

Linda McMahon. That hearing has not yet been scheduled. The department, with roughly 4,400 employees and an annual budget of $79 billion, has broad responsibility over three major areas: managing approximately $1.6 trillion in federal student loan debt, overseeing implementation and enforcement of the nation's special education law, and administering Title I, the main federal program aimed at improving outcomes for lower-income students… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)

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