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BG Reads 4.26.2024

BG Reads 4.26.2024

🗞️ Bingham Group Reads - April 26, 2024

April 26, 2024

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Bingham Group Reads

Presented by:

4.17.24 // Bingham Group celebrates 7 years in business!

April 26, 2024

Today's BG Reads include:

🟣 Meet the candidates running for the Travis Central Appraisal District Board

🟣 Texas groups join suit to halt FTC rule banning noncompetes

🟣 Charges dismissed against 46 arrested during pro-Palestinian protest at UT Austin

Read On!

[BINGHAM GROUP]

✅ (NEW) BG Podcast Ep. 248: Austin Politics Weekly Recap and What's Ahead

✅ BG Podcast Ep. 246: 2024 Elections - Austin Mayoral Round Up

On this episode we welcome back Jack Craver, independent reporter and founder of The Austin Politics Newsletter. Jack and Bingham Group CEO A.J. Bingham discuss the candidate field for the 2024 Austin Mayoral elections, including incumbent Mayor Kirk Watson.

✅ BG Blog: Land Development Code Amendments (4) Overview

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

[AUSTIN CITY HALL]

✅ FY 24/25 Budget Talk

Worth a review -> Briefing on Austin’s five-year financial forecast and economic outlook (Council Work Session, April 16, 2024)
- FY25-FY29 Forecast Presentation
- 2024 Economic & Sales Tax Forecast for the City of Austin
See also -> Mayor Watson’s Watson Wire Newsletter (4.18.2024)
Key Date -> Friday, July 12: City Manager T.C. Broadnax and his team will present the budget to Mayor and Council.

[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]

Austin’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management to get a communication tuneup, among other changes (Austin Monitor)

An update from Ken Snipes, director of Austin’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management, to the Public Safety Committee showed a shifting approach in how the department is being run.

Snipes told the committee that, due to “a multitude of threats and threat types,” his department would be shifting to an “all hazards approach” that will apply the same methodology to people evacuating for a fire, a flood or a hazardous materials emergency.

During Snipes’ tenure, he said he’s seen three ice storms, severe thunderstorms and an increasing threat of wildfire.

“We know that we are starting to see these things more often,” he said. “The weather is becoming more volatile and more unpredictable. And it’s not just in your mind: It is getting hotter.”

Snipes said that in 2023, there were 28 climate disasters nationally that had an impact of more than a billion dollars, an increase over the previous record year in 2022, which had 20 such climate disasters. In addition, the average temperature across the country was 2.4 degrees higher than in the 20th century, contributing to the $17 billion 2023 drought in southern states and the looming threat of wildfire locally… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Meet the candidates running for the Travis Central Appraisal District Board (Community Impact)

For the first time, Travis County voters have a say in who should fill three open seats on Travis Central Appraisal District’s board of directors.The board is responsible for hiring the chief appraiser, who determines property values in the county. Taxing entities, such as the city of Austin, Travis County and school boards, set tax rates that are applied to those property values.

The board also approves the annual budget, approves contracts and sets general policies.Starting next year, board members will take on a new responsibility appointing members of the Travis Appraisal Review Board, or ARB, an impartial group of residents that mediate disputes between property owners and the appraisal district, according to TCAD… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Charges dismissed against 46 arrested during pro-Palestinian protest at UT Austin (KUT)

Charges have been dismissed against 46 people arrested at a protest Wednesday on UT Austin's campus, Travis County Attorney Delia Garza said.

"Legal concerns were raised by defense counsel, we reviewed each case individually and agreed there were deficiencies in the probable cause affidavits," she told KUT in a text. "The Court affirmed and ordered the release of the individuals."

Nearly 60 people were arrested for allegedly trespassing during the pro-Palestinian demonstration. Garza said her office would continue to review cases to determine whether prosecution "is factually and legally appropriate."

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered on UT campus Wednesday as part of a protest in support of Palestinians and demanding a ceasefire in Gaza. The protest, organized by the Palestine Solidarity Committee, was met by a multiagency show of force. State police responded by request from UT President Jay Hartzell and Gov. Greg Abbott, who characterized the protest as violent and anti-Semitic… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Faculty petition to hold no-confidence vote in UT-Austin president after protest response (Texas Tribune)

Fallout from police crackdowns on a pro-Palestinian demonstration at the University of Texas at Austin continued Thursday morning with faculty condemning the response, university leaders defending their actions and students organizing a second round of protests.

At a much less tense rally Thursday on UT-Austin's campus, faculty with the school's chapter of the American Association of University Professors said they planned to hold a vote of no confidence in President Jay Hartzell over his management of the protest the day before and the school's implementation of legislation banning diversity, equity and inclusion programs at public universities. AAUP members were seen passing around a letter asking faculty to sign in their support.

Students at the rally reiterated their main demand from the day before, calling on UT-Austin to divest from all weapon manufacturers and companies involved with Israel. They also called for Hartzell's resignation and complete amnesty for those student protesters and members of the Palestine Solidarity Committee, which organized Wednesday’s event, who were arrested… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Austin startup tunneling for underground deliveries raises $13M (Austin Business Journal)

Austin already has dozens of autonomous delivery robots that will slowly wheel meals from restaurants to doorsteps.

But there's a local startup that wants to make deliveries even faster — and without adding congestion to sidewalks and bike paths.

Pipedream Labs Inc. is working on small tunnels and autonomous robots that would essentially create miniature subway systems beneath stores, as well as networks through entire neighborhoods and downtown areas. The small bots, roughly large enough to carry a grocery store basket, drive through tunnels and pop up in specialized kiosks where customers would pick up their meals or other goods.

The company, founded in 2021, said April 23 that it has secured $13 million to expand its underground logistics technologies and select a city where it plans to build a large scale delivery network throughout a downtown area.

"In terms of city partnerships, we’re thinking through a host of factors including city density, level of congestion with ongoing local initiatives targeted at reducing it, environmental considerations, innovation / smart city hubs, planned new developments, existing partnerships with a strong city footprint," a company spokesperson said via email… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[TEXAS NEWS]

Texas groups join suit to halt FTC rule banning noncompetes (Houston Chronicle)

Business groups, led by a pair of Texas advocacy associations, stepped in quickly Wednesday seeking a halt to a rule issued by the Federal Trade Commission banning employers from using noncompete clauses to keep workers from going to a competitor. The ban was approved Tuesday and is expected to take effect 120 days after it is entered into the Federal Register. It was immediately challenged by U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which was joined by the Texas Association of Business and the Longview (Texas) Chamber of Commerce in filing suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas to block the measure.

Saying “the burdens of the Noncompete Rule will be immediate and significant,” the organizations argued that “Beyond making virtually all noncompetes illegal going forward, the Noncompete Rule also purports to retroactively invalidate roughly tens of millions of existing agreements. … As a result, businesses that bargained for noncompetes will lose the protections of those agreements — even if they already held up their end of the bargain.”

Anticipating a delay in implementation, several Houston labor attorneys were proceeding with business as usual with their noncompete cases. Todd Slobin, a board certified labor and employment partner at Shellist Lazarz Slobin, said he thought the rule was great and it could help the economy in general because people could get better, higher-paying jobs based on their experience and skills.

“In one hand, it’s amazing,” Slobin said. “In the other hand, it’s kind of like preparing for a hurricane that may never happen. Because, you know, there’s going to be so many legal challenges from big businesses, industries, who want to enforce these noncompetes and want to have them in place to keep employees where they are.”…(LINK TO FULL STORY)

Greg Abbott’s focus on southern border elevates his national profile (Dallas Morning News)

Whether it’s busing thousands of migrants to Democratic-run cities or ordering 100 miles of razor wire strung along the Rio Grande, an aggressive focus on immigration has thrust Texas Gov. Greg Abbott onto the national political stage.

Donald Trump, highlighting immigration in his bid for a second White House term, has declared Abbott to be on his short list for vice president. Others see Abbott in line for a Trump Cabinet position, such as attorney general. Last week, Time magazine named the governor to its 2024 list of the 100 most influential people in the world, calling Abbott “one of his party’s most persuasive pitchmen” who “pushes the boundaries” on state enforcement of immigration laws. The Republican Party of New York, counting on Abbott’s rising popularity, recently booked the governor for a keynote speech at its April 4 annual fundraiser in Manhattan.

Abbott’s national impact pales in comparison to what he’s done to improve his already stout standing in Texas, where he’s influencing elections in hopes of setting himself up for future legislative victories. “He’s been wildly successful,” said Plano-based political consultant Vinny Minchillo, who worked on the presidential campaigns of U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah. “Right now if you ask people to name two governors of states, it would be Gavin Newsom [of California] and Greg Abbott.” Abbott succeeds in politics because he understands what his core supporters want, analysts said. “He’s embraced the issues that hit a chord with conservative voters,” said Republican political consultant Matthew Langston.

“That’s why his political capital has grown enormously over the last two to three years.” Abbott’s rising stature gives him opportunities that were not previously available, Langston said. “He could go to D.C. He could remain in Texas,” Langston said. “He’s given himself options.” Democrats describe Abbott as selfish and diabolical, saying he uses people and resources to push his views on border security. They also point to missteps, like the state’s unreadiness for the deadly 2021 winter storms and Abbott’s initial praise for the law enforcement response to the 2022 killings at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. Though Texas is an economic powerhouse, Abbott’s opponents point out the state leads the nation in the percentage of its population that lacks health insurance. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 16.6% of Texans don’t have health insurance… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[NATION/WORLD NEWS]

A Baltimore teacher is accused of using AI to make his boss appear racist (NPR)

A Maryland high school athletic director is facing criminal charges after police say he used artificial intelligence to duplicate the voice of Pikesville High School Principal Eric Eiswert, leading the community to believe Eiswert said racist and antisemitic things about teachers and students.

"We now have conclusive evidence that the recording was not authentic," Baltimore County Police Chief Robert McCullough told reporters during a news conference Thursday. "It's been determined the recording was generated through the use of artificial intelligence technology."

Dazhon Darien, 31, was arrested Thursday on charges of stalking, theft, disruption of school operations and retaliation against a witness after a monthslong investigation from the Baltimore County Police Department... (LINK TO FULL STORY)

USC cancels main graduation ceremony as arrests at universities pile up (Wall Street Journal)

The University of Southern California canceled its main commencement ceremony as universities around the U.S. cracked down on intensifying pro-Palestinian protests.

USC officials cited the time required to put in place new security measures for the 65,000-person event planned for May. Dozens of people were arrested at the Los Angeles campus Wednesday on suspicion of trespassing. The school will hold other traditional commencement ceremonies, including individual school events.

Hundreds have been arrested in student protests around the U.S. since the first campus encampment formed last week at Columbia University. The New York school imposed a midnight deadline to disassemble a clutch of student tents. Similar encampments have sprung up on campuses from Massachusetts to California.

Tents went up early Thursday at schools including Princeton University, Northwestern University and George Washington University…Officials last week canceled the speech of its valedictorian Asna Tabassum, a Muslim student, over security concerns. On Wednesday, police arrested 93 people on suspicion of trespassing after the university told protesters they needed to disperse… (LINK TO FULL STORY)