BG Reads 6.11.2024

🗞️ Bingham Group Reads - June 11, 2024

June 11, 2024

Bingham Group Reads

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June 11, 2024

Today's BG Reads include:

🟣 City could revive idled homelessness prevention programs with its next budget (Austin Monitor)

🟣 Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sues Austin over marijuana ordinance (KVUE)

🟣 Staff shortages are still a problem at APD (Austin Monitor)

🟣 Apple doubles down on artificial intelligence, announcing partnership with OpenAI (NPR)

Read On!

[BINGHAM GROUP]

[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]

City could revive idled homelessness prevention programs with its next budget (Austin Monitor)

The city will likely look at restarting funding for homelessness prevention programs that were largely shelved in recent years in response to receiving federal funding that prioritized rapid rehousing efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Last week, City Council’s Public Health Committee received a presentation from representatives of Best Single Source Plus (BSS+), a coalition of 13 homelessness service providers who for more than two decades have partnered to rehouse those who’ve lost their homes and prevent those at risk from becoming homeless. The discussion focused on the shift those agencies and the city undertook in response to aid from the American Rescue Plan Act that required aggressive rehousing efforts and offered no resources for prevention programs.

With ARPA money for rapid rehousing programs scheduled to dwindle by late 2027, the city and all relevant entities are looking at how to continue efforts to address homelessness via prevention, rehousing aid and offering permanent supportive housing units... (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sues Austin over marijuana ordinance (KVUE)

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office is trying to stop the city of Austin from deprioritizing enforcement of low-level marijuana offenses. 

His office filed a lawsuit earlier this year with concern over the Austin Freedom Act, which voters approved in 2022. It deprioritizes  enforcement of low-level marijuana possession, ending citations and arrests for Class A or Class B marijuana offenses.

Lawyers with the AG’s office say they’re looking to put a temporary injunction on the ordinance until the lawsuit can go to a trial. 

Assistant Attorney General Ryan Kercher said under the current ordinance, law enforcement can only make citations or arrest for misdemeanor marijuana possession if it's part of a larger felony case or if they're investigating a violent felony. In the courtroom, Kercher said the ordinance contradicts current state law and the constitution.

“The Texas Constitution puts in the discretion of the Legislature what laws will criminalize different substances, what the criminal laws of the state will be. It is plain that cities cannot create a patchwork of legal zones where sometimes state law matters and sometimes it does not,” he explained… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Staff shortages are still a problem at APD (Austin Monitor)

Before a scheduled briefing on the Austin Police Department’s community policing program, members of the City Council Public Safety Committee heard a pitch from Ethan Cheramie of On Scene Services proposing that his company take over the duties of officers who respond to motor vehicle collisions in Austin.

Cheramie, the only speaker during citizen communication at the meeting on Monday, explained that his company had taken over responding to traffic incidents in New Orleans and Baltimore. He urged committee members to work on any impediments the city’s Law Department might have found to such an arrangement. However, committee members did not express any thoughts about letting Cheramie’s company take over traffic or other APD duties. So it seems unlikely that APD will solve its vacancy problem by hiring an outside group.

At the same time that the department is focusing on recruiting and training new officers, APD has created its first five-year strategic plan, which covers 2024 through 2029, according to Commander Lee Davis, who described the department’s community policing efforts to the committee. One goal of the strategic plan is for the department to be trusted and respected by everyone in the community, acknowledged as not an easy task… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Austin’s Wall Street presence is growing fast (Austin Business Journal)

The Austin Business Journal now tracks 55 public companies based in the area — up from 40 five years ago.

It’s a diverse mix of businesses — tech giants, real estate companies, energy concerns, financial firms and even a Tex-Mex restaurant. That would be Chuy’s Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: CHUY), which continues to yield notable returns to Wall Street players.

Over the years, Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE: DELL) has been difficult to dethrone as the No. 1 company on this list. Even though newcomer Tesla Inc.’s market cap eclipses Dell’s, no other company has been able to best Dell’s revenue, the metric underpinning the ranking. Carmaker Tesla is, however, coming close these days. At this rate, Tesla may finally remove Dell from the No. 1 spot in 2025… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

All aboard, Austin! The Zilker Eagle mini train is leaving the station this week (Austin American-Statesman)

All aboard, Austin! The Zilker Eagle mini train is finally leaving the station.

The team behind the new train announced a Wednesday opening date at a special preview ride for media Monday morning. The launch is a welcome surprise, as only about two weeks ago the train didn't have an opening timeline and needed adjustments for clearance purposes.

"This has been a project that has really been a labor of love, and it's been a lot of labor," said Colin Wallis, Austin Parks Foundation CEO. "We have learned more than we could've ever imagined about miniature trains, and we're just so excited that it's open again for the community."

The Zilker Eagle runs on propane; the previous train, the Zilker Zephyr, ran on diesel. Wallis said his team hopes to make a mini electric train in the future, but the technology is not where it needs to be to pull passenger weight… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[TEXAS NEWS]

With new platform, Texas Democrats may find common ground with Republicans on housing affordability crisis (Texas Tribune)

Texas Democrats and Republicans may be approaching a bipartisan consensus on how to tackle the state’s housing affordability crisis at a time when a majority of Texans say they spend too much money on keeping a roof over their heads.

The Texas Democratic Party over the weekend adopted a platform that includes calls to relax local zoning regulations that determine what kinds of housing can be built and where. Housing experts and advocates argue those rules drive up home prices and rents by preventing real estate developers from building enough homes to meet demand.

The platform calls for “ending racially motivated exclusionary forms of zoning which limit the supply of affordable housing options” and “undoing segregation era land use restrictions that divide communities, drive displacement, and fuel rising housing costs to this day,” among other measures intended to ease the state’s housing crunch… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[US/WORLD NEWS]

Apple doubles down on artificial intelligence, announcing partnership with OpenAI (NPR)

Apple is going all-in with artificial intelligence, announcing several new AI features and a partnership with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI. The company announced the deal at its Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday afternoon.

The highly anticipated AI partnership is the first of its kind for Apple, which has been regarded by analysts as slower to adopt artificial intelligence than other technology companies such as Microsoft and Google.

The deal allows Apple’s millions of users to access technology from OpenAI, one of the highest-profile artificial intelligence companies of recent years. OpenAI has already established partnerships with a variety of technology and publishing companies, including a multibillion-dollar deal with Microsoft… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

An investment firm has taken a $1.9 billion stake in Southwest Airlines and wants to oust the CEO (Associated Press)

Activist shareholder Elliott Investment Management has bought a $1.9 billion stake in Southwest Airlines and is seeking to force out the CEO of the airline, which has struggled with operational and financial problems.

Shares in the airline rose 7% Monday, their second-best day since 2020.

In a letter to Southwest’s board, the investment firm complained that Southwest’s stock price has dropped more than 50% in the last three years.

Elliott said Southwest has failed to evolve, hurting its ability to compete with other carriers. The firm blamed the Dallas-based carrier’s massive flight cancellations in December 2022 on what it described as the airline’s outdated software and operational processes.

“Poor execution and leadership’s stubborn unwillingness to evolve the Company’s strategy have led to deeply disappointing results for shareholders, employees and customers alike,” the investment firm said in the letter, dated Monday… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[2024 Austin City Council Race Watch]

This fall will see elections for the following Council Districts 2, 4, 6, 7, 10, and Mayor.

Declared candidates so far are:

Mayor

District 2

District 4

District 6

District 7 (Open seat)

District 10 (Open seat)

_________________________

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