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- BG Reads 9.23.2024
BG Reads 9.23.2024
🗞️ Bingham Group Reads - September 23, 2024
Bingham Group Reads
Presented by:
www.binghamgp.com
September 23, 2024
Today's BG Reads include:
🟪 Police, state ready to intervene on after-hours bars operating downtown (Austin Monitor)
🟪 Republicans who want to oust Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan unanimously back state Rep. David Cook (Texas Tribune)
🟪 Trump, Harris campaigns coming to Texas for fundraisers (Dallas Morning News)
🟪 Speaker Johnson announces plan to keep the government funded until Dec. 20 (NPR)
🟪 Chip Giants TSMC and Samsung discuss building Middle Eastern megafactories (Wall Street Journal)
Read On!
[BINGHAM GROUP]
🟪 We are proud to represent and have represented a wide range of clients in the Austin Metro and Texas Capitol at the intersection of government and business.
🟪 Learn more about Bingham Group’s experience here, and review client testimonials here.
[CITY OF AUSTIN]
🟪 The Austin Council has seven (6) regular meetings left in 2024
🟪 [NEW] 2024 LBJ Austin Mayoral Forum - September 25th
District 2 - September 25th
Dove Springs Recreation Center, 5801 Ainez Drive, Austin 78744
District 10 - September 30th
Dell Jewish Community Campus, Epstein Family Community Hall, 7300 Hart Lane, Austin 78731
Mayor - October 3rd
Austin City Hall Council Chambers, 301 W. 2nd St. Austin 78701
District 6 - October 7th
Hope Presbyterian Church, 11512 Olson Drive, Austin 78750
đź“ş City Council Candidate Forum: District 4 - Video (9.19.2024)
đź“ş City Council Candidate Forum: District 7 - Video (9.5.2024)
âś… All candidate forums will are scheduled from 6:30pm to 8pm.
âś… All forums will be streamed live and archived on ATXN.
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
Police, state ready to intervene on after-hours bars operating downtown (Austin Monitor)
The Austin Police Department may soon take steps to punish downtown bars and nightclubs identified recently as potentially violating state liquor laws by operating and selling drinks after hours.
At the latest meeting of the Downtown Commission, talk turned to the findings of a June study from the Pecan Street Owners Association that showed a number of bars were selling alcohol after hours or engaged in other activities that could violate local or state laws. APD was presenting information on the state of crime and public safety in the entertainment district centering on Sixth Street between Congress Avenue and Interstate 35.
The study, based on activities observed over two weekends in March, named several bars – Mala Vida, Mala Fama, The Creek and The Cave, Lit Lounge, 512 Bar, The Cut, Space Siete, Tellers – for possible punishment, with investigator Marcus Stokke noting, “We were able to infiltrate the after-hours unlicensed bars while carrying our pistols.”… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Panelists see progress, problems in Austin’s management of nightlife economy (Austin Monitor)
Entertainment industry leaders see promise in Austin’s recent land use and policy changes that could positively impact the area’s nightlife economy, though they plan to push for further changes to streamline planning and approvals for those businesses.
An online panel on Thursday hosted by the Nite Cap Alliance advocacy and trade group featured city entertainment services manager Brian Block, who was speaking as a board member of Nite Cap, and Nicole Klepadlo, executive director of the Red River Cultural District. The panel was focused on Block’s recent paper that looks at the issues on public planning policy that come into play in creating nightlife culture.
Block said the city’s recent decision to reduce or eliminate parking minimums on new developments and the creation of new land use definitions for music venues and performance spaces were needed to reduce longtime barriers to opening those businesses outside of downtown Austin… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
University of Texas at Austin names new chief of campus’ police department (KXAN)
In an announcement Friday, the University of Texas at Austin said it promoted Assistant Chief Shane Streepy to chief of police of the UT Police Department.
The announcement came following the resignation of former UTPD Chief Eve Stephens.
Streepy is UTPD’s seventh police chief, according to the university... 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin economic heavyweight Jeff Garvey dies (Austin Business Journal)
Jeff Garvey, who was at the tip of the spear when Austin forged its modern tech economy, has died, according to multiple sources who knew him.
He was in his mid-70s and a cause of death was not immediately made public.
Garvey co-founded Austin Ventures, a longtime venture capital firm that helped put Austin on the tech and startup maps in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Fortune magazine once called it one of the largest and most powerful VC firms in the world.
After proving himself on the for-profit field, Garvey tied himself largely to philanthropy.
He was executive director and founding chairman of the cancer-fighting Lance Armstrong Foundation — now known as Livestrong — and was deeply involved with the nonprofit during its heyday when it created a global craze around yellow wristbands. Garvey assumed Armstrong's chairman position when the reputation of the Tour de France champion started to tarnish because of doping allegations that ended up being true.
Then, in 2011, Garvey was hired as president and CEO of the Austin Community Foundation, where for a short stint he lead ACF’s mission to promote local philanthropy and make enduring investments to improve the quality of life for Central Texans.
Garvey's life and career ended with a title on LinkedIn that says only "independent philanthropy professional."… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
Republicans who want to oust Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan unanimously back state Rep. David Cook (Texas Tribune)
In the most concerted attack to date on Republican Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan from within the GOP House ranks, 48 representatives and nominees for House districts selected Rep. David Cook as their favored House speaker Friday. The group includes four who dropped their bids for speaker in order to consolidate support around a single candidate.
Cook, a two-term Mansfield Republican who announced his bid for speaker earlier this month, became the self-described “reform-minded” group’s consensus pick after multiple rounds of voting. When he announced his candidacy, Cook committed to appointing only Republicans to chair House committees, considered a crucial pledge to far-right GOP leaders who feel Phelan has ceded too much power to Democrats by continuing the chamber’s long-standing tradition of naming members of both parties to lead the legislative panels.
"This vote highlights the growing momentum for change within the Texas House, as members rally behind a shared vision of a decentralized leadership model that empowers all members," Cook said in a statement… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Trump, Harris campaigns coming to Texas for fundraisers (Dallas Morning News)
Both major-party presidential campaigns will have a presence in Texas early next week as Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris seek to boost their war chests for the final six weeks of the race. U.S. Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, is set to hold four fundraisers early next week, beginning with a Sunday dinner reception in Austin, according to The New York Times.
The Ohio Republican will attend a trio of North Texas fundraisers Tuesday: a luncheon in Fort Worth and a leadership discussion and separate private dinner and discussion in Dallas. The latter event, listed as $100,000 per couple to attend, includes dinner seating and a photo opportunity.
Second gentleman Douglas Emhoff will hold a freedom to vote rally with Texas Democrats in San Antonio on Monday, followed by a fundraising reception. Emhoff, married to Vice President Kamala Harris, will also speak at receptions in Austin and Houston on Tuesday. Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke is listed as a special guest for the Austin fundraiser.
The stops come as the third-quarter fundraising period ends Sept. 30. Campaign finance reports for the July-through-September period are due Oct. 15, marking one of the final opportunities for campaigns to show financial strength heading into the closing weeks of the election… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Houston stops funding free meals for homeless, sending crowds back to Food Not Bombs outside library (Houston Chronicle)
In his 2022 "State of the City" address, then-Mayor Sylvester Turner announced the city would launch a program to relocate volunteers who for decades had been serving free meals outside the Central Library downtown, often to people who are homeless.
The decision launched a widely watched showdown between the city, which said the homeless presence at the library deterred others from using it, and volunteers with Food Not Bombs, who viewed limits on charitable feeding as immoral. But by the time Mayor John Whitmire gave his first "State of the City" presentation this week, it was hard to even tell the battle had taken place.
While the fight is not over — a federal court case over the constitutionality of the city's ordinance limiting "charitable feeding" is scheduled to be heard in 2025 — the city has been ordered to stop issuing fines until that case is decided. At the end of July, it quietly stopped funding its own competing meals, which it called its Dinner to Home program, a half mile away from the library. As a result, the crowds that gather for free dinners after the Central Library closes are larger than ever, according to volunteers with Food Not Bombs.
Every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, they pass out numbered tickets so that those waiting for meals are guaranteed spots in line. Before the end of July, a typical meal served around 140 people, according to volunteer Rebecca Lavergne. Over the last month, the average meal served 190. “On Aug. 26, we did record numbers – 240,” said John Locke, another Food Not Bombs volunteer. Meals at the city’s alternative location have become less frequent, relying on the smaller volunteer groups that did agree to move from the library to the police parking lot at 61 Riesner St., near the municipal courthouse… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Who could be Dallas’ next police chief? Here are 5 possible contenders from North Texas (Dallas Morning News)
One day after Dallas Police Chief Eddie GarcĂa surprised many by confirming he’s leaving for Austin, police officials are already pointing to five possible replacements to lead the nation’s ninth largest police force. Each of the five have current or previous command experience with DPD or another North Texas department. That said, there almost certainly will be interest in the position outside the area.
The city manager will likely make the final call. The eventual choice will oversee a force with more than 3,000 officers and a $719 million budget. No interim chief has been named yet, and it’s unclear what date will be GarcĂa’s final day in Dallas. He starts in Austin as an assistant city manager for former boss T.C. Broadnax on Nov. 4. There are also questions as to how soon the next police chief might be hired.
The city manager, which is the city’s top administrative official, hires the police chief, according to Dallas’ charter. That is somewhat complicated because that position also is vacant. Currently, Kimberly Bizor Tolbert is filling in as interim city manager. It’s unclear when the City Council might fill the permanent position. Michael Igo is a likely candidate to take the helm of the Dallas Police Department in the interim — and could very well throw his name in for the full-time role.
Igo is DPD’s executive assistant chief who oversees the patrol and administrative operations bureau, which includes each of the patrol divisions, training and recruiting. Albert Martinez currently serves as the Dallas Independent School District’s police chief. He joined DPD in 1993 and spent most of his career there. He most recently served as executive assistant chief overseeing investigations and special operations.
He left in February to lead DISD’s force. Reuben Ramirez left the Dallas Police Department last month for a job consulting and advising on better strategies for first responders’ emotional health. During GarcĂa’s tenure, he served as an assistant chief over the patrol bureau, but also spent time over the bureaus that oversee units such as SWAT, homicide, domestic violence, narcotics and gang. Catrina Shead has been with the Dallas Police Department for about 30 years and is one of the highest-ranking women on GarcĂa’s command staff. She oversaw recruiting as assistant chief of the administrative bureau for the first years of his administration, which frequently put her at the presentation table at City Hall amid hiring shortages… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[US and World News]
Speaker Johnson announces plan to keep the government funded until Dec. 20 (NPR)
House Speaker Mike Johnson announced a temporary agreement that would keep the government funded until Dec. 20.
The measure does not include any part of the SAVE Act, the election security proposal backed by former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for president.
It would include "only the extensions that are absolutely necessary" to avoid a government shutdown, Johnson said in a letter to House Republicans.
"While this is not the solution any of us prefer, it is the most prudent pass forward under the present circumstances," he wrote. "As history has taught and current polling affirms, shutting the government less than 40 days from a fateful election would be an act of political malpractice."… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Chip Giants TSMC and Samsung discuss building Middle Eastern megafactories (Wall Street Journal)
Two chip-making giants have discussed building huge factory complexes in the United Arab Emirates that could transform the industry in the coming years and become a cornerstone for artificial-intelligence investments in the Middle East.
Top executives at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.; the world’s largest chip maker, have visited the U.A.E. recently and talked about a plant complex on par with some of the company’s largest and most advanced facilities in Taiwan, according to people familiar with the interactions.
Samsung Electronics also is considering major new chip-making operations in the country in the years ahead, according to other people with knowledge of its strategy. Senior leaders of the South Korean company have visited the U.A.E. recently and discussed the possibility, they said.
Discussions are still in the early phases and face technical and other hurdles that mean they might not pan out. Under initial terms being discussed, the projects would be funded by the U.A.E., with a central role for Abu Dhabi-based sovereign development vehicle Mubadala, which is eager to develop a domestic tech industry.
The broader goal would be to increase global chip production and help bring chip prices down without hurting chip-makers’ profitability, some of the people said… 🟪 (LINK TO FULL STORY)
_________________________
We are proud to represent and have represented a wide range of clients in the Austin Metro and Texas Capitol at the intersection of government and business.
Learn more about Bingham Group’s experience here, and review client testimonials here.
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