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- BG Reads 9.5.2023
BG Reads 9.5.2023
BG Reads | News - September 5, 2023 🗞️
September 5, 2023
In today's BG Reads:
🏢 Major city of Austin leadership changes announced
💲 Texas prepares to roll out info on new Chapter 403 tax breaks
⚖️ Ex-Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio faces lengthy prison sentence today for Jan. 6 riot
🎙️ BG Podcast Ep. 214: We focus on developments with the so-called "Death Star" bill, House Bill 2127, preemption legislation passed in the recent Texas legislative session.t (Also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify)
And more. Read on!
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
Garza announces more changes at City Hall (Austin Monitor)
A new memo outlines yet another shake-up at the city courtesy of interim City Manager Jesús Garza.
City Council reappointed Garza interim city manager in February, following a vote that fired City Manager Spencer Cronk from the position. Since then, he has introduced a series of changes to the organizational structure of City Hall. The new memo, which was sent to Council members on Friday, explained the newest staffing changes would be in effect immediately.
The memo starts with the announcement that Assistant City Manager Rodney Gonzales will retire in January after 17 years at the city.
“Working for the City of Austin has been an honor,” said Gonzales in the memo. “And, while this is a tough decision, I feel it is time for me to start a new chapter in my life. My plan is to continue living in Austin as my family is native to the area and I wish nothing but the best for our community.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
And in other Austin Metro News:
➡️ Austin metro unemployment rate hits nearly 4% in July (Community Impact) -> LINK TO FULL STORY
➡️ UT and Samsung Partner to Develop Talent Pipeline for Texas' Semiconductor Ecosystem (UT News) -> LINK TO FULL STORY
➡️ Texas metro hotel revenues show growth everywhere but San Antonio and Austin in Q2 (Austin American-Statesman) -> LINK TO FULL STORY
[TEXAS NEWS]
Texas prepares to roll out info on new Chapter 403 tax breaks (Austin Business Journal)
When the clock struck midnight, it was the start of the rule-making process for the state's new school property tax abatement program, known as Chapter 403 for its place in the state code.
It will fully go into effect Jan. 1 after the Texas Legislature this year passed House Bill 5 as a replacement for the Chapter 313 incentives that died at the end of 2022.
Sept. 1 also marks the first day that companies considering the Lone Star State for major, capital-intensive projects encounter a friendlier outlook on their projected bottom line.
While a lot of questions remain unanswered about how the incentives will work, how they will impact economic development in the Austin region should become clearer soon.
Those involved in courting companies to the area had bemoaned the loss of Chapter 313 and said it would cause companies considering Texas to think twice. Corporate relocations and expansions are indeed down across Central Texas this year, although that is likely largely due to the bumpy economy. But it's true that Chapter 313 incentives helped secure major projects, like Tesla Inc.'s billion-dollar gigafactory in Travis County and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.'s chipmaking plants in Austin and Taylor — multibillion-dollar investments that have already created thousands of jobs… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
And happening today:
The impeachment trial for suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton is set to begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the Senate chamber of the Texas Capitol.
The Senate gallery will be open to the public daily, beginning at 8 a.m., with tickets distributed for the morning session on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 7:30 a.m. on the Capitol’s third floor.
Tickets for the afternoon session will be distributed 45 minutes before the gallery reopens. The trial also will be livestreamed on the Texas Senate’s website and at texastribune.org.
OTHER TEXAS NEWS:
➡️ Ken Paxton tried to hide his affair from his wife and voters. It may be his undoing. (Texas Tribune) -> LINK TO FULL STORY
➡️ Paxton tells supporters to lead charge in removing his Republican rivals who impeached him (Texas Tribune) -> LINK TO FULL STORY
➡️ Highways are the next antiabortion target. One Texas town is resisting. (Washington Post) -> LINK TO FULL STORY
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Ex-Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio faces lengthy prison sentence for Jan. 6 riot (NPR)
Enrique Tarrio, the former national chairman of the Proud Boys convicted for seditious conspiracy for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, is set to be sentenced to federal prison today.
Tarrio's originally scheduled sentencing hearing was postponed last week after Judge Timothy Kelly fell ill.
Prosecutors want him sentenced to 33 years in prison for his role in conspiring with his lieutenants to stop the certification of the 2020 presidential election results in Congress and to keep former President Donald Trump in power.
So far, Tarrio's co-defendants in the Proud Boys seditious conspiracy case have been sentenced to prison stays far shorter than what the government requested of the court… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
OTHER NEWS:
➡️ GOP senators weigh ‘special’ meeting on their leadership after McConnell’s freeze (Politico) -> LINK TO FULL STORY
➡️ Conservative book ban push fuels library exodus from national association that stands up for books (Associated Press) -> LINK TO FULL STORY
➡️ Robots are pouring drinks in Vegas. As AI grows, the city's workers brace for change (NPR) -> LINK TO FULL STORY
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