🟪 Austin warming back up to incentives as economy cools (Austin Business Journal)

🟪 Bastrop Mayor Harris seeks full term as newcomer Stanfield enters race (Austin American-Statesman)

🟪 City finds Round Rock mayoral candidate Kelly Hall ineligible (Community Impact)

🟪 Portrayals of Islam and people of color dominate discussion in Texas’ social studies rewrite (Texas Tribune)

🟪 Low-tax Texas opens London office to lure jobs and investment (The Guardian)

🟪 Texas House committee slaps Democrats with nearly $422K in penalties for 2025 quorum break (Houston Public Media)

🟪 Artemis II splashdown captures nationwide attention (NPR)

🟪 Pope Leo says he does not fear Trump, as he pushes back in feud over Iran war (NPR)

🟪 Trump threatens Strait of Hormuz blockade after US-Iran ceasefire talks end without agreement (Associated Press)

READ ON!

Last Friday (April 10th) marked Bingham Group's ninth year in business.

Nine years ago, we didn't exist. No clients. No reputation. No guarantee it would work.

We've come a long way. And we're just getting started.

Central Texas is one of the most dynamic regions in the country. Our ambition is to be the firm that helps shape its future.

That starts with the people in our corner.

We work across land use and entitlements, government affairs, procurement consulting, and community engagement.

If any of those are relevant to what you are working on, or someone you know is navigating something in those spaces, we’d welcome the conversation. You can you reply directly to me here.

Nine years in. Grateful for every bit of it!

✅ Austin warming back up to incentives as economy cools (Austin Business Journal)

Incentives such as tax breaks or cash for jobs for expanding companies could play a bigger role in Austin's future as city hall faces budget shortfalls and sobering statistics that show a slowdown.

Dangling such carrots in front of Corporate America is a reversal of attitude. In recent years, as Austin boomed despite anything city hall did or didn't do, city leaders believed they didn't need to offer incentives for big companies to grow here. Adjoining counties — especially Williamson County to the north, which has done major incentives deals with Apple, Samsung and others recently — have had a heyday raking in the business investments since.

But things have slowed in Austin due to factors such as relatively higher costs and a lack of easily developable land. In 2023, for instance, the Census indicated that more people moved out of Austin than moved in — albeit babies born have kept the city's population total inching forward.

So lately, city leaders have been harkening back to strategies that partly fueled the stout growth of the early 2000s — and that puts incentives for big businesses back into Austin's secret sauce. City leaders have approved three deals in recent months with major corporations… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Bastrop Mayor Harris seeks full term as newcomer Stanfield enters race (Austin American-Statesman)

Bastrop Mayor Ishmael Harris, who won a runoff in a special mayoral election in 2025, is running for his first full term against challenger Joseph Stanfield.

Harris, 44, is a supervisor at a City of Austin wastewater treatment plant. He is Bastrop's first Black mayor and has previously served on the city's Planning and Zoning Commission. He ran unsuccessfully for the City Council in 2019.

Stanfield, a 47-year-old solutions architect at Dell, is a political newcomer.

The Bastrop mayor serves a three-year term. The election is May 2. Early voting is from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 20 and April 22-24, and from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on April 27-28 at the Bastrop County Courthouse Annex, 804 Pecan St. in Bastrop. Early voting will not be held April 21 because it is San Jacinto Day, a state holiday.

Harris was elected mayor in a runoff election in June following the resignation in January 2025 of Lyle Nelson following an investigation into alleged financial mismanagement of the city's tourism board. Third-party investigators could not prove that Nelson knew of any misused funds… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ City finds Round Rock mayoral candidate Kelly Hall ineligible (Community Impact)

Kelly Hall, one of two candidates who will appear on the May 2 ballot in the Round Rock mayoral race, was deemed ineligible to run for the position, following a challenge to his residency.

A challenge submitted to the city of Round Rock by a collective of former city leaders April 6 claims that Hall's official application to appear on the ballot in the March 3 Democratic Primary lists a permanent address in Cedar Park, making him ineligible to run for Round Rock mayor.

An April 9 response to the challenge, obtained through a public information request, states that the city has found him ineligible to appear on the ballot on these grounds.

The challenge further states that the document including Hall's address was a notarized, official form prescribed by the Texas Secretary of State. Hall's voter registration at this address was also verified by the county's Democratic Party, the challenge states.

In the city's response, and its letter to Hall detailing the reason for his ineligibility, the city states Hall swore and attested to his permanent address being in Cedar Park for four years as of Dec. 1, 2025, in his application for the Democratic Primary. On Feb. 4, 2026, the response states, Hall swore and attested to his permanent address being in Round Rock for one year and two months in his application to appear on the ballot in the mayoral race… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Check out 3 city council updates from San Marcos, Buda and Kyle (Community Impact)

Major changes are coming to San Marcos, Buda and Kyle after city councils voted on a new tourist fee, major development project and community assistance program.

Catch up on three government updates from the cities… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Portrayals of Islam and people of color dominate discussion in Texas’ social studies rewrite (Texas Tribune)

The Texas State Board of Education voted Friday to approve an early draft of the state’s new social studies plan, but not without clashes over the portrayal of Islam and the history of Black and Hispanic Americans.

A Republican majority voted to approve the changes to social studies standards — known as the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, or TEKS — proposed during a marathon meeting that stretched all of Thursday and into early Friday. All five Democrats voted against the preliminary changes. Earlier in the week, they called for an investigation into a potential conflict of interest.

A 2024 tax filing from the Texas Public Policy Foundation shows the conservative activist organization paid the Texas Center at Schreiner University $70,000 to develop state learning standards. Donald Frazier, a historian advising the State Board of Education on social studies changes, runs the Texas Center… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Low-tax Texas opens London office to lure jobs and investment (The Guardian)

The US state of Texas is putting UK businesses in its crosshairs with the launch this month of a dedicated London office to lure jobs and investment to the low-tax Lone Star State. Texas recently secured approval for the new site, adding to a growing list of international offices from which it can try to draw corporate heavyweights across its borders.

It is the latest sign that Texas lobbyists, led by the office of the state’s Republican governor, Greg Abbott, are widening their economic ambitions beyond American borders, having already had success luring jobs and investment from rival US states including California, Delaware and New York. Lobbyists working in the London office are likely to court UK bosses with incentives including new, fast-track business courts and multimillion dollar subsidies. Texas charges neither corporation nor income tax.

Their targets are expected to include the City’s banks and investment houses, as the state aims to build on Dallas’s financial-sector boom, and continue its promotion of the area now known as Y’all Street. Those ambitions have caught the attention of the City of London Corporation. The City’s mayor, Susan Langley, travelled to Dallas in February and discussed how London could tap into excitement over the launch later this year of the state’s first dedicated stock market, the TXSE.

“With the launch of the Texas Stock Exchange, new dual-listing opportunities could connect British and Texan firms to fresh capital,” she said in a post on X after the visit. The news comes as London tries to reverse a trend where businesses have been abandoning the UK stock market, choosing either to go private or shift their listings to hubs overseas, including New York. The London office – which will add to Texas’s offices in Mexico and Taiwan – will be led by James Taylor, one of the founders of the Austin-based lobbying and public relations firm Vianovo… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Mayor’s attorney urges halt to Corpus Christi removal hearing process (Channel 3 News - Corpus Christi)

A legal letter submitted on behalf of Corpus Christi Mayor Paulette Guajardo is urging the City Council to reconsider moving forward with removal hearing procedures under the city charter. The letter, dated April 8, was sent by attorney John Flood to members of the City Council and references Article II, Section 11 of the city charter, which outlines the process for removal or suspension actions.

Flood said prior investigations conducted with outside legal counsel and investigators found insufficient evidence of wrongdoing related to earlier allegations raised in a Petition for Removal filed in August 2025. The letter also addresses additional claims filed in March 2026, described as “Articles of Impeachment,” stating those allegations are based on speculation and can be rebutted by existing facts, according to the mayor’s legal team.

Flood is now urging the council to pause the process, warning that moving forward could expose the city to unnecessary litigation and may not meet legal requirements under state law and U.S. constitutional standards. “Over the last couple of months, the city council has taken some steps that really threaten some of the constitutional rights that she holds, that we all hold,” Flood said. Flood also questioned the reasoning behind the council’s decision to advance the petition.

“Multiple law enforcement agencies, the FBI, the Texas Rangers, Police Department, District Attorney's office have all concluded that there was no wrongdoing by anyone, much less the mayor,” Flood said. “And so you have to ask yourself, well, then why is this happening? And so it's happening for political reasons, which is an unconstitutional reason.” The letter further states that continuing the proceedings could divert attention from other city priorities, including water planning and municipal operations… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Texas House committee slaps Democrats with nearly $422K in penalties for 2025 quorum break (Houston Public Media)

A committee of the Texas House of Representatives voted late Friday afternoon to impose financial penalties totaling nearly $422,000 on Democratic House members who broke quorum last August to try to prevent the Republican-led Legislature from passing a controversial mid-decade congressional redistricting plan. The GOP-led Committee on House Administration imposed $303,000 in fines on the 50-plus Democratic members for being absent without leave during the first and second special sessions of the 89th Legislature.

The committee assessed an additional $118,889.81 penalty to reimburse the Texas Department of Public Safety for expenses incurred in trying to compel those members to return to the chamber. Under House rules, the members being penalized may not use political fundraising in order to pay the fines or reimbursement expenses — in this case more than $8,000 per member.

The committee voted 6-5 along party lines, under a motion by state Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, the committee chair, after taking testimony in executive session for more than six hours. Geren made no statement other than to read out the terms of the motion. Several Democrats on the committee gave closing statements before the final vote. State Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, pointed to Republican rhetoric against Democrats during the quorum break — including threats by Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to force the expulsion from office of Democrats who had fled the state.

"Americans just like us from both sides of the aisle have been murdered over politics in the past year,” Moody said. “We can’t play any part in bringing that to Texas. If we do, one day, we’ll be sitting in a room like this, talking about the death of someone we worked with, someone we looked in the eye and broke bread with, and yes, sometimes disagreed with. When that happens, no amount of political points will have been worth it."... 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Artemis II splashdown captures nationwide attention (NPR)

The Artemis II crew made their return to Earth on Friday following the Orion spacecraft's historic 10-day trip around the Moon, capturing the attention of awestruck fans nationwide.

In stadiums across the country, Jumbotrons projected the team's successful splashdown into the Pacific Ocean near San Diego, Calif.

Viewers watched in open amazement as the capsule, crewed by commander Reid Wiseman, mission specialist Christina Koch, pilot Victor Glover, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, parachuted from the skies into the ocean… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Pope Leo says he does not fear Trump, as he pushes back in feud over Iran war (NPR)

U.S.-born Pope Leo XIV pushed back Monday on President Donald Trump's broadside against him over the U.S.-Israel war in Iran, telling reporters that the Vatican's appeals for peace and reconciliation are rooted in the Gospel, and that he doesn't fear the Trump administration.

"To put my message on the same plane as what the president has attempted to do here, I think is not understanding what the message of the Gospel is," Leo told AP aboard the papal plane en route to Algeria. "And I'm sorry to hear that but I will continue on what I believe is the mission of the church in the world today."

History's first U.S.-born pope stressed that he was not making a direct attack against Trump or anyone else with his general appeal for peace and criticisms of the "delusion of omnipotence" that is fueling the Iran wars and other conflicts around the world.

"I will not enter into debate. The things that I say are certainly not meant as attacks on anyone. The message of the Gospel is very clear: 'Blessed are the peacemakers,'" Leo said.

"I will not shy away from announcing the message of the Gospel and inviting all people to look for ways of building bridges of peace and reconciliation, and looking for ways to avoid war any time that's possible"

Speaking to other reporters, he added: "I have no fear of the Trump administration."… . 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Trump threatens Strait of Hormuz blockade after US-Iran ceasefire talks end without agreement (Associated Press)

President Donald Trump on Sunday said the U.S. Navy would “immediately” begin a blockade to stop ships from entering or leaving the Strait of Hormuz, after U.S.-Iran peace talks in Pakistan ended without an agreement. Trump sought to exert strategic control over the waterway responsible for the transportation of 20% of global oil supplies before the war, hoping to take away Iran’s key source of economic leverage in the fighting.

The president added that he has “instructed our Navy to seek and interdict every vessel in International Waters that has paid a toll to Iran. No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas.”

Trump also said the U.S. was ready to “finish up” Iran at the “appropriate moment,” stressing that Tehran’s nuclear ambitions were at the core of the failure to end the war. Face-to-face talks ended earlier Sunday after 21 hours, leaving a fragile two-week ceasefire in doubt. U.S. officials said the negotiations collapsed over what they described as Iran’s refusal to commit to abandoning a path to a nuclear weapon, while Iranian officials blamed the U.S. for the breakdown of the talks without specifying the sticking points.

Neither side indicated what will happen after the 14-day ceasefire expires on April 22. Pakistani mediators urged all parties to maintain it. Both said their positions were clear and put the onus on the other side, underscoring how little the gap had narrowed throughout the talks. “We need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon,” Vice President JD Vance said after the talks… 🟪 (READ MORE)