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- BG Reads // December 29, 2025
BG Reads // December 29, 2025
A.J. Bingham
December 29, 2025
faustin a
Presented By
www.binghamgp.com
December 29, 2025
✅ Today's BG Reads include:
🟪 Tariffs hit Austin's economy in 2025 but they didn't provide a knockout (Austin Business Journal)
🟪 Austin officials draft new rules for council spending, transparency (Community Impact)
🟪 Austin Energy releases 10-year, $735M plan to reduce power outages and improve grid resiliency (Community Impact)
🟪 San Antonio leads major Texas markets with 5% home price growth in November (San Antonio Business Journal)
🟪 Downtown condo tower delayed until market conditions improve (Austin Business Journal)
🟪 Trump touts tariffs, crime crackdown as first year of second term winds down (The Hill)
🟪 Zohran Mamdani has bold promises. Can he make them come true as New York City mayor? (Associated Press)
🟪 Kennedy Center vows to sue musician who canceled performance over Trump name change (NPR
READ ON!
[FIRM NEWS]
Honored to share that I’ve been appointed to the Austin Chamber of Commerce 2026 Board of Directors, where I’ll serve as Co-Chair of Regional Policy and on the Executive Committee.
Central Texas is at a pivotal moment. I’m grateful for the opportunity to contribute to conversations around workforce development, infrastructure investment, and long-term regional competitiveness, alongside business and civic leaders committed to the region’s future.
Looking forward to the work ahead and to supporting a strong, resilient Central Texas economy.
📷: W/ Denise Davis (of Davis Kaufman PLLC) 2026 Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce Board Chair.
READ: Austin Chamber Confirms 2026 Board Chair, Chair Elect, and Board
Leadership -> http://bit.ly/4ji2maU
Learn more about Bingham Group’s new practice — and review all of our services here: binghamgp.com/services
[CITY OF AUSTIN]
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
✅ Tariffs hit Austin's economy in 2025 but they didn't provide a knockout (Austin Business Journal)
Tariffs hurt some Austin businesses in 2025 but the higher taxes haven’t forced the local economy to take major steps back.
In 2025, the Trump Administration had levied an unprecedented amount of tariffs on American and international businesses, which caused a lot of uncertainty and many investments to be put on hold for much of the year. Businesses enacted more conservative plans due to the higher costs. Only recently has the area returned to clocking major manufacturing announcements that were more commonplace in recent years.
Kevin Fincher, the CEO of the Austin Regional Manufacturers Association, said tariffs had a varied impact on his organization's members. Bigger manufacturers were in a better position to either absorb or pass on the costs compared to smaller manufacturers — "they have more levers to pull,” he said.
“We would say that the tariffs have really made companies think about their supply chain and logistics,” Fincher said… 🟪 (READ MORE)
✅ Austin officials draft new rules for council spending, transparency (Community Impact)
City Council members plan to set new guidelines for their offices' spending policies in early 2026.
Officials moved in the fall to enact a new set of financial accountability and transparency measures for council member spending. A resolution from Mayor Kirk Watson, sponsored by all 10 council members, stated the policies should "demonstrate a public benefit" of all officeholder spending based on government standards.
"It was stated that if we want to assure trust, it is critically important for us to be the model for best practices and a place that sets the highest standards," Watson said in early December.
A draft expense framework for Austin's elected officials and their staffs was released by Watson Dec. 19. Some updates under consideration include a detailed outline of allowable expenses, ranging from office supplies and software to travel and hospitality at public meetings.
Spending on things like gifts, donations, alcohol, personal subscriptions or political campaign materials wouldn't be permitted, in line with some current rules. First- or business-class tickets and other luxury travel accommodations also wouldn't be allowed "without justification."
The draft policy would set regular public releases of monthly council office spending reports including city purchasing card, or ProCard, expenses. It'd also prevent remaining funds in annual council office budgets from rolling over into future years.
The draft policy calls for the city's chief financial officer to serve as a council liaison overseeing the spending practices. Any alleged violations would be referred to Austin Financial Services and the city auditor for investigation and potential enforcement… 🟪 (READ MORE)
✅ Austin Energy releases 10-year, $735M plan to reduce power outages and improve grid resiliency (Community Impact)
Austin Energy has finalized a 10-year, $735 million plan to improve system reliability and limit power outages in the face of mounting disruptions from aging infrastructure and severe weather.
The December release of AE's decade-long Electric System Resiliency Plan, or ESRP, capped off recent resiliency reviews in the wake of the three most impactful extreme weather events in the utility's history. Those included winter storms Uri and Mara in 2021 and 2023, respectively, and this May's microburst storm that affected roughly 124,000 AE customers.
AE completed its own internal evaluations of all three events. After the 2023 ice storm, City Council also asked the utility to look into burying thousands of miles of power lines to avoid future weather-related impacts. Consultant 1898 & Co. released studies into that concept, as well as hardening existing overhead lines, this year… 🟪 (READ MORE)
✅ Downtown condo tower delayed until market conditions improve (Austin Business Journal)
Construction cranes receded from Austin’s skyline in 2025 as a number of big projects were completed, and with a number of planned projects delayed, they aren't being replaced. Now, one more planned downtown Austin high-rise has been put on pause.
Luminary, a 35-story, 400-foot-tall condo tower planned to rise at the northwest corner of West 14th and Guadalupe streets, was set to have its groundbreaking in late 2025. However, the developer decided to delay both the start of construction for the tower and sales launch for its condos, Tony Kaleel, president and chief operating officer of the tower’s developer, Northland Living, said in an emailed statement.
“Early pre-sales engagement confirmed what we believed from the start: Luminary’s timeless design, location and neighborhood setting strongly resonate with buyers,” Kaleel wrote. “To protect that momentum and deliver the strongest possible outcome, Northland Living has made a strategic decision to pause the formal sales launch and groundbreaking while we await more stable market conditions.”… 🟪 (READ MORE)
[TEXAS/US NEWS]
✅ The Rio Grande Valley among Texas counties most impacted by expiring health insurance subsidies (Texas Tribune)
Throughout the Rio Grande Valley — which includes Hidalgo, Cameron, Starr and Willacy counties — a handful of resources offer health care services at a low cost to provide some relief to this undeserved area.
Among those resources is Nuestra Clinica Del Valle, a federally qualified health center. Such centers are funded by the federal government to provide primary care services to low-income communities. Nuestra Clinica does so by offering their services on a sliding fee scale.
But even with a resource like Nuestra Clinica, residents will often delay seeking care until their health problems have already become severe.
“I’ve seen a bunch of patients who come in and the first time they see a primary care doctor is after they’ve been to the hospital after they had a heart attack or a stroke,” said Dr. Carlos Medina, the chief medical officer for Nuestra Clinica.
About 3.1 million adults in Texas, or about 13% of the adult population, have diagnosed diabetes. That prevalence skews much higher in border counties including those in the Rio Grande Valley… 🟪 (READ MORE)
✅ San Antonio leads major Texas markets with 5% home price growth in November (San Antonio Business Journal)
San Antonio posted the strongest home price growth among major Texas markets in November.
Home prices in the Alamo City posted a 5% year-over-year increase, as the city's economy continues to outperform national trends, according to preliminary data from Homes.com and insights from a Comerica Bank economist.
The median sale price reached $315,000 in November, up $15,000 from November 2024 — the fifth-highest among the 40 largest housing markets.
The Homes.com report indicated that the city's housing prices remain strong due to its affordability, which ranks as the seventh-lowest among large markets.
The national median sales price for homes, including condos, was $385,000 in November, up 2.4%.
Other major Texas metros saw declines, according to the data:
Austin dow 1.1%
Houston down 0.7%
Dallas-Fort Worth down 2.7%
✅ Zohran Mamdani has bold promises. Can he make them come true as New York City mayor? (Associated Press)
Zohran Mamdani has promised to transform New York City government when he becomes mayor. Can he do it?
Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, already faces intense scrutiny, even before taking office in one of the country’s most scrutinized political jobs. Republicans have cast him as a liberal boogeyman. Some of his fellow Democrats have deemed him too far left. Progressives are closely watching for any signs of him shifting toward the center.
On Jan. 1, he will assume control of America’s biggest city under that harsh spotlight, with the country watching to see if he can pull off the big promises that vaulted him to office and handle the everyday duties of the job. All while skeptics call out his every stumble.
For Mamdani, starting off strong is key, said George Arzt, a veteran Democratic political consultant in New York who worked for former Mayor Ed Koch.
“He’s got to use the first 100 days of the administration to show people he can govern,” he said. “You’ve got to set a mindset for people that’s like, ‘Hey, this guy’s serious.’”… 🟪 (READ MORE)
✅ Trump touts tariffs, crime crackdown as first year of second term winds down (The Hill)
President Trump on Saturday touted low national crime statistics and his immigration agenda while claiming his tariffs have resulted in “no inflation” as the first year of his second term comes to a close.
“Crime in the United States is at its lowest levels on record,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Much of that is attributable to the most successful Southern Border operation in history. Also, there are more people working in the U.S. today than EVER before. MAGA!!!”
The president, in a second post, added that his tariffs have created “GREAT WEALTH, and unprecedented National Security for the USA.”
“Trade deficit has been cut by 60%, totally unheard of. 4.3% GDP, and going way up. No inflation!!! We are respected as a Country again,” he added.
Earlier in the week, Trump praised the latest economic data as a result of his robust tariff agenda. The economy saw a growth of 4.3 percent with an increase in exports and consumer spending, according to numbers released earlier this week by the Commerce Department.
“The TARIFFS are responsible for the GREAT USA Economic Numbers JUST ANNOUNCED…AND THEY WILL ONLY GET BETTER!” the president wrote online Tuesday. “Also, NO INFLATION & GREAT NATIONAL SECURITY. Pray for the U.S. Supreme Court!!!”… 🟪 (READ MORE)
✅ Kennedy Center vows to sue musician who canceled performance over Trump name change (NPR)
The Kennedy Center says it plans to file a $1 million lawsuit against jazz artist Chuck Redd, after the musician canceled his annual Christmas Eve performance. The Associated Press first reported that Redd pulled out of the show days after President Trump's name was added to the exterior of the performing arts center in Washington, D.C.
In an email to NPR on Saturday, Kennedy Center spokesperson Roma Daravi said Redd's decision is a disservice to the arts.
"Any artist cancelling their show at the Trump Kennedy Center over political differences isn't courageous or principled—they are selfish, intolerant, and have failed to meet the basic duty of a public artist: to perform for all people," she said.
Redd, an international performer on drums and vibraphone, hosted the center's Christmas Jazz Jam for many years. NPR's messages to Redd were not returned Saturday morning.
"When I saw the name change on the Kennedy Center website and then hours later on the building, I chose to cancel our concert," he told the AP.
Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell sent a scathing letter to Redd on Friday, criticizing him and calling the cancellation a political stunt. The center shared the letter with NPR.
"Regrettably, your action surrenders to the sad bullying tactics employed by certain elements on the left, who have sought to intimidate artists into boycotting performances at our national cultural center," it reads… 🟪 (READ MORE)
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