BG Reads // January 13, 2026

Author

A.J. Bingham
January 13, 2026

faustin a

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www.binghamgp.com

January 13, 2026

✅ Today's BG Reads include:

🟪 Nearly $100 million gone: How Austin ISD spent bond money on schools it will soon close (KUT)

🟪 Austin mayor, council to start talks on outside audit (KVUE)

🟪 Opportunity Austin names new CEO as Ed Latson departs (Austin Business Journal)

🟪 Austin finalizes $69M 'stitch' deck plans spanning I-35 between 41st Street, Red Line rail (Community Impact)

🟪 What you need to know before voting in Texas’ March 3 primary elections (Texas Tribune)

🟪 Data center pushback in Texas highlights tension between tech growth and rural land use (NBC News)

🟪 Trump is trying to change how the midterm elections are conducted (Washington Post)

🟪 E.P.A. to stop considering lives saved by limiting air pollution (New York Times)

🟪 Federal prosecutors open investigation into Fed Chair Powell (New York Times)

READ ON!

[FROM THE FIRM ]

[CITY OF AUSTIN]

🏛️ Meetings this week:

[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]

✅ Nearly $100 million gone: How Austin ISD spent bond money on schools it will soon close (KUT)

While the situation may not be unique to Austin ISD, he said, it stands out because of the scale of the spending and the district’s financial strain. While selling or leasing the properties could, hypothetically, recoup some losses, he said the reality is bond dollars have been poured into soon-to-shutter campuses with uncertain futures.

Bonds are used by school districts much like loans a homeowner takes on to purchase or fix up a home, said Tracy Ginsburg, who is the executive director of the Texas Association of School Business Officials. Bond money can be used to fix a school’s heating and cooling systems, repair a roof, remodel an aging building or, if a district is growing, to create and furnish a new school.

In Austin ISD, the district faces more than $3 billion in deferred maintenance for its aging campuses, according to the district’s 2020 facilities master plan.

Almost every school in the district was set to receive some sort of improvement or renovation with the money from the 2022 bond, said Lynn Boswell, school board president. Improvements include technology upgrades, secure vestibules, upgrades to old HVAC systems and fencing around campuses, among other needs.

As a result, any school the board decided to close is likely to have had bond money allocated for improvements. Boswell said board members looked at the consolidation plan in light of the bond dollars allocated by trustees for improvements under the 2022 bond, taking into consideration where significant work had already been done.

As the district moves forward, Boswell said some work, such as HVAC repairs in buildings currently housing students, will continue at the closing schools to keep students comfortable until relocations occur and the buildings’ futures are decided. The decisions about reallocating remaining bond dollars originally earmarked for those campuses will likely involve the district’s Community Bond Oversight Committee, school administrators and community members, before ultimately going to a board vote, she said… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Austin mayor, council to start talks on outside audit (KVUE)

Austin’s mayor and city council are set to begin discussions this week on bringing in an outside group to take a broad look at how the city spends its money.

On Wednesday, the city’s Audit and Finance Committee will take up a draft ordinance to approve an outside review of city finances.

Mayor Kirk Watson, who chairs that committee, posted that plan to city council’s online message board on Jan. 9. He said it would launch “an independent, citywide Comprehensive Efficiency Assessment for the City of Austin.”

The proposal comes after voters rejected Proposition Q in November, which would have raised city property taxes by about 20% compared to the previous fiscal year.

Watson said in the two months since, he's worked with City Manager T.C. Broadnax, City Auditor Jason Hadavi and the City Attorney’s Office to develop a plan aimed at improving efficiency and rebuilding public trust in how city dollars are used.

Under the draft ordinance, the city auditor would hire an external consultant with expertise in municipal audits to review city departments, employees and contractors. Each department would be evaluated at least once every three years, with findings reported to the Audit and Finance Committee twice a year and to the full city council annually, or as requested… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Opportunity Austin names new CEO as Ed Latson departs (Austin Business Journal)

Ed Latson, who for more than two years has served as the CEO of Opportunity Austin, is leaving the organization, effective immediately.

Susan Davenport, chief economic development officer for the group that handles business attraction and retention efforts in the region, will become CEO, according to a statement from Casey Dobson, chairman of Opportunity Austin's board.

Latson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, he noted in a Jan. 12 post on LinkedIn that "the time has come to move on.”

"I took this job because I love this city and this region. I wanted to make an impact on its future and future generations. I will always be dedicated to that mission and look forward to continuing the work in my next role. Stay tuned…. But for now a much needed break," Latson wrote.

Dobson also said that Stacy Schmitt, senior vice president of communications and external affairs, is being promoted to chief operations officer.

"This change will optimize our day-to-day operations in support of our mission and renew our focus on our core economic development initiatives," Dobson said.

Latson's hiring was one of the final checklist items during a time of transition for Opportunity Austin. The organization leads business retention and attraction efforts for the region, while also aiming to diversify the economy to withstand future recessions and diversify the workforce. Upon his hiring in 2023, Opportunity Austin had a budget of nearly $35 million over the following five years, or $7 million annually. There was a staff at the time of 16, although officials said they planned to grow to around 25… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Austin resident and Nvidia board member gives $100M to help build UT's medical center (Austin Business Journal)

A Nvidia board member who moved to Austin in 2020 has donated $100 million to help launch the University of Texas' forthcoming medical center.

The massive donation from Tench Coxe and his wife, Simone Coxe, is one of the largest the school has ever received.

The influx of money will allow university leaders to deploy it wherever they think it is needed most, which will include recruiting world-class scientists and physicians to help blend high-level traditional care with cutting-edge technologies in the health care field.

The Coxes, who initially planned to be anonymous donors, credited their relationship with Claudia Lucchinetti, UT’s senior vice president for medical affairs and dean of Dell Medical School, with helping cement their interest in the school and making the donation public knowledge to encourage additional donations… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Austin finalizes $69M 'stitch' deck plans spanning I-35 between 41st Street, Red Line rail (Community Impact)

As Austin continues to plan a series of future amenity decks and improved crossings over I-35 as its state-led expansion progresses, city staff have proposed a final outline for two "stitches" covering portions of the highway between 41st Street and the Red Line railway.

Alongside the Texas Department of Transportation's multibillion-dollar development of a widened, sunken I-35 through Central Austin, the city has been working on its own related project to bridge the east and west sides of the highway with new public spaces.

Although the entities are coordinating on planning and construction, Austin's program isn't part of TxDOT's I-35 project. It's also separate from larger amenity decks being developed by The University of Texas at Austin alongside its campus.

City Council finalized a framework last spring for the local initiative to build out a series of public decks, or larger caps and smaller stitches. Based on that plan, the city will first fund the foundations of three multi-acre caps downtown as well as two 300-foot northern stitches for $104 million total—a smaller package than was originally hoped for under the community Our Future 35 vision plan.... 🟪 (READ MORE)

[TEXAS/US NEWS]

✅ What you need to know before voting in Texas’ March 3 primary elections (Texas Tribune)

Texans will have more of a say over who their state elected officials will be during the 2026 primaries.

Texas Republican and Democrat voters will pick which candidate they want to represent their interests and their party on the ballot for the November general election. In a state where Republicans dominate state government and where many legislative and congressional districts often are drawn to favor them, the primaries are often very significant. Yet, only a fraction of citizens in Texas vote in primary elections.

There are more than 18 statewide elected officials up for election, along with Texas’ members of Congress, state lawmakers, district-based judges and local elected officials. With the new congressional maps redrawn to boost the number of Texas Republicans in Congress, some Texans will have to vote in new congressional districts.

Here’s what you need to know about primaries and the voting process… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ After killing planned desalination plant, Corpus Christi tries to drill its way out of a water crisis (Texas Tribune)

Texas’ eighth-largest city has seen the water crisis coming for years, and now it’s here: Its two main reservoirs are at historic lows amid a persistent drought and city leaders have told residents they’re less than a year away from major water cuts that could force them to reduce their water use by 25% or face extra fees.

Industry associations representing companies like Valero and LyondellBasell have warned city officials they might have to reduce their local operations or shut down completely if the city fails to secure more water supply.

And the city’s long-promised solution to the looming crisis — a planned desalination plant that would have turned millions of gallons of seawater into fresh water — collapsed last year under fierce criticism from environmental groups and local leaders over its ballooning price tag and its potential harm to Corpus Christi Bay’s ecosystem. Efforts to revive the project or a similar plant are underway but could take years… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Data center pushback in Texas highlights tension between tech growth and rural land use (NBC News)

WACO, Texas — A proposed data center in McLennan County is raising concerns among residents and is now drawing attention at the state level.

As rural communities across Texas push back against large tech developments, state leaders are weighing strategies to protect farmland while supporting economic growth.

At a packed meeting in Ross on Jan. 11, residents told local lawmakers they are not opposed to data centers in general — just opposed to placing one in their community. 

State Rep. Pat Curry said location is a key factor when evaluating potential projects.

“When you’re doing economic development, it’s not just about jobs,” Curry said. “It’s also about tax base, and again, the right data center deal in the right spot for the right reasons, utilizing the right resources is not a bad thing.”

The debate over data centers is not limited to Central Texas. On Jan. 12, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller unveiled a plan to create Agriculture Freedom Zones, designed to steer data centers away from prime farm and ranchland while still supporting technology growth… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Trump is trying to change how the midterm elections are conducted (Washington Post)

Five years ago, President Donald Trump pressured Republican county election officials, state lawmakers and members of Congress to find him votes after he lost his reelection bid. Now, he’s seeking to change the rules before ballots are cast. Trump, openly fearful that aCongress controlled by Democrats could investigate him, impeach him and stymie his agenda, is using every tool he can find to try to influence the 2026 midterm elections and, if his party loses, sow doubt in their validity.

Many of these endeavorsgo far beyond typical political persuasion, challenging long-established democratic norms. They include unprecedented demands that Republican state lawmakers redraw congressional districts beforethe constitutionally required 10-year schedule, the prosecution of political opponents, a push to toughenvoter registration rules and attempts to end the use of voting machines and mail ballots.

The administration has gutted the role of the nation’s cybersecurity agency in protecting elections; stocked the Justice Department, Homeland Security Department and FBI from top to bottomwith officials who have denied the legitimacyof the 2020 election; given a White House audience to people who, like the president, promote the lie that he won the 2020 election; sued over state and local election policies that Trump opposes; and called for a new census that excludes noncitizens. The wide-ranging efforts seek to expand on some of the strategies he and his advisers and allies used to try to reverse the 2020 results that culminated in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

“I’m concerned about chaos and uncertainty in the administration of the 2026 election,” said Nathaniel Persily, a Stanford Law School professor who specializes in democracyand elections-related law. “There is a kind of avalanche of potential changes that are being proposed, and it’s at a time when people have lost trust in the election infrastructure and everybody’s on edge.” In a statement, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said the administration is focused on ensuring that only citizens vote and criticized Democratic-run states for how they maintain their voter rolls. “President Trump’s only motivation is doing what’s best for the American people and ensuring each of their votes count,” Jackson said… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ E.P.A. to stop considering lives saved by limiting air pollution (New York Times)

Under President Trump, the E.P.A. plans to stop tallying gains from the health benefits caused by curbing two of the most widespread deadly air pollutants, fine particulate matter and ozone, when regulating industry, according to internal agency emails and documents reviewed by The New York Times.

It’s a seismic shift that runs counter to the E.P.A.’s mission statement, which says the agency’s core responsibility is to protect human health and the environment, environmental law experts said. The change could make it easier to repeal limits on these pollutants from coal-burning power plants, oil refineries, steel mills and other industrial facilities across the country, the emails and documents show. That would most likely lower costs for companies while resulting in dirtier air.

Fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, refers to particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream. Ozone is a smog-causing gas that forms when nitrogen dioxide and volatile organic compounds are emitted from power plants, factories and vehicles and mix in the air on hot, sunny days. Long-term exposure to both pollutants is linked to asthma, heart and lung disease, and premature death. Even moderate exposure to PM2.5 can damage the lungs about as much as smoking. Under the Biden administration, the E.P.A. tightened the amount of PM2.5 that could be emitted by industrial facilities.

It estimated that the rule would prevent up to 4,500 premature deaths and 290,000 lost workdays in 2032 alone. For every $1 spent on reducing PM2.5, the agency said, there could be as much as $77 in health benefits. But the Trump administration contends that these estimates are doubtful and said the E.P.A. would no longer take health effects into account in the cost-benefit analyses necessary for clean-air regulations, according to the documents. Instead, the agency would estimate only the costs to businesses of complying with the rules… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Federal prosecutors open investigation into Fed Chair Powell (New York Times)

The U.S. attorney’s office in the District of Columbia has opened a criminal investigation into Jerome H. Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, over the central bank’s renovation of its Washington headquarters and whether Mr. Powell lied to Congress about the scope of the project, according to officials briefed on the situation. The inquiry, which includes an analysis of Mr. Powell’s public statements and an examination of spending records, was approved in November by Jeanine Pirro, a longtime ally of President Trump who was appointed to run the office last year, the officials said.

The investigation escalates Mr. Trump’s long-running feud with Mr. Powell, whom the president has continually attacked for resisting his demands to slash interest rates significantly. The president has threatened to fire the Fed chair — even though he nominated Mr. Powell for the position in 2017 — and raised the prospect of a lawsuit against him related to the $2.5 billion renovation, citing “incompetence.”

Mr. Trump told The New York Times in an interview last week that he had decided on who he wants to replace Mr. Powell as Fed chair. He is expected to soon announce his decision. Kevin A. Hassett, Mr. Trump’s top economic adviser, is a front-runner for the top job. While Mr. Powell’s term as chair ends in May, his term as a governor runs through January 2028. Mr. Powell has not disclosed whether he plans to stay on at the central bank beyond this year. Mr. Powell, in a rare video message released by the Fed, acknowledged on Sunday that the Justice Department had served the central bank with grand jury subpoenas days earlier. He described the investigation as “unprecedented” and questioned the motivation for the move, even as he affirmed that he carried out his duties as chair “without political fear or favor.”

The Fed chair warned that the investigation signaled a broader battle over the Fed’s independence. “The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the president,” Mr. Powell added. “This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions — or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation.”… 🟪 (READ MORE)

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