BG Reads // July 3, 2025

Author

A.J. Bingham
July 03, 2025

Presented By

✅ Today's BG Reads include:

🟪 Office slowdown sparks new downtown housing ambitions (Austin Monitor)

🟪 Infrastructure being laid to support growth in far East Austin, including in 'Dog's Head' (Austin Business Journal)

🟪 New bishop appointed to lead Diocese of Austin (KVUE)

🟪 GOP governors stay silent amid plans to slash Medicaid spending in their states (NPR)

🟪 House GOP clears key hurdle on Trump’s big bill, pushing it closer to vote (Associated Press)

🟪 How tech’s bold bid to curb AI laws fell apart (Washington Post)

[CITY OF AUSTIN]

🏛️ Memos:

[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]

✅ Office slowdown sparks new downtown housing ambitions (Austin Monitor)

Downtown Austin leaders are increasingly focused on residential development as a way to stabilize the city’s core, as office vacancy rates remain stubbornly high and some buildings struggle to find tenants at all.

With more than one-fifth of downtown office space currently sitting vacant or available for near-term leases (and some estimates placing that number closer to 26 percent citywide), the Downtown Austin Alliance is turning its attention to underused parcels that could support a greater mix of uses, especially housing.

Jenell Moffett, senior vice president of economic development, marketing and strategic communications for DAA told the Austin Monitor that some pockets of the central city where housing could gain traction include sites along East Fifth Street, the HealthSouth property at 15th and Red River, and parts of the Congress Avenue corridor north of the Capitol.

That shift in focus reflects a broader question about the long-term viability of downtowns that are built largely around traditional office culture. While new towers like The Republic and Waterline continue to deliver, leasing activity has not kept pace. And as some companies shrink their office footprints or sublease space they haven’t even moved into, downtown stakeholders are left searching for a more balanced formula to keep the area economically vibrant… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Downtown Austin Alliance wants to beautify part of Sixth Street (Austin Business Journal)

The Downtown Austin Alliance is looking to beautify a part of Sixth Street. 

The group put out a request for proposals to beautify the concrete barriers currently on East Sixth Street in downtown Austin by painting graphic designs on new barriers that will be installed later this year.  

The current barricades on East Sixth Street, which are water-filled plastic barriers, will be replaced by concrete barriers later this summer, according to the RFP. A total of 14 concrete barriers will be placed on the street between San Jacinto Boulevard and Neches Street. 

The DAA is seeking both a graphic designer and a vendor that can install the designs. The designs should be abstract and easy to install and maintain.

The RFP was issued on July 1; the deadline to submit a proposal is July 13; the DAA is expected to select the vendors for this effort on July 18; and, the new barriers will be painted throughout August. 

Those interested in submitting a proposal should email the DAA’s Director of Urban Design, Amalia Carmona, at [email protected]… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Infrastructure being laid to support growth in far East Austin, including in 'Dog's Head' (Austin Business Journal)

Texas Gas Service is laying several miles of natural gas pipeline in far East Austin's "Dog's Head" to support future growth in the region.

A Texas Gas Service representative confirmed the company is replacing three miles of existing pipeline and installing six miles of new pipeline in the area, including in the Dog’s Head — a roughly 3,000-acre area where the Colorado River's bend creates the shape of a dog's head. 

Far East Austin is brimming with activity and development potential. Endeavor Real Estate Group — which built The Domain and other big developments here — has long had big plans in the Dog's Head that it says are still years away from becoming a reality. Across the highway is Elon Musk's massive Tesla gigafactory and headquarters, which has lured suppliers and industrial development to the area to support its supply chain. Kairoi Residential is planning a 115-acre Bolm Riverfront District project along the Colorado River. And the nearby Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is undergoing a major expansion.

“As Austin and surrounding communities grow, Texas Gas Service needs a larger gas supply to meet residents' day-to-day needs,” according to a statement from Texas Gas Service. “Natural gas’s reliability has been critical for Austin residents and businesses through harsh winter weather conditions over the last several years. This work includes proactive planning to fulfill peak natural gas needs during periods of extreme weather, when energy needs are the highest.”… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ New bishop appointed to lead Diocese of Austin (KVUE)

A new bishop has been chosen to run the Diocese of Austin. 

On July 2, the diocese announced that Pope Leo XIV named Bishop Daniel E. Garza to take on the role, marking the first Austin bishop chosen by the new pope.  

Garza fills a vacancy left by former Bishop Joe S. Vásquez, who was appointed as Archbishop of Galveston-Houston in January and who started his new southeast Texas role in March.

A Texas native, Garza was born in 1960 and became a priest in Austin in 1988. During his time in Austin, he served as an associate pastor at St. Catherine of Siena, Cristo Rey and St. Louis King of France. 

In 1992, he took on a new role in Galveston-Houston before returning to Austin as a pastor at St. Vincent de Paul in 1995. In the Texas capital, he has served in additional roles, including working for the Vocation Office and the Austin North Deanery… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ APD sees nearly 30% increase in mail theft, aims to decrease number with a new plan (CBS Austin)

Mail theft in Austin has risen nearly 30 percent in recent years, and APD says they aim to decrease that number with a new plan.

In May 2024, Austin City Council adopted Resolution 20240530-173 in response to a rise in mail theft both nationwide and in central Texas. The resolution said that three mail carriers had been robbed of their arrow keys, which open public mail collection boxes, while on duty in 2023.

The City Council's resolution directed the City Manager to meet with stakeholders and research the cause, local impact and possible mitigation of mail theft in Austin. Now, one year later, Austin police are giving more details about their plan.

Austin police say that reports of mail theft in the city have increased significantly in recent years, with a 29.5 percent increase in mail theft between 2022 and 2023. APD says that the number of reported incidents in 2024 indicates that mail theft is still a widespread issue… 🟪 (READ MORE)

[TEXAS/US NEWS]

✅ Sources: Ron Nirenberg considering potential campaign for governor (San Antonio Report)

Sources say former Mayor Ron Nirenberg has been telling fellow Democrats he’s considering a run for governor in 2026 — a potentially grueling race against the formidable Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.

In recent months Nirenberg, 48, has repeatedly teased the idea he could run for another office — in speeches at the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s gala and other public events.

Last week Nirenberg returned from a family vacation in Spain and immediately appeared alongside Beto O’Rourke, state Rep. James Talarico (D-Round Rock) and U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-San Antonio) — all viewed as potential statewide candidates in 2026 — at an event at San Antonio’s Stable Hall… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Trump officials want to give TxDOT more power over highway expansions (Houston Chronicle)

The Trump administration wants to give Texas more authority – and require less transparency – as the state expands existing highways and builds new ones. In November, the Texas Department of Transportation asked the Federal Highway Administration to extend a special designation that lets it oversee its own compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act. NEPA requires the state to document community and environmental impacts of road projects. Now, TxDOT has submitted a new application, with changes that would give itself drastically more oversight and authority over its own federal environmental review. The draft rule would allow TxDOT to skip annual self-assessments and monthly reports that document the agency’s compliance with the federal law.

The application was revised after federal leadership “presented an opportunity to address unnecessary administrative requirements in a renegotiated MOU that preserves all of the legal requirements of the NEPA assignment program,” said Adam Hammons, a TxDOT spokesperson, in an email. He said that TxDOT was still subject to monitoring and audits by the Federal Highway Administration. If approved, TxDOT won’t have to inform community members of their right to sue the state agency or file a civil rights complaint with the FHWA, as dozens of people did in 2021 in response to the I-45 expansion in Houston.

The new agreement also removes a requirement that TxDOT reevaluate old projects, meaning projects originally approved years ago could begin construction without public notice or input. “The Biden Administration added burdensome NEPA requirements like environmental justice initiatives that delayed progress on vital road and bridge projects,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy when he announced the proposed changes. “If enacted, Texas’ new agreement will allow the state to tackle critical infrastructure bigger, better and faster.”… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ GOP governors stay silent amid plans to slash Medicaid spending in their states (NPR)

The last time a Republican-controlled Congress and President Donald Trump moved to slash Medicaid spending, in 2017, a key political force stood in their way: GOP governors.

Now, as Congress steamrolls toward passing historic Medicaid cuts of about $1 trillion over 10 years through Trump's tax and spending legislation, red state governors are saying little publicly about what it does to health care — even as they face reductions that will punch multibillion-dollar holes in their states' budgets.

Medicaid, a program jointly run by states and the federal government, covers more than 70 million low-income or disabled people, including nearly half of the nation's children. Republicans say the $900 billion-a-year program was allowed to grow too large under Democrats Barack Obama and Joe Biden by adding nondisabled adults they say don't deserve government assistance, and they have long sought to scale it back… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ House GOP clears key hurdle on Trump’s big bill, pushing it closer to vote (Associated Press)

Up all night, House Republicans voted before dawn Thursday to advance President Donald Trump’s tax and spending cuts package after GOP leaders worked almost around the clock trying to persuade skeptical holdouts as they race to send the bill to his desk by the Fourth of July deadline.

A roll call that started late Wednesday finally closed almost six hours later, a highly unusual stall on a procedural step. Trump, who had hosted lawmakers at the White House earlier, lashed out at the delay. Once the gavel struck, 219-213, the bill advanced to a last round of debates toward a final vote, which is expected later Thursday morning.

“Our way is to plow through and get it done,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said, emerging in the middle of the night from a series of closed-door meetings. “We will meet our July 4th deadline.”… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ How tech’s bold bid to curb AI laws fell apart (Washington Post)

Republican leaders had appeared poised to deliver on one of the U.S. tech industry’s wildest policy dreams as the Senate convened Monday morning to begin a marathon voting session on the sprawling tax and immigration bill. Less than 24 hours later, the measure was dead. And Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee was holding the knife.

The night before, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) had hammered out a hard-won compromise with Blackburn to preserve the essence of a moratorium on state laws regulating artificial intelligence. The deal came after 11th-hour lobbying by tech groups giddy at the prospect of rolling back regulations they viewed as obstacles to unfettered innovation. It wasn’t to be. The Senate voted 99-1 in the predawn hours Tuesday to strip the AI-law moratorium from the bill — a resounding defeat for the tech industry and a dramatic reversal of fortune for the provision’s supporters.

Blackburn — who has pushed bills to protect kids online and to protect Nashville’s country music industry from AI imitations — proposed the amendment to strip the provision at the end of a day-long pressure campaign Monday by its opponents. A defeated Cruz ultimately joined her, as did every senator except for Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina), who had recently announced he won’t run for reelection.

The vote on the AI moratorium came as part of a 27-hour “vote-a-rama” on a slew of proposed changes to the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which carries much of President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda. The Senate approved the amended bill later Tuesday morning, sending it back to the House with the AI provisions no longer mentioned. Blackburn’s turnaround, insiders told The Washington Post on Tuesday, followed pleas from allies who feared the moratorium would jeopardize child safety regulations despite language in the compromise intended to exempt them.

Republican leaders and tech trade groups had pitched a 10-year freeze on state AI regulations as necessary to pave the way for American tech firms to innovate and outcompete their Chinese counterparts. The idea echoed a 2024 proposal by the R Street Institute, a free-market think tank, which proposed a “learning period” moratorium on AI laws to prevent a “looming patchwork of inconsistent state and local laws.”… 🟪 (READ MORE)

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