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🛑 How to help people affected by Kerrville-area floods (KUT) 🛑

✅ Today's BG Reads include:

🟪 Broadnax, Watson condemn Austin firefighters union president, stand by chief (Austin American-Statesman)

🟪 Musk’s fiery reentry into politics ignites a new Tesla backlash (Washington Post)

🟪 Abbott calls seeking blame for floods ‘the word choice of losers’ (New York Times)

🟪 After deadly floods, Texas leaders say they will fund warning sirens in upcoming legislative session (Community Impact)

[CITY OF AUSTIN]

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💰 2026 City of Austin Bond - Public Input

ℹ️ 2025 Essential Resources for Navigating the City of Austin

[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]

✅ Broadnax, Watson condemn Austin firefighters union president, stand by chief (Austin American-Statesman)

As the Austin firefighters union was meeting to discuss a potential vote of no confidence in Chief Joel Baker, Austin City Manager T.C. Broadnax and Mayor Kirk Watson each issued statements condemning the association and announcing their support for Baker.

“It is disappointing that the Association would make these allegations and consider such a vote,” Broadnax said in a rare public statement, referring to explosive allegations by Austin Firefighters Association President Bob Nicks that Baker had contributed to the death toll in the Kerr County floods by barring all mutual aid requests.

“I’m disappointed in Bob,” Watson said.

He accused Nicks of “politicizing” the flood as the city prepares to enter negotiations with the association over a new labor contract in the coming weeks and as Council prepares to adopt what is expected to be a tight budget in August.

Watson also said he had been in direct contact with Texas Division of Emergency Management Nim Kidd throughout the weekend. Kidd characterized Austin’s response to the floods as “above and beyond,” according to Watson.

Broadnax hit on a similar note in his statement.

“The City of Austin, and the Austin Fire Department in particular, have a very long track record of supporting and sending aid to neighboring communities in need,” Broadnax said in the statement… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Musk’s fiery reentry into politics ignites a new Tesla backlash (Washington Post)

Longtime supporters of Tesla appealed to the company’s board Monday to pull CEO Elon Musk’s attention back to the embattled electric vehicle company, as the entrepreneur appeared to renege on an April pledge to spend more time at the company by saying he would start a new political party. “The board can’t just sit here and watch this go by without saying something and putting guardrails in,” said Dan Ives, managing director of Wedbush Securities, who has consistently expressed a bullish outlook on Tesla and Musk’s leadership.

“I’m hearing from many shareholders that the frustration is hitting a tipping point.” Tesla’s stock closed about 7 percent lower Monday, after Musk declared in social media posts over the weekend that he was creating a political party amid his escalating feud with President Donald Trump — and claimed his America Party would target next year’s midterms.

The backlash from Ives and other longtime Tesla supporters underscored how the entrepreneur’s effort to give the United States a third major political party, already in search of a political constituency, risked eroding support among even some of his most ardent backers. “I encourage the Board to meet immediately and ask Mr. Musk to clarify his political ambitions and evaluate whether they are compatible with his full-time obligations to Tesla as CEO,” wrote James Fishback, CEO of investment firm Azoria — whose largest position is in Tesla — in a letter to Tesla’s board chair over the weekend.

“I remain hopeful that Mr. Musk will return his full attention to Tesla. If not, I trust the Board will take appropriate action.” In response to Musk’s announcement of his new party, Fishback, a Trump supporter, said his firm was pulling the planned launch of a Tesla-focused investment fund that had been set for the coming days. “This creates a conflict with his full-time responsibilities as CEO of Tesla,” Fishback’s letter said. “It diverts his focus and energy away from Tesla’s employees and shareholders.” Fishback declined further comment. Musk and Tesla’s board did not respond to a request for comment… 🟪 (READ MORE)

🟪 City officials considering changes for future housing development plans near downtown Round Rock (Community Impact)

An update to plans for a multifamily housing development proposed near downtown Round Rock is under consideration by City Council.

The proposal would eliminate structured parking and reduce the overall number of units for a planned multifamily housing development located just south of downtown, due to increased labor and construction costs, as well as decreased market demand for multifamily, said Brad Dushkin, Round Rock's planning and development services department director.

The change would leave the development with a central parking lot, rather than a parking structure, and reduces the overall number of units from 410 to 350.

The amendment includes additional changes such as reducing the building height to five stories, adding duplexes or single-family attached units as a permitted use and relocating townhomes within the development… ✅ (READ MORE)

[TEXAS/US NEWS]

✅ Abbott calls seeking blame for floods ‘the word choice of losers’ (New York Times)

The question facing Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas at a news conference on Tuesday was whether he would call for an investigation into possible failures surrounding the deadly floods, which include a lack of state and local spending on flood control measures and warning systems. To answer, Mr. Abbott said asking about blame was “the word choice of losers,” and then invoked a beloved Texas tradition — football — as he deflected questions about accountability for a disaster that has left at least 111 people dead and more than 170 missing.

“Every square inch of our state cares about football,” Mr. Abbott said, referring to the Friday night lights of high school fields and the state’s college and pro teams. “Every football team makes mistakes,” he added.

Extending the metaphor further, the governor said losing teams assigned blame while championship teams responded to mistakes by saying: “We got this. We’re going to make sure that we go score again, that we win this game.” Mr. Abbott, a Republican, said the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature would be investigating the flash floods in Central Texas and discussing how to prevent their recurrence when state lawmakers meet for a special session later this month. But he and other prominent Republicans have pushed back against critics who have called for investigations into unfilled staff positions at National Weather Service offices in Texas, or a lack of emergency warning systems along the Guadalupe River.

On Monday, Representative Chip Roy, a Republican who represents the devastated area, said “finger pointing generally is just offensive when you’re dealing with trying to find bodies, and trying to deal with families grieving.” Senator Ted Cruz similarly scolded anyone “trying to blame their political opponents for a natural disaster.”

President Trump, who excoriated the Democrats in California for their response to wildfires in Los Angeles and the Biden administration for its response to Hurricane Helene during the 2024 campaign, has offered only support to the leadership in Texas. And the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, rebuked critics for raising questions about the administration’s efforts to shrink federal disaster agencies… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ After deadly floods, Texas leaders say they will fund warning sirens in upcoming legislative session (Community Impact)

Making sure Texas communities are better prepared for disasters like the deadly July 4 weekend flooding will be “at the top of the agenda” when state lawmakers return to Austin in the coming weeks, Gov. Greg Abbott said July 8.

“We're going to address every aspect of this storm to make sure that we're going to have in place the systems that are needed to prevent deadly flooding events like this in the future,” Abbott said during a news conference in Hunt, which is in Kerr County. “We want to make sure that we address what happened here—but at the same time, we want to make sure that we are able to implement measures that are going to prevent loss in other regions going forward.”… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Kennedy’s battle against food dyes hits a roadblock: M&M’s (New York Times)

Less than three months after he declared war on synthetic food dyes, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has already secured the cooperation of the makers of some of America’s most colorful culinary products. If they fulfill their promises, Jell-O snacks, Kool-Aid beverages, and Lucky Charms cereals, among a host of other foods, will be rid of synthetic dyes by the end of 2027.

But the candy industry and its most colorful chocolate treat, M&M's, are a big obstacle standing between Mr. Kennedy and the ability to claim total victory. Other than Froot Loops cereal, perhaps no food carries as much symbolism as M&M’s for Mr. Kennedy and the movement he calls “Make America Healthy Again.” Upon taking the reins at the Department of Health and Human Services, he made synthetic dyes the first target in his plan to rid the nation of ultra-processed foods.

When Mr. Kennedy announced in April that he had an “understanding” with food makers to remove petroleum-based dyes by the end of 2026, citing research showing they were linked to behavioral problems in children, critics scoffed at his voluntary approach. Yet his peer-pressure campaign appears to have produced some results. Last month, Nestle and ConAgra joined Kraft Heinz, General Mills and PepsiCo in signing on to the secretary’s plan. Candy manufacturers, which lean on artificial colorings for the bright treats they market to children, are still holding out. “I think RFK and his team are learning the limits of their power to persuade,” said Scott Faber, an attorney with the Environmental Working Group, an advocacy organization.

As much as 19 percent of processed foods include synthetic dyes, and confectionary companies had the most products containing them, according to a study published in late June in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. In an appearance on Capitol Hill in May, Mr. Kennedy pronounced the food industry “very, very receptive.” His spokesman, Andrew Nixon, said both the secretary and the Food and Drug Administration were urging “other food manufacturers, including the candy industry, to follow suit in putting public health first over industry profit.”… 🟪 (READ MORE)

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