🟪 Travis County 2026 primary election results (KUT)

🟪 Travis County Commissioners Court Precinct 4 race likely headed to a runoff (Austin American-Statesman)

🟪 Austin police say they feel confident in SXSW security plans after West Sixth shooting (KUT)

🟪 Waymo begins testing driverless robotaxis on Austin-area highways (Austin American-Statesman)

🟪 John Cornyn, Ken Paxton advance to runoff to be Republican nominee for U.S. Senate (Texas Tribune)

🟪 James Talarico defeats Jasmine Crockett in blockbuster Democratic primary for U.S. Senate (Texas Tribune)

🟪 Recent report shows data centers may negatively impact Texas’ water supply (Houston Public Media)

READ ON!

// Client Spotlight: Bingham Group, client Wonder, the mealtime platform known for its chef-crafted menus and multi-restaurant ordering, has announced a major expansion into Texas — its first move beyond the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic markets.

The company will bring its delivery-first model to the Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio metropolitan areas, with first openings expected in early 2027.

Wonder plans to open more than 100 Texas locations by end of 2027, creating thousands of new jobs statewide through investments in storefront construction, kitchen buildouts, and local infrastructure. Learn more here.

This milestone also marks our firm’s formal expansion into the Central Texas real estate and land use arena through our Real Estate vertical.

If your organization is pursuing real estate or land use work in Central Texas, we'd love to connect.

Contact Bingham Group today to learn how our team can support your next project.

Meetings:

✅ Austin police say they feel confident in SXSW security plans after West Sixth shooting (KUT)

The deadly shooting at a West Sixth Street bar has not prompted major changes to security plans for South by Southwest, which begins March 12.

City officials and event organizers say safety planning was already designed to address the possibility of mass violence.

"We are a major city police department and we go in best practices," Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said at a Monday news conference. "I feel confident that the resources we have in play at South by Southwest will continue on, and it will be a safe festival season."… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Travis County Commissioners Court Precinct 4 race likely headed to a runoff (Austin American-Statesman)

The race to determine who will serve as the next Travis County commissioner for Precinct 4 is likely headed to a runoff.

Early voting results released Tuesday night show Susanna Ledesma-Woody and George Morales III and as the top two vote-getters in a four-way Democratic primary for the southeastern Travis County seat on the Commissioners Court, the county’s governing body. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the top two finishers advance to a runoff election May 26… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Waymo begins testing driverless robotaxis on Austin-area highways (Austin American-Statesman)

Waymo driverless robotaxis have been a common sight on Austin roads since they launched nearly a year ago. They'll soon be spotted on area highways as well.

Waymo said Wednesday its self-driving cars started employee-only rides on highways across the country, including in Austin.

The move comes as Tesla Cybercabs have also been spotted on Austin-area freeways. In January, a video of a Cybercab driving at night on Austin's MoPac Expressway, officially Texas State Highway Loop 1, began making the rounds online. The Austin-based automaker has begun ramping up production of its purpose-built ride-hailing vehicle. 

With the highway rollout and additional city launches planned this month, Waymo appears to be solidifying its position as a leader in the robotaxi industry. The company operates in more U.S. cities than any competitor and expanded into San Antonio this week. In Austin, it has over 200 vehicles operating across more than 140 square miles.

The testing on Austin highways will be fully driverless, but those routes are only available to Waymo employees, according to the company's announcement. During the testing period, Waymo employees will give feedback on the service and experience before the company opens the service to all riders via its partnership with Uber.

The company already operates on highways in Phoenix, San Francisco and Los Angeles. 

"Like other expansions to our operations, we're following the same processes outlined by our safety framework, informed by years of safe and proven experience operating fleets of rider-only vehicles on public roads across California and Arizona and millions of miles of experience," a Waymo spokesperson said Wednesday… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Human agent, not Waymo software, told robotaxi to illegally pass Austin school bus, NTSB says (Austin American-Statesman)

A U.S. safety agency’s investigation has found that on at least one occasion, a human remote assistance agent directed a Waymo robotaxi to illegally pass a stopped school bus in Austin while students were boarding.

The National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report on its investigation into Waymo after its driverless vehicles reportedly passed stopped Austin school buses more than 24 times since the start of the school year in August. 

The preliminary report describes a Jan. 12 incident when a westbound Austin Independent School District bus was stopped about 7:55 a.m. in the 1700 block of East Oltorf Street.

A Waymo robotaxi, which was traveling in the opposite direction, stopped for the school bus. Three other vehicles with human drivers then appeared to illegally pass the stopped bus.

After stopping, the safety board report says, the Waymo vehicle contacted remote assistance to ask, “Is this a school bus with active signals?” 

The agent, who was located in Novi, Mich., responded, “No.”

The Waymo then resumed travel, passing the school bus while its stop arm was extended and lights were flashing. In total, the report says six vehicles illegally passed the school bus. Texas law requires vehicles approaching from any direction to stop and remain stopped for a school bus that is flashing lights and has an extended stop arm… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Austin airport to close South Terminal March 31; Allegiant and Frontier to relocate (KVUE)

The final day of operations at the South Terminal at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) will be March 31, the city announced on Tuesday.

Starting April 1, Allegiant and Frontier airlines will operate from the Barbara Jordan Terminal, putting all airlines under one roof.

It comes as the city prepares to demolish the South Terminal in order to build a second concourse as part of a long-term expansion project.

In November 2023, Austin paid a total of $88 million to overtake the South Terminal, allowing AUS to continue its expansion on the new 26-gate Concourse B and connector tunnel. The expansion program was announced in 2021 as a way to address airline and passenger activity growth.

AUS expects the new concourse to be complete by the early 2030s. Six temporary gates will be added to a separate Concourse M, expected to be completed next year, to allow for expansion construction… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ John Cornyn, Ken Paxton advance to runoff to be Republican nominee for U.S. Senate (Texas Tribune)

In what is becoming an annual tradition, Gov. Greg Abbott gathered Texas economic development leaders to celebrate the state leading the nation for capital investment projects. 

Abbott celebrated Texas winning the Governor’s Cup award from Site Selection magazine that goes to the state with the most capital investment projects in the past year. Texas is on a dynastic run in competing for the Governor’s Cup as the state has won the award for 14 years in a row. 

Ron Starner, the executive vice president of Site Selection magazine, said that Texas “obliterated” its competition as the state totaled more than 1,400 projects in the last year, which is more than double the second-place state, Illinois, which had 680 projects and more than triple the third place state, Ohio, which had 467 projects. 

“Being a dynasty means that you show longevity in winning and that you live consistently in dominant fashion. By that message, no other state comes close to Texas,” Starner said, noting the Governor’s Cup has been awarded 26 times and Texas has won it 16 times… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ James Talarico defeats Jasmine Crockett in blockbuster Democratic primary for U.S. Senate (Texas Tribune)

State Rep. James Talarico defeated U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, emerging victorious over the well-known congresswoman in Texas’ most hotly contested Democratic contest this century with a populist, “top-versus-bottom” message rooted in his Christian faith.

“This is a people-powered movement to take on this broken, corrupt political system,” Talarico said in a brief address to his supporters in Austin before the race was called. “Tonight, the people of our state gave this country a little bit of hope, and a little bit of hope is a dangerous thing.”

The Austin Democrat’s victory comes after a bitterly fought primary consumed by the question of which Democrat’s political and electoral strategy could take the party to its first statewide victory in over three decades. The Associated Press called the race for him shortly before 2 a.m. Wednesday… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Recent report shows data centers may negatively impact Texas’ water supply (Houston Public Media)

Texas is home to 464 data centers, with over 70 additional sites under development, and the increasing water demand for these facilities is expected to continue to rise, according to a newly released report. In a state plagued by drought and a rapidly growing population, many people are concerned that these data centers are not disclosing how much water they plan to use.

Using energy forecasts used at data centers, the Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC) estimated that Texas uses 8 billion gallons of water annually. Vice president for water and community resilience and the report’s author, Margaret Cook, emphasized the need for transparency between data centers and communities.

"It’s important because we don’t have a whole lot of information about this," Cook said. "It’s a big phenomenon. It’s influencing a lot of communities, and community members don’t feel like they have enough information about these large water users coming into their community." Without knowing the facilities’ true impact, Cook said it's more difficult to create a state-wide water strategy. Increases in water usage are often tied to data center upgrades.

Cities that build new pipelines or wells for these facilities could see an influx of taxpayer dollars. According to Cook, data centers may share information during negotiations, but often under a non-disclosure agreement. "They could be providing normal water rates, but they’re not accounting for the additional water supply and additional infrastructure that they’re going to need in the future, that this data center is adding to their community’s burden," Cook said… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ North Texas officials discuss how to plan for region's water future (Dallas Morning News)

Dozens of North Texas officials are voicing their worries, ideas and dreams about the area’s water resources, as a regional influx of businesses and residents ramp up pressure to address looming scarcity concerns. On Friday, experts and decision-makers participated in a water workshop at the University of Texas at Arlington as part of Vision North Texas 2.0, a revamped public-private-academic partnership.

The event brought together representatives from water utilities, regional groups, municipalities, consulting firms and more to discuss the region’s long-term water supply, infrastructure, growth pressures and resilience challenges. North Texas’ population is expected to surge to more than 12 million by 2050. That raises the stakes for the group, which is working to address regional growth while enhancing economic vitality, quality of life and long-term sustainability across 16 counties.

This was the first in a series of workshops that will have different themes, but leaders said beginning with a look at the state of water in the region made the most sense. “Our region is growing at a pace that few parts of the country can match,” Ming-Han Li, dean of the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, or CAPPA, at UT Arlington, told the crowd.

“That growth comes with extraordinary opportunities and responsibilities.” No one is bringing water with them, Li said, before posing questions to the group on how leaders can anticipate future drought rather than react to it. “How can we build a future when water is not a constraint but a catalyst for the thriving, equitable and resilient region we aspire to create?” Li said. CAPPA is a Vision North Texas 2.0 partner along with the North Central Texas Council of Governments, Urban Land Institute Dallas-Fort Worth and the North Texas Commission… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Solar power’s newest friends: MAGA influencers (Politico)

Environmentalists and solar power proponents have found a pair of surprise allies: Katie Miller and Kellyanne Conway. Miller, the wife of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, and Conway, the polling guru who led President Donald Trump’s first campaign, raised eyebrows this month when they publicly touted the clean energy source that has come under fire from the Trump administration. According to a confidential strategy memo obtained by POLITICO, their advocacy is aligned with a campaign by members of the nation’s largest renewable energy lobby group to MAGA-fy solar power — technology that Trump once derided as “a blight on our country.”

The memo distributed earlier this month shows the American Clean Power Association launched the “American Energy First” campaign to engage Conway and conservative influencers like Miller “to amplify the benefits of solar energy” and “note the harm that could result from reckless trade policy.” The memo lays out a strategy to leverage recent Conway-driven polling data — commissioned by American Energy First and conducted in December — showing solar power was popular with Trump’s base.

“As part of the campaign, ACP is working with a series of conservative influencers to secure opinion media placements authored by conservative columnists, former Republican lawmakers, and other credible Republican voices in conservative outlets,” the memo says. The campaign will expand in the coming weeks, it states, “with the release of polling data from a Trump aligned firm, paid media partnerships with podcasts like the Katie Miller Pod (Steven Miller’s wife), as well as advertorials and sponsorships with right-of-center publications like the Washington Reporter, The Dispatch and The Federalist.”… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Tariffs confound small businesses again (New York Times)

President Trump’s whipsawing trade policy last year destabilized many American businesses. His new push to replace the system with a different batch of duties has bewildered companies all over again. Since the Supreme Court invalidated many of Mr. Trump’s tariffs last month, his administration has vowed to use other legal authorities to rebuild the program. Almost immediately, Mr. Trump wielded an unproven legal provision to enact a 10 percent across-the-board tariff on U.S. trading partners and threatened to raise the rate.

The haphazard rollout has introduced a tangle of unknowns for companies. A new tariff system could upend months of business decisions, and many companies are bracing for prolonged uncertainty. They are also considering whether and how to seek refunds on tariffs they paid — and, if they receive them, whether they would return any money to customers.

Peter Furth, whose company, FFF Associates in Stamford, Conn., imports fig paste from Turkey and Spain, said Mr. Trump’s tariffs had driven up costs and destroyed his cash flow. Mr. Furth has been passing on the additional costs to his customers, which include Mondelez, the maker of Fig Newtons; Nature’s Bakery; and J&J Snack Foods. He said he believed he had a contractual, and moral, obligation to return any tariff refund to customers. “I owe it back to them,” he said. “It’s very simple.” Smaller businesses like his have been particularly unmoored by the latest shifts in trade policy because, as during last year’s tariff chaos, they lack the legal and financial resources to weather unpredictability smoothly.

“The level of uncertainty is crazy,” said Matt Weyandt, a co-founder of Xocolatl Chocolate, a craft chocolate maker in Atlanta. Mr. Weyandt, whose company sources cacao beans from countries including Peru, Nicaragua and Tanzania, is trying to establish whether exemptions on foreign agricultural products previously enacted by the Trump administration still stood, to no avail, he said. He was intrigued by the prospect of seeking a tariff refund, he said, but had no idea how to go about it… 🟪 (READ MORE)