BG Reads // May 16, 2025

Author

A.J. Bingham
May 16, 2025

Presented By

✅ Today's BG Reads include:

[CITY OF AUSTIN]

🏛️: Dr. Eric Anthony Johnson, Ph.D. has joined the City of Austin as an Assistant City Manager. In this role, he will oversee the following departments:

Prior to joining the City, Dr. Johnson served as President and CEO of Aeon, a nonprofit affordable housing developer based in Minneapolis. Aeon owns and manages nearly 6,000 affordable housing units. Under his leadership, the organization navigated post-pandemic challenges and moved toward long-term sustainability.

Dr. Johnson previously served as Chief of Economic and Neighborhood Revitalization for the City of Dallas where he provided oversight of housing, urban planning and design, permitting, historic preservation, and economic development.

He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Washburn University, a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Tennessee and a Doctorate in Urban Affairs and Public Policy from the University of Delaware.

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[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]

✅ Central Texas shows strong population growth in latest census data (Community Impact)

Texas continues to show significant population growth, according to recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The bureau released its 2024 findings compiling population growth reported across cities and towns in all U.S. regions on May 15.

North Texas, specifically around the Dallas-Fort Worth area, showed the largest overall population growth in 2024, but Central Texas had large gains as well. Hutto was listed as one of the 15 fastest-growing cities in the state, with a population increase of 9.4% over 2023. Leander was ranked the 10th largest-gaining city with a population of more than 50,000 in the state, and added 7,004 new residents since 2023.

This represents a growth of 8.7%. Georgetown, which has been the fastest-growing city in the country for the last three years, dropped to 21st, but still showed growth at a pace of 4.8%. The city crossed the 100,000 population threshold and now has a population of 101,344. Cities with a population under 50,000 also displayed significant growth.

After Princeton, the Williamson County town of Jarrell is the fastest-growing small city in the state, showing a 28.78% population increase. Other small cities in the Austin metro grew as well, including Liberty Hill (up 14.99%), Dripping Springs (up 16.87%) and Marble Falls (up 23.95%)… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Redevelopment planned for Austin's first public housing complex (KVUE)

The City of Austin is preparing to redevelop Santa Rita Courts, an East Austin public housing complex that was built 85 years ago, in a move residents and officials say is long overdue.

The Housing Authority of the City of Austin (HACA), who manages the property, said the plans to renovate the nearly century-old complex have been in the works for over a year.

The Santa Rita Courts was the first public housing project in the United States when it opened in 1939, built alongside Chalmers and Rosewood. The redevelopment aims to modernize the property while preserving its historic significance.

“It’s kind of scary because it’s a new process,” said Tiffany Tobler, a social worker with HACA.

Santa Rita Courts has provided stable, affordable housing for low-income Austinites for generations. Many of the original buildings, however, have not kept pace with modern needs… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ CapMetro's Red Line Station near the Domain is back on track, but now double the price (KUT)

Three years after a groundbreaking ceremony that led to no actual construction, Capital Metro is putting plans back on track to build a new commuter rail station near the Domain. But the project's price tag has ballooned, and the transit agency will pay more than triple what it had originally planned.

Broadmoor Station was originally expected to cost $24 million, split evenly between CapMetro and Brandywine Realty Trust, the developer of the massive Uptown ATX mixed-use development where the station will be located.

But after pandemic-related delays and rising construction costs, the total cost has climbed to $49.3 million. CapMetro is covering the increase, with its share jumping from $12 million to $37.3 million. Brandywine's contribution remains capped at the original $12 million commitment… 🟪 (READ MORE)

🟪 East Austin leaders look to reset talks over future of Palm Park and school site (Austin Monitor)

A recent City Council vote that initiates the process for Sir Swante Palm Neighborhood Park to be zoned as public parkland may open the door to renewed negotiations between city officials, the Waterloo Greenway Conservancy, and longtime Latino advocates who have raised concerns for years about being excluded from decisions around the historic site’s redevelopment.

The May zoning resolution represented a key administrative step that will allow future infrastructure investments in and around the downtown park to move forward. For East Austin community representatives with deep roots to the park and the adjoining Palm School, the vote offers a chance restart conversations with city leaders and representatives from Waterloo Greenway, the organization spearheading a string of parks improvements along nearby Waller Creek.

At issue is frustration over the teardown in 2023 of a long-closed pool in the park, which took place after public feedback sessions regarding the future of the city-owned park. Advocates for Latino groups that had long held the school and park as a cultural epicenter feel their input in those sessions was not meaningfully included, and want more opportunities to shape the park’s possible transformation into a cultural heritage space inspired by those in Barcelona or Mexico City… ✅ (READ MORE)

[TEXAS NEWS]

✅ Juvenile detention, imported shrimp, forever chemicals among hundreds of bills cut off by House deadline (Texas Tribune)

House lawmakers cheered, jumped to their feet and embraced as the clock struck midnight on a critical legislative deadline, delegating hundreds of House bills to the shredder early Friday after a marathon week of votes.

The cutoff came after lawmakers spent nearly 14 hours working their way through an agenda of more than 400 bills on Thursday, the last day the House could grant preliminary approval to most legislation filed by its own members. The GOP-controlled chamber made it through more than 200 of those bills before running out of time, finishing the night with the Senate companion to House Bill 5430 — a proposal that would prevent political candidates from filing to appear on a primary ballot for multiple political parties.

All remaining House bills in the queue were considered dead — though any measure can come back to life by getting tacked onto a related, breathing bill before the end of session. Others could see new life in the form of their identical twin Senate bills, which have another 12 days to reach the House floor.

As midnight approached, the mood on the House floor turned frantic and somewhat cathartic. Legislative staff members filed in to pack the gallery and witness the ends of much of their labor. Activity on the floor grew increasingly rowdy, as lawmakers tried to decline giving up time for questions, bill layouts were interjected by calls of “Vote!” and Speaker Dustin Burrows moved bills along at a breakneck clip. Noisy chatter on the floor, normally silenced for order, only swelled… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Fort Worth grows to 1 million residents, ranks 11th in U.S. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

Fort Worth is now home to 1 million people, just one of 13 U.S. cities to ever cross the threshold, according to census figures released Thursday. The city continues to be among the fastest growing in America, adding 23,442 residents between July 2023 and July 2024 to reach a population of 1,008,106, and pass Austin as the nation’s 11th largest city. Cowtown has gained 400,000 people over the past 20 years; in 2003, it passed Boston, Charlotte, Seattle and Washington to break into the Top 20. Most of Fort Worth’s growth has been outside Loop 820 with large housing developments supplanting prairie land in the far north and southwest. Roughly 5,400 homes are planned for Bonds Ranch Road in far north Fort Worth, and the city’s southwest is expected to add 90,000 people by 2045, according to the North Central Texas Council of Governments.

In the far west, where Fort Worth dips into Parker County, the Walsh and Veale Ranch communities are expected to house roughly 80,000 residents. The University of Texas at Arlington is also building a new campus near the Walsh development that will serve 10,000 students. The city has tried to respond by investing millions of dollars in bond projects to expand roads and increase safety in the rapidly growing parts of Fort Worth. However, Fort Worth has struggled to maintaining its road network, leading to a backlog of roughly $66 million in needed road repairs. Housing has also gotten more expensive with a 2023 report showing a family earning the city’s median income could not afford home priced at the median. The city’s population gain was slightly more than the previous year, however, Fort Worth slid to fifth in numeric gain. New York took the top spot by adding 87,184 residents, followed by Houston with 43,217, Los Angeles with 31,276 and San Antonio with 23,945. Fort Worth still had a high growth rate though with its population increasing by 2.38%. However, this dropped Fort Worth to second highest after leading the top 15 largest cities for the past three years… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Greg Abbott signs law to shield companies from 'rogue' shareholder lawsuits (Houston Chronicle)

Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday signed into law a slate of fresh corporate protections, including provisions making it harder for shareholders to file lawsuits in Texas against publicly traded companies, like the one that blocked a massive pay package for Tesla CEO Elon Musk, spurring him to move his companies to Texas.

The Texas Republican said the measures would “attract businesses, attract job creators, and will ensure that Texans are going to have plentiful job opportunities to earn a great paycheck for decades to come.” Under the new litigation law, shareholders could only bring so-called derivative claims that allege wrongdoing by executives if they held a 3% stake in the company.

The law also insulates all corporate directors and officers from most shareholder claims brought in the state’s new business courts, unless it could be proven that they committed fraud or knowingly broke the law. And the changes would shield executive’s emails, texts and other communications from shareholder inspection in most cases.

“This law provides business decision makers the certainty that sound business judgments made in the best interest of shareholders will not be second guessed by courts, absent things like acts of crime,” Abbott said. “Business decisions are to be made by the elected officers and their shareholders, not by unelected judges.” Abbott said the new law also stops “rogue shareholders with just a handful of shares of stock in a company from being able to hold the company hostage from the ability to make sound business decisions.”

Democrats have argued the bill will further open the door to political cronyism because of the close control the governor wields over the courts. Unlike most judges in the state, who are elected, Abbott appoints the 10 business court judges every two years — a far shorter term than similar circuits in other states and a pace that experts have said could put political pressure on judges who want to keep their seats. Business law experts say the changes being considered in Texas would bring the state’s corporate law closer to Nevada — the nation’s laxest — than Delaware.

They have been skeptical that many major companies would be attracted by the newfound protections. Even as Nevada has sought to woo companies to its courts, Delaware is still home to roughly two-thirds of the nation’s Fortune 500 companies. Companies incorporated in Texas have to pay state franchise taxes, but do not have to operate in the state… 🟪 (READ MORE)

[US and World News]

✅ Denver air traffic controllers had 2-minute communications outage, FAA official says (NPR)

Pilots flying into Denver International Airport on Monday couldn't communicate with air traffic controllers for about two minutes due to multiple radio transmitter failures, a leading official with the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed to members of Congress on Thursday.

Frank McIntosh, the deputy chief operating officer at the FAA, told a House committee that there was a loss of one of the air traffic controllers' radio frequencies. Controllers have multiple frequencies, so operators turned to their backup frequency in this case, he said.

This backup went down "for approximately two minutes," McIntosh said.

As emergency procedures dictate, controllers switched to a 121.5 MHz radio frequency, which is primarily used for aircraft communications and emergency situations, and they were able to connect with the aircraft and inform the pilots to switch to a secondary frequency, he explained… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ RFK Jr. says people should not take medical advice from him, defends HHS cuts during congressional hearings (ABC News)

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., one of the nation's most publicly recognized vaccine skeptics, took a softened approach on vaccines when he answered questions before a House committee Wednesday morning, saying, "I don't think people should be taking medical advice from me."

Kennedy, who also testified before a Senate committee the same day, defended the massive cuts to the department's workforce and laid out his priorities for the Trump administration's proposed budget.

Kennedy's congressional committee appearances marked the first time he testified before Congress since his confirmation hearings in late January, and forced Kennedy to confront statements he made that critics said were evidence of promises broken.

During the House hearing, Kennedy avoided sharing his own thoughts about vaccines -- which have previously invited skepticism -- instead deferring to the doctors running the National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Asked by Democratic Rep. Mark Pocan if he would today vaccinate his own children for measles and chickenpox, Kennedy said "probably" for measles, but that "what I would say is my opinions about vaccines are irrelevant."… 🟪 (READ MORE)

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