BG Reads // May 29, 2025

Author

A.J. Bingham
May 29, 2025

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✅ Today's BG Reads include:

[CITY OF AUSTIN]

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[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]

✅ Tens of thousands without power after hail, wind and rain batter Austin (KUT)

More than 57,000 Austin Energy customers were without power as of 10:28 p.m. after high winds and hail swept through the Austin area Wednesday evening.

In a post on X, Austin Energy said it is working 24/7 to restore to outages. The energy provider also warned residents to avoid touching downed power lines or tree limbs that are touching downed power lines.

The storm was part of a wider severe thunderstorm watch issued by the National Weather Service for Wednesday.

Officials at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport posted on X that winds from the storm broke doorway glass near Checkpoint 1. The Texas Newsroom's Blaise Gainey reported there was also rain damage at the Texas Capitol… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Austin's economy is growing geographically (Austin Business Journal)

Angelou Economics Executive Vice President Matt Patton, who has a doctorate in geography, prefers to look at supply chains and roads rather than city and county lines when thinking about economic development.

He's among those keeping an eye on the fact that Austin's economy is growing geographically. The traditional five-county metropolitan statistical area that includes Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop and Caldwell counties is spilling into areas like Bell, Burnet and Milam counties due to favorable conditions like affordable and available land, access to highways and reliable infrastructure, including water and power.

"I tend to equate economic development like water," Patton said. "It's going to take the path of least resistance. Where can we get favorable conditions to put in a new development, whether that's an industrial park or a residential?"

Those three additional counties are home to some of the region's biggest economic development projects in important Austin industries, such as aerospace, semiconductors, data centers and advanced manufacturing: Firefly Aerospace Inc. is building out its Rocket Ranch in Burnet County, T1 Energy Inc. could build an $850 million factory in Milam County, and SeAH Superalloy Technologies LLC is building a $110 million factory in Temple… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Downtown report: Office vacancies up, infrastructure growth continues (Austin Monitor)

Downtown Austin is in a transitional period, with the latest “State of Downtown Austin” report highlighting diverging paths for public and private sector development. The Downtown Austin Alliance’s annual review, now in its seventh year, notes an increase in downtown office vacancies, up to 22 percent versus the 18 percent reported last year.

Office vacancies in downtown’s recently-built stock of new high-rise buildings have increased even as overall employment in the city center has climbed.

The report showed the downtown population now exceeds 15,000 residents, with a workforce of over 131,000, reflecting continued centralization of employment despite remote work trends. There are 13 major projects under construction totaling 6.63 million square feet, including more than 2,600 new housing units and nearly 900 hotel rooms.

Public transit and infrastructure planning remain high-priority issues for local leaders, with ongoing coordination around Project Connect and the Interstate 35 expansion project among the initiatives expected to reshape downtow mobility and land use. The report also notes the importance of diversifying land use, pointing to growing interest in mixed-use and mixed-income development, particularly on publicly owned land as a response to affordability concerns... 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Facing mounting deficit, Austin ISD will cut central office staff, weighs school closures (Austin American-Statesman)

The Austin school district will be reorganizing its central office, including eliminating and reassigning positions, as part of its ongoing effort to cut its budget deficit from $97 million to $78 million. The district’s austerity measures also align with discussions about potentially closing schools within the next year to slash long-term expenses. Officials say these measures are essential to maintain financial stability, after a year of budget cuts aimed at reducing a deficit that had grown to $110 million by January.

The central office cuts will involve both staff reductions and reassignments, Superintendent Matias Segura wrote in a public letter Friday. “We recognize the timing of this announcement puts a strain on our central employees,” Segura said in the letter. “Please know we did not arrive at this decision lightly.”

The district is projecting a budget deficit of $19 million for the 2025-26 school year, but won’t reach that target without making significant changes, interim Chief Financial Officer Katrina Montgomery told school board members during a meeting last week. This could put the district’s fund balance — or cash on hand — at risk, she said. “That puts us in the place where we might have to borrow to cover payroll as well as accounts payable,” Montgomery said. District leaders cut $63 million from the 2024-25 budget through spending and hiring freezes and streamlining operations, according to district officials.

However, the district's predicted costs have also risen this year. When the Austin school board adopted its 2024-25 budget last summer, it predicted a $78 million deficit. Since then, the district received $14 million less in property tax revenue, overspent by $40 million on special education, and lost $12 million in federal Medicaid reimbursements. The district has pledged approximately $1.7 million each to three North Austin middle schools — Burnet, Dobie, and Webb — next year to improve their state-rated F rankings… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Lime rolls out new 500 electric seated scooters fleet across Austin (Community Impact)

Austin will be among the first cities in the world to see the launch of Lime’s new seated scooter, called LimeGlider vehicles.

Beginning May 23, locals can ride any of the 500 moped-style multimodal vehicles available throughout the city, each capable of reaching speeds up to 15 mph.

Austin was among the first cities Lime actively sought community input on this new vehicle, according to a news release. Much of this feedback mirrored riders’ desire for greater accessibility and ease of use for a wider range of riders—particularly women and older riders, the release states.

The Glider is built for riders who may find long periods of pedaling challenging, as well as those seeking a more comfortable alternative to car travel. With the citywide launch, Gliders will enable longer trips and broaden access to car-free transportation options… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ New tower could be on tap near the convention center (Austin Business Journal)

Plans for a new downtown tower near the convention center are showing signs of life after years of laying dormant.

The high-rise, which would rise on Block 16 across the street from the convention center, is still in the works and would potentially replace downtown’s P. F. Chang’s restaurant and other businesses, according to a site plan application filed with the city. Details are scarce, but the application represents the first spark of activity for the project in years, and at least one developer previously working on it is no longer involved.

The precise size of the planned tower is unknown, with the application only stating that it's for a high-rise with ground-floor retail space. In 2022, plans called for the tower to be used as office space, rise 43 stories and consist of up to 738,000 square feet total… 🟪 (READ MORE)

[TEXAS NEWS]

✅ Texas leaders defend THC ban at press conference featuring THC-laced snacks (Texas Public Radio)

With less than a week to go in the 89th legislative session, Texas lawmakers are rushing to get their bills out of the House and Senate and onto the governor’s desk. That includes two bills championed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, one of the most influential lawmakers in the state who has set his focus this year on regulating THC products. Standing before a table of THC-laced beverages and snacks, Patrick explained his mission this session.

“This is to save an entire generation of being [sic] hooked on drugs,” he said. Standing next to Patrick was state Sen. Charles Perry (R-Lubbock), author of Senate Bill 3, which would ban all consumable THC products, such as gummies or vapes. SB 3 has passed the legislature and now heads to the governor for approval. Patrick said he has “total confidence” that Gov. Greg Abbott would approve the legislation.

“I know where his heart is, and I know where he wants to be to protect children and adults,” Patrick said. Texas lawmakers legalized purchasing, possessing and selling hemp products in 2019. The industry has since boomed in the state. Perry said he’s been on a mission to overturn that legislation ever since. “It took about four years and unfortunately lives lost and lives ruined to get it to the level and awareness that I was able to bring it to,” he said. Under SB 3, Texans would still be able to buy non-psychoactive cannabis derivatives like CBD or CBG. The products would be required to be placed in child-resistant packaging. Patrick and Perry have both raised concerns over children accessing such products.

In March, Patrick visited several shops selling THC consumables to check whether they were carding customers. When he arrived at an Austin CBD shop, The Happy Cactus Apothecary, an employee requested to see his ID to verify his age. “One of our employees said she asked for his ID, and he said ‘I’m Dan Patrick.’ And she said, ‘I still need to see your ID,’” shop owner, Todd Harris, told the Houston Chronicle… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ $100 million boost in child care scholarship funding advances in Texas Legislature (Austin American-Statesman)

Working Texas families could soon receive more support for their children under a legislative proposal to boost child care funding by using federal funds. A final version of the 2026-2027 state budget released by the Texas Legislature on Tuesday includes a $100 million increase in funding for child care scholarships. Lawmakers developed the proposal by redirecting unused federal money from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, or TANF, to support the subsidies provided by the Texas Workforce Commission.

Initially, the $100 million was included in the supplemental budget bill for the current biennium rather than the bill for the upcoming biennium. It was also initially funded by General Revenue instead of unused federal funds.

The budget bill will now go before the Texas House and Senate for a final vote before it is sent to the governor for approval. “This investment will ensure more Texans are able to clock in to work each day and more kids have access to safe, nurturing child care during the critical early years of brain development,” David Feigen, director of early learning policy for Texans Care for Children, said in a statement Tuesday. Time is running out for the Legislature to pass laws aimed at improving child care access and quality before the session ends June 2. Advocates for early care and education have pushed the matter as a workforce issue because many working families need child care, and more than half a million Texas children lack those services, according to the advocacy nonprofit Children at Risk.

About 95,000 families are on the waitlist for child care scholarships, according to state data. That includes over 33,000 children in North Texas, according to the Texas Association for the Education of Young Children, a nonprofit working to increase access to high-quality early childhood education. Texas also lost nearly 75,000 child care seats last year, according to Children at Risk.

This contributed to a 15% increase in child care deserts — areas defined by ZIP codes with at least 30 children under age 6 where the demand for child care among working parents is at least three times greater than the licensed child care capacity... 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Even after Tim Cook call, Abbott signs online safety law in blow to Apple and Google (BBC)

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has signed an online child safety bill that requires Apple and Google to ensure that their app stores verify the age of users in the nation's second most populous state. Under the new law, minors will need parental approval before they can download apps or make in-app purchases. The bill was opposed by Google and Apple. "We believe there are better proposals that help keep kids safe without requiring millions of people to turn over their personal information," an Apple spokesperson said in a statement on Tuesday. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the BBC. Texas follows Utah, another conservative state, which adopted a similar law earlier this year.

At the federal level, US lawmakers have spearheaded the Kids Online Safety Act, known as KOSA, which would require social media companies to make design choices that prevent and mitigate harms to young users. KOSA was passed by the US Senate last year but stalled in the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the US Congress.

The proposed bipartisan legislation, which Apple supports, was reintroduced in Congress earlier this month. In the absence of a federal law, the states have chosen to come up with their own legislation. Laws that call for age-verification has long pitted app store providers like Apple and Google against social media companies. Meta, which owns the social media network Facebook and photo sharing app Instagram, has lobbied for Apple and Google to be responsible for verifying the age of users.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple chief executive Tim Cook called Governor Abbott earlier this month in a bid to stop the passage of the state's bill. An Apple spokesperson said the tech giant shares "the goal of strengthening kids' online safety" but added it was "deeply concerned" by the threat it believes the law poses to the privacy of all users… 🟪 (READ MORE)

[US and World News]

✅ Federal court blocks Trump from imposing sweeping tariffs under emergency powers law (Associated Press)

A federal court on Wednesday blocked President Donald Trump from imposing sweeping tariffs on imports under an emergency-powers law, swiftly throwing into doubt Trump’s signature set of economic policies that have rattled global financial markets, frustrated trade partners and raised broader fears about inflation intensifying and the economy slumping. The ruling from a three-judge panel at the New York-based U.S. Court of International Trade came after several lawsuits arguing Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs exceeded his authority and left the country’s trade policy dependent on his whims. Trump has repeatedly said the tariffs would force manufacturers to bring back factory jobs to the U.S. and generate enough revenue to reduce federal budget deficits. He used the tariffs as a negotiating cudgel in hopes of forcing other nations to negotiate agreements that favored the U.S., suggesting he would simply set the rates himself if the terms were unsatisfactory.

White House spokesperson Kush Desai said that trade deficits amount to a national emergency “that has decimated American communities, left our workers behind, and weakened our defense industrial base — facts that the court did not dispute.” The administration, he said, remains “committed to using every lever of executive power to address this crisis and restore American Greatness.” But for now, Trump might not have the threat of import taxes to exact his will on the world economy as he had intended, since doing so would require congressional approval. What remains unclear is whether the White House will respond to the ruling by pausing all of its emergency power tariffs in the interim. Trump might still be able to temporarily launch import taxes of 15% for 150 days on nations with which the U.S. runs a substantial trade deficit. The ruling notes that a president has this authority under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. The ruling amounted to a categorical rejection of the legal underpinnings of some of Trump’s signature and most controversial actions of his four-month-old second term. The administration swiftly filed notice of appeal — and the Supreme Court will almost certainly be called upon to lend a final answer — but it casts a sharp blow… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Elon Musk officially leaves the White House (CNBC)

Elon Musk's days working at the White House are over. Musk, the billionaire Tesla CEO whom President Donald Trump enlisted to cut waste in the federal government, started offboarding from his role Wednesday, a White House official told NBC News, a day after he criticized a Republican bill to fund much of Trump’s agenda. Two sources later confirmed to NBC News that Musk's more than 114-day long tenure as a special government employee officially concluded Wednesday evening. Musk commented on his exit Wednesday on X, his social media platform. He called for the “DOGE mission” to become “a way of life throughout the government,” referring to his Department of Government Efficiency initiative.

“As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending,” wrote Musk, the richest person in the world. While a senior White House official has previously stressed that Musk is a friend of Trump’s, the White House did not provide an on-the-record comment Wednesday about Musk’s departure. NBC News has reported that special government employees, a class of temporary worker that included Musk, can typically work up to 130 days in a calendar year, though the days can be split up.

The White House first publicly acknowledged Musk’s role on Feb. 3, so he was most likely nearing the end of that tenure. Musk’s official departure came at a charged moment in his relationship with Trump. On Tuesday, CBS News’ “Sunday Morning” shared a clip of him sharing his disappointment in the “massive spending bill,” which he said “undermines” the work of his DOGE operation, which has aimed to reduce federal spending by slashing the size of the federal workforce, cutting government programs and eliminating grants deemed wasteful… 🟪 (READ MORE)

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