BG Reads // May 9, 2025

Author

A.J. Bingham
May 09, 2025

Presented By

✅ Today's BG Reads include:

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[EVENT SPOTLIGHT]

✅ Austin Chamber ATX Policy Forum 2025 // Wednesday May 14th // 8AM to 10AM

Mayor Kirk Watson will take the stage alongside these influential policymakers from across Central Texas including County Judges for Bastrop, Caldwell, and Williamson Counties.

[CITY OF AUSTIN]

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[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]

✅ Texas Tribune has acquired the Austin Monitor in move aimed at beefing up local news coverage (Austin Business Journal)

The Austin Monitor, a nonprofit, digital-only news organization that primarily covers City Hall, has been acquired by The Texas Tribune as part of a larger effort by the Tribune to establish a network of local newsrooms across the state.

Terms of the acquisition weren't disclosed. Joel Gross, CEO of the Austin Monitor, said a "ceremonial amount" of money changed hands that will be put "right back into the Trib," which also is a nonprofit, to advance the joint news operation.

"It's more of a joining of assets," said Gross, who will be general manager of the Tribune's new Austin newsroom. "It's two nonprofits joining together."

In the wake of the move, he said the Monitor plans to change its name this fall to reflect an expanded scope, although the new name hasn't been chosen yet. The Monitor — which currently operates with one full-time editor and six to 10 freelancers — also plans to hire more full-time staffers… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Greater Austin YMCA taps developer to reimagine Townlake property (Austin Business Journal)

The Greater Austin YMCA’s Townlake property downtown is set for a major revamp. 

The nonprofit has announced a partnership with an entity called MP-Austin, which is an affiliate of New York-based real estate firm Millennium Partners, to redevelop the 4.8 acre downtown Townlake YMCA site that sits next to Lady Bird Lake. 

The project will include market-rate housing, and initial designs also include 90 affordable rental units and a new 110,000 square foot YMCA center. Some involved have said other YMCA properties across the region may see similar revamps in the coming decades. The nonprofit does indeed hold a lot of property that could house more structures.

As part of the partnership for the downtown site, the YMCA will sell a portion of the 4.8-acre site to MP-Austin, while a yet-to-be determined portion of it will be retained by the nonprofit. A YMCA spokesperson didn't provide financial terms of the deal but said part of the sale agreement includes construction of the new Townlake YMCA by MP-Austin… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Parks funding recommendations expected to go before Council this month (Austin Monitor)

The Parks and Recreation Department is moving forward with an effort to identify new funding options for the city’s park system, with a pair of outside consultants on board that have helped other large cities find and address funding gaps in the past.

A memo sent to City Council this week outlines progress on a resolution approved by Council in November aimed at identifying sustainable revenue sources for park management, land acquisition, maintenance and amenities.

Estimates indicate that PARD faces approximately $125 million in deferred maintenance costs each year across parks, recreation centers, pools and other facilities, with the current backlog totaling about $700 million. That high degree of need is one reason the city relies on partners such as the Austin Parks Foundation to fund and oversee park improvements across the area.

Council’s original resolution emphasized the importance of maintaining and expanding parkland, citing the city’s growing inventory of park acreage without a corresponding increase in maintenance resources. As detailed in the 2024 Financial Services Department report, the rise in newly improved park spaces has strained maintenance operations, contributing to a decline in service levels over the past decade… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Kyle approves first Water Master Plan to address growth and supply (Community Impact)

After months of supply concerns, Kyle has finalized its first comprehensive Water Master Plan. City Council unanimously approved the plan during its April 15 meeting, according to a news release, “marking a significant milestone in long-term water planning and infrastructure development.”

The city partnered with STV Engineering to develop the plan, which aims to evaluate Kyle’s existing water sources and provide a strategic framework for acquiring additional water, managing the current supply and recommending system improvements to meet the needs of current and future residents, according to the release.

The Water Master Plan will guide the city’s water planning efforts for the next 50 years… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Austin Public Health urges Council to prioritize frontline jobs amid federal funding cuts (Austin Monitor)

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) continued slashing of federal funding for critical services is coinciding with and compounding an already dire budget crunch for Austin, which will force Council to make tough decisions on where to tighten the purse strings.

Austin Public Health employees with the union AFSCME Local 1624 made their pitch for support Wednesday morning, asking City Council to fill in the $22 million gap that federal funding cuts have dealt APH so far. They say that critical services like vaccinations – during an outbreak of measles and the bird flu – are at risk without it. 

“We no longer have the enhanced infrastructure to quickly act during an outbreak of an infectious disease, such as the measles outbreak occurring just a few counties over in West Texas. The recent federal funding cuts have made our communities weaker, less safe and decreased Austin Public Health’s ability to respond effectively to current and future threats,” said Brydan Summers, president of AFSCME Local 1624. 

Nicole Doggett, a nurse specialized in immunizations, explained that herd immunity – when a critical mass of a community is immunized to a disease, making it difficult to spread – will be compromised if APH’s vaccination services are cut. Back in 2021 during COVID, public health officials stressed that vaccines were the key to achieving herd immunity… 🟪 (READ MORE)

[TEXAS NEWS]

✅ Texas lawmakers look to strengthen power grid amid data center growth (Community Impact)

Amid growing electric demand, Texas lawmakers are working on legislation that would increase regulations on large electric consumers, including data centers.

Demand on Texas’ power grid reached a record 85,508 megawatts in August 2023, and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas has estimated it will grow to about 150,000 megawatts by 2030. Lawmakers have said large data centers and industrial projects could cause significant strain to the grid unless changes are made.

“We have single customers coming to Texas with an electric demand that surpasses the size of cities’ needs,” Rep. Ken King, R-Canadian, said during a May 7 hearing of the House State Affairs Committee.

“Within the next few years, the entire [Rio Grande] Valley has an electrical peak demand of three gigawatts. Stargate in Abilene has electric demand projected to be twice that in 2030.” To address these challenges, legislators are considering Senate Bill 6, a wide-ranging measure that proponents say would strengthen the power grid, boost accountability for large consumers and better protect residential customers from outages. Critics said SB 6 could negatively affect public safety and hinder new economic development in Texas... 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Houston autonomous vehicle company plans to have no drivers on Texas Highways. Here’s what to know. (Houston Chronicle)

A Houston autonomous vehicle company plans to have no drivers in their self-driving trucks, making it one of the many businesses bringing the large, driverless vehicles to Texas highways. Bot Auto completed fully autonomous testing between Houston and San Antonio since last fall.

The company plans to launch fully driverless operations for an initial four months. Bart Teeter, director of fleet and operational safety with Bot Auto, presented the company's technology and trucks to local transportation and law enforcement agencies on Thursday at the Houston TranStar building. “One of the things that we’re very proud of is we're a later entry into the market, and so we've been able to leverage the advances in A.I. that some of the companies that started before us didn't have,” he said.

Teeter, who formerly worked at the Texas Highway Patrol, said safety is one of the reasons he advocates for these vehicles on Texas highways. Texas led the nation in fatal large truck crashes between 2018 and 2022, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Teeter believes that using these smart trucks to carry freight could help prevent further crashes caused by humans.

“We like to brag, right? We’re Texans. Things are bigger in Texas. Well, the one thing I never really wanted to brag about was how big our crash problem is,” he said. Bot Auto spokesperson Jeremy Desel said the Voluntary Safety Self-Assessment — documents encouraged by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for companies that develop and launch automated driving systems — will be released in the next couple of weeks. Teeter said the trucks will operate fully autonomously, without a driver, by the end of summer. It will not haul hazardous materials. Bot Auto was founded in 2023. It operates a fleet of driverless trucks and partners with other businesses to provide autonomous freight transportation… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ UT System announces $100 million investment into civic leadership school (Texas Tribune)

The University of Texas System announced on Thursday a $100 million investment for a permanent building for its School of Civic Leadership, a college created to house programs to help teach “principles of freedom.”

The nine-figure investment will go toward the renovation of the Biological Laboratories building on the University of Texas at Austin campus into a space for the new school. The school welcomes its inaugural class in the fall. Construction on the school is expected to be completed by 2028, according to a UT news release.

Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov Dan Patrick and several UT officials gathered at UT Austin to celebrate the announced funding for the school. In a news release, Abbott said the $100 million investment will “restore classical civics and leadership education” at UT.

“We need to get back on the pathway of ensuring that we’re educating our students with the leading concepts that have led to the great country we are today,” Abbott said. 

The school, which was established in 2023, and the think tank Civitas Institute, which it houses, were developed by UT officials alongside conservative lawmakers and donors including Patrick. In 2021, Patrick and conservative donors assisted in the creation of Civitas’ predecessor, the Liberty Institute, which sparked faculty concerns on the college’s purpose… 🟪 (READ MORE)

[US and World News]

✅ Cardinal Robert Prevost becomes the first American pope, choosing the name Leo XIV (NPR)

Cardinal Robert Prevost has been elected pope, becoming the first pontiff from the United States. He chose the name Pope Leo XIV.

The 69-year-old new pontiff appeared on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica and said, "Peace be with all of you!"

He said he wanted his message of peace to "enter your hearts, reach your families and all people, wherever they are."

He thanked his fellow cardinals for selecting him and spoke in Italian, Spanish and Latin. Having spent years working in Peru, he thanked his former diocese in the South American country, "where a loyal people has shared its faith and has given a lot," he said.

He also spoke warmly of the late Pope Francis and concluded by leading the crowd in prayer.

He appeared after white smoke streamed from the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel, signaling that the 133 cardinals inside had elected a new pope… 🟪 (READ MORE)

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