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- BG Reads // November 20, 2025
BG Reads // November 20, 2025
A.J. Bingham
November 20, 2025
✅
faustin a
Presented By
www.binghamgp.com
November 20, 2025
✅ Today's BG Reads include:
🟪 Today: Austin City Council Meeting @10AM: Agenda + Livestream Link
🟪 A vote on Austin's amended city budget could come as soon as Thursday (CBS Austin)
🟪 Austin could see heavy rains, possible flooding over the next few days (KUT)
🟪 Austin is mourning the loss of a landmark: The ‘Dazed and Confused’ School (Wall Street Journal)
🟪 Tesla at loggerheads with Travis County over reporting requirements for incentives (Austin Business Journal)
🟪 Austin's HOME policy spurs hundreds of housing units in 1st year; cost, displacement trends unclear (Community Impact)
🟪 After blocking redistricting map, Judge Jeffrey Brown draws fire from Texas Republicans who once praised him (Texas Tribune)
READ ON!
[FIRM NEWS]
Bingham Group is proud to announce the launch of our Land Use & Entitlements Practice, expanding our ability to support clients navigating policy, development and permitting challenges across Central Texas.
The practice is anchored by Senior Consultant Anaiah Johnson, who brings two decades of land development and urban planning experience, including senior leadership at the City of Austin’s Development Services Department and private-sector entitlement management for one of the nation’s largest homebuilders.
For nearly nine years, Bingham Group has represented clients ranging from Central Texas–based firms to national and international companies before municipal governments in the region.
With this new practice, we now provide integrated support across both the political and technical aspects of moving land use policy and development projects forward.
Learn more about Bingham Group’s new practice — and review all of our services here: binghamgp.com/services
[CITY OF AUSTIN]
🏛️ City Manager Executives and Advisors Staff Visual Chart
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[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
✅ City announces timeline for 2026 proposed amended budget (City of Austin)
The Proposed Amended FY26 Budget Timeline:
Tuesday, Nov. 18: City Council Work Session and Budget briefing. Online speaker registration will open on Friday, Nov. 14 at 5 p.m. Online speaker registration closes on Monday, Nov. 17 at 12 p.m. In-person speaker registration closes 45 minutes before start of the meeting.
Wednesday, Nov. 19: City Council Work Session and public hearing on the Proposed FY26 Amended Budget. Online speaker registration will open on Sunday, Nov. 16 at 10 a.m. Online speaker registration closes on Tuesday, Nov. 18 at 12 p.m. In-person speaker registration closes 45 minutes before start of the meeting.
Thursday, Nov. 20: City Council to consider action on Proposed FY26 Amended Budget. Online speaker registration will open on Monday, Nov. 17 at 10 a.m. Online speaker registration closes on Wednesday, Nov. 19 at 12 p.m. In-person speaker registration closes 45 minutes before start of the meeting.
Friday, Nov. 21: Special called meeting on Proposed FY26 Amended Budget, if needed. Online speaker registration will open on Tuesday, Nov. 18 at 10 a.m. Online speaker registration closes on Thursday, Nov 20 at 12 p.m. In-person speaker registration closes 45 minutes before start of the meeting.
Monday, Nov. 24: Special called meeting on Proposed FY26 Amended Budget, if needed. Online speaker registration will open on Friday, Nov 21 at 5 p.m. Online speaker registration closes on Sunday, Nov 23 at 12 p.m. In person speaker registration closes 45 minutes before start of the meeting… 🟪 (READ MORE)
✅ A vote on Austin's amended city budget could come as soon as Thursday (CBS Austin)
The Austin City Council could vote Thursday on an amended budget that was reworked after voters defeated the Proposition Q property tax increase. If Prop Q had passed, the property tax hike would have given the city $110 million in additional funding. Without it, millions of dollars in cuts are being made to the budget. On Thursday, Austin residents weighed in on proposed funding changes to programs and services.
Trust was a word repeated by speakers during the public hearing on the revised city budget. Some residents were concerned that the amended budget would undo progress made in housing the homeless.
"This progress is threatened by the significant budget shortfalls due to the failure of Proposition Q. We must find revenue," said Austin resident Judy Gradford.
Other speakers say funding social services should not come at the expense of public safety… 🟪 (READ MORE)
✅ Austin is mourning the loss of a landmark: The ‘Dazed and Confused’ School (Wall Street Journal)
Students, teachers and alumni are in turmoil over the loss of their school. A generation of “Dazed and Confused” fans is mourning the potential loss of a landmark—one of the vanishing symbols of Old Austin.
“It really showed that South Austin vibe,” said Michael Barrera, who called himself a unicorn as a native of the neighborhood.
While its students got older, Bedichek, for decades, stayed the same age. Students and parents said the floating blue lockers and cafeteria murals are the same as in the movie.
The Austin school district said it knows the proposed closure is painful for the Bedichek community, but that it needs to put resources where they’re needed most. Bedichek is one of 10 local schools the district has marked for closure due to a projected budget deficit. The school board is set to vote Thursday.
The future of the structure itself is in flux. The district has said it intends to keep the property and potentially open a prekindergarten to 8th-grade campus on the site or shift it to another community use. “We’re committed to honoring Bedichek’s long legacy and its role in South Austin,” the district said. “We are actively engaging the community to re-envision its future.”
Stewart, Luna and others remain hopeful for a last-minute change of plans.
“The AISD school board ‘Bedichek themselves’…and realize the incredible history that would be lost if they were to shut down Bedichek,” Luna said.
Austin has changed significantly since director Richard Linklater, himself an Austinite, filmed “Dazed and Confused” here three decades ago. Locals gripe that a flood of California tech bros and investors have remade it into a town of luxury towers and expensive cocktail bars… 🟪 (READ MORE)
✅ Austin could see heavy rains, possible flooding over the next few days (KUT)
Forecasters expect the Austin area to see potentially heavy rains Wednesday night into Friday morning.
Travis, Hays and Williamson counties are under a flood watch starting at midnight Thursday through Friday morning. Much of Central Texas is also under a flood advisory in that time frame, and National Weather Service forecasters say some areas could see as much as six inches of rain by the end of the week.
NWS Meteorologist Eric Platt said the heavy pockets of rain will be concentrated in the Hill Country west of Austin, though Austin streams could see some flooding, as well.
“That is a concern,” he said. “There's a lot of rock and there's not a lot of soil per se. So, it really doesn't take much to get runoff, especially in the urban areas. So yeah, we do have a concern for some possible flash flooding in the urban areas.”… 🟪 (READ MORE)
✅ Tesla at loggerheads with Travis County over reporting requirements for incentives (Austin Business Journal)
Tesla Inc. and Travis County are in a standoff regarding the information that the electric vehicle maker has been willing to disclose under its 2020 financial incentives agreement, prompting the county to withhold millions of dollars in annual property tax rebates potentially owed to the company.
Austin-based Tesla has paid nearly $19 million in property taxes to Travis County since 2021 and, based on the amount of investment it has reported making at its massive gigafactory in eastern Travis County, could be eligible for 70% to 80% — or roughly $14 million — to be returned in rebates under the county’s incentive package that helped lure it here.
But the county hasn’t rebated any of the money to Elon Musk-led Tesla because it has yet to determine the degree to which the company has been living up to some other aspects of the deal in any of the years since it took effect. Instead, Travis County spokesperson Hector Nieto said the county has been holding in reserve property taxes paid by Tesla, meaning it isn’t spending the money on something else pending a resolution to the matter… 🟪 (READ MORE)
✅ Austin's HOME policy spurs hundreds of housing units in 1st year; cost, displacement trends unclear (Community Impact)
Hundreds of new units were cleared for construction during the initial year of the Home Ownership for Middle-income Empowerment, or HOME, initiative's first phase allowing for more housing on single-family lots.
HOME's impacts are already being felt around Austin, although more time may be needed to determine its clear outcomes on housing affordability, resident displacement, public infrastructure and the environment, according to city reporting.
A City Council majority backed HOME Phase one in a in a contentious December 2023 vote, with stated goals of bringing more varied residential construction to Austin neighborhoods and lowering homeownership costs. Council members mandated annual impact reporting on HOME based a proposal from Mayor Kirk Watson.
The first year's report covers development activity from February 2024—when the city began accepting building applications under HOME—through early February 2025. The analysis follows an interim six-month report released late last year… 🟪 (READ MORE)
✅ Bastrop aims to attract a Texas State University System campus (Austin Business Journal)
Leaders of a city east of Austin want a higher education institution in their community, so much so that they've taken matters into their own hands.
The Bastrop City Council voted Nov. 18 to have Mayor Ishmael Harris sign a letter of support addressed to Texas State University System Chancellor Brian McCall endorsing the establishment of a Texas State University campus or satellite instructional center in the community.
The Texas State University System, which is based in Austin, currently has four universities, including Texas State University in San Marcos, Lamar University in Beaumont, Sam Houston State University in Huntsville and Sul Ross State University in Alpine, as well as three two-year colleges. It has publicly discussed the potential for expansion in the past, but primarily at current campuses.
That includes Texas State University, which recently eclipsed 40,000 students for the first time. The San Marcos school is growing its brand with a move to the Pac-12 Conference for athletics and elevation to a highly regarded research university, and it also has a burgeoning satellite campus in Round Rock… 🟪 (READ MORE)
✅ San Antonio, Austin lead U.S. buyer’s markets as listings outnumber house hunters (Austin American-Statesman)
Austin and San Antonio now rank among the nation’s strongest buyer’s markets, according to a new report from Redfin, as the number of houses for sale puts the smaller number of buyers in the driver seat.
San Antonio tops the list, with Austin following closely behind.
The Seattle-based real estate brokerage and data analyst's Redfin’s October report found San Antonio had about 117% more sellers than buyers, the widest gap among the country’s 50 largest metros. Austin ranked second, with 115% more sellers than buyers. That was down slightly from September, when it held the top spot in the nation… 🟪 (READ MORE)
✅ $65M fundraising campaign launched to renovate Austin's Paramount, State theaters (Austin Business Journal)
The Paramount Theatre in downtown Austin has been open 110 years, and now advocates for it are aiming to ensure it sticks around for the next 100.
To that end, the Austin Theatre Alliance recently announced a fundraising campaign — called Shine On — with the goal of using the money to revitalize the Paramount Theatre and “completely reimagine” the State Theatre.
The goal is to raise $65 million for renovation and preservation of both theaters, with roughly $55 million for renovations and $10 million for an endowment to fund future work.
The Shine On campaign has already raised about $27 million, or about 42% of the goal — including a $7.25 million donation from Austin billionaire John Paul DeJoria and his wife, Eloise — while in a silent phase over the last two years, said Jim Ritts, CEO of the Austin Theatre Alliance, the nonprofit that runs the Paramount and State theaters. He said the alliance has considered renovation for the last 11 years… 🟪 (READ MORE)
[TEXAS/US NEWS]
✅ After blocking redistricting map, Judge Jeffrey Brown draws fire from Texas Republicans who once praised him (Texas Tribune)
When Texas’ new GOP-friendly congressional map was struck down on Tuesday, state leaders blamed the “radical left” and “activist judges.” But the opinion was authored by Judge Jeffery Brown, a former Texas Supreme Court justice and appointee of President Donald Trump with a long history in the conservative legal movement.
Republicans pushed for the new map after being pressured by Trump to add more GOP seats to preserve the party’s slim U.S. House majority in the upcoming midterms. The legislation sailed through the state’s Republican-led Legislature despite Democrats’ insistence that the effort would illegally disenfranchise voters of color.
Brown’s ruling, which found there was “substantial evidence that Texas racially gerrymandered” its maps, immediately inflamed the right. Attorney General Ken Paxton quickly appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, blaming the “radical left” for “once again trying to undermine the will of the people.” And Gov. Greg Abbott said the ruling was “clearly erroneous and undermines the authority the U.S. Constitution assigns to the Texas Legislature by imposing a different map by judicial edict.”… 🟪 (READ MORE)
✅ Houstonians can no longer rent scooters late at night (Houston Public Media)
In a significant blow to a booming scooter rental industry, the Houston City Council on Wednesday enacted a curfew on "micromobility devices" from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. across the city.
"This has been a challenge in the downtown area for some time," said council member Joaquin Martinez, who represents the area. "We’ve seen a lot of joyriding in downtown when it comes to scooters ... and it has brought a dangerous environment in downtown."
Mayor John Whitmire argued scooters represented "one of our number one security risks in the city right now" due to unsafe operation on sidewalks and streets.
"Personally owned vehicles" are exempt from the curfew "for certain commuting purposes," according to the agenda item. The curfew applies to both electric and foot-powered scooters. The measure also bans rentals from tents and other "temporary structures" — a common tactic by popup vendors.
While the new regulations represent a walkback from what was initially proposed as a full ban in the central urban core, the scooter rental industry has previously expressed consternation about a curfew at night — the busiest hours for the business… 🟪 (READ MORE)
✅ Trump says allowing skilled immigrants to train US workers ‘is MAGA’ (Associated Press)
President Donald Trump has made hardline immigration policies a signature issue, but acknowledged on Wednesday that he’s been criticized for recently saying some skilled immigrants should be allowed into the country from his “Make America Great Again” supporters.
Trump told an audience of business executives that the U.S. needs immigrants who can train domestic workers in high-tech factories — and insisted that doing so is not inconsistent with his core political beliefs.
“I love my conservative friends. I love MAGA. But this is MAGA,” Trump said during an address to the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum, which he attended with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. “Those people are going to teach our people how to make computer chips, and in a short period of time, our people are going to be doing great. And those people can go home.”… 🟪 (READ MORE)
✅ September jobs report arrives today, almost 7 weeks behind schedule (NPR)
The Labor Department will deliver an overdue snapshot of the U.S. job market on Thursday. It's almost seven weeks behind schedule. And because the government shutdown delayed data-gathering, there won't be another one until mid-December.
While the information in the report is a bit stale, covering the month of September, it may offer some clues about the pace of hiring and firing this fall.
It comes after a sluggish summer of job growth, when employers added fewer than 30,000 jobs a month, on average. But if employers weren't adding a lot of new workers, they weren't handing out a lot of pink slips, either... 🟪 (READ MORE)
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