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September 22, 2025

✅ Today's BG Reads include:

🟪 Planning Commission asks Council to defend the HOME initiative (Austin Monitor)

🟪 Austin-Bergstrom International Airport looking for retail, food partners (Austin Business Journal)

🟪Austin FC strengthens playoff position with 2-1 win over Seattle Sounders (KXAN)

🟪 17 statewide propositions will appear on the November ballot. Here’s what Texas voters need to know. (Texas Tribune)

🟪 Crackdown on Charlie Kirk's critics sparks free speech debate within Texas GOP (San Antonio Express-News)

🟪 California bans most law enforcement officers from wearing masks during operations (Associated Press)

🟪 Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee sets off scramble across Corporate America (Wall Street Journal)

🟪 Trump publicly pushes Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute his political foes (NBC News)

🟪 U.K., Canada, Australia recognize Palestine as a state, breaking with U.S. (Washington Post)

READ ON!

[CITY OF AUSTIN]

🏛️ Austin City Council Agenda - September 25, 2025

🏛️ Memo: Austin’s Downtown Homeless Shelters - September 15, 2025

🏛️ City Memo: Short-Term Rental Regulations – Upcoming Action Item (Development Services Department)

🏛️ City Manager Executives and Advisors Staff Visual Chart

🏛️ City of Austin Org Chart (as of July 2025)

💰 2026 City of Austin Bond - Public Input

ℹ️ 2025 Essential Resources for Navigating the City of Austin

[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]

✅ Planning Commission asks Council to defend the HOME initiative (Austin Monitor)

Austin’s HOME Initiative was supposed to make it easy for homeowners, landlords and developers to build more units per lot, and thus help swell the city’s supply of affordable housing. In a letter to Ctiy Council, the Planning Commission says it has “serious concerns” that HOME may not be delivering as many homes as it should.

The letter, submitted to Council as a recommendation that passed unanimously during a meeting on September 9, argues that a host of “new or conflicting regulations” on the part of city staff in several departments, mixed with flaws in the language of the ordinances that make up the initiative, threaten to block a “substantial portion” of the housing boost it was intended to create.

Some specific issues identified in the letter include a “loophole” that applies site plan landscaping requirements to third units on lots developed under the initiative, an Austin Water rule that requires a separate water meter for each unit on a lot and Austin Energy rules that can sometimes require would-be builders to cover the cost of major infrastructure upgrades, among others… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Austin-Bergstrom International Airport looking for retail, food partners (Austin Business Journal)

More retail space is being put up for grabs as Austin-Bergstrom International Airport continues its multibillion-dollar expansion.

ABIA has several new concession opportunities for retail and food businesses. The airport is seeking responses for a Request for Concession Proposal from businesses that are “experienced, creative, highly motivated, and responsible,” according to an announcement. 

The opportunities include news and coffee markets that also have grab-and-go food and branded coffee beverages, specialty food kiosks that “showcase locally made Central Texas favorites” and automated retail machines that can give flyers 24-access to snacks, beverages and travel essentials. 

ABIA is looking for two news and coffee markets, two specialty food kiosks and five automated retail machines. 

Being able to establish a brand at the airport is a valuable marketing asset that is seen both by visitors and locals. Businesses like Antone's and Toy Joy have touted the benefits of the exposure being at the airport brings to their business. 

The space ABIA is looking to fill will be in the yet-to-be-built Concourse M facility and the expanded West Gate area of the main terminal. More information on these retail opportunities can be found here… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ East Oltorf residents push back against proposed location for Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center (KVUE)

Nestled in South Austin, Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center sits right next door to Joslin Elementary School.

Neighbors and parents say the center is jeopardizing the safety of kids, residents and businesses, which prompted a lawsuit from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. 

Now, city leaders are eyeing a new location for the center, at 2401 S. Interstate 35 Frontage Road near East Oltorf Street. The building was once a motorcycle dealership and is leased to a gaming lounge.

"This site is much, much larger and will be able to facilitate the number of people so you won't have that congregating outside," Austin City Councilmember Ryan Alter said. 

But some neighbors do not support the idea, and created an online petition asking city leaders to reject the proposed location and work with residents to find another location.

"I fear that a lot of what they're experiencing around the Sunrise facility on Menchaca is actually going to bleed over into our neighborhood as well," Nicole Heier, the president of the Greenbriar East Oltorf Association, said. "There are four or five education facilities within walking distance of the proposed site as it stands today. And it needs to be miles away from any schools."

But Alter calls the proposed location "fairly isolated."… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Austin FC strengthens playoff position with 2-1 win over Seattle Sounders (KXAN)

Myrto Uzuni scored the game-winning goal in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time, lifting Austin FC 2-1 over the Seattle Sounders in Major League Soccer action Sunday at Q2 Stadium.

Uzuni finished a CJ Fodrey header between two defenders right in front of the goal for his sixth goal of the season, breaking a 1-1 tie. Dani Pereira served a ball into the 6-yard box from slightly beyond the penalty area to Fodrey, who earned his first assist of the season.

Austin (12-10-8, 45 points) is in sixth place in the Western Conference, a point behind the Sounders and two ahead of the Portland Timbers with four regular season matches remaining. Austin needs to finish in the top nine of the conference standings to advance to the postseason… 🟪 (READ MORE)

[TEXAS/US NEWS]

✅ Crackdown on Charlie Kirk's critics sparks free speech debate within Texas GOP (San Antonio Express-News)

The Republican-led effort to punish Charlie Kirk’s critics after his assassination has set off a fierce debate about the limits of the First Amendment, including among some conservatives who say they’re uneasy with the path party leaders are charting. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has been at the forefront of the campaign for retribution, singling out university students who mocked Kirk’s death and calling for public school teachers to be fired as the state education agency investigates hundreds of complaints about their social media posts. The governor has cast the firings and expulsions as a means of restoring civility. “If we have members of our society, whether they be students or otherwise, who celebrate an assassination, we have dramatic course correction that we have to take in this state,” Abbott said in a video posted to social media Tuesday. “A place we can engage in that course correction is in our schools and on our campuses.”

But other members of the GOP have warned that the growing campaign risks eroding free speech protections and is hypocritical after years of complaints from Republicans about Democrats who perpetuated “cancel culture.” “We can safely confirm that most of the conservative anti-woke warriors were not actually opposed to cancel culture, identity politics, and free speech restrictions,” Jessica Riedl, an economist at the conservative Manhattan Institute, posted Tuesday on social media. “They just wanted to be the ones imposing it instead.” Karl Rove, who served as former President George W. Bush’s chief of staff, said “no good thing” will come of the hunt for wrongdoers. “Using Charlie’s murder to justify retaliation against political rivals is wrong and dangerous,” Rove, a prominent GOP campaign consultant for decades, wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed Thursday. “It is also an insult to his memory. Anyone who saw Charlie in action could see he had supreme confidence that logic, facts and appeals to history were the way to win arguments. Not thuggery, threats or silencing.”… 🟪 (READ MORE) 

✅ 17 statewide propositions will appear on the November ballot. Here’s what Texas voters need to know. (Texas Tribune)

On Nov. 4, Texas voters will get the final say on 17 constitutional amendments — usually listed as statewide propositions at the top of the ballot — including billions of dollars in property tax cuts for homeowners and businesses.

Earlier this year, a two-thirds majority of the state Legislature passed the joint resolutions calling for the constitutional amendment elections, along with the state’s budget for the next two years, which includes $51 billion for property tax cuts.

Texas lawmakers have used multibillion-dollar budget surpluses, the result of inflation and temporary federal stimulus dollars during the COVID-19 pandemic, to pay for tax cuts in recent years. Proponents of tax cuts and bans, including Gov. Greg Abbott, have said they will maintain Texas as a competitive, business-friendly state and contribute to economic growth.

But some lawmakers and budget analysts have raised concerns that passing more tax cuts, especially on school district taxes which the state helps pay for, could be unsustainable… 🟪 (READ MORE) 

✅ California bans most law enforcement officers from wearing masks during operations (Associated Press)

California became the first state to ban most law enforcement officers, including federal immigration agents, from covering their faces while conducting official business under a bill that was signed Saturday by Gov. Gavin Newsom and swiftly denounced by Trump administration officials.

The ban is a direct response to recent immigration raids in Los Angeles, where federal agents wore masks while making mass arrests. The raids prompted days of protest and led President Donald Trump to deploy National Guard troops and Marines to the area. Newsom said at a news conference in Los Angeles, where he signed the bill flanked by state lawmakers, education leaders and immigrant community members, that California is unique in that 27% of its residents are foreign born. “We celebrate that diversity. It’s what makes California great. It’s what makes America great. It is under assault,” he said.

The Democratic governor said the state is pushing back against the practice of masked agents without identification or badge numbers detaining people on the streets. “The impact of these policies all across this city, our state and nation are terrifying,” Newsom said.

“It’s like a dystopian sci-fi movie. Unmarked cars, people in masks, people quite literally disappearing. No due process, no rights, no right in a democracy where we have rights. Immigrants have rights, and we have the right to stand up and push back, and that’s what we’re doing here today.” But it’s unclear how — or whether — the state can enforce the ban on federal agents.

Trump administration officials have defended use of masks, saying immigration agents face strident and increasing harassment in public and online as they carry out enforcement in service of Trump’s drive toward mass deportation. Obscuring their identities is necessary for the safety of the agents and their families, officials contend. Bill Essayli, acting U.S. attorney for Southern California, said on the social platform X that the state does not have jurisdiction over the federal government and he has told agencies the mask ban has no effect on their operations. “Our agents will continue to protect their identities,” he said... 🟪 (READ MORE) 

✅ Trump publicly pushes Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute his political foes (NBC News)

President Donald Trump exerted public pressure Saturday night on Attorney General Pam Bondi, saying it was time for the Justice Department to take action against a number of his political foes.

Alongside the extraordinary demand to prosecute his adversaries, the president also named his former defense attorney, now a senior White House aide, to replace the head of a key prosecutor’s office he forced out a day earlier. 

"We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility. They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!" Trump said on Truth Social.

He said people were complaining that "nothing is being done" and name-checked some public officials with whom he has tussled: former FBI Director James Comey, Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and New York Attorney General Letitia James… 🟪 (READ MORE) 

✅ Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee sets off scramble across Corporate America (Wall Street Journal)

The Trump administration’s moves to upend the immigration system set off a wave of anxiety and confusion this weekend as workers and employers raced to respond ahead of a key deadline Sunday. The announcement on Friday that the Trump administration planned to add a new $100,000 annual fee for H-1B visa applications beginning at 12:01 a.m. ET Sunday caught companies and employees off guard, spurring a furious scramble.

Amazon, Alphabet’s Google, Microsoft and others warned H-1B holders not to leave the country and urged employees overseas on the visa to get back to the U.S. on Saturday because it could be difficult to re-enter, according to notes sent to staff reviewed by The Wall Street Journal and people familiar with their contents. Companies worried they could be on the hook for enormous fee payments given how many of their employees use such visas. Human-resources staffers divided up lists of workers and tried to determine employees’ locations so they could help them book flights, if needed.

Immigration lawyers, meanwhile, sent bulletins to companies and visa holders and tried to address concerns—but often found themselves with few answers. Attempting to calm the escalating panic, the White House on Saturday said the changes don’t apply to current visa holders, and that the new policy doesn’t affect their ability to travel to and from the U.S. The $100,000 is a one-time fee, not an annual fee, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. The clarification capped an extraordinary 24-hour period. The proclamation “came with no notice or even a hint that something like this was coming,” said Shanon R. Stevenson, co-chair of the immigration practice group at law firm Fisher Phillips, who spent much of Saturday fielding calls and emails from clients in fields ranging from healthcare to manufacturing. “It’s been obviously very devastating.”

Many employers were still digesting the announcement when the White House issued its clarification. By then, companies had already set new plans in motion and many workers had upended travel plans. Tech-services firm Cognizant urged any employees on H-1B visas outside the U.S. to return before the proclamation took effect. Microsoft told employees: “If you are in H-1B status and are in the U.S., you should remain in the U.S. for the foreseeable future.”… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ U.K., Canada, Australia recognize Palestine as a state, breaking with U.S. (Washington Post)

Britain, Canada and Australia formally recognized a state of Palestine on Sunday, reversing decades of unwillingness to accept Palestinians as a sovereign nation until their conflict with Israel was permanently settled and breaking sharply with the United States.

The three nations became the biggest countries to recognize Palestine, acting in coordination with France, which is expected to make a similar declaration on Monday at the United Nations.

Their embrace of Palestinian statehood is momentous shift in long-standing diplomatic positions, and reflects the grave consternation in many capitals over Israel’s war in Gaza. Britain, Canada and France. the first members of the G-7 major economies to take such a step, are some of the biggest traditional Israel supporters — and U.S. allies — to recognize Palestine. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the decisions in rapid succession Sunday.

Starmer, in particular, has faced growing pressure from the British public and his own Labour Party to take a tougher stand against Israel’s conduct Gaza. The Sunday announcements were made a day before the start of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, on Monday evening, and seemed timed, at least in part, to avoid issuing statements certain to anger the Israeli government as the country prepared for a major holiday. The Israeli anger arrived swiftly. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “message to nations that are taking the avenue to disregard the sheer utter chaos Hamas has thrust Gaza into and Israel — including our soldiers, families and of course hostages still held in Hamas captivity — [is] that the people of Israel aren’t going to commit suicide because of the political needs of European politics,” Shosh Bedrosian, a spokesperson for the Israeli prime minister, said Sunday.

The growing list of nations recognizing Palestine, which is expected also to include Australia after the U.N. gathering, reflect how the bloodshed and upheaval following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel have shaken up long-static diplomatic positions. Britain’s shift has special resonance given its controversial history governing what is now Israel and the Palestinian territories in the early 20th century under a mandate from the League of Nations — after making what critics say were unclear and contradictory promises to Arabs and Jews in the region… 🟪 (READ MORE)

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