BG Reads // September 23, 2025

Author

A.J. Bingham
September 23, 2025

faustin a

Presented By

www.binghamgp.com

September 23, 2025

✅ Today's BG Reads include:

🟪 Fall is getting off to a hot start in Austin, but relief is on the way (KUT)

🟪 Fed rate cut could help city jump start stalled redevelopment projects (Austin Monitor)

🟪 A city program gives money to Austinites displaced by development. It's not enough, one study says. (KUT)

🟪 “Bathroom bill” aimed at trans people signed into law after decade of failed attempts (Texas Tribune)

🟪 Ted Cruz says conservatives “will regret” Trump’s FCC chairman going after Jimmy Kimmel (Texas Tribune)

🟪 Tylenol maker says it ‘strongly disagrees’ with Trump’s claims about acetaminophen (PBS)

🟪 Unease grows at the Justice Department as Trump's threats get even more blunt (NPR)

READ ON!

[CITY OF AUSTIN]

🏛️ City Manager Executives and Advisors Staff Visual Chart

CMO Executives and Advisors_July 2025.pdf519.20 KB • PDF File

[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]

✅ Fall is getting off to a hot start in Austin, but relief is on the way (KUT)

Only a few more scorching hot days are expected in Austin before a mild (ish) fall sets in, according to the National Weather Service.

A cold front arriving Wednesday is expected to bring thunderstorms and drop daytime highs to the low 90s. By Friday, morning lows will drop to the high 60s and stay there for the foreseeable future, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Mack Morris.

Overall, Morris expects this fall to be slightly warmer and drier than normal, but not oppressive like recent years. Last October was the hottest and driest in Austin — by far — in 126 years of record keeping.

“Last year we had highs in the 90s basically every single day,” Morris said. “Hopefully we aren’t tortured again this year.”

Morris said this year’s relatively mild summer sets the precedent for an easy fall. This year, the National Weather Service only recorded 11 hours of triple-digit heat at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. In 2023, they recorded 270 hours… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Fed rate cut could help city jump start stalled redevelopment projects (Austin Monitor)

City staff expressed optimism on Wednesday that improvements in capital markets could create positive momentum for stalled redevelopment projects on a variety of city parcels. At a briefing to City Council’s Audit and Finance Committee, staff from the Financial Services Department cited the The Federal Reserve System’s recent interest rate cut as a sign that projects such as the St. John and HealthSouth sites could be ready to move forward following years of planning and false starts.

Christine Maguire, manager of the Redevelopment Division, noted both projects had previously been entitled and were moving toward implementation but have faced delays due to market uncertainty, increased vacancy rates in the multifamily sector and high borrowing costs.

The St. John site, located near I-35 and previously occupied by a Home Depot and Chrysler dealership, was fully rezoned in 2022 and had its buildings demolished last year. A development agreement was finalized with partners Greystar and the Housing Authority of the City of Austin, with expectations for mixed-income housing, expanded park space and new retail… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ A city program gives money to Austinites displaced by development. It's not enough, one study says. (KUT)

When Austin residents are forced to leave their homes because of new development, the city offers some assistance. But a new study finds it may not go far enough.

In 2016, the city started requiring developers to provide advanced notice and relocation resources, including financial assistance, to certain residents being forced to leave their homes. The ordinance covered families living in apartments, mobile home parks and other types of multifamily properties facing redevelopment. In 2017, the state of Texas passed legislation that prohibits cities from mandating financial assistance from developers in this way. So the city in 2023 created its own tenant relocation assistance program, which gives money directly to families.

But city leaders wanted to better understand how residents are impacted financially by forced relocation. In 2023, the Austin City Council commissioned a study conducted by Portland-based research firm ECOnorthwest. It found that moving costs can range from $3,100 to $15,000 depending on the size of the household. Austin’s program provides up to $6,000 per household… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Austin looking for input on East Sixth Street traffic redesign (Austin Business Journal)

One of Austin’s main entrances to its downtown is set to undergo changes to its traffic patterns, and the city is looking for input. 

The city of Austin released several redesign options that could change the traffic patterns of East Sixth Street between I-35 and Congress Avenue.

The three design alternatives are on the city's SpeakUpAustin website, which is used for online community engagement. All the design alternatives proposed involve reducing traffic to two main lanes for vehicles traveling into downtown, expanding the sidewalks and adding bollards for pedestrian safety, as well as putting more trees on the street. The alternative design proposals differ in the exact size of sidewalks, the number of bike lanes and parking options on the street.

Businesses and individuals can provide input on these design options by visiting this city webpage…  🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Leander Mayor Christine DeLisle announces unexpected end to term (Community Impact)

Leander Mayor Christine DeLisle announced she would leave her post at City Council’s Sept. 18 meeting.

“[Our family has] made the decision to relocate,” DeLisle said.

Mayor Pro Tem Na’Cole Thompson will serve in DeLisle’s absence. DeLisle will hold her post until Oct. 16, she said.

“Continuity of government is important, so over the next few weeks, I’ll be working with our pro tem on transition. I intend to serve every day to the best of my ability until the end of our meeting on Oct. 16,” DeLisle said… 🟪 (READ MORE)

[TEXAS/US NEWS]

✅ “Bathroom bill” aimed at trans people signed into law after decade of failed attempts (Texas Tribune)

Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday signed a bill that would restrict which restrooms transgender people can use in government buildings and schools and fines institutions up to $125,000 for violations.

Senate Bill 8, which goes into effect on Dec. 4, restricts bathroom use in government-owned buildings, public schools and universities based of sex assigned at birth and does not allow exceptions for transgender inmates’ housing in prisons and jails. It also bars those assigned male at birth from accessing women’s domestic violence shelters, unless they are under 17 and the child of a woman also receiving services.

Bathroom bills proposing civil or criminal penalties for entering restrooms not matching biological sex have been proposed in Texas for more than a decade, and 19 other states have successfully passed their own proposals. The Texas House, however, largely failed to garner traction for previous bathroom bills after a tense battle over one proposal in 2017. The Texas Senate has passed six different bathroom bills since 2017… 🟪 (READ MORE) 

✅ Ted Cruz says conservatives “will regret” Trump’s FCC chairman going after Jimmy Kimmel (Texas Tribune)

Sen. Ted Cruz on Friday said the Federal Communications Commission chairman’s threat to revoke ABC’s broadcast license over comments made by Jimmy Kimmel was “dangerous as hell” — a far more critical stance than Cruz’s Republican colleagues have taken since the late night host was booted from the air.

A free speech fracas erupted earlier this week after ABC indefinitely suspended Kimmel, hours after Carr had condemned his monologue about the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk. On his show, Kimmel had denounced the MAGA movement for “desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them.”

Carr, speaking on a right-wing podcast, noted that the FCC grants ABC a broadcast license and that ABC has a responsibility to operate in the public interest.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said. “These companies can find ways to change conduct, to take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”… 🟪 (READ MORE) 

✅ Tylenol maker says it ‘strongly disagrees’ with Trump’s claims about acetaminophen (PBS)

The manufacturer of Tylenol, the best-selling form of acetaminophen, said Monday that it “strongly disagrees” with President Donald Trump’s suggestion that its drug may cause autism.

Kenvue said in a statement that “sound science clearly shows that taking acetaminophen does not cause autism.” The company pointed to scientific reviews by multiple government regulators worldwide, including those previously published by the FDA.

In a White House announcement, Trump on Monday promoted unproven ties between Tylenol, vaccines and autism without offering new evidence.

Shares of Kenvue Inc. fell 7.5% in trading Monday, reducing the company’s market value by about $2.6 billion. Tylenol’s original manufacturer, Johnson & Johnson, spun off the best-selling brand in 2023. In addition to Tylenol, acetaminophen is used in hundreds of other over-the-counter cold and flu formulas… 🟪 (READ MORE) 

✅ Unease grows at the Justice Department as Trump's threats get even more blunt (NPR)

President Trump is openly directing the Justice Department to go after his political adversaries, adding to a sense of unease inside the department about job security and ethical obligations.

Even in an era of nonstop social media posts, Trump's weekend update stopped many government attorneys in their tracks. The president said he wanted to see justice served.

"We can't delay any longer, it's killing our reputation and credibility," he wrote.

What Trump said couldn't wait are criminal investigations of his most prominent critics: former FBI Director Jim Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and California Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff.

His post emerged only hours after the top federal prosecutor in northern Virginia left his job under pressure. Erik Siebert had worked closely with Trump's top DOJ leaders this year, but he concluded he could not seek criminal charges the president wanted against James.

Now Lindsey Halligan, who had been serving as a special assistant to the president, was sworn in Monday as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, though she has no prosecutorial experience. Most recently, she's been helping Trump remove what he calls "improper ideology" from the Smithsonian museums… 🟪 (READ MORE) 

Have comments or questions? 📩 Contact me