BG Reads | News - October 26, 2022
[AUSTIN METRO]
First day of early voting brings over 35,000 ballots in Travis County (Community Impact)
Over 35,000 Travis County voters cast ballots on the first day of early voting, Oct. 24
The first day of early voting for the Nov. 8 election brought in 35,393 ballots, just under 4% of the total number of registered voters in Travis County, according to the Travis County clerk's office.
Of those, 25,343 votes were cast in-person, 10,041 were mail-in, and nine were limited ballots—ballots for voters who are registered in a different Texas county…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Chief says city working hard to get more 911 employees (Austin Monitor)
Reporting to City Council Tuesday, Police Chief Joseph Chacon stressed the department’s commitment to returning the number of 911 call takers and police dispatcher staff to normal levels as soon as possible.
The city has attempted to address the vacancies, primarily through increasing wages. But headlines about callers being placed on hold during an emergency?continue.
Chacon said currently callers average 2.5 minutes on hold after dialing 911. The industry best practice is to answer 90 percent of calls within 15 seconds, he said, adding that two of three calls answered by the city’s 911 operators are answered within 15 seconds…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Staff unveils long-awaited Palm School District draft plan (Austin Monitor)
City staff members presented the?draft?version?of the long-awaited Palm District Plan to the Environmental Commission last week.
City Council?commissioned the plan?in 2019 as it sparred with Travis County over the future of the?county-owned Palm School site. The resolution instructed city staff to engage with the public and learn the community’s vision for the future of the historically Mexican American district, which also includes Waller Creek, Red River Cultural District, Rainey Street, the Austin Convention Center and the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center.
This is the first time the Environmental Commission has been updated on the plan’s progress since 2019, because the process was delayed due to the pandemic. Staffers are seeking input on the public review draft that was released Oct. 13…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Once ‘lifeless’ downtown district transformed into health care hub (Community Impact)
Five years ago, the now demolished University Medical Center Brackenridge sat empty; plans to close the Frank Erwin Center were well in the works; and Waterloo Greenway, then called Waller Creek Conservancy, had just broken ground on the Waterloo Park project.
Since then, northeast downtown has transformed into a health-focused innovation district—complete with a state-of-the-art teaching hospital known as Dell Seton Medical Center at The University of Texas at Austin, and UT Health, Dell Medical’s clinical practice—and ushered in new office space, Waterloo Park and the Moody Center…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
New leadership installed at SXSW (Austin Business Journal)
Austin's famous South by Southwest Conference and Festivals said Oct. 24 that co-founder?Roland Swenson?is shifting from CEO to a new role as executive chairman.
Meanwhile, the organization named Chief Brand Officer?Jann Baskett?and Chief Programming Officer?Hugh Forrest?as co-presidents in charge of day-to-day leadership. They will also maintain their roles leading brand and programming…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin airport sees biggest day ever: 43,000 outbound travelers after F1 (KUT)
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport had its busiest day ever Monday as crowds left town after the U.S. Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas.
The one-day total of 43,177 departing passengers broke the previous record — set just a week earlier after the Austin City Limits Music Festival — by almost 8,000 travelers…(LINK TO FULL STORY)
领英推荐
$669M solar farm plan rejected for Chapter 313 incentives in Bastrop County after neighbors express environmental concern (Austin Business Journal)
Neighbors in the largely rural area east of Austin have spent months organizing and rallying against the project, forming the group?Friends of the Land?to express primarily ecological concerns about the project. They've spoken out at public meetings, met with elected officials and spread the word.
Those efforts came to fruition late on Oct. 24 when the Elgin ISD board voted unanimously to reject a Chapter 313 application from Solar Proponent that company representatives said were a key determination in whether or not it's get built.
It's rare for a Chapter 313 application to get rejected, joining only?one other known recent instance in Round Rock. Still, the future of the project remains to be seen…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin City Council calls for Central Health board of managers applications (City of Austin)
The Austin City Council seeks applications from qualified individuals to serve on the nine-member Board of Managers of Central Health. The opening is to fill a new term that will run from January 2023 through December 31, 2026…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
San Antonio buys a $325,000 road map to an undefined economic development destination (San Antonio Express-News)
A new economic development plan produced for the city by outside consultants — including a firm headed by political heavyweights Leticia Van de Putte and Hope Andrade — has raised concerns among City Council members who say it lacks specifics and doesn’t get San Antonio closer to its goals. Its chief recommendations call for strengthening the city’s workforce, assisting local businesses and “place-making.”
Some recommendations from the plan, which the city paid $325,000 to produce, mirror earlier reports prepared for the cities of Arlington and Fort Worth. “I saw a lot of generic stuff in there that I probably could’ve done on my own for a lot less money,” District 10 Councilman Clayton Perry said. “You should be hiring a consultant for their expertise in putting something together because you don’t have that expertise in-house. And I certainly think we have that expertise and could have done this level of document in-house.”…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Texas AG Ken Paxton leans into controversy, brushes off scandals as he vies for reelection (Dallas Morning News)
Ken Paxton settled in across from two Austin police officers and asked them not to turn on their recorder. The attorney general didn’t want the public to hear what he was about to say. Over the next hour, Paxton fretted that a campaign donor was threatening to kill him. That this person had tried to hack his car’s GPS system. That Google, which he had sued that day, may track him through his phone. Paxton insisted he wasn’t imagining the danger. “I don’t need them tracking me and knowing what I’m doing,” Paxton said about the tech giant in the interview, which he eventually agreed to be recorded, at the special investigations unit of the Austin Police Department. “It sounds paranoid, but I can’t let them — the less they know about me the better.” During a wide-ranging interview in October 2020, Paxton said he never before felt this at risk. For the first time in his 20-year political career, he said he had asked his detail for round-the-clock security…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
HEARINGS AND MEETINGS
Wednesday
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[BG PODCAST]
Today's episode (168) features a discussion on entrepreneurship and lobbying with Mustafa Rashed, Founder and President, of Philadelphia-based Bellevue Strategies.
He and Bingham Group CEO A.J. also discuss current municipal issues in the Philadelphia market.
Enjoyed this episode? Please like, share, and comment!?Follow?Bingham Group on LinkedIn!