#NEWS // BG Reads | April 6, 2023
[AUSTIN METRO]
New APD-DPS partnership sparks pushback, arrestS (Austin Monitor)
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson cited long-standing police staffing shortages, which have led to a?“decentralized” approach?to traffic enforcement among other things, when he announced last week that the Texas Department of Public Safety would soon begin playing a supportive role to the Austin Police Department. But the partnership has caused consternation among criminal justice reform advocates, some City Council members and others, who worry it will exacerbate already shaky police-community relations.
Between March 30, when DPS began assisting APD, and April 3, state troopers made 83 arrests, conducted 1,570 traffic stops, wrote 765 tickets and investigated 15 crashes, according to its communications department. Troopers also recovered six stolen vehicles and seized 11 firearms as well as 40 grams of heroin, 174 grams of cocaine and 127 kilograms of methamphetamine.?
Watson said during a?March 27 press conference?that the partnership was forged after conversations with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and would help APD stretch its limited resources. “This is support and supplement, not override, not overtake,” he said.
But the announcement prompted mixed reviews…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Tallest building in Austin set to open this falL (KVUE)
Austin's tallest building in set to open in the fall of 2023.?Sixth and Guadalupe?will be 66 stories and 875 feet high.
Construction is underway for nearly 350 apartment units. It will also have office space, retail and a restaurant called The Kitchen, run by Elon Musk’s brother, Kimbal.
"We wanted to do kind of an iconic building here," said Senior Vice President of the Development for Kairoi Residential Tony Curp…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Spurs to play games in Austin annually, Popovich says (Austin American-Statesman)
The Spurs will play games in Austin annually, coach Gregg Popovich said Wednesday.
“The bottom line is the Spurs organization just wants to expand the territory,” he said at a news conference. “We live here in this region, all the way from Mexico all the way to up here, and we’d like to spread that experience we’ve had with the Spurs to another area, and to do that we have to make the effort to be seen and to get up here and to play some games. And I think we will do that every year now. I don’t think, I know, and this is the start of it.”…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Why pro sports teams, including Austin FC, are investing in public transit expansion (Austin Business Journal)
When Austin FC worked with the city and its public transit agency Capital Metro to select the site for Q2 Stadium, access to potential light-rail expansion was a key driver. That expansion is happening now through $460 million worth of mobility bonds that Austin voters approved in late 2020 and includes a new train station adjacent to the Q2 Stadium property.
About 8% of Austin FC’s fans take public transit to each game, according to team President?Andy Loughnane, but it’s easy to see that number increasing once the $25 million McKalla Station is open and operating ahead of the 2024 Major League Soccer season. Increasing public transit access was important to Austin FC and was stipulated in its lease with the city, which owns Q2 Stadium. The club has invested $3.6 million in the McKalla Station and a bus stop in front of the stadium…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Texas Republicans say Donald Trump’s arrest puts country on path to ‘banana republic’ (Dallas Morning News)
Texas Republicans continued to stand behind former President Donald Trump as he surrendered himself Tuesday in New York on charges related to hush money paid to an adult film actress. Pilot Point Republican Rep. Michael Burgess tweeted out a call to action, urging supporters to “rally behind President Trump.” “What the Democrats in New York are trying to do to him and his campaign spits in the face of the Constitution and is election interference to the highest degree. #IStandWithTrump.” Trump allies have complained about unequal treatment, alleging political bias on the part of New York authorities.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, pointed to what he said is a double standard, with Democrat Hillary Clinton escaping prosecution when her 2016 presidential campaign misreported money it spent on the Steele dossier. The dossier included salacious allegations against Trump, many of which turned out to be unfounded. “If what Donald Trump did was a felony, then Hillary Clinton committed the same crime, except worse!” Cruz tweeted…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
‘Join me in voting against Prop A,’ Mayor Ron Nirenberg says (KSAT)
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg on Tuesday made his position known regarding Proposition A in the May 6 election. “I am encouraging voters to do their research before they go vote and then join me in voting against Prop A,” Nirenberg said Tuesday on KSAT 12 News at 6. If passed, Proposition A would decriminalize misdemeanor marijuana possession. San Antonio police would no longer be able to cite or arrest people for misdemeanor amounts of marijuana possession -- up to 4 ounces. The proposition would also prohibit SAPD officers from using the smell of marijuana or hemp as probable cause for a search, except in some circumstances.
The other centerpiece of Prop A is the section on abortion that would prohibit SAPD officers from investigating, making arrests, or otherwise enforcing “any alleged criminal abortion.” The only exceptions would be in instances where a pregnant person is coerced or forced or in cases involving conduct that’s criminally negligent to the health of the pregnant person seeking care. San Antonio appears to be the first Texas city to attempt to decriminalize abortion through a ballot initiative. Nirenberg said that the San Antonio City Council recently passed a resolution supporting women’s reproductive rights. “We need to work at the state level to get those rights restored,” he said. An anti-abortion group tried to get the Texas Supreme Court to step in and force the proposed charter amendment to be split into multiple ballot propositions and to delay it until the November election. However, the court ruled on March 17 that Prop A would appear as a single ballot measure in the May election…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
领英推荐
For McCarthy and Taiwan’s leader, visit marks historic first (AP News)
The moment was historic — a U.S. House speaker meeting Wednesday with the?president of Taiwan?for a rare visit on American soil, a high-profile encounter designed to boost support for the island government but already drawing?blowback from an enraged China.
For Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen the meeting with?House Speaker Kevin McCarthy?at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California was the most sensitive stop on her transit through the U.S. and Central America, a?whirlwind diplomatic mission?that is delicate, secretive and politically fraught.
But for the newly elected House speaker it would signal the start of his foray into foreign affairs. The Republican leader has focused more on domestic politics at home than international concerns abroad. Outspoken, even bellicose, against China, McCarthy chose to send a more measured and diplomatic nod of support to Taiwan with the meeting.?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
US chip controls threaten China’s technology ambitions (AP News)
Furious at U.S. efforts that cut off access to technology to make advanced computer chips,?China’s leaders?appear to be struggling to figure out how to retaliate without hurting their own ambitions in telecoms, artificial intelligence and other industries.
President Xi Jinping’s government sees the chips that are used in everything from phones to kitchen appliances to fighter jets as crucial assets in its?strategic rivalry?with Washington and efforts to gain wealth and global influence. Chips are the center of a “technology war,” a Chinese scientist wrote in an official journal in February.
China has its own chip foundries, but they supply only low-end processors used in autos and appliances. The U.S. government, starting under then-President Donald Trump, is cutting off access to a growing array of tools to make chips for computer servers, AI and other advanced applications. Japan and the?Netherlands?have joined in limiting access to technology they say might be used to make weapons…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
[BG PODCASTS]
Bingham Group Associate Hannah Garcia and CEO A.J. review the week in Austin politics.
Today's discussion centers around what we are calling the Bias Towards Action Era at city hall. This ethos has been expressed, and demonstrated, by both Austin Mayor Kirk Watson and Interim City Manager Jesús Garza in recent weeks. More on the show!
EPISODE 195
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