#NEWS // BG Reads | December 29, 2022
[AUSTIN CITY HALL]
2023 Council Staff Picks
[AUSTIN METRO]
In D9, Qadri wants to ensure "an abundance of affordable housing” (Austin Monitor)
Just past 10 p.m. on Dec. 13, after a night frantically pacing around the Whip In shaking hands, posing for pictures and checking on election updates, Zohaib Qadri – more commonly known as Zo – felt comfortable declaring victory in the District 9 race for City Council.
His win, by just 343 votes, was the culmination of a year of canvassing, handing out flyers and rallying the residents of Central Austin behind a message of streamlining the Land Development Code, increasing access to public transit, bolstering police oversight, and putting an emphasis on representation, becoming the first Muslim and South Asian elected to City Council.
“I’ve been part of communities that have never had representation, whether it be South Asian or Muslim. So, I may be the first of those communities. I sure hope I’m not the last,” Qadri says…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Alter highlights efforts to make Austin more resilient (Austin Monitor)
After a tumultuous few years, Mayor Pro Tem Alison Alter has focused this year on making sure the city is able to weather whatever future shocks may lie ahead, be they public health emergencies, natural disasters or economic distress.
“I’ve been really focused on advancing resilience and the long-term health of our city through good governance,” Alter told the Austin Monitor.?
Improving access to medical services is one of Alter’s top priorities. She highlighted her support for adding more epidemiologists to the city’s payroll, allowing the city to better respond to and prepare for public health emergencies, and for bolstering a?paramedic practitioner program, which helps people avoid expensive and unnecessary ambulance trips by bringing doctors to the field…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Mobility, housing progress among the highlights of Cronk’s ‘most normal year’ in Austin (Austin Monitor)
Spencer Cronk takes a measure of perspective when asked to look back on 2022 and a year that demanded constant attention to homelessness, ongoing labor negotiation, and persistent difficulties filling open positions within city government, among other issues. After a pandemic that has spanned more than two years and a winter storm that crippled utilities statewide in 2021, the past year feels tame by comparison.
“I really do consider this my most normal year since I’ve been here,” said Cronk, who has served as Austin’s city manager since early 2018. The relative calm allowed Cronk and city staff numbering roughly 16,000 to focus on longer-term work and priorities such as making progress implementing the Project Connect transit plan, hiring more than 60 new officers for the Austin Police Department, and creating more than 400 income-restricted homes in a bid to help address the city’s housing crisis.
Other highlights Cronk noted in his own?Year in Review memo?posted in early December include taking steps to improve the city’s resiliency during climate or other disasters, and implementing new workforce development programs to help enrollees secure middle-income jobs…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin Police Chief Joseph Chacon reflects on 2022 successes, improvements for 2023 (CBS Austin)
As 2022 comes to a close, Austin Police Chief Joseph Chacon says there have been both successful moments and places where they've fallen short. This year marks Chief Jospeh Chacon’s first full calendar year at the helm. In the new year, Chacon and the department will be working with a new mayor, new council members, and potentially working under a new contract and strategic plan.
In an interview with CBS Austin, Chacon says the starting of the?police academy with new training curriculum?is one of the biggest accomplishments of the year.
“Everything from strong de-escalation techniques, to making sure that our cadets are trained the right way, that’s been kind if the centerpiece for the biggest positive thing that happened in 2022,” said Chacon…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Microtransit Takes Off in Central Texas (Austin Chronicle)
As Austin's pursuit of transformative public transit goes big, little transit, or "microtransit," is quietly sprouting up in cities throughout the region. Microtransit takes many forms, ranging from van services that pick up and drop off riders in set zones to subsidized Ubers – also in specific zones. The more flexible form of public transit has become an important part of the transportation ecosystem for Capital Metro, as well as the cities of Kyle, Pflugerville, and, starting in early 2023, Round Rock.
Of the three cities, Kyle is the old hand with its current program…?LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
President of pilots union blames Southwest leadership for the airline's holiday woes (Dallas Business Journal)
The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association says that the blame for the dysfunction falls not on staffing but rather on outdated technology requiring pilots and flight attendants to call a dispatch center.
"It’s a nightmare -- it’s worse than we’ve ever seen it," said Capt. Casey Murray, the association’s president. "We’re staffed correctly. It’s once something occurs, some type of disruption to the processes start to fail, the IT starts to fail, and we end up exactly where we’re at.”…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
领英推荐
On the eve of his retirement, a look back at Nelson Wolff’s half century of public service (San Antonio Report)
Nelson Wolff spent much of his career physically reshaping San Antonio and Bexar County, through development projects he shepherded as a member of the state Legislature, mayor of San Antonio and Bexar County Judge.
Given a?windfall of federal funding?at the end of his career, however, Wolff has dedicated much of his final chapter to a legacy that won’t take shape until long after he’s left office: improving the health care systems he believed failed many residents during the COVID-19 pandemic…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Greg Abbott calls for investigation into Atmos Energy following disrupted natural gas services during freeze (Texas Tribune)
Texas Gov.?Greg Abbott?asked the attorney general and the head of the state agency that regulates oil and gas drilling to investigate Atmos Energy, the state’s largest natural gas provider, for a failure to prepare for the frigid temperatures that slammed the state last week.
On Dec. 23, Dallas-based Atmos asked its 2 million customers around Texas to conserve their gas use by lowering their thermostats, not using gas fireplaces and refraining from using their washers, dryers and ovens throughout an unusually frigid Christmas weekend.
The company reported low gas pressure in?cities across North?and?Central Texas?that left some customers without heat…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
Southwest Airlines flight cancellations continue to snowball (Associated Press)
Travelers who counted on Southwest Airlines to get them home suffered another wave of canceled flights Wednesday, and pressure grew on the federal government to help customers get reimbursed for unexpected expenses they incurred because of the airline’s meltdown.
Exhausted Southwest travelers tried finding seats on other airlines or renting cars to get to their destination, but many remained stranded. The airline’s CEO said it could be next week before the flight schedule returns to normal…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Santos struggles in Fox News interview about lying and integrity (Politico)
Rep.-elect George Santos had a difficult time explaining away the discrepancies in his résumé during a Fox News interview with Tulsi Gabbard, who came down hard on the New York Republican for his recent controversy.
As Santos conceded that several lies he made about his credentials were “a mistake,” Gabbard — a former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii and the guest host of “Tucker Carlson Tonight” — refused to let him off the hook on Tuesday, pushing him on the definition of integrity and his “blatant lies.”…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Most Americans couldn’t afford to buy their own home today: survey (The Hill)
A homeowner’s refrain, oft-heard around the nation’s capital in recent years, has hardened into sobering fact: Most Americans couldn’t afford to buy their own home in today’s market.?
Fifty-five percent of U.S. homeowners say they could not raise the funds to purchase their home at current prices and interest rates, according to the 2022 Housing Affordability Survey by Cato Institute, findings released this month…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
[UPCOMING MEETINGS]
[BG PODCAST]
Bingham Group Associate Hannah Garcia and CEO A.J. catch-up on the short holiday week including:
Council staff picks; Official runoff election results (LINK TO FINAL RESULTS:?bit.ly/3FMlZEv); and this week’s winter storm advisory
Episode 178
The BG Podcast is also available on?Apple Podcasts,?Soundcloud, and?Spotify
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Also available on?Apple Podcasts?and?Spotify