#NEWS // BG Reads | February 2, 2023
[AUSTIN METRO]
Austin Energy says some customers' power might not be restored until Friday night (KUT)
Austin Energy told City Council members it hoped to have power restored to all its customers by 6 p.m. Friday.
"Restoration efforts have been slow due to consistently freezing temperatures and accumulating ice," the utility said in a message Mayor Pro Tem Paige Ellis?posted on Twitter. "Additionally, we're experiencing repeated outages in affected areas as trees and branches continue to topple on our power lines, leading to additional outages."
More than 170,000 customers didn't have power at one point Wednesday as the winter storm rolled through Central Texas.
The winter storm warning from the National Weather Service has extended for the Austin area and the Hill Country until 10 a.m. Thursday. Freezing rain is possible across the area overnight.
The power outages are being caused by local issues, like ice accumulating on power lines, utility poles and tree limbs. They’re?not the result?of a statewide electric grid problem. Williamson and Hays counties are also?seeing?outages…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Council approves measures to help child care providers (Austin Monitor)
At its first meeting of the year, City Council voted unanimously to direct the city manager to work on ways to lower the barriers to setting up new child care facilities and reduce parking requirements for such businesses. Council Member Vanessa Fuentes led the charge, with co-sponsors Alison Alter, José Velásquez, Natasha Harper-Madison and Mayor Kirk Watson, to reduce costs for child care operators, especially those that want to open centers in underserved neighborhoods.
Council took action after hearing from members of the public who described their frustrations in finding affordable child care and trying to set up their own child care services.
Council Member Chito Vela added language to eliminate a Land Development Code?provision that requires child care facilities to have parking. Council Member Mackenzie Kelly was particularly interested in adding a provision to help out public safety workers, such as firefighters and 911 and 311 call takers, who may work overnight hours. Velásquez added a provision about making sure the employees of such child care centers receive a living wage. The ordinance won unanimous approval…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Suspension of City Operations Extended Through Thursday, Feb. 2 (City of Austin)
The suspension of regular non-essential City of Austin operations is being extended through the end of Thursday, Feb. 2, due to the ongoing impact of winter weather. During this time, all essential public safety services and essential employees will continue responding to the winter weather event…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
New cultural arts awards bring opportunities, disappointment for applicants (Austin Monitor)
Staff in the city’s Cultural Arts Division prepared themselves to hear some frustration in response to the selection of the first recipients of a radically structured system for awarding arts contracts.
During last week’s Arts Commission meeting, staffers?reviewed?the steps involved in scoring and selecting the 35 recipients of $3.8 million in funding dedicated to the Thrive program, which awards two-year contracts to organizations that have been operating for more than five years. There were 146 eligible applicants and 59 semifinalists selected for Thrive, the first of three programs introduced by the city after a three-year restructuring process aimed at bringing more equity and diversity to funding local artists and arts groups.
The 35 recipients were expected to be informed of their status this week, with the city anticipating the first installment of contract money to be available in April or May.?After recipients are notified, the slate of awards will go before City Council for funding approval on Feb. 23.
Some Arts Commission members said the new process for awarding contracts could potentially be as fraught as it was in 2018, when the city made its first substantial change in evaluation criteria for applicants to emphasize newer groups and underserved populations. The decision brought loud criticism from arts leaders whose groups had continually received city money and were suddenly shut out, leading to the lengthy and very public feedback-heavy restructuring…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin FC adds sponsors including Chevron, AMD ahead of 2023 season (Austin Business Journal)
Heading into its third season in Major League Soccer, Austin FC has added five new corporate partners to its already robust sponsorship portfolio under multiyear agreements.
The newcomers are energy corporation Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX), Austin Telco Federal Credit Union, chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (Nasdaq: AMD), The UPS Store and Ubeo Business Services.
"Austin may be the smallest media market within MLS, but the corporate base in Austin has demonstrated there is a strong appetite to align with Austin FC's community-focused approach, connect to our passionate fanbase and integrate within the fabric of our world-class venue," said Austin FC President?Andy Loughnane. Financial terms of the deals were not disclosed.
Austin FC saw success both on and off the field in 2022, reaching the Western Conference finals and?piling up 107 sponsorships, according to data from SponsorUnited. It was one of three teams with 90 sponsorships or more, dwarfing the league average of 62…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Hundreds of thousands of Texans still don’t have heat, and some Austin-area outages could last until Friday (Texas Tribune)
Hundreds of thousands of businesses and households across Central and East Texas remained without power Thursday, as utility crews continue scrambling to fix power lines downed by freezing rain and fallen trees.
Statewide, more than 400,000 customers didn't have electricity Thursday morning. About 150,000 of those are served by Austin Energy, which warned that some outages could extend until 6 p.m. Friday. The outages persist as residents head into another day of closed college campuses, public schools and a paused Legislature…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Potential 2024 GOP presidential hopefuls headed to Austin for retreat with donors (Texas Tribune)
A host of big-name Republicans, including many potential 2024 presidential candidates, are set to visit Austin later this month for a private retreat for donors to a Texas voter registration effort.
Speakers for the Feb. 24 conference include former Vice President Mike Pence, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. That is according to an email that went out last week from Karl Rove, the veteran GOP strategist who helps raise money for the registration initiative, known as the Texas Voter Engagement Project.
The email teased “two more special guests we hope to announce soon.” One of them is U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, according to an updated invitation Wednesday…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
领英推荐
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis headed for Greg Abbott’s Texas turf to headline GOP fundraisers (Dallas Morning News)
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, widely considered a top 2024 presidential contender, is headed to Texas next month to headline two local Republican Party fundraising dinners. On March 4, DeSantis is scheduled to attend the annual Dallas County Republican Party’s Reagan Day Dinner. That’s after his planned appearance in Houston for the Harris County GOP’s Lincoln Reagan Dinner. “Ron DeSantis is popular across the county and he’s a great speaker. We’re excited about it,” said Dallas County Republican Party Chairwoman Jennifer Stoddard-Hajdu. “Clearly there may be some Trump supporters who don’t like it, but most people are looking forward to it.” Former President Donald Trump has already announced his campaign for the White House and is considered the frontrunner…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
College Board's revised AP African American studies course draws new criticism (NPR)
The College Board released the official curriculum for a new Advanced Placement course in African American studies on Wednesday, the first day of Black History Month.?But people are divided on some of the changes announced in the curriculum weeks?after the state of Florida banned the course.
In the?announcement, College Board CEO David Coleman called the newly revised course, which high schoolers can take for college credit, "an unflinching encounter with the facts and evidence of African American history and culture."
But critics point out that the newest iteration of the course is now missing several themes and voices from Black scholars that were originally presented in a?pilot program?already being taught at dozens of schools this year across the country. Others are saying that changes to the curriculum were made to appease Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis after his administration?rejected the original iteration of the course last month…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
US to widen military presence in Philippines amid China feaR (Associated Press)
The United States and the Philippines announced an expansion of America’s military presence in the Southeast Asian country on Thursday, with U.S. forces granted access to four more military camps, effectively giving Washington new ground to ramp up deterrence against China.
The agreement between the longtime allies was made public during the visit of U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who has led efforts to strengthen America’s security alliances in Asia in the face of China’s?increasing assertiveness toward Taiwan?and territorial disputes in the South China Sea…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
[MEETINGS/HEARINGS NEXT WEEK]
TUESDAY, February 7
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9
[BG PODCAST]
Bingham Group Associate Hannah Garcia and CEO A.J. review the week in Austin politics including:
The Austin Councils first full meeting of 2023 (held on 1.26):?bit.ly/3Y2dFrR?; and
Austin Parks and Recreation Board's discussion on the Zilker Park Vision Plan:?bit.ly/3wyCrUO
Episode 182
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