#NEWS // BG Reads | November 28, 2022
[AUSTIN METRO]
Council eyes planning around future light rail stations (Austin Monitor)
City Council is set to adopt a plan next month that will guide how areas around Project Connect transit stations develop.?
The?equitable transit-oriented development policy plan , launched?last summer ?following a $1.65 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration, aims to increase housing – particularly affordable housing – near stations while also preventing displacement.
While the plan does not by itself change zoning or make investments at specific stations, “it will set the course for how we might make these changes in the years to come,” Warner Cook, a staffer with the Housing and Planning Department, told the Housing and Planning Committee on Nov. 10…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin development updates could open the door for more housing on corridors (Community impact)
Austin City Council is preparing to pass land development code updates designed to allow larger residential additions—including affordable housing—in areas where such construction is limited.
Council’s Dec. 1 agenda features a pair of items that could open heavily trafficked streets across the city to more housing projects. If approved, the changes would go into effect more than a year after city officials?laid out a slate of options ?to tackle the local affordability crisis,?including the proposals ?now up for consideration…? (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Chamber economic forecast sees Austin strong despite inflation, recession worries (Austin Monitor)
Economist Mark Dotzour said Texas and Austin specifically are benefiting from a pullback of investment in China, with that production tending to head most to a handful of six southern states including Texas, North Carolina, Florida and Arizona that are desirable for labor talent and favorable for business investment. That fuel for growth is so strong that Dotzour said it will likely require a revision of Austin’s future population estimates that had the metro region on pace to cross the 3 million mark by 2030…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Houston issues boil water notice for 2.2 million customers (Texas Tribune)
The city of Houston is under a boil water notice due to a Sunday morning power outage at its East Water Purification Plant. According to?Houston Public Works , its water system serves 2.2 million customers.
Residents of the fourth largest city in the country should boil all water used for food preparation, drinking bathing or brushing teeth for three minutes, and avoid using water from refrigerators or ice makers. Those who cannot boil water are advised to use bottled water.
Houston ISD ?has closed all schools, offices and facilities on Monday in response to the boil water notice…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Army of gambling lobbyists descends on Austin as casinos seek to crack Texas market (Houston Chronicle)
Even before Gov. Greg Abbott declared in October that he’s willing to consider expanded gaming options in Texas, that industry was trying to improve its odds in the state by doling out massive campaign donations and building an army of lobbyists in preparation for the legislative session that begins in January. More than 300 lobbyists are now registered in Texas to work on gambling issues, according to state records, led by Las Vegas Sands, which added another just last week and now has 72 — the most lobbyists in Texas for any single group or business. They are hardly alone. A newly created Sports Betting Alliance, BetMGM, Caesar’s, Boyd Gaming and Landry’s Entertainment, along with sports gaming companies like FanDuel and DraftKings, have all loaded up in what many in the gaming industry see as their best chance in decades to do business in Texas…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
This affluent city in Mexico has become a waystation for migrants with eyes on Texas (Dallas Morning News)
Graced with Lone Star brands like H-E-B, Whataburger and 7-Eleven, this affluent city in northeastern Mexico is home to global conglomerates and posh neighborhoods, enjoying strong economic and cultural ties to Dallas-Fort Worth. It’s a mere two-hour drive from the Texas border. Francisco Contreras, who migrated here from Guatemala, has grown fond of Mexico’s third largest metro, with its wide avenues, skyscrapers and plentiful jobs. Then there are the smuggling organizations. They’ve offered to take him to the United States, he said, to a choice of destinations. It was late summer. Standing outside a faith-based shelter, borrowing a cellphone, he pointed to a map of border cities within a short ride. He said he’s in no “real hurry” to continue his journey to North Texas, where he knows many other Guatemalans working in construction. “I’m waiting,” he said, “for the right moment.”…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
GOP lawmakers target corporate law firms over hot-button issues (Houston Chronicle)
Republican lawmakers in Texas and Washington, D.C., are threatening some of the nation’s largest corporate law firms if they provide what the lawmakers consider to be improper advice on issues such as climate change, diversity and abortion. Texas legislators have even threatened business lawyers with criminal prosecution and disbarment. In letters sent Nov. 3, five GOP senators on the Judiciary Committee told 51 of the nation's largest law firms, including 33 with offices and lawyers in Texas, that they have a "duty to inform clients of the risks they incur by participating in climate cartels and other ill-advised ESG schemes." The memo doesn't describe what a "scheme" involving environmental, social and governance principles might look like. Nor does it say what is objectionable about efforts to defend the environment or democratize corporate capitalism…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
领英推荐
As end of Texas tax break looms, fate unclear for billions in potential projects (Austin American-Statesman)
The next few weeks could be key for the fate of billions of dollars in potential corporate expansion projects in the Austin metro area and statewide. That’s because the possibility of tax breaks under one of the biggest economic development programs in Texas disappears at the end of this year, when the so-called Chapter 313 incentives program is set to expire and no new deals will be authorized under it. With the clock ticking, pending Chapter 313 applications for nearly 200 potential projects across the state — including a number in the Austin area involving Samsung and NXP Semiconductors, as well as Linde Inc., a Samsung supplier — had yet to receive certification from the Texas comptroller’s office, a critical step in the process to win final approval…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
Newsom told the White House he won’t challenge Biden (Politico)
Gov. Gavin Newsom has won three elections in five years in America’s largest state, is apoplectic about his party’s messaging defects and follows Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the right-wing media ecosystem with a zeal that would put some opposition researchers to shame. But Newsom wants the word to go forth: He’s not going to challenge President Biden for the Democratic nomination in 2024. “I’ve told everyone in the White House, from the chief of staff to the first lady,” he recounted to me as we sat on the top floor of California’s now-ceremonial governor’s mansion on election night… It's no trick; Merriam-Webster says 'gaslighting' is the word of the year…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
Thousands of toddler sippy cups and bottles are recalled over lead poisoning risk (NPR)
Green Sprouts, a maker of reusable baby products sold at chain retailers including Whole Foods and Bed Bath & Beyond, is recalling its stainless-steel cups and bottles over a?lead poisoning hazard .
The voluntary recall, issued last week, affects about 10,500 units, according to an alert on the?U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's website . The recall applies to the Green Sprouts 6-ounce Stainless Steel Sippy Cup, Sip & Straw Cup and its 8-ounce Stainless Steel Straw Bottle…?(LINK TO FULL STORY)
[HEARINGS AND MEETINGS]
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[BG PODCAST]
Bingham Group Associate Hannah Garcia and CEO A.J. recap the week (and the week ahead) in City of Austin Politics. (Episode 172)
Also available on?Apple Podcasts ?and?Spotify
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