BG Reads | News - June 9, 2022
[HEARINGS]
Today
Hotel industry rebound pinches city’s acquisition strategy to solve homelessness (Austin Monitor)
The city may have to shift away from its strategy of converting hotels and motels into temporary and permanent supportive housing sites for the homeless, due to a rebound in the lodging market that has raised prices and cut down on available properties.
Tuesday’s City Council work session included a progress report from homeless strategy officer Dianna Grey on the city’s goal of providing housing for approximately 3,000 homeless residents in the next three years. The update notes that $422 million has been raised toward the estimated $515 million cost of achieving that goal, with $8 million in new money coming in recently from the state of Texas and private donors.
Grey said the Housing-Focused Encampment Assistance Link, or HEAL initiative, has thus far succeeded in dispersing and providing housing for the inhabitants of nine homeless encampments around the city, with 267 people assisted in finding shelter.
The biggest hindrance in expanding and accelerating the initiative is the limited number of bridge shelters available to the city, with one of the two currently in operation slated to be converted to permanent supportive housing, thus removing it as a temporary housing option for those in other encampments on HEAL’s list for future attention.
For more than a year, the city’s primary solution to providing shelter and permanent housing has been acquiring hotels or motels that can fairly quickly be converted for long-term living… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Affordable housing options split between West and East Austin (Community Impact)
As the city of Austin moves toward its goal of building more affordable housing, options have not been evenly available for residents across the city, a 2021 report from HousingWorks found.
In a breakdown of affordable housing in Austin by City Council district, Austin nonprofit HousingWorks found that few affordable housing options existed for residents on the west side of the city, with the majority of units clustered in East and South Austin. Lower-income districts 1, 2 and 3 encompassed 58% of available subsidized housing, while districts 6, 8 and 10—with some of the highest housing prices and rents—contained less than 6%… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
'Small town' for how long? Georgetown leads nation in population growth (Austin American-Statesman)
Take a bow Georgetown. The U.S. Census Bureau has named the city the fastest-growing town in the country by percentage among cities with populations of at least 50,000. Leander came in second on the same list. The top ratings for the two Williamson County cities are not surprising, officials there said. "Lots of people recognize that Georgetown is a wonderful place to live and we welcome them," Mayor Josh Schroeder said in a news conference. "We welcome them. In fact our new slogan is that they are more than welcome in Georgetown, Texas." Leander Mayor Christine Delisle said the jobs coming into Central Texas have made the city an inviting place to live. "We attract young families for the most part," she said, "and they are coming to us with hopes of a better future."
Georgetown grew by 10.5 % from July 2020 to July 2021, a rate of growth that will double the population in less than seven years, according to a news release from the Census Bureau. Its population was estimated at 75,420 in 2021, the release said. Georgetown also was listed as the country's fastest-growing city by the Census Bureau from July 2014 to July 2015. Leander grew by 10.1% from July 2020 to July 2021, the bureau said. Its population, was estimated at 67,124 in 2021. The San Gabriel River runs through Georgetown on Monday. The U.S. Census Bureau has named the city the fastest-growing town in the country by percentage among those with populations of at least 50,000. Leander was second on the same list. New Braunfels came in fifth on the census list with a population growth of 8.3% from July 2020 to July 2021. The city's population in 2021 was estimated at 98,857. All three Central Texas cities also finished on the bureau's top 15 largest population increases from July 2020 to July 2021 in the country. New Braunfels added 7,538 people to rank ninth, Georgetown added 7,193 to place 10th and Leander was 12th after adding 6,159 residents… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
San Marcos City Council moves forward with economic incentive for film studio project (KUT)
The City of San Marcos will give a tax break to a company that’s planning to build a massive film production studio in San Marcos.
San Marcos City Council approved the deal at a meeting Tuesday night. The 6-1 vote came after many community members expressed concern about the studio's proposed location on a chunk of the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone.
The 820,000-square-foot film studio, to be located at 6202 W. Centerpoint Road, is a project spearheaded by Hill Country Studios, a production company founded in 2020. The company describes it as a “cutting-edge facility,” with sound stages, backlots and space for production offices.
The city estimates it will return $4.6 million in property taxes to the company over a five-year period. The kickbacks would go into effect starting in 2025, when the project is scheduled for completion… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Homestead exemptions could be in the works for Kyle residents following discussion at City Council meeting (Community Impact)
Following a discussion at a Kyle City Council meeting June 7, the council moved to add homestead exemption analysis into the city staff's scope of work as it relates to the setting of the tax rate, calling for a bond and setting the budget.
The discussion of homestead exemption was brought forth by Council Member Yvonne Flores-Cale, stating that cities in Texas can implement an exemption of up to 20% of the value of a home or as low as $5,000.
The only exemption currently in place is $30,000 for residents age 65 and up.
Council Member Dex Ellison mentioned that during the previous budget cycle, the dais received property tax exemption options from the finance department, which stated how much tax revenue the city would not receive per $5,000 exemption.
"A $5,000 exemption in October of last year equaled about $250,000 of exempted value from the city," City Manager Scott Sellars said… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Massive speculative logistics development on its way to Austin suburb (Austin Business Journal)
Alliance Industrial Co., the new industrial wing of one of the Austin metro's most active residential developers, has announced it will build the first-ever speculative project of 1 million square feet or more in the region between Austin and San Antonio.
To put that into perspective, it's like building a footprint of more than a dozen H-E-B stores.
The Houston-based company, which launched in May of 2021, on June 7 received incentives from both the city of Kyle and Hays County that will aid with the development of Kyle/35 Logistics Park just off I-35 near the corner of Logistics Drive and South Goforth Road… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
$400M in bonds sold to support Austin-Bergstrom International Airport expansion (Austin Business Journal)
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport recently secured $400 million in debt financing to support its ongoing expansion.
The long-term plan, dubbed the Airport Expansion & Development Program, will eventually result in the addition of a second concourse at the facility southeast of downtown. The airport says the price tag for the program could eventually reach $3.5 billion to $4 billion.
But smaller upgrades are needed in the meantime. ABIA, also known by airport code "AUS," raised the money through bond sales to investors. It will go toward increased gate capacity at the main Barbara Jordan Terminal, a new baggage handling system, security enhancements and additional airfield infrastructure, according to a May announcement.
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Austin-Bergstrom is touted as the second-fastest growing mid-sized airport in the United States and a key component of Central Texas' flourishing economy, supporting more than 74,000 direct and indirect jobs. The facility, owned and operated by the city of Austin, expects a record-breaking 22 million passengers to travel through the airport this year — that would be a jump of 62% from the 13.57 million passengers seen in 2021, and an increase of 27% from the pre-pandemic highs seen in 2019. Increased traffic has led to travelers reporting especially long lines in recent months.
The new bond follows S&P Global’s decision to upgrade ABIA's credit rating to "A+" from "A." Only six other U.S. airports have received a credit upgrade from the New York-based financial information and analytics firm in 2022… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
United Way for Greater Austin donates over $2 million to nonprofits in Travis and Williamson counties (Community Impact)
United Way for Greater Austin announced June 1 it donated $2.2 million in grants to 68 nonprofits that specialize in education, financial stability and health throughout Travis and Williamson counties.
Together, these various organizations serve over 13,000 families between the two counties.
Through donations from corporate partners and community investments, United Way of Greater Austin aims to fight poverty in the community. The organization also has values of inclusivity and equity, and chose to highlight nonprofits that help Black and Indigenous communities as well as people of color, according to a statement from the nonprofit.
“The selection process was definitely geared to equity. I know equity can be an overused term, and people aren’t really sure what that means. All it means for us is that everybody be given the same chance to be considered,” said David Smith, United Way for Greater Austin CEO.
Nonprofit Todos Juntos Learning Center, which provides a dual-generation education program, aims to support refugee and immigrant families through community support, education and empowerment. The organization received a $75,000 grant from United Way… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Justice Department names 9 to aid review of law enforcement response to Uvalde shooting (Associated Press)
The Justice Department has named a team of nine people, including an FBI official and former police chiefs, to aid in a review of the law enforcement response to the Uvalde, Texas, elementary school shooting that left 19 children and two teachers dead. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the team during a meeting in his office in Washington on Wednesday. The critical incident review is being led by the Justice Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. The review will include an examination of police policies, training and communication, along with the deployment of officers and tactics, the Justice Department said. It will also examine who was in command of the incident and how police prepared for potential active-shooter incidents. In a statement, the Justice Department said it was committed to “moving as expeditiously as possible in the development of the report.”
Officials said the team would conduct a complete reconstruction of the shooting; review all relevant documents, including policies, photos and videos; conduct a visit to the school; and interview an array of witnesses and families of the victims, along with police, school and government officials. “Nothing can undo the pain that has been inflicted on the loved ones of the victims, the survivors and the entire community of Uvalde,” Garland said in a statement. “But the Justice Department can and will use its expertise and independence to assess what happened and to provide guidance moving forward.” The review was requested by Uvalde’s mayor. Such a review is somewhat rare, and most after-action reports that come after a mass shooting are generally compiled by local law enforcement agencies or outside groups. The Justice Department conducted similar reviews after 14 people were killed in a terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California, in 2015 and after the mass shooting at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, the deadliest attack on the LGBTQ community in U.S. history, which left 49 people dead and 53 people wounded in 2016… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
The Texas House kicks off its Uvalde shooting investigation this week. Not much will be public. (KUT)
A special committee of the Texas House of Representatives meets Thursday morning to investigate last month’s shooting in Uvalde, including the much-criticized response by police. But most of the testimony will take place behind closed doors — preventing the public from hearing law enforcement officials discuss the shooting that killed 19 kids and two teachers. Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, said the three-person committee will try to better understand “who played what part” and how the state can address police response to mass shootings moving forward. “Our goal, our task isn’t necessarily to cast aspersions or make accusations,” Moody, who is part of the committee, said in an interview with KTEP on Monday. “Our goal is simply to lay the facts there for the community there in Uvalde but also the community at large.” Moody is the sole Democrat on the House investigatory committee, chaired by Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock. Eva Guzman, a former Republican member of the Texas Supreme Court, is a public member.
House Speaker Dade Phelan said last week the committee was formed in response to the lack of clear facts surrounding the shooting. “Every day, we receive new information that conflicts with previous reports, making it not only difficult for authorities to figure out next steps, but for the grieving families of the victims to receive closure,” Phelan said in a news release. “I established this investigative committee for the dedicated purpose of gathering as much information and evidence as possible to help inform the House’s response to this tragedy and deliver desperately needed answers to the people of Uvalde and the State of Texas.” It’s also unclear who specifically will testify before the group on Thursday. In a statement, Burrows said Wednesday “the committee will be interviewing member(s) of the Texas Department of Public Safety and reviewing physical evidence." No more details were provided by Rep. Burrows, and he declined to be interviewed for this story. After the shooting, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) came under fire for walking back some of the initial details provided to the public, including around the police response. DPS has now said at some point during the shooting, there were 19 law enforcement officers — from different agencies — in the hallway of Robb Elementary School, who waited over 70 minutes to confront the shooter… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Uvalde’s only pediatrician describes horrors of school shooting to Congress, says he’ll ‘never forget’ what he saw (New York Times)
Uvalde’s only pediatrician spoke before Congress on Wednesday, describing in stark terms the horrors of the Robb Elementary School shooting that killed 19 students and two teachers two weeks ago. Appearing in person before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, Dr. Roy Guerrero said he raced to Uvalde Memorial Hospital on May 24 after hearing reports of the shooting. What he saw when he arrived, he said, was chaos. Injured students were in the hallways, and parents were sobbing and screaming in desperation, wondering if their child made it out of the school alive. He noticed the parents of Miah Cerrillo, who survived the shooting by covering herself in a classmate’s blood and playing dead, and told them Miah was alive. Her parents then asked Guerrero about their other daughter who attended the school. He then went to an area of the hospital where two dead children had been taken. The girl wasn’t there, but “what I did find was something no prayer will ever relieve,” he said.
“Two children whose bodies have been pulverized by bullets fired at them. Decapitated. Whose flesh have been ripped apart, that the only clue at their identities was a blood-splattered cartoon clothes still clinging to them, clinging for life and finding none,” he said. “I could only hope these two bodies were a tragic exception to the list of survivors, but as I waited there with my fellow Uvalde doctors, nurses, first responders and hospital staff for other casualties we hoped to save, they never arrived.” Guerrero spoke in front of lawmakers to bring home the devastation of America’s gun violence epidemic. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., the panel’s chairwoman, called the hearing to not only focus on the human impact of gun violence but also show the urgency for gun control legislation. Miah Cerrillo, and Kimberly and Felix Rubio, the parents of slain student Alexandria “Lexi,” also testified on Wednesday. Guerrero said he showed up as not only a witness but as a doctor, whose job it is to protect children. “To stay silent would have betrayed that oath. Inaction is harm. Passivity is harm. Delay is harm,” he said. The doctor, who grew up in the close-knit town of Uvalde, treated eight children that day. Four of them, including Miah, were his regular patients. Five other patients of his were among the students killed. He also attended Robb Elementary School as a child, but he knows the campus will never be the same… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
Key questions the Jan. 6 committee will tackle in its hearings (NPR)
The House select committee on January 6 holds its first hearing on Thursday, in prime time at 8 p.m. EST, promising to weave together a narrative from the findings of its year-long probe with "previously unseen material" about the attack on the Capitol.
Some committee members have teased that there will be "bombshells" and the the public will be surprised by what is revealed.
Pressed about the risk of overhyping the news, given that many details have already leaked out, committee member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., told reporters this week: "We're not in the business of entertainment. We're in the business of trying to communicate to the American people the gravity and the immensity of these events."
The majority-Democrat committee, charged with investigating the insurrection that pro-Trump extremists hoped would help overturn the 2020 election, has interviewed more than 1,000 witnesses, including members of former President Donald Trump's family and administration, as well as law enforcement officials and aides who were under siege for hours on Jan. 6, 2021.
Thursday's hearing, the first of six, will feature two live witnesses — Caroline Edwards, a U.S. Capitol police officer and the first law enforcement member injured by rioters on the West Front plaza, and Nick Quested, a filmmaker who accompanied those who breached the building and captured the chaotic scene. Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. and Vice Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wy., will make opening statements and the panel will also show videotaped depositions from senior Trump White House, campaign, and administration officials… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
'Better than President Trump': DeSantis' clout swells in the West (Politico)
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is building momentum in the West, a region that’s home to a series of upcoming GOP primaries that will test Donald Trump’s hold on Republicans there. Over the weekend, DeSantis topped Trump in the annual Western Conservative Summit’s straw poll, with 71 percent of participants wanting the Florida governor to run for president in 2024 compared to 67 percent for Trump. The next closest was 28 percent for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). It was the second year in a row DeSantis bested the former president at the summit, an annual gathering of around 2,000 party activities just outside of Denver. That straw poll comes on the heels of DeSantis also running neck-and-neck with Trump in a new University of Nevada, Reno survey asking voters in the state to rate potential 2024 candidates. DeSantis received the highest favorability score of any Republican with all voters — 48 percent compared to Trump’s 42 percent — but was bested by Trump, 73-69, when just Republicans were counted.
“There is no real party standard-bearer at the moment, and DeSantis in many eyes is starting to define the post-Trump party,” said Tyler Sandberg, a veteran Republican GOP operative, based in Colorado. “He fights more about policy and less on his Twitter account.” DeSantis’ rising popularity in the region coincides with his ascent nationally with conservatives initially drawn to him because he largely kept Florida’s economy open during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. But topping Trump two years in a row at an event dubbed “the largest gathering of conservatives in the Western United States” highlights his growing reputation with Republicans in that part of the country. “It did not surprise me that DeSantis did well, but, yeah, it kind of surprised me that he did better than President Trump, again,” said Dick Wadhams, a veteran Colorado Republican consultant and former chair of that state’s Republican Party. “I go to a lot of Republican events and have sensed for some time that even with Republicans DeSantis has quite an appeal because of his success as governor of Florida.” Conservative voters are consistently drawn to the governor’s fights with big business, his opposition to Covid-19 restrictions and pushes around education-related issues like critical race theory and classroom instructions regarding gender and sexual orientation. He received weeks of national attention for pushing Florida’s GOP-led Legislature to remove the self-governing status of Disney after it opposed legislation he championed banning teachings about sexual identity in classrooms up to third grade… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[BG PODCAST]
Today’s episode (158) features City of Kyle Council Member Dex Ellison. He and Bingham Group CEO A.J. discuss the growth and associated challenges with one the fastest growing cities in Texas.
According to the U.S. Census, the city grew from a populations of 5,000 in 2000, to just over 52,300 (and growing) in 2020.
First elected to Kyle City Council in November 2019, Council Member Ellison was re-elected in November 2019. -> EPISODE LINK