Headlines / Quote of the Week

Adding Affordability
The Travis County Commis­sioners Court approved funding June 27 that will help bring 110 units of affordable housing to the area near North Lamar and Braker Lane. Foundation Com­mun­ities will receive $6.5 million from the county to develop its Juniper Creek project, with 22 of the units set aside for people experiencing homelessness.

Quiet at Trial
Suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton won't testify in his Senate impeachment trial, his lead defense attorney Tony Buzbee announced Monday. The Senate might try to force Paxton to testify, but Buzbee says, "We will not bow to their evil, illegal, and unprecedented weaponization of state power in the Senate chamber."

Hottest Day Ever!
July 3 was the world's hottest day ever recorded, according to the U.S. National Centers for Environmental Prediction. The average temp was 62.62 F, a smidge higher than August 2016's previous 62.46 F record. China, North Africa, and the Southern U.S. are getting hit the hardest – climate change and the El Niño pattern are to blame.

You've Got Mail
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the United Parcel Service reached a tentative deal on Saturday to avert a nationwide strike, which Teamsters voted 97% last week to initiate should they fail to reach an agreeable contract before July 31. On Saturday, UPS agreed to key demands including the end of forced overtime and the two-tier wage system – making part-time and full-time wages the same. But Wednesday morning, contract negotiations broke down again, with each side blaming the other for walking away from talks, redoubling the likelihood of a strike come August.

Under Pressure
After record-breaking temperatures struck Texas two weeks ago, oil and gas companies in West Texas released tons of flared gas (i.e., burned it) due to dangerously overpressurized pipelines, Inside Climate News reports. As many as 500,000 pounds of cancer-causing toxins were released by just one company, Targa Resources.

Cross-County Transportation
The Capital Area Rural Transportation System has released a draft plan to improve rural transportation access for communities with fewer than 50,000 people across nine counties, including Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis, and Williamson. Potential improvements include more frequent service, app-based fare collection, integrations with local transit services like Cap Metro, and adding additional routes. They are soliciting public input on the plan until July 14, which you can review at ridecarts.weebly.com.

Ann Howard Runs Again
Last week, Travis County Commissioner Ann Howard announced her run for reelection in Precinct 3, which spans most of West Austin's wildfire-prone areas, including Lakeway and Jonestown, from I-35 across 71 to the Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge. Howard represents the only precinct that Republicans could have a chance to retake; she won in 2020 with 57% to Becky Bray's 43%. Formerly executive director of the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition, Howard replaced Republican Gerald Daugherty in 2020 after his more than a dozen nonconsecutive years in the seat.

Cap Metro or Ca$h Metro?
Cap Metro's new building, if the deal goes through, will cost $100 million. The Austin American-Statesman pointed out this week that Cap Metro officials refused to provide them with portions of the cost analysis work that informed the Cap Metro Board's decision to purchase. Two anonymous sources suggested to the Statesman that the board overpaid for the building at East Fifth and Tillery streets, questioning the transportation authority's evaluation process.

Supremely Disappointed
The U.S. Supreme Court issued a trio of harmful, high-profile decisions last week, one of which struck down President Joe Biden's plan to cancel up to $20,000 of student loan debt for some borrowers. The court's 6-3 decision will impact some 43 million eligible borrowers, but Biden has vowed to come back with a new approach to canceling debt. SCOTUS also ruled 6-3 that the First Amendment allows business owners to discriminate against LGBTQ customers by refusing to serve them if doing so would require the business to engage in speech they disagree with – such as affirming same-sex marriages. In yet another 6-3 decision, SCOTUS fulfilled a longtime goal of conservative legal activists by striking down prior rulings that allowed colleges and universities to consider race in their admission practices – i.e., to use "affirmative action" to create more racially diverse campuses.

"[People] are going to see a completely different Texas in the next decade compared to the one that we have now."

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– Averie Bishop, the first Asian American Miss Texas, featured by The Texas Tribune July 3 for using the platform for progressive lobbying