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BY: @MattMackowiak [ [link removed] ]
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WEDNESDAY || 9/25/24
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AUSTIN NEWSLETTER LAUNCHED
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TOP NEWS
“Texas' growth at risk due to water shortages, urgent action needed,” KXAN's Ryan Chandler — “In Wimberley, boulders and deer bones bake in the heat where there was once a thriving creek. The lakes and rivers that once attracted Texans and enabled them to grow communities there are drying up, posing an active but underappreciated emergency that sets a limit on the “Texas Miracle,” state leaders say.
“Texas is out of water,” Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller told Nexstar on Tuesday. “We can’t grow, we can’t expand, we can’t have economic opportunity and jobs without water. We’ve reached our limit, there is no more. We’ve got to do some things different.”
Wimberley and much of Central Texas has been in a drought for most of the last two years. It has led some local officials to implement Stage 4 water restrictions, where residents are penalized for automatic water sprinklers and watering is confined to certain times. But out in West Texas, conditions are far worse.
Miller said Texas loses about one farm every week, but it’s not for lack of land. Farmers don’t have enough water to keep their crops alive.
Texas’s population is expected to gain over 22 million people by 2070, according to the 2022 Texas State Water Plan [ [link removed] ]. Over the same period, the water supply is projected to decrease by 18%.
The National Wildlife Federation [ [link removed] ] found Texas loses 572,000 acre-feet of water per year — enough to fill almost 240 AT&T Stadiums and supply Austin, Fort Worth, El Paso, Laredo, and Lubbock combined for an entire year. As Texas regularly faces drought periods, some lawmakers are urging the state to proactively protect the most valuable resource.
“It’s the silent issue, with the least urgency, with the biggest impact,” State Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, previously told Nexstar. “We’ve been, for far too long, treating water like a commodity that has no meaning. And it’s truly not. It’s not a commodity. It’s a necessity.”
On Tuesday, state lawmakers tasked with shepherding natural resources reviewed the implementation of the Texas Water Fund, which dedicated a billion dollars to water conservation projects across the state. But that sum is, for lack of a better term, a drop in the bucket.
Perry, one of the legislature’s longtime champions of water conservation, expects it will take billions more.
“Water is the only problem that we face as a state that can literally be fixed with more money,” Sen. Perry said. “It’s just a commitment to a vision to provide water and a commitment of resources to get there. So that’s been my frustration — it’s not one of those problems that we can’t solve. The lack of urgency to deal with it is frustrating.”
On Tuesday, Commissioner Miller pointed to multiple tangible ways to save water — the first is hard infrastructure upgrades. Leaky pipes alone waste more than 130 billion gallons of water every year, the Texas Water Development Board found.
Fracking is also a focus — using clean water to frack wastes and pollutes, and Miller said more companies are transitioning to brackish water.
“We’ve got a lot to do,” he said. “We’ve just got to get busy and help ourselves.”" KXAN [ [link removed] ]
BUSINESS NEWS
“San Antonio's USAA is laying off more employees,” San Antonio Express-News' Madison Iszler — “USAA — one of San Antonio’s largest employers — has issued another round of pink slips.
The insurance and financial services company [ [link removed] ] confirmed Tuesday it had laid off more employees but did not disclose how many or which departments were affected. Online chatter suggested workers at USAA Federal Savings Bank [ [link removed] ] and in compliance and consumer lending were among those laid off.
“We regularly evaluate our operations and adjust to serve our members more efficiently,” said spokesperson Roger Wildermuth. “USAA continues to hire across the company in line with changing business needs, including more than 8,300 jobs filled so far this year, and remains focused on providing our members with exceptional products and service.”
The cuts mark the company’s second round of layoffs this year after it cut 220 employees in April [ [link removed] ]. It’s at least the seventh round since March 2022, decisions USAA has attributed to “changing business needs,” a tepid national housing market and slowing global economy.
USAA has more than 37,000 employees nationwide, including about 19,000 in the San Antonio area.
The cuts come on the heels of President and CEO Wayne Peacock’s recent announcement [ [link removed] ] that he plans to retire in the first half of 2025 after 36 years at the company. USAA has said it is vetting internal and external candidates to replace Peacock, who’s been CEO since 2020.
USAA reported a profit [ [link removed] ] of $1.2 billion in 2023, up from a loss of $1.3 billion in 2022 but down from a profit of $3.3 billion in 2021, according to the company’s most recent annual financial report. Revenue reached a record $42.5 billion.
The company provides insurance, banking and retirement solutions to more than 13 million members of the military, veterans and their families." SAEN [ [link removed] ] ($)
STATE GOVERNMENT
“Appeals court says Texas State Fair can ban guns,” Texas Tribune's Juan Salinas II — “A newly created state appeals court denied Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton request to temporarily block the State Fair of Texas’ policy banning all firearms from its fairgrounds as the event is set to start Friday.
The ruling comes after a Dallas County District Court struck down a similar request from Paxton on the new policy. The District Court Judge agreed with State Fair officials that they could enforce a gun ban as a private nonprofit.
Paxton says the fair's gun ban violates state law, which bars most government bodies from prohibiting weapons. State Fair officials say it has the right as a private nonprofit, and the city of Dallas says it has no role in the fair's gun policy.
Paxton said on social media Tuesday evening that he will next ask the Texas Supreme Court to overturn the ban.
The State Fair begins Friday." Texas Tribune [ [link removed] ]
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
“Dallas council members request an audit of failed lead abatement program,” Dallas Morning News' Maria Ramos Pacheco — “Two Dallas council members requested an audit into the $2.3 million failed city’s lead removal program after The Dallas Morning News investigated [ [link removed] ] its outcome, which left multiple residents exposed to lead.
District 13 Councilmember Gay Donnell Willis and District 1 Councilmember Chad West sent a memorandum on Sept. 16 to City Auditor Mark Swann asking him to add the program to his work plan and examine it more closely.
“The audit should focus on identifying the causes of program delays, [ [link removed] ] inefficiencies in executing lead removal, and the lack of contractor availability in Dallas versus other cities where the program has been successful. It should also assess communication with residents and other stakeholders throughout the process,” read the memo.
Willis and West did not respond to a request for comment.
The News reached out to Cynthia Rogers-Ellickson, interim director of the housing and neighborhood revitalization department, and Thor Erickson, the department’s assistant director, via email but did not respond to a request for comment.
The city’s communication department said via email the managers in the housing department were aware of the audit and would assist the auditor in his review and provide any information requested.
The Office of the City Auditor’s Recommended Fiscal Year 2025 Audit Work Plan includes an audit of the lead abatement program. The work plan will be subject to final approval by the full City Council on Oct. 23. After the Work Plan is approved, the audit will be scheduled to start when audit resources are available, said Swann via email." DMN [ [link removed] ] ($)
“While Bexar County barrels toward fiscal 'cliff,' San Antonio sees smoother landing,” San Antonio Report's Iris Dimmick — “The City of San Antonio put the finishing touches on its nearly $4 billion [ [link removed] ] fiscal year 2025 budget on Thursday — and with that, pledged the last scraps of its federal coronavirus pandemic recovery fund.
The city allocated its remaining $5.8 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding on one-time expenses, including expanding senior center hours, relocation assistance [ [link removed] ] for downtown residents and seed funding for a South Side health equity initiative [ [link removed] ].
Meanwhile, Bexar County adopted a $2.8 billion budget one week earlier [ [link removed] ] that sets the county on course toward a so-called “ARPA cliff [ [link removed] ]” unless serious cuts are made or revenue is generated. The county used its last remaining ARPA funds to plug an $18.8 million hole in its general fund budget — rather than using it for new one-time expenses, as commissioners had previously discussed.
Between the newly established public health department [ [link removed] ], expanded mental health law enforcement [ [link removed] ] program and other initiatives that require reoccurring expenses, the county has bitten off more than its budget can afford in future years without ARPA support.
“How many of those ARPA-funded programs continue in the future” will come down to policy decisions made by the Bexar County Commissioners Court, County Manager David Smith said. “As soon as next budget, we’re going to have to start examining some of those potential impacts.”
The city was careful not to over-extend itself, City Manager Erik Walsh said. It ramped up existing programs that it could wind down once funding ran out. The budget deficit that the city had to deal with this year, for the first time since 2010, was due to slowing revenue growth [ [link removed] ] from both property and sales taxes — not as a result of its dwindling ARPA funds.
“We’ve planned appropriately for ARPA over the last couple of years and we’ll continue to plan for the next year and a half,” Walsh said.
“Some cities added firefighters or police officers,” he added. “I don’t know what the heck they’re going to do when that money dries out.”" SA Report [ [link removed] ]
“Fort Worth ISD school board accepts voluntary resignation of Superintendent Angélica Ramsey,” Fort Worth Report's Jacob Sanchez and Matthew Sgroi — “The Angélica Ramsey-led era of Fort Worth ISD is over after the school board accepted her voluntary resignation.
Trustees’ 8-1 vote on Sept. 24 came almost to the day two years ago that trustees formally hired Ramsey, who entered the superintendency with high hopes [ [link removed] ] of improving academic achievement and the district’s financial standing. She now leaves the district amid criticism of unchanged student outcomes, a $17.7 million deficit budget and teachers who say they feel overburdened [ [link removed] ] by district mandates.
The sole dissenting vote was trustee Camille Rodriguez. The board members came out of a more than three-hour executive session and announced the resignation without comment.
Ramsey’s resignation as superintendent is effective Oct. 1, according to a joint statement from the school board and the departing leader. However, she will remain a Fort Worth ISD employee until Aug. 30, 2025.
The school board plans to appoint an interim superintendent. The interim leader will remain in the position as trustees search for a new superintendent.
During a news conference, school board President Roxanne Martinez thanked Ramsey for her service and said trustees will move forward with a focus on improving student achievement.
Martinez explained her vote to accept Ramsey’s resignation.
“Hearing the community’s concerns was a large part of why I supported the decision. I also think we mutually made a decision to move on in the best interest of children,” Martinez said. “That’s what my focus is going to be as president — moving forward and improving student achievement just like our community and our parents wish to see.”
In a four-page statement [ [link removed] ], Ramsey listed what she saw as her achievements as Fort Worth ISD’s superintendent for the past two years, such as improvements seen in the district’s self-assigned A-F ratings [ [link removed] ].
“I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to the Fort Worth ISD board for allowing me the honor of serving this district over the past two years. It has been a privilege, and I have approached this responsibility with the utmost seriousness and dedication,” Ramsey said."
The pressure put on Ramsey and her leadership had intensified in recent weeks after more than 40 community leaders called for a district turnaround plan. On Aug. 27, in a letter and a speech to the school board [ [link removed] ], Mayor Mattie Parker voiced dissatisfaction with the lackluster and stagnant state of the district.
Those critical of Ramsey’s tenure also noted empty promises when it came to improving literacy rates for Black [ [link removed] ] and Hispanic students. Trustee Wallace Bridges voiced his concerns over the district’s lack of progress in improving reading rates for Black students during school board meetings. For two years, the district has not had a plan for these students, he said." FW Report [ [link removed] ]
2024
“Ted Cruz is again fighting for political survival in Texas,” New York Times' J. David Goodman — “On a late summer afternoon, Colin Allred, the Democratic challenger to U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, mingled his way through a barbershop in a historically Black neighborhood of Houston.
As he did so, a barber confessed that he had never heard of Mr. Allred, a Dallas congressman and former N.F.L. linebacker, until he was told the candidate would be coming by the shop. Neither had his client.
“Everybody knows Ted,” said the barber, Christopher Williams. “He’s not giving nothing up. It’s going to be a fight, and I love a good fight.”
In recent weeks, the race for U.S. Senate in Texas has grown increasingly competitive, with negative ads appearing with every channel flip and public polls showing a contest within single digits. Mr. Cruz, who is running for a third term, has been leading, but he attracts less support than former President Donald J. Trump does.
So what may have seemed like a sure thing for Republicans in the Republican-dominated state has some party officials in Texas concerned.
“The current reality is that Texas is too close for comfort,” Matt Mackowiak, head of the Travis County Republican Party, said in a letter to state party leaders [ [link removed] ].
The race is on track to be one of the most expensive in state history. But among Democrats, it has still not generated anything like the fervor or attention of 2018, when another little-known congressman, Beto O’Rourke, barnstormed his way to nearly defeating Mr. Cruz.
Mr. O’Rourke’s near victory is still frequently mentioned by Texas Democrats, the what-could-have-been moment that, in other elections since, they have been chasing and failing to replicate. A Democrat has not won statewide in Texas in 30 years.
But the near defeat has fueled Mr. Cruz’s determination not to let Republicans get overconfident this time. He has been trying to pull off a difficult political trick for a politician whose name ID is nearly universal: to remake his firebrand persona into something more approachable.
“They’re going to tell you I am a horrible creature who devours kittens at sunrise, which is ridiculous,” Mr. Cruz told campaign volunteers earlier this year, joking about his image in the media months before Republicans began accusing migrants in Ohio of eating pets. “Everyone knows you eat kittens at night.”
The senator’s campaign has worried that a close race down the stretch could invite new rounds of investment from Democrats, and that some middle-of-the-road Texas voters, unsatisfied with either Mr. Trump or his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, may nevertheless vote in the Senate race.
That has led to a big fight over voters in the middle. Both candidates have tried to claim the mantle of bipartisanship. Both have rolled out endorsements by members of the opposite party.
Liz Cheney, the former Republican representative from Wyoming, is backing Mr. Allred. Kim Ogg, the Democratic district attorney for Harris County, which includes Houston, has been vocal in her support for Mr. Cruz [ [link removed] ].
Mr. Allred has demonstrated an ability to raise money to bombard the airwaves with ads and a willingness to go on the attack against Mr. Cruz.
Perhaps never has a race for Senate included so many mentions of Cancún, Mexico, where Mr. Cruz went vacationing during a 2021 winter storm in Texas that left more than 200 people dead. Mr. Allred finds ways to bring it up whenever possible, including in an ad about Social Security and Medicare [ [link removed] ].
Mr. Allred, 41, played linebacker for the Tennessee Titans before becoming a lawyer. In 2018, he defeated a Republican incumbent in a close race [ [link removed] ] to win his congressional seat in Dallas.
“Change can happen quickly in Texas,” Mr. Allred, who is Black, said in an interview in which he talked about the diversity of the state. “What we have to do in Texas is embrace who we actually are, which is that diversity and that complexity that comes with it. Instead of being afraid of it.”
A first debate in the race is scheduled for Oct. 15." " NYT [ [link removed] ]
“Colin Allred, Ted Cruz spar over credit for microchip bill,” Dallas Morning News' Joseph Morton — “U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and his Democratic challenger, U.S. Rep. Colin Allred of Dallas, agree that Texas can expect new jobs and economic development from a bill easing permitting requirements on new semiconductor manufacturing facilities [ [link removed] ].
The two sparred sharply this week, however, over which of them deserves credit for getting the legislation to President Joe Biden’s desk.
Allred’s camp noted that he co-sponsored the original House bill [ [link removed] ]. Cruz said he rewrote it in the Senate and convinced House GOP leaders to push his version over the finish line.
The dispute comes as the two candidates are locked in a competitive race, with each pitching himself as the best option to deliver on job creation.
“A win for Texas! The House passed our bill, the Building Chips in America Act, to streamline permitting and advance CHIPS Act projects,” Allred said on X [ [link removed] ]. “Thanks to a team from both sides of the aisle, we got this done.”
Repeating his criticism that Cruz is more interested in self-promotion than finding solutions, Allred added: “Ted Cruz is trying to claim credit. Classic Ted acting like a ‘me guy.’ ”
A prime example, Allred says, was Cruz’s vote against the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act [ [link removed] ] that was intended to boost domestic production of microchips [ [link removed] ] and is helping bring billions of dollars to new Texas facilities.
Cruz says he enthusiastically supported the 2022 bill’s tax and regulatory incentives for new manufacturing facilities but strongly objected to its direct corporate subsidies.
“I am not a fan of giving taxpayer money directly to private corporations, and I think history has shown that it can lead to bad results,” Cruz said. “Once the bill passed, I have actively urged as many of those dollars as possible to go to Texas.”
Cruz said he was particularly interested in speeding those new manufacturing facilities through a federal environmental review process that can delay projects for years.
He recounted seeing an Allred news release announcing the original proposal to ease those requirements.
Cruz said some of the original language would have disadvantaged Texas, so he blocked it and asked his staff to write new language.
He worked with U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., to get that version unanimously approved by the Senate.
The reworked bill encountered resistance in the House from some Democrats concerned about undermining environmental regulations and from some Republicans who wanted a more comprehensive overhaul of environmental rules.
The House voted 257-125 Monday to approve the Cruz-Kelly version.
In an interview, Cruz talked in great detail about the various legislative twists and turns the permitting bill went through on the way to final passage as he lobbied for support in the House and urged House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to bring the bill to the floor.
It is “utterly bizarre” that Allred would claim the legislation as his own, he said.
“The fact that Colin Allred is trying to claim credit for legislation that I drafted and that I have been fighting a year to pass is emblematic of his campaign,” Cruz said.
He said Allred is trying to pitch himself as a bipartisan-minded moderate despite voting consistently with his party for years, particularly in opposition to Republican proposals to secure the border and stem illegal immigration." DMN [ [link removed] ] ($)
NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE   
 > TX TRIB: "Many Americans say immigration is out of control, but 24 hours on the Texas-Mexico border showed a new reality. Will it last?" TX TRIB [ [link removed] ]
 > TX TRIB: "O’Rourke and Emhoff raise another million for Harris campaign, tout voter registration momentum" TX TRIB [ [link removed] ]
 > AP: "A Texas county has told an appeals court it has a right to cull books on sex, gender and racism" AP [ [link removed] ]
 > HOU CHRON: "Travis Mullis executed for stomping his infant son to death in Galveston" HOU CHRON [ [link removed] ]
 > HOU CHRON: "Invitation Homes agrees to settlement after allegations of unlawful practices" HOU CHRON [ [link removed] ]
 > DMN: "Former FTX executive Caroline Ellison gets two years in prison over fraud" DMN [ [link removed] ]
 > HOU CHRON: "FBI targets illegal game rooms, public corruption in 'sweeping operation'" HOU CHRON [ [link removed] ]
 > Fort Worth Star-Telegram: "Tarrant sheriff ‘purposely stalling’ case of woman who died in county jail, family says" Fort Worth Star-Telegram [ [link removed] ]
 > THE TEXAN: "U.S. House Passes 'Kelly-Cruz Amendment' to CHIPS Act, Sent to Biden's Desk" THE TEXAN [ [link removed] ]
 > TPR: "The Army is emphasizing a simple way to improve troops' readiness: making sure they get enough sleep" TPR [ [link removed] ]
 > SAEN: "Jury sees graphic images of 4-year-old boy allegedly starved to death" SAEN [ [link removed] ]
 > AAS: "5th Circuit hears challenge to First Amendment in libraries" AAS [ [link removed] ]
 > SA REPORT: "At San Antonio rally, Doug Emhoff and Texas Democrats decry Paxton’s voter fraud hunt" SA REPORT [ [link removed] ]
 > THE TEXAN: "Fourth Reading: House Reformers Call Their Shot" THE TEXAN [ [link removed] ]
 > MY RGV: "McAllen sex offender sentenced for having 6,300 images of child pornography" MY RGV [ [link removed] ]
 > TPR: "Paxton keeps up voter registration fight; VIA riders have new payment options; Sinaloa violence linked to drug lord arrests" TPR [ [link removed] ]
 > TPR: "Mexico and the U.S. trade blame over surge of violence in Sinaloa" TPR [ [link removed] ]
 > MY RGV: "Gov. Abbott talks economic growth, water scarcity during Valley visit" MYRGV [ [link removed] ]
EXTRA POINTS   
Last night's Texas sports scores:
  > MLB: Astros 4, Mariners
  > MLB: Athletics 5, Rangers 4
Tonight's Texas sports schedule:
  > 1:10pm: MLB: Mariners at Astros
  > 8:40pm: MLB: Rangers at Athletics
DALLAS COWBOYS: Cowlishaw: "Thursday road games? A new measly distinction for the Dallas Cowboys" DMN [ [link removed] ] ($)
HOUSTON ASTROS: "Houston Astros: Jason Heyward savors homer in division chamber" Houston Chronicle [ [link removed] ] ($)
HOUSTON ASTROS: "Houston Astros: Jason Heyward savors homer in division clincher" Houston Chronicle [ [link removed] ] ($)
TEXAS RANGERS: Sherrington: "What happened to the Texas Rangers in 2024?" DMN [ [link removed] ] ($)
TEXAS FOOTBALL: "After a 25-carry game, is Texas running back Jaydon Blue ready for a workhorse role" AAS [ [link removed] ] ($)

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