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Texas Earns a Poor Grade for Integrity
Why is Apple Getting Tax Incentives?
Austin Won Apple Without Competition
‘The Arizona Republic’ Reported
by Ken Martin
© The Austin Bulldog 2012
The Arizona Republic, that state’s largest newspaper, yesterday reported that Phoenix was never in the running to attract the Apple Inc. facility for which Texas has committed tax incentives, and both Austin and Travis County are considering doing likewise.
Governor Rick Perry is offering Apple $21 million in incentives over 10 years and the City of Austin is considering sweetening the deal with $8.6 million, according to the Austin American-Statesman. Travis County is also considering incentives.
Those incentives were based on the premise that Apple was considering Phoenix and Austin.
However, The Arizona Republic’s story published yesterday reported Phoenix “never had a chance” because the proposed site was on state land and “state trust land did not excite them” (Apple), so there was no Phoenix site reasonably in contention.”
Council District Backers Want Quick Decision Big
Big Press Conference, Big Pressure Promised
to Get Council Decision Before Council Elections
Event photographs by Mario Cantu
© The Austin Bulldog 2012
Posted Thursday, March 8, 2012 11:06pm
More than two-dozen backers of the proposal to change how council members are elected packed a room at City Hall today for an early morning press conference headed by former State Senator Gonzalo Barrientos (D-Austin).
Barrientos chaired the 2012 Charter Revision Committee appointed by the Austin City Council to recommend changes to the Austin City Charter. The Committee met in locations all over Austin starting last September and finished February 16. The Committee made a total of 19 recommendations for charter changes that the Austin City Council could put on the November ballot.
Most prominent among the 19 recommendations is a call for a proposition that would ask voters to approve a plan calling for 10 geographic council districts to be drawn by an Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission. Under this plan, only the mayor would be elected at-large by all Austin voters.
The Austin City Council could delay until August to decide what propositions to put before voters in the November general election. But the Charter Revision Committee’s majority faction, as well as the grass-roots coalition Austinites for Geographic Representation, are going to apply heavy political pressure for the Council to commit to putting the 10-1 plan and Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission on the ballot in November—and publicly do so before the May 12 mayoral and council elections.
Chavez Targets Spelman in Council Contest
First-time Candidate Sued City of Austin Over
Tax Abatements for Historical Preservation
by Rebecca LaFlure
© The Austin Bulldog 2012
When arriving at Austin City Council candidate Dominic Chavez’s campaign kickoff at the Rattle Inn Tuesday evening, one could not help but notice the road construction occurring just outside the 610 Nueces Street bar.
“It’s fitting seeing these guys working,” Chavez said to The Austin Bulldog, amid the sounds of heavy machinery. “In Austin I think we’ve forgotten about the people who built this city, who work here everyday. Austin is much more difficult for these folks to live in now than ever before.”
Chavez, an Iraq War veteran and senior director for external relations at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, officially launched his campaign for Austin City Council in front of about 50 supporters, saying he hopes to make Austin a more affordable place to live.
Leffingwell Draws a Big Crowd
Free Beer, Free Eats, and Free Music
Makes a Speech Go Down Real Easy
by Rebecca LaFlure
© The Austin Bulldog 2012
Posted Monday, February 27, 2012, 6:56pm
At a campaign event Saturday, Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell touted what he considers several of his greatest accomplishments over the past two and a half years: helping create jobs amid a shaky economy, building collaborative agreements with Austin ISD, and garnering support for a $90 million transportation bond voters approved in November 2010.
But there’s still work to be done, Leffingwell said, and he hopes Austin residents will elect him to a second mayoral term May 12.
“I think we’ve made a lot of progress over the last two and a half years on a lot of different things, but the job is not finished,” Leffingwell said. “My goal has always been and remains today to leave Austin a better place than we found it.”
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Areas of Coverage
Austin City Manager: Dallas discard vs Austin retread
Are tax subsidies for luxury development legal?
Lame duck council set to vote on 20-year sweetheart tax deal for developer
Environmentalists assail plan for lakeside high rises
Urbanists vie to replace council member Kathie Tovo
First-ever opportunity to elect appraisal board members
District 10 Council candidates jump in early
Announcing the Government Accountability Project
Central Health launches search for new CEO
First-ever opportunity to elect appraisal board members
Announcing the Government Accountability Project
Project Connect
Lawmakers weigh axing Project Connect’s ‘blank check’ loophole
Project Connect scope drastically scaled back
Austin Transit Partnership gears up for key decisions on light rail design
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