Monday Morning Report
September 17, 2007

Internal

The Austin-San Antonio Corridor Council is now accepting credit card charges for membership dues, sponsorships, etc.  If you wish to use a credit card please fill out the authorization form and fax to 512-558-7360.  ASACC now accepts American Express, Discover, Master Charge and VISA credit cards.  Details here.  Credit Card Authorization form here.

The Corridor Council’s San Antonio General Membership Meeting is this Wednesday, 4:00 pm (9/19) at the International Center in San Antonio. Mayor Will Wynn of Austin will be guest speaker. Details here.

Tom Wendorf, San Antonio's public works director for seven years, recently announced his resignation, effective Sept. 30. He will move on to a Kansas City-based engineering firm as part-owner. Mr. Wendorf was a great friend and supporter of the Corridor Council and will be sorely missed. We wish him success in his new venture.

Infrastructure

Another two pedestrians were killed by trains within 48 hours of each other over the weekend in separate accidents on the Union Pacific tracks south of downtown Austin. Details here.

San Antonio-Bexar County Metropolitan Planning Organization officials will hold four public meetings to get input on how city growth and transportation should be shaped through 2035 over the next two weeks, and even though toll roads are not part of the projected mix under discussion, anti-tolling forces are planning to raise the issue at the meetings. More here.

 The I-69 corridor from Texas to Michigan, which includes from the Rio Grande Valley to Houston, is one of six interstate routes chosen to be among the first 'Corridors of the Future' projects in the federal initiative to develop multi-state corridors to reduce traffic congestion. The I-69 corridor  has been awarded $800,000

Economic Development

The US Air Force awarded The Boeing Co. a 10-year, $1.1 billion contract renewal to continue providing depot maintenance for the military's fleet of KC-135 Stratotankers. In Texas, the work will be performed at Boeing's site at Port San Antonio, where local employees have worked on planes since 1998. The company has 300 employees assigned to the KC-135 program locally.

Regional job growth in the Austin-Round Rock area was above 2.5% during the past seven years, outpacing both state and national job growth rates during that same time period, says Brian Kelsey, assistant director of the Capital Area Council of Governments. The Austin area saw 1,275 new manufacturing jobs created last year. the computer programming sector added 64 new firms and 1,261 new jobs last year.

The Central Texas Medical Center in San Marcos has added a new Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Institute. The 6,000-sq. ft. institute is triple the size of an older facility. The facility is located on the ground floor of Vista Building 2, directly across the street from the CTMC main campus on Wonder World Drive.

Midwest Airlines will start a twice daily nonstop service between Austin and Kansas City beginning Sept. 17. The inaugural flight will leave Austin-Bergstrom International Airport from Gate 24 at 11:25 am on Sept. 17. The flight will arrive in Kansas City at 1:15 pm. Flights will leave Austin at 4:30 pm arriving in Kansas City at 6:20 pm. The new service will be offered on Midwest Connect 50-seat regional jets.

One of only five "polytrauma" facilities nationwide that will treat injured military service men and women returning from Iraq will be built in San Antonio. The $67 million rehab center was announced this week by the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Construction is expected to begin next year.

Thought for the week:

“The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’"   - Ronald Reagan (1911 – 2004)

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© 2007 Austin-San Antonio Corridor Council