Monday Morning Report
October 9, 2007 Columbus Day Edition

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Please welcome our newest member, Broaddus & Associates who provides innovative program management and consulting services for owners planning and developing design and construction projects. The firm was founded by James A. Broaddus, Ph.D., P.E., in 2000 in Austin.

 

Mark your calendars:  On November 28th, 4:00 pm, we’ll be co-hosting our Austin General Membership meeting with the Capital Area Transportation Coalition at the Austin Club.  Guest speaker will be TxDOT Commissioner Ned Holmes.  Stay tuned for more details in the upcoming weeks.

 

The Digital Convergence Initiative created two sessions for Innotech Austin, upcoming on October 11, 2007.  David Armistead, Jon Lebkowsky, David Swedlow and Josh Parker will discuss sustainability and social media at InnoTech’s premier annual one day conference & exposition highlighting Austin's innovation & technology development opportunities. Conference details here.

 

Infrastructure

 

Austin's CAMPO board voted to approve five toll roads last night, four of those expansions of existing roads, with express lanes subject to tolls and free frontage roads alongside, and the other a new road in Southwest Austin. For details on who voted how, go here.

 

San Marcos City Manager Dan O'Leary announced his resignation after 28 years of municipal service.

 

A safety group analyzing pedestrian deaths in Texas finds Bexar County to have the highest fatality rate-per-population in the state (136 people killed 2003-2005), with Travis County rated sixth. Details from the Express-News.

 

Six Texas counties have been declared disaster areas by President Bush, qualifying residents for federal assistance for recovery from Tropical Storm Erin. Residents of Bexar, Harris, Jones, Kendall, Medina and Taylor counties who suffered storm damage are eligible for grants for temporary housing, home repairs, low-cost loans and programs for business owners whose businesses also suffered damages.

 

In New Braunfels tonight, officials will be discussing proposals for a loop alternative to Interstate 35 during public meetings held on both the eastern and western side of the Interstate. For details of the meeting times and places, go here.

 

Economic Development

 

The San Antonio Economic Development Foundation's board of directors has a new slate of committee members and officers. T. Randall Cain, Ernst & Young, is the new chairman of the 10-member committee. Joining Cain is Kenny Wilson, president of Bank of America; and Steve Waters, Haynes and Boone LLP; University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio President Francisco G. Cigarroa; Valero Energy Corp President Gregory C. King; Zachry Construction Corp. CEO John B Zachry; Frost Bank Regional President Don Frost; CPS Energy General Manager Milton Lee; and Baptist Health System CEO Trip Pilgrim.

 

The Hampton Inn & Suites, a 70-room hotel in Lakeway, will go up at 2013 RR 620 just north of Lohmans Crossing Road. The $9 million project is designed by Austin-based CasaBella Architects and is expected to open in fall 2008.

 

The University of Texas ranks 2nd among the Big 12 Conference schools when it comes to athletic donations, just behind Texas A&M University. UT raised $26 million in athletic donations in 2006, placing it 16th among all US universities and second in its conference. Texas A&M raised $32 million, ranking it 1st in the conference and 9th overall. Rounding out the top 5 schools in the Big 12 were Iowa State with $19.6 million, Texas Tech with $17.8 million and the University of Oklahoma with $17.4 million.

 

Improvements are planned for FM 306 in News Braunfels by State transportation officials to build two overpasses to help mobility on the road. The construction will begin in 2011 and are part of a bigger plan to widen the road from two to four lanes. Details here.

 

Minority-owned businesses seeking to do business with TxDOT might benefit from upcoming briefings that will include specific information regarding doing business in the construction, goods and services, information technology and professional engineering service industries. Breakout sessions will cover small business certifications and information on TxDOT toll projects. Details can be found here.

 

With the new farm bill currently moving in the US Senate, speculation about potential changes in subsidy payments and criticism of agricultural subsidies in general have again made their way into the public debate, particularly among farmers up in Temple and Bell County. Details here.

 

Communities

 

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month. Informational links of interest:  National Breast Cancer Foundation and the American Cancer Society.

 

 

 Thought for the week:

 “If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself.”

  –Albert Einstein
 

 

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© 2007 Austin-San Antonio Corridor Council