Monday Morning Report
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The Senate Transportation committee in Austin passed out on a 5-2 vote Sen. Kirk Watson's SB 1923, a funding mechanism for the Texas Railroad Relocation and Improvement Fund, last week (3/30). The measure would re-direct $90 million in transportation fees already being collected to finance the Fund. It's a good bill, moving forward, and here's a wrap up of what happened in the Committee. It's onward to the full Senate. Please make sure your legislators support this bill.
Bob Daigh announced his resignation as the Austin District Engineer for TxDOT last week. He'll be leaving at the end of April and, boy, will he be missed. Bob has been a great ally of the Corridor Council on everything from SH 130 to the Ben White intersection build-out to commuter rail. We wish him all success.
Infrastructure
Temple's Loop 363 and Interstate 35 intersection flyover opened last week (4/3). The $70 million, three-level project took three years to build. Details.
The San Marcos Chamber of Commerce announced Robert Watts as the new Executive Vice President. Mr. Watts is the former Executive Director of the Hillsboro Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.
The San Antonio Express-News weighed in on their editorial page over the weekend on Sen. John Carona's 'local option transportation tax' measure Senate Bill 855, calling on Lt. Gov. Dewhurst to allow the bill to come to a vote this week. The bill would allow voters to choose from a laundry list of various fees to finance local transportation initiates. Editorial here.
In New Braunfels, Capt. Patrick O’Connell took over last week as chief of the Fire Department, continuing city manager Michael Morrison's reorganization of various city departments.
In a peculiar dispute in San Marcos, the Hays County Commissioners Court this week will vote to possibly cancel an FM 110 engineering and design contract awarded to Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR). The court heard earlier from two Iraq War veterans who took issue with the county hiring KBR, due to their personal experiences in the war, allegations of shoddy workmanship in Iraq, and the company’s record on human rights. Story.
It looks like Temple and Bell County will be big winners in the Federal stimulus lottery: over $100 million to improve Interstate 35 and make other roadway improvements in the north end of the Corridor. Here's a story from the Temple Daily-Telegram with details.
Economic Development
San Antonio has been designated as a US Department of Energy ‘Solar America City’ and will receive Federal financial and technical assistance to fund innovative solar-energy initiatives that could serve as a model for other cities. San Antonio is already home to the largest solar energy project currently installed in Texas.
Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan and investment firm founder Don Sanders, co-principal owners of the Round Rock Express triple-A baseball team, are set to launch a new bank based in Round Rock. R Bank Texas, projected to open in early June, has raised $12 million in startup capital, according to State filings.
Whataburger Restaurants LP has bought Concord Plaza in San Antonio with plans to make the office building its new corporate headquarters. Corpus Christi-based Whataburger announced plans last November to move its headquarters to San Antonio. The burger chain will also move 250 corporate jobs to the city. Whataburger’s sales hit the $1 billion mark for the first time in 2007
San Antonio’s Alamo Community College has a new name. The community college system will simply be known as Alamo Colleges, one of the largest educational systems in the state with 53,000 students. The system operates San Antonio College, St. Phillip’s College, Northwest Vista College, Palo Alto College and Northeast Lakeview College.
“I remember when legal used to mean lawful, now it means some kind of loophole.”
~ Leo Kessler