Monday Morning Report
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The Corridor Council Executive Committee met last Wednesday (6/10) for an update on Council infrastructure projects, a legislative report, strategies on Federal funding for high speed rail, and a progress report on our Texas Greenbelt Coalition project.
The Corridor Council Transportation Task Force will meet on Tuesday, June 30 at the San Marcos Activity Center. Please RSVP to council@thecorridor.org if you haven’t done so, or call 512-558-7360 for more information.
Infrastructure
New San Antonio mayor Julian Castro says he's exploring a light rail system for the Alamo City. He'll visit Portland and Salt Lake City before coming up with a local plan. Details.
Comptroller Susan Combs has certified the state's two-year, $182-billion budget. Lawmakers approved revenue to support the 2010-111 spending cycle. The budget incorporates $12.1 billion in stimulus funds with most of that money dedicated to education and health care. The budget leaves $9 billion in the state's Rainy Day Fund.
Look for a Special Session of the Legislature in Austin to deal with leftover problems from the Session that ended June 1. Best guess is a four-to-five day duration with a very narrow call limited by the Governor to ‘safety nets’ for Sunset bill agencies (including TxDOT) that will keep them going for the next two years and a vote on $2 billion in TxDOT bonds. Sometime between July 7 and July 30 seems likely to most observers as of now.
Congratulations and farewell to Bruce Byron, Executive Director of Austin’s Capital Area Mobility Coalition. Bruce managed to get substantial funding from Federal stimulus dollars for the HERO (incident management program) last week and then announced he’s stepping down from CATC. Talk about leaving on a high note…He’ll be sorely missed by the transportation community.
Economic Development
Standard Renewable Energy, a Houston-based company, has announced plans to open a San Antonio office to take advantage of a growing market for solar energy and energy-efficiency projects. It plans to open next month and to employ 20 people initially. Details.
American Opportunity for Housing Inc., a San Antonio-based company, has bought about 12 acres in the 2,200-acre multifamily master planned Plum Creek development in Kyle and plans to build a 264-unit apartment complex under its Vantage Communities brand. Details.
Texas Secretary of State Hope Andrade welcomed officials representing 24 Mexican technology companies who plan on investing in Texas through the TechBA Austin program. The initiative - hosted at the IC2 Institute's Global Commercialization Group at UT Austin - aims to foster economic development on both sides of the Texas-Mexico border.
San Marcos approved $425,130 in federal community development block grant funding to upgrade two parks and rehabilitate housing.
Elgin approved the issuance and sale of certificates of obligation to pay the final $800,000 for Phase II of the city's water system improvement program. Additional funds were required to finish the project due to inflated cost originally estimated in the plans seven years ago. Initial funding for Phase II for improvements was $2,556,000.
The amusement park company Six Flags has sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, saying it needs to reorganize and shed $1.8 billion of debt. Officials say the move won't affect the operation of its 20 theme parks in the US, Mexico and Canada, including Fiesta Texas in San Antonio.
A
2-year-old colt named Ragazzo from Seguin won a purse of
over $1 million in Oklahoma City last month (5/30) and is
on his way this Labor Day to the All American in Ruidoso,
N.M., the biggest quarter-horse race in America. Story
here.
“Weekends are a bit like rainbows; they look good from a distance but disappear when you get up close to them."
~ John Shirley