News from November 2022


Property and business tax burdens keep Texas out of top 10 tax climate rating: 'Property taxes are high and the average burden for state and local sales tax is 8.2%'

The Tax Foundation recently released its list of the top 10 State Business Tax Climate Index for 2023 and Texas remained at 13 possibly indicating there is room for growth. From last year, the two categories to change were sales taxes and property taxes, both dropping by 1 in the Tax Foundation’s rankings (all categories are ranked 1-50). State sales taxes now ranks 37 out of 50 and state property taxes ranks 38 out of 50.


Huffines: 'If we want to reduce taxes, we have to reduce government spending'

Texas politicians have been unwilling to take the required steps to eliminate property taxes, or even provide meaningful property tax relief, and bad policy decisions are to blame, according to a former gubernatorial candidate.


City of Austin Audit and Finance Committee met Oct. 19

City of Austin Audit and Finance Committee met Wednesday, Oct. 19


Sailer: Texas public universities are 'most obvious example' of red state schools with 'rapid, all-consuming growth of DEI'

John Sailer, a fellow at the National Association of Scholars, posted a thread on Twitter explaining how the state of Texas is a perfect example of a Republican-run “red state” whose universities are filled with diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) bureaucracies that alter the purpose of higher education.


Elliott on tourney top seed for UT: 'We put a lot of hard work to get to this point'

The top-ranked program in the country to end the 2022 regular season, the University of Texas (UT) Longhorns women’s volleyball team will begin the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed with a first-round home matchup against Fairleigh Dickinson at Gregory Gymnasium on Thursday, according to a press release.


City of Austin City Council will meet Dec. 1

City of Austin City Council will meet at 10 a.m., Thursday, Dec. 1


City of Austin Housing Finance Corporation Board of Directors will meet Dec. 1

City of Austin Housing Finance Corporation Board of Directors will meet at 10:30 a.m., Thursday, Dec. 1



City of Austin City Council will meet Nov. 30

City of Austin City Council will meet at 1 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 30


City of Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee will meet Nov. 29

City of Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee will meet at 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 29


City of Austin City Council will meet Nov. 29

City of Austin City Council will meet at 9 a.m., Tuesday, Nov. 29


Abbott orders officials to increase efforts to combat border crisis: 'Texas guardsmen and troopers must bear the burden of securing the border'

Gov. Greg Abbott recently ordered the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and Texas Military Department (TMD) to step up their efforts to combat the growing illegal immigration along the Texas-Mexico border.


City of Austin Mobility Committee met Oct. 6

City of Austin Mobility Committee met Thursday, Oct. 6


Stuver on new multi-year contract: 'I am looking forward to continuing my journey here'

Austin FC has secured the services of goalie Brad Stuver for the next three seasons, according to a club-issued press release.


ECHO's Mollica: 'Gifts like this one from the Day 1 Families Fund provide much-needed flexible funding'

The founder of the world’s largest online retailer awarded an Austin nonprofit organization a $2.5 million grant to help address homelessness, according to Austin-based media outlets.


City of Austin City Council met Sept. 29

City of Austin City Council met Thursday, Sept. 29


Donut shop to open additional Austin outpost: 'Opening a second location to serve a community that has embraced the Voodoo brand'

A culinary import from Portland, Oregon is looking to bank on its popularity in Austin, according to Austin ABC affiliate KVUE.


Cruz, Cornyn lead Senate in honoring WS champs: 'Supporting my home team, the Houston Astros, has long been one of my favorite pastimes'

U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz (R-TX) led the U.S. Senate in honoring the newly crowned World Series champion Houston Astros, per a press release from Cruz’s office in Washington, D.C.


City of Austin City Council met Sept. 27

City of Austin City Council met Tuesday, Sept. 27


Peacock: 'Texas politicians, the public and the media have no model of how an electric grid ruled by market prices would compare to the scenarios offered by E3'

Energy Alliance Policy Director Bill Peacock discussed the state of the modern energy market in an interview with the Austin Journal.