Daily Archives: 09/06/2008

(Community Matters) Well, this photo didn’t really work out sowell but who cares, I adore her.

(Community Matters) Newsweek’s fact check of comments at the GOP convention. Quite interesting.

(Community Matters) Total tongue & cheek and offensive. Don’t listen

(Community Matters) McCain/Palin not even in office but already obstructing justice. here

(Community Matters) Pleased to see House Speaker Pelosi launching an investigation of Rep. Charlie Rangel. We’d have no credibility on reform otherwise.

(Community Matters) Super neighborhood event organized this morning by Sean Garretson. Lots of Chestnut neighbors, from both the Commons Project and the traditional neighborhood. Tommie & Will Meredith on hand to talk about development to date as well as future plans. We met in the middle of the Chestnut Commons development which has raised nearly $1.2mm for affordable housing, which I was on hand to discuss. As well representatives from PeopleFund, Austin Childrens Museum and Sustainable Food Center each explaining their plans to build on Featherlite. The MLK commuter rail station being built in the foreground of where we met.

(Community Matters) Brian Rodger’s Stop Domain Subsidies campaign sounds ill-conceived in that it’s asking the City of Austin to renege on a contractual commitment. And, it’s taking out of context the original council decision to support the mixed use retail & residential development in north Austin. Even the campaign’s title is misleading in that the Austin taxes rebated are invested and earning a return.

First, best to separate the referendum into two issues. The first, whether City Council ought to grant tax incentives to projects including retail should be one issue. The other should be whether or not we live up to agreements we’ve made in the past.

On the latter, in 2003 the capital markets weren’t open to mixed use development in the Southwest USA. Austin was in the tank development wise and there wasn’t any immediate prospects for an expanded tax base on the site developed into the Domain. Plus, Central Texans through Envision Central Texas were prioritizing denser development. As members of the non-development community, Robin Rather and I – we were both members of LiveableCity’s founding board at the time (I’ve since resigned)– both spoke at council in favor of the Domain development tax incentive agreement. Council approved it 6 to 1, there was significant negotiating and binding agreements were signed.

It strikes me as way too Bush/Cheney-esq how Brian misstates claims of contract noncompliance which the city staff counters and disproves. This doesn’t do anything to enlighten the conversation which we absolutely should be having – do we want to ban tax incentives for retail or mixed-use projects going forward.

(Community Matters) Friends and readers might remember that I don’t cheerlead for Attorney General Greg Abbott. Neverthelesss, kudos where they’re due. His brief in support of an inquiry investigating the truth of a relationship between the prosecutor and sitting judge at Hood’s trial is refreshing.

(Community Matters) gotta love the Daily Show

(Community Matters) The Jed Report is saying Gov Palin is taking two weeks for briefings on McCain’s positions. Also hear she’ll only be making speeches, not giving interviews once she reemerges.

(Community Matters) Friday, wow I missed it; hadn’t done that in a while, try not to. Sorry. It was a particularly busy day, though not unproductive or un-fun.

Interviewing new EF program manager candidates, dialing for dollars and other logistics in preparation for Senator Biden’s visit next week, Bryan Jones visit, finally back to the gym with my compadre Kent Mayes, dinner at Julio’s with Leslie Jarmon while reviewing David Plouffe’s campaign presentation and while Steven and Leslie planned their Nov 4, driving New Mexican voters to the polls and, finally, a welcomed very early night in.