Daily Archives: 05/09/2013

(Community Matters) President Obama visited the Capital Factory today, an outstanding tech startup incubator co-founded & operated by several friends, especially Joshua Baer and Bill Boebel.

In the shared work space (250 entrepreneurs work at Capital Factory representing almost 100 different companies) he was treated to a demo of Mass Relevance by Eric Falcao  and a demo by Stormpulse narrated by Matt Wensing.

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Photos from many different sources, including yesterday’s official CF photographer: Alex Smith, and many my own

Josh then introduced the President to a room of 24 entrepreneurs, investors and

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(Community Matters) I’m told these plans are being proposed to the UT Regents today.

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(Community Matters) More parents’ comments coming in concerned about Southwest Key’s stewardship of East Austin College Prep.

And, this has stoked my interest in knowing the results of two friends’, Austin business and political leaders investigations into the matters I raised. One friend was a board member and contacted me after my original posting. Rather than chastising me for raising concerns, I suggested he exercise his fiduciary responsibilities as a board member of SW Key and investigate whether my concerns were valid. He promised to do so. I never heard back but noticed he resigned from the board. The other friend was a paid consultant tasked with raising money. He asked me to stand down and I asked him to protect his reputation by investigating his employer before asking our friends for money. I never heard back but I do know he wasn’t working for SW Key a few months thereafter.  A revered Hispanic community leader wrote me questioning my connection with Hispanics in this community – suggesting I only speak out against Hispanic initiatives. Well, that would be wrong, though I appreciated her candid feedback and directness.

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(Community Matters) Seriously, is this a priority for some conservatives? Reading about the US House Bill to allow employees to take comp time (subj to scheduling with employer) in lieu of overtime. You know, for empowered employees, maybe this might work, though I think over time, most employees are becoming less empowered.

I’m really not a corporate basher. I believe the most sustainable form of charity is creating jobs. And, I know that sometimes hard, firm rules are the best way to ensure we operate fairly and aren’t tempted to cut corners.

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