Austin developer Nate Paul, at center of Ken Paxton scandal, jailed on federal charges "Nate Paul, the Austin real estate developer at the center of a federal investigation into Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, is being held at the Travis County jail and facing federal criminal charges. ... Paul and his World Class company have been under investigation since 2019, a year before federal investigators opened an investigation into Paxton in connection with his relationship with Paul." (Ryan Autullo
Tony Plohetski, Austin American-Statesman)
Abbott signs new Texas tax breaks into law "Gov. Greg Abbott on June 7 signed into law new school property tax-based corporate incentives for Texas. The widely expected move was the ultimate step of a long journey that many economic development leaders in the state had pushed for since the last major tax incentives program, known as Chapter 313, came to an end at the close of 2022." (Mike Christen, Austin Business Journal)
Texas' 'Death Star' could kill a slew of local laws. Here's how. "A bill dubbed the Death Star Bill — after the moon-sized technological terrors of Star Wars fame — passed both houses and is likely to be signed by Gov. Greg Abbott. ... [House Bill] 2127 would preempt a slew of local laws — anything from regulations on construction standards to payday lenders to bans on discrimination in hiring and housing. It would require cities and counties to follow state law or potentially be taken to court." (Andrew Weber, KUT 90.5)
Even more Meta real estate hits sublease market "Facebook's parent company, Meta Platforms Inc., has placed even more of its Austin real estate on the sublease market. Meta placed 589,000 square feet of office space in the under-construction Sixth and Guadalupe tower on the sublease market in November, and a company spokesperson confirmed the tech titan is now behind a nearly 120,000-square-foot sublease in the 300 West Sixth tower as Meta plans to focus on remote work." (Cody Baird, Austin Business Journal)
Council moves to strike residential occupancy limits in Austin "Austin officials have taken action to wipe away city rules that currently limit the number of unrelated adults that are allowed to live together in a single residence, a move supporters say will allow more people to access housing in town." (Ben Thompson, Community Impact)
Austin to temporarily reopen downtown Salvation Army shelter to house homeless residents "Temporary relief is on the way for some of Austin's more than 5,000 homeless residents after City Council voted to reopen the Salvation Army's downtown shelter beginning July 1. Thursday’s vote allows the city to lease the building from the Salvation Army. The city will work with Urban Alchemy, the nonprofit that runs the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless, or ARCH, to extend homeless programs to the facility." (Luz Moreno-Lozano, KUT 90.5)
