The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - September 29, 2025

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy, folks, today is Monday, September 29th, and you're listening to The Texans Daily Rundown. I'm the Texans assistant editor Rob Lauchess, and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. First up, the Texas Tech University System has issued a memorandum directing its schools to be in compliance with state and federal law regarding the recognition of only two human human sexes, male and female. The letter, issued by Chancellor Ted L. Mitchell on September 25th to the five presidents in the university system, cites three different sources for its directive. House Bill 229, which was passed during the 89th legislative session, a letter from Governor Greg Abbott, and an executive order from President Donald Trump, each of which recognize only male and

Starting point is 00:00:56 female as the distinguishable biological sexes. The T.T.U system letter states, quote, therefore, while recognizing the First Amendment rights of employees in their personal capacity, faculty must comply with these laws in the instruction of students within the course and scope of their employment. Mitchell adds that while some in the university system, quote, may hold differing personal views on these matters, in your role as a state employee, compliance with the law is required, and I trust in your professionalism to carry out these responsibilities in a manner that reflects well on our universities. The memo comes after Angelo State University, one school in the TTIU system, issued rules changes to its faculty and staff on September 19th that made similar

Starting point is 00:01:45 directives regarding biological sex. Next, the San Antonio Spurs once gave fans a chance to select the name of the newly located franchise in 1973, and now fans will be asked a different question, whether or not to approve bonds for a new arena for their favorite basketball team. Project Marvel was first unveiled to the public in November last year, which included plans for a new Spurs Arena, among many other projected infrastructure developments in the downtown San Antonio area. The Spurs currently play at the Frost Bank Center, roughly a 10-minute drive outside the downtown district. As part of Project Marvel, the new arena would be in the heart of the city. San Antonio Assistant City Manager Lori Houston said it, quote, will not be funded by the general

Starting point is 00:02:34 taxpayers, end quote, in November. When the Frost Bank Center, first known as the SBC Center and then the AT&T Center after that, was first opened in 2002 at a cost of around $193 million, $175 million, $175 million, was funded via Bayar County voters approving a tourist tax on hotels and car rentals, and the Spurs ownership kicking in 28 and a half million. Now, voters in Bayar County will be asked to approve another venue tax, this time for the new $1.3 billion stadium that will require roughly $800 million in public dollars. But the Bayer County venue tax approval is just one aspect, as the money for the new arena, which is just one part of Project Marvel overall. all comes via a variety of different financing streams. In other news, Vistra Corp announced Monday that

Starting point is 00:03:28 it plans to expand its foothold in Texas Permian Basin, stating it wants to move forward with building two new advanced natural gas power units. Jim Burke, president and CEO of Vistra, wrote in a press release, quote, we recognize that energy is critical to powering this economic opportunity and we expect Texas will play an outsized role. He continued, quote, based on our ongoing conversations with customers, we are affirming our multi-year plan to add more than 2,000 megawatts of new capacity in ERCOT between 2024 and 2028. The two new natural gas power units are expected to supply a total of 860 megawatts to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas Grid, which would expand the Vistra-Permion basin power plant output from 325 megawatts to 1185 megawatts. The Texas power grid serves

Starting point is 00:04:25 nearly 27 million customers, and Aircott, which operates the power grid, serves 90% of the electric load. In April, it was estimated that by 2030 the Aircott region will require 208,000 megawatts, an increase of 48,000, mainly due to the rising demand of Texas-based data centers. Last but not least. In the latest episode of our smoke-filled room podcast, Tony Ortiz of Current Revolt joins senior reporter Brad Johnson to discuss the current state of digital media, the ethical questions and challenges surrounding political journalism, insights into the Texas political landscape, and more. Visit the Texan. News or wherever you get podcasts to listen now. Thanks for listening. To support the Texan, please be sure to visit the Texan. News and subscribe

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The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - September 29, 2025

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