Texas
California-tied firm eyes billions of dollars in investment near Texas A&M
![California-tied firm eyes billions of dollars in investment near Texas A&M](https://dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/TH2HXNNDXJEGZMWRDJVMABX4PA.jpg?auth=b7f9fcf53a915df9a3e83deac6eb3a9455a46157a09427c28741ac555730dfc2&height=467&width=830&smart=true&quality=40)
An entity tied to San Francisco-based Substrate Inc. may invest billions of dollars and create 2,000 jobs in Texas with the development of an advanced semiconductor manufacturing facility.
An application with the Texas Comptroller’s office shows an organization called America’s Foundry Bryan, LLC is pursuing tax breaks through the recently launched Jobs, Energy, Technology and Innovation Act for a 3 million-square-foot project on 288 acres of land owned by the Texas A&M University System in Bryan.
The potential investment is described as “a first of its kind bleeding-edge pure-play foundry manufacturing project bringing cost competitive semiconductor manufacturing back to the United States,” the application shows.
America’s Foundry Bryan already gained tax breaks from the Bryan City Council for the development, which has been titled “Project Factory One,” earlier this month.
The facility would be located on an undeveloped portion of the Texas A&M RELLIS Education and Research campus, located in Brazos County.
Substrate has entered into an agreement with Texas A&M, “indicating interest in a collaborative investment,” its application said.
The scope of the project would involve a total investment during the six-year construction period of more than $12.6 billion. The project’s proposed start date is slated for the fourth quarter of this year.
The application lists a total of 2,000 permanent jobs would be created by 2035, with a staggering capital investment of $108 billion over 40 years between buildings, machinery and equipment.
There would be more than 2,000 construction jobs associated with the initial project as well.
Starting average annual salaries will be in the six-figure range and escalate even as the job count grows.
The JETI Act is the state’s replacement for the contentious Chapter 313 tax abatement program.
With the JETI Act, companies can get up to 50% to 75% of property value abated for 10 years if a jobs-bolstering project is located within an opportunity zone. That’s compared to Chapter 313′s 100% abated on school district taxes.
This project, which is located in an opportunity zone, is within the Bryan Independent School District.
Twelve states offered incentives for the facility, but three states, including Texas, are the strongest contenders.
While the startup said nondisclosure agreements prevent it from divulging potential offerings extended by Oregon and New York, those states stand out in the site-selection process due to their emphasis on semiconductor manufacturing.
The application cited New York’s package for semiconductor manufacturing company Micron Technology in particular. Texas lost out on Micron’s up-to-$100 billion investment to the northeastern state a few years ago, a sore spot for many in the economic development game in Texas.
However, Texas’ JETI program is attractive to America’s Foundry Bryan. The entity said the JETI program provides the company a larger benefit than New York’s incentive program, but without the JETI program benefits, the New York program is significantly more beneficial to the company’s property tax bill.
The Substrate entity is also pursuing tax abatements with Brazos County, along with grants and monies tied to the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund, Texas Enterprise Fund, Texas Enterprise Zone Project Designation, Texas Skills Development Fund and United States CHIPS Incentive Program.
Should the project land in Bryan, the city would abate 80% of taxes for the first five years of the arrangement with the company, and 50% for the following five years.
The 10-year period that America’s Foundry Bryan is seeking JETI Act tax breaks for — the school years between 2030 and 2040 — involves real property with taxable value ranging anywhere from more than $10 billion to upward of $11.5 billion for a single year.
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Texas
Back in the MLB All-Star Game, Texas Rangers reliever Kirby Yates made this one count
![Back in the MLB All-Star Game, Texas Rangers reliever Kirby Yates made this one count](https://dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/PRP5KJDFVFBBFEI6AJKUDACZMM.jpg?auth=f2462ec1ac5665f1a180a75fb8cf26884a879e090e868a514e9ea821f7c26ca8&height=467&width=830&smart=true&quality=40)
ARLINGTON — Kirby Yates’ children were too young to remember their dad’s first trip to the All-Star Game. His kids — Oaklee and Kove — were 2 and 1 when the Texas Rangers’ closer was named to the National League roster five seasons ago as a member of the San Diego Padres.
In hindsight? It worked out fine. They’ll remember the one that mattered more.
Yates, who did not pitch in that 2019 All-Star Game in Cleveland, made his midsummer classic debut Tuesday night at Globe Life Field. He made it count, too.
Kirby Yates’ only other All-Star appearance was in 2019. He didn’t get to pitch in the game.
Yates made the most of the opportunity this time around in front of the home crowd. 🔥🔥🔥
(Via @Rangers)pic.twitter.com/l63tNlTbgv
— SportsDay Rangers (@dmn_rangers) July 17, 2024
The 37-year-old right-hander — who’s in the midst of a career revival after a number of injuries stalled it — pitched a perfect eighth inning and struck out two batters in the American League’s 5-3 win inside the Rangers’ home park.
He was one of three Rangers players who competed in Tuesday’s exhibition, joining second baseman Marcus Semien (a three-time All-Star) and shortstop Corey Seager (a five-time All-Star). Rangers manager Bruce Bochy and his assistants served as the AL’s coaching staff.
Yates struck out Washington shortstop C.J. Abrams on three pitches, including an 87.2 mph splitter that got the 23-year-old to whiff for strike three, and ran a 94.2 mph fastball past San Francisco outfielder Heliot Ramos in the next at-bat for his second strikeout. Los Angeles catcher Will Smith bounced out to third base on three pitches to end the inning.
“You’re always kind of going in there trying to do an immaculate inning, and I was off to a good start then messed that up,” said Yates, who walked off the field to a standing ovation from the home crowd. “You just don’t want to suck, let’s put it that way.”
He didn’t, and he hasn’t this season. Yates posted a 1.05 ERA, 46 strikeouts and went 16 for 16 in save opportunities for the Rangers in the first half. The Lihue, Hawaii native estimated that somewhere between 20 to 30 family members made the trip to Texas to watch him throw.
Their journey matched Yates’ own. He led the NL with 41 saves and had a 1.19 ERA in 2019, but an elbow injury derailed his 2020 season and he underwent Tommy John surgery that forced him to miss the entire 2021 season. He pitched for the Atlanta Braves last year but never quite felt like himself.
He became an All-Star again this season. The whole family got in on the fun this time.
“It just didn’t involve me, right?” Yates said. “It involved my wife, it involved my kids. We made a decision to leave our home, go somewhere else to rehab, take all the necessary steps, put our kids in a school in a place we weren’t familiar with. Did all these things that we thought were right to help my career get back to where I needed to go, and it’s just rewarding and all of that.
“It wasn’t just me, there was a village that was behind this.”
Yates, like many, grew up a Ken Griffey Jr. fan. He and his kids took a photo with Griffey on Monday night during the Home Run Derby. Both accompanied Yates and his wife, Ashlee, down the red carpet prior to Tuesday’s game.
“I know they were really nervous walking down the red carpet,” Yates said. “But I think once they got going, they kind of relaxed a little bit. My daughter loved it. It’s just neat to be able to spend it with them, because I hope it’s something they remember, too.”
Seager — who replaced Baltimore’s Gunnar Henderson at shortstop prior to the fifth inning — nearly gave the AL a lead in the ballpark in which he’s hit so many memorable home runs. In a six-pitch at-bat vs. Cincinnati fireballer Hunter Greene, Seager drilled a slider just outside of the right field foul pole, then sent a 96.3 mph fastball deep into center field immediately after. Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Teoscar Hernández chased it down at the warning track.
The 102.9 mph, 402-foot flyout would have been a home run in 17 ballparks, according to Baseball Savant. Just not at Globe Life Field, where the Rangers’ home run song (the theme from The Natural) briefly played after Hernández’s grab.
“Did it really?” Seager asked. “Oh no, that’s bad mojo right there.”
And, on the topic of possibly weird mojo, Seager did not bat directly behind his double-play partner Semien as he usually does for the Rangers. Semien — Texas’ leadoff hitter — started at second base and hit ninth for the AL. He went 1 for 2 with a single and a run scored off of San Francisco Giants right-hander Logan Webb as part of a three-run third inning.
“It was weird not playing up the middle with him, too,” Semien said. “Gunnar is a big shortstop, similar build [to Seager]. He made a nice play out there. Corey and I, our goal is to be playing up the middle in these things.”
Semien, a finalist to start at second base, replaced Houston’s Jose Altuve on the roster when the latter pulled out to rest a sore hand that was hit by a pitch on July 5. Seager had a significantly shorter runway. He learned at around 6:45 p.m. Sunday that he’d been called upon to replace Minnesota shortstop Carlos Correa (plantar fasciitis) on the roster.
He and his wife, Madisyn, even had to cancel vacation plans.
“I don’t want to say we were panicked, but we were a little panicked,” Seager said. “[The red carpet] is intimidating if you don’t have time to plan for it, but she looked amazing and we had a great time.”
So did the eldest of the trio.
“It’s all surreal, I won’t ever forget this,” Yates said. “The fans were awesome, it was great, and I’m very appreciative.”
Twitter: @McFarland_Shawn
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Texas
TikTok billionaire, voucher supporter gave Gov. Abbott $4M ahead of Texas House runoffs
![TikTok billionaire, voucher supporter gave Gov. Abbott $4M ahead of Texas House runoffs](https://dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/JDC5O3SY2CUM76GC636C4MBEII.jpg?auth=b700d4a3ef6a40ccd6956242a77ae39095ea2664814d75436d2756a0c51336de&height=467&width=830&smart=true&quality=40)
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott received an additional $4 million campaign donation from a prominent school voucher proponent just after the March primary elections, boosting his successful effort to toss out GOP House members who opposed his school choice plans, according to new state ethics reports filed on Monday.
The April 3 donation by TikTok investor Jeff Yass brings the Pennsylvania billionaire megadonor’s contributions to Abbott to more than $10 million since last fall. Yass previously donated $6 million in December, which Abbott described as the largest single donation in Texas campaign history.
Yass has donated more than $200 million in the last decade to federal and state candidates and to groups to promote school choice.
The mandatory campaign finance reports filed Monday by the Republican governor as well as by his campaign at the Texas Ethics Commission offer the first comprehensive look into Abbott’s money machine during two heated election cycles earlier this year.
Abbott and his campaign’s political action committee, Texans for Greg Abbott, were only required to file them in January and July because he wasn’t on the ballot.
An email requesting comment from Abbott’s campaign was not immediately answered early Tuesday. Staff at his Capitol office referred questions to the campaign.
Public education advocates have criticized Yass’ heavy-handed funding of Abbott’s campaign, saying that as an out-of-state activist he has too much influence.
Earlier this year, Yass, through a spokesman, provided a brief statement to The Dallas Morning News on his supporting school choice: “School spending has doubled in real terms over the last 30 years and results have gotten worse, particularly in urban districts. The time for choice and competition is now. I plan to support pro-school choice candidates in any state.”
The Monday reports show Abbott’s officeholder account, which received the Yass donations, spent nearly $12 million during the first six months of the year. Most of that was on travel, events and advertising. More than a quarter of that was spent on advertising, polling and consulting in April and May alone, according to Abbott’s 190-page officeholder report.
Throughout the primary and runoff season,10 mostly rural incumbent House Republicans were fighting off attacks from Abbott and his pro-voucher allies after the lawmakers repeatedly blocked legislation that would have created education savings accounts, or ESAs.
Proponents — including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick — argue that public schools in some areas of the state are failing, so parents need help paying for alternatives. The ESAs would allow for taxpayer money to be spent on private schools.
Opponents argue that private schools are unregulated and sometimes exclude students with special needs. They want public schools to be fully funded.
Many rural Republicans argue that ESAs would drain the funding from their schools — the largest employer in many rural counties — and hurt their communities, particularly because many of those areas don’t have private schools.
Before the March primary, Abbott and his campaign gave more than $6 million to House candidates, many of whom were challenging those incumbents. Then he donated another $2.3 million during the next two months for the May runoffs to defeat those who survived in March, according to earlier campaign reports.
Abbott’s well-funded victories in those contests appear to have given him the votes he needs to pass school choice during the next regular session, which starts in January 2025. His candidates must survive the general election in November.
The legislative effort to create the state’s first voucherlike program appears to be already underway.
On Tuesday, Texas House Public Education Committee Chair Brad Buckley, R-Killeen, scheduled a hearing on a range of issues, including the viability of ESAs, for Aug. 12 – the same week many major Texas districts start the new school year.
Meanwhile, the Abbott campaign PAC maintains a healthy war chest of more than $51 million as of June 30, according to the reports. The PAC received nearly $25 million in donations since January.
The political action committee’s 29,292-page report is brimming with donations of $1 and $2, although individual contributions of $110 or less that are not received electronically are not required to be itemized. Online donations must be listed individually even if they are under $1.
Aarón Torres contributed to this report.
Texas
Several Texas Longhorns Players and National Standouts Missing From College Football 25
![Several Texas Longhorns Players and National Standouts Missing From College Football 25](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_1600,h_900,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/longhorns_country/01j2xwn84wshajt263rq.jpg)
The college football world collectively rejoiced on Monday afternoon, when the long-awaited and much-anticipated EA Sports College Football 25 video game was released.
Customers who paid a premium price of $99.99 for the deluxe edition of the game were granted early access, while others must wait until the official July 19 rosters to start a dynasty with their favorite team.
And while fans will be looking forward to playing with truly real players in the game for the first time ever, it appears that the rosters of multiple teams – including the Texas Longhorns – are not yet fully complete.
Upon the release of the game on Monday, multiple Texas players were missing from the game, with some of those omissions being a key part of the roster.
On offense, the roster was without starting right tackle Cameron Williams, freshman guard Nate Kibble, offensive lineman Malik Agbo, and offensive lineman Trevor Goosby, and tight end Spencer Shannon.
Meanwhile on the defensive side of the ball, the Horns were without starting defensive tackle Alfred Collins, linebacker Mo Blackwell, transfer defensive tackle Jermayne Lole, redshirt freshman defensive tackle Sydir Mitchell, freshman tackle Melvin Hills, and cornerbacks Santana Wilson and Warren Roberson.
On top of that, multiple players who did make it into the game, are misnumbered, such as safety Andrew Mukuba, who should be wearing No. 4 instead of No. 13, edge Trey Moore, who should wear No. 8 instead of No. 31, and defensive lineman Bill Norton, who should wear No. 15 instead of No. 44.
Of course, the Longhorns are not the only team in the country missing players off of the game, including standouts like Ole Miss linebacker Suntarine Perkins, Ohio State edge J.T. Tuimoloau, Miami cornerback Daryl Porter Jr., USC wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane, just to name a few.
To replace these players, multiple randomly generated players were added to the game instead, making for a more unauthentic experience.
To make things even more frustrating for players of the game, there is no way to edit the appearance or numbers of the randomly generated players, so they can not be turned into those that are missing. However, this is also understandable as it is likely due to legalities.
So why the omissions? Thus far with each individual case, it is unclear. However, there are likely a variety of factors at play.
Some players may have opted out, while others have yet to officially be added to team rosters, or had issues with the process of being added to the game in some capacity.
That said, all is not lost.
Fortunately, unlike in previous editions of the game a decade ago, EA has the ability to update the game’s rosters, meaning more players should be added throughout the summer before the start of the season.
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