Whipped Cream Difficulties

Back in 2008, Austin Energy (the city’s electric utility) made a deal with Nacogdoches Power LLC to purchase the entire output of a proposed new power plant. The key here was that the new power plant would produce electricity from burning “wood waste”, a renewable resource, and thus would avoid potential federal taxes on carbon-based fuels.

This was not a popular decision at the time. Even the local environmental activists were opposed to the plant. Many people felt the city wasn’t releasing all the relevant information and was rushing into the deal.

The plant went live yesterday.

The privately owned plant will sell $2 billion worth of electricity to Austin Energy for the next 20 years at a price well above the going rate for competing power sources. It will add $1.94 to the average home’s monthly bill of about $100, according to Austin Energy estimates.

More:

But when the deal was unveiled publicly, open-government activists said the city was not releasing relevant details, such as the cost. It was later revealed to be a little more than 9 cents per kilowatt-hour to start, then gradually increasing to around 16 cents per kilowatt-hour. The average is about 15 cents per kilowatt-hour over the life of the contract.
That is well above the current cost of natural gas and wind, and probably above what the utility would have paid for a proposed nuclear plant expansion that city leaders repeatedly turned down.

Austin Energy is currently paying “a little more than” 4 cents a kilowatt hour for “coastal wind” power. If I’m reading the article correctly, natural gas is running at about 2 cents per kilowatt hour.

In 2008, the City of Austin opened the Turner-Roberts Recreation Center on the east side of town. The center cost $4.3 million to build.

In 2011, the City of Austin has closed the center due to “significant structural problems with the foundation and walls”.

One of two engineering firms that have assessed the building has said it would take seven months and $2.7 million to repair it, or 10 months and $4.1 million to tear it down and rebuild it.

The architects who designed the building say…

…there are clearly structural flaws with the building, however, it was properly designed to withstand the area’s unique clay soil, which swells when wet.

And, to be fair, the contractor who built the building says…

…the company also agrees there are problems with the building, especially the foundation, but doesn’t know if they were caused by engineering, design or construction mistakes. Nonetheless, Journeyman is willing to pay to repair the center, he said.

But the question I’d ask is: what are Journeyman’s plans for repair? Are they just going to do a cheap patch job?

(I also wonder if designing the building for soil that swells when wet is part of the problem; given how dry it has been here, could the issues with the building be caused by soil contraction? Of course, I’m not a structural engineer.)

The election results are in…and Kathie Tovo beat Randi Shade, 56%-44%.

Thus endeth our long local nightmare. Now to see the results of the results.

Here’s a mildly interesting set of facts.

Austin’s cab companies have donated $17,500 to three City Council candidates, including $4,550 to Randi Shade for her runoff election (and a total of $10,350 to Shade overall, which the Statesman implies came from cab companies).

Kathie Tovo has received $6,500 total, and $4,500 for the runoff election, “mostly” from cab drivers for one company.

I was not aware of this, but there’s apparently a movement by the drivers for “legacy permits”: that is, after five years of experience, drivers could get taxi permits directly, rather than the permits being issued to cab companies. Tovo says she supports this, and Shade has expressed opposition.

“That was an important thing because the cost the drivers pay to the companies make it hard for them to earn a living wage,” Tovo said. “And Randi Shade did not make that commitment.”

Neither candidate, nor (as far as I know) any of the previous candidates in the race, have come out in favor of abolishing the permit/franchise system and letting anyone who wants to pick up passengers for money.

Oh, look! Randi Shade’s got a new TV ad and a new web video bashing her opponent, Kathie Tovo!

Oh, look! Kathie Tovo and her people say that Shade’s claims are “misleading and hypocritical”.

Oh, look! Water is wet!

Stay tuned for more stunning news on the campaign front.

The bars on 6th Street have decided to cancel their “vote for Randi Shade” promotion. (Previously.)

I guess without the drink specials, they’re going to have to attract folks to the bars with the usual lineup of stellar bands:

• Infinite Piehole.
• $10 Beer.
• Horrible Pudding Accident.
• Poetry Night.
• and the legendary Puppet Show.

(Credit where credit is due: 1 and 3 are stolen from the Scalzinator. 2 and 4 are stolen from Lawrence. 5 should need no explanation.)

(Edited to add: Lawrence points out that I forgot Austin’s other legendary band, “Closed For Remodeling”, as well as the up and coming “Amway Meeting”.)