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Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
What is Starbase, Texas? What we know about Elon Musk's new city.
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways The area surrounding Elon Musk's SpaceX rocket launch site in southern Texas has officially become a city after a vote by residents in the area on May 3. The city, called Starbase, has been slated to become SpaceX's headquarters for the past few years, according to Musk. SpaceX's rocket launch pad has been in the area since 2019, but Musk has been buying land in Cameron County since 2012. In 2024, SpaceX submitted a petition to officials for an election that would grant the area city status, and the petition was approved in February. Under Texas law, a new city can be incorporated if at least 10% of registered voters in the area filed a petition for it and the majority of resident voters approve it at the ballot box. Last weekend, 218 residents in Cameron County, Texas, voted on whether to make Starbase its own city, with 212 voting to pass the measure. Most of the residents work for SpaceX. Now that Starbase is a city, voters had to select leadership, which they did: SpaceX employee Bobby Peden was unanimously elected the mayor, and SpaceX employees Jordan Buss and Jenna Petrzelka were elected commissioners. (It's not clear whether Musk himself voted in this election.) 'Becoming a city will help us continue building the best community possible for the men and women building the future of humanity's place in space,' an X account dedicated to Starbase posted on May 3. What is Starbase? Starbase is a relatively remote area within Cameron County, near the border between the U.S. and Mexico. It's about 1.5 square miles of land, and nearly every resident either works at SpaceX or is married to or related to a SpaceX employee. The closest city is Brownsville, which is about 20 miles away; Texas State Highway 4 is the only road in and out of Starbase. Created with Datawrapper Starbase currently hosts a SpaceX landing pad, a SpaceX launch facility and a launch control center to test its rockets, which have all been around since 2019. There is an existing housing area for SpaceX employees, including the home where Musk is registered to vote in Texas, according to the New York Times. SpaceX's rocket manufacturing facility and office building are near the housing area and feature a mural depicting a colony on Mars, which Musk has emphasized is his goal with SpaceX. There are still several vacant areas of land within the city limits that suggest more growth for the city, like additional housing. In January 2024, SpaceX announced it was investing about $8.9 million in building a restaurant, retail space and a grocery store. A $100 million, five-story office building was finished earlier this year, according to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Starbase has been Musk's plan for years Expanding SpaceX's presence in Texas specifically has been in Musk's vision for years. In 2021, he tweeted 'Creating the city of Starbase, Texas.' In July 2024, Musk announced on X that he was moving his SpaceX headquarters from Hawthorne, Calif., to the southern part of Texas, where Starbase now exists. He also announced that the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, would be moving from San Francisco to Austin, Texas. In 2021, Musk said California was a land of 'overregulation, overlitigation, overtaxation.' Unlike California, Texas does not have corporate income tax or income or capital-gains taxes on individuals. The move was also partly in reaction to California Gov. Gavin Newsom's signing the SAFETY Act, a law that prohibits school districts from requiring teachers to inform parents if a child wants to be identified by a different gender or pronouns. By early 2012, after much speculation, it was reported that Texas was a leading contender for housing SpaceX's launch facility, and in 2014, SpaceX announced it planned to make an $85 million investment and start building its site near Brownsville, Texas. "In addition to creating hundreds of high-tech jobs for the Texas workforce, this site will inspire students, expand the supplier base and attract tourists to the South Texas area," Musk said in a statement at the time. Weeks after announcing his plan for building Starbase in Texas in 2021, Musk tweeted that his charity, the Musk Foundation, would funnel $10 million into helping rebuild downtown Brownsville and $20 million to help schools throughout Cameron County. Future plans for Starbase A visitor at the large bust of Elon Musk near SpaceX's Starbase. (Eric Gay/AP) Starbase's X account said on Monday that its leaders were working with federal agencies to establish a ZIP code for the city and officially rename the area. Soon, according to the X post, residents will be able to legally update their driver's licenses to reflect that they live in Starbase, Texas. According to a filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, SpaceX is now working on a $22 million community building project, which should start in mid-June. The city also reportedly plans to build a school called Ad Astra, named after the one Musk launched for five of his children in 2014. Current residents are fighting for Starbase to get connected to a local water system, according to the New York Times, but that does not seem to be in the process of happening. Instead, residents currently must have their water trucked in from Brownsville.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
What is Starbase, Texas? What we know about Elon Musk's new city in Texas
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways The area surrounding Elon Musk's SpaceX rocket launch site in southern Texas has officially become a city after a vote by residents in the area on May 3. The city, called Starbase, has been slated to become SpaceX's headquarters for the past few years, according to Musk. SpaceX's rocket launch pad has been in the area since 2019, but Musk has been buying land in Cameron County since 2012. In 2024, SpaceX submitted a petition to officials for an election that would grant the area city status, and the petition was approved in February. Under Texas law, a new city can be incorporated if at least 10% of registered voters in the area filed a petition for it and the majority of resident voters approve it at the ballot box. Last weekend, 218 residents in Cameron County, Texas, voted on whether to make Starbase its own city, with 212 voting to pass the measure. Most of the residents work for SpaceX. Now that Starbase is a city, voters had to select leadership, which they did: SpaceX employee Bobby Peden was unanimously elected the mayor, and SpaceX employees Jordan Buss and Jenna Petrzelka were elected commissioners. (It's not clear whether Musk himself voted in this election.) 'Becoming a city will help us continue building the best community possible for the men and women building the future of humanity's place in space,' an X account dedicated to Starbase posted on May 3. What is Starbase? Starbase is a relatively remote area within Cameron County, near the border between the U.S. and Mexico. It's about 1.5 square miles of land, and nearly every resident either works at SpaceX or is married to or related to a SpaceX employee. The closest city is Brownsville, which is about 20 miles away; Texas State Highway 4 is the only road in and out of Starbase. Created with Datawrapper Starbase currently hosts a SpaceX landing pad, a SpaceX launch facility and a launch control center to test its rockets, which have all been around since 2019. There is an existing housing area for SpaceX employees, including the home where Musk is registered to vote in Texas, according to the New York Times. SpaceX's rocket manufacturing facility and office building are near the housing area and feature a mural depicting a colony on Mars, which Musk has emphasized is his goal with SpaceX. There are still several vacant areas of land within the city limits that suggest more growth for the city, like additional housing. In January 2024, SpaceX announced it was investing about $8.9 million in building a restaurant, retail space and a grocery store. A $100 million, five-story office building was finished earlier this year, according to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Starbase has been Musk's plan for years Expanding SpaceX's presence in Texas specifically has been in Musk's vision for years. In 2021, he tweeted 'Creating the city of Starbase, Texas.' In July 2024, Musk announced on X that he was moving his SpaceX headquarters from Hawthorne, Calif., to the southern part of Texas, where Starbase now exists. He also announced that the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, would be moving from San Francisco to Austin, Texas. In 2021, Musk said California was a land of 'overregulation, overlitigation, overtaxation.' Unlike California, Texas does not have corporate income tax or income or capital-gains taxes on individuals. The move was also partly in reaction to California Gov. Gavin Newsom's signing the SAFETY Act, a law that prohibits school districts from requiring teachers to inform parents if a child wants to be identified by a different gender or pronouns. By early 2012, after much speculation, it was reported that Texas was a leading contender for housing SpaceX's launch facility, and in 2014, SpaceX announced it planned to make an $85 million investment and start building its site near Brownsville, Texas. "In addition to creating hundreds of high-tech jobs for the Texas workforce, this site will inspire students, expand the supplier base and attract tourists to the South Texas area," Musk said in a statement at the time. Weeks after announcing his plan for building Starbase in Texas in 2021, Musk tweeted that his charity, the Musk Foundation, would funnel $10 million into helping rebuild downtown Brownsville and $20 million to help schools throughout Cameron County. Future plans for Starbase A visitor at the large bust of Elon Musk near SpaceX's Starbase. (Eric Gay/AP) Starbase's X account said on Monday that its leaders were working with federal agencies to establish a ZIP code for the city and officially rename the area. Soon, according to the X post, residents will be able to legally update their driver's licenses to reflect that they live in Starbase, Texas. According to a filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, SpaceX is now working on a $22 million community building project, which should start in mid-June. The city also reportedly plans to build a school called Ad Astra, named after the one Musk launched for five of his children in 2014. Current residents are fighting for Starbase to get connected to a local water system, according to the New York Times, but that does not seem to be in the process of happening. Instead, residents currently must have their water trucked in from Brownsville.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
From the editor's desk: Why providing context matters
A map of Pennsylvania counties showing federal workers as a percentage of counties' total workforce, not including active duty military members or post office employees. Federal workers make up between 0% (Cameron and Sullivan Counties) and 6.8% (Union County) of the workforce by county. Created with Datawrapper. So about this news cycle…. With so much information coming at you at a rapid fire pace, it may be hard to stay engaged long enough to find the needed context so you can have a better understanding of what exactly is happening. When our Ian Karbal approached me about some data he'd come across pertaining to the federal workforce in Pennsylvania, I leaned in a bit. With mass layoffs occurring due to the efforts of, Elon Musk, I was curious what we could glean about the more than 75,000 Pennsylvanians holding federal jobs. One caveat: The number doesn't include post office workers or active duty military. After all, this is an unprecedented move by a presidential administration – allowing one of the richest men on the planet, who is unelected and didn't have to go through any confirmation hearing, to make decisions on vital government work. What the figures do show is that while one-third of these workers are in Philadelphia County, many are in parts of the commonwealth most dependent on federal labor supported President Donald Trump in last November's election. For example, federal employees make up nearly 7% of the workforce in Union County and a little more than 6% of Lebanon County's workforce is on the federal government payroll. You can see how your home county or the congressional district you live in could be affected by going through a couple of interactive maps Ian put together. We hope data like that helps you understand Pennsylvania's role in this national conversation around how the government serves you, the taxpayer. But even more important is hearing how your fellow citizens have been impacted. Check out the story here. Another important point to make is that it was imperative to put a face to the numbers. These aren't just faceless bureaucrats, but friends and neighbors who perform tasks in your community that may be under-the-radar, but have real-world impact – from things like environmental work to assisting veterans. Ian spoke to several people who lost their jobs due to the seeming randomness of the layoffs. But he had to navigate some tough waters, because most did not want to go on the record and be identified. Hoping to eventually get their jobs back, they were concerned that having their names out there may lead to repercussions and punishment. Here's where I pull back the curtain a bit on our decision-making. Our parent company, States Newsroom, has a long-established Ethics Policy, available right there on our website. (A good tip for deciding whether a news organization is credible or not is if they make their editorial guidelines public). In this case, we had several conversations over whether we should grant some of Ian's sources anonymity and turned to the policy which states: A reporter may not agree to anonymity without first receiving approval from their newsroom editor and national editor. The person asking for anonymity must be told that his or her name will be shared with those editors, both of whom will keep the source's name confidential. We must know the source to be reliable and to have access to the information being shared, and the story must make that clear to readers. (See 'not for attribution' below.) We will, to the best of our ability, identify and report any bias the source may have. The story must explain why the source can't be named and how the information was verified, preferably with multiple sources. The source must be providing specific information, not speculation or opinion. There should be an expectation that the information reported in such a manner will become public in a reasonable amount of time. If we grant a person anonymity we will not use their photograph. After discussing it with my boss and he, in turn, discussing it with his boss, we decided to grant anonymity to current workers, because of the threat of potential recriminations. Since former federal employees in other states spoke on the record with our sister outlets, we also determined it was important to be consistent with the use of anonymity and ask that they allow us to use their name. Only one decided to go public. Now, rest assured this isn't a one and done kind of story. When I took over as editor at the Capitol-Star about a month ago, I promised we would tell the story of Pennsylvanians and how policies handed down by the state and federal government impact you and your communities. So, there are still layers to the reduction efforts to be explored and Ian would appreciate hearing from you if you are a federal employee in Pennsylvania, or have been impacted by federal workforce cuts. You can reach out to him by email at ikarbal@ or by call/text/Signal at 847-946-9191 to share your stories or help inform our future reporting on the topic. If you have any questions about our work, journalism, or anything else on your mind, I'm at tlambert@ Please reach out. I'll do my best to get back to you, because you are the reason we are here. Our work is geared toward ensuring you have a better understanding of what is going on in the world around you. Thanks for reading. Tim Lambert Editor, Pennsylvania Capital-Star Don't forget you can take an extra step and make a gift to the Capital-Star and support our work financially. It can be a one-time donation to our nonprofit newsroom or a monthly, sustaining contribution that will help us continue to serve you and the great commonwealth of Pennsylvania. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
The Guardian
14-02-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
The Crunch: how to show uncertainty in polling, Trumping global trade and a staggering increase in solar
Hello and welcome to another edition of The Crunch. In this week's newsletter, we have charts on the countries most exposed to Trump's tariff push, how much it costs for a band to go on tour, the staggering increase in solar electricity generation capacity around the world, the extent to which firings of US government officials overlaps with departments investigating Elon Musk's business interests, and how to turn any chart into a skate park. We have just finished a big redesign of our tracking page for Australian federal election polls. The redesign aims to make the charts clearer, de-emphasise the average (mean) and highlight the uncertainty in polls and our modelling. You can see the live version here, but we'll go through the key aspects of the redesign. The biggest change is we removed (Nick's favourite) diamond chart. This chart previously showed the mean, the credibility interval (sometimes also known as a margin of error) and compared the current polling estimate with each party's result at the past election: While we're still fans of this design – we used it in some of our Covid tracking pages – it falls over if you have to take away the diamonds, which we wanted to do to reduce the emphasis on the mean. We've always wanted to communicate to readers that polls contain some uncertainty – and there's still uncertainty even in our poll of polls. When we highlight the mean, even if an error bar or credibility interval is included, the mean will be the only takeaway for many. So it is now two charts! The first new chart shows only the range (credibility interval) of possible values for the estimated vote, and (possibly controversially) doesn't show the mean at all: The second chart now shows the difference between the current estimated vote, and each party's result at the last election, essentially showing the 'swing' to and away from each group: While we do have a mean, and 'error bars', we've hopefully over-emphasised the credibility interval to such a degree that people can't possibly miss it. Some of this was prompted by John Burn-Murdoch's column about uncertainty in polling ($). It's something we were already trying to emphasise, but we decided that wasn't going far enough – please let us know what you think. 1. The who and what of global trade Our colleagues in the UK put together this series of visuals to explain how the US trade deficit with some countries has changed and what the impact could be. Most of the focus is on Canada and Mexico but Australia does make a Where's Wally appearance in this nice bubble chart: 2. Make Touring Great Again We've been hearing for years that there's little money for musicians in streaming, and the real money is in live events. Well, it turns out there's a huge amount of overhead in touring, too. Shaylee Safie has broken this all down on Datawrapper. Even with some dire assumptions – such as the band all couch surfing on tour – the numbers don't look great for a lot of smaller bands. By the way, if you aren't reading the Datawrapper blog, you really should. Sign up to The Crunch Our data journalists showcase the most important charts and dataviz from the Guardian and around the web, free every fortnight after newsletter promotion 3. Who watches the watchers? There's been a lot of chaos in the less than a month since Trump returned to power. Not least at the more than 11 federal agencies that have been investigating Elon Musk's companies or that have pending complaints or lawsuits. Here's a handy flow chart from the New York Times so you can keep track. 4. Prices Install times are down down A lot of climate visuals show the world going in the wrong direction – polluting more and warming. But this chart from Our World in Data, thankfully, doesn't. In 2004 it took about a year to install a gigawatt of solar power but by 2023 this was only taking a day on average. Max Roser published an explainer on the growth in renewables a few years ago that is still a good read. And there's a bunch of other climate and energy data to explore at Our World in Data if you are so inclined. Another cool project turning charts into physical objects – beaded bracelets A deep dive into whether people actually do hate Coldplay Data visualisation is an art A handy guide that unpacks some of the decisions, abstractions, limitations and assumptions people often make when building charts This started as a joke on Bluesky but it's now a real thing! SK8plotlib is a Python library that will turn any matplotlib line chart into a line skateboarding game, built by Emily Hunt: Still trying to figure out if this makes it any easier to format decent-looking dates in matplotlib. We might be sold, if so. If you would like to receive The Crunch to your email inbox every fortnight, sign up here.
