Latest news with #UniformElection
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Starbase incorporation vote nears; company cites growth for Starship development
Apr. 29—Once the results of the May 3 election are counted, canvassed and ratified by Cameron County, it's very likely Starbase, Texas, will be the state's newest municipality. In December, county Judge Eddie Trevino Jr. received a petition from more than 10% of the several hundred eligible voters who are residents of Starbase — SpaceX's name for its Starship/Super Heavy construction and testing complex centered around the currently unincorporated Boca Chica Village — requesting that an incorporation election be called. Since the petition met the requirements set forth by the Texas Local Government Code, Trevino was required by law to call an election, which he scheduled for May 3 to coincide with the statewide Uniform Election. Assuming Starbase voters approve the ballot question, Starbase will be incorporated as a Type C general law municipality, or one with more than 201 but fewer than 4,999 residents. According to Trevino, the last new municipality to be incorporated in Cameron County was Los Indios, in 1995. According to the petition, the territory of the proposed municipality consists of approximately 1.45 square miles. According to state law, a proposed municipality of fewer than 2,000 residents cannot incorporate if the surface area exceeds 2 square miles. Starbase has been recognized as a "distinct area within Cameron County" according to resolutions approved by the county commissioners court and Brownsville City Commission. The December petition was signed by Gunnar Milburn, senior security manager at Starbase and then sole candidate for mayor, though the new sole mayoral candidate is Bobby Peden, vice president of SpaceX Texas test and launch operations, whose name appears on the May 3 ballot. The petition was also signed by Jordan Buss and Jenna Petrzelka, whose names appear on the ballot as Starbase city commission candidates. Buss's ballot application form lists his occupation as environmental health and safety director, while Petrzelka's application form lists her occupation as "philanthropist." In a cover letter to the petition, Starbase General Manager Kathryn Lueders wrote that SpaceX hoped to incorporate Starbase in order to keep growing it, and by extension "continue growing the workforce necessary to rapidly develop and manufacture Starship." Incorporation would streamline the building of "amenities necessary to make the area a world-class place to live" for current resident/employees and those to come, she said. "As you know, through agreements with the County, SpaceX currently performs several civil functions around Starbase due to its remote location, including management of the roads, utilities, and the provision of schooling and medical care for the residents," Lueders wrote. "Incorporation would move the management of some of these functions to a more appropriate public body." SpaceX's last two suborbital test flights (Flights 7 and 8) from Boca Chica/Starbase, on Jan. 16 and March 6, ended with the loss of the Starship test vehicles over the Caribbean. No date has been announced for Flight 9. Featured Local Savings
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
SpaceX legislation dies: Would have removed county's authority on closures
Apr. 28—Proposed legislation that would have given SpaceX control over closures of Boca Chica Beach and S.H. 4 has died in the Texas Legislature. The development follows weeks of strident opposition by groups such as the Surfrider Foundation and Texas Sierra Club, joined by the city of Port Isabel, which passed a resolution opposing S.B. 2881 from Sen. Adam Hinojosa (R-Corpus Christi) and H.B. 4660 from Rep. Janie Lopez (R-San Benito), which would have effectively removed Cameron County's authority over beach and road closures on weekdays through noon on Fridays. Authority over closures after noon on Fridays and during weekends would have remained with the county. According to the South Texas Environmental Justice Network (STEJN), about 500 letters opposing the bills were sent to state representatives, while protests were held outside Hinojosa's office. Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino Jr. likewise was vocal in opposing the legislation, which he said in an April 4 letter to the House State Affairs Committee "does not serve the public interest and has received an overwhelmingly negative response from our local community. "Through experience, Cameron County has shown the proper discretion and authority with respect to SpaceX, and any beach or road closures for spaceflight activities," he wrote. "These have been coordinated satisfactorily through the mutual collaboration of both parties and continue without this bill." STEJN said a celebration will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. May 3 (Election Day) in the form of the Save Boca Chica Beach community event, "where residents will gather to continue demanding access to the beach and speaking out against SpaceX's plans to establish the company town of Starbase through an election this month." This refers to a May 3 ballot question on whether to allow SpaceX's Boca Chica community to be legally incorporated as a Type C municipality called "Starbase." SpaceX/Starbase submitted a petition to the county on Dec. 12 that satisfied the Texas Local Government Code's requirements for the calling of an election by residents to decide incorporation. A Type C municipality contains between 201 and 4,999 residents. Trevino, who by law was required to call an election to decide the question, scheduled it for May 3 as part of the Uniform Election. Only Starbase residents are allowed to vote on the matter. "The (STEJN) recently acquired, through a records request, a map of the voting district for the proposed Starbase city, which shows a crudely drawn boundary encompassing approximately 200 residents, mostly SpaceX staff, who would be eligible to vote in the May 3 election," according to STJEN. "These community organizations have also taken action to speak out against this company town election." STEJN co-founder Bekah Hinojosa issued a statement saying that the "Rio Grande Valley community successfully stopped Texas (Legislature) bills pushed by SpaceX lobbyists. Elon Musk's SpaceX company will not have control over our Boca Chica beach." "Stopping these bills should send a clear message to all public officials, (that) they are supposed to represent the people," she said. "Public and regulatory officials must listen to our concerns that the facility is harming our wildlife habitat, homes, waterways and daily lives. We strongly oppose Elon Musk's dangerous SpaceX rocket facility, his Starbase company town election, and his attempted beach takeover." ------ RELATED READING: Featured Local Savings
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Last day to register to vote for May Uniform Election
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The El Paso County Elections Department is reminding residents that the last day to register to vote is Thursday, April 3 for the May 2025 Uniform Election. Ballots for this election include Haciendas Del Norte Water Improvement District, El Paso Independent School District, Socorro Independent School District, San Elizario Independent School District, El Paso Community College, Town of Anthony, Village of Vinton, Town of Horizon City and City of San Elizario, the Elections Department said. The Elections Department's office is open from 8 a.m. through 4:45 p.m. Monday through Friday and is located at 500 E. San Antonio Ave., Suite 314, El Paso, Texas, 79901. On Thursday, April 3, the office will close at 5 p.m. The Elections Department has provided a list of important voter registration information which is the following: To register in Texas, an applicant must: Be a resident of the county in which they are registering. Be a citizen of the United States. Be 18 years of age by Election Day. Not be a convicted felon, or if convicted, have completed all punishment (including incarceration, parole, probation, or supervision) or received a pardon. Not be declared by a court exercising probate jurisdiction to be either totally mentally incapacitated or partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote. Those who are interested can download a voter registration application from the Elections Department's website under Voter Registration. Applications are also available at any United States Post Office, the Department of Public Safety, El Paso Public Libraries, Texas Health and Human Services Commission offices, and any local high school, the Elections Department said. The Elections Department says it will continue to accept walk-ins for those who would like to register it update their voter registration information. Once processed, a voter registration certificate will be mailed within 30 days. If already registered, voters can use the Elections Department's new website feature, My Voter Dashboard, to check their voter registration status. Voters will need to enter their first name, last name, and date of birth, or their Voter Unique Identifier, VUID Number, which is located on the Voter Registration Certificate. Voters with questions can call the Elections Department at (915) 273-3597. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
