February 14, 2025 • 27 mins
TOPICS FOR TODAY INCLUDE:
- Austin's iconic “Sail Tower” sold
- Covid relief loans could be sent to debt collectors as lawmakers target program
- Fed announcement on interest rates
- Plus! Fun Facts with Fiona!
Welcome to the Austin LGBT Chamber Podcast where we chat all things local and national business. Join Tina, Colton, Amy and Fiona every Friday.
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Be sure to check out past episodes: austinlgbtbiz.com/podcast
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to the Austin LGBT Chamber of Commerce podcast. I'm Tina Cannon, your host and CEO
(00:15):
of the Chamber on today's pod. We're going to talk local business news. And in the headlines
this week, Austin's iconic sale tower is sailing away. Check out the new owners in
a minute. COVID relief loans could send debt collectors to small businesses, what you
need to know. And the Fed makes an announcement on interest rates. I'm going to guess you
(00:36):
can guess, but stay tuned. Plus our new segment, fun facts with Fiona.
Hey, crew. Hey, a lot going on. Hello. Hello there. Amy Colton and Fiona, part of the
(01:03):
chamber team that make all the magic happen. Welcome. How y'all doing? Pretty good. How
are we doing? Good. Fine. Staying busy. Yeah. Fine. Trying to keep rolling.
Few weeks out from South by Southwest. Yes. More on that soon. Planning for our day at
the Capitol. More on that soon. Waiting for our inner city trip. More on that soon. Wow.
(01:26):
Pushed us our normal day to day membership support services, connecting, educating, advocating.
We don't do anything around here. We are gladly looking, happily looking for a new
liquor sponsor just for the chamber office. Anybody wants to volunteer. And also a couple
of events. Yes. Also some fast approaching events. And any corporations that would like
(01:48):
to move their DEI program to us. Exactly. But moreover, a bar for the office would be
helpful. Just saying it selfishly. It makes us sound happier on the podcast. It does.
It does. Plus it's so freaking cold in our office that I don't want my teeth to clank
together. We need to keep warm with some whiskey. With some whiskey. Whiskey in the belly. I'll
(02:10):
have jam, please. Oh, yes. A little G&T. Yes, a little G&T. Let's take a look at some local
headlines. The iconic Austin sale tower, or sometimes referred to as the Google building,
one of the largest transactions that closed this last couple of weeks. Cousins' properties
(02:31):
paid nearly half a billion dollars for the sale tower. Came together in what they call
the perfect storm of ideal conditions. That's according to our friend Tim Hendricks over
at Cousins. He's a senior vice president and all around badass when it comes to local land
and buildings. He is the managing director for Cousins. They bought the 35 story tower
(02:53):
from Trammel Crow back in December. It was kind of on the table, off the table, on the
table deal. But it is a very unique building, says Hendricks. Hopefully, they're ready
to move pretty quickly within a matter of a couple of weeks. They've got to do some
reconfigurations in the space. It's been kind of just collecting dust. Some other investors
(03:13):
that are looking and hesitated. They were kind of in, out, in, out. One of that was
tech giant Google. But they haven't quite moved in yet. They're going to lease some
space in the, in the tower. And I think their lease is through like 2038. Yeah, it's a
long time out. So like, you know, and they might, they might sub lease part of it, but
they, I think they want to kind of put their footprint on it as still their space.
(03:35):
Yeah. I had a meeting with some Googlers last week and they excitedly told me that they
were going to be moving over. Yeah. Yeah. Long overdue. Good. It's a beautiful addition
to our skyline. I do love the building. Yes, you can thank our friends.
There you go. Hi, Christy. Love you. Hi, Dre. Okay. That's enough. Yeah. I love you
(03:59):
all excited for it because it, because it's a big empty building, it's been adding to
the unoccupancy levels in Austin. So we, it just coming out of COVID, we were at about
18% unoccupied downtown in the CBD and now we're, we're just over 20%. So it's, I'm
happy to have them Lisa. I'm happy to have them put people in those buildings and
(04:19):
come back into the office, come to work. It's a good thing. If you would like to adopt us
and give us office space, we'd be game with that. Yeah. Or a bar. Okay. We'll take you
with a bartender. Yeah. I mean, like all those tech companies tend to have those, you know,
(04:40):
like, it's like they don't want you to leave. It's like they don't want you to leave. There's
a movie. It's called, I think it was called the circle kind of based on Cupertino's circular
office out, Apple's office out in Cupertino. Yeah. And so the movie is called the circle
and it's basically everything you would ever need and you never need to leave the circle.
(05:01):
And then they monitor it's, of course, it's a little thriller creepy, like they monitor
to you and all the things like severance. That's exactly what we had to go into this
conversation. Nobody's walking through white walls. Yeah, there's a sign like that, though,
all the workspaces now. Yeah, like the enticement of like, we have a dental office. We have
like a ping pong table room. There's a huge tech company, like a block and a half away
(05:24):
from our office that has like vending machines where you can get Apple chargers free like
music jam room with like guitar drums, like video game rooms, snacks all the time. Basically
my son's room. Yeah, yeah. Like, yeah. At my last job at our corporate office, there
(05:44):
was like a whole games room downstairs with a massive gym, like like, yeah, food court.
You name it. They don't want you to go home. They don't want you to go home. It's like
the circle. You're you're in and you are in. Remember back in COVID times and all those
beautiful relief loans happened that kept small businesses afloat. Well, lawmakers are looking
(06:10):
at targeting kind of a callback on some of those loans. The Small Business Administration
would be mandated to send some of those loans made under the COVID Economic Injury Disaster
Loan Program to the Treasury Department for collections under legislation put forth by
Senate Small Business Committee. The act would require SBA to refer any loans made through
(06:30):
the Idle Program that are eligible for collection to the Treasury Department. They would have
the option to suspend and or make collection efforts. That referral would essentially remove
the discretion of the SBA. There's been kind of a back and forth on this, right? There
was this urge to like pay, pay, pay, and then lawmakers were concerned about what that impact
would be to small businesses coming out of COVID. They kept extending the deadline and
(06:55):
then no, you don't have to pay it back. There's been so much flux in this space that, you
know, having the SBA just decide kind of arbitrarily on their own is not good either. So putting
some rules around it, but.
Well, and this impacts so many businesses. It's like over four million loans, right?
Yeah.
(07:16):
Like huge numbers.
Yeah, it's not tiny. I mean, it still needs to pass House and Senate and then be signed
by the guy in the office there. I think I'm just trying to refuse to say his name during
the podcast at all. I just can't. But they could also tack it on, right? We've got looming
(07:36):
government shutdowns ahead as they try to put forth a budget in the next couple of weeks
so it could go on as a writer. But we'll keep monitoring where this program is and what
the legislation would look like because we want to make sure that our small businesses
that were saved because of these are able to retain and maintain.
Granted, there was a lot of fraud. There were a lot of bags of shit human beings that were
(08:00):
taking advantage of this and creating bullshit companies and signing up. And right, those
people should be in jail.
But finding those people out of all the people that got loans, you can imagine, is I would
question whether that's a good use of timeless, you know, move on, get on with it.
Well, the other genius that's up there will probably just close it all down anyway, so
(08:22):
they won't have to pay back anybody.
Exactly. They actually could have any staff left to do this work. I mean, isn't everyone
getting like, let go anyway or like, told to go find another job?
ProPublica has a pretty cool tracking.
Do they?
Or kind of tracking?
What's being shut down?
Well, yes. And like who works underneath him in the doge?
(08:48):
Yes.
Doge. And the douche. It's a French pronunciation.
Sure.
I believe you.
So the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell met last week, the group met last week and
(09:09):
told lawmakers that they are in no rush to slash interest rates anytime soon.
He says, quote, with our policy stance now significantly less restrictive than it had
been in the economy remaining strong, we do not need to be in a hurry to adjust our policy
stance. He's basically saying that because they don't comment typically on financial
policy, but they do place close attention to what Washington is doing and how that's
(09:31):
shaping the economy.
So of course, in the last month, the guy in the round office rolled out a flurry of policies
that could impact consumer pricing, labor market, economic growth, global stability,
you know, those little things with all of his EOs coming out of the office.
So slashing an interest rate is just not what the Fed's ready to do now.
Fed is there really to kind of control monetary policy and to make sure that we are not sliding
(09:56):
in or out of recessionary times, but they also work off predictive factors. And it's
a little difficult to predict what a cheetah is going to do on a daily basis.
Yes.
There are lots of tariffs happening and extension of tax cuts.
Yes.
So much cheetah.
But fortunately Jerome is like a very level headed professional at what he does and he
(10:19):
doesn't answer to the president in that way. And so he has some latitude to be the one
that is controlling interest rates. Of course, as a chamber, right, we want the interest
rates to go down, but not that causes, right, recession times to hit. We want the cost of
money to be cheaper. But we also want to make sure that our dollars continue to value the
(10:40):
way it needs to be.
Yes.
These are very weird times.
Yes.
Now, Jerome Powell, he's got a secure job, right? Like he's not going to suddenly...
Yes, he's secure.
Yes. Okay. I mean, the person in the round office can't suddenly decide he wants to replace
it with his best.
No, he can't. And so he did the round office guy, did, you know, kind of not hint, but
(11:03):
say on his whatever platform...
That he, Jerome, needed to step down and Jerome's like, go pound sand.
Nice.
Not leaving.
Nice.
Yeah.
So you see somebody that's actually standing, someone standing up and saying something
and doing something.
Yeah, it doesn't take much to have a spine.
Wow.
It's just like what, 14 vertebrae is stacked together like it's not much. You just got
to stand direct.
(11:24):
I mean, you could sit directly.
I love the exchange, though, on social the other day with Sam Altman and the...
Oh my gosh.
That was so juicy.
Oh, I loved it.
So yeah, if you're listening, it was the Muscox made a play for OpenAI and gave them an offer
(11:46):
of like, I don't know.
It was 97.4 billion.
Yeah.
And he was like, no, but we'll buy Twitter for 9.74 billion.
That one even made NPR as well. So that's how I actually know about it. It was glorious.
OpenAI is valued at like half a trillion and he's offering chump change for it.
(12:10):
I'm like, this is not bargain basement, bro.
Well, actually what he was doing, it was smart in the sense.
So OpenAI has a for-profit and a nonprofit side.
So he was offering whatever the number was for OpenAI, the 97 billion, but he was offering
it for the foundation.
But the foundation has controlling rights and controlling votes over the for-profit.
(12:30):
So he was trying to backdoor his way into getting control of the board and decision-making
on OpenAI.
It's a little breed of little ox.
Oh, my guess.
Yeah, lots of stuff happening here locally.
I know Colton has a gazillion events to go over, so stay tuned for that.
(12:53):
But let's talk about some new members that have joined here recently.
Oh, yes.
Look at that groove.
That is groovy.
We have a lot of new members.
Sofly Social.
Yay.
Yeah.
A pole dancing studio here in Austin.
You know, I've been meaning to take up pole dancing.
(13:15):
I thought you might.
Yeah.
And like, what is it?
Pole dancing in aerial?
Acrobatics.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I'll go try that.
It's very athletic.
Team bonding.
Just do it.
It'd be like, for me, it'd be Team Funk.
We definitely need to go.
Where's the padding?
Create, skate, co-working.
(13:39):
Also join the chamber.
Welcome.
Welcome, welcome, welcome.
Austin Chamber Music Center.
Lots to look forward to there.
Good stuff.
I like their name.
And then we have some small town big pride folks.
Amazing.
We have Little Trouble.
(14:00):
It's a basement restaurant.
It's really cute.
Oh, yeah.
I feel like there's ghosts down there.
If there's not, I'm just going to say there are.
Probably.
It needs ghosts.
Actually, I think Jaden, the owner would attest to that.
I think there is a little girl or something that runs around.
Okay.
It's always a little girl.
Yeah.
Why is that?
I don't know.
Like they seem so innocent, but they apparently they're really pissed off once they die.
(14:21):
Are you sure they didn't just see me running around after your birthday party?
It's just like feminine rage all the time.
Every century.
Also O'Donnell's pub.
Lovely.
Yeah.
And Thorn and bread.
Mercantile.
Mercantile.
Is that one on the square too?
It is.
(14:41):
Love.
It's very cute.
It's coffee and plants.
Oh my gosh.
That is literally two of my favorite things.
And like engrossery goods and stuff too.
See you there.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You're going to love it.
I'm going to talk definitely about the what the small town big pride, but I skipped over
and I apologize.
Fun facts with Fiona.
(15:01):
I know you threw us all off.
I know.
I did.
Do I have any music for you?
That's the original.
That's the opening.
That's the opener, but should I just get on with my fun facts?
Yeah.
Just blow through.
Okay.
So seeing as this episode is coming out on Valentine's Day, I thought I'd bring a bit
of a loving topic into the fun fact.
(15:22):
So February the 12th, just two days before Valentine's Day is known as National Freedom
to Marry Day.
Yay.
Yay.
And it actually started in 1999 and it was the organization nonprofit Lambda Legal that
started Freedom to Marry Day.
(15:42):
Then of course we need to give shouts to Evan Wolfson, who was the founder of the group
named Freedom to Marry that did so much work on marriage equality.
We met Evan one time in his office in New York in 2011.
It was lovely.
Anyway, so yeah, February 12th is Freedom to Marry Day.
Y'all, all of you who like to celebrate marriage.
Very good.
Very good.
(16:02):
Yeah, why you still can't run out and go get married?
Coming from a very single person.
This message is brought to you by one of the most single bisexuals in Austin.
Accepting applications.
That's a fun fact.
Usually, I don't know if he's doing it this year, but usually every year the Travis County
(16:22):
Judge does Andy Brown performs ceremonies on Valentine's Day for free.
That's nice.
That's nice.
Christie, drink.
Help me, I'm gay.
Drink again.
If you don't know what's happening, that means you have not been listening to the podcast.
(16:46):
Shame on you.
Colton, what do you got for events?
We have so many upcoming events and engagement opportunities.
So, so many, seriously.
You can join us online with NGLCC on February 19th for a virtual event celebrating and honoring
Black History Month.
Participants will learn about influential black figures who have made remarkable contributions
(17:09):
to civil rights, science, literature, politics, and beyond.
We will also share some notable LGBTQ plus community members who have impacted Black
History.
You can also join us on February 20th for our monthly chamber.
Happy hour at El Raval.
That one should be super fun.
We're celebrating their community impact grant that they received through us NGLCC and Grubhub.
(17:37):
So awesome.
Yes.
Fantastic food, amazing service.
Can't wait for the potatoes.
Cool vibes.
Potatoes, bread, everything.
And there is an RSVP for that just to get us an idea of how many people will be there
so we know how much space to reserve.
On February 22nd, we are heading back to Lockhart for Small Town Big Pride.
(18:03):
Registration is now open for that event.
You can meet us there for free or ride the Lockhart bus with us for $10.
That includes beverages.
And if you want to meet us there, still RSVP so I can let you know where to meet us.
Yes, because you have a map for us, right?
Yes, a map, a list.
(18:24):
All the things are happening.
We'll make sure you don't miss a business.
There are so many cool businesses out there in Lockhart.
But make sure you stick around for proclamation and ribbon cutting ceremony around six.
Where?
On the courthouse lawn.
You can't miss it.
It's a big red beautiful building in the middle of the square.
(18:46):
I think one of the prettiest courthouse buildings in Texas.
You know how that happened, right?
Give us a little Lockhart lore.
Transformers.
Oh, okay.
The movie.
With Megan Fox, the first one?
Yep, the hottie.
Filmed in Lockhart, partially.
They blew out the side of one of the buildings.
And as a thank you to the town for the mess and the prolonged stay, they refurbished and
(19:12):
refinished the courthouse for us.
Wow.
That's lovely.
Isn't that nice?
Yeah.
Because it is a really nice, it's a beautifully, I mean, the architecture is gorgeous.
So I'm glad that they were able, I've never been inside it.
Maybe we'll try and venture in one day.
It's cool.
It's funny because it's like the DMV.
And it's like HR for all county stuff.
(19:33):
I get my paycheck for working the elections and stuff.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's, I mean, it's everything.
It's everything.
It's, yeah, it's kind of strange, but yeah.
It is a really pretty courthouse.
And I will admit that is my favorite ribbon cutting photo of all time in front of the
Lockhart courthouse.
It's just so cute.
It might be transformers too.
It's one of the transformers.
Anyway, it's one of the transformers.
Now that I'm thinking on it.
(19:54):
Yeah, I did.
But anyway.
Well, that's not the first one.
Megan Fox was not in it.
I mean, many things are filmed in Lockhart these days.
Does the building dome come off and it becomes like it stands up and walks around town?
No, but the clock in the clock tower reaches out and hands you a brisket.
The clock and the clock tower is maintained and managed by the manager of the clock museum
(20:15):
across the street.
A clock museum riveting.
The Texas clock museum.
It's actually kind of fun.
I guess all of the clocks are set to like different times.
So they chime the whole time you're in there.
I stepped in there and looked.
It's like donation.
You want to open on the weekend.
(20:35):
Okay.
It's like you donate.
You look at all the old clocks.
I don't know.
I grew up with cuckoo clocks and grandfather clocks.
So it's kind of that's a good.
They make me anxious.
They make me anxious.
Cuckoo clocks.
Yeah.
Because you don't know what's going to pop out of there.
I don't know.
I think it's my great-great-grandfather or is it like the creepy little wooden dancing
children?
All of the above.
Please keep up.
(20:56):
My great-grandfather.
My great-grandfather.
Thirst.
Too long.
Yeah.
Whatever.
What else are we doing?
You can also join us on February 27th.
We will be officially welcoming Hope Rising Pelvic Health to the Austin LGBT Chamber.
(21:19):
Join us at Datalabs.
No need to RSVP for this one.
Come hang out with us and Dr. Ash.
There will be an interactive art installation, refreshments and more.
Interesting.
That's a ribbon cutting.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's fun.
All right.
Good pelvic health.
(21:39):
If you have a pelvis, you should go.
Yeah.
It's actually really interesting and like the work that they do for like gender affirming
care is very interesting.
So yeah, we should get Dr. Ash to give us like a little lesson or have them on the show.
Yeah.
South by Southwest is also coming up very quickly.
Please join us at the 12th annual Big Queer Kickoff Party at Rain on Fourth.
(22:04):
Plus a discussion the next morning on the power of queer storytelling, moderated by
our very own Fiona.
It's awesome.
I'm so excited for this one.
I can't believe.
Last year I was volunteering this year.
I'm on the team.
That's what happens.
Doing it is great.
And I will say Fiona is the best moderator.
You're sweet.
It was a very awesome discussion last year.
(22:26):
I don't know.
People like stuck around and asked so many questions.
And I loved it.
All walks of life were in there too.
Very engaged.
I'm ready for South by season.
Me too.
I love it.
It's gonna be so fun.
I love the energy, the buzz, the city's electric, the weather's fricking perfect.
Yeah.
It is nice weather.
So much fun.
More information on all of that very, very soon.
(22:48):
You can also find it in your South by Southwest schedule if you're attending.
You can also register for our upcoming luncheon on March 5th.
I got a little out of order there.
But registration is now open for that luncheon.
And we will have more information on that very soon.
Yes.
(23:09):
And it will not be in the throes of South by so you don't have to worry about that.
Yeah.
We won't make you park downtown during South by, I promise.
But these luncheons, it's not a hard sell, people.
We're at the mercy of the space and how much room they have, but they always sell out.
So not a hard sell.
I'm just saying if you want to go, you get online and register to attend.
(23:30):
And if you've never been to one, it's a really great way to figure out or to meet other chamber
members and also find out more about us and what we do every day.
Right.
Registration will also open soon for the Texas LGBTQ plus Chambers of Commerce Day at the
Capitol.
You can join representatives from Austin, North Texas, Houston and San Antonio LGBTQ
(23:55):
Chambers for a day of advocacy.
Learn how to navigate the Capitol and speaking to your elected officials.
Business is business.
Yeah.
Hundred percent.
I already have my suit picked out.
Oh yeah.
Yeah.
And tennis shoes, I hope because the floors are rough.
I'll probably wear these.
Years ago when I was like lobby, lobby, like I would dress accordingly and I, oh my Lord,
(24:20):
I almost busted my tail end.
Are we going to see you in like sass shoes?
Because I was wearing sassy shoes and I was no never again.
I'm a big fan of some of the tile in the Texas.
If you know, you know, if you know, you know, I'm a big fan of the rotunda that went outside
that you look down.
You got married.
(24:41):
Yeah.
It's my wedding venue.
Oh, that's nice.
It would be so cute to look down there and see you and Christie getting married instead
of a bunch of rattlesnakes.
Yeah.
Because that's how I usually see it.
Oh, when is rattlesnake day this year?
Have we looked it up?
Hopefully not on our day.
Yeah, I was going to say probably on our day.
Probably.
Oh, they're like, when are the gays coming?
The whole different kind of hiss.
(25:04):
And snake.
Oh, oh, catty.
Yeah.
Wow.
We also have lots of member events coming up, including it's a pearl man in recital at
the long center.
Amazing.
The leadership Austin conference.
If you're going, I'll see you there.
Weekly transmask and weekly trans femme workouts at out wellness.
(25:27):
And as I already mentioned, South by Southwest Conference and festival.
As always, you can find out more about all of these events at Austin.
And you can find out more about it at the UBT chamber.com.
So many things.
So many things.
That webpage should keep you busy for a while.
I just passed out.
Yeah.
Can't breathe.
You know, when you got to register, it's going to be good too.
(25:50):
So like Tina said, it's going to sell out.
Yes.
Get online, mark your calendars for all of the things that are coming up in the next
few weeks.
We'll keep reminding you on this, but like register.
Yeah.
And if you're, I forgot one more.
If you're in the health and wellness committee, we will be offering free CPR certification
to our health and wellness members in April.
(26:11):
So stay tuned for that.
That's great.
It's super great because we're all going to have a hard time before the end of the
year.
So yeah, we kind of like y'all know what to do.
Fantastic.
A truckload of events, a truckload of things happening and more to come at this chamber.
As always, we thank you for joining us.
If you want to be a sponsor or a guest on the show, you can email us at info at Austin
(26:37):
LGBT Chamber.com.
Listen to our show every Friday, wherever you get your podcasts.
Be sure to follow us.
Thanks.
We'll see you all next time.
Welcome to the Austin LGBT Chamber of Commerce podcast. I'm Tina Cannon, your host and CEO
(00:15):
of the Chamber on today's pod. We're going to talk local business news. And in the headlines
this week, Austin's iconic sale tower is sailing away. Check out the new owners in
a minute. COVID relief loans could send debt collectors to small businesses, what you
need to know. And the Fed makes an announcement on interest rates. I'm going to guess you
(00:36):
can guess, but stay tuned. Plus our new segment, fun facts with Fiona.
Hey, crew. Hey, a lot going on. Hello. Hello there. Amy Colton and Fiona, part of the
(01:03):
chamber team that make all the magic happen. Welcome. How y'all doing? Pretty good. How
are we doing? Good. Fine. Staying busy. Yeah. Fine. Trying to keep rolling.
Few weeks out from South by Southwest. Yes. More on that soon. Planning for our day at
the Capitol. More on that soon. Waiting for our inner city trip. More on that soon. Wow.
(01:26):
Pushed us our normal day to day membership support services, connecting, educating, advocating.
We don't do anything around here. We are gladly looking, happily looking for a new
liquor sponsor just for the chamber office. Anybody wants to volunteer. And also a couple
of events. Yes. Also some fast approaching events. And any corporations that would like
(01:48):
to move their DEI program to us. Exactly. But moreover, a bar for the office would be
helpful. Just saying it selfishly. It makes us sound happier on the podcast. It does.
It does. Plus it's so freaking cold in our office that I don't want my teeth to clank
together. We need to keep warm with some whiskey. With some whiskey. Whiskey in the belly. I'll
(02:10):
have jam, please. Oh, yes. A little G&T. Yes, a little G&T. Let's take a look at some local
headlines. The iconic Austin sale tower, or sometimes referred to as the Google building,
one of the largest transactions that closed this last couple of weeks. Cousins' properties
(02:31):
paid nearly half a billion dollars for the sale tower. Came together in what they call
the perfect storm of ideal conditions. That's according to our friend Tim Hendricks over
at Cousins. He's a senior vice president and all around badass when it comes to local land
and buildings. He is the managing director for Cousins. They bought the 35 story tower
(02:53):
from Trammel Crow back in December. It was kind of on the table, off the table, on the
table deal. But it is a very unique building, says Hendricks. Hopefully, they're ready
to move pretty quickly within a matter of a couple of weeks. They've got to do some
reconfigurations in the space. It's been kind of just collecting dust. Some other investors
(03:13):
that are looking and hesitated. They were kind of in, out, in, out. One of that was
tech giant Google. But they haven't quite moved in yet. They're going to lease some
space in the, in the tower. And I think their lease is through like 2038. Yeah, it's a
long time out. So like, you know, and they might, they might sub lease part of it, but
they, I think they want to kind of put their footprint on it as still their space.
(03:35):
Yeah. I had a meeting with some Googlers last week and they excitedly told me that they
were going to be moving over. Yeah. Yeah. Long overdue. Good. It's a beautiful addition
to our skyline. I do love the building. Yes, you can thank our friends.
There you go. Hi, Christy. Love you. Hi, Dre. Okay. That's enough. Yeah. I love you
(03:59):
all excited for it because it, because it's a big empty building, it's been adding to
the unoccupancy levels in Austin. So we, it just coming out of COVID, we were at about
18% unoccupied downtown in the CBD and now we're, we're just over 20%. So it's, I'm
happy to have them Lisa. I'm happy to have them put people in those buildings and
(04:19):
come back into the office, come to work. It's a good thing. If you would like to adopt us
and give us office space, we'd be game with that. Yeah. Or a bar. Okay. We'll take you
with a bartender. Yeah. I mean, like all those tech companies tend to have those, you know,
(04:40):
like, it's like they don't want you to leave. It's like they don't want you to leave. There's
a movie. It's called, I think it was called the circle kind of based on Cupertino's circular
office out, Apple's office out in Cupertino. Yeah. And so the movie is called the circle
and it's basically everything you would ever need and you never need to leave the circle.
(05:01):
And then they monitor it's, of course, it's a little thriller creepy, like they monitor
to you and all the things like severance. That's exactly what we had to go into this
conversation. Nobody's walking through white walls. Yeah, there's a sign like that, though,
all the workspaces now. Yeah, like the enticement of like, we have a dental office. We have
like a ping pong table room. There's a huge tech company, like a block and a half away
(05:24):
from our office that has like vending machines where you can get Apple chargers free like
music jam room with like guitar drums, like video game rooms, snacks all the time. Basically
my son's room. Yeah, yeah. Like, yeah. At my last job at our corporate office, there
(05:44):
was like a whole games room downstairs with a massive gym, like like, yeah, food court.
You name it. They don't want you to go home. They don't want you to go home. It's like
the circle. You're you're in and you are in. Remember back in COVID times and all those
beautiful relief loans happened that kept small businesses afloat. Well, lawmakers are looking
(06:10):
at targeting kind of a callback on some of those loans. The Small Business Administration
would be mandated to send some of those loans made under the COVID Economic Injury Disaster
Loan Program to the Treasury Department for collections under legislation put forth by
Senate Small Business Committee. The act would require SBA to refer any loans made through
(06:30):
the Idle Program that are eligible for collection to the Treasury Department. They would have
the option to suspend and or make collection efforts. That referral would essentially remove
the discretion of the SBA. There's been kind of a back and forth on this, right? There
was this urge to like pay, pay, pay, and then lawmakers were concerned about what that impact
would be to small businesses coming out of COVID. They kept extending the deadline and
(06:55):
then no, you don't have to pay it back. There's been so much flux in this space that, you
know, having the SBA just decide kind of arbitrarily on their own is not good either. So putting
some rules around it, but.
Well, and this impacts so many businesses. It's like over four million loans, right?
Yeah.
(07:16):
Like huge numbers.
Yeah, it's not tiny. I mean, it still needs to pass House and Senate and then be signed
by the guy in the office there. I think I'm just trying to refuse to say his name during
the podcast at all. I just can't. But they could also tack it on, right? We've got looming
(07:36):
government shutdowns ahead as they try to put forth a budget in the next couple of weeks
so it could go on as a writer. But we'll keep monitoring where this program is and what
the legislation would look like because we want to make sure that our small businesses
that were saved because of these are able to retain and maintain.
Granted, there was a lot of fraud. There were a lot of bags of shit human beings that were
(08:00):
taking advantage of this and creating bullshit companies and signing up. And right, those
people should be in jail.
But finding those people out of all the people that got loans, you can imagine, is I would
question whether that's a good use of timeless, you know, move on, get on with it.
Well, the other genius that's up there will probably just close it all down anyway, so
(08:22):
they won't have to pay back anybody.
Exactly. They actually could have any staff left to do this work. I mean, isn't everyone
getting like, let go anyway or like, told to go find another job?
ProPublica has a pretty cool tracking.
Do they?
Or kind of tracking?
What's being shut down?
Well, yes. And like who works underneath him in the doge?
(08:48):
Yes.
Doge. And the douche. It's a French pronunciation.
Sure.
I believe you.
So the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell met last week, the group met last week and
(09:09):
told lawmakers that they are in no rush to slash interest rates anytime soon.
He says, quote, with our policy stance now significantly less restrictive than it had
been in the economy remaining strong, we do not need to be in a hurry to adjust our policy
stance. He's basically saying that because they don't comment typically on financial
policy, but they do place close attention to what Washington is doing and how that's
(09:31):
shaping the economy.
So of course, in the last month, the guy in the round office rolled out a flurry of policies
that could impact consumer pricing, labor market, economic growth, global stability,
you know, those little things with all of his EOs coming out of the office.
So slashing an interest rate is just not what the Fed's ready to do now.
Fed is there really to kind of control monetary policy and to make sure that we are not sliding
(09:56):
in or out of recessionary times, but they also work off predictive factors. And it's
a little difficult to predict what a cheetah is going to do on a daily basis.
Yes.
There are lots of tariffs happening and extension of tax cuts.
Yes.
So much cheetah.
But fortunately Jerome is like a very level headed professional at what he does and he
(10:19):
doesn't answer to the president in that way. And so he has some latitude to be the one
that is controlling interest rates. Of course, as a chamber, right, we want the interest
rates to go down, but not that causes, right, recession times to hit. We want the cost of
money to be cheaper. But we also want to make sure that our dollars continue to value the
(10:40):
way it needs to be.
Yes.
These are very weird times.
Yes.
Now, Jerome Powell, he's got a secure job, right? Like he's not going to suddenly...
Yes, he's secure.
Yes. Okay. I mean, the person in the round office can't suddenly decide he wants to replace
it with his best.
No, he can't. And so he did the round office guy, did, you know, kind of not hint, but
(11:03):
say on his whatever platform...
That he, Jerome, needed to step down and Jerome's like, go pound sand.
Nice.
Not leaving.
Nice.
Yeah.
So you see somebody that's actually standing, someone standing up and saying something
and doing something.
Yeah, it doesn't take much to have a spine.
Wow.
It's just like what, 14 vertebrae is stacked together like it's not much. You just got
to stand direct.
(11:24):
I mean, you could sit directly.
I love the exchange, though, on social the other day with Sam Altman and the...
Oh my gosh.
That was so juicy.
Oh, I loved it.
So yeah, if you're listening, it was the Muscox made a play for OpenAI and gave them an offer
(11:46):
of like, I don't know.
It was 97.4 billion.
Yeah.
And he was like, no, but we'll buy Twitter for 9.74 billion.
That one even made NPR as well. So that's how I actually know about it. It was glorious.
OpenAI is valued at like half a trillion and he's offering chump change for it.
(12:10):
I'm like, this is not bargain basement, bro.
Well, actually what he was doing, it was smart in the sense.
So OpenAI has a for-profit and a nonprofit side.
So he was offering whatever the number was for OpenAI, the 97 billion, but he was offering
it for the foundation.
But the foundation has controlling rights and controlling votes over the for-profit.
(12:30):
So he was trying to backdoor his way into getting control of the board and decision-making
on OpenAI.
It's a little breed of little ox.
Oh, my guess.
Yeah, lots of stuff happening here locally.
I know Colton has a gazillion events to go over, so stay tuned for that.
(12:53):
But let's talk about some new members that have joined here recently.
Oh, yes.
Look at that groove.
That is groovy.
We have a lot of new members.
Sofly Social.
Yay.
Yeah.
A pole dancing studio here in Austin.
You know, I've been meaning to take up pole dancing.
(13:15):
I thought you might.
Yeah.
And like, what is it?
Pole dancing in aerial?
Acrobatics.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I'll go try that.
It's very athletic.
Team bonding.
Just do it.
It'd be like, for me, it'd be Team Funk.
We definitely need to go.
Where's the padding?
Create, skate, co-working.
(13:39):
Also join the chamber.
Welcome.
Welcome, welcome, welcome.
Austin Chamber Music Center.
Lots to look forward to there.
Good stuff.
I like their name.
And then we have some small town big pride folks.
Amazing.
We have Little Trouble.
(14:00):
It's a basement restaurant.
It's really cute.
Oh, yeah.
I feel like there's ghosts down there.
If there's not, I'm just going to say there are.
Probably.
It needs ghosts.
Actually, I think Jaden, the owner would attest to that.
I think there is a little girl or something that runs around.
Okay.
It's always a little girl.
Yeah.
Why is that?
I don't know.
Like they seem so innocent, but they apparently they're really pissed off once they die.
(14:21):
Are you sure they didn't just see me running around after your birthday party?
It's just like feminine rage all the time.
Every century.
Also O'Donnell's pub.
Lovely.
Yeah.
And Thorn and bread.
Mercantile.
Mercantile.
Is that one on the square too?
It is.
(14:41):
Love.
It's very cute.
It's coffee and plants.
Oh my gosh.
That is literally two of my favorite things.
And like engrossery goods and stuff too.
See you there.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You're going to love it.
I'm going to talk definitely about the what the small town big pride, but I skipped over
and I apologize.
Fun facts with Fiona.
(15:01):
I know you threw us all off.
I know.
I did.
Do I have any music for you?
That's the original.
That's the opening.
That's the opener, but should I just get on with my fun facts?
Yeah.
Just blow through.
Okay.
So seeing as this episode is coming out on Valentine's Day, I thought I'd bring a bit
of a loving topic into the fun fact.
(15:22):
So February the 12th, just two days before Valentine's Day is known as National Freedom
to Marry Day.
Yay.
Yay.
And it actually started in 1999 and it was the organization nonprofit Lambda Legal that
started Freedom to Marry Day.
(15:42):
Then of course we need to give shouts to Evan Wolfson, who was the founder of the group
named Freedom to Marry that did so much work on marriage equality.
We met Evan one time in his office in New York in 2011.
It was lovely.
Anyway, so yeah, February 12th is Freedom to Marry Day.
Y'all, all of you who like to celebrate marriage.
Very good.
Very good.
(16:02):
Yeah, why you still can't run out and go get married?
Coming from a very single person.
This message is brought to you by one of the most single bisexuals in Austin.
Accepting applications.
That's a fun fact.
Usually, I don't know if he's doing it this year, but usually every year the Travis County
(16:22):
Judge does Andy Brown performs ceremonies on Valentine's Day for free.
That's nice.
That's nice.
Christie, drink.
Help me, I'm gay.
Drink again.
If you don't know what's happening, that means you have not been listening to the podcast.
(16:46):
Shame on you.
Colton, what do you got for events?
We have so many upcoming events and engagement opportunities.
So, so many, seriously.
You can join us online with NGLCC on February 19th for a virtual event celebrating and honoring
Black History Month.
Participants will learn about influential black figures who have made remarkable contributions
(17:09):
to civil rights, science, literature, politics, and beyond.
We will also share some notable LGBTQ plus community members who have impacted Black
History.
You can also join us on February 20th for our monthly chamber.
Happy hour at El Raval.
That one should be super fun.
We're celebrating their community impact grant that they received through us NGLCC and Grubhub.
(17:37):
So awesome.
Yes.
Fantastic food, amazing service.
Can't wait for the potatoes.
Cool vibes.
Potatoes, bread, everything.
And there is an RSVP for that just to get us an idea of how many people will be there
so we know how much space to reserve.
On February 22nd, we are heading back to Lockhart for Small Town Big Pride.
(18:03):
Registration is now open for that event.
You can meet us there for free or ride the Lockhart bus with us for $10.
That includes beverages.
And if you want to meet us there, still RSVP so I can let you know where to meet us.
Yes, because you have a map for us, right?
Yes, a map, a list.
(18:24):
All the things are happening.
We'll make sure you don't miss a business.
There are so many cool businesses out there in Lockhart.
But make sure you stick around for proclamation and ribbon cutting ceremony around six.
Where?
On the courthouse lawn.
You can't miss it.
It's a big red beautiful building in the middle of the square.
(18:46):
I think one of the prettiest courthouse buildings in Texas.
You know how that happened, right?
Give us a little Lockhart lore.
Transformers.
Oh, okay.
The movie.
With Megan Fox, the first one?
Yep, the hottie.
Filmed in Lockhart, partially.
They blew out the side of one of the buildings.
And as a thank you to the town for the mess and the prolonged stay, they refurbished and
(19:12):
refinished the courthouse for us.
Wow.
That's lovely.
Isn't that nice?
Yeah.
Because it is a really nice, it's a beautifully, I mean, the architecture is gorgeous.
So I'm glad that they were able, I've never been inside it.
Maybe we'll try and venture in one day.
It's cool.
It's funny because it's like the DMV.
And it's like HR for all county stuff.
(19:33):
I get my paycheck for working the elections and stuff.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's, I mean, it's everything.
It's everything.
It's, yeah, it's kind of strange, but yeah.
It is a really pretty courthouse.
And I will admit that is my favorite ribbon cutting photo of all time in front of the
Lockhart courthouse.
It's just so cute.
It might be transformers too.
It's one of the transformers.
Anyway, it's one of the transformers.
Now that I'm thinking on it.
(19:54):
Yeah, I did.
But anyway.
Well, that's not the first one.
Megan Fox was not in it.
I mean, many things are filmed in Lockhart these days.
Does the building dome come off and it becomes like it stands up and walks around town?
No, but the clock in the clock tower reaches out and hands you a brisket.
The clock and the clock tower is maintained and managed by the manager of the clock museum
(20:15):
across the street.
A clock museum riveting.
The Texas clock museum.
It's actually kind of fun.
I guess all of the clocks are set to like different times.
So they chime the whole time you're in there.
I stepped in there and looked.
It's like donation.
You want to open on the weekend.
(20:35):
Okay.
It's like you donate.
You look at all the old clocks.
I don't know.
I grew up with cuckoo clocks and grandfather clocks.
So it's kind of that's a good.
They make me anxious.
They make me anxious.
Cuckoo clocks.
Yeah.
Because you don't know what's going to pop out of there.
I don't know.
I think it's my great-great-grandfather or is it like the creepy little wooden dancing
children?
All of the above.
Please keep up.
(20:56):
My great-grandfather.
My great-grandfather.
Thirst.
Too long.
Yeah.
Whatever.
What else are we doing?
You can also join us on February 27th.
We will be officially welcoming Hope Rising Pelvic Health to the Austin LGBT Chamber.
(21:19):
Join us at Datalabs.
No need to RSVP for this one.
Come hang out with us and Dr. Ash.
There will be an interactive art installation, refreshments and more.
Interesting.
That's a ribbon cutting.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's fun.
All right.
Good pelvic health.
(21:39):
If you have a pelvis, you should go.
Yeah.
It's actually really interesting and like the work that they do for like gender affirming
care is very interesting.
So yeah, we should get Dr. Ash to give us like a little lesson or have them on the show.
Yeah.
South by Southwest is also coming up very quickly.
Please join us at the 12th annual Big Queer Kickoff Party at Rain on Fourth.
(22:04):
Plus a discussion the next morning on the power of queer storytelling, moderated by
our very own Fiona.
It's awesome.
I'm so excited for this one.
I can't believe.
Last year I was volunteering this year.
I'm on the team.
That's what happens.
Doing it is great.
And I will say Fiona is the best moderator.
You're sweet.
It was a very awesome discussion last year.
(22:26):
I don't know.
People like stuck around and asked so many questions.
And I loved it.
All walks of life were in there too.
Very engaged.
I'm ready for South by season.
Me too.
I love it.
It's gonna be so fun.
I love the energy, the buzz, the city's electric, the weather's fricking perfect.
Yeah.
It is nice weather.
So much fun.
More information on all of that very, very soon.
(22:48):
You can also find it in your South by Southwest schedule if you're attending.
You can also register for our upcoming luncheon on March 5th.
I got a little out of order there.
But registration is now open for that luncheon.
And we will have more information on that very soon.
Yes.
(23:09):
And it will not be in the throes of South by so you don't have to worry about that.
Yeah.
We won't make you park downtown during South by, I promise.
But these luncheons, it's not a hard sell, people.
We're at the mercy of the space and how much room they have, but they always sell out.
So not a hard sell.
I'm just saying if you want to go, you get online and register to attend.
(23:30):
And if you've never been to one, it's a really great way to figure out or to meet other chamber
members and also find out more about us and what we do every day.
Right.
Registration will also open soon for the Texas LGBTQ plus Chambers of Commerce Day at the
Capitol.
You can join representatives from Austin, North Texas, Houston and San Antonio LGBTQ
(23:55):
Chambers for a day of advocacy.
Learn how to navigate the Capitol and speaking to your elected officials.
Business is business.
Yeah.
Hundred percent.
I already have my suit picked out.
Oh yeah.
Yeah.
And tennis shoes, I hope because the floors are rough.
I'll probably wear these.
Years ago when I was like lobby, lobby, like I would dress accordingly and I, oh my Lord,
(24:20):
I almost busted my tail end.
Are we going to see you in like sass shoes?
Because I was wearing sassy shoes and I was no never again.
I'm a big fan of some of the tile in the Texas.
If you know, you know, if you know, you know, I'm a big fan of the rotunda that went outside
that you look down.
You got married.
(24:41):
Yeah.
It's my wedding venue.
Oh, that's nice.
It would be so cute to look down there and see you and Christie getting married instead
of a bunch of rattlesnakes.
Yeah.
Because that's how I usually see it.
Oh, when is rattlesnake day this year?
Have we looked it up?
Hopefully not on our day.
Yeah, I was going to say probably on our day.
Probably.
Oh, they're like, when are the gays coming?
The whole different kind of hiss.
(25:04):
And snake.
Oh, oh, catty.
Yeah.
Wow.
We also have lots of member events coming up, including it's a pearl man in recital at
the long center.
Amazing.
The leadership Austin conference.
If you're going, I'll see you there.
Weekly transmask and weekly trans femme workouts at out wellness.
(25:27):
And as I already mentioned, South by Southwest Conference and festival.
As always, you can find out more about all of these events at Austin.
And you can find out more about it at the UBT chamber.com.
So many things.
So many things.
That webpage should keep you busy for a while.
I just passed out.
Yeah.
Can't breathe.
You know, when you got to register, it's going to be good too.
(25:50):
So like Tina said, it's going to sell out.
Yes.
Get online, mark your calendars for all of the things that are coming up in the next
few weeks.
We'll keep reminding you on this, but like register.
Yeah.
And if you're, I forgot one more.
If you're in the health and wellness committee, we will be offering free CPR certification
to our health and wellness members in April.
(26:11):
So stay tuned for that.
That's great.
It's super great because we're all going to have a hard time before the end of the
year.
So yeah, we kind of like y'all know what to do.
Fantastic.
A truckload of events, a truckload of things happening and more to come at this chamber.
As always, we thank you for joining us.
If you want to be a sponsor or a guest on the show, you can email us at info at Austin
(26:37):
LGBT Chamber.com.
Listen to our show every Friday, wherever you get your podcasts.
Be sure to follow us.
Thanks.
We'll see you all next time.
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