You're reading the Texas Edition newsletter.
You're reading the Texas Edition newsletter.
You're reading the Texas Edition newsletter.
Bloomberg's Texas bureau chief Julie Fine shares her insights on the companies and people powering America's second-largest economy.
Bloomberg's Texas bureau chief Julie Fine shares her insights on the companies and people powering America's second-largest economy.
Bloomberg's Texas bureau chief Julie Fine shares her insights on the companies and people powering America's second-largest economy.
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Another Texas election season, another early-voting kickoff with photo ops at polls and rallies. And ...
The Democratic Senate primary took an unexpected turn after the host of CBS's Late Show With Stephen Colbert said network lawyers barred him from airing an interview with state Representative James Talarico over concerns that it would violate federal fairness rules.
News outlets buzzed after Colbert posted the conversation on YouTube and took a swipe at CBS. The network disputed his account, and the Federal Communications Commission chairman called the controversy a "hoax."
Talarico capitalized on the publicity, raising more than $2.5 million for his race against Representative Jasmine Crockett, who leads in recent polls.
Three Republicans -- four-term incumbent John Cornyn, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and US Representative Wesley Hunt -- are fighting it out on the GOP ballot. Recent polls show Paxton in the lead, putting Cornyn in his toughest race ever. The general election will draw national attention no matter who emerges from the March 3 primaries.
Only 12 days to go.
The Fine Line
Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd stopped by Bloomberg's Dallas bureau to talk about his passion outside of his day job -- youth sports and kids' basketball. He spoke about having his own children and the death of retired Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, who with his daughter was among nine people killed in a helicopter crash in 2020.
"I felt I helped and wanted to help bring a bigger light because I thought the initiative he was doing was so great for women's basketball," said Kidd, who started a basketball-and-mentorship program for young women in the Bay Area five years ago and expanded on it in North Texas.
We also talked about private equity -- he is an operating adviser with Maple Park Capital Partners -- and the Mavs. The team is struggling through a disappointing season after last year's shock trade of Luka Doncic, but hoping a new era has begun with rising star Cooper Flagg.
"Being one of the leaders of this organization," Kidd said, "you just have to be able to pivot."
Regional Roundup
Capital, Code & Crude
A second billionaire nixed selling a warehouse to the US government -- this one in suburban Dallas -- to house thousands of migrant detainees. Majestic Realty’s facility in Hutchins was supposed to have 9,500 beds after conversion to an ICE jail. But no more, according to Majestic, owned by Edward Roski Jr.: The company “has not and will not enter into any agreement for the purchase or lease of any building to the Department of Homeland Security for use as a detention facility.” Another billionaire-owned company, Jim Pattison Developments, dropped the sale of a Virginia warehouse last month that had been eyed by the Department of Homeland Security.
Activist investor Starboard Value has a message for bitcoin miner Riot Platforms about two of its Texas sites: Move faster. Starboard, Riot’s fourth-largest shareholder at the end of 2025, flagged facilities near Dallas and Austin as attractive homes for data centers and urged a quicker pivot out of crypto. Bloomberg’s Liana Baker scooped the news on Starboard’s move, which was conveyed in a letter signed by the firm’s Peter Feld. “In such a dynamic and rapidly evolving AI/High Performance Computing demand environment,” Feld wrote, “Riot must urgently seize this extraordinary opportunity.”
Tesla’s relocation to Austin a few years back put a new spin on the old Texas-versus-California rivalry. The news this week was Tesla-versus California, after Elon Musk’s automaker dropped the use of “Autopilot” branding in the state under pressure from regulators. California had been poised to suspend Tesla’s sales license for 30 days after an administrative judge ruled that the company was exaggerating the capabilities of its driver-assistance tech. The stakes were high for Tesla: California is the country’s biggest EV market.
Opinion
Here’s a vote for ... boring. Abby McCloskey says old-time party bosses wouldn’t have tolerated fire-breathing Senate primary candidates such as Republican Ken Paxton (tarred but not convicted after multiple scandals) and Democrat Jasmine Crockett (who is betting wrongly, in McCloskey’s view, on finding new progressive voters). A John Cornyn-James Talarico matchup this fall might be “boring politics,” she writes, but it’s certainly a chance at better governance.
The Big Number
60
That’s how many diners -- or rather, how few -- can fit into Siti, a Southeast-Asian restaurant in Austin. Siti gets a shout-out in this Bloomberg Pursuits piece on the smaller-is-better trend in posh eateries, hotels and bars.
Totally Texas
What is more Texas than building the longest road-course track in Indy Car Racing?
"We love to do things bigger and better in Texas," said Charlotte Jones, the Dallas Cowboys chief brand officer and co-owner.
I spoke with Jones and Penske Entertainment Vice Chair Greg Penske for some of the details about the Java House Grand Prix of Arlington coming on March 15. It's a collaboration among the Cowboys, Texas Rangers and Penske Entertainment.
The 2.73-mile (4.4-kilometer) track runs around AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Park -- the longest of its type, according to Penske. There will be 76 suites across from AT&T stadium along with the grandstands.
"This is something we think we build for the future," Penske said. "I think we will learn a lot this first year and grow from there."
Need more on racing in Texas? Bloomberg Original's Jason Kelly and I spoke with Jerry Jones and Roger Penske -- the racing legend and father of Greg -- when the race was announced in 2024.