A Texas county on Wednesday approved holding an election sought by SpaceX that would let residents living around billionaire Elon Musk’s company decide whether to formally create a new city called Starbase.
The election was set for May 3 and votes can only be cast by residents living near the launch site that is currently part of an unincorporated area of Cameron County, located along the U.S.-Mexico border.
In December, more than 70 area residents signed a petition requesting an election to make Starbase its own municipality. Most of the residents are company employees and the community includes more than 100 children, according to copies of the petition obtained by The Associated Press.
Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño said the county reviewed the petition and found it met the state’s requirements for the incorporation process to move forward.
“If the election passes, this will be the newest town in Cameron County since Los Indios in 1995,” Treviño said in a statement. “We look forward to seeing the outcome of this election.”
SpaceX responded to a request for comment by referring to the company’s earlier statement in December.
Kathryn Lueders, Starbase’s general manager, previously said that the incorporation would streamline certain processes to build amenities in the area. Some local environmental advocates have expressed worry about what the effects would mean for development.
SpaceX’s launch site broke ground in Texas in 2014. Only 10 of the roughly 250 lots of land within the proposed new city limits do not belong to the company.
More than 3,400 full-time SpaceX employees and contractors work at the Starbase site, according to a local impact study issued by the county last year.
Musk has long been planting business roots in Texas and has spread them far and wide across the Lone Star State. The billionaire moved to Texas in 2020 and relocated to or expanded a number of his companies in the state, citing the state’s business-friendly climate.
Tesla’s massive 10-million-square-foot (930,000-square-meter) Gigafactory, where the company makes its Cybertrucks, opened near Austin in 2022 and will also serve as the company headquarters.
—Valerie Gonzalez, Associated Press
Autentifică-te pentru a adăuga comentarii
Alte posturi din acest grup
Sometimes, you need to shake things up in your career. Maybe the job isn’t as fulfilling anymore. Maybe changing circumstances are pushing you toward a new path. Either way, figuring out what to d
Zipline’s cofounder and CEO Keller Cliffton charts the company’s recent expansion from transporting blood for lifesaving transfusions in Rwanda to retail deliveries across eight countries—includin
When Skype debuted in 2003, it was the first time I remember feeling that an individual app—and not just the broader internet—was radically disrupting communications.
Thanks to its imple
It’s spring, and nature is pulling me away from my computer as I write this. The sun is shining, the world is warming up, and the birds are chirping away.
And that got me thinking: What
Wake up, the running influencers are fighting again.
In the hot seat this week is popular running influencer Kate Mackz, who faces heavy backlash over the latest guest on her runni
Are you guilty of overusing the monkey covering its eyes emoji? Do you find it impossible to send a text without tacking on a laughing-crying face?
Much like choosing between a full stop
