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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 Trevio 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,” Trevio 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
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E-Commerce
For years, I thought saying yes was the key to success. Yes, to my parents dream of me becoming a doctor. Yes, to the long hours in medical school. Yes, to a career that others admired, even as I felt a growing sense of unease. I loved medicines ability to make a difference in peoples lives, but deep down, I had questions: Did I truly want to be a doctor, or was I fulfilling the role others expected of me? Every yes felt like another step away from myself. One pivotal moment came while I was working in a hospital in the Cook Islands. I treated patients with heart failure so advanced that basic mobility was a struggle. What struck me most wasnt the lack of resources; it was the sense of familiarity. Even in the U.K.s world-class healthcare system, I had seen patients left behindignored, dismissed, or underserved. These moments clarified what I valued most: fairness, justice, and confronting systemic inequality. When I returned to work as a junior doctor in Edinburgh, it became clear that the questions driving me werent about treating symptomsthey were about the systems perpetuating inequity. I eventually said no to medicine, not because I didnt care, but because I cared deeply. Saying no isnt rejectionits redirection. Its about aligning your time and energy with your values and goals. But in practice, saying no can be dauntingespecially in professional environments where compliance often feels safer than resistance. I have learned, however, that the ability to say no is a skill. Turn down projects that stretch you too thin Leaders and professionals often overcommit, risking burnout and lower-quality work. A former student of mine, a project manager, learned this the hard way. After saying yes to an unrealistic timeline, the team missed deadlines, and relationships suffered. The next time a client proposed an impossible deadline, she said, To meet your goals, wed need more time to maintain quality. Can we extend the timeline or adjust deliverables? The result? The client agreed, and the team delivered excellent work, strengthening trust. Set boundaries without alienating others A marketing executive I know faced constant interruptions from colleagues seeking her input. Instead of shutting them down, she framed her no around her priorities: I want to give you my full attention, but Im focused on completing this project right now. Can we schedule a time to discuss this later? By acknowledging their needs while protecting her time, she maintained strong relationships without compromising her priorities. Say ‘no’ to preserve long-term vision Patagonias decision to say no to the fast-fashion model is a famous example. By focusing on sustainability and durability, the company aligned its business practices with its values. This defiant stance reshaped the outdoor apparel industry and built a loyal customer base. One reason saying no feels so difficult is the fear of resistance or misunderstanding. People may question your decision or even push back. Thats why preparation matters. Before entering these conversations, get clear on your reasons and rehearse how youll articulate them. If youre declining a promotion, for example, you could say, Im incredibly grateful for this opportunity, but Ive reflected on my priorities and realized this role doesnt align with the path I see for myself. Id love to contribute in ways that better match my strengths and long-term goals. Clarity and confidence can help diffuse resistance and ensure your no is respected. Saying no isnt about being contrarian or uncooperative. Its about alignmentwith yourself, your values, and the future you want to create. Even at the highest levels of leadership, the importance of focus and clarity is critical. In a recent strategy meeting, Google CEO Sundar Pichai emphasized the company’s biggest priority for 2025: simplifying work and scaling key initiatives like their AI-powered Gemini app. He urged employees to “internalize the urgency of this moment” and to prioritize focus by saying no to distractions. This kind of intentional decision-making isnt just about efficiencyits about achieving excellence by staying aligned with core goals. When saying no: Reframe no as alignment, not rejection. A well-chosen no isnt about shutting down an opportunityits about making space for the right ones. Be transparent and tie your no to shared goals or values. When people understand your reasoning, they are more likely to respect your decision. Remember that no isnt the endits the beginning of a better path. The discomfort of saying no is temporary, but its impact can last for years. Looking back, I see that saying no to medicine wasnt about closing a doorit was about opening the right one. That decision made room for a career aligned with my values, one where I could research, teach, and advocate for systemic change. No isnt the end. Its the beginning of a path to greater alignment, purpose, and impact. Whether its a career decision, a project at work, or a personal boundary, learning to say no with clarity and intention is one of the most productive skills you can develop. And each time you do, youre not just making a decisionyoure affirming who you are and what you stand for.
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E-Commerce
In 2023, creator and social agency Whalar Group announced an ambitious plan to create physical campuses for content creators to learn, make, and collaborate with their peers. Now the company is opening the doors to its first campus in Venice, Calif. this month with an additional location in Brooklyn launching this spring and a London location slated for 2026. Part production studio, part co-working space, part university, The Lighthouse is membership-based community designed to help creators and their teams level-up both their content and the businesses theyre building around it. If you look at [20th century German art school] Bauhaus, Andy Warhol’s Factory, Silicon Valley, all those moments where you had a gathering space for smart, curious, multi-hyphenate[s] created a generational shift for creative industries, says Jon Goss, president of The Lighthouse. That’s our goal: to be a place where people can find connection, find opportunities to collaborate, learn from experts and thought leaders, and learn from each other. And I think that enables the creator economy to go into its next chapter. The Lighthouses founding cohort in Venice includes 150 creators and creative professionals who will use the facilities for filming, editing, podcasting, screening, performing, and more on top of having access to educational classes and sessions covering topics including business management, how to staff a team, production workshops, wellbeing and personal growth, and more. Memberships will typically run for up to four years and those who have contributed to The Lighthouse by way of education, community building, and programming will have the option to remain members who can mentor the next generation of creators and creatives. [Photo: Yoshihiro Makino] For as long as the creator economy has been around (since 1997, by some suggestions) and for all the money pouring into it (estimates place its total addressable market reaching half-a-trillion by 2027), its still somewhat of the Wild West. Various platforms and agencies have sprouted up in droves to help creators monetize their content, sell products, and score brand deals. But whats often missing is a cohesive path toward professionalizing a creator business, particularly for the middle class of the creator economy. According to Influencer Marketing Hub, more than 50 million people worldwide consider themselves to be creatorsbut only 2 million would say theyre professionals, i.e. earning enough for it to be their full-time career. Granted, some creators will always keep what they do as a side hustle. But for those looking for a more solid foundation to scale up their businessesor even establish one in the first placeGoss sees The Lighthouse as a viable resource. The creator economy is being taken more seriously every year, Goss says. It just feels like centers of gravities going towards creators and the creator economy. I think more and more brands and media platforms and entertainment organizations are recognizing that every single day. It’s just inevitable. [Photo: Yoshihiro Makino] So our mission is to be an ecosystem for all those constituents, he adds, having those people all in the room together, actually having those conversations in real-time versus them happening in their echo chambers. Part of bringing the gap among those constituents are The Lighthouses founding brand partners Shopify, iHeartMedia, and Samsung providing programming and activations throughout the campus. Shopify will have a pop-up for creator brands to showcase their products. iHeartMedia will host a monthly live podcast onsite featuring emerging talent. And Samsung is outfitting the space with TVs and products. Whalar Group also struck a broader partnership with Tribeca Festival to have a vertical within Tribeca dedicated to the intersection of Hollywood and creators. That vertical will also translate into a year-round talk series at the Lighthouse Venice and Brooklyn. The Lighthouses cohorts are selected by a council of their peers. And Goss says they took a similar approach of careful curation with which brands and organizations they chose to partner with. They’re directly relevant to creators, to the creator economy, to the ability for creators to up-level and have a connection to them, Goss says. Brands are still a massive part of creators both in terms of the content they can create and the ability to generate revenue. To be sure, The Lighthouse isnt necessarily a novel concept. In 2012, YouTube launched Spaces which eventually shifted to a virtual and pop-up event model after the the company shuttered its physical locations post-pandemic. Popular content creator Casey Neistat launched his own attempt with Studio 368 in 2018 but a post on its Instagram last year stated it was time to pack it all up. [Photo: Yoshihiro Makino] Goss says theyve studied predecessors to The Lighthouse and he sees the difference being that what theyve built is a design-driven space for creators to do more than produce content. We’ve taken elements of hospitality and membership clubs and shared workspaces where cultural programming happens on a regular basis to keep driving community and conversations, Goss says. He also sees The Lighthouse succeeding by remaining as dynamic as the creator economy itself. This has to be a place of constant evolution, Goss says. When we talk about what will this place become, what will it mean for creators, not knowing the endless possibilities that can come is the exciting bit. Weve doubled down on providing this environment for all sorts of possibilities to happen.
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E-Commerce
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