County public defender office takes shape

The long process of unifying Travis County’s three separate public defender offices took another step forward last week. The Commissioners Court reviewed draft bylaws for the oversight board the first time Nov. 2 and agreed to another voting session to…

Public Safety Commission encourages language accessibility across public safety agencies

The Public Safety Commission encouraged the city’s public safety agencies to continue efforts to improve language accessibility at its meeting on Monday.  “It seems … hugely important that we grow our fluency across all the departments,” said Chair Nelly Ramírez.…

TipSheet: Austin City Council, 11.9.23

Greetings and welcome to another round of Austin City Council. As usual, we’ve rounded up the most-likely-to-be-interesting parts of today’s agenda, but the whole thing is online for those who would prefer to make up their own minds. Among other…

Travis County voters approve bond propositions aimed at roads, parks

On election night, Travis County voters overwhelmingly approved a bond package that will bolster roads and parks. Proposition A includes $233,060,000 in road bonds that will pay for safety projects, acquiring land for right of way, road drainage, bike lanes,…

Aggrieved citizens sue over funding Project Connect

A group of prominent citizens has filed suit against all members of City Council and members of the Austin Transit Partnership Board of Directors, claiming that ATP may not legally spend city property taxes or issue debt needed to build…

Austin airport’s safety is under scrutiny after a string of near misses

A disturbing string of dangerous incidents at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport – including near misses and two tarmac deaths this year – has elected officials clashing with city staff over safety at an airport where passenger volumes have more than doubled…

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Music commissioners consider how to steer more grants toward working musicians

The city’s Music Commission may consider a proposal from a local advocacy group to designate a specific portion of grants from a new city grant program to be awarded to working musicians, who are increasingly finding it harder to afford…

Three consultants enlisted to fix city's arts, music grant programs

Amid criticism over problems with the rollout of new grant programs for artists and musicians, the Economic Development Department has hired three outside consultants to study and recommend how to improve their performance. A memo released last week by Sylnovia…

Reclaimed water issue stops PUD from getting final approval

With only six members of City Council voting Thursday in favor of changing plans for the West Parcel of the Hyatt Planned Unit Development at Riverside Drive and South First Street, the developer will have to come back for a…

Three City Council members join “Wider Won't Work” rally against I-35 expansion

Three City Council members spoke Sunday at the Rethink35 “Wider Won’t Work” rally against the Interstate 35 Capital Express project. Those in attendance at Sanchez Elementary School included Mayor Pro Tem Paige Ellis, who is chair of Council’s Mobility Committee,…

Panelists debate potential housing supply impacts from HOME initiative

Advocates for more housing options in Austin see hope in recently passed changes in city land use policy intended to increase density, but still hope for more progress in increasing the overall supply of housing available for middle- and lower-income…

Austin ISD hits key milestone to reduce backlog of special education evaluations

The Austin Independent School District this week met a key requirement outlined in a state-ordered plan to improve its special education services. The Texas Education Agency’s corrective action plan required Austin ISD to complete all overdue special education evaluations for which…