Hiring headache: $25B in mobility projects will require 10,000 new workers every year through 2040

With $25 billion in infrastructure and mobility projects on tap over the next two decades, the Austin area will have 10,000 new jobs in those sectors per year for the next 17 years. That total is one of the findings…

Preservationists hold out hope for Norwood House restoration project

After a number of setbacks, preservationists are once again eyeing a decadeslong project to return a historic 1920s bungalow overlooking Lady Bird Lake to its former splendor. The Norwood House, which sits on public parkland bordering Interstate 35 and Riverside…

Rethink35 plans what it hopes will be largest anti-highway protest in Texas history

Rethink35, the organization fighting the Interstate 35 Capital Express Project slated to begin next year, is organizing what it hopes to be the largest anti-highway protest in Texas history. The rally is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Nov. 5 at…

Council members question Garza’s promotion of police oversight director

Interim City Manager Jesús Garza’s recent promotion of Gail McCant to director of the Office of Police Oversight has rankled City Council members, who say he backtracked on a prior commitment to conduct a national search and skirted transparency considerations. …

Commissioners want action, precision on overlays for equitable transit-oriented developments

As planning and zoning strategies for areas around transit corridors are developed over the next year, members of the Urban Transportation Commission want the city to make the density of in-process transit-oriented developments one of the highest priorities. At last…

Austin-area school districts want a Travis County judge to block changes to how Texas grades them

A Travis County judge is considering whether to block the Texas Education Agency from making changes to the A-F accountability rating system, which evaluates school performance. Seven school districts, including Del Valle ISD, sued Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath in August. Since…

Subscribe to our newsletter

Who should regulate Texas Gas Service conservation programs?

Longtime utility critic Paul Robbins has discovered that House Bill 2263, legislation approved by the Texas Legislature this spring, may hamper city efforts to regulate rebates offered by Texas Gas Service. The same would be true of other cities throughout…

APD pushed to improve training, engagement with Austin’s disabled community

Disability advocates in Austin want the Austin Police Department to include training and research on the lives of people with disabilities as part of basic academy education, while encouraging department staff to build stronger relationships with the local disabled community.…

The sun is so bright, you gotta wear safe solar shades (for this weekend’s annular eclipse)

Now’s the time to get proper glasses to view the annular eclipse Saturday and be prepared for the big one next spring. This time around, the sun will be about 89 percent obscured from our view in Austin, so long…

County inventories show sizable decline in greenhouse gas emissions

The first inventories of greenhouse gases in Travis County show declining emissions in all sectors except one. The inventories completed in 2019 and 2021 list the total emissions of greenhouse gases created in the county. They show an overall drop…

Education, community building among ‘start small’ goals for city’s push for music hubs

The push to establish creative and music hubs in the city’s three ethnic cultural centers could begin with small educational and community-building workshops before a possible bond vote in 2026 to raise money for construction and equipment for the facilities.…

A new Texas law could get prosecutors fired for not pursuing charges. Here’s how it works.

A new state law could lead to the firing of elected prosecutors who refuse to take on certain crimes like low-level pot offenses. Supporters of the law say these “rogue” prosecutors should be thrown out of office. Opponents say the…