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Central Health approves budget with a Hail Mary provision to halt layoffs at Integral Care

Travis County’s public hospital district, Central Health, voted Wednesday to approve its Fiscal Year 2024 budget, which includes a last-minute line item giving $7 million in emergency funding to Integral Care. Central Health’s budget still needs final approval from Travis…

Life sciences, housing policy seen as keys for Austin's five-year growth strategy

Business leaders see the life sciences sector as the next major piece of the Austin economy and expect it to grow quickly along with semiconductor and automotive manufacturing, financial services and national defense in the years to come. Focusing on…

Budget shortfall forces Austin Music Foundation to suspend operations

The Austin Music Foundation nonprofit group has suspended activity and laid off its employees in response to a budget shortfall of nearly $200,000 from its planned budget of just over $300,000. At least $85,000 of that shortfall is the result…

Council approves development changes as required by state law

With several new state laws going into effect on Friday, Sept. 1, Austin City Council approved some significant changes to the rules governing the city’s Development Services Department this past Thursday. Most of those changes are aimed at making it…

Austin elected officials, community groups coalesce in opposition to I-35 expansion

At a town hall event last week, U.S. Rep. Greg Casar became the latest community leader to speak out against the Interstate 35 Capital Express project that is due to break ground next year. “Wider highways aren’t actually a traffic…

Council delays decision on new hotel tax that could fund homelessness services

City Council has put on hold a long-discussed partnership with local hotels that could generate millions of dollars in General Fund revenue to cover expenses related to services for the homeless. At last week’s meeting, Council voted to delay action…

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Austin grapples with arrival of autonomous vehicles

Autonomous vehicles are in Austin. According to a Sept. 1 memo from the Transportation and Public Works Department, the presence of autonomous vehicles has become an increasingly common sight over the past few months. “Currently, there are approximately 125 fully…

East 12th Street rezoning wins first-round approval

At last week’s meeting, City Council voted unanimously to approve greater height and a zoning change for a property at 3117 and 3121 E. 12th Street for construction of 80 dwelling units, 10 percent of which would be affordable. The…

Integral Care, Austin's largest mental health care provider, approves 48 layoffs in next budget

Integral Care, the mental health authority for Austin-Travis County, voted Thursday to approve a budget that eliminates nearly 10 percent of its positions. Along with the 48 individuals who were identified for layoffs, 67 vacant positions were also cut. Employees…

front of City Hall

Garza announces more changes at City Hall

A new memo outlines yet another shake-up at the city courtesy of interim City Manager Jesús Garza. City Council reappointed Garza interim city manager in February, following a vote that fired City Manager Spencer Cronk from the position. Since then,…

City seeking developers interested in East 11th Street revitalization

The city is looking for developers interested in remaking two of the most high-profile blocks downtown, which could shape the future of the Black community in East Austin. Last month the Austin Economic Development Corporation (EDC) opened a request for…

Judge declares city campaign contribution blackout period unconstitutional

U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman on Wednesday declared an Austin regulation on campaign fundraising unconstitutional. The regulation prohibits candidates for City Council seats from seeking or accepting campaign contributions more than a year before an election. Pitman issued his ruling…