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County greenlights long-awaited performance audit of Central Health

On Tuesday, the Travis County Commissioners Court greenlit a long-awaited independent performance audit with auditing firm Mazars for $854,200. The audit will examine how Central Health has used taxpayer money, with a close eye on the controversial, taxpayer-funded allocation of…

Public Health • By Seth Smalley • Apr 7, 2023

Public Safety Commission chair joins family's calls for more information on Austin Police shooting death

The chair of the Public Safety Commission on Monday joined the family of a man fatally shot by Austin police in calling for more information from Chief Joseph Chacon. The comments from Chair Rebecca Bernhardt came during Monday’s meeting, after…

Police • By Nina Hernandez • Apr 7, 2023

New APD-DPS partnership sparks pushback, arrests

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson cited long-standing police staffing shortages, which have led to a “decentralized” approach to traffic enforcement among other things, when he announced last week that the Texas Department of Public Safety would soon begin playing a supportive…

Police • By Emma Freer • Apr 6, 2023

Study eyes fire response steps to protect local waterways

Austin Fire Department’s efforts to control and extinguish structure fires have negligible negative impacts on local waterways, according to a recent study of firefighting incidents over an eight-month period. The assessment conducted by the Watershed Protection Department looked at the…

Environment • By Chad Swiatecki • Apr 6, 2023

Paxton sues to overturn vote on U.S. budget

Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed suit against the federal government alleging that the final vote to approve the U.S. budget by the House of Representatives last December was illegal because not enough members were physically present. The suit, filed…

Courts • By Jo Clifton • Apr 6, 2023

Firefighters say city lawyers unreasonably stopped arbitration

The city of Austin’s Law Department has stopped participating in an arbitration hearing with the Austin Firefighters Association, and City Council will have the chance on Thursday to approve that decision or direct its lawyers to continue the process. Council…

Fire • By Jo Clifton • Apr 5, 2023

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Austin Police revert to decentralized traffic enforcement approach

The Austin Police Department’s staffing shortages are leading it to take a decentralized approach to traffic enforcement, the city’s Public Safety Commission learned during a traffic enforcement and management update on April 3. Most of the crashes that happen on…

Police • By Nina Hernandez • Apr 5, 2023

Zilker advocates form nonprofit to take lead as vision plan moves forward

Leaders from nonprofit groups attached to Zilker Park have formed a new nonprofit group intended to enhance and preserve the 351-acre metropolitan park that is expected to be transformed in the coming years. The Zilker 351 group announced its formation…

Parks • By Chad Swiatecki • Apr 5, 2023

Austin continues to address wildfire risk through training, community outreach

The Austin Fire Department delivered an update on the city’s wildfire prevention efforts to the Public Safety Commission on Monday. The updates are mandated in the 2019 overhaul, which occurred after Austin was ranked among the top five most at-risk…

Fire • By Nina Hernandez • Apr 4, 2023

Drained from emergency debris collections, Austin Resource Recovery prepares for a squeeze this budget cycle

As it continues to pick up the pieces of Winter Storm Mara, Austin Resource Recovery is preparing to weather financial challenges thanks to the $20 million relief effort. Four months out from budget season, Director Ken Snipes and Finance Division…

Austin • By Kali Bramble • Apr 4, 2023

Austin is short lifeguards every year. One problem is the application process.

Austin consistently struggles to fully staff its public pools. A report out last week from the Office of the City Auditor suggests part of that struggle is due to an overly complicated – and unreliable – application process to become a lifeguard. To fully…

Parks • By Andrew Weber, KUT • Apr 4, 2023

Planning Commission discusses whether city should preserve industrial areas

A case at the Planning Commission on March 28 sparked discussion about whether the city should try to preserve remaining industrial areas or encourage their redevelopment.  In question is a 13-acre property at 5010 Burleson Road in Southeast Austin. The…

Zoning • By Jonathan Lee • Apr 4, 2023

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