ANC calls on city to improve public participation, ethics rules

The Austin Neighborhoods Council has issued a call for City Council to reform its rules for public participation, calling the current procedures for taking public input “anti-democratic practices that undermine public participation and trust,” according to ANC President Ana Aguirre.…

City Council • By Jo Clifton • Aug 31, 2022

County raises minimum wage for its workers to $20/hour

The Travis County Commissioners Court voted unanimously to raise the minimum wage for county employees by $5 per hour, in addition to approving multiple other types of pay increases for county workers. The current county minimum wage is $15 per…

Travis County • By Seth Smalley • Aug 31, 2022

Advocates continue the fight for free transportation for Austin's unhoused

The start of Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s monthly board of directors meeting yesterday had a different feel than usual. Typically, a few speakers may approach the podium to speak in support of or against an item on the agenda. Yesterday, however, advocates and…

Transit • By Samuel Stark • Aug 30, 2022

Austin loses advocate for the environment and people

Jack Goodman, who worked to convince the Texas Legislature to create a conservation district to help protect Barton Springs and the Edwards Aquifer and then served on that district’s board for 22 years, died Aug. 24 after a lengthy illness.…

Austin • By Jo Clifton • Aug 30, 2022

Council committee catches up before new animal shelter audit

Last week, City Council Audit and Finance Committee members heard an update on a 2015 audit of the Animal Services Department in preparation for a new audit initiated by City Council in July. The 2015 audit, which discovered some issues…

City Hall • By Elizabeth Pagano • Aug 30, 2022

Neighbors protested housing for homeless Austinites. Then, they (sort of) changed their stance.

Austin’s Planning Commission meets every other Tuesday in the cavernous chambers of City Hall. Members assemble virtually and in person to hear requests and pleas from the public about what should be built in the city. Plot by plot, these…

Housing • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Aug 29, 2022

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Planning Commission worries new environmental regulations could make housing more expensive

After expressing concerns over the impact of new water quality and drainage regulations on housing affordability, members of the Planning Commission voted Tuesday to form a working group to tackle the code changes before giving a final recommendation to City…

Land Development Code • By Jonathan Lee • Aug 29, 2022

City looks to move away from leased facilities

The city is moving forward on its goal to transition from leased to owned facilities for staff by 2026, according to an update the strategic facilities governance team gave to City Council’s Audit & Finance Committee last Wednesday. Aiming to…

City Hall • By Kali Bramble • Aug 29, 2022

Mayor celebrates mobility, equity and housing wins in final State of the City

Austin Mayor Steve Adler lauded the 10-1 City Council system and the headway Council has made on mobility, equity and housing issues during his eighth and final State of the City address, delivered to a packed City Hall on Thursday.…

City Council • By Emma Freer • Aug 26, 2022

Historic zoning for Westgate Tower delayed amid concern over tax breaks

The Planning Commission postponed a decision Tuesday on whether the Westgate Tower should be zoned historic due to concern about a tax break for condo owners. Preservationists deem the tower at 1122 Colorado Street historic for its architecture and its…

Preservation • By Jonathan Lee • Aug 26, 2022

Parks board raises concerns over Statesman PUD proposal, calling it 'not superior’

The Parks and Recreation Board said Wednesday that the highly anticipated mixed-used development plan composed of several buildings on the former Austin American-Statesman lot does not do enough to protect the iconic space in front of the Congress Avenue Bridge.…

Development • By Samuel Stark • Aug 26, 2022

Travis County DA's vow not to prosecute abortion crimes likely won’t make a difference, expert says

Texas’ so-called trigger law went into effect Thursday. The law, which the Legislature passed in 2021, was designed to be ready should the U.S. Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade and make abortion no longer a constitutional right. While the law makes it…

Public Health • By Seema Mathur, KUT • Aug 26, 2022

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