Harper-Madison argues against increasing parkland fees

Austin’s residential parkland dedication fees, which the city uses to buy parkland, more than doubled last year as the price of land increased. Now city budget writers are proposing to double those fees again for 2023. Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison…

City eyes September start for guaranteed income program

The city’s taxpayer-funded guaranteed income program is expected to begin sending payments to its enrollees in September, marking a major step in the first-of-its-kind initiative by a Texas city. A city memo released Monday detailed the progress made since May,…

Parks board passes guidelines for the sale of alcohol in parks

After much discussion, Austin’s Parks and Recreation Board has posted a set of guidelines that will help them decide when to approve conditional use permits that would allow for the sale of alcohol in city parks. With the recommended guidelines…

Austin ISD wants teacher housing in the 2022 bond, but some educators are skeptical of the plan

Lee esta historia en español The Austin Independent School District is gathering feedback on a proposal to include funding for teacher housing in the potential 2022 bond package. While bond dollars cannot be used for salaries, the money can be…

Speakers urge Council to increase community services budget

City Council heard from about two dozen speakers Tuesday, the majority of whom urged Council members to put more money into the upcoming budget for community services such as helping the homeless, helping people pay their rent and building more…

Public Safety Commission discusses APD's protest response

The Public Safety Commission heard from the Austin Police Department Monday about how it responds to protests, including how it uses the LRAD, a powerful speaker that some fear could damage protesters’ and police officers’ hearing. APD Commander Corey Wroblewski…

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County holds listening session as part of effort to fight public health crisis

Travis County Health and Human Services updated the Commissioners Court last week on the county’s May declaration of a public health crisis due to a sharp increase in drug overdose and opioid addiction rates. The declaration included eight directives from…

ACC nearly doubles its spending on compensation in response to rising cost of living

Lee esta historia en español The Austin Community College Board of Trustees unanimously approved a budget for Fiscal Year 2023 on Monday that includes nearly $21 million for compensation, which is almost double what the college spent last year. “Last year was,…

Dove Springs getting a new trail: Donde Corre el Agua

In the summer of 2020, in the heart of the Covid-19 pandemic, Dove Springs community members began to wonder how they could better use a section of the local greenbelt that had become neglected. The unmarked trail, which is overgrown…

Council rejects historic zoning for East Seventh Street house

Lacking the nine votes needed to overcome the property owner’s objection, City Council denied a request last week from the Historic Landmark Commission to designate “a good example of folk Victorian architecture” as historic. The Carlson-Colunga house at 902 E.…

Development panelists share thoughts, and some silence, on Austin's affordability issues

It took a question about the political pressures involved in the slow-moving, fractured process of updating the Land Development Code to bring an uncomfortable silence to a recent panel of real estate leaders discussing housing affordability issues in Austin. During…

Council extends HealthSouth redevelopment negotiations

After a series of delays, the proposed redevelopment of two city-owned downtown parcels inched a step forward Thursday when City Council extended negotiations with developer Aspen Heights Partners.  Aspen Heights plans to build 921 residential units, some affordable, in two…