Texans head to the polls amid spike in Covid-19 cases

Lee esta historia en español. Early voting for Texas’ primary runoff began Monday ahead of the July 14 election. Local officials are urging voters to take extra precautions during in-person voting as Covid-19 cases have been rising in the state.…

Bee Cave Council member sues over removal

A member of the Bee Cave City Council who was removed from office on June 17, five weeks after being sworn in for a two-year term, filed suit against the city as well as the mayor and Council members who…

City moving forward with improvements to Red River district

The city’s long-planned improvements to the streetscape of the Red River Cultural District will move forward through the summer with planning and budgeting for construction projects to improve the sidewalks and other features of the area. A recent city memo…

What $100M from the APD budget looks like

In response to pressure from activists to defund the Austin Police Department, City Council unanimously approved a series of reforms to APD operations, including a resolution that asks for deep cuts to the public safety budget. The Austin Justice Coalition…

Arts Commission shifts deepest funding cuts away from minority groups

Racial minority groups will be spared the deepest cuts in Cultural Arts contract funding in the next budget, if the recent recommendation of the Arts Commission is supported by City Council. On Friday the commission approved a funding matrix for…

Two Montopolis rezoning cases move forward

The battle over a group of Montopolis rezoning cases continued at the Planning Commission last Tuesday. One of the cases – 1.32 acres at 200 Montopolis Drive and 6206 Clovis – passed on consent, and three others were postponed. After…

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Austin police identify officers under investigation for injuring protesters during demonstrations

The Austin Police Department has named five officers it says may be responsible for seriously injuring people demonstrating during the first weekend of protests against systemic racism and police violence. The following officers have been put on paid administrative leave,…

With virus surging, Cronk revises return-to-work plan

City Manager Spencer Cronk announced Thursday that he was postponing reintegrating city employees back into the workplace for a month due to concerns about the increase in Covid-19 cases. Instead of starting on June 29, the first phase is now…

Housing, Planning & Zoning departments to merge

Under a plan proposed by Assistant City Manager Rodney Gonzales Thursday, the city’s Planning and Zoning Department would be merged with the Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Department in the 2020-21 fiscal year, which starts in October. The new department’s…

Austin Transportation promises more community engagement with new Healthy Streets

The Austin Transportation Department is reviewing six new Healthy Streets candidates for the program’s second batch of streets open for safe, socially distanced bicycling, walking and rolling. Since the program’s rollout, the department’s Director Robert Spillar said the Healthy Streets…

City gets parks board blessing to rename Metz Recreation Center

Austin is now one step closer to officially changing the name of the Metz Recreation Center at 2407 Canterbury St. to the Rodolfo “Rudy” Mendez Recreation Center. On June 24, the Parks and Recreation Board unanimously recommended that City Council…

Area hospitals could reach capacity in mere weeks because of Covid-19, Austin officials warn

Austin-area medical professionals and health authorities warned that local hospitals could be overwhelmed by Covid-19 patients in the next several weeks as the number of cases in Central Texas has surged. “If we do not make significant change right now…