County and Central Health eye reforms

The Travis County Commissioners Court could soon expand its oversight of Central Health in what would be the first significant revisions to the governing financial policy since 2008. According to a draft the court approved on Tuesday, the hospital district’s…

With 100,000 potential voters, Austin tech groups flex political muscle

Imagine 100,000 dormant, unengaged voters just waiting to be drawn into the Austin political scene. That’s the potential that a pair of local technology groups see in the Austin tech community, which they hope to get involved in the local…

Council Member Renteria seeks amenities for mobile home parks

Mobile homes are often referred to as Austin’s most affordable housing. But mobile home parks don’t always offer amenities, such as green space, for residents. One City Council member is hoping to change that. When Council Member Pio Renteria visited…

Lamar Beach Master Plan moves to Council

Pitching a park master plan at a Planning Commission meeting is a hard sell, especially when you’re following presentations on the city’s fiscal health and its affordability crisis. Rebecca Leonard of Design Workshop nevertheless took up the task before an…

Campaign finance reports show who's in the money

With only 28 days left until Election Day, Tuesday’s deadline for campaign finance reports arrived with little fanfare. City Council candidates were required to report all money they raised and spent between July 1 and the end of September, and…

County could seek to cram new courts in crowded courthouse

The Travis County Commissioners Court on Tuesday agonized over a proposal to add two more district courts to the already stuffed Heman Marion Sweatt Courthouse. Led by local administrative Judge Lora Livingston, a delegation from the county’s civil and family…

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Capacity, regional cooperation take center stage at transportation forum

Standing beside four other representatives from local and regional governments on Tuesday, Mike Heiligenstein of the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority declared that Central Texas has to build its way out of congestion. “We cannot solve our problem without adding…

Council inches closer to action on Grove at Shoal Creek PUD

For several months now, City Council’s decision about whether to approve the zoning for the Grove at Shoal Creek, a proposed 75-acre mixed-use development, has driven hours of debate and faced numerous delays. Why is it taking so long? When…

The leap of faith inherent in voting for the $720 million bond

Traversing parts of North Lamar Boulevard as a bicyclist or pedestrian – or, even as a driver – can be alarming. The speed limit is high, and substantial barriers exist neither between pedestrians and cars nor between cars going north…

Dark money law keeps PACs busy

Move Austin Forward, the political action committee supporting the city’s $720 million bond proposition on the Nov. 8 ballot, has raised about $680,000, according to Jim Wick, manager of the pro-bond campaign. He said the campaign has spent about half…

Council votes down attempt to revisit McMansion exemption

An amendment that some hoped would lead to more clarity in the McMansion Ordinance only seemed to lead to greater confusion at a City Council meeting on Oct. 6. The McMansion Ordinance was passed in order to prevent developers from…

Beneath the bond debate, planners begin exhaustive assessment of Austin's transportation future

As Austin voters wrangle with a mobility bond on the November ballot, city planners are gearing up to draft a new transportation policy road map to guide decisions for decades to come. Work on the Strategic Mobility Plan soft-launched earlier…