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Tanks tank in Old West Austin variance case

To find proof that the opinions of neighbors hold sway at the city’s boards and commissions, look no further than the Board of Adjustment. At its recent meeting, board members voted unanimously to deny a variance that may have looked…

Land Development Code • By Elizabeth Pagano • Apr 25, 2016

Reporter's Notebook: Hi. It's the Monitor.

Colossal clash of titans on Twitter… Even as the entire city of Austin is deep into the febrile delirium of a bitterly contested election that will determine the fate of several lines of city code, one can usually rely on…

Reporters' Notebook • By Elizabeth Pagano • Apr 25, 2016

Austin Monitor Radio: Transportation BBB

This is the recording of our April 5 transportation discussion with State Senator Kirk Watson and Austin City Council Member Ann Kitchen. Post is embedded below. The evening was sponsored by the Downtown Austin Alliance. Austin Monitor Radio is brought…

Transportation • By Michael Kanin • Apr 25, 2016

The tricky art of linking Uber and Lyft to DWI drop

In both sides of the tug of war over what rules should govern ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft in Austin, everyone seems to agree that having more transportation options is a potential antidote for DWIs. “We are safer in this…

Transportation • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Apr 22, 2016

Council pledges to protect mobile home residents

The majority of City Council members voted Thursday to protect mobile home residents along with other tenants who are displaced by development. In an 8-1-1 vote with Council Member Don Zimmerman opposed, Council Member Sheri Gallo abstaining and Mayor Steve…

City Council • By Eva Ruth Moravec • Apr 22, 2016

Council moves to make major water investments

City Council voted Thursday for the city to apply for nearly $190 million in loans as part of a plan to make major investments in local water infrastructure in the coming years. The city will apply for a loan of…

Water • By Jack Craver • Apr 22, 2016

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Council OKs road resolution for housing project

City Council voted unanimously Thursday to direct City Manager Marc Ott to consider including in next year’s budget the construction costs of a public road that would run through a Habitat for Humanity project in Southeast Austin. Such a move…

Development • By Jo Clifton • Apr 22, 2016

Zimmerman proposes funding for climate change skeptics

City Council Member Don Zimmerman, a self-described advocate for taxpayers, is not proposing that the city nix spending $116,000 to assess the impact of climate change on local water systems. But he is unhappy that all of the money in…

Water • By Jack Craver • Apr 21, 2016

Bike Austin hopes to break cycle of inequity, congestion

Advocates of two-wheeled and two-footed transportation alternatives are building momentum in their campaign to put millions of dollars in bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure improvements on the November ballot. More than a dozen people testified in favor of funding the city…

Bicycles • By Caleb Pritchard • Apr 21, 2016

ZAP votes to replace chair, barely

The election of commission officers is usually a rote affair. But that was not the case at Tuesday night’s Zoning and Platting Commission meeting, where a long discussion preceded the ousting of Chair Gabriel Rojas in favor of a “reluctant”…

City Hall • By Elizabeth Pagano • Apr 21, 2016

Austin Fire Department could soon be using drones

The drone idles on a small runway at the Austin Radio Control Association, just east of the city. It has a gray body and a white nose, across which someone has painted a sinister smile. The controls are tested, and…

Fire • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Apr 21, 2016

Ride-hailing meets truth-hailing at Prop 1 presser

City Council members may have been overly optimistic that a 9-year-old’s karaoke machine could carry their comments to reporters. Nonetheless, they pushed on. Armed both with a “singing machine” borrowed from Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo’s daughter and with printed…

City Hall • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Apr 20, 2016

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