Lone Star Rail dodges "kill-shot" at CAMPO

The Lone Star Rail District survived what could have been a potentially fatal vote at the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Transportation Policy Board meeting on Monday night. A marathon discussion over LSTAR’s fate began when CAMPO Board Chair Will…

Staff seeking OK to fix Eliza Spring

Members of the city’s Watershed Protection and Parks and Recreation departments have been planning improvements for Eliza Spring in Zilker Park since at least 2012. The spring, which is home to the largest concentration of the endangered Barton Springs salamander…

Travis Dems target Capital Metro with labor resolution

The Travis County Democratic Party has thrown its weight behind the effort to provide rigorous protections for construction workers hired to build a massive infill project on land owned by the Capital Metro Transportation Authority. At the party’s annual convention…

Steck House case returns to BoA one last time

The development surrounding the Steck House was once again in question at the Board of Adjustment for just under an hour last week. Although the board voted to reconsider the case, in the end, board members did not change their…

Animal Services punts spay and neuter proposal

The Animal Advisory Commission voted down a proposal last week that would have allowed animal shelter staff to spay or neuter an animal the first time it is impounded. Instead, the commissioners will wait for the results of a six-month…

Austin Monitor Radio: Austin Resource Recovery budget concerns

Austin Monitor publisher Mike Kanin sits down first with Austin Resource Recovery director Bob Gedert to discuss budget concerns raised by the city’s Zero Waste Advisory Commission (ZAWC). Then Kanin sits with Zero Waste Advisory Commission (ZWAC) chair Gerry Acuna…

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Kanin on Council: Council to look at Austin Energy rates and the prospect of a transportation bond

KUT’s Jennifer Stayton and the Austin Monitor’s Michael Kanin with a preview of next week’s Austin City Council meeting. Post is embedded below.

Potential train wreck ahead for Lone Star Rail

It could be the end of the line for the Lone Star Rail District. On Monday, the moribund commuter rail project could see its funding from the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization frozen by that agency’s Transportation Policy Board. According…

As May 7 election nears, voting efforts ramp up

Early voting on the future of fingerprinting drivers for hire in Austin begins in five weeks, and interested parties are hard at work educating the public on which button to press at the polls. On Monday, the Supreme Court of…

Plaza Saltillo project draws fire from labor advocates

The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s plan to redevelop 10 acres of largely empty land near downtown Austin has drawn criticism from labor advocates. The Workers Defense Project organized a rally of dozens of activists at the front door of Cap…

Ethics complaint filed against Council Member Renteria

The owner of a short-term rental business has filed an ethics complaint against City Council Member Pio Renteria, alleging that he violated city conflict-of-interest rules by pushing for an ordinance approved last month that will eventually phase out short-term rental…

How the city handles SXSW cleanup

On Sixth Street just past midnight, small herds of young people mill in the street or near the entrances of bars – some smoking cigarettes, others looking at their phones. Virginia Alexander honks at them to move. She is trying…