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Planning Department staff explained to a portion of City Council members this week why they intend to move forward with only about half of the Planning Commission’s suggested changes to the South Central Waterfront Plan. At a combined meeting of…
Austin’s voter-backed transit expansion faced a critical legal test Wednesday inside a courtroom on Guadalupe Street. Seated in front of a marble wall and flanked by Texas and U.S. flags, Travis County Judge Eric Shepperd presided as attorneys in dark…
An update from Ken Snipes, director of Austin’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management, to the Public Safety Committee showed a shifting approach in how the department is being run. Snipes told the committee that, due to “a multitude of threats…
In February 2021, when a deep winter freeze caused burst pipes in homes and businesses all over Austin, a city staffer looking for available plumbers called Tamara Atkinson, CEO of Workforce Solutions Capital Area and one of the local experts…
Following a 2018 performance review, Travis County hospital district Central Health analyzed the county health care system, searching for service gaps among its target safety-net population. The county queried its population’s access to eight lines of service, from primary to specialty and dental…
As Austinites prepare for another round of scorching temperatures, stewards of their dwindling water supply are strategizing, with updates to the city’s Water Conservation and Drought Contingency Plan expected to hit City Council’s desk next week. The new plan, which…
The city may soon take steps to promote the creation of “agrihood” developments in Northeast Austin, which would combine small community farms with housing. Proponents of the movement see the still-rare projects as an answer to Austin’s housing needs and…
After years of back and forth, Travis County is taking a small step to provide lawyers for low-income people accused of crimes. A program known as “counsel at first appearance” started in a limited capacity Tuesday, with the county providing…
No city in Texas has adopted bird-friendly building policies for new construction or retrofits, but the Travis Audubon Society hopes Austin, a designated “Bird City,” will lead the way. To advance this cause, the organization enlisted Heidi Trudell, a consultant…
A Travis County resident is trying to remove District Attorney José Garza from office. Betsy Dupuis filed a lawsuit Friday under House Bill 17, which allows anyone in a county to try to remove that county’s top prosecutor. Her complaint is similar…
The Downtown Commission wants the city to take a more proactive role in a proposed new measure that seeks to address friction over noise levels between new residential developments and existing music venues. Last week’s meeting included a presentation on…
For Austin, like most other Texas cities, property taxes are its single largest source of revenue for the General Fund. The second-biggest revenue source is sales taxes, as explained by Budget Officer Kerri Lang at Tuesday’s City Council work session.…
