Commissioners Court adjusts its aim on gun policy

Travis County Commissioners Court will resume a debate over guns at its regular Tuesday voting session, but it won’t exactly be picking up where it left off late last year. In the three weeks since County Judge Sarah Eckhardt postponed…

Music Commission to tackle licensing issues

Although the city’s Music and Entertainment Division is billed as “an economic development accelerator and centralized resource center for Austin’s music industry,” program manager Don Pitts says he spends about 70 percent of his time on permitting issues. Aiming to…

New city commission takes on economic prosperity

With a new year comes a new city commission. The Economic Prosperity Commission met for the first time Wednesday, although the meeting was mostly administrative. The commission, whose creation was initiated by the previous City Council, will advise the full…

Reporter's Notebook: The elephant in the closet

Must be a walk-in… At the most recent meeting of the Public Safety Commission, members decided it was time to take matters into their own hands to initiate a conversation about Uber and Lyft and the impact that transportation network…

Oracle: when a tech company expands in Austin

Demolition, it seems, follows Robin Wilkins. Wilkins, 54, moved into the Lakeview Apartments on South Lakeshore Boulevard after another apartment building she was living in was slated to be torn down. She stayed for five years, paying no more than…

Seeking more info, HLC stalls demolition for now

For the first time under the 10-1 City Council system, all of the members of the Historic Landmark Commission were appointed and present at the commission’s final meeting of 2015. And, with everyone accounted for, it looks like some of…

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Arguments made in consumer advocate hearing

A Thursday afternoon hearing likely brought the city one step closer to hiring an independent consumer advocate for the ongoing Austin Energy rate review. Attorney Stephen Webb, the independent hearings officer for the case, heard arguments from representatives of Oxford…

Travis County jail faces growing mental health crisis

Travis County has seen an astonishing rise in the number of inmates dealing with mental health issues in the past decade. That message was the thrust of a lengthy briefing delivered to the Commissioners Court on Tuesday by a broad…

Consumer advocate hearing to take place today

As Austin Energy moves forward on a rate review, one puzzle piece remains missing – an independent consumer advocate for smaller customers. That piece may soon come closer to falling into place. On Dec. 14, the sole remaining bidder for…

Small-lot code fix divides commissioners

Plans to tighten the city’s code to prevent an unintended use of the city’s small-lot amnesty provision are moving to City Council without a recommendation from the Planning Commission. Small-lot amnesty allows the development of lots as small as 2,500…

Zoning commissioner voices concerns about Austin Oaks charrette

Developers and neighbors participating in the design charrette regarding Austin Oaks, a proposed major mixed-use development at the southwest corner of MoPac Expressway and Spicewood Springs Road, told the Zoning and Platting Commission on Tuesday that preparations for the event…

Mayor Steve Adler says it was a very good year

One year into his term, Mayor Steve Adler says there are so many things to do that being the top elected leader of the city requires his attention 18 hours a day. He took one of those hours – on…