Council finishes budget adoption Day One

City Council dove into the Fiscal Year 2015-16 city budget reading process on Tuesday, making some progress toward its goal of adopting the budget by the end of Thursday. Though there is still a long way to go before Council reaches…

Budget • By Tyler Whitson • Sep 9, 2015

"Risky" demolition permit plan inspires preservation effort for downtown church

In August, a suggestion to pursue a demolition permit for Austin’s St. Martin Lutheran Church sparked controversy in the congregation and preservation community. Though no decision about the permit has been made and church leaders maintain the permit is a…

Preservation • By Elizabeth Pagano • Sep 9, 2015

Despite winning permit, festival organizers not celebrating

Travis County Commissioners on Tuesday approved the first mass-gathering permit application to come before them since they added controversial revisions to the permitting process earlier this summer. However, the 3-1 vote with one abstention wasn’t exactly the result the organizers…

Music & Entertainment • By Caleb Pritchard • Sep 9, 2015

When is it OK to postpone a project?

When should a project be postponed? While some commissioners believe projects that are in line with code should be approved quickly, others believe that no project should be OK’d without first hearing from those opposed to it. A debate over…

Development • By Jack Craver • Sep 9, 2015

The farmer versus the festivals

Chinese water torture. That’s how Brenton Johnson describes the persistent thud of bass and drum thumping from the music festivals just beyond the farthest edge of his property outside Austin city limits. “There’s no way to stop it. Even inside…

Austin • By Caleb Pritchard • Sep 8, 2015

Homeowners challenge city on TCAD suit

Six Travis County homeowners last week filed a motion to intervene in the city’s lawsuit against the Travis Central Appraisal District. Representing those homeowners are three attorneys experienced in representing property owners who believe their property has been overvalued. Attorneys…

Austin • By Jo Clifton • Sep 8, 2015

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City may fix five most dangerous intersections

So far this year, Austin has already had 76 traffic fatalities – 13 more than it did in all of 2014. Now, City Council is considering taking immediate action by funding traffic safety improvements at Austin’s five most dangerous intersections…

Transportation • By Tyler Whitson • Sep 8, 2015

AISD subcontractor workers potentially underpaid

An Austin Independent School District subcontractor might have shortchanged its workers by more than $12,000 in total for a project that was contracted in 2009. If settled as is, it could potentially be the largest case of wage noncompliance within…

AISD • By Courtney Griffin • Sep 8, 2015

Midcentury modern home sparks modern debate

Everyone seemed to agree that it is a lovely house. But that wasn’t nearly enough to quell a debate on historic tax abatements that overwhelmed a West Austin historic zoning case at the Historic Landmark Commission last week. The homeowner,…

Preservation • By Elizabeth Pagano • Sep 7, 2015

Reporter's Notebook: Fix(at)ing (on) crazy

“You can’t fix crazy”… During a presentation about traffic fatalities at a City Council Mobility Committee meeting on Sept. 2, Council Member Don Zimmerman expressed consternation about the fact that 43 percent of the traffic fatalities that have occurred so…

Reporters' Notebook • By Austin Monitor • Sep 7, 2015

OSHA fines Central Library contractors $88K for excavation hazards

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration has cited construction contractors working on the new Central Library with fines totaling $88,000. According to the citations (here and here), on March 4, four employees were installing rebar in the rain in a…

Austin • By Elizabeth Pagano • Sep 4, 2015

Demand charge change could cost $7 million

As the deadline closes in for City Council to decide whether to increase the demand charge threshold for small commercial Austin Energy customers as part of the city budget, utility staff has released figures that may impact that decision. Austin…

Energy • By Tyler Whitson • Sep 4, 2015

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