Liquor store near SafePlace a nonstarter

A plan to put a liquor store near Austin’s SafePlace shelter found no support at the Planning Commission last week. Riverside Liquor was seeking a conditional use permit for liquor sales at 6100 East Riverside Drive in about 1,500 square…

County postpones parking decision again

Travis County Commissioners once again postponed a decision on the new county employee parking plan, to the chagrin of the employee parking committee Tuesday. In March, commissioners approved the expansion of free zoned county employee parking in all county-approved parking facilities…

council members

Labor wants to make its mark on Council races

Local labor leader Jack Kirfman reported that the union for local government employees, AFSCME, has interviewed candidates and decided on its choices for City Council. Kirfman said American Federation of State, County and Municipal employees would present their recommendations to…

SXSW reps, CoA staff working with consultant

Representatives from the South by Southwest festival and the City of Austin participated in a two-day workshop this week with a major architectural design and event firm brought in to discuss the SXSW event. Officials from both organizations confirmed they had…

LCRA delays vote on water management plan

Despite pleas from stakeholders to take swift action to protect lakes Buchanan and Travis from drought conditions, the Lower Colorado River Authority board of directors voted Wednesday to postpone a decision that would have moved the water management process forward.…

Ballot order set for City Council election

The city took another step in the process toward having a 10-1 Council on Wednesday as City Clerk Jannette Goodall drew the names of each candidate to determine in what order they will appear on the Nov. 4 ballot. Conventional…

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Austin Environmental Democrats Endorse Garza

The Austin Environmental Democrats got an early start on endorsements Wednesday, or at least voting on endorsements. Though they heard from candidates from Districts 1, 2 and 3, they finalized only one endorsement in the end. Only District 2’s Delia…

Biz alliance wants more help for small firms

The Austin Independent Business Alliance is both optimistic and frustrated about the City of Austin’s current efforts to assist small local businesses. The discussion took place at last week’s Council Audit and Finance Committee meeting, following a progress report on…

Austin Monitor Radio, Show 12: The budget

Mike Kanin and Liz Pagano talk Austin City Council budget, budget history, and taxes with Council members Laura Morrison and Bill Spelman.

Morrison, Spelman see progress on budget

Council Members Bill Spelman and Laura Morrison told the Monitor Tuesday that they’ve seen serious progress in the process of developing the City’s annual budget. Their comments were heard Wednesday on the weekly Austin Monitor Radio news show on KOOP…

City Council closing in on a final budget

City Council didn’t pull any punches at the start of Tuesday’s budget session, setting next year’s tax rate before anyone’s coffee had time to cool. Council members voted unanimously to adopt the tax rate of 48.09 cents per $100 taxable…

Council debates Pitch and Putt contract

Though City Council members started out Tuesday intending to talk about the entire Parks and Recreation Department budget, most of their discussion Tuesday centered on the possibility that Butler Park Pitch and Putt could change management in the near future. Parks…