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Massive concrete beams now extend over the water at the east end of Lady Bird Lake as a new three-pronged pedestrian bridge – the first of its kind in Austin – comes together next to the Longhorn Dam. Only one…
Last Thursday, Austin city leaders marked the 30th anniversary of a program that provides free vaccines to children as Texas faces its worst measles outbreak in over three decades. Measles is a highly contagious airborne disease that can spread through…
The Austin Police Department’s use of automated license plate readers as an investigative tool will continue through June, City Council decided last week. Later this year, Council will determine whether to make the pilot program a permanent feature, depending on…
At the beginning of the year, Travis County finally began offering a guaranteed lawyer to individuals who are arrested and can’t afford legal representation – a constitutional right known as counsel at first appearance, or CAFA. It took an ACLU…
The Ethics Review Commission voted unanimously this week to advance two campaign finance complaints to final hearings, determining that there are reasonable grounds to believe that violations of the city’s campaign finance rules may have occurred during a recent City…
With a major expansion on the horizon for Austin’s Walnut Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant, Mayor Kirk Watson is working with city staff to ensure the $1 billion project goes off without a hitch. The project, which City Council approved last…
For the second time in less than a year, community member Ted Eubanks faced opposition to his nomination to the city’s Parks and Recreation Board. Eubanks, a 40-year parks professional who specializes in heritage and nature tourism, was one of…
Austin City Council members celebrated the resounding defeat of House Bill 274 on Wednesday, a bill that would have created the “District of Austin” as the state’s official seat of government. “Our message is loud and clear: local leaders are…
Under state law, Austin is only allowed to raise its tax rate by 3.5 percent without asking voters for permission. That law has been on the books since 2019 without the city scheduling a regular tax rate election. But it…
While Austin Water has worked to limit the amount of water lost through breaks in its water lines, over time the amount of water lost through such leaks has steadily increased, according to an audit discussed at the City Council…
At Wednesday’s Urban Land Institute Austin breakfast discussion, interim University of Texas President Jim Davis offered a candid assessment of the university’s evolving role in Austin’s booming development scene. Once regarded as one of the city’s largest builders and employers,…
Standing at a pulpit on a Sunday morning in March, the Rev. Daryl Horton of Mt. Zion Baptist Church in East Austin prayed for a swift approval of building permits. An ask that, as anyone familiar with municipal bureaucracy knows,…
