2005

Glasco retiring after long city career Planner has overseen neighborhood planning, zoning As a young girl growing up in Kenya, Alice Glasco watched her father go about his daily duties as the city manager of the town of Nakuru, where they lived, and told herself that kind of work was the last thing she wanted […]

Firefighter promises to be a champion for East Austin Close to 100 friends and supporters of firefighters president Mike Martinez came to Nuevo Leon last night to applaud his decision to run for the City Council and to contribute to the effort. Martinez told the crowd he wants to make sure East Austin–as well as […]

TCEQ not doing its job, says BSEACD A water rights permit pending before the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has one small community and local groundwater officials worried about the potential affect it could have on the water levels of area aquifers. Officials of the Golf Course at Circle C Ranch have applied for […]

After several public hearings and numerous consultations with its legal staff, the City Council cautiously approved a package of new public order ordinances Thursday aimed mainly at controlling the city’s homeless population. The new ordinances will ban sitting or sleeping on downtown sidewalks and most forms of panhandling and solicitation. The Council stopped short, however, […]

Supporters pack bond hearing for pet projects Supporters of the Mexic-Arte Museum, the Asian American Resource Center (AARC), a new downtown Central Library, and members of environmental groups filled the meeting room at Town Lake Center Tuesday night to urge members of the Bond Election Advisory Committee to keep funding for their favorite projects in […]

Eliza May began her campaign for City Council Place 2 last night with a small fundraiser targeting minority and women contractors at Nuevo Leon. Although the gathering was labeled as "the official announcement and first fundraiser," May told her small audience, "today is not necessarily our formal announcement," but now is the time to get […]

Hispanic Chamber Board Member Paul Saldaña and former Mayor Gus Garcia plan a presentation to the subcommittee pointing out that, according to the city’s own numbers, it has failed to meet its goals in several categories over the past four years. “With the growing number of minority and women-owned businesses in the greater Austin area, […]

The Zoning and Platting Commission sent retail strip store owner Sam Buford back to negotiate with the Allendale Neighborhood Association last week after homeowners protested that the addition of Sun Wine & Spirits to Buford’s strip center was one liquor store too many for Burnet Road and their residential neighborhood. Buford, who has redeveloped a […]

New Charter proposals raise red flags for some Austin’s environmental community, often perceived as monolithic in its defense of Barton Springs, the Edwards Aquifer, and other parts of Central Texas, appears to be developing a split over a campaign by the Save our Springs Alliance to put a pair of Charter Amendments on the next […]

Commissioner says pay plan was budget buster Precinct Two Commissioner Karen Sonleitner is disputing claims made by the Travis County Sheriff’s Officers Association and the Travis County Sheriff’s Law Enforcement Officers Association. During their endorsement of rival Democrat Karen Eckhardt for the party’s nomination for County Commissioner, Precinct Two, the two groups accused Sonleitner of […]

“Karen Sonleitner lost a lot of our respect and credibility during this year’s budget process,” said Alex Leo of the Travis County Sheriff’s Office Association during a news conference announcing the group’s endorsement. “Leaders of both associations met with her behind closed doors. She told us that she was in support of our proposal,” yet […]

Council Member Lee Leffingwell and members of the Historic Preservation Task Force have expressed concern about owners of historic structures who take advantage of remodeling permits to demolish their houses. Task Force members heard last week about several instances where permits may have been used to demolish potentially historic homes. Leffingwell said he has asked […]