Travis County will be taking over the 81-year-old U.S. Courthouse in downtown Austin. On Thursday morning, Rep. Lloyd Doggett joined County Judge Sarah Eckhardt on the steps of the building at W. Eighth and Lavaca streets to announce that the federal government had approved the county’s application to adopt the courthouse. The decision was made […]
2016
Posted inAustin
2016: An Austin Monitor review
As residents of the actual world, and not just City Hall World, we at the Austin Monitor are well-aware that most year-in-review lists will be filled with relief that the seemingly cursed 2016 will soon be over. Our relief comes from the fact that we have to focus our look back only on our narrow perspective, […]
Posted inMission Note
Publisher’s Note: Into 2017
December 2016 marks the third anniversary of the rebranding that gave birth to the Austin Monitor. In those three years, we’ve rebuilt our web home, expanded our coverage, made room for some new voices in the coverage of Austin and Travis County politics and seen the growth of our publication from just 406 subscribers in […]
Posted inCity Council
Zimmerman: “I’m out of here”
If City Council Member Don Zimmerman is unhappy about losing the seat he has held for two years, he’s not showing it. After losing re-election to Jimmy Flannigan – the same candidate he beat to earn his spot on the then-new 10-1 Council in 2014 – Zimmerman said he accepts the will of the voters, […]
Posted inCity Council
Flannigan brings new perspective on behalf of Austin’s northwest suburbs
Two years after losing narrowly in a runoff election to City Council Member Don Zimmerman, Jimmy Flannigan easily prevailed in a rematch with the incumbent. What changed? “Winning elections is luck and timing,” said Flannigan during an interview with the Austin Monitor. However, he added, “There’s a lot of preparation involved in luck.” The strong […]
Posted inCity Council
Kitchen hopes for longer budget process, shorter meetings in 2017
After two years in office, City Council Member Ann Kitchen, who represents District 5’s long stretch of South Austin, is happy with what she has accomplished for her district and the city but says that Council could stand to improve the way it operates in a few key ways. Kitchen is the only member of […]
Posted inWhispers
City lawsuit against TCAD officially over
The city of Austin has quietly given up on its lawsuit against the Travis Central Appraisal District by declining to file a petition for review by the Texas Supreme Court. During a mid-December briefing by the appraisal district on methods it was using to make appraisals more fair for homeowners, Mayor Steve Adler said he […]
Posted inCity Council
Casar cites work on labor issues for 2016
Greg Casar was re-elected to his District 4 City Council seat in November with only token, underfunded opposition – and that fact did not even make it onto the list of highlights he shared with the Austin Monitor. From his post at the Workers Defense Project, Casar was first elected in 2014 as a champion […]
Posted inCity Council
Renteria’s issues: affordability, protecting tenants
For District 3 City Council Member Pio Renteria, Council’s big accomplishments, and his own, revolve around housing affordability in 2016. That includes passage of a tenant relocation ordinance with provisions to protect mobile home park residents and funding of affordable housing through a homestead preservation district. In 2015, when Council started working on an ordinance […]
Posted inCity Council
Houston eyes community engagement in 2017
Before taking a look back over the past year, City Council Member Ora Houston wanted to make one thing crystal clear. “I consider myself a public servant, not a politician,” she said. “So I don’t talk like, I don’t do like, I don’t think like the expectations of a politician.” Houston starts the conversation where […]
Posted inCity Council
Housing, public health priorities for Garza in new year
City Council Member Delia Garza describes Council’s past year as “productive.” Specifically, Garza is pleased to report that she has begun to tackle some of her priority issues in earnest (all while handily winning re-election to the District 2 seat with more than 65 percent of the vote). “I think, overall, it was a good […]
Posted inWhispers
Commissioners Court OKs John School
Travis County will be sending men convicted of soliciting prostitution back to school. On Tuesday, the Commissioners Court voted to create an eight-hour prostitution solicitation education class, known colloquially as a John School. The aim is to educate men on the risks and consequences of purchasing sex on the streets. The program will likely cost […]