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Stories by Amy Smith

Five finalists named for EMS chief post

City Manager Spencer Cronk has named five finalists to advance to a second round of interviews for the position of chief of Austin-Travis County Emergency Services. The national search produced 37 applications from candidates vying to fill the vacancy created…

Casar says 2021 was about helping people in crisis

From community organizer to City Council member to congressional candidate, Greg Casar exudes the energy of someone eager to get things done. Since taking office in January 2015, he has accomplished much of the social agenda he put forward as…

Mackenzie Kelly: A collaborative conservative among Democrats

Since the creation of the 10-1 City Council, the Council members who have represented District 6 in far Northwest Austin have stood out for one reason or another. The first two – conservative Republican Don Zimmerman, followed by progressive Democrat…

Public Safety Commission hears update on police academy after reset

This week the Public Safety Commission heard an update on the Austin Police Department’s first cadet class since pausing cadet training to restructure the curriculum to align with the city’s reimagining public safety process. Dr. Anne Kringen, who joined APD…

Search for new EMS chief still under wraps

As with last month’s meeting of the Public Safety Commission, Assistant City Manager Rey Arellano had little to report regarding the nationwide search for a new chief of Austin-Travis County Emergency Services. At Monday’s commission meeting, Arellano reported there were…

Parks board takes long view toward managing watercraft on Lady Bird Lake

Concession operations at Town Lake Metropolitan Park, which includes recreational spots along Lady Bird Lake and Zilker Park, provided about $750,000 in revenue to the city’s General Fund in 2021. That’s due in large part to Austin’s population surge as…

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Parks board supports Pease Park Conservancy's programming plan

Eeyore’s annual birthday party and park closures for private events were among the top concerns from some Parks and Recreation Board members Tuesday when the Pease Park Conservancy presented its 2022 programming plan for Kingsbury Commons at the park. The…

New water-saving requirements take effect Dec. 1

Starting Dec. 1, eligible new developments in Austin will need to include water-conservation measures. The new requirements are in response to City Council actions and subsequent code amendments adopted in recent months. Once the new terms take effect, developments submitting…

South Central Waterfront financing plan expected next month

After many years of vision planning and discussions, two major redevelopment projects – the South Central Waterfront and the Colony Park Vision Plan in Northeast Austin – are showing some degree of progress in relation to how the projects would…

EMS makes progress on billing backlog

Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services is chipping away at a billing backlog that started with a demanding learning curve associated with a new patient records system implemented in 2019. Additional billing delays carried over into 2020 as city staffers started…

Austin Pets Alive! poised to stay at Town Lake site

City Council overwhelmingly approved a resolution Thursday that appears to give Austin Pets Alive! greater leverage in negotiating a new license agreement with the city to replace the existing deal that expires Nov. 23. The two sides had reached an…

Public Safety Commission frowns on marshal office proposal

While it took no action on a proposal to create a marshal office within the Austin Municipal Court, the Public Safety Commission largely gave the plan a thumbs-down on Monday. Last month, City Council heard concerns from residents about the…

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