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Stories by Andrew Weber, KUT

New collaborative hopes to address equity gaps in Austin's response to homelessness

Austin has consistently struggled to get people living outdoors into homes. Part of that failure lies in the city’s unprecedented real estate boom and affordability crisis over the last 10 years. Another reason is that people of color, who are overrepresented among…

APD should follow national best practices on use of force and make guidelines clearer, watchdog says

The Austin Police Department’s policies governing when an officer can and can’t use force don’t align with Austinites’ expectations, according to a new report from the city’s independent police monitor. The Office of Police Oversight collected feedback from 1,400 Austinites on APD’s…

ACL Fest hasn't been given the final OK on its permits yet, but the city says that's normal

As cases of Covid-19 continue to surge in Austin, there’s been some question of how live events like the Austin City Limits Music Festival, which drew 400,000 people during its last in-person festival, will mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.…

Democrats sue Texas in attempt to get federal courts to redraw legislative districts before 2022

Texas Democrats say the state’s legislative districts can’t be redrawn in 2021 and they’re asking a federal court to redraw them before the 2022 election. The state has already begun work on redrawing its maps, but a federal lawsuit filed…

Petition-backed measure to mandate police staffing will go to Austin voters

A ballot measure that would set a mandatory minimum for police staffing in Austin is on its way to voters. The city clerk on Tuesday certified petition signatures from the group Save Austin Now, paving the way for a November…

City says two sites could serve as temporary encampments for homeless Austinites

Austin has found two city-owned sites that could serve as camps for people living outdoors. One of the potential campsites is on Manor Road in East Austin and the other is on Convict Hill Road in South Austin, according to…

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Group launches effort to put decriminalizing pot, ban on no-knock warrants on Austin's November ballot

Austin effectively decriminalized marijuana last year. The city also effectively banned no-knock warrants, the controversial police tactic that led to the deaths of Breonna Taylor and Atatiana Jefferson. But those policies are more or less guidelines; they’re not formally enshrined in the city’s charter.…

An Austin nonprofit is raising money to help make state homeless camp feel more like a neighborhood

For the better part of two years, the Esperanza Community in Southeast Austin has been home for many people experiencing homelessness. On any given day, roughly 150 people live and work on the weather-beaten, 5-acre blacktop owned by the Texas…

Austin police officers clear homeless encampments around City Hall

Austin police officers on Monday cleared encampments around City Hall that were erected by people experiencing homelessness. The city said in a statement that officers were moving people from the corner of Guadalupe and Cesar Chavez streets for construction work. The…

Austin police can start ticketing people for panhandling and camping or sitting in public

The Austin Police Department will begin enforcing a city ban on camping in public that was reinstated by Austin voters last month. Proposition B, the citizen-led effort to reinstate the rules, officially went into effect May 11, but the city adopted a staggered…

City staff ask for more time, direction on Austin's plan to set up homeless encampments

A preliminary plan to set up encampments on city-owned land in Austin has hit a snag. City Council directed city staffers to identify land for temporary camps last month after voters reinstated the ban on public encampments. The initial list was met with pushback, so…

Black leaders say Austin's list of proposed sites for homeless camps is inequitable

Black leaders in Austin called the city’s list of proposed sites for public encampments inequitable and criticized staffers for placing most of the locations east of Interstate 35. The group on Monday called for a revision of the plan, which…

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