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Stories by Audrey McGlinchy, KUT

police chief brian manley

Council confirms Manley as new police chief

City Council unanimously confirmed Brian Manley as the Austin Police Department’s new chief Thursday. Manley has served in an interim role since former Police Chief Art Acevedo left to head up Houston’s police department in 2016. Manley thanked those at…

codeNEXT map

Council votes not to put CodeNEXT petition on ballot

City Council members have voted against putting a CodeNEXT petition to a public vote, instead allowing a threatened lawsuit to proceed and a judge to determine whether the city is required to do so. “Putting this on the ballot is…

When roads are built to prioritize cars, pedestrians are often faulted for getting hit

Part 3 of a three-part series A driver hit and killed Judy Romano’s son, Barry Friedman, while he was walking in Austin two years ago. According to the police report, Friedman tried to cross East Parmer Lane just before 6…

Housing Austin's homeless will reduce road deaths, but that will require a big investment

Part 2 of a three-part series Mike Villegas learned his oldest child had died on Christmas Eve 2016. Villegas said he was doing work around the house with his 12-year-old son. When he went out to the front yard, he…

Two years after Vision Zero, when will Austin streets be safer for pedestrians?

Before he was killed, 14-year-old Alexei Bauereis had quit the backyard stunts like jumping from trees onto roofs and downhill skateboarding that defined his childhood. He was saving his legs for ballet. “Dance was so important to him,” said Eric…

Manley lays out vision for Austin Police in interview with public for permanent chief job

A week ago, Interim Police Chief Brian Manley was tapped by City Manager Spencer Cronk as the sole finalist to be the city’s new permanent police chief, and now Cronk and the city are engaged in a public input process…

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Council votes to clarify the road ahead for Austin's $482M corridor plan

Austin voters now have a clearer road map for a slate of bond-funded projects intended to relieve congestion and improve city infrastructure on a massive scale. With little more than a guarantee from City Council, voters overwhelmingly approved a $720…

Austin skyline

Business groups sue to block city's paid sick leave law

An Austin-based conservative think tank has sued the city over its paid sick leave ordinance. The ordinance, which goes into effect Oct. 1, requires all private businesses to provide anywhere from six to eight paid sick days per year for…

Without final rules in place, Austin closes two fair chance hiring complaints

When Lewis Conway Jr. was released from prison in 2000 after serving time for manslaughter, the state required him to wear an electronic monitoring device. But nothing fit his ankles. “So they put the electronic monitor on my wrist,” said…

After two dockless scooter companies launch in Austin, city speeds up rule process

Jumping the gun works, it seems. While city staff was devising a pilot program to govern dockless bikes and scooters, expecting to bring a proposal to Council members in June, two companies dropped their electric scooters throughout the city. Now…

CodeNEXT petitioners filing the petition

Petition to potentially put CodeNEXT on the ballot filed with city clerk

Activists filed a petition with the city clerk on Thursday in an effort to put all Land Development Code rewrites, including CodeNEXT, to a public vote. “We believe (residents) should have the right to decide whether this is the new…

Austin law requires job seekers with criminal pasts get a fair shot. But it's not being enforced.

When Lauren Johnson started job hunting in the early 1990s, she walked from business to business, filling out applications by hand. “It’ll be so much easier someday when this is all computerized,” she remembers thinking. Two decades later, job applications…

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