Stories by Austin Monitor
Monday, April 23, 2018 by Austin Monitor
Reporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Scoot on
Much ado about scooting… As best as we can tell, the Scooter Wars hyped up on social media have largely been playing out as a sitzkrieg. Absent thus far is the oppressive sidewalk clutter – dubbed “mobility spam” by one…
Monday, April 16, 2018 by Austin Monitor
Reporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Collective concerns
No need to bug out… Word hit the street recently that the city was considering a rule that would require all homes to install insect screens. “Proposal would require homeowners to install insect screens,” said a KXAN headline. Buried near…
Monday, April 9, 2018 by Austin Monitor
Reporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Ornithology edition
Bird brains… After the Uber and Lyft fiasco of 2016 and the city’s crackdown against rogue bike-sharing companies in 2017, we have no idea why rent-a-scooter firm Bird figured it’d be a swell idea to try to elbow its way…
Monday, April 2, 2018 by Austin Monitor
Reporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Let’s talk talk
Talking to themselves… Do the members of the Commissioners Court and their staff need to take some time to discuss how they discuss things? Well, last Tuesday, the court discussed that very question! Concerning an upcoming retreat, Commissioner Brigid Shea…
Monday, March 26, 2018 by Austin Monitor
Reporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Meet me at the cemetery gates (tough guy)
More like Smashbel… A downtown Austin implosion occurs almost as infrequently as a freelance writer wakes up before Helios puts the sun in Sunday. But yesterday saw the stars align and gifted us with the rare spectacle of early morning…
Monday, March 12, 2018 by Austin Monitor
Reporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Grin and bear it
Putting himself out there… Randy Clarke spent his second full day as the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s CEO personally apologizing to riders. Clarke and top agency brass posted up at the downtown rail station just before rush hour on Thursday…
Monday, March 5, 2018 by Austin Monitor
Reporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Humanist mockery and moonlight towers
Thoughts and prayers… Following the most recent mass shooting, a familiar debate has emerged that pits those who argue in favor of gun control against those who emphasize mental health treatment and (in some cases) more guns. In a Facebook message…
Monday, March 5, 2018 by Austin Monitor
Radio
Austin Monitor Radio: Margaret Gómez
This week, Precinct 4 Travis County Commissioner Margaret Gómez sits down with Austin Monitor freelancer Caleb Pritchard and editor Elizabeth Pagano in a special live broadcast to talk about why she is seeking a seventh (!) term on the Commissioners…
Monday, February 26, 2018 by Austin Monitor
Reporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Reasons for beauty
Where the sidewalk bends… Austin badly needs to fill in the large gap of missing sidewalks across the city, but simply making each stretch of sidewalk longer than it has to be probably isn’t the most efficient solution. On Saturday,…
Monday, February 26, 2018 by Austin Monitor
Elections
Austin Monitor Radio: Pct. 4 challenger Susanna Woody
This week, Travis County Commissioners Court challenger Susanna Woody joins Austin Monitor freelance reporter Caleb Pritchard and Monitor editor Elizabeth Pagano to talk about why she is vying for the Precinct 4 seat. Listen to the whole interview with the…
Monday, February 5, 2018 by Austin Monitor
Reporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Which side?
More news from the Amazon (bid)… Austin has landed on the bad side of an LGBT rights group’s effort to influence online retail giant Amazon’s decision on where to build its next headquarters. The “No Gay? No Way!” campaign issued a…
Monday, February 5, 2018 by Austin Monitor
Radio
Austin Monitor Radio: District 1 candidate Lewis Conway Jr.
This week, District 1 City Council candidate Lewis Conway Jr. sits down with Austin Monitor editor Elizabeth Pagano and freelancer Caleb Pritchard for a conversation about why he’s running for office, why there is some question about whether he can serve…
Monday, January 29, 2018 by Austin Monitor
Reporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: What blind spots?
Colossus of roads… “There’s no question that I am probably the largest road proponent in the Milky Way.” Thus Travis County Commissioner Gerald Daugherty began a stemwinder about his transportation prescription for Central Texas at a luncheon hosted by the…
Monday, January 22, 2018 by Austin Monitor
Reporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Is back
Lee’s new team?… Former Mayor Lee Leffingwell never had the noted social media chops of his successor (or his successor’s spokesperson, at least), and after he stepped down in 2015, his Twitter account mostly retired with him. In 2017, he…
Monday, January 22, 2018 by Austin Monitor
Radio
Austin Monitor Radio: Mayoral candidate Laura Morrison
This week, former City Council member and current mayoral candidate Laura Morrison joins Austin Monitor freelancer Caleb Pritchard and editor Elizabeth Pagano to explain why she is running for office, and how she differs from current Mayor Steve Adler. Get…
Monday, January 15, 2018 by Austin Monitor
Radio
Austin Monitor Radio: Getting multimodal with ATD
In this week’s edition of the Austin Monitor‘s radio show, Austin Transportation Department Active Transportation Program Manager Laura Dierenfield and Nathan Wilkes, street designer and network planner, sit down with Caleb Pritchard to talk about the city’s multimodal plans for the…
Monday, January 8, 2018 by Austin Monitor
Radio
Austin Monitor Radio: APD contracts, the union
This week, Austin Police Association President Ken Casaday joins Austin Monitor freelancer Jack Craver for a discussion about City Council’s recent vote against a new Austin Police Department contract, where things stand now and next steps now that negotiations have…
Monday, January 8, 2018 by Austin Monitor
Radio
Austin Monitor Radio: APD contracts, the critics
In this edition of Austin Monitor Radio, editor Elizabeth Pagano sits down with Chas Moore of the Austin Justice Coalition and Kathy Mitchell from the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition to talk about City Council’s unanimous rejection of the Austin Police…
Friday, December 29, 2017 by Austin Monitor
Austin
2017: A Monitor year in review
City Manager search Oh boy. City Council closed out the year by (finally) appointing new City Manager Spencer Cronk more than a year after former manager Marc Ott announced his departure. That is great news for a city that has…
Monday, December 18, 2017 by Austin Monitor
Reporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: ’Tis the season
No nativity scene for you, says Zimmerman… Former Council Member Don Zimmerman is evidently still smarting over his 2016 defeat, and especially the fact that a majority of his neighbors did not vote for him. In years past, Zimmerman and…
