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Stories by Jo Clifton

Austin may get an economic development corp.

City Council appears to be moving cautiously toward creation of a local economic development corporation that would be totally separate from the city but governed by a Council-appointed board of directors. People unfamiliar with such entities may naturally wonder why…

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Taxpayers sue over lack of appraisal hearings

One hundred and thirty-eight Travis County property owners have sued the Travis Appraisal Review Board and the Travis Central Appraisal District for failing to provide timely hearings on the property owners’ protests of their 2019 appraisals. The two agencies are…

Former city employee misused computer, email

Last January, members of the city auditor’s investigative team received an allegation that Richard Anderson, a division manager in the Development Services Department, was using his city computer to help him with his other job as an instructor for what…

After years of service, Slusher retires from city

After nine years on City Council, about 18 months at Austin Energy and more than 12 years as Austin Water’s assistant director for environmental affairs and conservation, Daryl Slusher hung up his city spurs last week, retiring on Dec. 31.…

Leslie Pool remembers high, low points of 2019

District 7 Council Member Leslie Pool is proud of the contributions she and her colleagues made toward helping the homeless in 2019, calling it “a pretty amazing year.” Still, she thinks some things could have been done better. For example,…

Tovo reflects on a year of challenge and success

As she looks back on 2019, Council Member Kathie Tovo can count some major victories, including passage of her expansive resolution directing enhancements to a lengthy stretch of downtown parkland leading up to Palm School, direction to begin creation of…

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Delia Garza recalls 2019 as a good year

The year 2019 has been a good year for Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza. The former firefighter pushed hard for new fire stations for her District 2 constituents, and she got a great birthday present on June 5 when the…

Friends remember Walter Timberlake

Friends and family shared reminiscences of longtime labor leader and dedicated Democrat Walter Timberlake Monday. Timberlake, 89, passed away Sunday after a long struggle with various health problems, including diabetes. Timberlake was a major force in the Texas Democratic party…

Activists sue city over zoning code rewrite

Nineteen local property owners filed suit against the city of Austin Thursday, alleging that the city has deprived them of their right to protest under state law as the city adopts changes to zoning classifications throughout the city. City Council…

Audit: Social services contract rules need update

The city auditor’s team studying the city’s social services contracting process found that even though Austin spends millions of dollars on social services contracts, the city “does not have an explicit definition of ‘social services’ and lacks a formal social…

Industrial lot wins mixed-use zoning on second reading

Although Council Member Pio Renteria pushed for more affordable housing on a Southeast Austin site that is currently industrial, he made the motion to approve the compromise offered by attorney David Hartman at last week’s Council meeting. Before the vote,…

Lawyer says Garza should follow city finance rules

Within hours of signing up to run in the March Democratic primary for Travis County Attorney, Delia Garza had an opponent whose name will not be appearing on the 2020 ballot. Bill Aleshire, who retired from his job as county…

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