Michael Kanin

Mayor Lee Leffingwell had not yet received a letter yesterday that is supposedly on its way asking if Austin wants to apply to host the 2024 Summer Olympics, but he was not ready to jump on the bandwagon. On Wednesday, USA Today named 35 cities that were being asked by the International Olympic Committee if […]

Voters passed all but two of the remaining City of Austin charter amendments, one of which would have given City Council members more power and the other of which would have made it easier to fund campaigns.   Prop. 6 would allow the City Council to hire the city attorney. It narrowly lost with 50.5 […]

Travis County voters appear to be headed toward a 5-cent property tax increase to fund some aspects of a University of Texas medical school. Central Health’s Proposition 1 is winning with 54 percent of the Early Vote. Supporters spent considerable time and effort touting the benefits of the medical school, while detractors railed about a […]

With today the first day of early voting for the Nov. 6 election, Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell wants to make sure City of Austin voters are aware of the long list of key items on the tail-end of this year’s ballot that could significantly change the way local government works.   Importantly, Leffingwell said folks […]

City Manager Marc Ott, citing significant changes to a new ordinance passed by Council, drastically revised downward his estimate for how much it would cost the City of Austin to adopt a civil service employment system for its rank-and-file employees.   In a letter sent to Council members on Friday, Ott estimated that the minimum […]

City Manager Marc Ott has appointed Elaine Hart to be the city’s Chief Financial Officer. She has served as acting CFO since Leslie Browder retired in February. Prior to taking the City Hall post, Hart served as Senior Vice President of Finance and Corporate Services for Austin Energy. She has also previously served as Director […]

Council votes 4-3 for 3rd time for spring election. Political heavy hitters came out to support both November and May before final vote. Full story coming Monday.

Formula 1 investors told Council members today they would pick up the $4 million in estimated city costs for each of the 10 years the Grand Prix race is projected to be in Austin. The promoters had already agreed to fund the first year of city matching funds in order to access the state’s offer of $25 […]

Staying strong in the face of a stubborn national recession, Austin saw its taxable sales revenue increase for the second straight month when compared to the same period last year. In a memo sent yesterday to City Council members and other city officials, Chief Financial Officer Leslie Browder reported that Austin received $11.6 million from […]