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City Hall

Adler backtracks after initially saying he did 'not do anything wrong' by flying to Mexico during the pandemic

After initially saying he didn’t do anything wrong, Austin Mayor Steve Adler now says he realizes he “set a bad example” by traveling to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, for vacation last month. An Austin American-Statesman story revealed Wednesday that Adler…

Downtown court not moving to east side

Last month, when City Council Member Pio Renteria expressed his dismay about staffers’ proposal to relocate the Downtown Austin Community Court to 1719 E. Second St. in his district, instead of downtown, other Council members agreed with his request to…

Audit cites ethics violations by employee, supervisor

An investigation by the Office of the City Auditor has concluded that Alex Perez, a project coordinator at Austin Energy, violated city ethics regulations by making official decisions affecting a company owned by members of his family. In addition, auditors…

New SAVES programs face uncertain funding

The city has started nine programs in nine months to help local Austin businesses survive the pandemic. On Thursday, City Council will consider final program guidelines for three more programs providing relief for child care providers, local music venues and…

Human Rights Commission passes recommendation for domestic violence survivors

Late last month, the city’s Human Rights Commission unanimously passed a recommendation to continue providing hotel shelter for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking during the Covid-19 pandemic. Courtney Santana, a Human Rights commissioner and the CEO…

For child care providers in Austin, city relief couldn't come soon enough

Patsy Harnage doesn’t get a lot of holidays. For the last decade, she’s grown accustomed to working herself to the bone. Operating a child care center is hard work, built on razor-thin margins. That’s part of the job; it’s an…

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City leaders and Cap Metro get to work crafting Project Connect anti-displacement plan

In November, Austin voters approved a tax increase to support Project Connect and the expansion of public transportation throughout the city. Now, local leaders need to figure out precisely where and how to spend some of that money, including $300…

Austin music venues won't get Covid relief money until next year. They say they're running out of time.

Jeannette Gregor was shaking, her voice quivering. “I am not a public speaker. This is actually kind of a nightmare for me – especially after about five months of isolation and no social contact,” she said back in September. “So…

Split commission rejects complaint against Garza

The ethics complaint against Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza will not move forward to a final hearing after receiving the thumbs-up from just five members of the city’s Ethics Review Commission. A majority of the commission, or six members, was…

City faces challenge in managing software licenses

The city does not have complete information on what software licenses it has or how much those licenses are costing, according to a report from the city auditor’s office. Auditors reported Wednesday that the city spent $7.4 million in Fiscal…

Black coalition says Austin should pay out millions in restitution for long-ignored systemic racism

Black residents are calling on Austin to address decades of racism, inequity and displacement, demanding the city move to potentially provide as much as half a billion dollars in restitution for the Black community. Roughly 50 Black Austinites of all…

City revives a New Deal program to put people back to work

Lee esta historia en español. The city of Austin is putting up to $2 million toward a new employment program that helps organizations hire people financially affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Austin Civilian Conservation Corps is modeled after a…

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