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Most Popular Stories
- Despite safety concerns, Council OKs new buildings above Shoal Creek
- Texas lawmakers finalize bill limiting property owners’ right to protest new homes nearby
- As Acacia Cliffs rezoning is approved, Critics say Council has sold out on its affordability commitments
- A multi-family rezoning at the rugged edge of Northwest Austin
- City eyes fund to preserve affordable housing, capitalize on overbuilt apartment market
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Environment
Attempted tree removal creates cul-de-sac conflict
A saga that stretched a year and a half and pitted neighbor against neighbor ended last week when the Planning Commission prevented North Austin resident Patrick Fulker from removing a cottonwood tree in the public right of way. Neighbor Krenda…
Environment • By Jonathan Lee • Aug 5, 2021
Legislators respond to winter storm with new requirements for energy providers
The Electric Utility Commission received an update last week on legislative action related to electric utilities, with Senate Bill 3 serving as the omnibus response bill to Winter Storm Uri in mid-February. SB 3, approved at the close of the…
Energy • By Amy Smith • Jul 19, 2021
County plans to lower emissions to comply with Clean Air Act
At the June 29 meeting of the Travis County Commissioners Court, commissioners discussed strategies to reduce particulate matter emissions with Jon White, director of Natural Resources and Environmental Quality, and Adele Noel, the environmental project manager for air quality. “We’re…
Environment • By Seth Smalley • Jul 9, 2021
Watershed Protection makes departmental changes
In response to the retirements of key personnel, and to better respond to Austin’s growth while retaining the city’s environmental identity, the Watershed Protection Department has undergone a staff reorganization, Director Jorge Morales told the Environmental Commission at its Tuesday…
Environment • By Amy Smith • Jul 9, 2021
North Austin park poised to be renamed Heron Hollow Pocket Park
It took nearly two decades, but Payton Gin Pocket Park in North Austin is destined to be formally renamed Heron Hollow Pocket Park, a goal of the North Austin Civic Association and other stakeholders since the early 2000s. The Parks…
Parks • By Amy Smith • Jul 1, 2021
Naming process for Waterloo Park features raises questions about equity
What’s in a name? That question quickly moved to the fore of a Parks and Recreation Board discussion last week about proposed names for new features at Waterloo Park, which is set to reopen to the public Aug. 14 after…
Parks • By Amy Smith • Jun 30, 2021
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PARD continues to work through lifeguard staffing shortages
After a year of lockdown measures and closures aimed at stopping the spread of the coronavirus, Austinites have entered the summer season ready to interact with the world again. But as people head outdoors, they’re noticing that the city’s aquatics operations…
Parks • By Sean Saldaña • Jun 29, 2021
Parks board rejects alcohol sales at Zilker Cafe, but the vote is in question
A key vote by the Parks and Recreation Board may need to be recast due to a shortage of board members required to consider a proposal to sell beer and wine at the newly renovated Zilker Cafe adjacent to Barton…
Parks • By Amy Smith • Jun 24, 2021
City begins blue-green algae mitigation at Red Bud Isle
Since 2019, dog-lovers in Austin have had to worry about cyanobacteria, more commonly known as blue-green algae, when stories came out of several dogs dying after swimming in Lady Bird Lake during the algae bloom. A particular area of concern…
Environment • By Sean Saldaña • Jun 24, 2021
Watershed report shines a light on racism in tank farm history
If awards were given out for annual reports, the Austin Watershed Protection Department’s recently released 2020 “State of Our Environment” would be a strong contender for its in-house production of a video documenting the East Austin community’s successful battle against…
Environment • By Amy Smith • Jun 22, 2021
TreeFolks’ carbon credit program taking root
When Tamara Stutz heard about a free tree-planting program at her neighbor’s house, she was sold. Coordinators from TreeFolks, an Austin-based nonprofit, had reached out to property owners in her neighborhood outside Manor offering to plant trees in an effort…
Environment • By Sumaiya Malik, Reporting Texas • Jun 18, 2021
Mitigation pilot set to tackle harmful algae in Lady Bird Lake
Most pet owners in Austin recall the fateful summer of 2019, when a spate of dog deaths was traced back to contact with toxic algae in Lady Bird Lake. Since that time the blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, has been identified…
