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- A plan to end night swimming at Barton Springs is over before it ever began
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Environment
Carbon-reducing concrete could come to Austin
Concrete is the second-largest industrial producer of carbon dioxide in the world, according to the International Energy Agency. Yet it is still one of the most popular building materials. Tom Ennis, the sustainability officer with the Watershed Protection Department, told…
Environment • By Jessi Devenyns • Jul 1, 2019
Council denies request for mobile energy community center
City Council rejected a costly Austin Energy mobile outreach program in June that would have acted as a “community center” on wheels for customers to learn about energy programs offered by the utility. Austin Energy currently uses two sport utility…
Energy • By Ryan Thornton • Jul 1, 2019
City shares reason for Barton Springs' cloudy water last December
After Barton Springs was closed for a few days last December following an unusual level of turbidity in the water, the city immediately began investigating the cause. As the plumes of sediment filling the freshwater pool settled, instruments measuring water…
Environment • By Jessi Devenyns • Jun 24, 2019
Austin City Council vote brings new management to Butler golf course after 70 years under one family
The Austin City Council voted 8-3 on Thursday to lease Butler Pitch and Putt golf course to Pecan Grove Partners, marking the end of an era for the Kinser family, who have run the course since construction began in the…
Parks • By Jimmy Maas • Jun 21, 2019
Visions of Zilker Park split over parking
After months of meetings beginning in September of last year, the Zilker Park Working Group was not able to reach a consensus on recommendations for the Polo Fields and Butler Landfill, two areas currently used for overflow parking. According to…
Parks • By Ryan Thornton • Jun 18, 2019
Amphitheater, planetarium among $880M in improvements planned for Walter Long Park
Money from last year’s bond package approved by voters in November is expected to be used to fund the first of hundreds of millions of dollars in improvements and development at Walter E. Long Metropolitan Park in East Austin. Family-style…
Parks • By Chad Swiatecki • Jun 13, 2019
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Austin at risk for violating federal ozone standards
Ozone levels in the Austin area have been hovering just below federal violation levels for the last six years. Ground-level ozone – or “bad” ozone – is an ingredient in smog and a primary pollutant that can cause a number…
Environment • By Jessi Devenyns • Jun 11, 2019
Shoal Creek Trail solution coming to Council
After a catastrophic landslide carved a 30-foot-high cliff through residents’ backyards along Shoal Creek last year, the city sprang into action to devise a plan to stabilize what was left. However, the slope shifted again this spring, leaving Austinites wondering…
Environment • By Jessi Devenyns • Jun 10, 2019
No decision on Butler Pitch & Putt contract
With Mayor Steve Adler and Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison both absent for a vote at Thursday’s meeting, City Council has postponed approving a contract of up to 20 years for Pecan Grove Golf Partners for managing Austin’s nearly 70-year-old Butler…
City Council • By Ryan Thornton • Jun 7, 2019
Environmental group sues federal government over endangered Central Texas salamanders
An environmental advocacy group has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, claiming federal officials are failing to protect threatened species of salamanders in Central Texas. The Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity argues the federal agency has…
Environment • By Becky Fogel, KUT • Jun 4, 2019
Start of summertime brings trash to Austin's greenbelts
Austin’s greenbelts, though beautiful, have had a fraught history of visitors contaminating the wild beauty of the Central Texas landscape with their trash. At the May 28 meeting of the Parks and Recreation Board meeting, Board Member Rich DePalma brought…
Parks • By Jessi Devenyns • Jun 3, 2019
Parks board critiques Butler Pitch & Putt solicitation, recommends change of hands
The Parks and Recreation Board yielded to the authority of city procedure Tuesday when it passed a recommendation for Council to approve an agreement with Pecan Grove Golf Partners to take over the management of Butler Park Pitch & Putt…
