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Local Government
Plaintiffs hope to strike city of Austin from Project Connect suit
The people who filed suit last fall to stop the Austin Transit Partnership from proceeding without another bond election have intervened in a lawsuit filed by the city and ATP seeking to validate bonds needed to build the light-rail system.…
Courts • By Jo Clifton • Mar 6, 2024
In a complicated budget year, county commissioners hear advice on employee pay
On Feb. 27, the Travis County Commissioners Court convened for a marathon nine-hour voting session. The agenda was packed with diverse motions, but dollars loomed especially large on the docket. Shortly before hearing the Travis County Planning and Budget Office’s…
Travis County • By Nick Erichson • Mar 6, 2024
Groups sue Austin officials over plan to redevelop dairy plant site
Advocacy groups and a neighborhood association are suing city of Austin officials over what they allege is a plan illegally approved by City Council members to turn a dairy plant into more than a thousand new homes, offices and a…
Courts • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Feb 27, 2024
Travis County celebrates shift to telework
The Travis County Commissioners Court last week received a briefing on a new “Telework Dashboard,” a web tool that reports on the impacts of the county’s ambitious push to build a 75 percent remote workforce. The test drive quickly became…
Travis County • By Nick Erichson • Feb 27, 2024
CEO of Austin-based BookPeople 'ecstatic' over decision blocking law that restricts library books
The CEO of BookPeople said she is “ecstatic” the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday blocked a Texas law that sought to restrict which books are available in school libraries. “I’m so, so happy that they upheld the lower court’s…
Courts • By Becky Fogel, KUT • Jan 18, 2024
Austin confronts legal challenge to 10-mile light-rail plan
City Council and the Austin Transit Partnership (ATP) are firing back against a lawsuit aiming to terminate the vision for a 10-mile light-rail network – the single most ambitious public transit project in the city’s history. In legal filings in…
Courts • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Jan 10, 2024
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County Judge Brown to focus on diversion center, passenger rail in 2024
In January, Travis County Judge Andy Brown told the Austin Monitor that he intended to double down on overdose prevention efforts and the county’s work to build a mental health diversion center to help more people in crisis avoid jail…
Travis County • By Nina Hernandez • Jan 2, 2024
Travillion finds connecting resources helps solve complex issues
When Travis County Precinct 1 Commissioner Jeff Travillion looks at the county’s accomplishments in the year past, he sees lessons learned in the pandemic – and in his childhood – put into practice. “It was really no one thing. We…
Travis County • By Ken Chambers • Dec 22, 2023
Experience, communication help Margaret Gómez tackle difficult issues
With more time logged in office than the other commissioners on the court, Travis County Precinct 4 Commissioner Margaret Gómez is able to bring a long-term perspective to county government. Gómez took office in 1995, making her the longest-tenured commissioner…
Travis County • By Ken Chambers • Dec 22, 2023
Howard proudly ruffling feathers her third year in office
For Travis County Commissioner Ann Howard, this year was all about employing the institutional knowledge she gained over her first two years in office. “You know, I found the bathrooms and the light switches, and I’m sort of recognizing the…
Travis County • By Nina Hernandez • Dec 21, 2023
Shea continues search for creative solutions to climate crisis
As an environmentalist, Travis County Commissioner Brigid Shea spends a lot of time thinking about worst-case scenarios. Still, the commissioner’s approach to leadership is far from doom and gloom. In fact, as the climate crisis worsens across the globe, Shea…
Travis County • By Kali Bramble • Dec 21, 2023
Renewed cooperation eliminates backlog of sexual assault evidence kits
After years of discord, the team created to improve Travis County’s response to sexual assault is back to collaborating, team members told the Commissioners Court Tuesday, and a backlog of untested evidence kits has been processed. Spurred by state law…
