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Public Safety
Travis County still working on finalizing flood buyout program
Four and a half months after the devastating Halloween floods, the county still doesn’t have a definitive buyout plan for all of the affected properties in the Bluff Springs Road area. After an hour of public discussion, and even…
Local Government • By Jimmy Maas • Mar 12, 2014
Struggle coming over which agency should lead on prescribed burns
After hearing that wildfire prevention efforts led to the prescribed burn of approximately 200 acres in 2013, several Public Safety Commissioners said this week that they worried that any burn not led by the Austin Fire Department poses a safety…
Environment • By Gene Davis • Mar 7, 2014
Austin wins nearly $12 million in federal funds for Onion Creek
The City of Austin will receive $11.8 million in federal funding for the Onion Creek – Lower Colorado River Basin Project now that Congress finally loosened its purse strings and approved spending the money. The funds – which will…
Environment • By Mark Richardson • Mar 6, 2014
Austin still needs nearly $100 million for flood plain buyout
Four months after raging floodwaters damaged and destroyed dozens of homes in the Onion Creek neighborhood in southeast Austin, city officials say it could cost between $80 million and $100 million to complete a buyout of homes in the flood…
Environment • By Mark Richardson • Feb 28, 2014
Audit finds Parks Department lax in managing safety hazards
City Auditor Ken Mory reported to Council members Wednesday that the city’s Parks and Recreation Department “is not effectively managing hazards related to patron safety” and, further noted that “there is limited assurance that hazards identified are corrected promptly.” …
Local Politics • By Michael Kanin • Feb 7, 2014
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Public Safety panel backs expanding city’s texting-while-driving ban
After hearing the city’s chief prosecutor say that drivers on their cell phones are 23 times more likely to be in a wreck than a driver who isn’t distracted, the Public Safety Commission approved a resolution Monday asking City Council…
Public Safety • By Gene Davis • Feb 4, 2014
Sheriff’s office defends no in-person jail visitation policy
Officials with the Travis County Sheriff’s Department defended their policy Tuesday of limiting family visits with Travis County Jail inmates to a for-profit video visitation system, saying that the change in policy was for security reasons and that video visitation…
Local Government • By Mark Richardson • Jan 22, 2014
Commissioners to investigate loss of in-person jail visitation
Several members of the Travis County Commissioners Court say they were caught off guard Tuesday when they were told that in-person family visits at the Travis County Jail have been replaced by a video system. And a majority of commissioners…
Local Government • By Mark Richardson • Jan 15, 2014
Civil rights groups: Video jail visits too costly, may be violating civil rights
A two-way video conferencing system that has all but replaced in-person visits by friends and family members with those incarcerated at the Travis County Jail is coming under fire as being too expensive, too impersonal and possibly even dangerous to…
Local Government • By Mark Richardson • Jan 14, 2014
County finds just $4.3 million to buy flood-ravaged homes
Travis County officials say they have searched their budgets, bond programs and possibly even the couch cushions to come up with $4.3 million to buy out damaged and destroyed homes from the Halloween floods. But it will be another…
