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Austin’s giant troll is finally finished. Here’s where you can find her.

Pease Park’s newest art installation is tucked away in the woods, but she’s hard to miss. Malin is an 18-foot-tall troll made of local and repurposed wood. And in her hands is an offering: a basin full of water to…

Austin Energy pauses to analyze path forward for climate plan

Austin Energy General Manager Bob Kahn has informed the mayor and City Council that the utility is pausing the current process of amending its resource, generation and climate protection plan. The utility had been working to provide proposed changes to…

Travis County signs up for more reclaimed water

Last week, City Council authorized Austin Water to move forward with an interlocal agreement with Travis County to share the costs of designing and building oversized reclaimed water mains and pipes within the central business district. This will provide service…

Council approves changes to environmental protections to upgrade Butler Trail

With little discussion, City Council last week approved amendments to environmental protections to clear the way for capital improvements on the popular hike-and-bike trail at Lady Bird Lake. The code changes allow for exemptions from critical water quality zone rules…

There are two big trolls in neighboring Austin parks – and they might be in love

Pease Park will soon get an 18-foot-tall wooden troll sculpture. But ahead of its opening, Austinites can find a similar (if slightly more disheveled) troll at a miniature park just a few blocks away. “When I heard that the Pease Park…

City Council adopts historic water reuse regulations

City Council on Thursday unanimously and enthusiastically approved mandatory water reuse for most large new developments, with some provisions to exempt affordable housing from the requirement. They also approved an agreement with Travis County to provide reclaimed water connections for…

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Conservation district has good news on drought level

The Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District has taken a step back from the most severe drought stage – Stage IV – and after a brief stint in Stage III, has declared the area to be at Stage II Alarm Drought,…

Debate intensifies over code changes to Butler Hike and Bike trail

Austin’s Parks and Recreation Board drew a crowd this past Monday, gathering to debate a number of code amendments targeting the Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail at Lady Bird Lake. The amendments, prompted by City Council direction…

Parks board blesses bathhouse renaming

More than 60 years ago, Joan Means Khabele jumped into Barton Springs Pool, launching a movement that led to its desegregation. Austin is now set to remember her legacy by renaming the Barton Springs Bathhouse after her. After being denied…

Electric Utility Commission offers climate-friendly recommendations for Austin Energy update

As the deadline approaches for an update to Austin Energy’s Resource, Generation, and Climate Protection Plan, the city’s Electric Utility Commission is joining the conversation, banding behind its own proposal for the coming decade. The proposal, formed in collaboration with…

City breaks ground on the Barton Springs bathhouse

Many years in the making, rehabilitation of the Barton Springs bathhouse is scheduled for a groundbreaking ceremony at 10 a.m. today. While the majority of attendees will surely cheer for the improvements the city promises under the Barton Springs Pool…

Austin area has dangerously high levels of air pollution, according to new EPA standards

The Environmental Protection Agency has announced long-awaited updates to air quality standards for fine particulate matter, also known as “soot,” pollution. The new, tighter limits mean some places that previously had acceptable levels of pollution are no longer meeting health…

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