Lee esta historia en español As Austin was coordinating Covid-19 test centers and trying to secure personal protective equipment at the start of the pandemic, it was also buying land. Lots of it. Thirteen acres by July 2020. Another 3 acres that fall. Six more acres in December. By the end of 2020, the city […]
November 2018 elections
Posted inMusic & Entertainment
Music Commission set to finalize proposal process for creative space bonds
The city’s Music Commission hopes to make a decision by September on how arts and music groups will be able to submit proposals to receive some of the city’s $12 million in creative spaces funding. At last week’s meeting, commissioners agreed, without passing an official resolution, to come to the August meeting with consensus on […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Music Commission eyes minority populations in allocating $12M for creative spaces
Leaders from the arts and music communities appear to be leaning toward splitting up $12 million in city bond funds for creative spaces based on the city’s racial and gender demographics, in a move to emphasize equity and inclusion. At Monday’s meeting of the Music Commission, discussion on how the city will opt to spend […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
MACC supporters enter the fray for $12M in creative space funding
Members of the Latino and Mexican American communities are pushing for arts spaces representing those groups to receive money from the $12 million approved by voters to preserve and create arts spaces. Monday’s meeting of the Music Commission featured several speakers concerned that Tejano music and other Mexican American artists are being overlooked by the […]
Posted inHousing
With affordability funding looming, housing proponents have questions
With housing project applicants angling for portions of the city’s coming $250 million in general obligation bonds for affordable housing, city leaders charged with finding the right mix of new units are starting to wrestle with questions of how much new affordable housing should cost and where those units need to go. A recent meeting […]
Posted inAustin
Arts, music proponents push for bond money to help existing groups
A coalition of more than 20 arts and music groups has called on the city to use $12 million in creative spaces bond money on multiple properties that would be used by existing threatened entities. The coalition known as Supporting Preserving Austin’s Creative Ecosystem, or SPACE, submitted a four-page memo in February outlining six main […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Council OKs full $12M for creative space preservation, creation
The city’s creative leaders will have a full $12 million in bond money as their conceptual modeling clay later this month when the community begins to consider how best to protect Austin’s shrinking stock of arts spaces and music venues. City Council on Thursday unanimously approved a slate of four resolutions related to funds approved […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
City begins process of spending $925 million in bonds
Spending money is not always easy. Four months after voters approved $925 million in bonds to fund housing, parks, transportation, fire stations and a wide assortment of other municipal priorities, city staff and City Council are beginning the process of appropriating the money to various departments. To kick off the process, staffers are asking Council […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Groups eyeing $12M for creative spaces learn ‘process is complicated’
Organizations with designs on how best to use the $12 million the city has pledged to preserve creative spaces will likely have to clear a complicated set of legal requirements before any of the money is released this fall. That was the takeaway from Monday’s meeting of the Arts Commission, where members of a working […]
Posted inElections
Natasha Harper-Madison easily prevails in District 1
After finishing in a virtual tie in the general election, Natasha Harper-Madison easily defeated Mariana Salazar to become the next Council member for District 1 in East and Northeast Austin. Harper-Madison carried the low-turnout runoff election 72 percent to 28 percent, with 3,404 votes to Salazar’s 1,341. In a barroom packed with supporters at the […]
Posted inElections
Renteria bests sister Almanza again
Council Member Pio Renteria held on to his seat the same way he won it four years ago: by beating his sister. The incumbent representative of District 3, which covers much of Central East and Southeast Austin, easily won re-election in a runoff against sibling Susana Almanza, earning roughly 65 percent of the vote. Talking […]
Posted inElections
Ellis handily wins District 8 election
Paige Ellis won the runoff for Southwest Austin’s District 8 City Council seat Tuesday night, defeating Frank Ward with 56 percent of the vote in a race that drew considerably fewer voters than the Nov. 6 election. Ellis received 6,115 votes and Ward received 4,799, for a total of 10,914 votes cast in District 8 […]