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Whispers
Tuesday, February 19, 2019 by Jessi Devenyns
Ethics commission due to get fresh blood come March
With a legislative session about to go into full swing and Council on the verge of appointing commission members, the Ethics Review Commission is preparing to see numerous changes in the upcoming months. Just prior to adjourning on Wednesday night, Chair Ben Stratmann voiced his concerns about making the quorum at the March and April meetings. Both he and Commissioner Luis Soberon work around the Texas Legislature and are anticipating their schedules to fill up as the 140 days of the session tick by. Additionally, Vice Chair Dennis Speight tendered his resignation and will not return in March. Commissioner J. Michael Ohueri similarly said that he may not show up in March either; he has not officially resigned. A replacement for Speight has not yet been appointed, nor did the commission elect a new vice chair.
Tuesday, February 19, 2019 by Tai Moses
Stolen phones on their way home, thanks to Austin PD
The Austin Police Department has recovered a number of phones that were stolen during the first weekend of the Austin City Limits Music Festival in October. The case broke when the Osceola County Sheriff’s Department intercepted a package containing a large number of cell phones that had been shipped from Austin to Florida. The discovery resulted in the arrest of three Colombian nationals who were charged by the FBI for trafficking in stolen property across state lines and then deported back to Colombia for immigration offenses. Austin PD and ACL Fest are now partnering with Crowdfind.com in an effort to reunite the recovered phones with their rightful owners. If you attended ACL Fest Oct. 4-6 and lost your phone or reported it stolen, visit Crowdfind. Austin PD investigators say this is the “largest item reunification effort” the department has ever undertaken.
Tuesday, February 19, 2019 by Tai Moses
AISD budget meetings this month
The Austin Independent School District will be holding a series of public town hall meetings to share information about the district’s academic investments and austerity planning. District leaders seek feedback and ideas from community members as they develop the preliminary 2019-20 budget. Spanish interpreters and child care will be provided. For more information, contact Ali Ghilarducci at 512-414-4487.
The meetings will take place on the following dates at three locations:
- Travis Early College High School Cafeteria, 1211 E. Oltorf St., Tuesday, Feb. 19, 6-7:30 p.m.
- Reagan Early College High School Cafeteria, 7104 Berkman Drive, Thursday, Feb. 21, 6-7:30 p.m.
- Austin High School Cafeteria, 1715 Cesar Chavez St., Saturday, Feb. 23, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Friday, February 15, 2019 by Tai Moses
Park it in a box!
Getting tired of seeing scooters tossed across the sidewalk, perched on flower beds or blocking doorways? The city’s Transportation Department has come up with a solution – parking boxes for dockless mobility devices like bicycles and scooters. The city hopes the boxes will encourage riders to be more mindful about where they leave their scooters and bicycles. Early birds can watch Transportation staff install a parking box Friday, Feb. 15, at 9 a.m. at 221 W. Sixth St. Off-street parking boxes can be found in the following locations:
- Third Street between Nueces Street and San Antonio Street
- Fourth Street at San Jacinto Boulevard
- San Jacinto Boulevard between Fifth Street and Sixth Street
- Third Street at Trinity Street
- Fourth Street at Red River Street
- Fifth Street at Pleasant Valley
Friday, February 15, 2019 by Tai Moses
Spinning vinyl at the Carver
As turntable enthusiasts may already know, the Carver, at 1161 Angelina St., is the only branch of the Austin Public Library to boast a record collection. Naturally it wasn’t long before all that luscious vinyl attracted some DJs, like bees to blossoms. On Friday, Feb. 15, from 7 to 9:30 p.m., the city’s Music & Entertainment Division is partnering with the library to present “Vinyl Night at the Carver,” a dual celebration of Love Austin Music Month and Black History Month featuring Austin musicians Mélat and DJ Raquiqui. The DJs will play selections from the Carver Library collection along with some of their own personal faves. The event is free and light refreshments will be served.
Friday, February 15, 2019 by Jo Clifton
Soccer referendum questions headed to agenda
City staffers are preparing two agenda items for next Thursday’s City Council meeting related to Precourt Sports Ventures’ planned Major League Soccer stadium at McKalla Place. One of those items gives Council the option to adopt an ordinance requiring voter approval of any agreement allowing a professional sports team to use city-owned land without paying property taxes. That was the gist of the petition signed by more than 26,000 voters and backed by Precourt’s opponents, including the political action committee Fair Play Austin and the other group pushing for the election, Friends of McKalla Place. The second item on the addendum gives Council the choice of calling an election so voters can weigh in on whether the ordinance should be adopted. However, the city and Precourt have already signed the lease agreement for McKalla Place. The real argument may revolve around whether the city should schedule the election for May, as the proponents want, or November. The city’s legal department has said that if an election is held on any referendum it should be in November, in accordance with state law. Precourt’s attorney, Richard Suttle, told the Austin Monitor, “The community is solidly behind Austin FC (the team). Our city has enthusiastically embraced Austin FC and its proposed stadium. There is evidence that some of the signatures on the petitions were secured under false pretenses by the folks paid to gather the signatures. While it doesn’t appear the proposed ordinance would affect Austin FC if that passes, it could affect other organizations and events that partner with the city. Our city has a history of rejecting corporate-initiated ordinances.”
Friday, February 15, 2019 by Jessi Devenyns
Ethics commission dismisses another case surrounding PAC expenditures
In a case that seems eerily similar to one that appeared before the Ethics Review Commission in January, Kathie Tovo’s former campaign manager, Michael J. Gaudini, filed a complaint against the Center for Austin’s Future PAC for improperly filing the required appointment of campaign treasurer. According to city law, an appointment for campaign treasurer must be made at least 60 days prior to making a contribution or expenditure in connection with a city election in order to make expenditures of greater than $2,500. The GPAC, a general purpose political action committee, spent a total of $67,000 for the race, more than $2,500 of which was spent prior to the 60-day mark. Gaudini told the commission that it’s crucial to enforce this regulation because it “sets an important standard for a fair election and fair play.” GPAC counsel Andrew Cates referenced the U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit ruling and the Catholic Leadership Coalition of Texas case from 2014 to argue “that (the case) rules these 60-day layout periods as unconstitutional.” He did say that while the state forms and city forms a PAC is required to fill out are marginally different from each other, since the primary reporting obligation is to the state, the assumption is that the precedent from that case would be considered and any future complaints on that issue would be dismissed outright. As they did in January, the commissioners voted to dismiss the complaint. Commissioner Brian Thompson abstained from the vote.
Thursday, February 14, 2019 by Tai Moses
Rally for a renewable university
UT students, faculty and staff will hold a rally today at 1 p.m. at the corner of Robert Dedman Drive and Red River Street to urge the university to transition to 100 percent renewable energy by 2050. UT campus activists plan to conduct a press conference where they will release a letter signed by nearly 1,000 faculty and staff members from campuses around the country supporting the shift to 100 percent renewables and urging the nation’s institutions of higher learning to lead the way. Dozens of UT faculty and staff have signed the letter. A recent United Nations report suggests we have just 12 years to modify our energy infrastructure in an effort to limit catastrophic global warming.
Thursday, February 14, 2019 by Tai Moses
More space for art at Austin airport
With the addition of nine new gates, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport’s Barbara Jordan Terminal will expand its space to display art by 657.5 cubic feet and ticketed passengers will soon be able to enjoy double the exhibition space. An expanding airport means more ways for local artists to display their work in the airport’s Changing Exhibits program, including three wall galleries and four art kiosks in the middle of the concourse. The galleries, which are named for Austin neighborhoods, can house large paintings or sculptures. See the airport’s current art exhibits here.
Thursday, February 14, 2019 by Tai Moses
Prescribed burning at Pace Bend Park
Pace Bend Park, at 2805 Pace Bend Road North, will be the site of a controlled burn that will take place on either Thursday or Friday this week. Some portions of the park such as the mountain biking and multi-use trails, Collier Boat Ramp, the coves on the west side, and sections of Pace Bend Road will be closed while the burn is being conducted. Prescribed burning reduces the danger of uncontrolled wildfires, removes invasive plants and enhances the health of native plant species. Since southwest winds are anticipated, northeast communities may experience some smoke drifting across the park and the lake.
Wednesday, February 13, 2019 by Jessi Devenyns
BoA recommends lowering fees to a sixth of the price for residents
After months of discussions in a working group, the Board of Adjustment voted to adopt lowered fees for residents seeking to come before the board and request a variance. At the beginning of this fiscal year, fees for individuals seeking a zoning variance jumped from $1782.56 to $3,230.24. Calling the fees “discriminatory” on a financial basis, the board unanimously voted to separate commercial and residential variances and slash the required payment down to $500 for both residential variances and special exceptions. Commercial variances will remain in a similar tier to what was presented at the beginning of the year. Board Member Michael Von Ohlen explained at the board’s Feb. 11 meeting that the working group based the fee structure on surrounding metropolitan areas like San Antonio, Dallas and Cedar Park, whose fees range from $400-$1,200. “I think our timing was right to be coming up with this structure,” he said. According to him, the city’s Deputy Chief Financial Officer Ed Van Eenoo recently asked the board for its opinion on the budget schedule. While all board members were in agreement that fees needed to be lowered, Board Member Melissa Hawthorne wanted to consider extra costs for Lake Austin zone variance cases, which she said were much more complicated than others due to environmental considerations. Overall, the board agreed wholeheartedly with the fee reductions. “I think we need to show our concerns for our community,” said Board Member Veronica Rivera.
Wednesday, February 13, 2019 by Jo Clifton
Thornton, Claiborne now working for Campbell
Two former aides to Council Member Ellen Troxclair have landed jobs in the same legislative office. Brian Thornton, who served as Troxclair’s chief of staff, is now the senior policy adviser for Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels. Alice Claiborne, who also worked for Troxclair, has become Campbell’s communications director. Troxclair, of course, worked for state Rep. Jason Isaac, R-Dripping Springs, before running for Council in 2014. Isaac is now a transportation consultant and Troxclair, who retired at the end of 2018, is a lobbyist for the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation.
Update: Troxclair told the Austin Monitor she is not a “lobbyist,” but a Senior Fellow at the TPPF. It is an important distinction, she noted, because TPPF is a nonprofit think tank prohibited from lobbying. She is continuing to run her real estate brokerage on a full-time basis and only assist the TPPF on property tax issues as needed, she said.