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- City leaders evaluate surprising ideas for water conservation
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Monday, July 28, 2014 by Michael Kanin
Former commissioner seeking to clear her name
Daniela Ochoa Gonzalez, who resigned from the city’s Zero Waste Advisory Commission after the City Auditor issued a report saying that she had improperly participated in matters before the commission regarding her employer the company she had contracted with, Texas Disposal Systems, is seeking action at Tuesday’s meeting of the city’s Ethics Review Commission. Through her attorney, Mariano Conde de Frankenberg, Ochoa Gonzalez has asked the commission to state that the City Auditor Kenneth Mory exceeded his authority. Specifically, Ochoa Gonzalez wants the commission to find that City Code does not give the auditor any authority to conclude that a City official violated conflicts of interest provisions and to publicize such findings to the City Council. According to Frankenberg, both of these responsibilities reside solely with the Ethics Review Commission. The commission already has on its agenda a staff report on the auditor’s procedures in this case and will consider whether to file their own complaint against Ochoa Gonzalez. (This post has been corrected to reflect that Ochoa Gonzalez was a contractor and not an employee of TDS.)
Monday, July 28, 2014 by Michael Kanin
Hearing on ‘Source of Income’ protections
The Austin Human Rights Commission will consider a recommendation to the City Council to add “Source of Income” protections to the city’s Housing Discrimination Ordinance at its regular meeting today. The commission will take public comments. Source of Income protections are designed to keep low-income renters from discrimination because they derive all or part of their income from public assistance. The Austin Community Development Commission will consider a similar recommendation at its regular meeting Aug. 12. Today’s meeting is set for 5:30 p.m. at the Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Department, 1000 East 11th Street.
Monday, July 28, 2014 by Michael Kanin
Travis County HR seeks changes in personnel policies
Travis County’s Human Resources Management Department is seeking two changes to the County Code. The department wants to revise its Drug and Alcohol policy to encourage, instead of penalize, people seeking help for substance abuse through the HR department. The department also wants to revise County Code to add a Catastrophic Sick Leave Policy, which would allow eligible employees to donate and receive hours from a pool of donated hours for paid time off. Employees could get extra paid time off hours after they exhaust their sick leave balance in cases of catastrophic injury or illness. Commissioners discussed the proposed changes last week and the items will be back on the agenda Tuesday.
Monday, July 28, 2014 by Michael Kanin
Meetings
The Capital Metro Transportation Authority board meets at noon at Capital Metro, 2910 East Fifth Street . . . The Design Commission meets at 6 p.m. in the Boards and Commissions Room at City Hall . . . . The Library Commission meets at 6 p.m. at the Austin History Center, 810 Guadalupe Street . . . The Historic Landmark Commission meets at 7 p.m. in One Texas Center, 505 Barton Springs Road.
Friday, July 25, 2014 by Michael Kanin
Pass the Torch program set
The 33 individuals participating in the Austin Fire Department’s Pass the Torch program will be graduating Saturday. AFD officials say the Pass the Torch program is designed to give individuals age18 to 24 a glimpse into the life of a firefighter, and a firsthand feel for life in the fire service to decide if the career is right for them. The ceremony is set for noon Saturday at the Austin Fire Department Training Academy, 4800-B Shaw Lane.
Friday, July 25, 2014 by Michael Kanin
NAAO plans endorsement meeting
The Network of Asian-American Organizations and its member organizations will host a candidate forum Saturday. Candidates for Mayor and City Council who responded to an NAAO candidate questionnaire will be permitted to speak on a first-come, first-serve basis and as time permits. Thirty-one candidates responded to the questionnaire. The NAAO political action committee, which is a separate group, will announce candidate endorsements after the forum. The meeting is set for 9:30 a.m. to noon at the Asian-American Resource Center, 8401 Cameron Road.
Friday, July 25, 2014 by Michael Kanin
Media tour of Urban Rail route planned
The Project Connect: Central Corridor Study Team is inviting local media types (that’s us) to tour the adopted Urban Rail Locally Preferred Alternative route next week. Attendees will be driven by bus through the 9.5-mile LPA route, stopping at destinations along the way to discuss characteristics of each stop and the influence each area had on definition of the LPA. In addition to the Project Connect team, reporters and their camera-toting sidekicks will get some face time with several people involved with the rail project, including: Mayor Lee Leffingwell, Capital Metro Board Member John Langmore, Downtown Alliance Executive Director Charlie Betts, UT Sustainability Director Jim Walker and ACC President Dr. Richard Rhodes. Look for the results on your 10 o’clock news Wednesday. The tour begins at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Daniel E. Ruiz Branch Library, 1600 Grove Blvd.
Friday, July 25, 2014 by Michael Kanin
State to invest in Schwab expansion in El Paso, Austin
Our bespectacled governor, Rick Perry, is apparently sending more than the Texas National Guard to the border these days… Now he’s sending stockbrokers. He announced Thursday that the Texas Enterprise Fund is making two multimillion-dollar investments in the Charles Schwab Corporation, one for a new operations center in El Paso and another to boost Schwab’s presence in Austin. The TEF is providing $1.45 million for the El Paso project, which is scheduled to create 445 jobs and $21.5 million in capital investment over the next 10 years. The $4.5 million TEF investment in the Austin project would create 823 jobs and a $210 million investment over the next decade. The El Paso operation is the newest major employment center for Schwab, joining its San Francisco corporate headquarters along with Denver, Phoenix, Indianapolis, Richfield, Chicago, Orlando and Austin as cities with significant numbers of employees. The financial services company also has some 320 retail branch offices across the U.S.
Thursday, July 24, 2014 by Jo Clifton
Morrison quashes rumor
Contrary to rumors, Council Member Laura Morrison has not declared her support for District 4 candidate Laura Pressley. Morrison said she has a favorite in that race and plans to announce her choice later this summer. But she said that choice is not Pressley. So far, Morrison has endorsed her colleague Kathie Tovo over her other colleague, Chris Riley, for District 9. She also said she favors Leslie Pool in the District 7 race . . .
Thursday, July 24, 2014 by Michael Kanin
Meetings
The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization Transportation Policy Board – CAMPO Nominations Committee meets at Travis County, Room 2.700, 700 Lavaca Street at 1:30 p.m. . . The Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District board meets at 6 p.m. at agency headquarters at 1124 Regal Row in Manchaca . . . The Community Emergency Response Team meets at 6:30 p.m. at the Combined Transportation Emergency Communications Center, 5010 Old Manor Road.
Thursday, July 24, 2014 by Michael Kanin
New candidate for Mayor
Ronald J. “Ron” Culver jumped into the Mayor’s race yesterday, appointing himself his own campaign treasurer and filing the necessary paperwork to be on the ballot. His address indicates he lives in far Northwest Austin in Williamson County. Culver pledged not to collect or spend more than $500 on the race. Otherwise, the only candidate who has actually filed for Mayor is Mike Martinez, who did so Monday.
Thursday, July 24, 2014 by Michael Kanin
Early signs?
Many candidates and prospective candidates were present at Wednesday’s Austin Neighborhoods Council meeting. However, those gathered for the meeting offered applause for just two – District 3’s Susana Almanza and District 1’s Ora Houston. Neighborhood interests have traditionally held sway in Austin City Council elections. We’ll have to wait until Nov. 5 to see if that is true under the new system with many more candidates and voters.