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Austin Monitor
Resource Management Commission sets sights on natural gas utilities in bid to expand oversight
As the city prepares to renegotiate its contract with Texas Gas Service, Austin’s Resource Management Commission is vying for a seat at the table, with a proposal to expand its purview to include the utility’s oversight on its way to City Council. The proposal, spearheaded by Commissioner Paul...
Broadnax sees police oversight as ‘natural’ component of next contract
The Austin Monitor recently sat down with new Austin City Manager T.C. Broadnax to discuss some of the more prominent issues facing city staff and City Council as he gets situated in his job. Regarding the police contract, the draft agreement proposal was floating out there prior to your predecessor’s...
Parks Board recommends approval of Violet Crown trail funding
Anyone who tuned in last week to watch the Parks and Recreation Board deliberate a $900,000 contract agreement with a nonprofit may have been surprised by the rare absence of a live broadcast of the meeting. And they may have been equally surprised there was no archived recording of the meeting available on the city’s ATXN government access channel in the days following the June 17 special meeting.
Bike Advisory Council urges city to protect ghost bikes
The Bicycle Advisory Council is calling on the city to protect ghost bike installations after a cycling safety group reported four bikes they put up in the last few months were removed. Volunteers with the Austin Ghost Bike Project have placed at least 10 ghost bikes – painted white and...
Urban Renewal Board makes pick for Council from two redevelopment plans for Blocks 16 and 18
A plan that looks to combine housing, retail, restaurants and assorted cultural facilities has received an important vote of support in the effort to redevelop two signature blocks of East Austin. On Monday, the Urban Renewal Board voted 4-1 to recommend the Pleasant Hill Collaborative development plan to City Council...
Stakeholders urge county to hurry up on implementing legal defense at bail hearings
At Tuesday’s meeting of the Travis County Commissioners Court, a coalition of people impacted by the justice system, community organizers and county staff gathered to urge commissioners to develop a permanent program allowing people who have just been arrested to have lawyers at their bail hearings before they’re booked in the county jail – also known as counsel at first appearance (CAFA).
Judge rejects appeal in Central Health lawsuit
Judge Amy Clark Meachum has rejected a request by plaintiffs suing Central Health to take an immediate appeal to the 3rd Court of Appeals over the agency’s transfer of $35 million per year to the University of Texas Dell Medical School. The plaintiffs – Rebecca Birch, Richard Franklin III and Esther Govea – say voters did not expect their tax money to be transferred to the medical school, but to be used to treat patients.
City launches free swim pilot program, eliminating fees at Walnut Creek Pool this summer
Austin is moving forward with a pilot program aimed at reducing pool fees as a way of increasing access this summer. The city will eliminate fees entirely at Walnut Creek Pool in North Austin and offer two free days at Bartholomew Pool near the Mueller Development and Garrison Pool in South Austin. Bartholomew Pool’s first free day was Wednesday, June 19, and the second will take place on Wednesday, July 10. Garrison Pool will be free on Tuesday, June 25, and Tuesday, July 23.
Attorney general files appeal before rail trial begins
The Texas attorney general’s office filed an appeal to the 3rd Court of Appeals on Monday morning after Judge Eric Shepperd told a packed Travis County courtroom that he would not rule on a challenge to the jurisdiction before hearing evidence in the case brought by the city of Austin and the Austin Transit Partnership. The city and ATP were in court to establish that they have followed the law.
Planning Commission wants housing for older adults on city land near transit lines
The Planning Commission wants City Council to prioritize creating senior and disabled-accessible housing units on city-owned land located near transit corridors, with a priority given to equitable transit-oriented developments, or ETODs, throughout the area. At a meeting last week, the commission voted in favor of a resolution that is related...
Future of MACC takes shape as expansion work continues
It felt reassuring for Lily Zamarripa-Saenz in April when she was able to tour the grounds of the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center and see the progress on the $27 million expansion she and other community members had been working toward for close to a decade. As a recent member of the MACC Advisory Board, Zamarripa-Saenz credits the work of former and more tenured board members for the progress leading up to an expected reopening of the facility in later 2025.
Austin Energy on track on its goals for assisting low-income customers
A year and a half into Austin Energy’s campaign to expand its Customer Assistance Program, the utility says it’s on track to enroll 90 percent of eligible ratepayers by June of next year. The enrollment target dates back to December 2022, when Council asked the utility to tackle...
Travis County judge dismisses Paxton’s lawsuit over Austin ordinance decriminalizing pot
A Travis County judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against Austin over its 2022 voter-approved ordinance decriminalizing marijuana possession. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed the suit in January, alleging Austin was violating state law and promoting “the use of illicit drugs that harm our communities.” He filed similar suits against San Marcos, Killeen, Denton and Elgin, which also decriminalized pot.
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Five days a week, we bring you the news from Austin City Hall, Travis County Commissioners Court, and multiple other civic entities that make key decisions for central Texas. We stick to the facts. We aim to be fair. When we err, we correct it fast.
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