🎇 Save $30 on TribFest tickets during the Independence Day Sale!
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Quote of the Day
“What we can say is that downtown most definitely needs an increase in residential population… If we are going to support a vibrant retail corridor, if we are going to have a diversity of shops and goods and services, you need a residential population to sort of support that type of economy. Our residential concentration downtown is more around the Rainey District area, around Second Street… not all across downtown.”
— Downtown Austin Alliance’s Jenell Moffett, from Office slowdown sparks new downtown housing ambitions.
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Office slowdown sparks new downtown housing ambitions
From Chad Swiatecki:
With more than one-fifth of downtown office space currently sitting vacant or available for near-term leases (and some estimates placing that number closer to 26 percent citywide), the Downtown Austin Alliance is turning its attention to underused parcels that could support a greater mix of uses, especially housing.
That shift in focus reflects a broader question about the long-term viability of downtowns that are built largely around traditional office culture. While new towers like The Republic and Waterline continue to deliver, leasing activity has not kept pace. And as some companies shrink their office footprints or sublease space they haven’t even moved into, downtown stakeholders are left searching for a more balanced formula to keep the area economically vibrant.
Ahead of holiday weekend, San Marcos starts charging nonresidents to park at popular tubing spot
From Maya Fawaz, KUT News:
Parking fees for nonresidents went into effect Tuesday at City Park, the most popular spot for river access. San Marcos residents, meanwhile, can park for free if they register their vehicles with the city.
“We’re able to take that money and use it toward park improvements,” Jamie Lee Case, the city’s parks and recreation director, said. “We’re trying to find ways in which to be good stewards of the river and also allow folks to come and enjoy the parks as well.”
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TribFest is more than just another political event; it’s where democracy comes alive.
During the Independence Day Sale, save $30 on your TribFest ticket.* Tribune members, students and educators save even more!* Act fast — Offer ends at midnight Friday, July 4.
A stellar lineup of thinkers, leaders and innovators will take the stage Nov. 13–15 for fearless conversations about the issues that matter to you: the economy, healthcare, technology, the arts and more.
The Texas Tribune Festival is where civic engagement meets real action. Make your voice heard — get tickets and join us at TribFest.
*Discount does not apply to Executive or VIP tickets
TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase.
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Checking In
Greetings from the virtual construction site known as the Austin Monitor! It’s been a couple months since we announced that we were moving forward with the Texas Tribune and plans for a new, local newsroom are progressing apace as we move forward into this uncharted and exciting new territory.
At the moment, we’re focused on the practicalities of building our new newsroom and are in the process of finding a new editor-in-chief and community engagement manager (with staff reporters to come soon after.) And while all that is underway, we’ve been holding down the fort with this very newsletter, which will continue to carry out the Monitor’s mission during this transition and communicate the daily local news you’ve come to expect.
Moving forward, this space will be one that we can use to communicate with you, our readers, as we carve out our new path. As all good communication is, this will be a two-way street. Watch this space for updates on hiring, the ongoing transition, community engagement sessions and a portion of our endless plans for the future.
This is also where you can keep an eye out for an upcoming reader survey about our expanding newsroom and other opportunities for feedback about what we’re doing right, what we could improve and what you might want to see in the future. (In fact, if you have any thoughts you’d like to share right now, let us know at info@austinmonitor.com.)
Thanks for reading!
— Liz Pagano
Happy Independence Day!
Tomorrow is the Fourth of July, and we will be joining city of Austin municipal facilities and offices in closing to observe the holiday, returning to normal operations on Monday, July 7.
More complete information on the city’s closures can be found here, but it’s safe to say that most city services will be on hold for the holidays. Utility payments, Austin Resource Recovery curbside collections and parks will operate as normal on Friday as will Austin Energy power outage reporting, library websites and 3-1-1.
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ELSEWHERE IN THE NEWS
KUT’s Texas Newsroom takes a deep dive into Elon Musk’s legislative session in Texas.
Residents in Southern Travis County are looking at doubled water bills from Aqua Texas next month, and KXAN reports that they are none too happy about it.
In case you missed it, the Austin Chronicle has a disturbing report from Travis County Jail, where one man lost a leg after being denied care (according to a recent lawsuit.)
Austin Animal Services will be supporting summer sterilization and vaccinations for pets this summer.
And what’s up with that cowboy robot that everyone is seeing around town?
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