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County moves ahead with plan to expand community access to naloxone
Travis County Health and Human Services has identified a vendor to implement its plan to increase access to the opioid overdose-reversing drug naloxone in the community. The plan, which will cost approximately $350,000, is part of HHS’ response to the…
Public Health • By Seth Smalley • Jul 13, 2022
Notley/Monitor Poll: Lack of affordability tops list of Austin’s most pressing issues
Austinites across demographic groups and the political spectrum find common ground when identifying the city’s most pressing issue. Nearly 60 percent chose lack of affordability, according to a June survey of 507 likely voters commissioned by Notley and conducted by…
Austin • By Emma Freer • Jul 12, 2022
While the heat blazes on, city cooling centers close for the day
City Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison warned last month that the city did not seem prepared for a summer heat wave that might leave any number of residents looking for air-conditioned shelter. As it turned out, the Council member herself became…
Austin • By Jo Clifton • Jul 12, 2022
Mercedes-Benz dealership nearing construction
A Mercedes-Benz dealership is one step closer to construction in South Austin after the Environmental Commission recommended a variance request last week, allowing private driveways to be built on the site in a critical water quality zone buffer. To comply…
Planning • By Willow Higgins • Jul 12, 2022
Here's what it would take for ERCOT to start rolling blackouts
Texans woke up Monday morning to a familiar fear, worried that the state’s electric grid may not provide enough energy to see them through the day. While the anxiety is understandable, a shortfall of energy reserves on the system does…
Energy • By Mose Buchele, KUT • Jul 12, 2022
Notley/Monitor Poll: Most Austinites think the city is headed in the wrong direction
Earlier this summer, the Austin Monitor set out to poll Austinites’ opinions on the most important issues facing the city and how well local government is addressing them. Over the course of this week, we’ll highlight what residents have told us…
Austin • By Jonathan Lee • Jul 11, 2022
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Debate intensifies over owner-opposed historic zoning of lakefront estate
The fate of a lakefront estate at 2002 Scenic Drive is now in the hands of the Planning Commission, with a battle over the property’s merits ending in victory for preservationists last Wednesday. Citing architectural, landscaping and historical qualifications, the…
Preservation • By Kali Bramble • Jul 11, 2022
Renovations to Texas Capitol and mall create a 'new civic space'
Finishing touches are being done on the first phase of the Texas Capitol Complex renovation, which is expected to be completed this fall. The 2016 Capitol Complex Master Plan governs the redesign of the Texas Capitol by expanding state offices…
Planning • By Katy Kindley • Jul 11, 2022
Our mid-year review: Readership takes a dramatic turn up
Even though our roots go back to the mid-1990s, the Austin Monitor officially launched as a nonprofit in 2013. To some, that may not seem like a long time ago, while to others (myself included) it feels like a different…
Mission Note • By Joel Gross • Jul 11, 2022
Budget recommendation seeks staffer to address long-awaited veterans affairs needs
City staff members are pushing for City Council to fund a new position in the Office of Civil Rights that would allow the office to handle many needs and responsibilities outlined in years of idled plans for a resource center…
Budget • By Chad Swiatecki • Jul 8, 2022
Boost in funding from Biden's infrastructure law propels AUS closer to its goals
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport received an additional $15 million in funds yesterday from President Joe Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure law to go toward its ambitious airport expansion plan. The airport received $17.3 million from the same pool of funds last year. The…
Transportation • By Samuel Stark • Jul 8, 2022
Here's what Austin's subway stations could look like
The most ambitious of Austin’s light-rail plans would burrow four miles of tunnel beneath downtown and South Austin to connect six subterranean stations and create the city’s first subway system. The subway would make up the centralized portion of the…
