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Most Popular Stories
- HUD cuts could endanger portion of more than $15M in federal housing funds
- Watson warns of Austin’s ‘budget asteroids’ in speech to real estate council
- Plans to demolish Highland Park home with links to Commodore Perry faces backlash from neighbors
- Prompted by convention center controversy, Council seeks changes to public art program
- Amid ongoing measles concerns, Austin ISD’s vaccination rate is below target for its youngest students
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Prompted by convention center controversy, Council seeks changes to public art program
In response to increasing scrutiny over Austin’s handling of public art, City Council voted Thursday to modernize the Art in Public Places program by updating policies to prevent mishandlings like the controversial deaccessioning of artwork at the Austin Convention Center.…
City Council • By Chad Swiatecki • Mar 7, 2025
As hordes of visitors descend on Austin for SXSW, Barton Springs Pool is closed for cleaning
Barton Springs Pool is closed while it undergoes a deep cleaning to remove unhealthy growth and things like dirt, leaves, sticks and other debris from the pool floor. While the annual cleaning goes back more than a decade, the closure…
Parks • By Luz Moreno-Lozano, KUT • Mar 7, 2025
Council adds funding to bolster Integral Care’s mental health efforts
Responding to the need for more mental health workers to staff Integral Care’s Expanded Mobile Crisis Outreach Team, City Council on Thursday voted to allocate additional funding to the program. The action will inject more than $1.4 million into the…
Public Health • By Amy Smith • Mar 7, 2025
Urban Transportation Commission recommends new strategic plan for downtown streets
The Urban Transportation Commission voted unanimously to recommend that City Council approve a new strategic plan from the Department of Transportation and Public Works for the streets of Austin’s small-yet-mighty downtown, along with a list of their own recommendations regarding…
Planning • By Miles Wall • Mar 7, 2025
Early data suggest opening Sixth Street to traffic has improved public safety
Early data from the Austin Police Department suggests that a new public safety initiative aimed at reducing crime and violence on East Sixth Street is yielding positive results. The changes, which took effect in December, reintroduced vehicular traffic on weekend…
Public Safety • By Chad Swiatecki • Mar 6, 2025
Following Trump's lead, Abbott orders state workers to return to offices
Gov. Greg Abbott’s office has quietly directed heads of state agencies to phase out hybrid-work schedules and require all employees to return to the office five days a week “as soon as practicable” under state law, according to multiple accounts…
Austin • By Andrew Weber, KUT • Mar 6, 2025
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Council is likely to briefly stop rate hikes for natural gas
Texas Gas Service Company and CenterPoint Energy Resources, which serve gas customers in Austin and surrounding areas as well as other parts of the state, have filed notices of their plan to raise rates for the service regions that include…
Resources • By Jo Clifton • Mar 6, 2025
TipSheet: Austin City Council, 3.6.25
The Austin City Council will meet today to vote on an abbreviated agenda – just 48 items – but we managed to find a few things to dive into nonetheless. As usual, the entire agenda and backup is also available…
TipSheets • By Elizabeth Pagano • Mar 6, 2025
Public Safety Commission 'concerned and excited' about progress from Office of Police Oversight
On Monday, the Public Safety Commission heard an update on the Office of Police Oversight’s implementation of the Police Oversight Act, as well as its vacancies and hiring processes. The OPO operates separately from the Austin Police Department, and its…
Police • By Mina Shekarchi • Mar 5, 2025
Rally Austin eyes affordability programs for creatives in 2026 bond package
Rally Austin, the nonprofit tasked with helping to preserve and expand Austin’s cultural spaces, is eyeing three programs in the city’s upcoming 2026 bond election, including expanding the city’s cultural trust. During a recent meeting of the Austin Music Commission,…
Bonds & Propositions • By Chad Swiatecki • Mar 5, 2025
HUD cuts could endanger portion of more than $15M in federal housing funds
The city could see significant disruptions to its affordable housing and homelessness programs as a result of proposed federal budget cuts to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, according to a memo released last week. The memo, issued by…
Housing • By Chad Swiatecki • Mar 4, 2025
Austin Energy seeks to dampen fears of cooling department employees
Despite assurances that Austin Energy is not currently contemplating a sale of its District Energy and Cooling Department, called the DEC, some employees remain concerned that the utility might decide to sell the cooling system, which provides chilled water cooling…
