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Vanessa Fuentes: Putting health and equity first
City Council Member Vanessa Fuentes stepped into a rather busy first term in office – this year, an unprecedented winter storm took Travis County by surprise and the pandemic continued to surge despite hopes for Covid-19’s retreat. But Fuentes, who…
City Council • By Willow Higgins • Dec 21, 2021
Pio Renteria: Seven years in office and 71 years in District 3
City Council Member Pio Renteria recalls the time when he was able to purchase his East Austin home for just over $20,000. Now he’s received an offer to sell it for nearly a million. As a lifelong resident of East…
City Council • By Kali Bramble • Dec 21, 2021
Statesman PUD gets first Planning Commission hearing
As the long-anticipated redevelopment of the Austin American-Statesman site at 305 S. Congress Ave. heads toward a City Council vote next year, the development team presented its vision to the Planning Commission on Dec. 14. Preliminary plans for the nearly…
Development • By Jonathan Lee • Dec 20, 2021
Mixed-use options considered for future of police HQ site downtown
Planners see a variety of possibilities for the eventual redevelopment of the Austin Police Department headquarters site downtown, with office space, affordable housing, retail, an event space and recording studio among the possible uses. Those were some of the ideas…
Development • By Chad Swiatecki • Dec 20, 2021
Diversion programs can reduce mass incarceration in Travis County
At Thursday’s work session, the Travis County Commissioners Court fielded discussion about the benefits of, and recent updates to, several jail diversion programs underway in Travis County. Such programs included pretrial and pre-charge diversion programs, as well as a DWI…
Travis County • By Seth Smalley • Dec 20, 2021
Church leaders praise city, county for committing fed funds toward homelessness
Leaders from 50 religious organizations around Travis County have praised the work of city and county leaders who have dedicated more than $200 million toward ending homelessness in Central Texas. In an online forum on Tuesday, leaders of congregations from…
Austin • By Chad Swiatecki • Dec 17, 2021
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Who's running for the District 4 seat?
As of the Thursday afternoon deadline, seven candidates had filed valid ballot applications for the Jan. 25 election to fill the District 4 City Council seat being vacated by Council Member Greg Casar. Casar, who is running for Congress, released…
Elections • By Jo Clifton • Dec 17, 2021
520-unit multifamily project on the way to St. Elmo area
Eight acres of vacant land in South Austin may soon turn into 520 apartments and condos. The Planning Commission Tuesday recommended a zoning change for the project at 4700 Weidemar Lane, but not before addressing neighbors’ concerns about the rerouting…
Zoning • By Jonathan Lee • Dec 17, 2021
County looks to Sobering Center to house jail-diversion program
On Thursday, the Travis County Commissioners Court convened a working group meeting to receive the findings of a feasibility study regarding the potential combination of a criminal justice/mental health diversion program with the Austin-Travis County Sobering Center. The county commissioned…
Public Safety • By Seth Smalley • Dec 17, 2021
Researchers at Dell Med are studying psychedelics as treatment for severe depression, anxiety and PTSD
The Dell Medical School at UT Austin is launching a research center focused on studying the therapeutic effects of psychedelics, which are drugs that affect an individual’s state of consciousness, including psilocybin, MDMA, ibogaine and ayahuasca. Researchers say the center’s…
Public Health • By Ashley Lopez, KUT • Dec 16, 2021
Committee sends 'meeting place question' to full Council
Although they rejected the idea of changing the bylaws of three land use commissions to designate a specific meeting place, members of the City Council Audit & Finance Committee on Wednesday expressed their willingness to consider directing staff to hold…
City Hall • By Jo Clifton • Dec 16, 2021
As the pandemic drags on, 24/7 dining makes a return to Austin
Last month, Bennu Coffee was able to reach a milestone it had been after for months: resuming the 24/7 hours of operation it had gained a reputation for among Austinites. At the moment, only Bennu’s Highland location is open around…
