Venues and event organizers hoping to secure amplified sound and temporary use permits for the upcoming festival season have a rash of permit deadlines coming up in February. Amplified sound permits – necessary for an event with amplified sound that’s not held in a city park or right of way – need to be turned […]
2016
Posted inWhispers
Happy holidays!
The Austin Monitor will join many of our readers in taking a long holiday weekend. On Tuesday, we will return with our end-of-year coverage, which will run through the new year. Best wishes to all of y’all, and see you with the news of 2017 soon. Related: Information on city office and facility holiday schedules […]
Posted inWhispers
Travis County eyes 2017 bond election
If you love mobility bond campaigns but haven’t had anywhere to turn since November, Travis County just might have you covered. On Tuesday, the Commissioners Court voted 4-0-1, with Commissioner Ron Davis abstaining, to move forward with its own bond election in 2017, and transportation projects are thus far at the front of the pack […]
Posted inRoads
CTRMA board bristles on SH 45 SW, MoPac South projects
The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority board of directors bucked its agreeable reputation on Wednesday by reining in a recommendation to give Executive Director Mike Heiligenstein millions in discretionary spending powers on one project while also asking pointed questions about another. The relatively feisty meeting featured a light agenda with only a handful of votes […]
Posted inTravis County
Feds clear county’s path to new old courthouse
Travis County is one step closer to claiming ownership of a historic federal courthouse in downtown Austin. On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rejected homeless advocacy group Front Steps’ bid to take control of the U.S. Courthouse at the corner of W. 8th and Lavaca streets. That move vaulted the county […]
Posted inAustin
Animal Services to take community-centered approach to lost pets
In some parts of Austin, runaway pets are likely to stay lost. That’s what an analysis by the city’s Animal Services Department has found. While roughly one animal for every 100 residents gets brought into a shelter citywide, three ZIP codes in East Austin – 78702, 78724 and 78617 – have intake rates two and […]
Posted inLand Development Code
BoA backs city in ‘structural trellis’ case
A bid to change the way the city allows homes to be attached to each other fell short at the Board of Adjustment’s most recent meeting, despite widespread skepticism toward the central idea that an arbor is a “structural element.” The South Lamar Neighborhood Association asked the board to weigh in on a staff interpretation […]
Posted inWhispers
Commissioners Court bids farewell to Davis
The Travis County Commissioners Court marked the end of an era on Tuesday with Commissioner Ron Davis’ final appearance on the dais during a regular voting session. After 18 years, the Precinct 1 representative is hanging up his spurs at the end of the month and handing his seat over to fellow Democrat Jeff Travillion. […]
Posted inWhispers
Off duty
Mayor Steve Adler and his wife, Diane Land, will soon be taking off for their Christmas/New Year’s vacation. Although they frequently travel to Mexico, they’re going a bit farther this time. Adler told the Austin Monitor that they would be visiting the African nation of Rwanda to see gorillas. According to the mayor, his wife […]
Posted inWhispers
AISD puts the brakes on school transfers
Twenty-three Austin Independent School District schools are at or near capacity and will be closed to transfers for the 2017-18 academic year. Those include Aikins, Bowie, Lanier and McCallum high schools, three middle schools and 16 elementary schools. Overcrowding due to out-of-district transfers has been a problem for AISD for a while. It had to […]
Posted inWhispers
City needs help in ATXfloods revamp
The city of Austin put out a call to local designers and developers for help remodeling ATXfloods.com, a website that updates the Central Texas community on road closures and offers other flood safety information. Specifically, the aim is to make sure the existing emergency road closure system is compatible with modern third-party GPS apps (like […]
Posted inTransit
At Travis County, CTRMA’s park-and-ride proposal hits another pothole
The Travis County Commissioners Court on Tuesday pitched a second strike against an elaborate plan to build eight new transit-oriented parking lots along Central Texas toll roads. County Judge Sarah Eckhardt’s decision to defer action on the proposal put forward by the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority comes a week after Williamson County Judge Dan […]