We still don’t know what incentives and other goodies Austin leaders had wrapped up for Amazon executives in the city’s bid to land part or all of the company’s gigantic HQ2 project, but news coming out of other cities tells us it would’ve taken a whole lot of zeroes to get Amazon’s attention. BizWomen reports […]
2018
Posted inTransportation
Solving regional affordability problems will require addressing transportation costs
Decreasing affordability in Austin and the surrounding area is primarily tied to a shortage of housing options coupled with rising property taxes. But the region’s lack of transportation options is the source of another significant, though less recognized, financial burden on residents. That was the message from Dave Couch, the Project Connect program manager, as […]
Posted inPublic Health
HAAM eyes new partnerships, funding for long-term stability
The Health Alliance for Austin Musicians is making a year-end push to raise the final $200,000 of its current operating budget, while at the same time fending off concerns from musicians about reduced financial assistance for health insurance plans in the federal marketplace. Reenie Collins, the nonprofit’s executive director, told the Austin Monitor that, while […]
Posted inWhispers
Take your shot, make your pitch
The city has extended its deadline to Dec. 6 for entrants into the next round of the Austin Fast Start pitch competition. The competition is a partnership between the city’s Small Business Program, the Economic Development Department and Austin Young Chamber, and provides new startups with $2,000 funding plus business coaching and other resources to […]
Posted inRadio
Austin Monitor Radio: AISD elections with Austin Sanders
This week, Austin Monitor freelancer Caleb Pritchard sits down with The Austin Chronicle‘s Austin Sanders to talk AISD. Listen in below to catch up on the results of the recent election along with everything facing the Austin Independent School District these days.
Posted inWhispers
City Council runoff endorsements
Now that the Thanksgiving holiday is over, politics again becomes a dominant theme in Austin, with early voting beginning this Thursday for runoff elections in Districts 1, 3 and 8. District 8 candidates Frank Ward and Paige Ellis are attracting the most attention. Ward was previously endorsed by the Travis County Republican Party and Ellis […]
Posted inPreservation
Dissatisfied with lack of compromise, Historic Landmark Commission stalls
After its fourth public hearing, the Clarksville storybook house remains a point of contention between owner, commission and the Clarksville Community Development Corporation. Priscilla Glover, the owner of 1002 Charlotte St., told the commissioners at their Nov. 19 meeting, “I have heard your comments on the design of my house. I’m not changing it.” She […]
Posted inWhispers
Happy Thanksgiving
The Austin Monitor will be joining much of the city and many of our readers in taking a break this Thanksgiving. Happy holiday to all, and we’ll see you back here Monday!
Posted inWhispers
Artists, live here?
The Chestnut Neighborhood Revitalization Corp., a nonprofit affordable housing developer in Central East Austin, is asking the city’s artists, musicians and other creatives to take a survey intended to help steer the creation of a new group of housing units for low- and middle-income residents. The third building for the Chicon at 14th and Chicon […]
Posted inPlanning
Waterfront board waits for progress on city’s development corporation
City staff has been slowed in their work to research and make recommendations on how City Council could move forward with creating an economic development corporation (EDC) that could help facilitate public/private investment deals. The demands of dealing with the October storm water crisis that required a weeklong boil water warning for residents has made […]
Posted inAISD
Austin ISD faces unpopular options to fix budget: Closing schools and redrawing boundaries
It’s time for the Austin Independent School District to do something drastic to improve its financial situation, says a member of a task force studying its budget. On the table: closing schools and changing boundaries. “There are some really key things that the district can look at and they’ve known about and quite frankly they’ve […]
Posted inWhispers
It *is* official
City Council convened Tuesday for a special meeting to canvass the results of the Nov. 6, 2018 election. Reading through the lengthy ballot results took about six minutes. It was approved unanimously; Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo and Council members Ellen Troxclair and Greg Casar were absent. No members of the public spoke. Council also […]