We enjoy looking at it, walking by it and living near it: Now Lady Bird Lake could use a little help from her friends. Saturday, Aug. 13, is the last organized volunteer cleanup of the lake this summer, and there are still a few spots open. This is a sought-after volunteer gig; don’t miss your […]
2022
Posted inPublic Health
County holds listening session as part of effort to fight public health crisis
Travis County Health and Human Services updated the Commissioners Court last week on the county’s May declaration of a public health crisis due to a sharp increase in drug overdose and opioid addiction rates. The declaration included eight directives from the Commissioners Court to help ameliorate the crisis. Part of that work included HHS and […]
Posted inBudget
ACC nearly doubles its spending on compensation in response to rising cost of living
Lee esta historia en español The Austin Community College Board of Trustees unanimously approved a budget for Fiscal Year 2023 on Monday that includes nearly $21 million for compensation, which is almost double what the college spent last year. “Last year was, by far, our largest compensation package and it was just over $11 million,” said Neil […]
Posted inWhispers
(Not just) another mobility survey
The elves – OK, Transportation Department staffers – are hard at work imagining a better design for Austin’s downtown street network, called the Austin Core Transportation, or the ACT Plan. In order to do this, they need your help, or at least your input. This community survey explores community members’ opinions and preferences when it […]
Posted inParks
Dove Springs getting a new trail: Donde Corre el Agua
In the summer of 2020, in the heart of the Covid-19 pandemic, Dove Springs community members began to wonder how they could better use a section of the local greenbelt that had become neglected. The unmarked trail, which is overgrown and enclosed by a 10-foot flood wall, was once actively maintained and a go-to river […]
Posted inPreservation
Council rejects historic zoning for East Seventh Street house
Lacking the nine votes needed to overcome the property owner’s objection, City Council denied a request last week from the Historic Landmark Commission to designate “a good example of folk Victorian architecture” as historic. The Carlson-Colunga house at 902 E. Seventh Street was built between 1903 and 1906 by Swedish immigrants Victor and Carl Carlson, […]
Posted inWhispers
AUS keeps chuggin’
The lines at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport continue to astound travel industry watchers and travelers alike. According to the airport’s latest numbers, just released yesterday, “passenger traffic growth for June 2022 was up 44.88 percent compared to June 2021 with 1,985,801 passengers flying during the month.” Not too shabby. You can examine the data – and the exact number of emplanements […]
Posted inHousing
Development panelists share thoughts, and some silence, on Austin’s affordability issues
It took a question about the political pressures involved in the slow-moving, fractured process of updating the Land Development Code to bring an uncomfortable silence to a recent panel of real estate leaders discussing housing affordability issues in Austin. During last week’s Urban Land Institute Austin breakfast panel talk about affordability, moderator Theresa Alvarez, CEO […]
Posted inPlanning
Council extends HealthSouth redevelopment negotiations
After a series of delays, the proposed redevelopment of two city-owned downtown parcels inched a step forward Thursday when City Council extended negotiations with developer Aspen Heights Partners. Aspen Heights plans to build 921 residential units, some affordable, in two towers on the former HealthSouth tract, which sits next to Waterloo Park at 1215 Red […]
Posted inWhispers
Speak at the budget meeting
City budget season is getting underway, with all its attendant meetings, big and small. Community members are invited to make their voices heard at the Fiscal Year 2023 Proposed #ATXBudget Community Input meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 2. Speaker registration is open now until Monday at noon. Take a peek at the proposed budget; learn more about […]
Posted inWhispers
Take the Rain to River survey
The Watershed Protection Department is in the process of updating its strategic plan. To kick-start the process, the department has launched a survey to gather input from the community. The Rain to River Community Vision Survey seeks to take the community’s temperature about Austin’s creeks, lakes, and other natural spaces. Watershed wants to know how […]
Posted inPlanning
Council approaches resolution on 12th Street conflict, but neighbors still dissatisfied
The city came close to settling a monthslong dispute over East 12th Street last week, postponing updates to the Urban Renewal Plan and Neighborhood Conservation Combining District perhaps one last time. With a valid zoning protest petition filed and Council Member Vanessa Fuentes off the dais, Council opted to table the ruling until Sept. 1. […]