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- Austin Transit Partnership presents pedestrian features, changes to stops in revised Project Connect plan
- Austin’s new CapMetro Rapid lines debut with buses every 20 minutes
- Commercial EV station moves forward despite opposition
- Amid ongoing measles concerns, Austin ISD’s vaccination rate is below target for its youngest students
- Under threat of a federal freeze, city staff says they’re staying the course on infrastructure grants
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Discover News By District
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Stories by Andrew Weber, KUT
Travis County secures nearly 10,000 doses of life-saving overdose drug naloxone
Travis County has secured a bulk order of the life-saving drug naloxone in an effort to prevent opioid deaths. The shipment comes after the county issued an emergency declaration triggered by a record-high number of overdoses related to fentanyl last year. At…
Public Health • By Andrew Weber, KUT • Oct 25, 2022
Starting next month, Austin Energy customers can expect a $15 increase on bills
Lee esta historia en Español If you’re an Austin Energy customer, your bill is going up soon, but City Council members passed a proposal Thursday to lower some increases – at least for now. On an 7-4 vote, Council members…
Energy • By Andrew Weber, KUT • Oct 14, 2022
Are you an Austin Energy customer? Expect a $20 hike in your monthly bill starting Nov. 1.
Austin Energy says customers should expect to pay an extra $20 a month for their electricity starting in November. In a memo to City Council, the publicly owned utility said the increase is due to the rising cost of natural gas,…
Energy • By Andrew Weber, KUT • Sep 22, 2022
Austin OKs an automated license plate reader program
Lee esta historia en español. City Council approved a revival of a police department program to use license plate scanners on police cruisers and at fixed points throughout the city. Council agreed Thursday on a one-year pilot program to reinstate…
City Council • By Andrew Weber, KUT • Sep 19, 2022
Austin-Travis County EMS, city OK new raises, contract for medical first responders
Austin-Travis County’s emergency medical personnel are getting a raise. The city of Austin reached a deal with EMS negotiators late last month, and City Council unanimously approved the one-year contract with medics on Thursday. The deal is a stopgap, but it…
EMS • By Andrew Weber, KUT • Sep 2, 2022
Travis County's program to provide lawyers at its downtown jail is (still) on hold
The first court hearing is often the most crucial for people accused of a crime in Travis County. When defendants are booked downtown, they’re charged and given options on how to get out of jail. In some cases, the first…
Public Safety • By Andrew Weber, KUT • Aug 24, 2022
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Austin officials expect more doses of the monkeypox vaccine after U.S. declares a health emergency
Austin health officials say they expect more monkeypox vaccine doses to head to Central Texas after the Biden administration’s declaration of a public health emergency Thursday. Medical Director Desmar Walkes said Austin Public Health anticipates the extra doses next month.…
Public Health • By Andrew Weber, KUT • Aug 8, 2022
Texas has an official death count from the 2021 blackout. The true toll may never be known.
In Minal and Rajeeta Shah’s backyard, there once stood a cedar tree. The tall, broad canopy provided shade for the sisters’ garden below, a garden with sunflowers and tulsi and lemongrass. It’s a garden their mother, Manjula, pruned and nurtured…
Public Health • By Andrew Weber, KUT • Aug 5, 2022
Proposed $5B city budget leans on fees, less on property taxes, amid a boom in sales tax revenue
Austinites may not see as steep a hike in property taxes next year. Still, they could see an increase of 2.7% under a budget proposal released Friday. City Manager Spencer Cronk’s proposed $5 billion budget for 2023 leans more heavily on…
Budget • By Andrew Weber, KUT • Jul 18, 2022
The dog-killing algae in Lady Bird Lake is back
Toxic blue-green algae has once again been detected in Lady Bird Lake. The city says it’s working to stifle the blooms that killed a handful of dogs in 2019. Next week, staff will treat the water at Red Bud Isle…
Environment • By Andrew Weber, KUT • Jun 13, 2022
Austin OKs $850,000 settlement for volunteer medic shot with 'less-lethal' ammunition during protest
The city of Austin approved a $850,000 settlement to resolve a lawsuit over the Austin Police Department’s use of so-called less lethal ammunition during the 2020 racial justice protests. Maredith Drake, a street medic during protests outside police headquarters, was…
Police • By Andrew Weber, KUT • May 6, 2022
Travis County launched a program to provide lawyers at the county jail. It lasted nine days.
A pilot program to provide legal representation to people in custody at the Travis County Jail had to be put on hold after just nine days because of staffing shortages. The grant-funded program was part of a Texas A&M study to…
