Austin effectively decriminalized marijuana last year. The city also effectively banned no-knock warrants, the controversial police tactic that led to the deaths of Breonna Taylor and Atatiana Jefferson. But those policies are more or less guidelines; they’re not formally enshrined in the city’s charter. A group of city leaders, criminal justice advocates and political operatives wants to change that, […]
Andrew Weber, KUT
Posted inAustin
An Austin nonprofit is raising money to help make state homeless camp feel more like a neighborhood
For the better part of two years, the Esperanza Community in Southeast Austin has been home for many people experiencing homelessness. On any given day, roughly 150 people live and work on the weather-beaten, 5-acre blacktop owned by the Texas Department of Transportation. It doesn’t look like a traditional “neighborhood,” but it has felt like […]
Posted inAustin
Austin police officers clear homeless encampments around City Hall
Austin police officers on Monday cleared encampments around City Hall that were erected by people experiencing homelessness. The city said in a statement that officers were moving people from the corner of Guadalupe and Cesar Chavez streets for construction work. The city said officers met with people staying in tents in the morning and told them […]
Posted inPolice
Austin police can start ticketing people for panhandling and camping or sitting in public
The Austin Police Department will begin enforcing a city ban on camping in public that was reinstated by Austin voters last month. Proposition B, the citizen-led effort to reinstate the rules, officially went into effect May 11, but the city adopted a staggered approach to enforcing the ban, along with prohibitions on panhandling and sitting or lying down in […]
Posted inCity Council
City staff ask for more time, direction on Austin’s plan to set up homeless encampments
A preliminary plan to set up encampments on city-owned land in Austin has hit a snag. City Council directed city staffers to identify land for temporary camps last month after voters reinstated the ban on public encampments. The initial list was met with pushback, so staffers have asked to extend Thursday’s deadline to next month and begin setting up a temporary […]
Posted inCity Council
Black leaders say Austin’s list of proposed sites for homeless camps is inequitable
Black leaders in Austin called the city’s list of proposed sites for public encampments inequitable and criticized staffers for placing most of the locations east of Interstate 35. The group on Monday called for a revision of the plan, which is less than a week old, at a news conference hosted by the Black Leaders […]
Posted inAustin
Austin’s homeless population remained steady during pandemic, survey shows
Austin’s homeless population has remained steady since last year, according to the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition’s annual count. All told, this year’s count found 3,160 people were experiencing homelessness in Austin, ECHO says. The agency says 2,238 people were unsheltered, while 922 people were in traditional shelters or staying in the hotel properties acquired by […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment
Austin to loosen Covid vaccine, distancing rules for live music and events
Austin’s live music and arts scenes have been hurting in the pandemic. But as more and more Central Texans get vaccinated and Covid-related hospitalizations wane, the city known for live music is priming itself for a return to relative normalcy. As part of that process, the Austin Center for Events announced Wednesday that it’s revising the health […]
Posted inPublic Safety
City leaders, Austin police say arrests will be a ‘last resort’ as enforcement of homelessness ordinances resumes
It’s illegal – once again – for people experiencing homelessness to set up encampments throughout most of the city. Sitting or lying down in some stretches of Austin and panhandling at night are also against the law after voters this month approved a proposition to reinstate criminal penalties for those activities. While those laws are officially […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Austin won’t make arrests during first phase of reinstating rules related to homelessness
After voters passed Proposition B on May 1, Austin is reinstating rules that ban homeless encampments on public land, prohibit sitting or lying down in parts of the city, and place a nighttime curfew on panhandling. While those rules go into effect Tuesday, the city said enforcement would be phased in. In an announcement Monday, the city […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Austin voters approve reinstating bans on camping, resting and panhandling
Lee esta historia en español. Austin has voted to reinstate criminal penalties for behavior related to homelessness. With its passage, Proposition B will restore the city’s previous ban on public encampments, prohibition of resting in certain areas and limitations on panhandling. The citizen-led measure passed handily by a 15-point margin. The measure fueled an unusually […]
Posted inAustin
Austin’s village of tiny homes for formerly homeless folks to triple in size
The nonprofit that runs Austin’s Community First Village has acquired land and plans to build out more tiny homes to house Austinites transitioning out of homelessness. The far East Austin development of tiny homes and trailers, managed by Mobile Loaves and Fishes, houses 221 formerly chronically homeless people. The expansion could add space for at […]