Stories by Audrey McGlinchy, KUT
A Council member wants to officially rename Robert E. Lee Road. What would it take to do it?
Following a deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville over the weekend, Austin City Council Member Greg Casar is calling for the renaming of Robert E. Lee Road in South Austin and Jeff Davis Avenue in North Austin. Over the weekend,…
City Council • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Aug 15, 2017
Mayor Adler wants a task force on gentrification. We've had plenty of those.
For five weeks in 2001, Karen Paup spent her afternoons with other Austin residents talking about the city’s changing east side. The group included a pastor, a developer and a now-professor at New York University. “We shared anecdotes, we looked…
Austin • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Aug 7, 2017
Budget proposal would raise Austin property taxes, increase permitting capacity
Austin homeowners could see higher property tax bills next year. Under the city’s proposed $3.9 billion budget, most residents with a median-value home ($305,510) would pay an additional $118 in property taxes compared to last year. Utility fees would rise,…
Budget • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Aug 3, 2017
Texas lawmakers may alter property tax collection. But how does it even work?
During a recent committee hearing on a property tax bill, a state lawmaker made an unusual comment: He praised Travis County. “Travis County has the best record on reducing tax rate,” said state Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston), the author of…
Budget • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Jul 26, 2017
B-cycle is expanding. So why are all the new stations near downtown?
B-cycle, Austin’s bike-share system, recently added three new stations as part of an 18-station build up over the next 18 months. All of these new stations will be close to or in downtown, adding to the company’s existing 51 docks.…
Bicycles • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Jul 20, 2017
As city debates how to keep the peace, an expert explains how to keep things quiet
City Council members have delayed a vote on the so-called “agent of change” proposal, which would establish rules aimed at easing tensions between neighbors and music venues over amplified sound. An early version of the rules asked both new businesses…
Music & Entertainment • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Jun 22, 2017
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Council nixes daytime juvenile curfew, extends late-night curfew through summer
City Council Thursday decided to nix the city’s 27-year-old daytime juvenile curfew, extending instead the city’s nighttime curfew for young people until Oct. 1. At that time, members expect to have a report back on alternatives to a criminal curfew…
City Council • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Jun 16, 2017
Here's what we learned about requests from ICE to pick up Travis County inmates
Drunken driving. Property theft. Possession of a controlled substance. These are some of the crimes for which the Travis County Sheriff’s Office did not honor requests from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain suspected undocumented immigrants past their sentences…
Public Safety • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Jun 1, 2017
Is 'missing middle' housing still missing from CodeNEXT?
Jake Wegmann, an assistant professor of housing and real estate at the University of Texas, stood on the sidewalk in Mueller, a large mixed-use development on the site of Austin’s old airport. He pointed across the street to a string…
Housing • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • May 26, 2017
What is 'missing middle' housing?
Annette Naish used to work for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, traveling across the U.S. responding to natural disasters. “I found out that in this country there are some of the most wonderful people in the history of the Western…
Housing • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • May 25, 2017
Austin's inaugural artist-in-residence takes up her post
Rehab El Sadek marries silly and sober. Take her outfit: a colorfully patterned turtleneck atop a stern dark skirt. Her straight, black hair in low pigtails. Glasses. And while her paintings and prints dot the walls throughout the home she…
City Hall • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • May 8, 2017
How does Texas' 'sanctuary cities' bill stack up against Arizona's 'show me your papers' law?
City Council Member Greg Casar sat on the floor, his back blocking one of the two main entrances to a state building on the Capitol grounds. He’d taken a seat as part of a sit-in Monday to protest Senate Bill…
