Stories by Audrey McGlinchy, KUT
District 2 candidates debate for first time
Beneath a basketball net and a shut-off scoreboard at the Dove Springs Recreation Center, two City Council candidates for Austin’s District 2 squared off against each other and against the incumbent, Council Member Delia Garza. The forum, hosted by KUT,…
Elections • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Sep 7, 2016
Council digs into hiring process for new city manager
The candidates for Austin’s next city manager will be vetted by nearly a million people. At least, that’s how necessary City Council members and city staff have said public input is to the process of hiring Austin’s newest city manager…
City Hall • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Aug 25, 2016
Could the mayor's 'Go Big' bond go bigger?
Mayor Steve Adler has christened the $720 million transportation bond as the “Go Big Corridor Plan,” which prompts the question: Is this really that big? Seattle recently placed on a ballot a $54 billion transportation bond. Still, judging by other…
Transportation • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Aug 18, 2016
City contract hopes to protect tenants who speak up
Black mold and a stack of documents Legal notices and lease copies blanketed a plush beige couch in a North Austin apartment. Rebekah Jara rummaged through the papers. Lawyers had urged her and her fiancé, Juan Aranda, to keep copies…
The Code • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Aug 16, 2016
What does a $720 million transportation bond get us?
Members of the public have weighed in on Mayor Steve Adler’s $720 million transportation bond proposal. While we know generally where the money would go if voters approved the bond, the spending on subcategories is still subject to change, with…
Transportation • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Aug 12, 2016
Council approves alternatives to jail time for indigent defendants
City Council members approved a measure Thursday clarifying the process to be used by municipal judges to deem a defendant incapable of paying a municipal fine – and emphasizing community service as an alternative to jail time for unpaid fines.…
Courts • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Aug 12, 2016
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Council to consider videoconferencing for public testimony
In a quest to simplify the lives of constituents while easing some downtown traffic, City Council Member Don Zimmerman has proposed testing out videoconferencing for citizens communication during Council meetings. “I have a lot of constituents complaining about parking problems…
City Council • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Aug 4, 2016
PAC it up, PAC it in: PACs in local elections
To understand political action committees, it’s useful to think of them in terms of families. For example, if a candidate for City Council or mayor were the older sibling, a PAC would be the baby – that is, it would…
Elections • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Aug 3, 2016
How the city (used to) restrict candidates' fundraising time
With three months to go before Election Day in November, campaign signs for local, state and presidential candidates have bloomed – despite the incessant heat and current watering restrictions – on Austin lawns. Whether or not you’ve been fixated by…
Elections • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Jul 29, 2016
Austin's cemeteries get new leader
Tonja Walls-Davis has a new favorite gravesite: one for a child, whose headstone is in the shape of a single Lego. “I’ve traveled these grounds so many times,” she told the Austin Monitor. “But, like I said, every time I…
Austin • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Jul 27, 2016
Corridors that cure cancer? Preventing it, maybe
Could streets be like doctors? A streetlight that diagnoses ulcerous colon. A sidewalk that administers chemotherapy. That question is what City Council Member Delia Garza levied at the oft-optimistic Mayor Steve Adler during the last Council meeting before members broke…
Transportation • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Jul 22, 2016
Judge strikes down two Austin campaign finance rules
A federal district court ruled late Wednesday that two rules governing how candidates for Austin office handle campaign funds violate the First Amendment. The ruling came after Council member Don Zimmerman filed a lawsuit challenging the city’s campaign finance rules…
