More than two decades ago, Austin’s towering Treaty Oak nearly bit the dust after being poisoned by a vandal. The tree was ultimately saved, but when the situation seemed dire, supporters with pockets shallow and deep came out in full force. (Ross Perot handed over a blank check to save the tree.) More recently, the […]
Audrey McGlinchy, KUT
Posted inCity Council
Austin4All, Council members reflect on recall petition
When word first broke that a local political action committee calling itself Austin4All had enough signatures to recall City Council Member Ann Kitchen, most of her colleagues came out in force to show their support for her. Standing outside City Hall on Feb. 1, some Council members joked they would be next. But now that […]
Posted inLocal Politics
Could District 5 be without representation for six months?
Although local political action committee Austin4All turned in a petition to recall City Council Member Ann Kitchen to the city clerk’s office Friday, petitions to recall Council members are far from common. So it’s fair to say that the rules governing this process are little known. According to a spokesperson for the city, the city […]
Posted inWater
Committee takes on water restrictions (again)
The battle over whether to loosen or make permanent some current water restrictions played out once again Wednesday at the City Council Public Utilities Committee, as Council Member Don Zimmerman questioned the intent of a recent public survey by Austin Water. According to the survey data (collected at five public meetings held throughout January), roughly […]
Posted inRoads
What is up with Austin’s traffic signals?
This story is part of KUT’s ATXplained series, which solicits story topics from listeners and investigates those that get the most online votes from the public. The winning topic for this segment was: traffic light synchronization. Picture it: You’re idling at a red light. Maybe it seems like other drivers are getting all the green, […]
Posted inCity Council
What the TNC discussion may say about Adler’s leadership
Given that it’s in a government building, the painting that hangs outside Mayor Steve Adler’s office is a bizarre choice. It’s a portrait of a cat – its head crowned in what looks like a steel headdress, with an ornate keyhole at its center. Behind the cat’s head, canoes full of sushi float atop a […]
Posted inAustin
Grant project spurs crime drop on Sam Rayburn Drive
Antonio Mancinas, 68, leans against a tree in his front yard. He lives in a house with his wife at the end of Sam Rayburn Drive in the Rundberg neighborhood. Despite having spent roughly a quarter of a century on the street, he thinks back just a few years. “Just imagine,” Mancinas prompted in Spanish. […]
Posted inCity Hall
Should Austin prepare for the age of the petition?
Austin is riddled with petition fever, or so it seems lately. Last week, local group Ridesharing Works for Austin – a political action committee funded by Uber and Lyft – handed 23,000 petition signatures over to the Office of the City Clerk, making it highly likely that its ordinance will go in front of City […]
Posted inPublic Safety
Council will vote on new 911 call center backup
“Austin is growing.” By now this maxim has become the resounding, if not infuriating, anthem of the city. It affects various sectors of life in Austin, from transportation to housing to health. And, as it turns out, it also affects how the city of Austin runs its 911 call center. “If something catastrophic happened, whether […]
Posted inAustin, City Council, Elections, Local Politics
Mystery surrounds Kitchen recall petition
As Mike Blizzard describes it, Wednesday morning began like any other. Then came a knock at his door. “A lot of people come through the neighborhood trying to get you to replace your windows, and I thought that’s who it was,” said Blizzard. “But instead it was a canvasser with a petition to recall City […]
Posted inWhispers
Mayor says successful TNC petition does not concern him
Members of local Uber- and Lyft-funded group Ridesharing Works for Austin cheered after wheeling into the Office of the City Clerk six cardboard boxes containing 23,000 petition signatures. If at least 20,000 turn out to be valid, City Council will have to consider the group’s transportation network company ordinance or, if it doesn’t approve, put it to […]
Posted inAustin, City Hall
What is at the core of Austin’s TNC fight?
Without much pomp save for the “Shine On” T-shirt she wears, Monique Mitchell stands with fellow Lyft driver Mo Ratel at the edge of Austin’s Zilker Park, scanning the field below. It’s a sunny Wednesday afternoon; dogs and their owners dot the grass. Mitchell and Ratel each grip a pen and a clipboard brimming with […]