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Most Popular Stories
- The Austin area won’t be seeing a lot of bluebonnets this year. Here’s why.
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- Council members celebrate unanimous defeat of bill that proposed putting Austin under state control
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Discover News By District
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Stories by Audrey McGlinchy, KUT
Austin policy lets builders forgo red tape. The result? More affordable housing, less public input.
Tomás Ramírez moistens a reed, puts in his teeth, gulps down the last of his coffee and begins to play. The sound that comes from his alto saxophone is a mournful riff. “I just sort of make things up when…
Land Development Code • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Sep 25, 2023
A one-bedroom apartment comes with 1.5 parking spots. Austin could change that.
City Council members will decide Thursday whether to stop requiring developers to build parking. With some exceptions, city rules require most residential and commercial developers to build a minimum amount of parking spots. The number depends on several factors, including…
Land Development Code • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • May 3, 2023
Last year, your property appraisal went way up. This year (maybe) it’s down. What does it all mean?
If you own property in the Austin area, chances are you recently received your latest property appraisal. This number, known as your appraised value, is an estimate from the Travis Central Appraisal District of what your home would sell for…
Housing • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Apr 26, 2023
The University of Texas says it will help low-income students pay for housing
University of Texas students whose families earn less than $125,000 a year may be able to get money to cover a portion of their on-campus rent for one academic year. University officials teased the new program in an op-ed in the Austin American–Statesman last…
Housing • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Apr 20, 2023
Austin Energy's general manager, Jackie Sargent, steps down
Austin Energy General Manager Jackie Sargent has retired – effective immediately – according to a memo from interim City Manager Jesús Garza. Sargent served as the public utility’s top executive for nearly six years. Sargent was the highest-paid city employee, earning…
City Hall • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Apr 3, 2023
Austin tried and failed to rewrite its land code. Republican lawmakers might do it for them.
In Austin, 5,750 square feet is a magic number. It’s one-tenth of a football field. Half of an Olympic standard swimming pool. And precisely the size of the American dream. “If you’re driving around urban Austin, through Hyde Park, Clarksville,…
Land Development Code • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Mar 22, 2023
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Council fires City Manager Spencer Cronk in wake of winter storm response
Austin City Council members have fired City Manager Spencer Cronk, the city’s chief executive. The vote Wednesday followed criticism of his leadership during an ice storm that left hundreds of thousands without power earlier this month. “I ran (for mayor)…
City Council • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Feb 16, 2023
In Texas, you can be forced to sell your condo
It was outside the mailroom where Deborah Michals learned she could lose her home. One night this past summer when Michals walked outside her condominium in North Austin to check her mail or catch up with a neighbor doing laundry…
Housing • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Jan 25, 2023
After years of negotiation, renovations begin on Austin’s oldest publicly owned homes
Alexis Henderson stands in the kitchen of her former home at Rosewood Courts in East Austin. The place is abandoned now, save for a couple of items. A rag on the stairwell. A video game decal on the bedroom wall.…
Housing • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Dec 16, 2022
Kirk Watson, who first led the city two decades ago, is elected mayor of Austin again
Lee esta historia en español By a razor-thin margin, Austin voters chose Kirk Watson as the city’s next mayor, electing him to navigate soaring housing costs and contentious fights playing out over how to build for the city’s growing population. Watson squeaked…
Elections • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Dec 13, 2022
City Council approves 10% raise for city manager, Austin's top executive
Citing a much-delayed cost-of-living adjustment, Council members on Thursday bumped Austin City Manager Spencer Cronk’s salary from $350,000 to just over $388,000. The move represents an 11 percent increase in pay and the first change to Cronk’s base salary since…
City Council • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Dec 13, 2022
Austin is holding runoff elections for mayor and City Council. Why don't people vote in these races?
Beto O’Rourke. Sure, you’ve heard of him. Greg Abbott? Duh. Herschel Walker. You’ve probably heard of him, too. (If you haven’t, here you are.) But what about Celia Israel? Ryan Alter? Linda Guerrero? Walking out of a coffee shop in North…
