Austin’s new chief animal services officer says the city’s no-kill status was what persuaded her to take the job. But Tawny Hammond told the Austin Monitor on Tuesday that for Austin to sustain its no-kill status, more people need to be adopting shelter and rescue animals. “If the city of Austin and the community of Austin wants […]
Audrey McGlinchy, KUT
Posted inAustin
Future of 64 Rainey remains unknown
The future use of a small city-owned plot of land butting up against the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center is no closer to being known. Members of City Council’s Open Space, Environment and Sustainability Committee heard from neighbors and a local developer last week about a proposal recommended by the MACC Advisory Board […]
Posted inTransportation
City transit heads and private innovators share MobilityATX stage
A bunch of men, and one woman, gathered Tuesday night in the new Google Fiber building downtown to discuss Austin’s transportation future. With Mayor Steve Adler, Capital Metro President and CEO Linda Watson and transportation app RideScout CEO Joseph Kopser fielding most of the questions from audience members and the moderator, the night’s conversation circled […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment
Fun Fun Fun Fest fights for space
The battle rages bloodless over a 3-acre tract of dog park. The Parks and Recreation Department and the organizer of Fun Fun Fun Fest, Transmission Events, are ensnarled in a dispute over festival planning. At the center of that dispute is the new off-leash area at the renovated Vic Mathias Shores, formerly Auditorium Shores. If there […]
Posted inPublic Safety
Committee restarts discussion of fire and EMS merger
Members of the Public Safety Committee heard testimony Monday on the idea of merging the Austin Fire Department with Austin/Travis County Emergency Medical Services, but city staff and organization heads reiterated time and again that anything official is a long way off. Before a union of the two emergency bodies can even be considered, Austin/Travis County […]
Posted inAustin
Austin relocates tax appraisal challenge
While the city of Austin will continue to pursue its challenge of the Travis Central Appraisal District’s valuation of commercial properties, it has chosen a new venue for the fight. Mayor Steve Adler said during yesterday’s City Council meeting that city legal staff will move their challenge from the Appraisal Review Board to a district court, thereby […]
Posted inAustin
Advocates say concrete pouring doesn’t belong in the Music Division
The mournful hum of an industrial concrete mixer, it could be argued, makes for a lousy piece of music. Yet writing sound-impact plans for new concrete projects falls under the purview of the city’s Music and Entertainment Division. These plans describe how loud the noise from construction crews will be and how far it will […]
Posted inPlanning, Uncategorized
Springdale Farm loses event fight
The question of how an urban farm should be used got heated at a meeting of the Planning Commission on Tuesday when a motion to grant a conditional use permit for outdoor entertainment and off-site parking at East Austin’s Springdale Farm failed. Owners of the 5-acre farm at 755 Springdale Road sought a permit allowing a […]
Posted inDevelopment
East Cesar Chavez hotel fails at Planning Commission
Residents opposed to a proposed 65-room boutique hotel at 1207 East Cesar Chavez St. told the Planning Commission on Tuesday night that they do not want to see their neighborhood become “another Rainey Street.” At the meeting, several residents held signs that read, “Don’t Rain-ey on our Chavez … No East Side Hotel.” Commissioners agreed that […]
Posted inCity Hall
Many boards and commissions seats still vacant
While City Council members have almost 300 spots to fill on commissions and boards before current membership expires on July 1, some groups have adjourned their June meetings still uncertain about who will be seated next month. With Commissioner Reynaldo Moreno absent, the Public Safety Commission last week voted unanimously to cancel its July meeting because […]
Posted inWhispers
Metz and Mabel Davis opening soon
According to the Parks and Recreation Department, Metz and Mabel Davis Pools will open for the summer once repairs on the pools are finished – most likely, sometime within the next two weeks. Last month, the department reversed its decision to close the pools for the season following neighbors’ backlash. In the memo to Mayor […]
Posted inParks
Austin ventures into civic crowdfunding
The Internet is replete with crowdfunding appeals for endless pet projects: help fund your college roommate’s rap EP, pitch in for your buddy’s film or donate a few dollars toward your cousin’s volunteer trip to Haiti. But what about a Kickstarter campaign to outfit a neighborhood pool with picnic tables, benches and a new pavilion? […]