An Austin lawyer has sued City Council members over what he says is the denial of voting rights to tens of thousands of residents. Bill Aleshire filed the lawsuit in a Travis County district court Tuesday on behalf of a dozen Austin residents. He argues that nearly 24,000 people who were moved into new Council […]
Audrey McGlinchy, KUT
Posted inCity Hall
Director of Austin Water resigns after three-day boil-water notice caused by ’employee error’
Lee esta historia en español. The head of Austin’s public water utility has resigned after an employee mistake at a water treatment facility resulted in residents having to boil their water for three days to ensure it was safe to drink. In a letter sent Friday to City Manager Spencer Cronk, Greg Meszaros said after […]
Posted inWater
Don’t worry if you drank the Austin tap water. It was fine all along.
The water flowing out of Austin taps is now safe to drink – and apparently was all along. Austin Water issued a boil-water notice on Saturday night, asking that all customers of the public utility boil their water for at least two minutes before drinking it or cooking with it. A spokesperson for the utility […]
Posted inCourts
Austin spends nearly $1 million to settle lawsuits alleging it mishandled sexual assault cases
The city of Austin is settling two lawsuits alleging it violated the rights of sexual assault victims by mishandling the investigations. The city’s settlement amounts to $825,000, which will be split among 15 plaintiffs, and $50,000 for the plaintiffs’ lawyers. The city will also issue a formal apology and has either already made or committed […]
Posted inPolice
Austin voters to decide on decriminalizing small amounts of weed and banning no-knock warrants in May
Austin voters will be asked in May if they want to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana and do away with no-knock warrants. The former practice is already police policy. In July 2020, the Austin Police Department said it would no longer ticket or arrest people for small amounts of marijuana. The Austin City Council adopted a policy in […]
Posted inPublic Health
Austin/Travis County require businesses to post whether they require masks, Covid-19 tests or vaccinations
Starting Monday, businesses in Travis County and the city of Austin will have to post a sign indicating whether employees and customers need to wear a mask, show a negative Covid-19 test or be vaccinated against the virus. City of Austin/Travis County. A template of the notice Austin and Travis County are asking businesses to […]
Posted inPolice
Austin police should budget for 100 more patrol officers, study says. Chief unsure if he’ll ask for funds.
The Austin Police Department should budget for 108 more patrol officers to respond to emergency calls more quickly, researchers hired by the nonprofit Greater Austin Crime Commission say. In an analysis of about 2 million 911 calls going back to 2016, researchers with the University of New Haven and Texas State University determined officers had a better […]
Posted inHousing
Amid affordability crisis, Austin will consider studying what it costs to build new housing
Austin City Council members on Thursday asked city staff to look into what it would cost to analyze how much it, well, costs to build new housing. The study, if given the green light early next year, would also focus on how this impacts the price of buying or renting a home and what the […]
Posted inHousing
Officials are brainstorming solutions to Austin’s booming housing costs. Here are 4 of their ideas.
Tenants bidding on a rental home. Potential homebuyers offering $200,000 more than the listed price. Nearly 90 prospective buyers angling for one home. While these are just anecdotes, the data bears it out: The median sales price of a home rose more than $100,000 earlier this year, and rents have been climbing at the fastest rate ever […]
Posted inLand Development Code
An appeals court will hear arguments over Austin’s land code rewrite. Here’s what the case is about.
I can understand if your eyes glaze over at the mention of a “land code rewrite.” But whether you asked for it or not (and likely you didn’t), if you live in Austin, a case being heard this week in a Houston appeals court affects you. On Wednesday, the city of Austin is scheduled to […]
Posted inElections
Austin Council Member Greg Casar will run for Congress, vacating his Council seat midterm
Greg Casar, who has served on Austin City Council since 2015, will run for U.S. Congress, he announced Thursday. Casar last month teased a race for federal office, saying he was “considering” a run and had convened a committee of advisers. “I believe that working families from Bexar to Comal to Hays to Travis County […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Prop A would mandate 2 police officers per 1,000 residents. Where does that ratio come from?
What’s in a ratio? A lot, if voters are being asked to mandate one. Proposition A, one of two local measures on the Nov. 2 ballot, asks Austinites if they want to set a minimum staffing ratio for the Austin Police Department: 2 police officers per 1,000 residents. Save Austin Now, the group behind Prop A, […]