The city of Austin wants a piece of land to make into a park. And it’s trying to put a sweet deal on the table to make that happen. That’s the crux of Proposition B. But man, is it confusing. Some background: Austin’s Parks and Recreation Department has its Central Maintenance Complex on a 9-acre […]
Audrey McGlinchy, KUT
Posted inHousing
The average monthly rent in Austin is now $1,500. Prices are rising at the fastest pace ever.
Elisa Regulski was getting desperate. The 29-year-old’s lease on an apartment in South Austin was days away from ending, but after putting in half a dozen applications she still didn’t have a place to move. “I wasn’t sleeping very well,” she said. “If you were to ask my friends, they would say that was pretty […]
Posted inPolice
Austin City Council confirms Joseph Chacon as new police chief
Joseph Chacon is Austin’s new police chief, after City Council members confirmed his nomination Thursday night. Chacon has been serving as the city’s interim chief since Brian Manley’s departure from the top job in March. “Thank you for trusting me to do this job, and I promise that I will not let you down,” Chacon said, after […]
Posted inPolice
Austin taps interim Chief Joseph Chacon as its next police chief
Joseph Chacon, who has been serving as interim Austin police chief since April, has been nominated to take on the position permanently, City Manager Spencer Cronk confirmed Wednesday. The decision is still pending approval from City Council at its meeting next week. Chacon, who has been with the Austin Police Department for more than 20 […]
Posted inCity Hall
City backtracks, now says people can testify by phone at public meetings
The proverbial phone line had been cut. Now, it’s being restored. Over the summer, the city of Austin said residents would no longer be able to phone in to public meetings as they’d been doing during the pandemic. The change was allowed after Gov. Greg Abbott suspended parts of the Texas Open Meetings Act, which […]
Posted inHousing
The battle for 3000 Funston Street
What does a house interrupted look like? On a small piece of land in West Austin, you can see the answer: Wooden boards form a rectangle in the center of the lot meant to case a foundation, but it’s a container without anything to contain. The inspector who would have signed off on pouring the […]
Posted inPolice
City pays $2.25 million to family of man killed by police in 2017
In the conclusion of a lawsuit against the Austin police officer who shot and killed a 20-year-old Hispanic man in 2017, Austin City Council Thursday approved $2.25 million to be paid as a settlement to the man’s family. “There’s no good way to do these, but I appreciate that we have reached a settlement today,” […]
Posted inPolice
Austin narrows police chief search to three finalists
The city of Austin has narrowed its search for a new police chief down to three candidates: Joseph Chacon, Austin’s interim police chief; Avery Moore, an assistant chief with the Dallas Police Department; and Emada Tingirides, a deputy chief with the Los Angeles Police Department. The city named the finalists Friday. KUT contacted the candidates […]
Posted inBudget
Austin passes $4.5 billion budget, increases police budget per state law
Austin city leaders approved a new budget that boosts spending on policing and puts dollars toward public transit planning and housing. All told, City Council members OK’d a $4.5 billion budget Thursday evening, representing a 7 percent increase over the current budget. The city’s fiscal year begins Oct. 1. “We unanimously passed a budget today […]
Posted inPublic Health
Austin and Travis County officials mandate mask-wearing in city and county property, public schools
Austin and Travis County officials are mandating people over the age of 2 wear a mask on public property, including in buildings owned by the city and county and in public schools. “Today’s order to require masks in certain places is both to support Austin ISD’s decision to protect children and the city’s duty to […]
Posted inBudget
Last year Austin cut its police budget by millions. A new state law means it’ll likely reverse that move this week.
The same day Austin City Council members voted to reduce the police budget by roughly $150 million, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott pledged to make it so cities could never do it again. “Austin’s decision puts the brave men and women of the Austin Police Department and their families at greater risk, and paves the way for lawlessness. […]
Posted inPublic Health
Last time Covid cases surged, Austin opened a field hospital. Here’s why that won’t work now.
When Austin-area hospitals began admitting about 100 new Covid patients a day last January, the city of Austin did something it hoped it would never have to: It set up hospital beds in the convention center, transforming the conference space into a field hospital. “I want to be very clear: Our hope is that we never see […]