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Most Popular Stories
- Council members celebrate unanimous defeat of bill that proposed putting Austin under state control
- A once-banned type of building is back in favor – and the Planning Commission approves
- Austin churches answer prayers for affordable housing – by building it themselves
- SOS suing state agency over failure to provide information on MoPac expansion
- Staffing isn’t the only thing to blame for Austin’s slow 911 response times
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Discover News By District
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Stories by Audrey McGlinchy, KUT
Nearly four dozen people have applied to be Austin’s next police chief. Here are four things to know.
The police chief in Wichita, Kansas. A commanding officer with the Los Angeles Police Department. An engineer with a cybersecurity firm. A real estate investor. These are some of the 45 candidates who have applied to be Austin’s next police…
Police • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Jun 29, 2021
Home prices in Austin rose $100,000 in six months. When will the surge end?
When Amanda Traphagan was selling her Austin home in April, she and her husband joked that only a wealthy celebrity would be able to offer a significant amount over what they were asking. “We were making jokes about Elon Musk…
Housing • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Jun 23, 2021
Austin raises property tax exemption for homeowners to highest rate allowed
As the median price of a home in Austin surpassed half a million dollars this year, City Council members voted Thursday to tax a smaller amount of owners’ home values. City leaders doubled the current general homestead exemption of 10 percent, taking…
City Council • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Jun 11, 2021
Bill penalizing Texas cities that cut funding for police heads to governor's desk
Texas lawmakers on Friday gave final approval to a bill that would financially punish large cities that cut their police budgets, including prohibiting them from raising new property tax revenue. The legislation now heads to Gov. Greg Abbott, who has said…
Public Safety • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Jun 1, 2021
Group behind Austin's camping ban revival says it has new plan to put police staffing on the ballot
Save Austin Now, the local political action committee behind the campaign to reinstate rules against camping in public, has started circulating a petition to put a new proposition on the ballot – a mandate that would require certain levels of staffing…
Police • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • May 27, 2021
Austin will start training new police again this June, after a yearlong hiatus
City Council members voted Thursday to restart cadet classes after a pause to allow the police department to make changes to how it trains new officers. The next cadet class is set to start by June 7. It will be…
Police • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • May 7, 2021
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After yearlong ban, Austin and Travis County will let some landlords file evictions starting in June
Lee esta historia en español. Austin-area renters who have not paid rent for five months or more and have exhausted all rent assistance will once again be subject to eviction beginning June 1. Most other residential tenants and some commercial…
Housing • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • May 4, 2021
It's been more than a year since Austin started training new police. It could restart this summer.
City Council members voted Thursday to make changes to how Austin police are trained, with the eventual goal of restarting cadet classes by June 7 at the latest. The police academy has not welcomed a group of new trainees since…
Police • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Mar 29, 2021
Assistant Chief Joseph Chacon confirmed as Austin's new interim police chief
Assistant Chief Joseph Chacon will be Austin’s interim police chief starting April 11. City Council approved his appointment Thursday night. “This is not an easy city, probably, to be police chief,” Mayor Steve Adler told Chacon before the vote. “It’s…
Police • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Mar 26, 2021
Austin nominates interim police chief, permanent chief to be named by August
Joseph Chacon, an assistant chief of the Austin Police Department, has been nominated to serve as interim police chief as Brian Manley readies to leave the department this week. City Manager Spencer Cronk announced Chacon’s nomination in a memo Monday morning.…
Police • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Mar 23, 2021
Power could get cut to circuits that include hospitals as a 'last resort,' Austin Energy warns
Austin Energy could decide to shut off electricity to circuits that include critical infrastructure – such as fire stations, hospitals and 911 operations – to prevent the state’s power grid from collapsing, the municipal utility warned Tuesday. “Only as an…
Energy • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Feb 17, 2021
Austin officially moves forensics lab out from under police department
In a move long advocated for by survivors of sexual assault, the Austin City Council voted Thursday to officially transfer its forensics bureau out from under the police department. It will now function as an independent entity. “This move is…
