Out of order… It’s no secret – thanks to our reporting – that Capital Metro’s Customer Satisfaction Advisory Committee isn’t the most influential government-appointed group of citizens in town. But on Wednesday, the committee’s staff liaison let the Capital Metro board of directors know exactly how the committee felt about the largest reorganization of Austin’s […]
Austin Monitor
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: What’s wrong with _______
Sad CSAC… Exactly who is the “customer” in the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Customer Satisfaction Advisory Committee? That’s the existential question the body and the agency’s board of directors will grapple with in the coming months. As we reported recently, some board members have expressed concerns about the committee’s workings, or lack thereof. When the […]
Posted inRadio
Austin Monitor Radio: Looking for the next city manager with Elizabeth Findell
This week, Austin American-Statesman reporter Elizabeth Findell sits down with Austin Monitor freelancer Caleb Pritchard and editor Elizabeth Pagano to talk about the (sometimes very exciting) search for Austin’s next city manager. Though City Council voted to release the names of the final candidates for the position, that was only after a hot pursuit by […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Free the trees
What it all boils down to… Will Congress Avenue be getting a new pocket park? Members of the Historic Landmark Commission hope not. The pocket park in question would be established in the right of way at 823 Congress Ave., on the street. In addition to landscaping and installation of a wall and public seating, […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Vows, complaints and questions
Not half bad… The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s board of directors has been challenged to walk its talk. At last Tuesday’s work session, activist Zenobia Joseph took aim at the agency’s proposed bus network redesign and the claims that it will put hundreds of thousands of residents within a half-mile walk from a transit route. […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Austin Monitor Radio: Planning Commission on CodeNEXT
On this week’s radio show, Planning Commission Chair Stephen Oliver and Commissioner Nuria Zaragoza sit down with Austin Monitor freelance reporter Joseph Caterine to talk about the CodeNEXT process. Tune in below to hear how the Planning Commission is tackling the massive project, what they think of the official timeline and what they think of […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Bumps in the road
Unhappy? Blame speed bumps… During a Tuesday work session, Council Member Alison Alter raised concerns about the $2 million drop in revenue for the municipal court, a decrease that she attributed to a lack of enforcement of traffic laws. Another negative consequence of lax enforcement: speed bump-induced unhappiness. “(The Transportation Department) has to do their […]
Posted inRadio
Austin Monitor Radio: The trouble with bonds
This week, Roger Falk from the Travis County Taxpayers Union and bond critic John Goldstone join Austin Monitor freelancer Caleb Pritchard and editor Liz Pagano to talk about their problems with (and praise for!) the upcoming bond election. To hear their take on the election, listen in below:
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Sticking with what we know
Such a tease… Travis County Commissioner Jeff Travillion’s recent appointment to the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors was probably all but guaranteed given the circumstances – his avowed interest in transit on top of the need to politically defuse his predecessor Beverly Silas’ comments about not wanting an African-American man to serve as […]
Posted inRadio
Austin Monitor Radio: Travis County bond election
This week, Mike Clark-Madison and John Langmore join Austin Monitor freelance reporter Caleb Pritchard to talk about the county’s upcoming bond election. The show is embedded below, and more information about the election is available on the county’s website or at travisforward.org. The Austin Monitor’s work is made possible by donations from the community. Though […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Animal protection
Pine Forest still driving up Bastrop’s legal bills… During the past year, the city of Bastrop has paid an additional $106,308 to the lawyer representing the city and Bastrop County in their continuing legal battle with the Pine Forest Investment Group, according to Tracy Waldron, Bastrop’s chief financial officer. Last September, the Austin Monitor reported […]
Posted inRadio
Austin Monitor Radio: MoPac!
This week, Austin Monitor freelance reporter Caleb Pritchard sits down with Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority Director of Community Relations Steve Pustelnyk to talk about all things MoPac: milestones, delays, tolls and all the details you’ve been dying to know about Austin’s favorite north-south highway. Listen in below: The Austin Monitor’s work is made possible […]