ZAP! Pow! Bang!… People paying attention to the membership of the Zoning and Platting Commission (if you are out there, you are probably reading this) may have noticed change has come/is on the horizon. As we reported, now-former Chair Thomas Weber has left the commission, with former Austin Neighborhoods Council President David King taking over […]
Austin Monitor
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: More on Agenda 21
Alternative facts? In our media? It’s more likely than you think… Over the weekend, Zoning and Platting Commissioner Jim Duncan seized the rhetorical zeitgeist in a letter to City Council members, wherein he warned them that the commission had not, as initially reported by the Austin Business Journal, “reject(ed) Milestone Community Builders’ request to rezone a portion of […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Dead, alive and in-between
Dead zoning… There was a lot of debate on Thursday over whether Capitol View Corridors should be extended to the east of the city. And there was even more debate over whether those east-projecting radii should project over the Brackenridge hospital site that Central Health hopes will soon be developed. But there wasn’t nearly enough […]
Posted inTexas State Legislature
Reporter’s Notebook: ICE, ghosts and trees
ICE in Austin… Over the weekend, protests dominated the local news as Austinites grappled with how to react to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids that began on Thursday. Meanwhile, public officials and agencies worked to come up with their own responses. District 4 City Council Member Greg Casar was one of the first to […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Just more fake news
Alt-facts… The national press has caught wind of Travis County’s skirmish with Gov. Greg Abbott over immigration policy, for better and worse. Reputable outlets such as CBS News and the Washington Post have deigned to talk to County Judge Sarah Eckhardt about the imbroglio that was sparked by Sheriff Sally Hernandez’s decision to no longer […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Pardon
Vote kills Entrada annexation for now… City Council voted 10-1 on Thursday to indefinitely postpone annexation of the Entrada property, approximately 246 acres in northeastern Travis County south of Wells Branch Parkway, with Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo opposed. Mayor Steve Adler said the current Council needs to reconsider the city’s annexation policy. That policy has […]
Posted inCity Council
Reporter’s Notebook: Campaign promises
Leaders join the crowd… Saturday’s Women’s March on Austin saw massive crowds, including several City Council members, pack the streets of downtown. Spotted on the sidewalk of Congress Avenue was Council Member Pio Renteria, who gamely posed for at least one photograph. He linked up at the Capitol steps with Council colleagues Leslie Pool, Alison […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Regarding Twitter
Vela to Dukes: Time to go… Embattled state Rep. Dawnna Dukes (Austin) has reneged on her promise to step down from her seat, leaving in limbo those who were hoping to replace her and actively campaigning to do so. One of them, Chito Vela, released a statement Saturday that said Dukes’ indecision “hurts the people she […]
Posted inAustin
2016: An Austin Monitor review
As residents of the actual world, and not just City Hall World, we at the Austin Monitor are well-aware that most year-in-review lists will be filled with relief that the seemingly cursed 2016 will soon be over. Our relief comes from the fact that we have to focus our look back only on our narrow perspective, […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Cheating? Deals? Numbers?
Cheating or just honest mistakes?… On Thursday, the first day of early voting for the Dec. 13 runoff elections for City Council District 10 and two places for the Austin Community College Board of Trustees, the Austin Monitor received a complaint from Jeremi Suri, the husband of Alison Alter, who is running against Council Member […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Fuel for the fire
Austin Energy prepared for Trump’s coal revival… During a presentation on Austin Energy’s financial health at the Electric Utility Commission meeting on Monday, Commissioner Stefan Wray asked AE Deputy General Manager Mark Dombroski a question about the elephant in the room: “What possible impact will the new federal government under President Trump have?” President-elect Donald […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Sore losers and sour grapes
Ghosting on reporters… It’s probably never fun to take reporter’s calls after losing an election, but usually candidates are good sports about it. However, former City Council District 7 candidate Natalie Gauldin managed to ignore more than five phone calls throughout the day from multiple reporters at the Austin Monitor (and several other news outlets). Nearly […]