Austin Monitor

More than 100 sign-waving supporters of Zilker Elementary School gathered at the school Thursday afternoon to talk about their love of the school and what it means to their neighborhood.   Parent Liz Scanlon and realtor Peach Reynolds were among those opposing a task force plan to close nine neighborhood schools, including Zilker and nearby Barton […]

The City of Austin got good news this week on sales tax collected in November. According to Austin’s CFO Leslie Browder, the city received $11.5 million this month compared to $10.2 million in January 2010, an increase of 12.5 percent.   That was the second payment for the 2011 fiscal year. Collections for the first two months are up 6.2 percent compared to […]

Following a hearing that went past 10:45pm, Council voted 4-3 tonight to allow Austin Water Utility to use part of the Bull Creek Greenbelt for a permanent retrieval shaft, subterranean tunnel and staging area for a portion of the Water Treatment Plant 4’s Jollyville Transmission Main.   Council Members Bill Spelman, Laura Morrison and Chris […]

The State of Texas is offering global solar provider SunPower $2.5 million over 10 years and the City of Austin plans to offer about $900,000 in return for locating its corporate operations center in Austin—along with creation of 450 jobs and a $10 million investment.   Both are offering cash payments as opposed to tax […]

Although Mayor Lee Leffingwell wants to move forward with a vote on $350 million worth of contracts for Water Treatment Plant 4 on Thursday, plant opponent Council Member Bill Spelman may derail the process.   Spelman told In Fact Daily on Tuesday that he has a number of questions for city staff about the plant’s […]

In Hays County, Democratic incumbent Rep. Patrick Rose is trailing his Republican challenger Jason Isaac. Isaac had 55 percent of the early vote, with a 2300 vote margin. Rose could make up that margin in other counties but it will not be easy.     Also based on the early vote, it appears that Republican Bert […]

The Travis County electorate will have the option of voting by paper ballot. It won’t come, however, until after the 2012 general election.That news came as the Commissioners Court voted to go along with the recommendations of a group it had formed to study voting options. Their unanimous tally (with commissioners Margaret Gomez and Ron […]

City Council passed a resolution Thursday that changes the way it awards contracts by expanding the posting language in its agendas. Instead of automatically awarding a contract to the company ranked highest by city staff, Council will be able to pick a vendor ranked as second or third in staff ratings — as long as […]

Juan Garza, the ousted General Manager of the Pedernales Electric Cooperative and the former head of Austin Energy, tells In Fact Daily that he has accepted an Austin-based position with New Jersey-based NRG Energy.   Garza said he is President of Advanced Technology at NRG, a Fortune 500 wholesale power company with nuclear, wind and […]

The Travis County District Attorney’s Office has received information on two of five City of Austin employees accused of involvement in falsifying payroll records by City Auditor Kenneth Mory.   Assistant District Attorney Gail Van Winkle, chief of the District Attorney’s white collar crime unit, explained that the auditors refer criminal investigations to a special […]

The City Council unanimously approved a “temporary” fix for the historic landmark ordinance shortly after midnight. Council Members Randi Shade and Bill Spelman and the staffs did most of the heavy lifting, along with Jerry Rusthoven of the Planning and Development Review Department. After numerous questions about which commission made which recommendation, Council agreed that […]

Even though statewide sales tax collections for the month were up 2.2 percent over the same month last year, the City of Austin is receiving about $700,000 less than it did last August, according to Chief Financial Officer Leslie Browder. That’s a 5.2 percent drop.   Comptroller Susan Combs released statewide and local sales tax […]