Austin Monitor

After a series of meetings between Hispanic leaders angry about the repeated use of a derogatory term on last week’s “Todd and Don Show” and representatives of Emmis Austin Radio, KLBJ590 announced Monday that it had cancelled the morning talk program.   In addition, Don Pryor, who used the word “wetback” 34 times during last […]

The Parks and Recreation Department is creating a website to coordinate efforts of people who want to preserve and plant trees at Barton Springs.   Sharon Yarbrough, PARD Grants Coordinator, told the Parks and Recreation /Environmental Board Joint Committee Monday that the website will help coordinate the entities and citizens who want to donate time […]

Effective today, employees of the Watershed Protection and Development Review Department who deal with development—about 250 city workers—are part of the Neighborhood Planning and Zoning Department—and that department is being renamed Planning and Development Review to reflect its new enhanced role.   City Manager Marc Ott said Sunday that he believes there will be a […]

Final campaign finance reports from this spring’s election are in and they show that both Council Member Chris Riley and his Place 1 rival Perla Cavazos raised significant amounts of money and spent it freely until the day of the election, with Riley ultimately raising and spending almost $30,000 more than Cavazos.   In the […]

Parking pay stations, an early effort of City Manager Marc Ott, will roll out downtown and in West University beginning today, with the possibility of solar-powered units being placed in the Capitol complex. The new meters will have a five-hour limit, and will accept credit cards. “We heard from a number of citizens that they […]

A few dozen people organized by ChangeAustin.org protested yesterday at the Travis Central Appraisal District’s offices, saying the entity undervalues commercial property appraisals. The group, born out of the Stop Domain Subsides PAC, is drawing attention to what they say are a slew of properties that have sold for amounts significantly higher than their appraisal.   Brian […]

The final round of campaign finance reports for the 2009 Mayoral race show that in addition to getting the most votes, Lee Leffingwell raised the most money of any of the candidates for the city’s top elected office. He spent $336,376 from January 1 through the election, which his campaign consultant Mark Nathan says is […]

Facing a backlash from Austinites unsatisfied with the station’s apology for a racial slur uttered by talk show host Don Pryor, KLBJ AM announced that the “The Todd and Don Show” has been suspended for two weeks and both Todd Jeffries and Don Pryor have been suspended without pay.   Pryor, the son of legendary […]

Travis County Commissioners approved the purchase of the “Karnik tract,” a 30-acre stretch of hill country along Spicewood Springs Road, now part of the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve. Travis County has added 1,200 acres to the preserve this fiscal year. It’s now at 28,426 acres, close to the federal government’s mandate of 30,000 acres by 2016. […]

Travis County Pct. 3 Commissioner Karen Huber, the newest member of Commissioners Court, spoke for the first time to the South Austin Democrats at Casa Garcia’s on Tuesday evening. She told the influential group of political donors and organizers that her top priorities were responsible growth and water management.   Huber began her talk joking […]

Travis County currently has a pilot program that pays an additional $900 per year to bi-lingual employees who pass a language test. But it appears that the program will be postponed for a couple years.   County staff had conducted an audit of new employees across 24 departments to determine how many positions would meet […]

More than 70 people showed up last week for Livable City’s community conversation on the city’s upcoming overhaul of Austin’s comprehensive plan. This new plan will be the first significant update to the Austin Tomorrow Plan of 1979. Planning is expected to be a two-year process, at a budget cost of $1.5 million. That’s just […]