Stories by Caleb Pritchard
Project Connect lives
Several months after a catastrophic hack forced Capital Metro officials to yank it offline, Project Connect’s website is back in action. It’s not clear exactly when officials turned ProjectConnect.com back on. A check as recently as Oct. 7 by a…
Transit • By Caleb Pritchard • Oct 30, 2015
Commissioners get tangled up on Master Plan policy
A key component of Travis County’s Master Plan – a massive realignment of workers, buildings and valuable real estate holdings – remains grounded after staff signaled on Tuesday that it wasn’t quite ready for takeoff. Before the County Commissioners Court…
Development • By Caleb Pritchard • Oct 28, 2015
County planners pledge to keep courthouse block "alive after five"
Anxiety is palpable this week at 700 Lavaca St., where Travis County officials and planners nervously wait as early voters cast their ballots to decide the fate of the $287 million Civil & Family Courts Complex bond. While the Travis…
Travis County • By Caleb Pritchard • Oct 20, 2015
In Travis County's courthouse bond campaign, a challenger emerges
With less than a month to go before Election Day, the first organized effort to oppose Travis County’s $287 million Civil & Family Courts Complex bond has finally materialized. The Travis County Taxpayers Union, backed by Austin City Council Member…
Travis County • By Caleb Pritchard • Oct 15, 2015
Sobriety center plans advance through the county
Travis County Commissioners have taken another big step toward the creation of a sobriety center that would serve as an alternative to jail for the region’s most temerarious tipplers. During their regular voting session on Tuesday, the commissioners directed the…
Public Safety • By Caleb Pritchard • Oct 14, 2015
County adopts new tax rate
The Travis County Commissioners Court formally adopted a brand new property tax rate on Tuesday. The unanimous vote marked the last major action in this year’s version of the annual budget dance. It was a relatively placid affair, given the…
Budget • By Caleb Pritchard • Oct 7, 2015
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County approves budget, restores jail visitations
On the eve of Fiscal New Year’s Eve, Travis County commissioners voted to adopt a brand-new budget that will keep the lights on through 2016. Along the way, they managed to inject some last-minute drama into the proceedings by restoring…
Budget • By Caleb Pritchard • Sep 30, 2015
Jail visitation dominates county budget hearing
Travis County Commissioners Court held its first of three public hearings on the proposed tax rate for the next fiscal year on Tuesday evening, but instead of anxious property owners venting about affordability concerns, a determined group of inmates’ rights…
Budget • By Caleb Pritchard • Sep 23, 2015
Radford formally launches campaign
Beneath the sweltering September sun outside of his East Austin campaign headquarters, Lakeway Police Chief Todd Radford officially launched his campaign for Travis County sheriff on Monday morning. “I want to be the next sheriff because I think that everyone…
Travis County • By Caleb Pritchard • Sep 22, 2015
In, out and on the fence: Changes roil race for sheriff
With less than six months until the party primary elections in March, the race for Travis County sheriff is still fitfully taking shape, with one candidate joining the field, another leaving and one major surprise headline developing that could completely…
Elections • By Caleb Pritchard • Sep 11, 2015
Travis County reduces proposed tax rate
Crucial new data has given Travis County’s budget writers a little extra leeway to lower the proposed property tax rate in the next fiscal year. A Planning and Budget Office staff presentation before the Commissioners Court on Tuesday revealed that…
Budget • By Caleb Pritchard • Sep 2, 2015
Commissioners set courthouse bond election
Travis County’s largest bond proposition in recent memory has officially graduated from the Commissioners Court to the much more challenging court of public opinion. In a historic moment that capped off years of planning, the commissioners voted unanimously on Tuesday…
