Travis County Commissioners Court is on the verge of pushing out a top local affordable housing official over thousands of dollars’ worth of travel expenditures. The court voted unanimously on Tuesday to send a letter to Melvin Wrenn, chair of the Housing Authority of Travis County board of commissioners, to let him know that the […]
Caleb Pritchard
Posted inTransit
Updated: Raise for Watson as Cap Metro ridership declines
Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority President Linda Watson is getting a raise despite the agency’s falling ridership. Cap Metro’s board of directors voted on Monday to award Watson with a 5 percent bump in pay. According to the agency’s website, Watson’s current annual salary is $271,637, although that sum does not include deferred compensation. In previous […]
Posted inPremium Types
TipSheet: Travis County, 2.23.16
The Travis County Commissioners Court meets at 9 a.m. Tuesday. In the interest of space, we’ve decided not to post the entire agenda here. The County Clerk’s office hosts a copy at its website. 4. Consider and take appropriate action on recommendations regarding the Travis County Fire Marshal: a. Appoint the Travis County Fire Marshal […]
Posted inWhispers
Controversial PAC attracts more controversy
Austin4All’s first foray into government-mandated transparency has failed to please one of the PAC’s most aggressive critics. Attorney Fred Lewis announced on Sunday that he is considering filing new ethics complaints against the group in the wake of a finance report it filed with the Office of the City Clerk on Friday. In a press […]
Posted inTravis County
Travis County approves screening process for courthouse sites
Travis County planners are heading back to the laboratory to hash out the pros and cons of several select properties – including the one that voters rejected in November – that could be home to a new civil courthouse. On Tuesday, the Travis County Commissioners Court approved the so-called site evaluation matrix that county staff, […]
Posted inElections
Austin4All turns in petition to recall Ann Kitchen
Long awaited light has finally beamed in on the operations of the political action committee known as Austin4All. The Austin Monitor swung by the Office of the City Clerk on Friday afternoon and found the PAC’s co-directors, Rachel Kania and Tori Moreland, turning in financial documents as well as thousands of signatures on a petition […]
Posted inLocal Politics
Updated: Austin4All kicks off its ongoing petition drive
Two weeks after it announced it had gathered enough signatures to force the recall of City Council Member Ann Kitchen, 12 days after a prominent local lawyer filed an ethics complaint against it and nine days after it formally filed key campaign paperwork, the mysterious political action committee known as Austin4All held its official launch […]
Posted inElections
Candidates for sheriff cite experience, vision in Democratic primary
Late Tuesday, just hours after early voting had begun across Texas, close to a hundred criminal defense attorneys slowly tromped into a large banquet room in downtown Austin. Among rows of desks and musty chairs, they found conversation partners, sat down and dug into plates of catered barbecue. The Austin Criminal Defense Lawyers Association had […]
Posted inTransit
LSTAR troubles present another snag for Project Connect
Project Connect, the ambitious vision of a multimodal transportation future in Central Texas, hit a major pothole last week with Union Pacific’s decision to walk away from negotiations with the Lone Star Rail District. In a letter to the district, also known as LSTAR, Union Pacific canceled its agreements to continue exploring the feasibility of […]
Posted inPremium Types
TipSheet: Travis County, 2.16.16
The Travis County Commissioners Court meets at 9 a.m. Tuesday. In the interest of space, we’ve decided not to post the entire agenda here. The County Clerk’s office hosts a copy at its website. 1. Approve proclamation recognizing Hershel Lee for his service to Travis County. (Commissioner Shea & Commissioner Daugherty) Monitor’s Take: After eleven […]
Posted inWhispers
UTC issues modified rail-related recommendation
The Urban Transportation Commission issued on Tuesday a slightly revised version of its January call for a fast-tracked effort to put a high-capacity transit vision – including a possible light rail proposal – on this November’s ballot. Because of a procedural mix-up that came to light after the meeting from which the original resolution sprang, […]
Posted inTransit
Lone Star Rail hits major roadblock
A top official with the Lone Star Rail District, or LSTAR, said his agency will continue chugging along despite a serious setback that puts its fundamental mission in jeopardy. On Tuesday, Jerry Wilmoth, Union Pacific’s general manager of network infrastructure, sent a letter notifying LSTAR Chair Sid Covington that the freight rail giant had decided […]