Stories by Elizabeth Pagano
TipSheet: City Council, 1.27.22
Today marks the first regular Council meeting of 2022, after an extended holiday break. Despite that, today’s agenda seems pretty manageable, though that may be the recharge of optimism from the extended break talking. As usual, this is just a…
TipSheets • By Elizabeth Pagano • Jan 27, 2022
Celia Israel announces run for Austin mayor
State Rep. Celia Israel has made it official: On a chilly Tuesday morning at Parque Zaragoza in East Austin, Israel announced that she would be running for mayor of Austin. She was joined by supporters Rubén Cantú, Ashley Cheng, Nelson…
Local Politics • By Elizabeth Pagano • Jan 12, 2022
2021: Remembering the year that was
Though everyone reading this lived through it, it’s still somewhat unbelievable that 2021 continued the vibe of 2020. Nonetheless, we are taking a backward glance at what happened in our fair city over the past 12 months and throwing caution…
Austin • By Elizabeth Pagano • Dec 30, 2021
TipSheet: City Council, 12.9.21
In what has become one of our most treasured and least favorite of yearly traditions, the last City Council meeting of the year is always a long one, with everyone trying to get in a last bit of business before…
City Council • By Elizabeth Pagano • Dec 9, 2021
Design Commission gives nod to bathhouse project
With the unanimous blessing of the city’s Design Commission, plans to renovate and and restore the historic Barton Springs Bathhouse continue to move forward. Barton Springs’ 1947 bathhouse is unimpeachably historic, with city, state and federal historic designations that all…
Preservation • By Elizabeth Pagano • Dec 1, 2021
New supermajority law for historic districts now in effect
The already tough task of creating historic districts in Austin just got a little harder, thanks to new state laws. In 2019, the Texas Legislature changed the rules governing the designation of historic landmarks by requiring a supermajority of the Historic…
Preservation • By Elizabeth Pagano • Sep 16, 2021
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Fire destroys log cabin and preservation hopes
Plans to reconstruct and relocate a 19th-century log cabin at 5613 Patton Ranch Road are now moot after a fire destroyed the property. “We’ve reviewed the fire report and the cabin is a total loss,” Historic Preservation Officer Steve Sadowsky explained…
Preservation • By Elizabeth Pagano • Sep 15, 2021
I-35 plans take center stage at City Council work session
With plans on the table to build a 20-lane road through the heart of the city, Austin City Council took some time during its Tuesday work session to address TxDOT’s vision for the future of Interstate 35. In his presentation…
Roads • By Elizabeth Pagano • Sep 1, 2021
Council takes hard look at what went wrong during winter storm
After taking in an extremely critical report about the city’s response to Winter Storm Uri, City Council members stressed the need to prepare for the next inevitable disaster. “There’s nobody here that didn’t fight long and hard and sleeplessly and…
City Hall • By Elizabeth Pagano • Aug 25, 2021
Bowie underpass project derailed
After two decades of planning, negotiations to construct the Bowie underpass have come to a halt. The project at Third and Bowie streets is part of the 2001 Seaholm District Master Plan. It would have provided a link between the…
Transportation • By Elizabeth Pagano • Aug 19, 2021
Austin moves forward with new vaccine incentives for city employees
A plan to pay vaccinated city employees a $100 stipend has been scrapped in favor of a new incentive program for those who work for the city. The incentives, Mayor Steve Adler explained, are designed to promote vaccinations and to…
City Hall • By Elizabeth Pagano • Aug 17, 2021
City Council denounces Prop A, approves ballot language revealing its cost
An upcoming proposition that would mandate police staffing could cost the city almost $600 million over the next five years. City Council is trying to drive that reality home with newly adopted ballot language. If approved by voters on Nov.…
