Elizabeth Pagano

Following a lengthy executive session on Tuesday night, the Board of Adjustment voted in favor of plans for a Hyde Park duplex despite neighborhood opposition.   The board agreed with a Planning and Development Review Department determination that the North Hyde Park Neighborhood Conservation Combining District (NCCD) permits putting two driveways and a carport in […]

Interested citizens gathered last Thursday to hear the latest recommendations for the East Riverside Corridor Regulating Plan, which aims to transform the corridor into a walkable, diverse, and vibrant area over the next 20 years.   City Council adopted the ERC Master Plan in February 2010, following more than a year and a half of […]

As requests for Council members’ public records continue to pile up and County Attorney David Escamilla pursues his inquiry into possible violations of the Open Meetings Act, Council members began to publicly examine their legal options at yesterday’s work session.   Earlier this year, activist Brian Rodgers alleged that City Council had violated the Open […]

With the massive project prepared to move into its next phase this week, City Council heard more about the Imagine Austin Comprehensive Plan.   On Thursday, Council is set to vote to endorse the plan framework and preferred scenario to begin the process of refining them into the comprehensive plan. If all goes according to […]

Heeding warnings that they could end up causing more harm than good, the Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees shied away from an action last night that would have awarded teachers a $10,000 dollar lump sum for voluntarily leaving their positions. Other school districts, such as Dallas ISD, have successfully implemented such programs. However, […]

Late-night free parking in downtown Austin became a thing of the past Thursday, as the Council voted in favor of major parking changes for the downtown area.   On a 6-1 vote, new parking regulations were approved that extended downtown parking hours until midnight, and expanded the affected area south to the Lady Bird Lake […]

City Council prepared to vote on extended paid parking hours for the downtown area with a debate at yesterday’s work session that is expected to continue today.   Council will vote on a proposal to expand downtown parking meter hours until midnight and to include Saturdays in the area between Cesar Chavez and 10th streets […]

Threatened with closure in June, Casa de Luz still has not solved its parking problems.   Time is running out on a court-ordered deferral requiring the restaurant’s owners to submit an off-site parking site plan by the end of the day on Tuesday. Casa de Luz, which is located in South Austin near Town Lake […]

The Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District is questioning the intent of two bills coming before the Texas Legislature that it believes could make groundwater conservation districts, or GCDs, vulnerable to frivolous lawsuits.   The aquifer district’s board passed a resolution last week enumerating its concerns about potential unintended consequences that could arise if the […]

In the conclusion of what President Mark Williams termed an “unbelievably difficult night and evening,” Austin Independent School District Board Trustees voted 7-2, with Trustees Annette LoVoi and Tamala Barksdale voting against, to declare financial exigency. The declaration will allow for the school district to remain legally protected as they slash a currently proposed 1,153 […]

It was an opinionated crowd that showed up at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center Wednesday evening for a city-hosted open house to address the fallout from the rapid development of the Rainey Street neighborhood. The neighborhood was rezoned to Central Business District in 2005 and has been growing ever since.   City […]

In the midst of crisis, Southwest Key sees an opportunity. Yesterday, the non-profit delivered a formal proposal requesting the lease of Eastside Memorial High to East Austin Prep Academy at the rate of $1 per year for the next 99 years, a move they claim could save the Austin Independent School District $80 to $100 […]