Austin got a step closer to citywide composting Thursday when City Council voted unanimously to approve a contract for up to five years and $3,630,000 with Organics by Josh. Currently, the composting program includes 90,000 customers, with a plan to add 53,000 more in 2019. According to the agenda backup, all remaining customers will be […]
Elizabeth Pagano
Elizabeth Pagano is the editor of the Austin Monitor.
Posted inWhispers
CoTMF think tank dives deeper
Since the launch of our new Capital of Texas Media Foundation think tank, research director Brian Kelsey has continued to turn out projects exploring the assumptions we all assert on a fairly regular basis. Kelsey has looked at questions like whether 150 people still move to Austin every day, and whether gentrification is contributing to […]
Posted inPremium Types
TipSheet: City Council, 10.3.19
Though it seems like Council is saving its strength for Friday’s release of the newest Land Development Code revision draft, there are a few items on the agenda to note, so we’ve done so below. Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison will be absent for the meeting. As always, the entire agenda can be found at the […]
Posted inPreservation
Council questions, and approves, new Old West Austin historic landmark
The last item on City Council’s most recent agenda passed without much notice, but for some Council members it spoke to ongoing issues of disparity in Austin’s preservation program. Council members voted 8-3 to designate the 1928 Italian Renaissance Revival home at 2412 Harris Blvd. a historic landmark. The bright yellow home’s historic significance was […]
Posted inWhispers
Car2Go goes
In case you missed it, Car2Go has announced that it will cease Austin operations effective Oct. 31, though its North American headquarters will remain here. The company will close up shop in Calgary, Denver and Portland at the same time, and in Chicago on Dec. 31. In a blog post about the closure, Maximilian Ehlers […]
Posted inWhispers
Cherry Springs Ranch earns conservation easement
The Hill Country Conservancy announced Thursday a new conservation easement with Spicewood’s Cherry Springs Ranch. The addition of the historic 1,038-acre ranch brings the total HCC conserved lands to more than 12,500 acres. According to a press release about the acquisition, “The land was once owned by Texas historian and folklorist J. Frank Dobie. Much […]
Posted inWhispers
ATA names new executive director
Sarah Ortiz Shields is the new executive director of Austin Tech Alliance, the local nonprofit aimed at boosting civic engagement in Austin’s tech community. Shields has been serving as director on an interim basis since November 2018, and has experience as a program manager, managing technology and startup teams at the city and in the […]
Posted inWhispers
Elisabet Ney Museum finalist for preservation grant
City leaders gathered yesterday to announce that the Elisabet Ney Museum has been named a finalist for the 2019 Partners in Preservation: Main Streets grant by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. According to a press release, “The nationwide campaign showcases the centennial of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote, by […]
Posted inPreservation
East Austin grocery’s future is sealed
Austin City Council was set to decide on the fate of a well-known east side grocery store at its most recent meeting, but instead endorsed a deal that had been struck before the meeting convened. The Tuke-Lyon grocery, at 220 Comal St., has been in operation since the early 1920s, when it was built by […]
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TipSheet: City Council, 9.19.19
Today’s City Council meeting is its regular meeting, following a Wednesday special called meeting dedicated solely to issues around homelessness. That special meeting will continue Friday, but it won’t be part of today’s meeting. Below is a sampling of items from today’s meeting – to be specific, the items we think may be the most […]
Posted inWhispers
AISD to hold school closure meetings
Last week, the Austin Independent School District announced that 12 schools could be closed. Now the school district is soliciting feedback from Austinites in a series of public meetings. Residents are invited to discuss plans at campus-specific meetings, district-wide meetings, or by participating online via this portal. Public meetings will take place through Oct. 10. […]
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Ellis and Flannigan weigh in on homelessness ordinances
On Monday, Council members Jimmy Flannigan and Paige Ellis weighed in on recent city statute changes and subsequent vocal discontent in a post on the City Council Message Board. The post, which was penned by Flannigan, reiterates support for Council’s June action, which lifted existing ordinances that served to criminalize homelessness. “We both recognize that […]