Stories by Hunter Simmons

Animal Services Office releases strategic plan draft

The city’s Animal Services Office released a draft of its 2025-2030 strategic plan on Jan. 8. Enumerated in the draft is the office’s vision “to provide services and resources that allow people and animals to thrive in the city of…

City Hall • By Hunter Simmons • Jan 16, 2025

Austin Resource Recovery gets ready for the new year

Austin Resource Recovery plans to collect a total of 260,375 tons of waste from curbside and drop-off center operations during Fiscal Year 2025, with an estimated 40 percent of curbside collected materials to be diverted from landfills, according to a…

Resources • By Hunter Simmons • Jan 13, 2025

Vela reflects on his first term and looks to the future

Chito Vela is about to complete his first term as District 4’s City Council member. Vela was re-elected in November for a second term, running on the issues of housing, transit and public safety. While reflecting on his first term, the…

City Council • By Hunter Simmons • Dec 26, 2024

Scooter update finds fewer riders and less clutter

Transportation and Public Works has a six-month update on changes to the Micromobility Program, which regulates scooter rentals in the city, reporting positive results stemming from changes that were implemented in May 2024. A cap was set on new micromobility…

Transportation • By Hunter Simmons • Dec 18, 2024

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Critical volunteer hours for the Austin Animal Center are not being tallied

According to the Austin Animal Center website, there are about 100,000 free-roaming cats in Austin. That number is a conservative estimate, noting that cats can be impregnated as young as 5 months old and have one to three litters a…

Austin • By Hunter Simmons • Dec 13, 2024

Austin drinking water testing shows 'forever chemical' levels safer than EPA standards

Austin Water has reported that the city’s public drinking water contains little to no traces of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly called “forever chemicals” because of their persistence. The Water and Wastewater Commission received a briefing from water quality…

Environment • By Hunter Simmons • Dec 6, 2024

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Mobility Committee hears public concern regarding expansion of MoPac

The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA) has proposed multiple plans to alleviate traffic along the 8-mile stretch of MoPac Expressway South from Cesar Chavez Street to Slaughter Lane. This decadelong project is nearing the end of the development process…

Roads • By Hunter Simmons • Nov 18, 2024

Tree ordinances continue to take root in Austin

Since 2020, Austin’s tree regulations and protections have preserved a total of 1,397,678 inches of trees within city limits. Thus far in Fiscal Year 2025, 4,670 inches of trees have been surveyed and 4,250 inches have been preserved, with 91…

Environment • By Hunter Simmons • Nov 14, 2024

Austin Watershed Protection Department proposes code updates to further protect the Colorado River

The Austin Watershed Protection Department held a public meeting on Monday, Oct. 28, at the Montopolis Recreation and Community Center to discuss proposed code updates regarding the Colorado River. In 2022, City Council passed a resolution directing the city manager…

Land Development Code • By Hunter Simmons • Nov 4, 2024

EPA's Low Embodied Carbon Construction Materials Program funds research at UT-Austin

The Joint Sustainability Committee heard a presentation on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Low Embodied Carbon Construction Materials Program at its most recent meeting on Oct. 23. The briefing was an opportunity for committee members to learn about the program, which…

Environment • By Hunter Simmons • Oct 29, 2024

Austin Habitat for Humanity to build affordable homes for 'community of tomorrow'

Habitat for Humanity International announced on Oct. 15 that Austin Habitat for Humanity will host the 2025 Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project, an annual, weeklong home-building blitz that attracts thousands of handy volunteers. Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, last…

Housing • By Hunter Simmons • Oct 21, 2024

Board of Adjustment approves variances in the interest of health and safety

The Board of Adjustment heard a presentation on Tuesday from David Webber, of the Webber + Studio architectural design firm, who requested two variances for increased impervious coverage and floor area ratio at a property in Old West Austin. The…

Land Development Code • By Hunter Simmons • Oct 17, 2024