Jacob Cottingham

The saga of Shady Grove, the restaurant and sometimes acoustic music venue, seems to have been resolved with a variance granted by the Board of Adjustment on Monday. By allowing the establishment the necessary offsite parking, Shady Grove can now change their designation from a restaurant to a cocktail lounge, enabling them to raise the […]

Council members heard the latest budget presentations Wednesday from the emergency services departments, yielding few surprises from representatives from the Austin Police Department, Fire Department and EMS. Each made a case for their achievements in the last year, the budget cuts they would undertake and what challenges lay ahead.   Perhaps the most intriguing information […]

A parade of citizens spoke at Travis County Commissioners Court on Tuesday in defense of Alicia Perez, an executive manager with the county. Last week in a little-publicized evening motion, the commissioners voted to place Perez and Linda Moore Smith, Director of Human Resources, on a two-week paid administrative leave. When the administrative leave ends […]

Due to the severity of the drought, the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District has formally proposed a series of rules changes that would establish a new tier of responses to extreme drought. The new emergency responses, if enacted, would restrict pumping to public water supply systems.   Currently the district has three levels of […]

In a close vote, a divided Balcones Canyonlands Conservation Plan Citizens Advisory Committee has approved a measure to maintain the current pricing structure on Participation Certificates, which provide financial mitigation for land development in predetermined “habitat zones.” The vote was 5-4.   Travis County administers the voluntary program, which amounts to a streamlined process allowing […]

Travis County Commissioners will consider a measure this week that, thanks to the Texas Legislature, could cut their weekly workload by a considerable amount. A change in state law expands the cost of purchases county staff can authorize that don’t require an approval by commissioners.   Last week, County Purchasing Agent Cyd Grimes briefed commissioners […]

Travis County Commissioners have declined to pursue an official challenge to the way the county’s Central Appraisal District calculates the value of commercial properties, but said they plan to keep an eye on the situation.   Brian Rodgers of Change Austin and Travis Central Appraisal District Chief Appraiser Patrick Brown were both in front of […]

A presentation to the Parks and Recreation / Environmental Boards Joint Committee on Monday covered a draft plan for maintenance of nearly 200 trees in Zilker Park at a potential first year cost of $424,500. The board also voted for two more of the Barton Springs Pool trees to be removed, bringing the total, final […]

On Tuesday, the Travis County Commissioners Court effectively voted to immediately enact a voluntary hiring freeze for non-essential county jobs. All elected and appointed officials were asked to freeze all unfilled positions and evaluate which positions were non-essential. According to Sam Biscoe, “non-essential means, basically, you can do without the position and still meet your […]

The University of Texas Board of Regents were presented with two plans for the Brackenridge Tract along Lady Bird Lake, both of which would close the Lions Municipal Golf Course, known as “Muny.” The historic 18-hole course has a lease until 2019, so wouldn’t be closed before then. West Austin neighborhood residents have formed the […]

City Council voted 6-0 Thursday to reauthorize the lease of 20 acres at the Mueller development to the Austin Film Society for 30 more years. Council Member Randi Shade amended the resolution to provide enhanced oversight of any subleasing deals that AFS may enact. The property houses Austin Studios and has been managed by AFS […]

A press release from Pct. 2 Commissioner Jeff Barton’s office has led to a verbal shooting match between the commissioner and County Judge Liz Sumter and has Hays political watchers eying a potential Democratic primary showdown between the two in March 2010.   The origin of the press release, issued June 9, is a CAMPO […]