Jacob Cottingham

Travis County Commissioners declined Tuesday to support a bill by Rep. Dawnna Dukes that would give Webberville veto power over landfill permits on nearby land owned by the city of Austin. Pct. 1 Commissioner Ron Davis made a motion to support the bill, but only Pct. 3 Commissioner Karen Huber joined him, and the motion […]

We’ve heard a lot about the 30 trees that will be removed from Barton Springs. It turns out that the number might actually be much lower than that. But it can be difficult to really get a handle on how many trees are actually slated for removal.   Austin‘s Urban Forestry Program Manager Walter Passmore […]

The Travis House, a 1946-era multi-family house on Guadalupe Street, was preserved for the time being by a unanimous ruling from the Historic Landmark Commission on Monday. The three-story brick building has been abandoned for several years and has been a magnet for drug use, homeless itinerants and sporadic arson attempts. Despite these issues, the […]

The Parks and Recreation Board Tuesday night again discussed the 22 trees recommended for removal at Barton Springs Pool. A recent report by a consultant noted that a number of trees in the pool area and surrounding park were dead or near dead and should be cut down.   However, members of a standing-room-only crowd […]

A group of Texas water conservation officials dealing with a serious drought got a look at how California officials have been dealing with their drought at a meeting sponsored by the Environmental Defense Fund and the Sierra Club recently.   Some of the region’s most water-conscious professionals attended a day-long conference on water management gathered […]

Seeing an opportunity to perhaps save money and help its citizens, the City Council Public Health and Human Services Subcommittee members appear  open to partnering with House Call Doctors, an Austin company that provides mobile non-emergency medical services to homebound patients.   On Tuesday, Julia Jung, COO of the company, told Council Members Lee Leffingwell, […]

Perhaps what mayoral forums need is more Hustle. What could have been a record crowd for this campaign season packed into the Mohawk bar to watch a forum like no other last night. This forum did not feature any fringe candidates and allowed frontrunners Lee Leffingwell and Brewster McCracken to show off a little personality […]

A full and occasionally outspoken-to-the-point-of-rudeness house packed the Mexican American Cultural Center on Monday night to weigh in on a recently announced presentation to the subcommittees of the Environmental Board and the Parks and Recreation Board regarding the removal of 30 trees around Barton Springs.    The meeting began with someone shouting out, “Are you […]

Hays County Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved an outline resolution that could bar some companies from working with the county for up to five years. The motion, introduced by Pct. 2 Commissioner Jeff Barton, comes on the heels of their decision to end negotiations with KBR for a services and engineering contract. The former Halliburton […]

A surprisingly large crowd of government wary, anti-tax activists filled the plaza in front of City Hall on Wednesday for Austin’s version of the nationwide Tea Parties. The assembled mass hoisted signs that ranged from the “Stop Obama’s Socialism,” to “I Can Stimulate Myself, Thanks.”   The protest took aim at proposed tax increases on […]

On Tuesday Travis County Commissioners learned that county employees had racked up $6,239.32 in toll road fees and fines — with the majority of that money, $5,300, made up of fines for not paying on time. The drivers should have paid the fines at the time, but since the county owns the cars, the county […]

At Monday night’s Austin Music Commission meeting, Chair Brad Stein and Vice Chair Randy Houston had some strong words for the Austin American Statesman, saying the paper had “blown out of proportion” an alleged conflict over public funds between the arts and music communities, and said that the paper unfairly insinuated that the reason the […]