Jacob Cottingham

Hays County Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously voted to rescind contract negotiations with KBR, the military and oil services contractor. The company had been hired to design parts of FM 110 loop last month, but citizens had complained about allegations surrounding the work KBR had done in Iraq. S&B Infrastructure was awarded the contract.   Pct. […]

Saturday’s “Urban is Core – Austin Super Forum,” at St. David’s Episcopal Church focused on planning issues critical to Austin’s downtown residents and business. Three discussion groups convened, featuring mayoral candidates, Place 1 candidates, and the early morning session that featured a grab bag of other candidates. Place 2 incumbent Mike Martinez had the floor […]

One of Austin’s newest political groups, ChangeAustin.org, endorsed Carole Strayhorn for Mayor, Perla Cavazos for Place 1, Sam Osemene for Place 6 and incumbent Mike Martinez for Place 2 at a press conference in South Austin on Thursday. The group also endorsed Bill Spelman, who is running unopposed for Place 5.   ChangeAustin’s Brian Rodgers […]

At Thursday night’s board meeting of the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District, directors unanimously approved the creation of a Policy Advisory Committee to help develop the district’s plan for an “emergency response period” should the region’s drought worsen.   Discussion Thursday night mapped out the organizational structure of the committee but left some environmental […]

With the nation in deep economic decline, candidates for mayor and city council discussed ways to grow Austin’s economy at the North Austin Civic Association forum this week.   Mayoral candidate Lee Leffingwell told the crowd that the city should primarily be focused on creating jobs from the “ground up,” and not waste resources trying […]

Travis County Commissioners reluctantly approved a revised preliminary plan and final platting for a small portion of the controversial RGK subdivision on Tuesday. The commissioners had no choice to approve the subdivision, which was grandfathered in under older, less strenuous water quality laws.   Commissioners had tried to negotiate with the developers of the project, […]

Popular neighborhood sports bar Buckets Deli got what they wanted by default at the City Council meeting Thursday — the decision on their zoning case was delayed because Council Member Brewster McCracken was not present to vote.   Buckets Deli’s owners are facing charges that they violated their current zoning as a restaurant, because they […]

On Tuesday, Travis County Commissioners moved forward with their Central Campus Study, a project that will ultimately decide where county government will be located for the next 25 years. The county is looking at expanding over two blocks of county land south and east of the current Heman Marion Sweatt Courthouse.   The RFQ was […]

Travis County Commissioners last week heard three hours of presentations on how county pumps were drying up wells on Tecolote Farm, one of the region’s most popular and successful organic farms, and what the county could do to remedy the situation.   Commissioners called the special work session specifically to address the farm’s declining water […]

On Thursday City Council took action to clean up a confusing element of the city’s sound ordinance, paving the way for a more comprehensive and efficient approach to regulating live entertainment in the Live Music Capital of the World. In a 6-0 vote, with Mayor Will Wynn off the dais, Council members voted to incorporate […]

Inappropriate comments about tacos and tamales may have torpedoed the Walnut Creek Neighborhood Association’s attempt to block a zoning change at City Council last night. Tex-Tar Waterproofing owner Richard Johnson was seeking a zoning change from a neighborhood commercial district (LR) to general commercial services with a conditional overlay (CS-CO). Wayne Tobias spoke on behalf […]

Travis County commissioners Tuesday accelerated a $450,000 budget item for the Health and Human Services department to be applied to existing programs rather than a request for services process planned for August. The change in plans comes as the county sees a significant increase in the number of citizens applying for social services.   HHS […]