Austin lacks a single coordinator to oversee all of its activities and expenditures relating to the homeless to make sure that they are operating efficiently, according to an audit released by the Office of the City Auditor on Monday. In addition, the city needs to coordinate with outside groups, such as the Ending Community Homelessness […]
Jo Clifton
Jo Clifton is the Politics Editor for the Austin Monitor.
Posted inWhispers
Fath explains the secret of public service
Friends and admirers gathered in the foyer of Austin Energy’s Shudde Fath Assembly Room last night to honor the recently retired longest-serving member, ever, of the Electric Utility Commission, Shudde Fath. Fath, who will turn 102 in January, retired after 40 years on the EUC in November because it had become physically difficult for her […]
Posted inWhispers
Adler family welcomes first grandchild
Mayor Steve Adler and his wife, Diane Land, were thrilled to visit their older daughter, Karen, in Brooklyn this weekend, and welcome to the family their first grandchild. Her name is Remy Short. Adler said she weighed in at 8 pounds at birth, last Thursday. “It just really reaffirms what’s important and it’s still amazing […]
Posted inWhispers
Frasier ethics hearing postponed
The Ethics Review Commission hearing to determine whether former police monitor Margo Frasier violated city ordinances or policies by using her city time and computer for activity related to her private consulting business has been postponed to March. A notice on the city’s website simply says the meeting, which had been scheduled for Tuesday night, […]
Posted inWhispers
Council OKs Visit Austin marketing plan
On Thursday, City Council finally approved the somewhat slimmed-down version of the marketing plan for Visit Austin, formerly known as the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau. Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo objected to language in the plan because of its numerous references to reductions in the budget. Those reductions were the subject of several serious […]
Posted inEnvironment
City to continue protest of Dripping Springs permit
The city will continue its protest of a proposed permit that would allow Dripping Springs to discharge up to 995,000 gallons of treated wastewater per day to the Onion Creek watershed. City staff put a proposed settlement agreement on Thursday’s agenda, but Council declined to even consider it. The permit is pending at the Texas […]
Posted inCity Hall
Threadgill’s fighting for airport contract
A battle is brewing over airport restaurant concession contracts, and Threadgill’s is in the middle of the fight. Also in the middle of a contract fight is the local massage concession known as Knot Anymore, which has provided massage services at the airport for 15 years. Those contracts will take center stage at today’s meeting, […]
Posted inWhispers
Troxclair expecting second baby
District 8 Council Member Ellen Troxclair has had a happy secret for several months, but now it has become impossible to hide and she said the Austin Monitor could let everyone in on the news. Troxclair and her husband, Caleb, are expecting their second child in early April. Their first child, Juliette, came along in […]
Posted inCity Council
Changes proposed for Chapter 380 agreements
During Tuesday’s City Council work session, David Colligan, the manager of global business expansion in the Economic Development Department, and economist Jon Hockenyos presented an outline of their plans to revamp the city’s incentive policy for recruiting businesses under the state law known as Chapter 380. The biggest changes – as dictated by a Council resolution […]
Posted inWhispers
Weis abruptly exits Seattle utility job
Former Austin Energy General Manager Larry Weis, who left Austin to take over as CEO and general manager of Seattle City Light, has left his job less than two years after taking the reins. According to the Seattle Times, Mayor Jenny Durkan, who took office on Nov. 28, said Monday that she and Weis had […]
Posted inWhispers
Few Austin voters approve of Trump, poll shows
The Austin Police Association has shared with the Austin Monitor preliminary results from a poll done by Littlefield Consulting to determine attitudes toward the proposed contract with the city. Overall, the organization is happy with the results, according to APA President Ken Casaday. In addition to numerous questions about the police and their salaries, those […]
Posted inWhispers
Everhart leaving mayor’s office for ABoR
Amy Everhart, currently the director of public affairs for Mayor Steve Adler, will be joining the Austin Board of Realtors in January in a newly created position, which will coincidentally be called “director of public affairs.” Everhart said she will be managing both communications and government affairs employees in her new position. She said she […]