Austin Energy is working with a variety of community representatives to inform new power generation goals targeting 2035. The city adopted its 2030 plan about five years ago but a number of factors have changed, including increases in peak demand. The utility is still committed to being carbon-free by 2035 and will leverage the work […]
Jo Clifton
Jo Clifton is the Politics Editor for the Austin Monitor.
Posted inElections
City candidates’ financial filings are in for the latest fundraising period
Monday was the deadline to file campaign finance reports for members of City Council and other candidates in the November election. No one was surprised last week when the Austin Monitor reported that Mayor Kirk Watson had raised more than $710,000 between mid-April and June 30, probably more than his opponents are likely to raise […]
Posted inEnergy
Commission resolution aims to slow down sale of district chilling system
City Council is scheduled to consider hiring J.P. Morgan Securities LLC to advise on the potential sale of Austin Energy’s district cooling system, but not everyone thinks that is a good idea. The Resource Management Commission will likely ask Council to postpone evaluation of the sale of the chilling system at its meeting next Tuesday, […]
Posted inElections
Mayor reports big campaign fundraising numbers, but his challengers push on
Monday is the deadline for all City Council candidates to turn in their campaign finance reports for the period that ended on June 30. Politics watchers expect Mayor Kirk Watson to raise far more than his opponents as he has in the past. So it was not surprising when he announced Tuesday that his reelection […]
Posted inWhispers
City relocates 63 people from encampments across Austin
The city of Austin has reported closing four encampments throughout the city and “welcomed 63 unhoused residents to the Northbridge and Southbridge shelters as part of the Housing-Focused Encampment Assistance Link (HEAL) Initiative.” Neighbors along the Barton Creek Greenbelt in particular had been clamoring for weeks for the city to clean up that encampment that […]
Posted inWhispers
Texas cities show slight dip in sales tax but are still up for the year
The monthly sales tax report from Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar showed major cities throughout the state generally getting a little less in sales tax revenues this month, with an overall dip of 0.3 percent. Austin’s revenues were down just 0.05 percent compared to the same payment last year, but were up about 3 percent for […]
Posted inEnergy
City to consider selling its district cooling system
City Manager T.C. Broadnax has notified City Council that staff will be seeking approval during the July 18 meeting to hire J.P. Morgan Securities LLC to provide “strategic advice about the potential sale of Austin Energy’s district cooling system.” The system provides chilled water to help air conditioners efficiently cool large buildings occupied by thousands […]
Posted inWhispers
Texas NAACP President Gary Bledsoe may join crowded District 7 candidate field
With City Council Member Leslie Pool retiring, five candidates are lined up for the District 7 seat. However, a sixth candidate may be jumping into the race very soon. Attorney Gary Bledsoe, aptly described by The Austin Bulldog as “a towering figure in civil rights,” confirmed Thursday that he is strongly considering the race. If […]
Posted inWhispers
District 10 race has only two candidates so far
Currently, there are only two candidates running for the District 10 seat on City Council, currently occupied by Council Member Alison Alter, who is retiring at the end of this year. They are Ashika Ganguly and Marc Duchen. Ganguly’s campaign website identifies her as the former legislative director for Rep. John Bucy, a Williamson County […]
Posted inWhispers
PARD makes neighbors happy with greenbelt cleanup
People who live above the Barton Creek greenbelt have been complaining for a while about a specific encampment in the greenbelt. They were particularly worried about the possibility of a wildfire since the encampment had a grill. This week, the Parks and Recreation Department moved in to clean up the site. Neighbors on the Barton […]
Posted inWhispers
EMS union jumps on the Watson bandwagon
Selena Xie, president of the Austin EMS Association, announced Tuesday that the union has endorsed Mayor Kirk Watson for reelection. The announcement came from the Watson campaign, which included a statement from Xie that said, “While most people know us for responding to life and death situations, EMS personnel are also on the front lines […]
Posted inRoads
Traffic headaches to get worse before they get better
The city’s Capital Delivery Services Division is getting ready to start two major construction projects that are designed to make it easier to get around in South Austin and Southeast Austin. But there will be considerable disruption of traffic while they work on the two projects. The first project is construction of the new wishbone […]