Jo Clifton

Over the course of the 30 years that this writer has been watching Austin city politics, there has been no Council that failed to meet together in groups of two or three at various times to discuss their opinions and goals. Though some Council members may not like one another and may therefore meet less […]

As media outlets reported Monday that Mayor Lee Leffingwell plans to submit the question of single-member districts to voters once again, this time in 2012, at least two unaffiliated groups jumped on the bandwagon.   The story, initially reported in the Austin American-Statesman, stated that Leffingwell plans to outline a proposal soon to change the […]

After hearing from numerous opponents of Water Treatment Plant 4, Council voted 4-3 late Thursday night to allow Austin Water Utility to use part of the Bull Creek Greenbelt for a permanent retrieval shaft, subterranean tunnel and staging area for a portion of the plant’s Jollyville Transmission Main.   Council Members Bill Spelman, Laura Morrison […]

Under pressure from City Manager Marc Ott over legal advice related to the release of a report on the shooting death of Nathaniel Sanders, City Attorney David Smith announced his decision to retire on Wednesday. Smith, who became City Attorney in 2003, was a litigator when he joined the Law Department in 1997.   Although […]

The criminals who caused a huge sewage spill over the Edwards Aquifer near Circle C this weekend may have had even bigger plans. In addition to prying off a manhole cover and stuffing enough debris into the 15-inch line to block flow in the sewer line, it appears that someone also took off at least […]