Josh Rosenblatt

Last week the political season started in earnest, as Democratic organizations began passing out endorsements for City Council races. On Thursday evening, four groups — the Austin Tejano Democrats, Circle C Democrats, Capital Area Progressive Democrats, and South Austin Democrats — put aside whatever differences may exist among them and threw their unanimous support behind […]

During this week’s work session, City Council sat down with representatives from the Law Department and outside counsel to get a better sense of what they can do to improve compliance with the state’s open records laws. And with complaints, lawsuits, and open-records requests piling up, their timing couldn’t have been better.   First, on […]

Austin’s fight over fluoride has officially begun.   Yesterday, City Council’s Public Health and Human Services Committee heard a presentation from city staff on public health issues related to the chemical and its use in Austin’s drinking water supply. The briefing was followed by impassioned, at times heated, pleas from speakers convinced that health dangers […]

Nuclear Innovation North America LLC, the nuclear development company jointly owned by NRG Energy, Inc and Toshiba, announced Monday that it would be reducing the “scope of development at the South Texas Project expansion” in response to the recent nuclear disaster in Japan.   NRG representatives have been in informal talks with Austin Energy to […]

Council members will be considering only one application for historic zoning this week – the Robert and Helena Ziller House on Edgecliff Terrace – but discussions about the city’s historic zoning program have raised issues in recent weeks about the role heritage, geography, and historical circumstances should play in the historic designation process.   While […]

It used to be a chicken in every pot, but to Betsy Spencer it’s a roof over everyone’s head.   Late last year, City Manager Marc Ott announced the appointment of Spencer to be the new director of the city’s Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Office.   Spencer, who had been the office’s acting director […]

As Japanese officials struggle to contain fires and a potential core meltdown at the earthquake- and tsunami-damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, concerns about the safety of nuclear power have moved to center stage in Austin. And it’s possible that a proposal by NRG Energy to sell Austin Energy more nuclear power could be in […]

Council gave its approval Thursday to the city’s Imagine Austin Comprehensive Plan, voting unanimously to endorse its framework and forward that plan and the plan’s preferred growth scenario to working groups. When completed, the growth scenario will provide a map for where and how the city will accommodate 750,000 new residents over the next 30 […]

Debate over an East Austin home once owned by the daughter of a prominent member of the city’s early Asian community could open up a new front in the battle over the city’s historic landmark process. When Council holds a hearing on the Paulson-Sing house at today’s meeting, the issue of cultural and ethnic heritage […]

Residents of the Bouldin Creek neighborhood and other residential areas around South Congress Avenue may soon get some relief for their parking woes. At yesterday’s City Council work session, Council members indicated that they would approve an ordinance tomorrow directing the city manager to explore parking options for residential neighborhoods adjacent to the popular shopping […]

As Austin Energy prepares to raise its rates for the first time since 1994, the Electric Utility Commission is pushing to eliminate general city expenses from the utility’s 2012 budget. The biggest single expense in that category is funding for the city’s Economic Growth and Redevelopment Services Office—about $9.5 million for the current fiscal year. […]

Despite a budget shortfall of approximately $100 million and the threat of job cuts and school closures, as the Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees meets tonight they will be considering reinstating tax breaks on historic properties. The proposal is part of the preliminary FY2012 budget drawn up by District Superintendent Meria Carstarphen and […]