Josh Rosenblatt

Last night Travis County residents got their first chance to weigh in on a proposed ethanol transfer facility along Decker Lane on Capital Metro’s rail lines. At the public meeting held at Gus Garcia Middle School in East Austin, members of the community told the Cap Metro Board of Directors that they worried about possible […]

On Thursday, Council postponed consideration of an ordinance to amend the city’s historic zoning policy in order to evaluate recommendations made earlier in the week by the Heritage Society of Austin. Those recommendations, which were sent to Council members on Monday, would dramatically alter the way the city determines the competitive merit of historic zoning […]

The long road toward a new historic preservation zoning policy got a little shorter last week, when the Planning Commission threw their two cents into the discussion of proposed code amendments. Their recommendations, along with those already approved by the Historic Landmark Commission and the Planning Commission’s Codes and Ordinances Committee, will be presented to […]

Council voted last night to reject a $750,000 settlement in a federal civil rights lawsuit with the family of shooting victim Nathaniel Sanders. The vote came only after a substitute motion made by Council Member Chris Riley to settle with the family for a smaller amount than that recommended by city staff failed on a […]

Roy Rivers, the Purchasing Department officer who was convicted of mortgage fraud in 2008 and sentenced to one year of probation, has officially been reassigned to a non-financial position with the city, according to Human Resources Department Director Mark Washington. The decision came in response to a memo released two weeks ago by the city […]

As the city manager and city staff prepare to bring the final proposal for a potential $90 million transportation bond package before City Council this Thursday, some Council Members still have questions about the value and timing of the proposal’s biggest project.   The project under discussion is the boardwalk trail at Lady Bird Lake, […]

Nearly 10 months after Fred Gilliam retired as CEO and president of Capital Metro, the transit authority finally has a new leader. At its meeting yesterday the Cap Metro board of directors voted unanimously to offer the job to Linda Watson.   Watson, who is currently the head of the Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority […]

Citing a recent study by Texas RioGrande Legal Aide that found that the city’s current No Sit/No Lie Ordinance could be challenged under the Americans With Disabilities Act, advocacy group House the Homeless convinced a Council subcommittee yesterday to delay making a recommendation regarding medical exemptions to the ordinance.   Thursday’s meeting of the Health […]

Four days after the City Auditor’s office released a report detailing the risks posed by the continued employment of Roy Rivers in the Purchasing Department, questions remain as to why and how a convicted felon stayed on in the department and why, after being terminated, he was reinstated to a position that gives him continued […]

In response to a request from a City Council member, the city auditor’s office has determined that the reinstatement of a previously terminated Purchasing Office employee presents a risk to the city. That information came out Friday in the form of a memo from the auditor’s office to the members of the City Council, the […]

The city is now one big step closer to finding its next animal shelter director. Yesterday, city staff introduced the Animal Advisory Commission to the head of the recruitment firm that has been hired to find a replacement for former Town Lake Animal Shelter head Dorinda Pulliam, who was reassigned in mid-May.   The woman […]

City staff will be providing members of the 2010 Transportation Bond Citizen Task Force the final draft of the preliminary transportation bond package today. That package will be for task force members’ to consider over the weekend before voting on the recommendations at their next, and last, meeting on Monday.   The task force is […]