Josh Rosenblatt

The City Council considered a request to convert a single-family home on West Sixth Street to a restaurant at their meeting last Thursday, looking to strike a balance between the hopes of a new business venture and the needs of several longstanding business ventures situated right next door.   The restaurant in question, the Westend […]

As expected, the City Council enthusiastically approved two major economic agreements Thursday, paving the way for two 21st Century companies to locate in Austin.   The first item concerned an economic development proposal with the social-media giant Facebook. Under the terms of that proposal, Facebook will locate a sales and operations office in Austin, make […]

Policy took a back seat to procedure at Monday’s meeting of the Minority-Owned and Women-Owned Business Enterprise and Small Business Council Subcommittee, as committee members addressed a dust-up between city staff and members of the Austin Black Contractors Association in February.   In addition, a city employee (who did not wish to be identified) told […]

On Monday, March 22, Capital Metro will finally open its long-awaited, much-discussed, and oft-doubted commuter rail line, Capital MetroRail. The 32-mile Red Line, which was originally scheduled to start serving riders in March 2009, will run from Leander to downtown. Yesterday the Cap Metro Board of Directors Rail Committee met with staff to discuss issues […]

After months of heated debate and passionate stakeholder meetings with animal welfare advocates, the question about whether or not Austin/Travis County is going to be a no-kill community is finally going to the City Council.   At a special called meeting Thursday, the Council Public Health and Human Services Committee voted to recommend an implementation […]

A proposed new rehabilitation hospital in the Shoal Creek Watershed ran into enormous community resistance Tuesday night at the Zoning and Platting Commission meeting, prompting commissioners to vote against its approval.   The applicant, the Kucera Company, was requesting a conditional use permit to build the 59,048-square-foot Jefferson Street Rehabilitation Hospital on the parking area […]

It’s been a long week for the Animal Advisory Commission (AAC) and city staff, who spent last Wednesday and Friday, and much of this past weekend, trying to come to an agreement on an implementation plan to reduce animal intake and increase live animal outcomes in the city. And though the Council Health and Human […]

It was a busy week for the Animal Advisory Commission (AAC) and city staff, as they continued to hammer out the details for a plan to make Austin a “no kill” city. After two meetings last week, during which staff presented their recommendations (and their revised recommendations) for an implementation plan to the commission, the […]

The Capital Metro Board of Directors gazed into the future yesterday and voted to approve a comprehensive service improvement plan to increase bus ridership, meet regional mobility needs, manage traffic congestion, and increase cost-effectiveness over the next decade.   The implementation plan, called Service Plan 2020, will be phased in over the next 10 years. […]

Last week the Water and Wastewater Commission voted unanimously to recommend the approval of two 12-month service contracts for the survey and inventory of two endangered bird species. The companies up for contract consideration, Hicks & Company and Baer Engineering & Environmental Consulting, Inc., both in Austin, will be charged with documenting how much of […]

A business owner wanted to maximize the use of his mini-storage property, but a compromise at the Zoning and Platting Commission on his proposed expansion to a climate-controlled facility allowed its neighbors to keep their cool.   On Tuesday, members of the ZAP approved the rezoning of Uncle Bob’s 2222, a mini-warehouse lot at 10307 […]

The city is one step closer to enacting the first rate hike for taxicabs in five years. On Tuesday, the Urban Transportation Commission voted unanimously to approve a staff recommendation to raise cabs rates. They also voted to recommend that City Council direct staff to explore the possibility of a flat rate from the airport […]