Josh Rosenblatt

The city’s taxi drivers are working for well below the minimum wage and for a lot more than 40 hours a week, according to a report by the Legal Assistance to Microenterprises Project, or LAMP. The report, titled Driving Austin, Driving Injustice, paints a picture of the working life of an average Austin cab driver […]

As the city prepares to start the second part of its Imagine Austin Comprehensive Plan Community Forum Series, issues stemming from part one were presented Monday at a meeting of the Council’s Comprehensive Planning and Transportation Committee.   At the Comprehensive Plan Community Forums, citizens get an opportunity to voice their opinions about Austin’s challenges, […]

City Hall connected with the State Legislature on Tuesday when Austin State Rep. Mark Strama stopped by the City Council’s Emerging Technology and Telecommunications Committee meeting to give a presentation called “Challenges and Opportunities for Emerging Technology in Texas.”   Strama, the Democratic representative from District 50, visited the committee in his capacity as chair […]

It was a fiery Raul Alvarez who took the stage at the Travis County Democratic Primary Candidates’ Forum on Thursday to make his case for being the next Travis County Commissioner in Precinct 4. For his troubles he earned a near-sweep of the evening’s available endorsements over his opponent, incumbent Margaret Gomez.    Alvarez, a […]

The sign outside the Terrace Bar at the Stephen F. Austin Hotel said it was a “New Year, New Board, New Day.” Inside the bar, the eight members of the newly reconstituted Capital Metro Board of Directors took the stage last Wednesday to explain to the crowd of 50 how they plan to make this […]

Bill White, the former mayor of Houston and the current frontrunner in the Democratic primary race for governor, didn’t show up last night at the Travis County Democratic Primary Candidate’s Forum, but that didn’t stop several of his more colorful opponents – including Houston businessman Farouk Shami – from getting onstage and making a pitch […]

Of the four candidates running in the Democratic primary race for judge of the 299th District Court, only two came away with endorsements last night at the Travis County Democratic Primary Candidates’ Forum.   The big winner was Karen Sage, an assistant district attorney in Travis County, who won outright the endorsements of six local […]

Monday was a busy day for the brand-new Capital Metro Board of Directors, whose first meeting of the year was filled with elections, appointments, and the hopeful news that the long-awaited MetroRail train line may be a mere two months away from being operational.   The meeting began with board members voting in a new […]

At Tuesday’s meeting of the Council Health and Human Services Committee, Austin moved one step closer to becoming a “no-kill city,” but for many in attendance, and at least one subcommittee member, the transition isn’t coming fast enough.   Last November, following a meeting sponsored by the Health and Human Services Department to establish consensus […]

Companies getting assistance from the City’s Small and Minority Business Resources Department (SMBR) are facing stricter compliance penalties this year. Gone away is the warning letter; here to stay is six months’ probation.   The SMBR assists minority-owned and women-owned business enterprises (MBE/WBEs) in securing contracts with the City of Austin in the areas of […]

With the year coming to a close, and homeowners in the city racing in unprecedented numbers to take advantage of tax abatements that come with historic zoning status, City Council yesterday voted to approve the rezoning of 24 properties with the understanding that city staff will provide recommendations in the future for possibly revising city […]

The hot-button issue of historic preservation took center stage at yesterday’s Council meeting, with 25 proposals for historic designation being put on hold so members and city staff could reassess the process by which a home becomes a historic landmark and re-evaluate who, exactly, is allowed to take part in that process.   Each year, […]