Kimberly Reeves

The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority has picked JPMorgan to provide gap financing for the build-out of five toll projects still on the table for construction. At ultimate build-out, the CTRMA is predicting a funding gap as big as $1.5 billion, even after the agency taps into bonds and federal TIFIA (Transportation Infrastructure Finance and […]

County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir said she has no problem looking into the allegations raised about Hart Intercivic eSlate machines in a recent whistleblower’s lawsuit brought to the commissioners’ attention Tuesday morning by the group Vote Rescue. Not everyone may want to go as far as Vote Rescue would propose — designate the District Attorney to […]

The presentation of the Interstate 35 underpass upgrade project – delayed once by arguments over jurisdiction and a second time by potential conflicts of interest – finally made its way onto the Design Commission agenda on Monday.   This is the same project that was presented to the community a year ago and discussed as […]

By the time Council got to the Lamar Boulevard/Justin Lane Transit-Oriented Development Station Area Plan at last week’s Council meeting – the third to make it to the dais so far – the core issues raised by Council appeared to be well defined. Council members agree on the basics: 25 percent affordable housing; a commitment […]

Efforts by the federal government to address the nation’s crumbling infrastructure are not likely to benefit Texas very much, according to officials with the Texas Department of Transportation. Congress is close to setting aside $60 billion for a one-time national infrastructure bank, but TxDOT says very little of it will land in the Lone Star […]

The ongoing fight between Travis County’s Facilities Management Department and its Planning and Budget Office over who would be the better leader on a new county complex can only be described as a turf war.  County commissioners spent an excruciating couple of hours on Tuesday afternoon hearing arguments from both departments – and the civil […]

By the time ROMA Design officially outlined a proposal Tuesday night for a 16-mile light rail system connecting ABIA to downtown to the Mueller Redevelopment, it was already a major story in the media with a major question attached to it: How is Austin going to pay for it? It also means that Capital Metro’s […]

Austin Independent School District trustees approved final plans for the potential closure of Johnston High School this summer – a contingency plan required by the Texas Education Agency – and only one person showed up at Monday night’s work session to raise concerns about the beleaguered high school.   In a letter to Superintendent Pat […]

It may not have been the most informative Council candidate debate to date, but it certainly was one of the more entertaining ones this campaign season.   From Jennifer Gale’s inspired audience-led rendition of “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” to Council Member Lee Leffingwell’s zinger as to opponent Jason Meeker’s lack of a vote in […]

An administrative law judge in the State Office of Administrative Hearings granted party status to all who sought it in Waste Management Texas’ expansion permit proceedings before the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.   Those now given party status include the Northeast Action Group, Harris Branch Homeowners Association, City of Austin, Travis County and Texas […]

If you polled the crowd at last night’s Codes and Ordinances subcommittee of the Planning Commission, Austin’s two billboards companies appeared to rank fairly low on the audience’s popularity index.   Last week, the Planning Commission refused to hold a public hearing to consider changes to the sign ordinance, citing the need to consider the […]

Four subcommittees of the Live Music Task Force, on a timeline to present recommendations for short- and long-term action to Council by October, have begun a series of meetings.   Last night was a basic meat-and-potatoes update on the task force’s subcommittee work, which has begun in the last month. The subcommittees are divided into […]