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Stories by Lina Fisher

Central Health audit raises more questions than answers

On Tuesday, Sept. 10, the Travis County Commissioners Court received a troubling and confusing report on an audit it authorized in 2022 of the county’s health care district, Central Health. Audit consultant Mazars found that Central Health has committed no…

EMS station renovations improve conditions for an industry with a high attrition rate

Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services has been seeing staffing shortages since the pandemic, due to a combination of low pay, difficult working conditions and recruitment from other health care sectors. The vacancy rate has been improving – in July 2022…

Barton Springs closed for weeks due to major leaks

Austinites looking forward to an end-of-summer celebratory Barton Springs dip this Labor Day weekend were disappointed, thanks to a safety hazard caused by two major leaks that has led to a weekslong indefinite closure of the pool. The pool has…

front of City Hall

City Council condemns anti-immigrant Senate Bill 4

Last year, the Texas Legislature passed one of its most extreme anti-immigrant laws yet: Senate Bill 4, which gives law enforcement the ability to arrest and hold people suspected of having entered Texas illegally. As the law’s enforcement still hangs…

County to fully staff lawyers at bail hearings beginning Oct. 1

Justice advocates have been calling for Travis County to instate Counsel at First Appearance (CAFA) – an integral part of the justice system that ensures everyone access to a lawyer at their initial bail hearing – for years. In the…

Austin and Travis County's first Food Plan nears its finish line

Texas has the second-highest rate of food insecurity in the country, and Austin’s numbers aren’t much better: 158,270 Travis County residents, or 16 percent, are food insecure. Not being able to pay for food is a symptom of larger failures…

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Vision Zero’s improvements to protected left turns cut traffic injuries and fatalities in half

In May, the city’s Transportation and Public Works Department and Vision Zero program announced that its Barton Springs Road safety pilot program – which reduced the road to one lane in each direction between Azie Morton Road and South Lamar…

Travis County wrestles with equity in last phase of its hybrid work pilot

At its meeting Tuesday, Aug. 6, the Travis County Commissioners Court heard an update on one of its most successful initiatives of the last few years: the countywide teleworking policy. After the pandemic forced workers home, Travis County won a…

Austin Energy makes a case against giving more to the city’s General Fund

During a budget work session on July 30, Austin Energy made a case for not transferring an extra $4 million to the city’s General Fund, which goes toward basic city services like parks, fire, police and EMS. The city’s ratepayer-owned…

Major gas bill hike to be contested by city this fall

You might have a much higher gas bill next year, pending an upcoming decision this fall by the Texas Railroad Commission, which oversees the state’s oil and gas industry. Texas Gas Service proposed a rate hike this year that could…

Regional EPA grant will go toward mitigating I-35 construction traffic and pollution

On Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency awarded a $47.9 million grant to a coalition of transportation organizations in the Austin region that could go toward mitigating the worst environmental effects of Interstate 35’s inevitable expansion. The city of Austin will…

Balancing conflicting public interests, Watershed Protection aims to promote native aquatic vegetation

Austin’s reservoirs do a lot of double duty. They’re known both as top-tier recreation spots for Central Texans and our source of dwindling drinking water. Subject to invasive species, drought and big rainfall events that bring in pollutants, they’re still…

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