Austin native and community advocate Paul Saldaña has announced he will file today to run for the District 6 seat on the Austin Independent School District board. Saldaña has more than 20 years of experience in civic and governmental affairs. He has served on the board of directors for the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of […]
Mark Richardson
Mark Richardson is a multimedia journalist, editor and writer who has worked in digital, print and broadcast media for three decades. He is a nationally recognized editor and reporter who has covered government, politics and the environment. A journalism graduate from the University of Texas at Austin, he was recently awarded a Foundation for Investigative Journalism grant and has three Associated Press Managing Editors awards for excellence in reporting.
Monday is final day to get on Council ballot
The end of business Monday is the deadline for City Council candidates to file paperwork to get their name on the November ballot. Forms must be filed in the City Clerk’s office at City Hall by 5 p.m. to reserve a place on the ballot for mayor or one of the 10 Council District seats. […]
Barton Springs Aquifer board declares drought
Not necessarily by popular demand, but the drought is back at the Barton Springs segment of the Edwards Aquifer. The aquifer board voted Thursday night to call a Stage II drought alert for the aquifer, which after heavy winter and spring rains had been at normal (Stage I) until late June. The aquifer’s two drought […]
Sheriff’s groups say deputies need pay raise
Brett Spicer of the Travis County Sheriff’s Law Enforcement Association and James Hodge of the Travis County Sheriff’s Officers Association told Travis County Commissioners Wednesday they need a pay raise for the department’s least experienced officers. They explained how much more the Austin Police Department pays its officers than Travis County does and concluded by […]
Counties push legislature to increase health care funding
The six major Texas urban counties, including Travis, are pushing for increased funding and access to health care coverage for low-income earners during the interim. County judges from Bexar, Dallas, El Paso, Harris, Tarrant and Travis sent the state’s Health and Human Services Committee a letter detailing the fiscal burden indigent health care places on […]
Kyle city manager takes top job in Converse
Kyle City Manager Lanny Lambert has accepted a job as city manager of Converse, a small city just outside of San Antonio. The job will be a move home for Lambert, who has maintained his residence in another San Antonio suburb, Helotes, since Kyle hired him in December 2010. Lambert said he began looking for […]
Water levels in Central, South Texas aquifers dropping
You’d think with all the rain and storms lately, the drought would be a thing of the past. But that is not the case. Tuesday, the Edwards Aquifer Authority in San Antonio voted to impose Stage IV restrictions on pumping, saying the aquifer’s water level has fallen below the critical threshold of 630 feet above […]
Last week to submit a ballot application
After today, there will be just one week left for candidates in the Nov. 4 City Council election to make it official and submit an application to get their name on the ballot. Applications are due at the City Clerk’s office by 5 p.m. Aug. 18. Several new candidates filed for places on the ballot […]
Send in the Aggie drones
At Tuesday’s Council works session, the Austin City Council discussed a proposed interlocal agreement between the city and the Texas A&M University System that would investigate potential future uses of unmanned aerial vehicles (better known as drones) and other robotics in emergency response situations. Austin Fire Department Assistant Chief Richard Davis stated that the agreement would […]
Another traffic record set at ABIA
Austin Bergstrom International Airport continues to set records for passenger traffic. June was the busiest month in the airport’s history, with a 6 percent increase in traffic to 968,545 passengers. That tops the previous record of 942,825, set in March 2014. It marks the second time the monthly record has been broken this year and […]
LCRA finalizes sale of 18 small water systems to Corix Utilities
The Lower Colorado River Authority has closed the sale of 18 of its former small water/wastewater systems to Corix Utilities Texas, a subsidiary of Vancouver-based Corix Utilities. Officials gave no price for the transaction. LCRA officials announced in 2010 that they were planning to sell the group of systems, which at the time was costing […]
TipSheet: Council members return from vacation to discuss budget
City Council Convenes, 9:30 a.m. Town Lake Center, 721 Barton Springs Road Budget 1. Discussion and possible action regarding council meeting schedule and the budget and tax rate calendar. 2. Presentation and discussion regarding the City’s Proposed Budget for Fiscal Year 2014-2015. 3. Presentation and discussion regarding the impact of providing a general homestead exemption […]
