Several members of the Travis County Commissioners Court say they were caught off guard Tuesday when they were told that in-person family visits at the Travis County Jail have been replaced by a video system. And a majority of commissioners say they are planning to find out why. Representatives of the Texas Civil Rights […]
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.
Posted inLocal Government, Public Safety, Uncategorized
Civil rights groups: Video jail visits too costly, may be violating civil rights
A two-way video conferencing system that has all but replaced in-person visits by friends and family members with those incarcerated at the Travis County Jail is coming under fire as being too expensive, too impersonal and possibly even dangerous to an inmate’s health. Critics are also concerned about the possibility that attorney-client conversations are being […]
Posted inDevelopment, Elections, Local Government, Local Politics
Eckhardt criticizes McCombs for seeking tax breaks, suing appraisal district
Travis County Judge candidate Sarah Eckhardt continued her verbal campaign against billionaire businessman Red McCombs Thursday, taking him to task for asking taxpayers to contribute millions of dollars to build the Circuit of the Americas race track but going to court to get his property tax bill on the facility lowered. Eckhardt, a former […]
Posted inLocal Politics, Uncategorized
Council members sign letter supporting reproductive rights law
Three Austin City Council members have sent a letter to members of Congress and the Texas Legislature, urging the passage of the Women’s Health Protection Act and the repeal of House Bill 2. Council Members Bill Spelman, Laura Morrison and Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole signed the letter, which was dated Jan. 7. The […]
Posted inLocal Government, Uncategorized
Commissioners still pondering prevailing wage questions
Travis County Commissioners found themselves in the middle of tug-of-war Tuesday over proposed policy changes to the county’s Economic Development and Construction Procurement Practices. The issue of the county requiring a prevailing wage of $11 per hour for all construction done with county money sparked an extended debate. The Travis County Economic Development Task […]
Posted inLocal Government, Transportation
Current long-term plans do nothing to improve Austin’s I-35 headaches
Current long-term plans – such as the 2035 CAMPO Transportation Plan – will do little more than maintain the current level of traffic bottlenecks on Interstate 35 and won’t take enough vehicles off the road to significantly cut commute times, according to a report on traffic congestion on the I-35 corridor through Austin. The […]
Posted inUncategorized
City’s Channel 6 growing up, changing name to ATXN
It was a wonky novelty 30 years ago, being able to sit in the comfort of your living room and watch Austin City Council meetings on the local cable system. But the City of Austin’s Channel 6, once just one of about two dozen channels on the original Austin CableVision system, has grown quite a […]
Posted inLocal Government
County clerk hopes to ease lawyers into mandatory electronic filing
Starting in January, attorneys in Austin and other large cities in Texas will be required to file all of court documents electronically. While e-filing court papers is not new – the process has been available for civil and probate cases for several years – it will inevitably mean that some law firms may have to […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Government
Apartment occupancy rates, rental costs at all-time high
As Austin’s population continues to increase, occupancy rates and rents for apartments and the construction of new multifamily properties are at all-time high levels. And while that may be a financial boost for owners and landlords, City of Austin housing officials say it presents a serious challenge to their mission of creating affordable housing. […]
Posted inDevelopment, Environment, Local Government, Local Politics, Public Safety
County finds just $4.3 million to buy flood-ravaged homes
Travis County officials say they have searched their budgets, bond programs and possibly even the couch cushions to come up with $4.3 million to buy out damaged and destroyed homes from the Halloween floods. But it will be another week or two before County Commissioners will be get an estimate on just how much […]
Posted inLocal Government, Public Safety
County official says damage from Halloween flood likely underestimated
A Travis County official says that estimates of the damage from the Halloween flood may have been “grossly underestimated,” and further examination of the damage could bring the total high enough to trigger federal aid. Travis County Emergency Management Coordinator Pete Baldwin told Travis County Commissioners Tuesday that state and federal officials have further […]
Posted inPublic Safety
Police Monitor’s report suggests profiling, illegal searches
New data released last week by the Office of the Police Monitor show that, based on statistics, some Austin Police officers may be illegally profiling minorities and performing questionable searches of detained individuals. Austin Police Monitor Margo Frasier also said that her recently released reports – covering all of 2012 and the first six […]