City officials are disputing charges made by an ad hoc relief group last week that funding may not be available to buy out 115 Onion Creek area homes damaged or destroyed in the Halloween floods. However, both City of Austin and Travis County officials say the wheels of government can sometimes move slowly, and […]
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, Local Politics
Travis Commissioners add $1 million to child care program
Travis County Commissioners have approved investing an additional $1 million over the next two years to bolster early childhood programs, particularly those offering child care for low-income families. Commissioners approved a two-part plan that will change the procurement process for existing and expanded programs in Fiscal Year 2015, and will make a one-time $500,000 […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Government, Local Politics, Public Safety
City, county to expand home buyouts for flooded areas
The City of Austin and Travis County are both preparing to expand their ongoing programs to buy and demolish the homes of residents who live in flood-prone areas. And with last week’s severe flooding in the Onion Creek 25-year flood plain, both the city and the county say they are stepping up their programs. […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Government, Transportation
Commissioners vote to move heritage tree for road expansion
After assurances that the state would pay for most of the cost, Travis County Commissioners voted Tuesday to remove and transplant a 30-inch Heritage Oak tree standing in the way of an expansion of Frate Barker Road in South Austin. Commissioners had postponed a vote last week on approving the $9 million contract to […]
Posted inDevelopment
Arizona wins new Apple manufacturing plant
Apple announced Monday that it plans to open a manufacturing operation in a Phoenix suburb that will eventually create up to 2,000 jobs making sapphire glass for a number of the company’s products. The deal was announced Monday by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, who said that the project will create more than 700 permanent jobs […]
Posted inLocal Government, Local Politics, Transportation
County ponders how to deal with heritage tree in path of road extension
Travis County Commissioners will face a tough decision next week as they decide the fate of a 100-year-old oak tree that is in the way of an extension of Frate Barker Road in South Austin. The item came up on the court’s agenda on Tuesday, but after examining a complex array of solutions, Commissioners […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Government
Austin may be competing with Phoenix for new Apple facility
Phoenix and Austin could be in competition again, this time in a race to lure Apple to manufacture computers in a local facility with the possibility of hundreds of jobs and millions in economic development to either region. An article in the Phoenix Business Journal Monday quoted unnamed sources in the commercial real estate […]
Posted inLocal Government
County developing five-year plan for social service contracts
Business in Austin and Travis County may be booming, but ironically, officials say as the economy expands, so does the need to provide social services for those whose boat does not rise with the tide. To meet that growing need, Travis County is planning to add up to $2 million in social services funding […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Government, Local Politics, Transportation
Travis Commissioners finally endorse SH45 SW
Many of the same Austinites made the same arguments they’ve made for decades, but this time, the result was different. At the behest of Pct. 3’s Gerald Daugherty, the Travis County Commissioners Court on Tuesday endorsed construction of the controversial SH45 Southwest roadway. Just three years ago, a somewhat different group of Travis County […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Government, Local Politics, Transportation
Despite opposition, Daugherty aiming to get SH45SW back on track today
Travis County Commissioner Gerald Daugherty hopes to take a major step today to get his fellow Commissioners to endorse building the controversial SH45 Southwest roadway between South MoPac Boulevard and FM 1626. The roadway has been in the planning stages for almost 30 years, but has faced repeated roadblocks and delays. The major issue so […]
Posted inLocal Government, Transportation
Travis Commissioners balk at plan to use tax districts for Lone Star Rail
Travis County Commissioners were asked to get on board with developing a funding mechanism for the Lone Star Rail District’s future operations on Tuesday, but the plan may be in for a bumpy ride, as some commissioners say they need much more information before moving ahead. The Lone Star Rail District was formed in […]
Posted inLocal Government, Resources
Fledging coalition making long-term water plans for Central Texas
Travis County is part of a fledgling effort to form a regional coalition that could identify and reserve future water supplies and eventually facilitate infrastructure to deliver water from aquifers in counties outside of Central Texas.With a resolution, Travis joins Hays, Comal and other counties in finding and in some cases securing backup supplies should […]