Mark Richardson

The city’s push to form a parking enterprise could move a step closer to operation, as the Council’s Land Use and Transportation Committee heard a staff recommendation Monday that the full Council consider hiring a parking manager to lead the operation. A staff report on the Austin Parking Enterprise on Monday also suggested that the […]

A recent audit of 11 Austin hotels has found that the inns owed the city more than $250,000 in taxes from the city’s Hotel Occupancy Tax, according to a report by the City Auditor’s Office. That audit was a follow-up to a broader examination in late 2007 of 75 of the city’s hotels and motels […]

With a huge traffic signal as a prop, city officials announced that the city Red Light Camera program will go live on Memorial Day Weekend.  However, under close questioning by the media, officials admitted that the program has almost no teeth for enforcing the fines assessed by the automated system.   Council Members Jennifer Kim […]

In the Council race with the largest number of candidates, Place 4, former Austin Neighborhoods Council president Laura Morrison and former Planning Commission member Cid Galindo will face each other in a June 14 run-off.   Morrison received 12,882 votes, or 38.57 percent of the light turnout, while Galindo received 9,729 or 29.13 percent. Attorney […]

Fire Chief J.J. Adame tendered his resignation Wednesday after failing to meet job performance standards set forward by city management six weeks ago. His resignation was effective immediately and he was paid a $45,773 lump sum severance by the city.   In making the announcement, City Manager Marc Ott – who has kept a low […]

Developers of the proposed Villa Muse studios announced Monday that they were pulling out of negotiations with the City of Austin, thus reassuring other communities vying for the prize that they would not be using them against Austin for leverage.   In a prepared statement, Villa Muse officials said, “Despite Villa Muse’s best efforts to […]

If you want to run for Austin City Council, it certainly helps to have deep pockets. Candidates in two of the three races have had to reach into their own bank accounts to stay competitive, while most of the candidates likely to finish first or second in votes have raised six-figure sums to run for […]

While the buzz over the city’s proposed new light rail line between Downtown, Mueller and ABIA continues, Capital Metro is moving forward with plans on getting its commuter rail project on the tracks and running by this fall. Capitol Metro’s Board of Directors on Monday approved the construction of two rail stations and an interlocal […]

Place 3 City Council candidates Jennifer Kim and Randi Shade – and their campaign consultants – continue to take potshots at each other in their hard-fought campaign. Thursday’s salvo came in the form of a complaint from the Kim camp over Shade’s apparent failure to properly report “bundled” campaign contributions in her last campaign finance […]

As a rule, a good salesperson stops selling an item once the customer says, “I’ll take it.” However, in the up-and-down, here-and-gone case of Water Treatment Plant 4, city officials continue to talk up the merits of the multi-million dollar project despite getting the City Council go-ahead for the project. And they may keep selling […]

City Council candidates got their first crack Wednesday night at the light rail line proposed this week by the ROMA Design Group. Most of the candidates said it is a necessary addition to the city’s transportation system, but no one came up with any new ideas on how to pay for it.   Candidates met […]

As double-digit inflation drives the cost of construction upward, city, county and school district officials around Texas are being forced to postpone or reconsider major projects as costs exceed the funds authorized. However, City of Austin officials say with careful planning, they have been able to keep up with rising costs as they bid out […]