Just ahead of the usual influx of people for Austin’s March events, passenger traffic at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport jumped 8 percent in February. It marked the 61st out of the last 62 months that ABIA traffic has grown. Officials say total traffic in February was 738,355 passengers, while February boardings totaled 366,231, up 7.5 percent. […]
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 inWhispers
Hays to charge fee at Jacob’s Well
The Hays County Commissioners Court has voted to charge admission to the Jacob’s Well Natural Area and to limit access to preserve the well and its surrounding native habitat. Beginning May 1, those wishing to swim must reserve a two-hour time block on the county’s website. Every two hours, a new group will replace the […]
Posted inWhispers
Artists invited to submit for TEMPO 2015
Art in Public Places seeks to commission temporary public artworks for the 2015 cycle of the TEMPO program. TEMPO is a program of the city’s Cultural Arts Division of the Economic Development Department. Professional visual artists and designers who live and work in Williamson, Travis, Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Burnet and Blanco counties are eligible to apply. […]
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Animal Services candidates to speak
The city will host a community meeting April 7 for the public to meet candidates for the next chief animal services officer position and provide input about who is selected. This position oversees the operations of the Austin Animal Center, which provides shelter to more than 18,000 animals annually and serves Austin and Travis County. […]
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City seeks Civil Service panel applicants
City Council is seeking applications for two vacancies on the five-member Municipal Civil Service Commission, created by an amendment to the City Charter approved by Austin voters in November 2012. The commission helped establish personnel rules in 2013 and sits as the ruling body on appeals of disciplinary actions by certain City of Austin employees. […]
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Casar seeks backing for diverting trucks
City Council Member Greg Casar is sponsoring an item on the March 26 Council agenda to formalize the city’s support for HB 594 and SB 270. The bills, filed by state Rep. Celia Israel (D-Austin) and state Sen. Kirk Watson (D-Austin), would direct the Texas Department of Transportation to provide reduced tolls for large trucks […]
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Interim regs adopted for South Lamar area
City Council has adopted new interim development regulations for the South Lamar area to address drainage issues associated with infill development. The South Lamar neighborhood has experienced flooding due to recent increases in residential development, coupled with undersized, collapsed or nonexistent stormwater infrastructure. City officials say the ordinance, adopted in December 2014, will ensure greater […]
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City seeks input on annual Action Plan
The Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Office is currently developing its annual Action Plan, which outlines community needs, resources and priorities of federal funding provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Part of that process includes participation and input from Austin residents. The Needs Assessment Period will take place through April 24. This […]
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City issues SXSW citations, warnings
The city’s Public Assembly Code Enforcement, or PACE, team has been responding to calls related to downtown activities since the start of the South by Southwest Conferences and spring break. On Friday (the last day figures were available), the PACE team shut down 15 venues or facilities for unauthorized gatherings and issued another 15 citations […]
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City continues to cite SXSW misdeeds
Apparently, the city’s crackdown on non-sanctioned events during South by Southwest has made an impression, as the Public Assembly Code Enforcement, or PACE, team has been handing out fewer citations and has shut down fewer events in the last day or so. However, the PACE team continues to issue a large number of written and verbal […]
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Imagine Austin plans panel discussion
The Imagine Austin Speaker Series is planning a panel discussion April 1 with Matthew Lewis, assistant director of the Planning and Development Review Department, and Thomas Hardy, Ph.D., on the lessons learned from two great green infrastructure projects located an ocean apart. Hardy is one of the principal designers of the Cheonggyecheon River Project in […]
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Meeting set on Colony Park Master Plan
The city and its community partners will host a Meet-n-Greet Saturday for Austin residents to discuss new possibilities for the Colony Park neighborhood in Northeast Austin. The event will include a community discussion led by a panel of special guests, including District 1 City Council Member Ora Houston. In addition to the discussion, residents will […]