Nora Ankrum

The Austin Animal Center will be providing free rabies vaccinations for dogs and cats this Saturday, April 16. Pets must be at least 12 weeks old to get vaccinated, but pets that are younger will be given free ID tags and registered in the Animal Services database. Dogs should be brought in on a leash, […]

With street maintenance and repair projects ramping up as the weather gets warmer, Public Works Department Director Howard Lazarus has issued a call to motorists to be careful as they drive through work zones. “In a typical five-day work week, an average of seven motorists and one worker are killed nationally,” according to a press […]

It’s that time of year again, when the Austin Independent School District holds its annual showcase of artwork – including photography, paintings, drawings and mixed media – created by AISD faculty. This year’s theme is “Rhythm of Our City,” and the opening reception will be held Friday, April 15, from 6 to 9 p.m., at […]

Tax Assessor-Collector Bruce Elfant testified before the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles board last Thursday, hoping to persuade board members to reconsider a plan that he says would cost taxpayers over $4 million. As the Austin Monitor reported last week, Elfant made the same case to the Travis County Commissioners Court the day before. Among other […]

The advisory board for Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services currently has a vacancy that needs to be filled by “a consumer informed about issues relating to Emergency Medical Services,” according to an announcement from the Travis County Commissioners Court. The nine-member board’s primary purpose is to provide EMS service-delivery recommendations both to the city of […]

The advisory group for CodeNEXT, the city’s ongoing effort to revise the Land Development Code, held a public comment meeting last week and has now compiled the presentations, notes, public comment cards and staff summaries from that meeting online here for perusal by folks who were unable to attend. The primary focus of the meeting […]

The city has officially launched the initial phase of planning to replace the Redbud Trail Bridge over Lady Bird Lake. Built in 1948, the bridge is reaching the end of its operational life, according to the city, and the replacement will be designed to accommodate more traffic and provide bicycle and pedestrian access. The public […]

The city is hosting two “Mobility Talks” open houses later this month to gather feedback on ideas for improving mobility in Austin. The meetings, from which people can “come and go” at any time, will include small group discussions and children’s activities. Participants can arrange ahead of time (by April 15) for language translation assistance […]

The Real Estate Council of Austin has released the first quarterly report of the year aggregating commercial real estate statistics for the Austin area. Overall, the report shows that vacancies are low and, compared to last year, rental rates are up slightly. For office space, the overall vacancy rate has decreased from 9.08 percent in […]

The Austin Monitor and KUT are hosting a live debate on the merits of Proposition 1 ahead of the May 7 election. Prop 1 would replace City Council’s ride-hailing regulations (including the requirement that drivers for transportation network companies undergo fingerprint-based background checks) with less strict TNC regulations proposed by the Uber- and Lyft-backed Ridesharing […]

A delegation of 30 Chinese investors and businesses will be in Austin this Thursday for a trade and investment seminar hosted by the city of Austin Economic Development Department, the Governor’s Office and the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China. Several government officials will take part, including Consul General Li Qiangmin from […]

The Austin Police Activity League is hosting a youth soccer tournament this Saturday at which, yes, there will be soccer, but there will also be so much more. According to the city’s announcement about the event, the Austin Police Department is bringing its K-9 unit (doggies!), the bomb squad (robots!), the “Police Hummer” and the […]