Nora Ankrum

Last night, state Sen. Kirk Watson received the Texas Municipal League’s Legislator of the Year award. He was presented with the honor in San Antonio at the Municipal League’s annual conference. As an organization that advocates for the interests of Texas cities, the Municipal League praised Watson’s support of local decision-making during the 84th legislative […]

Tonight, the city of Austin and Austin’s Atlas are hosting a downtown “walkshop” in which people of all ages are invited to “embark on foot in search of natural and man-made objects that tell a story about the life of Austin’s South Central Waterfront,” according to an announcement from the city. “From feathers to leaves, […]

The Austin Symphonic Band has appointed Amanda Turley as its new executive director. Turley is a bassoonist who has performed with the Oberlin in Italy Opera Orchestra and the University of South Carlonia Orchestra and Choir. She is also a music instructor with more than 30 students currently under her tutelage. Previously, Turley served as […]

Construction will soon begin on a new facility at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport that will allow travelers to both board pets and park their cars for the duration of a trip. The time-saving “park and pet hotel” will be the first of its kind in the U.S., according to a press release from Scott Airport Parking. […]

Maxwell Sykes, a Climate Corps fellow with the Environmental Defense Fund, will present his findings today after conducting a 10-week study on energy conservation in the Austin Independent School District. The event will be hosted by AISD, EDF and Google, which provided a community grant to fund the fellowship. It will take place at Google […]

The nonprofit Shelter Art Foundation is hosting a free workshop later this month on taking studio-quality portraits of shelter pets. The idea, according to an announcement about the event, is to make sure that pets featured on adoption websites aren’t overlooked because of poor picture quality. “With an increasing number of potential adopters searching online […]

The 2015 report on the economic impact of South by Southwest is scheduled for release on Tuesday. The report, by Greyhill Advisors, will be the ninth annual study on the event’s economic impact on the city. In the last few years, the amount of money brought into the Austin economy by the SXSW conference, trade […]

The Spirit of East Austin forum is fast approaching. Presented jointly by City Council and the Travis County Commissioners Court, the free event – hosted at the Travis County Expo Center on Saturday, Sept. 12 – aims to turn talk about equitable development in East Austin into meaningful change. “Historically, there have been master plans, […]

The Ethics Review Commission has been considering its stance on revising the city’s rules for lobbyists. As part of that effort, it is seeking public input, particularly regarding 21 proposals put forth by City Council’s Audit and Finance Committee. Ultimately, the revisions under consideration would expand the number of people to whom lobbying regulations apply […]

The Travis County Commissioners Court is seeking applicants to fill a vacancy on the board of directors for the Travis Central Appraisal District. TCAD is responsible for appraising property throughout Travis County. Taxing entities then use those appraisals to assess and impose property taxes. TCAD’s 10-member board oversees the hiring of the chief appraiser and […]

Being Austin’s mayor isn’t just about budgets this week. It’s also about Buttigiegs – in this case, one Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana. He and Mayor Steve Adler have made a “friendly wager” over Saturday night’s football game, according to a city of Austin press release. The Texas Longhorns will be traveling to […]

The Great Travis County Voter Registration Challenge shifts into full gear in September with voter registration activities taking place all throughout the month. Schools will kick off the activities during Week 1 (Education Week), followed in Week 2 by local businesses and government agencies (Civic Week), nonprofits and individuals in Week 3 (Community Week) and […]