Having decided to establish a public defender office in Travis County, the Commissioners Court now faces the task of organizing the preliminary steps to begin that process. After a recommendation to the court last Tuesday in a report from the Texas Indigent Defense Commission, the court decided to create a working group of people with […]
Ryan Thornton
Posted inCity Council
City staff gets green light to research public plaza program
While it’s fashionable in the U.S. for private enterprises to attach the word “plaza” to many things that are not, like shopping malls or condominiums, a public plaza can be hard to find (Austin’s beautiful Plaza Saltillo actually prohibits “loitering,” the primary activity in a plaza). However, City Council members now hope to generate public […]
Posted inPremium Types
TipSheet: Travis County, 10.23.18
4. Consider and take appropriate action on a charge and membership categories for the Indigent Legal Services (ILS) work group. (Commissioners Daugherty & Gómez) Monitor’s Take: Last week, the Commissioners Court chose to move forward with a plan to establish a public defender office in Travis County by first creating a working group to oversee […]
Posted inWhispers
Austin makes deal for local solar power
Thursday morning, in a step toward a cleaner future, City Council approved a deal between Austin Energy and East Blackland Solar Project 1 LLC to create a 144-megawatt utility-scale solar generation facility in Travis County. The deal entails a 15-year power purchase by Austin Energy of $11 million per year for a total of $165 […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment
City approves Austin Marathon route months in advance
Next year will mark the 28th year of the Austin Marathon. Since the marathon’s inception in 1992, the route has undergone a few dramatic changes and several minor changes as planners have tried to please runners, spectators, city government and communities along the route. But with such a long course in an already congested city, […]
Posted inTransportation
CAMPO preparing to adopt necessary traffic-reducing strategies
With promises of traffic congestion relief coming from every direction, be it e-scooters, autonomous vehicles, reliable transit or ride-share services, the number of personal cars on Austin streets is still unlikely to decrease in the near future. Until a systematic mobility solution is found, the region will continue to grapple with the problem increasingly on […]
Posted inTravis County
County looks at legal community for public defender office task force
Using data from the Planning and Budget Office and the Justice Planning Department, the Texas Indigent Defense Commission recently studied the feasibility and benefits of having a public defender office in Travis County. Geoff Burkhart, executive director of TIDC, presented the study’s recommendations to the Travis County Commissioners Court Tuesday morning, with a strong preference […]
Posted inTransit
City, Cap Metro ready to consider transit before, not after, construction
For most of its existence, the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority has struggled to create a coherent service network in a city that has been largely developed without public transit in mind. This historical pattern now appears, after decades of political gridlock, to be reversing itself. During a Mobility Committee meeting Thursday evening, Austin Transportation Department […]
Posted inResources
Zero Waste Advisory Commission buries landfill criteria matrix
Austin’s Zero Waste Advisory Commission met Wednesday night and voted to scrap a two-year effort at creating a matrix of criteria that could objectively evaluate landfills for city use. The commission was presented with two matrices — one developed by stakeholders and one by city staff — either to choose from or combine into one. […]
Posted inTravis County
County faces a future of frequent, heavy storms
As anyone who has sat for hours in Austin traffic knows, city infrastructure is often built to meet the needs of the present, not the needs of 15 or even 10 years down the road. This is a problem when adapting to rapid population growth, but when accommodating for something as unpredictable as natural disaster, […]
Posted inPremium Types
TipSheet: Travis County, 10.9.18
Travis County Commissioners Court will meet Tuesday at 9 a.m. for their weekly voting session. In the interests of time and space we have listed a handful of items from the agenda below. The full agenda can be found on the Travis County website. 1. Receive comments regarding a plat for recording: Village at Northtown […]
Posted inBudget
City grants crucial funding to arts organizations
Austin’s art advocates are breathing a little easier since Thursday afternoon, when City Council approved a resolution to award crucial funds to eligible arts organizations for Fiscal Year 2018-19. A total of $8,602,688 will be distributed among the organizations listed here. The awards were requested by the city’s Arts Commission because of the lack of […]