The Zero Waste Advisory Commission has unanimously recommended that City Council adopt the new Climate Equity Plan. At the Oct. 14 meeting of the Zero Waste Commission, Commissioner Kaiba White presented a resolution from the Joint Sustainability Committee, the group of commissioners who wrote the Climate Equity Plan, and urged the commission to adopt it. […]
Savana Dunning
Posted inTravis County
Travis County reallocates CARES Act housing assistance funding to meet deadlines, talks Covid-19 plasma funding effort
The Travis County Commissioners Court voted unanimously to reallocate Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding in order to spend all of its funding before the Dec. 30 deadline. Travis County received $61,147,507.20 from the federal CARES Act. At the Oct. 13 meeting of the Commissioners Court, the Planning and Budget Office gave […]
Posted inWhispers
County brings awareness to domestic violence
The Travis County Commissioners Court has unanimously approved a proclamation declaring October Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The proclamation, sponsored by commissioners Gerald Daugherty and Margaret Gómez, urges county residents to light their homes and businesses purple in solidarity and to help spread awareness of the problem of domestic violence. “We all have some sort of […]
Posted inWhispers
County issues burn ban
The Travis County Commissioners approved a request from Fire Marshal Tony Callaway to prohibit outdoor burning in unincorporated areas until Wednesday, Nov. 11. “We have received above-average temperatures which obviously corresponds to a decrease in ground fuel moisture levels,” Callaway said at the Oct. 13 meeting. Combined with particularly gusty winds from the north and […]
Posted inTravis County
Travis County to create cohesive homelessness outreach plan
The Travis County Commissioners Court has created a new temporary project worker position tasked with developing a cohesive homeless outreach plan for the county, following a separate request by a county constable. In March, the Commissioners Court approved a census outreach worker, officially a temporary court clerk position, under Precinct 3 Constable Stacy Suits to […]
Posted inEnvironment
Watershed Protection Department seeks to fill gaps in city regulation for creekside health
The Watershed Protection Department recently discovered two pieces of regulation missing from Austin’s land use code that could aid and restore the health of the city’s many creeks. Ana Gonzalez, a senior environmental scientist with the department, presented the issue at the Oct. 7 meeting of the Environmental Commission. She explained that the banks of a […]
Posted inCity Council
City looks to support waste collection workers amid pandemic stresses
As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to keep many people at home more often, Austin Resource Recovery finds itself steadily losing the staff needed to manage the increased volume of household garbage. City Council passed a resolution Oct. 1 to mitigate what Zero Waste Advisory Commission Chair Gerard Acuna called the “poaching” of ARR staff by […]
Posted inElections
AISD establishes 2020 Election Day as school holiday
Austin Independent School District students now have Election Day off this year following a decision by the AISD Board of Trustees to declare Tuesday, Nov. 3, a school holiday. The board voted to amend the 2020-21 school calendar at its Sept. 28 meeting, removing a previously established school holiday on Oct. 12 for parent conferences, […]
Posted inCity Council
Over half the city’s Covid-19 relief programs enter funding distribution stages
By the end of September, nine of the 13 established economic relief programs for those impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic will have entered their funding distribution phase, providing money to Austinites in need. In a Sept. 23 progress report, Chief Economic Recovery Officer Veronica Briseño said the city has distributed over $37.5 million in financial […]
Posted inCity Hall
Design Commission work group starts process to revise Urban Design Guidelines
The Design Commission’s newly formed Urban Design work group has begun talks to revise the city’s Urban Design Guidelines, which are more than 10 years old. Unlike Austin’s zoning code, which contains the city’s building and construction requirements, the Urban Design Guidelines are a set of recommendations for developers to follow that focus mainly on the […]
Posted inRoads
New changes to Congress Avenue mark step toward permanent street redesign
Austin Transportation is installing the first of many temporary safety and mobility additions to Congress Avenue this week as the interim step toward the city’s complete redesign project launched in 2017. During the four- to six-week phased installation process, the city plans to add dedicated right-turn lanes, shorter pedestrian crosswalks, protected pedestrian intersections, simplified lanes […]
Posted inCity Hall
Animal Advisory Commission tables HASS discussion for now
With the Animal Advisory Commission still in disagreement over the recommendation that Austin join a decentralized shelter pilot program, commissioners decided to push the decision to October. While commissioners were entirely in agreement over one item, voting unanimously to ask City Council to unfreeze hiring for all animal services positions and declare the department a […]