The battle over water rates for more than 46,000 Austin Water customers is not over, it appears. Austin Water Assistant Director David Anders told the Austin Monitor on Tuesday that the city intends to adhere to an order – issued earlier this month by the Public Utility Commission of Texas – to reset rates for […]
Tyler Whitson
Posted inWhispers
Call for body cam bids to go out early November
Austin Police Department Chief of Staff Brian Manley told the City Council Public Safety Committee on Monday that the department plans to release a request for bids for police body cameras in “very early November.” Austin Police Department Chief Art Acevedo and several assistant chiefs, Manley said, were at a conference of the International Association […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment, Police
Police association proposes SXSW funding fix
Although it is an economic driver for the city, South by Southwest imposes significant demands on the Austin Police Department, which pulls many of its personnel away from normal duties to cover the event every year. The Austin Police Association is now proposing a fix for next year’s festival, due to take place in mid-March, […]
Posted inDevelopment, Environment
Environmental Board sides with trees over variance
The future of two live oak trees in a downtown Austin parking lot sparked vigorous debate at a Wednesday meeting of the Environmental Commission, which ultimately recommended against the city granting a variance to its Heritage Tree Ordinance to make room for a proposed hotel. Dave Anderson, an attorney engineer with the Drenner Group representing […]
Posted inEnergy
Austin Energy committee considers new tariff
City Council appears to be moving closer to deciding how to charge Austin Energy’s two largest industrial customers, an issue it has grappled with since May. Convened as the Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee, Council heard a presentation Thursday from utility staff on the proposed “P4” tariff, which would replace the long-term contracts that it […]
Posted inWhispers
Navigant Consulting gas plant study report delayed
Jeff Vice, Austin Energy’s director of local government relations, announced at an Electric Utility Commission meeting on Monday that the results of an independent study relating to a proposed natural gas plant will not be released this month, as previously anticipated. Austin Energy staff projected in August that the report on the 500 megawatt combined-cycle […]
Posted inTransportation
Mobility authority unveils MoPac South options
MoPac South is back on the public radar, except now community members have several flavors of the proposed highway expansion to choose from as they submit input over the next month. Responding to a call from residents and elected officials for more options, the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority unveiled six possible configurations online Wednesday […]
Posted inWhispers
City unveils new drainage charge tool
The Watershed Protection Department announced Monday that it has rolled out a new tool to help Austinites understand the new drainage charge that the city will apply to residential and commercial accounts in November. The tool, called “Find My Drainage Charge,” is particularly helpful to residents of single-family homes, business owners and owners of multifamily […]
Posted inDevelopment
City seeks to close charter school loophole
According to the city’s Land Development Code, organizations planning to build open-enrollment charter schools are exempt from various development regulations, including some intended to mitigate flood and traffic impacts. This revelation has grabbed the attention of community members as well as city leaders, who have asked staff to draft up possible ways to revise the […]
Posted inDevelopment
Millennials talk future of Austin real estate
There are plenty of stereotypes about millennials – Americans born between 1982 and 2000 – but there’s no arguing that, at more than a quarter of the population, they are a major focus for many industries. This is certainly true of real estate in Austin, and that idea dominated the Real Estate Council of Austin’s […]
Posted inBicycles, Transportation
Regional bicycle, pedestrian projects get funding
As Austin and Central Texas grow and become more congested, city and regional leaders are looking at bicycle and pedestrian projects as ways to cut down on traffic. On Oct. 12, the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Transportation Policy Board took a step in that direction by approving federal funding for almost a dozen such […]
Posted inTransportation
Council initiates fingerprint background check requirements, fees for Uber, Lyft
City Council took a step toward requiring drivers for Uber, Lyft and similar companies to undergo fingerprint background checks on Thursday. It also initiated a process that would require such firms, known as transportation network companies, or TNCs, to pay an annual operating fee to the city, part of which would go toward road maintenance. […]