Stories by Tyler Whitson
Minorities, low-income residents top budget amendment requests
With city budget season in full swing, dozens of Austinites took to the podium at City Hall during a public hearing Thursday to ask City Council to amend the proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year to include more services…
Budget • By Tyler Whitson • Aug 21, 2015
City may shorten ambulance provider workweeks
Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services ambulance providers are under a lot of strain as they try to keep up with population growth and an increasing number of special events, but a new proposal could reduce some of that pressure. On…
EMS • By Tyler Whitson • Aug 20, 2015
PUC hears arguments in water, wastewater case
The Public Utility Commission of Texas heard oral arguments Friday from attorneys representing the city of Austin as well as those representing a group of wholesale Austin Water utility customers who have challenged post-2012 water and wastewater rate increases. Rather…
Courts • By Tyler Whitson • Aug 17, 2015
Council scrutinizes proposed police officer increase
City Council members spent over an hour Wednesday grilling Austin Police Department Chief Art Acevedo and other APD staff on the department’s proposed Fiscal Year 2015-16 budget, zeroing in on a plan to add 82 sworn police officers to the…
Budget • By Tyler Whitson • Aug 13, 2015
Lone Star Rail not in city budget but still on track
Although there is no funding for the Lone Star Regional Rail Project in the proposed city budget, the Georgetown-to-San-Antonio passenger rail plan can still get up to speed in due time. Lone Star Rail District Rail Director Joe Black told…
Transit • By Tyler Whitson • Aug 12, 2015
Council likely to postpone "Grove" zoning decision
A quorum of City Council members sent a clear message at a Tuesday work session that they plan to postpone a zoning decision set for Thursday related to the Grove at Shoal Creek. “Frankly, I don’t know enough about this…
Development • By Tyler Whitson • Aug 12, 2015
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Alternative to MoPac "double-deck" being studied
In the wake of public outcry against a proposal to add elevated lanes to MoPac Expressway over Lady Bird Lake and Zilker Park, the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority is considering an alternative that the Austin Transportation Department first put…
Roads • By Tyler Whitson • Aug 10, 2015
Council reaches Fun Fun Fun Fest compromise
Amid concerns that Fun Fun Fun Fest would not take place this November at Vic Mathias Shores, City Council has intervened in negotiations between festival organizers and the city’s Parks and Recreation Department to ensure that it goes forward as…
Music & Entertainment • By Tyler Whitson • Aug 7, 2015
Updated: City staff asks for more Uber, Lyft accountability
Uber and Lyft drivers are operating all over Austin, but there is no way, sans app, to point out their cars, and the city can’t keep track of who has signed up. Transportation Department staff, however, are hoping that will…
Transportation • By Tyler Whitson • Aug 6, 2015
Council not likely to ban bullhooks this year
Based on a discussion at a work session on Tuesday, City Council is not likely to ban the use of the bullhook — a common elephant training tool — in circuses before Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey comes to…
Austin • By Tyler Whitson • Aug 6, 2015
City staff fixes plan review backlog, looks ahead
When it comes to planning and development, city staff has a lot on its plate in the foreseeable future. It no longer has to worry, though, about a plan review backlog that began to pile up earlier this year. Development…
Development • By Tyler Whitson • Aug 5, 2015
City may add as many as 85 new police officers
How many police officers should Austin have? That is a question that City Council members will likely be wrestling with over the next few weeks as they consider the Austin Police Department’s request for 85 new officers in the proposed…
