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An Austin nonprofit is raising money to help make state homeless camp feel more like a neighborhood
For the better part of two years, the Esperanza Community in Southeast Austin has been home for many people experiencing homelessness. On any given day, roughly 150 people live and work on the weather-beaten, 5-acre blacktop owned by the Texas…
Austin • By Andrew Weber, KUT • Jun 28, 2021
Cyclists split on sharing bike lanes with pizza delivery robots
A small fleet of robots delivering pizza in Central Austin has set off a debate about whether the semi-autonomous machines’ use of bike lanes will squeeze cyclists off the road or launch a technological revolution to reduce motor vehicle deliveries and boost…
Austin • By Nathan Bernier, KUT • Jun 24, 2021
Council OKs new direction on convention center reconstruction
The city will move ahead with another attempt to remake the Austin Convention Center, following the decision in April to abandon a planned westward expansion and reconstruction that would have been completed in two phases. Earlier this month City Council…
Austin • By Chad Swiatecki • Jun 21, 2021
Austin Animal Center continues to struggle with capacity
Earlier this week at the Animal Advisory Commission’s monthly meeting, commissioners discussed the reopening process of the Austin Animal Center as the risk of coronavirus continues to decline locally. In recent months, the shelter has been running out of kennel space for…
Austin • By Sean Saldaña • Jun 18, 2021
With Council approval, new EDC moves forward
City Council has approved the interlocal agreement that will allow the newly created Austin Economic Development Corporation to begin conducting its business, which will be focused around real estate projects addressing affordability and gentrification concerns. The unanimous vote last week…
Austin • By Chad Swiatecki • Jun 17, 2021
ZWAC looks to extend contract for encampment cleanups
Last week, the Zero Waste Advisory Commission voted unanimously to advance a contract extension with Relief Enterprise of Texas Inc., a contractor that has handled homeless encampment trash cleanup for the city around Interstate 35, U.S. Highway 183, Loop 1…
Austin • By Sean Saldaña • Jun 16, 2021
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Austin police officers clear homeless encampments around City Hall
Austin police officers on Monday cleared encampments around City Hall that were erected by people experiencing homelessness. The city said in a statement that officers were moving people from the corner of Guadalupe and Cesar Chavez streets for construction work. The…
Austin • By Andrew Weber, KUT • Jun 15, 2021
Local leaders see pandemic, winter storm as openings for economic opportunities
Local leaders say the past 15 months of Austin’s history have been a test for how the city can best serve the people and businesses that are most at risk as growth changes the economics and character of Central Texas.…
Austin • By Chad Swiatecki • Jun 11, 2021
Emergency funding for musicians, creatives waiting on Council, staff action
City staffers expect to have initial guidelines next month for how to spend money in the city’s Live Music Fund, part of a series of spending programs to aid local creatives in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. This week…
Austin • By Chad Swiatecki • Jun 10, 2021
Council to consider loan for Airport Hilton
When Austin’s airport lost 63 percent of its passengers last year due to Covid-19, the Airport Hilton lost 60 percent of its business. Now, Austin-Bergstrom Landhost Enterprises, or ABLE, the nonprofit corporation that operates the hotel, is asking for City…
Austin • By Jo Clifton • Jun 2, 2021
Environmental Commission hears plans for Austin CCC
The Environmental Commission convened May 19 to discuss a variety of topics, among them an overview of the Austin Civilian Conservation Corps program. The Civilian Conservation Corps – or Triple C – was created by a City Council resolution that…
Austin • By Seth Smalley • May 28, 2021
Joint Sustainability Committee looks at trends during flooding and extreme heat
On Wednesday, researchers Patrick Bixler, Diana Joyce Ojeda and Jessica Jones presented an update on sustainability indicators – particularly the effects of flooding and extreme heat in the Austin area – to the Joint Sustainability Committee. The research focuses on…
