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Study weighs market impact of convention center expansion, predicts rebound from Covid-19
A new market analysis finds that the proposed expansion of the Austin Convention Center would bring more than 1,700 jobs to the city and add $306 million in annual economic impact from the local events and tourism industry. The market viability study…
Austin • By Chad Swiatecki • Aug 20, 2020
City seeks diversity in applicants tasked with redrawing Council district map
Just over six weeks ahead of the application deadline, the Office of the City Auditor is seeking candidates from Latino and other minority groups interested in helping to create the city’s next City Council district map. Applications for the Independent…
Austin • By Chad Swiatecki • Aug 14, 2020
Animal Advisory Commission has questions about potential new shelter model
At its meeting Friday, the Animal Advisory Commission considered whether the city should join Human Animal Support Services, an international coalition led by no-kill organization American Pets Alive! The program would use case management to keep most animals out of…
Austin • By Nina Hernandez • Aug 12, 2020
Census changes could take political power, funding from Texas Latinos already hit hard by Covid-19
Texas’ growing Latino population is poised to be significantly undercounted in this year’s census, following a slew of recent Trump administration moves. Advocates say that means Latinos could face a decade of diminished political power and underfunding for essential government…
Austin • By Ashley Lopez, KUT • Aug 12, 2020
Mayor touts justice agenda, Project Connect in State of the City speech
Although “the current state of our city is anxious, troubled and hurting,” Mayor Steve Adler said during Wednesday’s State of the City address, the city has “a once-in-a-century opportunity to no longer be bound by who we were a year…
Austin • By Jo Clifton • Aug 6, 2020
Study pushes city toward using data, results in plans to address homelessness
The city and organizations working to solve homelessness will adopt a more data-heavy approach to achieving the goals of the 2018 Action Plan to End Homelessness. The move to handle contracts for homeless services in a results-focused way is expected…
Austin • By Chad Swiatecki • Aug 3, 2020
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City moving forward with plans for $12M to acquire space for artists, musicians
This week City Council is expected to consider an agreement with the Texas Facilities Commission that will begin the process of acquiring creative spaces around the city using a $12 million bond approved in 2018. The interlocal agreement would approve…
Austin • By Chad Swiatecki • Jul 28, 2020
Black leaders in Austin want to build a racial justice movement that sustains itself for years to come
Black leaders in Central Texas are forming a new coalition called the Black Leaders Collective to address systemic racism. The group has about 40 members, including activists, educators, artists and policymakers who say they want to create meaningful and transformative…
Austin • By Sangita Menon, KUT • Jul 23, 2020
Austin music venues seek $20 million from city to prevent closures
Austin’s Music Venue Alliance plans to ask the city to provide $20 million in aid specifically for music venues that have been closed since mid-March due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Music Venue Preservation Fund request was discussed at Wednesday’s…
Austin • By Chad Swiatecki • Jul 23, 2020
Survey predicts 90 percent of Austin live music venues to close by Halloween
A survey of Austin businesses impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic finds that 90 percent of the city’s live music venues are likely to permanently close by this fall. That forecast was one of the conclusions of a June survey conducted…
Austin • By Chad Swiatecki • Jul 8, 2020
Animal advocates decry Austin Animal Center intake policy changes
In a video making the rounds on social media, a woman is standing near the entrance to the Austin Animal Center with a medium-sized dog on a leash. She’s telling a staff member she cannot keep the dog, who is a stray,…
Austin • By Nina Hernandez • Jul 7, 2020
City offered free DNA analysis of remains exhumed in Oakwood Cemetery chapel project
Years of analysis have revealed little information about the human remains of 36 bodies discovered buried beneath the Oakwood Cemetery Chapel in November 2016. Now a potential academic partnership between the Parks and Recreation Department and a biological anthropologist at the…
