Members of the Arts Commission want the city to show how effective new grant programs have been at reaching arts organizations from underserved communities, out of concern that large award amounts for the Thrive grant program may result in too few awards available to include newer recipients. At Monday’s meeting, Commissioner Gina Houston spelled out […]
Austin
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Tourism Commission considers consequences of decaying Dougherty Arts Center
Local arts leaders and members of the Tourism Commission hope to bring City Council’s attention to the lack of action on the deteriorating Dougherty Arts Center, which has been caught in a sort of planning and budgetary limbo for more than a year. At last week’s Tourism Commission meeting, Laura Esparza, executive director of the […]
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Animal Advisory Commission considers banning glue traps in Austin
Bats are under attack by glue traps used in the city, advocates for Austin’s bats say. “I would love to see glue traps banned from being sold and used in Austin,” says Austin Bat Refuge’s executive director, Dianne Odegard. The Animal Advisory Commission discussed Austin’s use of glue traps as a form of pest control […]
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Hotels nearing agreement on tax plan to provide homelessness services funding
City leaders expect a long-in-coming new hotel tax that could provide money for homelessness services to be ready for final City Council approval within the month. On Monday, the Austin Business Journal reported that the proposed Tourism Public Improvement District tax levy has reached one of the needed thresholds with local hoteliers, with a second […]
Posted inAustin, Elections
Texas Supreme Court to decide whether Austin has a charter election this year
The Supreme Court of Texas has accepted a petition for a writ of mandamus in the Save Our Springs Alliance lawsuit against the city of Austin regarding alleged violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act. If the court agrees with the plaintiffs that the city violated the Open Meetings Act in setting a charter election […]
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Developers join city in considering climate resiliency as Austin grows
While the city considers its options for dealing with extreme weather and increasing resiliency across the area, the same questions about the role of climate change in large-scale building projects are top of mind for developers and financial leaders active in Central Texas. In addition to policies affecting building standards and public financing for needed […]
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Intake at animal center continues to outpace adoptions
Animal intake at the Austin Animal Center continues to surpass the number of adoptions, according to a presentation at an Animal Advisory Commission meeting Monday. In July, the center took in 932 animals while 769 animals were adopted, according to the presentation from the Animal Services Office. Animal intake dropped from June, which saw […]
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Animal advocates re-up calls for the closure of the Austin Aquarium
Animal rights advocates are calling for the Austin Aquarium to shut down. The new push comes after a high-level resignation at the aquarium’s parent company – and years of controversy surrounding the strip mall-based aquarium. In late 2013, the Austin Aquarium opened in North Austin. The founder, Ammon Covino, pleaded guilty to animal trafficking charges that […]
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Central Health board questions UT contracts in light of DEI firings
Central Health leaders signaled they may seek to curtail or end contracts with the University of Texas’ Dell Medical School over objections to the university’s firing all staff involved in diversity, equity and inclusion programs in April. At last week’s meeting of Central Health’s budget and finance committee, discussion turned to the health care district’s […]
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Cisco’s gets a $50,000 grant to preserve the restaurant’s history
Lee esta historia en español Cisco’s Restaurant, Bakery & Bar has been serving classic Tex-Mex dishes like huevos rancheros and migas to Austin residents since 1950. Now, 74 years later, the restaurant has received $50,000 as part of an effort from the National Trust of Historic Preservation to support small, historic businesses. Longtime customer Gardner Selby […]
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Mexic-Arte pushes for state cultural district while museum reconstruction awaits
Leaders from the Mexic-Arte Museum downtown are at work gathering public input and indexing the cultural organizations along Fifth Street that could help to enhance the area that they hope will receive state recognition as a cultural district for the local Mexican American community. The city gave the area from Republic Square to Plaza Saltillo […]
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Chamber group touts $1M small business loan program ahead of regional plan
Ahead of an in-progress comprehensive plan slated for completion later this year, Austin’s Diversity and Ethnic Chamber Alliance (DECA) has secured a commitment from two local banks to loan $1 million to member small businesses. The loans, which will be issued by Business & Community Lenders and Wells Fargo, are tied in part to the […]