Austin and the University of Texas have the potential intellectual and research firepower needed to compete for a portion of $100 million in National Science Foundation and private tech industry money and in-kind services aimed at creating city-scale advancements in using wireless data in everyday life, and improving the infrastructure that data requires. The award […]
Austin
Posted inAustin
Short-term rentals under scrutiny as SXSW kicks off
The Austin Code Department has started its annual tradition of stepped-up monitoring and enforcement of regulations covering short-term rental businesses, the official policy name for homeowners who rent out extra rooms to tourists visiting for the South by Southwest festival. The lucrative practice, which is aided by websites such as Airbnb and the Austin-based HomeAway, […]
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Adler speech calls for optimism, hard work ahead
Mayor Steve Adler warned the crowd at the Real Estate Council of Austin luncheon Thursday that the CodeNEXT maps showing all the new zoning classifications for the entire city to be released on April 18 will be “wrong,” but the solution is for everyone to take a deep breath and get to work. It’s not […]
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Parks conservancies making their case for hotel tax dollars
Local parks advocates are stepping up their efforts to direct revenue from the city’s fast-growing Hotel Occupancy Tax toward the long-term capital needs of parks and recreation facilities throughout Austin. Projects such as a master plan for Barton Springs as well as ambitious renovations of the spring’s historic bath house and the Beverly S. Sheffield […]
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City task force weighs new uses for hotel occupancy tax
With more tourists coming to Austin each year, the city’s hotels are generating more and more revenue. Some of that funding is set aside to support Austin’s tourism industry, and as the number of guests and hotels grow, so does that pot of money. A city task force is exploring new ways to spend the […]
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Democrats urged to join fight against SB 4
Matt Simpson, policy strategist for the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, told members of the Central Texas Democratic Forum on Monday that Senate Bill 4, the so-called sanctuary cities bill, throws out policies created by sheriffs and police departments across the state about how and when to ask about immigration status. “This is kind […]
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Homelessness in D4 spurs residents looking to marshal housing resources
Residents in the North Austin area focused in District 4 are looking to assemble a network of local service groups and government resources to respond to what’s believed to be an increase in the homeless population there. There’s no official count for the number of individuals with no permanent residence in the district, but anecdotal […]
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ANC welcomes back the queen of the neighborhoods
After a brief moment of rest, it looks as though Mary Ingle will be heading up the Austin Neighborhoods Council once again. Last Thursday, City Council Member Ann Kitchen appointed then-ANC president David King to the Zoning and Platting Commission. He told the Austin Monitor that he thought it was important to take the opportunity […]
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Middle-class job growth to be focus of Austin’s economic incentives revision
The city appears set to reform its economic incentives policies so they focus squarely on middle-class jobs that economists and local politicos worry aren’t growing fast enough. Last week, Mayor Steve Adler posted a draft resolution created with City Council members Ellen Troxclair, Ora Houston and Jimmy Flannigan that directs city staff to assemble a […]
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More funding, policy work for Waller Creek in 2017
With work slated to begin later this year on the biggest of the park improvement projects along Waller Creek, there is expected to be a semi-regular drumbeat of news of new funding and collaboration throughout the rest of 2017. Peter Mullan, CEO of the Waller Creek Conservancy, which is overseeing an estimated $220 million in […]
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What will Trump mean for Austin?
In addition to bracing for a flurry of laws proposed at the state legislature aimed at constraining the power of local governments, City Council is looking ahead at the first year in a decade in which its majority is at odds politically with every branch of the federal government. At a work session Tuesday, Council […]
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Hotel tax increase would fund most aggressive convention center plan
A 2-percentage-point uptick in the city’s hotel occupancy tax appears to be the most favored method of expanding the Austin Convention Center and turning the area around it into a lifestyle and tourist epicenter. That financing option, which would be a key part of a possible $609 million expansion, was one of several discussed recently […]