No tweet too small… Each side in the Proposition 1 debate has accused the other of fudging the facts, and your Austin Monitor team is dutifully doing what it can to keep everyone honest. On Friday, for example, we noticed City Council Member Leslie Pool shoot out a tweet accusing Uber of electioneering at one […]
Austin
Posted inAustin
Expo Center revitalization could be city’s next bond election
The Travis County Expo Center – situated on the city of Austin’s largest park – is in need of a $620 million facelift, and City Council members hinted Wednesday that the renovation could be funded by a bond election. News came in the form of Hunden Strategic Partners’ draft report on a market study of the […]
Posted inAustin
City launches affordable parking program, raises meter rates
In a striking display of balance, the city’s Transportation Department will both raise downtown parking meter rates and launch a pilot program that aims to ease parking burdens for downtown service industry workers – all in one fell swoop. First, the bad (and fairly mundane) news: Parking meter rates will change from $1 per hour […]
Posted inAustin
City takes a look at Expo Center plans
Amid talk of the potential pluses of an expanded Austin Convention Center, some City Council members Monday heard for the first time publicly about a recent consultant review of the Travis County Exposition Center. Brian Block, the development administrator for the Parks and Recreation Department, summed up the consultants’ findings, starting with a count of […]
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Reporter’s Notebook: We’re back
Lyft approach riles some in Barton Hills… Last week, members of the Monument Group – a public relations firm representing the transportation networking company Lyft – began contacting neighborhood groups to see if they could bring Lyft’s case in support of Proposition 1 to a neighborhood meeting. Proposition 1 will be on the May 7 […]
Posted inAustin
East Austin reunion tells two tales of local preservation
Jimmy Reed, 78, stands in front of his childhood home on East Austin’s Garden Street. It has been stripped to the 1920s wooden frame, and the barely 800-square-foot home looks more condemned than livable. Reed lived here, he estimates, from 1942 to 1953, with his seven siblings and parents. They were a big bunch. But […]
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Animal Services punts spay and neuter proposal
The Animal Advisory Commission voted down a proposal last week that would have allowed animal shelter staff to spay or neuter an animal the first time it is impounded. Instead, the commissioners will wait for the results of a six-month study that will be conducted by Austin Animal Services. Discussion of the agenda item, which […]
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How the city handles SXSW cleanup
On Sixth Street just past midnight, small herds of young people mill in the street or near the entrances of bars – some smoking cigarettes, others looking at their phones. Virginia Alexander honks at them to move. She is trying to drive her ATV down the street to get to the trash cans. “Watch out, […]
Posted inCity Hall
Contractors give input on disparity study and ordinance
All Austin-area women- and minority-owned businesses are at a disadvantage when it comes to obtaining city contracts, a recent study shows. But while African-American entrepreneurs have often been at the forefront of efforts to push for equity in contracting, some say disparities affecting this demographic have gotten worse rather than better. “The story hasn’t changed all […]
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Texas Supreme Court denies bid to change ride-hailing ballot language
Austin’s ridesharing vote will go ahead as planned, it seems. The Texas Supreme Court denied a request to order a rewrite of ballot language that Austin voters will consider in May regarding regulations for ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft. Austin resident Samantha Phelps filed a writ with the Supreme Court last week, arguing the […]
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As East Austin changes, what power do neighbors have to stop it?
Recently, residents of the city’s East Cesar Chavez neighborhood asked a city of Austin committee to put in place interim controls potentially limiting the influx of new bars, restaurants and breweries. The decision was delayed – and then eventually denied. Had the action gone through, it would have been a rare decision. As things stand […]
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At SXSW, Adler discusses public engagement
Mayor Steve Adler took advantage of South by Southwest on Saturday to spotlight opportunities to enhance public engagement through partnerships with tech sector entrepreneurs. The mayor was one of three speakers on a panel called “Crowdsourcing Policy: Constituents to Changemakers” and hosted by KUT reporter and Austin Monitor contributor Audrey McGlinchy. Appearing with Adler were Francisco […]