Travis County is asking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for “guidance” on how to avoid environmental damage to the sensitive Flint Ridge Cave during the construction and operation of the proposed State Highway 45 Southwest toll road. County officials are requesting that representatives from Fish and Wildlife meet in January with the parties responsible […]
Austin
Posted inAustin, Bicycles, City Council, Parks, Transportation
Longer hike-and-bike trail hours on the way
As a parting gesture, City Council members finally found a way to keep some of the city’s hike-and-bike trails open a little longer. At their final meeting, Council members unanimously approved an ordinance that will allow the Parks and Recreation Department director to set operating hours to something other than the standard hours, which are […]
Posted inAustin, City Hall, Development
ZAP gives Spicewood Springs project new life
After a denial from City Council earlier this year, the developer of the Overlook at Spicewood Springs has returned with a compromise. Currently, the property at 4920 Spicewood Springs Road is undeveloped. The developer is seeking a zoning change from SF-2 to Limited Office (LO). It was Plan B for the developer, who unsuccessfully sought […]
Posted inAustin, Elections, Local Politics, Radio
Austin Monitor Radio: Election Result Analysis
Jo Clifton and Mike Kanin analyze the final results of the 2014 Austin City Council elections. The show is posted here, below: [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/182171388″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]
Posted inAustin, City Council, Courts, Local Politics
Zimmerman v. Bulldog case going to court today
Attorneys for District 6 Council Member-elect Don Zimmerman and Austin Bulldog publisher Ken Martin will face off in a Travis County district court this morning over a lawsuit Zimmerman filed related to a Bulldog story that outlined court proceedings in which Zimmerman relinquished managing conservatorship of his daughter. Zimmerman claims in the lawsuit that Martin […]
Posted inAustin, Development
Homeowners seek to preserve vegetation, lake view
A fight over the value of invasive species ended in a postponement at the Board of Adjustment last week. Ginger and John Mitchell are permitted to build a dock at their home on Lake Austin. But the places where they could build the dock without a variance would either kill the plants they love or […]
Posted inAustin, Preservation
Commission seeks to preserve Tarrytown home
On Monday, the Historic Landmark Commission pushed to preserve a Tarrytown house. Its owners would like to see it gone. Though commissioners had the option of postponing the case to allow for more research, Commissioner Terri Myers instead urged her colleagues to “go for the gusto” and initiate historic zoning. That initiation passed unanimously. The house, […]
Posted inAustin, Energy, Environment, Resources
EUC wants ‘fair shake’ in gas plant study
After much discussion about the scope of work for an independent review of Austin Energy’s proposed combined-cycle natural gas plant, the Electric Utility Commission voted Monday to organize a working group and provide the utility with official comments by Jan. 12. Vice Chair Karen Hadden, who made the final motion, said she did not feel […]
Posted inAustin, City Council, Elections, Local Politics
New Council set; Gallo, Troxclair, Zimmerman all in
All the players in the new 10-1 Austin City Council are finally in place after Tuesday’s runoff elections. There is a lot that is remarkable about the city’s first Council elected from single-member districts. For starters, 10 of the 11 members are holding a city office for the first time, with only one returning member […]
Posted inAustin, City Council, Elections
Mayor-elect Adler wins by huge margin
Austin has a lot of new faces getting ready to sit on a brand new form of City Council. The future mayor, attorney Steve Adler, who beat opponent Council member Mike Martinez with 67 percent of the vote, celebrated with supporters Tuesday night, with his eye clearly focused on the work ahead. Adler said: “I’m […]
Posted inAustin, Elections
Early voting results are posted
These are the Early Voting returns from the Austin Mayor and City Council runoff elections. Elections officials released these numbers shortly after 7 p.m. Mayor Steve Adler 69.79% Mike Martinez 30.21% District 1 Ora Houston 73.39% DeWayne Lofton 26.61% District 3 Sabino “Pio” Renteria 56.97% Susana Almanza 43.03% District 4 Gregorio Casar 63.53% Laura Pressley […]
Posted inAustin, Development, Local Politics, The Code
Audit finds short-term rental enforcement lacking
Members of the Council Audit and Finance Committee learned Monday that, though the city has had success in bringing illegal short-term rentals into compliance, those that do not come into compliance are falling through the cracks. On a positive note, a city audit found that the Code Department had been largely successful at bringing unlicensed […]