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Austin

Piecemeal shelters during winter storm highlight need for better coordination

At a meeting Monday to discuss the city’s response to Winter Storm Uri, City Council highlighted one of its biggest priorities to prepare for future disasters: strengthening Austin’s network of disaster shelters.  Though Council members praised the community and city…

Zero Waste Advisory Commission talks through logistics of Prop B

With the passage of Proposition B earlier this month, Austin residents voted to reinstate local laws establishing prohibitions against sitting, resting and camping in public in certain parts of the city. Opponents of the proposition argued that in addition to having…

A beloved post office in Hyde Park is closing. The Austin neighborhood wants to know why.

Barbara first heard the rumor from the mailman. Deaton learned the news from her neighborhood listserv. Michele saw the gossip on Facebook. And it was true: The post office that’s sat at the corner of 43rd and Speedway in Hyde…

Public, Council members push for new emergency plan after winter storm

The head of the city’s new task force examining the impact of Winter Storm Uri says the city must create an updated and far more robust emergency response plan. Sareta Davis, chair of the Winter Storm Review Task Force, also…

Tourism Commission recommendations include gondolas funded by hotel tax

A transit system geared toward tourists, paying Austin musicians to promote local tourism, and a variety of programming and promotional efforts for historic sites are among a new batch of recommended uses for the city’s Hotel Occupancy Tax dollars. This…

Downtown vacancies eyed for arts activations, tenants with new pilot program

Vacant storefronts in downtown Austin could become temporary homes for arts and creative organizations beginning this summer thanks to a pilot program under development by the Downtown Austin Alliance Foundation. The foundation is currently working on a lease agreement with…

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EDC eyes push to make more city properties available for music, arts uses

The city’s new economic development corporation will make a push this summer to identify city properties that could be repurposed into music venues or creative spaces, and has started to assemble the financial models for creating two arts spaces in…

Council committee delves into ACE finances

Jolsna Thomas, who serves as secretary/treasurer of the board of Austin Convention Enterprises, which oversees financial matters related to the downtown Hilton Hotel, asked members of the City Council Audit & Finance Committee Wednesday to work on getting City Council…

Austin Pets Alive! provides neonatal care for kittens in kitten season

It’s kitten season, the time of year when the population of kittens explodes in communities across the country. Kitten season begins in the spring and peaks during the summer, lasting until the fall months. During this period, thousands of kittens are…

Downtown leaders map out pandemic recovery amid construction boom

Downtown Austin leaders painted a mixed but promising picture of the city’s core on Wednesday, with large-scale construction projects accelerating and helping the area shake off the slowdown of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Downtown Austin Alliance presented its annual State…

Music supporters' budget proposals seek $20M+ for pandemic recovery

Advocates for Austin’s music community have come forward with a pair of budget proposals urging the city to earmark roughly $20 million in its next budget specifically for music-related purposes to help the creative economy recover from the pandemic. On…

City names anti-displacement officer as real estate prices climb

As Austin’s real estate prices continue to soar, the city has named a new point person in charge of reducing the displacement of residents from affordable housing units. Nefertitti Jackmon recently started her new role as the community displacement prevention…

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