Sections

About Us

 
Make a Donation
Local • Independent • Essential News
 

Austin

Census changes could take political power, funding from Texas Latinos already hit hard by Covid-19

Texas’ growing Latino population is poised to be significantly undercounted in this year’s census, following a slew of recent Trump administration moves. Advocates say that means Latinos could face a decade of diminished political power and underfunding for essential government…

Mayor touts justice agenda, Project Connect in State of the City speech

Although “the current state of our city is anxious, troubled and hurting,” Mayor Steve Adler said during Wednesday’s State of the City address, the city has “a once-in-a-century opportunity to no longer be bound by who we were a year…

Study pushes city toward using data, results in plans to address homelessness

The city and organizations working to solve homelessness will adopt a more data-heavy approach to achieving the goals of the 2018 Action Plan to End Homelessness. The move to handle contracts for homeless services in a results-focused way is expected…

City moving forward with plans for $12M to acquire space for artists, musicians

This week City Council is expected to consider an agreement with the Texas Facilities Commission that will begin the process of acquiring creative spaces around the city using a $12 million bond approved in 2018. The interlocal agreement would approve…

Black leaders in Austin want to build a racial justice movement that sustains itself for years to come

Black leaders in Central Texas are forming a new coalition called the Black Leaders Collective to address systemic racism. The group has about 40 members, including activists, educators, artists and policymakers who say they want to create meaningful and transformative…

Austin music venues seek $20 million from city to prevent closures

Austin’s Music Venue Alliance plans to ask the city to provide $20 million in aid specifically for music venues that have been closed since mid-March due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Music Venue Preservation Fund request was discussed at Wednesday’s…

Subscribe to our newsletter

Survey predicts 90 percent of Austin live music venues to close by Halloween

A survey of Austin businesses impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic finds that 90 percent of the city’s live music venues are likely to permanently close by this fall. That forecast was one of the conclusions of a June survey conducted…

Animal advocates decry Austin Animal Center intake policy changes

In a video making the rounds on social media, a woman is standing near the entrance to the Austin Animal Center with a medium-sized dog on a leash. She’s telling a staff member she cannot keep the dog, who is a stray,…

City offered free DNA analysis of remains exhumed in Oakwood Cemetery chapel project

Years of analysis have revealed little information about the human remains of 36 bodies discovered buried beneath the Oakwood Cemetery Chapel in November 2016. Now a potential academic partnership between the Parks and Recreation Department and a biological anthropologist at the…

Arts Commission to decide on next year's funding, with deep cuts for all

Arts groups that have received contracts from the city’s Cultural Arts office in recent years will likely see significant decreases next year, with some groups in line to lose more than half of the funding they received in their most…

New working group eyes town centers to solve affordability pressures

A new working group from four of the city’s commissions hopes to identify ways that the town center planning concept spelled out in Imagine Austin could be used to combat affordability issues driving veterans, artists and other vulnerable populations out…

With Abbott's green light, Austin will require businesses to enforce mask rules

While the governor has said Texans can’t face penalties for not wearing face coverings, cities and counties can apparently mandate that businesses require their customers to wear masks. Austin Mayor Steve Adler issued an order Wednesday requiring businesses to start…

Back to Top