Austin neighborhoods are working to reimagine Halloween, with families and households strategizing how to balance safety and fun in an effort to preserve the spooky holiday amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Austin Public Health issued a statement Oct. 9 regarding recommendations for celebrating Halloween this year. The recommendations are intended to help parents of young children and households […]
Austin
Posted inAustin
Austin libraries receive funding to help low-income students
With the Covid-19 pandemic forcing a dramatic rise in the number of online classes and amount of schoolwork, some students in low-income households, who may not have access to the internet or own a personal computer, are being left behind. According to 2018-2019 Austin ISD student data, more than half of students in the district […]
Posted inAustin
Travis County judge won’t let bars reopen at 50 percent capacity
Travis County Judge Sam Biscoe said he’s not going to allow bars to reopen at 50 percent capacity Wednesday, citing a memo from the county’s top doctor saying Covid-19 “continues to be a threat.” “In the past ten days, Travis County has seen an increase in hospitalized individuals, ICU bed utilization and ventilator use,” Biscoe […]
Posted inAustin
Abbott allows Texas bars to open again
Texas bars will soon be allowed to open at 50 percent capacity indoors at the discretion of the presiding county judge, according to a new order from Gov. Greg Abbott. Abbott’s newest executive order applies to areas with “low Covid-19 hospitalizations,” which is defined as hospital regions where Covid-19 patients constitute 15 percent or fewer […]
Posted inAustin
Austin families navigate food insecurity inflicted by Covid-19
Jacylin Moya and her mom woke up early Saturday morning to do something they had never done before – go to a Central Texas Food Bank drive. With a line of cars ahead of them, they waited in their car until 8 a.m., when it was time to drive up and collect their box of […]
Posted inAustin
Council approves $15M for vital businesses
City Council unanimously approved a revised version of the Save Austin’s Vital Economic Sectors (SAVES) relief effort on Thursday to provide financial assistance to some of the city’s most vulnerable music and arts venues, child care providers, and restaurants and bars. The modified plan will draw a total of $15 million from city sales taxes, […]
Posted inAustin
How Austin Public Library adjusted to the pandemic
Early on a Tuesday morning, Austin’s Central Library would normally be a bustling place. But today, patrons like East Austin resident Todd Fitzgerald arrive one at a time, wait for the phone call to announce that their books are ready, and collect them from a small table outside the front doors without ever making contact […]
Posted inAustin
Questions arise about how BBB administers grants
At Tuesday’s City Council work session, Mayor Steve Adler asked Sylnovia Holt-Rabb, the acting director of the Economic Development Department, to explain what went into the selection of the Better Business Bureau to administer nearly $26 million in federal emergency funds the city received for Covid-19 relief grants for small businesses, nonprofits and creative workers. […]
Posted inAustin
Audit calls Austin’s ‘bad landlord’ program ineffective, says it doesn’t ensure safe housing
A city program intended to make sure landlords maintain safe apartments is failing to do its job, a new audit finds. The report released Wednesday by the Office of the City Auditor looks at the Repeat Offender Program within the city’s Code Department. Created by City Council in 2013 and paid for with a monthly […]
Posted inAustin
Audit cites lax city oversight of Mexic-Arte Museum
The city has not done the work needed to develop and oversee its agreements with the Mexic-Arte Museum, according to a report from the Office of the City Auditor. Auditors reported finding a number of contract monitoring weaknesses, raising questions about whether the museum is living up to its agreement with the city. In particular, a […]
Posted inAustin
Council members consider funding to save local service economy
Without significant intervention, economists are predicting a “K-shaped” Covid-19 recovery trajectory, a scenario where “high-skill” professionals thrive while the service sector continues in a rapid decline. City Council hopes to prevent the further demise of our local music and arts venues, restaurants, bars and child care centers with a new concept called SAVES, or Save […]
Posted inAustin
Economic Development Department outlines plans for $12M creative space bond, creation of Austin EDC
The Economic Development Department outlined its plan for a $12 million creative space bond and a city-owned economic development corporation that could help it along at a joint meeting of the arts and music commissions Friday. The city launched a request for information on Aug. 27 as the first step in an effort to create city-owned creative […]