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Most Popular Stories
- Austin unveils how light-rail could change the city in new report with detailed maps
- Lost Creek neighborhood sues city over tax efforts
- Density proponents encouraged by HOME six-month progress report
- Most Austin-area drivers will still need a vehicle inspection. Here’s where the rules have changed.
- On the verge of demolition, neighborhood seeks recognition for Holy Cross Hospital
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- The city is seeking applicants for the Community Development Commission to represent low-income residents
- DAA lunch talk looks at future of I-35 amid expansion, cap-and-stitch concerns
- Report: Austin home prices grew 85 percent since 2014
- Share your thoughts on CapMetro’s proposed upgrades for payment options
- City is preserving affordable housing near the Domain
Austin
Salvation Army seeks funding on top of city dollars to open shelter for families
The Downtown Austin Alliance Foundation has pledged $100,000 to help open a new shelter for homeless families in East Austin, months after the city agreed to a one-time contribution of $1 million. The funding will help cover some of the…
Austin • By Chad Swiatecki • Sep 10, 2019
Austin City Council could use e-scooter regulations to limit homeless encampments, memo says
City officials released additional guidelines Friday on how to limit homeless encampments in Austin, including spatial limitations on sidewalks and along waterways. The memo from the city manager and the Homeless Strategy Office is meant to guide the Austin City…
Austin • By Andrew Weber, KUT • Sep 3, 2019
City memo says Austin could put limits on where homeless people may camp or rest
Austin will reexamine its new rules governing homelessness, according to a memo released Friday. The memo sent to City Council on behalf of Austin’s Homelessness Strategy Office says the city could abandon its idea to make space for emergency encampments…
Austin • By Andrew Weber, KUT • Aug 19, 2019
Tourism Commission wants agreement between city, short-term rental companies
The Tourism Commission has asked City Council to change its long-held stance toward short-term rental platforms like Airbnb in favor of an agreement that would earn the city millions of dollars in new Hotel Occupancy Tax revenue each year. At…
Austin • By Chad Swiatecki • Aug 14, 2019
City outlines displacement mitigation strategy based on People’s Plan
Following a Council directive last year to analyze the recommendations put forth in the People’s Plan, city staffers from a variety of departments have released a Displacement Mitigation Strategy report detailing an approach to contend with gentrification and displacement in…
Austin • By Jessi Devenyns • Aug 12, 2019
Council approves hotel tax increase
Despite requests from Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt and commissioners Margaret Gómez, Brigid Shea and Jeff Travillion, Austin City Council voted early Friday to approve a 2 percent increase in the city’s Hotel Occupancy Tax, which will allow the city…
Austin • By Jo Clifton • Aug 9, 2019
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Legislature cuts farmers market fees, costing city
Passage of a little-known bill, Senate Bill 932, which establishes a $100 maximum fee for food sales permits at farmers markets, will cost the Austin Public Health Department about $4,000 in the current fiscal year and an estimated $41,485 in…
Austin • By Jo Clifton • Aug 8, 2019
Showdown over hotel tax increases could put city and county at odds
A week after the Travis County Commissioners Court voted to explore tapping a 2 percent increase in the local Hotel Occupancy Tax for its own uses, Austin City Council appears set to claim the same tax increase to fund an…
Austin • By Chad Swiatecki • Aug 7, 2019
ECHO has a new leader
The Ending Community Homelessness Coalition, one of the leading organizations involved in addressing Austin’s homelessness problem, will have a new top executive today as the group’s co-founder, Ann Howard, steps down to focus on her campaign for a seat on…
Austin • By Chad Swiatecki • Aug 5, 2019
Travis County, city of Austin ramp up census efforts
Travis County and the city of Austin are mounting an aggressive effort to make sure the 2020 U.S. census count is as complete and accurate as possible. The county and city are collaborating by jointly funding a temporary position “to…
Austin • By Jack Craver • Aug 5, 2019
Amid criticism, Travis County DA resigns from state sexual assault task force
Travis County District Attorney Margaret Moore resigned from the state’s Sexual Assault Survivors’ Task Force on Friday. Her appointment was cut short after critics, including survivors suing over Moore’s record of handling sexual assaults, expressed concern. The task force was…
Austin • By Nadia Hamdan • Jul 30, 2019
Council, neighbors plan meetings on how to manage South Austin shelter
City leaders and residents are planning a series of meetings in the coming weeks to help them move forward and provide some clarity on efforts to manage the city’s growing homeless population. The Aug. 8 City Council meeting – the…
