Demonstrators linked arms to form a human wall around Muslims and protect them from potential protesters at the state Capitol on Tuesday for Muslim Capitol Day. Calling themselves “peace observers,” the demonstrators joined in support of Muslim participants from across the state who were taking part in the biennial tradition, which is billed as an […]
Austin
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Economic forecast puts focus on transit, housing, jobs for 2017
AngelouEconomics’ annual economic forecast for Austin sees the city’s economy slowing its growth somewhat in 2017 and 2018. But roughly 107,000 new residents in that timespan will add more pressure on the local cost of living and transportation systems. The forecast from local economist Angelos Angelou gathers data from throughout Austin and Texas as a […]
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Adler delivers State of the City address this weekend
Last year was a busy one for Mayor Steve Adler. Among many other things, he kicked off a mammoth undertaking to shepherd through a $720 million mobility bond, worked diligently on public outreach on the city’s land use code rewrite and championed a Music and Creative Ecosystem Omnibus to help preserve the city’s legacy as […]
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For Austin tech Trump means uncertainty, mixed with opportunity
On issues ranging from immigration to support for clean energy technology to the future of media, the coming Donald Trump presidency brings a whole lot of uncertainty and possibly some opportunity to the tech scene in Austin. That was the prevailing logic Wednesday at the Austin Tech Alliance’s panel discussion “Trump’s Impact on Tech in […]
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Mayor sees collective effort in revitalizing east downtown
Just before the new year, Mayor Steve Adler wrote a lengthy post on the City Council Message Board, titled: “Possible solution to downtown puzzle.” He later said it wasn’t so much a puzzle, but that there were a lot of pieces involved. What he’s referring to is a snaking spine of green space, commercial areas […]
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Has Austin’s booming population finally peaked?
For years, we’ve been hearing about how Austin is one of the fastest-growing cities in the country. Thousands of people move here each year, but recent reports show that some of the factors that draw people to the city – like good jobs – aren’t growing quite as fast as they used to. And it […]
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Will Trump’s vow to cut funding for sanctuary cities affect Austin?
In a windowless office in a Northwest Austin thrift store, past several racks of high-end used clothing, Todd Logan pored over a list of names. “We had about 84 folks we were helping through our housing program,” he said. Logan is the director of client services at Project Transitions, a nonprofit that provides medical care […]
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Hotel business – and HOT revenue – would accelerate with convention center expansion
The biggest number looming over the Visitor Impact Task Force is fairly easy to grasp: The city’s Hotel Occupancy Tax generated more than $90 million in revenue in 2016, with double-digit growth expected well into the future. It’s the many other numbers and percentages – and how those figures are parsed and allocated – that […]
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Videos from City Summit 2016: state vs. local
Our third edition of City Summit, produced this year with our partners at KUT and Glasshouse Policy, tackled a range of topics centered around interactions between state and local governments. Complete videos from each of the six panel discussions are embedded below. [one_third] Groundwater: What’s bubbling beneath the surface? San Antonio Water System VP […]
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2016: An Austin Monitor review
As residents of the actual world, and not just City Hall World, we at the Austin Monitor are well-aware that most year-in-review lists will be filled with relief that the seemingly cursed 2016 will soon be over. Our relief comes from the fact that we have to focus our look back only on our narrow perspective, […]
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Animal Services to take community-centered approach to lost pets
In some parts of Austin, runaway pets are likely to stay lost. That’s what an analysis by the city’s Animal Services Department has found. While roughly one animal for every 100 residents gets brought into a shelter citywide, three ZIP codes in East Austin – 78702, 78724 and 78617 – have intake rates two and […]
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Human Rights Commission prepares to take on Trump and SB 92
Austin’s Human Rights Commission is testing how much influence city government can have at both the state and national levels this year. Members of the commission are proposing to take a strong stand against President-elect Donald Trump in January and are preparing a recommendation for City Council to condemn some of his statements and conduct […]