Billboard owners are asking City Council for permission to modernize their billboards by making them digital. On Thursday, Council approved a resolution setting up a stakeholder process to try to reach some agreement about whether the city should allow digital billboards and what kind of regulations would be appropriate. One group that has always opposed […]
Austin
Posted inAustin
Group calls for shake-up at CTRMA
An unlikely coalition of activist groups is calling on the Travis County Commissioners Court to shake up the board of directors at the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority. On Wednesday afternoon, attorney Fred Lewis led the group’s debut press conference in downtown Austin urging the court to turn down CTRMA Board Member Charles Heimsath’s application […]
Posted inAustin
Immigrant rights activists confront mayor over deportations
Mayor Steve Adler engaged in a courteous but tense public conversation over the city’s immigration policies with a group of immigrant rights activists outside of his City Hall office Monday afternoon. ICE Out of Austin – a group pushing for local law enforcement to no longer cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain or […]
Posted inAustin, City Council, Monitor News & Media, Radio
Kanin on Council: TNCs Negotiations, the Kitchen Petition & Impending Budget Negotiations
The Austin Monitor’s Michael Kanin joins KUT’s Jennifer Stayton to talk about Austin City Council negotiations with transportation networking companies, a petition to oust Council Member Ann Kitchen and the looming prospect of city budget negotiations. Post is embedded below: [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/243236072″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]
Posted inAustin, City Council, Elections, Local Politics
Mystery surrounds Kitchen recall petition
As Mike Blizzard describes it, Wednesday morning began like any other. Then came a knock at his door. “A lot of people come through the neighborhood trying to get you to replace your windows, and I thought that’s who it was,” said Blizzard. “But instead it was a canvasser with a petition to recall City […]
Posted inAustin, City Council, Transportation, Uncategorized
Little clarity in TNC debate
Where there was once a clear path for City Council to revise rules for transportation network companies, there is now a plethora of possibilities. Council voted last month to require fingerprinting background checks of TNC drivers, and it is set to lay out a system of incentives and disincentives for the companies at its next meeting, Jan. […]
Posted inAustin, City Hall
What is at the core of Austin’s TNC fight?
Without much pomp save for the “Shine On” T-shirt she wears, Monique Mitchell stands with fellow Lyft driver Mo Ratel at the edge of Austin’s Zilker Park, scanning the field below. It’s a sunny Wednesday afternoon; dogs and their owners dot the grass. Mitchell and Ratel each grip a pen and a clipboard brimming with […]
Posted inAustin, City Council
Transition panel reaches some conclusions
Mayor Steve Adler has proposed adding an extra week to the time between when an item is posted on City Council’s draft agenda and the day Council hears the item. Members of the transition committee – an unofficial Council committee working on changes to committee rules and procedures – seem to have reached agreement on […]
Posted inAustin, City Hall
Zero waste commission endorses sale of city land
In a move that may ultimately help the city create a hub for manufacturing companies that use locally recycled materials, the Zero Waste Advisory Commission has endorsed the sale of a piece of property owned by Austin Resource Recovery. Nine commissioners supported the measure at last Wednesday’s meeting, with Commissioner Jose Valera abstaining and Vice […]
Posted inAustin, City Council
KUT Interview: The Austin City Council 10-1 system after year one
The first Austin City Council elected under the city’s new geographic district system was sworn into office on January 6, 2015. After about a year in office, how are things going? Is the system of ten geographic districts – rather than members elected at-large – delivering on its promises? KUT’s Jennifer Stayton talks with the […]
Posted inAustin
Council to soon consider public restrooms downtown
Everyone has to use the restroom, but sometimes it can be frustrating to find somewhere to go, especially if you are in downtown Austin. To help alleviate this problem, the City Council’s Health and Human Services Committee has directed the Office of the City Manager to look into the feasibility of installing free, 24-hour public […]
Posted inAustin
Mandatory pet sterilization not recommended to help reduce number of animals in shelters
Austin animal owners should not be forced to spay or neuter their animals, said Chief Animal Services Officer Tawny Hammond in a briefing before the City Council Health and Human Services Committee. The presentation, which comes just as Austin is about to celebrate five years as a no-kill community, was requested by Mayor Steve Adler in response […]