Over the objections of a number of neighbors and nearby hotels, City Council approved a six-month pilot program Thursday that will allow a handful of bars on Red River Street to play outdoor live music one hour later into the night on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The measure, which was approved 9-1-1, with Council Member […]
City Council
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Human Rights Commission condemns Trump
Austin’s Human Rights Commission is pushing City Council to take the bold move of condemning the president of the United States and banning official use of his company’s products and services. At its meeting on Monday, the commission voted 8-2 to condemn actions taken by both President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. Commissioners […]
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Reporter’s Notebook: Campaign promises
Leaders join the crowd… Saturday’s Women’s March on Austin saw massive crowds, including several City Council members, pack the streets of downtown. Spotted on the sidewalk of Congress Avenue was Council Member Pio Renteria, who gamely posed for at least one photograph. He linked up at the Capitol steps with Council colleagues Leslie Pool, Alison […]
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City discovers problem with homestead districts
Since 2007, Austin has attempted to create several homestead preservation districts in low-income areas in order to fund more affordable housing and help people living below the poverty line stay in their homes. However, only one – District A – has been completed and funded. District A, which includes parts of Council districts 1, 3 […]
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Council agrees on six ‘outcomes’ to work toward in 2017
City Council wants to make 2017 all about outcomes. During a two-day “retreat” led by a group of government management consultants at the AT&T Conference Center last week, Mayor Steve Adler and his 10 Council colleagues came up with six desired outcomes for Austinites that Council’s every move should aim to produce. Council’s work should […]
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Council hopes to reform committees – again
City Council still does not know what to do about its committees. Despite reforms enacted last March aimed at making them operate more smoothly, Council members mostly agree that the four-member panels that they voted to put in place as part of the new 10-1 Council system are not working as intended. Council members were […]
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2016: Adler’s very big year
The past year was definitely a banner one for Mayor Steve Adler, who started 2016 by calling for it to be “the year of mobility.” He was probably not thinking about transportation network companies Uber and Lyft leaving town in a snit after losing the May referendum on whether they should be required to follow […]
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Alter wants Austinites to be ‘captains’ of city’s growth
Compared to City Council Member Sheri Gallo, the lifelong Austinite whom she is replacing on Council, Alison Alter is definitely a newcomer to the city. But these days, a person who has lived in town for five-and-a-half years is barely considered new in America’s fastest-growing city. “I do think that there are a lot of […]
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Tovo concentrates on homelessness, affordability
For Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo, 2016 was a year she made progress on issues related to the homeless, affordable housing, and uncovering and fighting discrimination and retaliation within the ranks of city employees. In the Austin Monitor‘s year-end conversation with her, Tovo also cited moving forward on the sobriety center, a long-sought goal for […]
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Troxclair has opinions
This year, District 8 City Council Member Ellen Troxclair welcomed her first child. She also saw her fair share of accomplishments (and frustrations) within City Hall in 2016. Troxclair counted “making some progress on the Homestead Exemption” among her accomplishments for the year, though she pointed out that the exemption still isn’t quite up to […]
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Pool looks at a good past year in the “last bastion”
City Council Member Leslie Pool is happy with her sophomore year. “We did some important, amazing stuff,” said Pool. “It’s really been a good two years.” Pool, who easily retained her District 7 seat this past November – winning nearly 72 percent of the vote – has lots of praise for the past year. She […]
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Zimmerman: “I’m out of here”
If City Council Member Don Zimmerman is unhappy about losing the seat he has held for two years, he’s not showing it. After losing re-election to Jimmy Flannigan – the same candidate he beat to earn his spot on the then-new 10-1 Council in 2014 – Zimmerman said he accepts the will of the voters, […]