Candidates turned the spotlight on Southwest Austin on Monday night at the District 8 Ballot Boxing forum. All five candidates attended the forum, hosted by the Austin Monitor, KUT News, KXAN and Univision at the Alamo Drafthouse Slaughter Lane. The night kicked off with candidates explaining what they saw as the greatest challenge facing Austin. […]
Local Politics
Posted inLocal Politics
Ethics complaints could get a clearer path
City Council Member Mike Martinez is working on a resolution that could change how the city deals with ethics complaints against those who serve on its boards and commissions. The changes come after Martinez’s Zero Waste Advisory Commission appointee, Daniela Ochoa Gonzalez, was accused of violating the city’s conflict-of-interest policy by an anonymous person through the Auditor’s […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Politics
Quarry sale on hold to study new offer
In a dramatic turn of events, a late, private offer to purchase city land may have gained some traction, putting the proposed sale of a quarry to a neighboring municipality in limbo for the time being. The sale of a 215-acre quarry at 15700 Anderson Mill Road has been put on hold. City Council was […]
Posted inDevelopment, Elections, Environment, Local Politics, Resources
Whispers Roundup: Keeping secrets badly
Whispers Roundup is a weekly column of items from our reporters’ notebooks. “We won’t say a thing to anyone – we swear!” . . . Despite a handful of speeches at Wednesday’s Austin Neighborhoods Council forum imploring the candidates to keep endorsements secret until Monday, a few of the winners have already let the cat […]
Posted inLocal Politics, Resources
Adler releases plan to solve Austin water crisis
Austin mayoral candidate Steve Adler, who has already issued extensive position papers on affordability and education, got his feet wet Wednesday with a new plan to deal with Austin’s water crisis. He issued an “agenda paper” that primarily opposes buying and shipping new water from elsewhere, preferring to emphasize conservation, reuse and a restructuring of […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Politics
Concrete policy remains abstract for now
A change that could allow more overnight concrete installation downtown faced City Council scrutiny at Tuesday’s work session. “This is where the rubber meets the road, when you are trying to manage the balance between a residential downtown and a downtown that is vibrant and growing,” said Council Member Laura Morrison. “I don’t feel this […]
Posted inElections, Local Politics, Transportation
Northwest candidates talk transportation, affordability
Urban planning, pod transportation and green energy peppered Tuesday’s debate among City Council candidates vying to represent District 6 in Northwest Austin. All six candidates attended the forum, hosted by the Austin Monitor KUT News, KXAN and Univision at the Alamo Drafthouse Lakeline, off U.S. 183. Jimmy Flannigan, 36, owns Site Street, an online marketing […]
Posted inLocal Politics, Resources
Water Task Force chair urges innovation for utility
The chair of a task force charged with examining the City of Austin’s position relative to its water resources urged City Council members Tuesday to angle toward “decentralization” of water supply management philosophy and innovation. The switch was suggested to fend off deeper negative impacts related to dwindling supplies. Sharlene Leurig, director of the Sustainable […]
Posted inLocal Politics
Council nears verdict on reshuffling commissions
Austin City Council members have begun circling around a final set of actions that could condense the city’s sprawling Boards and Commissions structure in advance of the new 10-1 Council. Though Council took no vote on the new structure at its Tuesday work session, it appeared headed toward some resolution on a handful of the […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Politics
‘Source of income’ protection looming at Council
Austin City Council members appear to be nearing final debate over a code change that would bar housing discrimination based on a resident’s “source of income.” Indeed, a Sept. 10 memo from city human resources director Mark Washington to Council outlines staff’s suggested language for the potential change. Some herald the new language as a […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Politics
Memo questions legality of living wage mandate for City CIP projects
A memo from Austin Public Works director Howard Lazarus to City Council members and Mayor Lee Leffingwell suggests that a theoretical Council policy that “would require contractors and subcontractors working on (City of Austin) Capital Improvement Program projects to pay workers the city’s living wage” could run into legal issues. In this case, Capital Improvement […]
Posted inPremium Types
Tip Sheet: Austin City Council, 9.22 & 9.25
Austin City Council meets for a work session Tuesday at 9am and then for its regular meeting on Thursday at 10am. In the interest of space, we’ve decided not to post the entire agenda here. The City Clerk’s office hosts a copy of the full agenda on its web site. These are items listed as […]