The Austin City Council cut Thursday’s meeting short in order to allow city employees to continue with flood relief duties in the city, but they spent enough time on the dais to pass two significant measures for those affected by the rushing waters. Mayor Lee Leffingwell took a moment to note the two flood-related […]
Elections
Posted inDevelopment, Local Government, Local Politics, Public Safety
City, county to expand home buyouts for flooded areas
The City of Austin and Travis County are both preparing to expand their ongoing programs to buy and demolish the homes of residents who live in flood-prone areas. And with last week’s severe flooding in the Onion Creek 25-year flood plain, both the city and the county say they are stepping up their programs. […]
Posted inElections, Local Politics
Israel and VanDeWalle headed for District 50 runoff election
The House District 50 race is headed to a runoff. Of four candidates, Republican Dr. Mike VanDeWalle and Democrat Celia Israel ended the race comfortably in first and second place, though neither secured a majority of the vote. Israel and VanDeWalle will face off in a runoff election on a date yet to be […]
Posted inDevelopment, Elections
Austin voters approve Affordable Housing bonds by wide margin
City of Austin voters handily approved $65 million in affordable housing bonds Tuesday. The vote recharges an Affordable Housing program left without a clear funding path after $70-million-plus ballot question failed at the polls in 2012. At the end of the evening, more than 60 percent of those voting cast ballots in favor of […]
Posted inElections, Local Politics
News flash: Bond passage appears likely after early voting
Early returns in a City of Austin ballot question that asked residents to approve $65 million in Affordable Housing bonds looked likely to pass early Tuesday evening. Early voting returns – accounting for nearly six percent of the population — had the measure up by 5,000 votes, with 16,223 cast for and 11,210 against. […]
Posted inAustin, City Charter, City Council, Elections, Local Politics
ICRC holds final public hearing on proposed Council districts
As the deadline for a single-member district map grows closer, the crowd wanting to address the map has grown larger and more vocal. Wednesday night, the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission held its fourth and final public input meeting designed to solicit testimony about the Sept. 28 preliminary map. The commission heard from a full […]
Posted inEnvironment, Local Government, Local Politics
Leffingwell votes against climate protection clause in CAMPO plan
Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell found himself Wednesday defending a controversial vote to take references to climate protection and greenhouse gas emissions out of the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization’s 2040 plan. Leffingwell told In Fact Daily that he cast his vote with an eye toward preserving regional harmony. An original supporter of Austin’s Climate […]
Posted inLocal Government, Local Politics, Transportation
County ponders how to deal with heritage tree in path of road extension
Travis County Commissioners will face a tough decision next week as they decide the fate of a 100-year-old oak tree that is in the way of an extension of Frate Barker Road in South Austin. The item came up on the court’s agenda on Tuesday, but after examining a complex array of solutions, Commissioners […]
Posted inDevelopment, Local Politics
Council approves fund to preserve heritage of Rainey Street District
Though they ultimately voted unanimously to create a Rainey Street District Fund from collection of development fees, it took at fair amount of bickering for City Council members to get there last week. It remains to be seen exactly how much money will go into the fund, but that was only a part of the […]
Posted inAustin, City Charter, City Council, Elections, Local Politics
ICRC continues hearing on preliminary 10-1 Council Districts map
As a deadline for establishing Austin’s first single-member districts looms, the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission continued to listen to citizens over the weekend. The commission is currently on a whirlwind tour of the four Travis County Commissioner precincts. This past Saturday, they were in Dove Springs, taking public input on the preliminary map, which […]
Posted inLocal Politics, Public Safety
Fleet Services says it needs more staff, bays to service vehicles
The head of the city’s Fleet Services Department told members on the Council Audit and Finance Committee last week that his department has numerous unmet needs, noting that department is short 60-80 repair bays for the city’s vehicles, including nearly 2,000 public safety vehicles. “We have about 87 bays right now,” Gerry Calk told […]
Posted inLocal Politics
Final vote on Special Events Ordinance may wait until January
Though Council members unanimously approved the pending on first reading Thursday, that action came with anticipation of the creation of a Council subcommittee that would deal with lingering issues about the matter. Chief ordinance sponsor Council Member Mike Martineztold his colleagues that he and Council Member Chris Riley would bring forward an item to create […]