Fighting for privacy in the nude… During a special City Council meeting Wednesday, John Miki, one of the consultants leading the proposed overhaul of the city’s Land Development Code, described some of the community divisions over development that he encountered not long ago during a tour of the Crestview neighborhood. After noticing a recently constructed […]
Reporters’ Notebook
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Reporter’s Notebook: Don’t knock it, or try it
Delay Red River… When the Austin Monitor published a sneak peek in April of the findings of a close-to-complete draft of Urban Land Institute’s examination of the precarious state of the Red River Cultural District, one of the key findings was that the entertainment district was in its “11th hour” and in danger of being […]
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Reporter’s Notebook: Conspiracies
Think before you speak… As we reported, last week’s final meeting of the Visitor Impact Task Force was a marathon affair. After nearly six months of meetings, the group kicked off the final round of bargaining over the details of a potential Austin Convention Center expansion with rumors swirling that the final confab could last […]
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Reporter’s Notebook: Art and other concerns
Austin artists aren’t good enough?… As part of its consent agenda on Thursday, City Council approved three contracts with firms and artists to provide artwork to the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and an Austin Energy cooling plant. Council approved the electric utility to spend up to $202,500 for the cooling plant artwork, to be provided by […]
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Reporter’s Notebook: Not our jam
Bit of turbulence during that pilot program… An attempt by the city’s Parks and Recreation Department to make “data driven decisions” went slightly off the rails at Tuesday’s City Council work session, where Council members learned that a “parks pass” pilot program may be having unintended consequences. The pass, which is a voluntary program implemented […]
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Reporter’s Notebook: Return of the hat
Return of the Commission Commission?… Once upon a time, there was a Boards and Commissions Transition Task Force that put together a long report on how the city might best manage its boards and commissions in light of the switch to single-member districts and came up with about 44 pages of recommendations. Now some members […]
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Reporter’s Notebook: CodeISSUES
CodeNUDE… CodeNEXT might not represent as radical a change as some may hope (or fear). For instance, the draft of the new code that City Council is now examining made absolutely no changes to how the city will define “adult-specified anatomical areas.” For instance, a business is still considered an adult-oriented business and therefore subject […]
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Reporter’s Notebook: But what came next will surprise you
I, Stuart Harry Hersh… A few months ago, long-time housing advocate and former city staffer Stuart Harry Hersh bought a house. While undoubtedly a big moment for Hersh personally, it’s also been a transition at City Hall where for years, Hersh has been introducing himself by saying, “I’m Stuart Harry Hersh and, like most in […]
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Reporter’s Notebook: Honoring Mary Gay Maxwell
Remembering Mary Gay… A year after her death, the Environmental Commission remembered its former chair, and longtime Austin conservationist, Mary Gay Maxwell. The commission unanimously passed a resolution to rename the Slaughter Creek Management Unit on Wednesday night. The land’s new name will be the Mary Gay Maxwell Management Unit. The unit is composed of […]
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Reporter’s Notebook: Which came first?
Rock ‘n’ roll is here to stay… Don’t expect the early evening musical performances at City Council meetings to go away anytime soon. Asked recently about a city staff recommendation to remove the quickie concerts from the agenda of Council’s notoriously lengthy meetings, Mayor Steve Adler said that he hasn’t heard from any Council members […]
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Reporter’s Notebook: Gondolas! Open Letters!
High time… Perhaps in accordance with the leisurely speed at which its subject is known for, a long-awaited report on aerial gondolas is taking its sweet time in being made public. The high-flying transit alternative captured headlines last September when the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority Board of Directors opted to bankroll the study of […]
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Reporter’s Notebook: Same as it ever was
The cycle continues… South by Southwest has brought another rogue set of transportation providers to Austin. Just as Uber bullied its way into town during a trial run during the 2013 iteration of the festival, several bikesharing companies have deployed their on-demand bicycle rentals on streets and sidewalks downtown. The move took Austin Transportation Department […]