Queen of Zoning exits City Hall stage… Betty Baker, the chief author of Austin’s historic preservation program as well as the first and only chair of the city’s 14-year-old Zoning and Platting Commission, said goodbye to her friends at the city on Thursday as she stepped down from ZAP. Baker, 82, began her city service […]
Reporters’ Notebook
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: gates, pies and tracheotomies
Council ponders homestead exemption, pie… City Council members may have been craving pie Wednesday afternoon, having tossed the metaphor around while discussing ways to fairly distribute the costs and benefits of a proposed homestead tax exemption on residents. Council Member Leslie Pool took the concept to levels of abstraction that may have had members of […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Au revoir, RDCC
That’s one set of appointments no one has to worry about … Last Thursday, City Council dissolved the Residential Design and Compatibility Commission. The RDCC initiated the process, passing a resolution to dissolve itself in February due to the decreased number of cases coming before the commission. “They felt the need not to exist,” explained […]
Posted inCity Council, City Hall, Reporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Zim appointments continue
More nomination fun … District 6 City Council Member Don Zimmerman continued his streak of commission nominations last week. Zimmerman posted his latest round of picks Thursday on the Council message board, and they include Antonio Buehler to the Public Safety Commission and Mackenzie Kelly to the Commission for Women. Buehler founded the Peaceful Streets […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Pressley deposed
Pressley denies bad press caused election loss … Former City Council candidate Laura Pressley believes that errors made by Travis County, not the bad publicity she received before last November’s election and the December runoff, were the reasons that she lost to Greg Casar, now the District 4 Council member. Pressley explained her views during […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Decker Golf saga continues
Decker Golf proponents want Pool to recuse from issue . . . Two Colony Park neighborhood leaders who believe that the Decker Lake Golf development would benefit them and their neighbors have called on City Council Member Leslie Pool to recuse herself from participating in committee meetings during which the proposal is being considered. Pool said […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Appointment drama continues
Casar challenges District 6 appointment … Last Friday, Council Member Greg Casar used the City Council Message Board to announce that he will be asking Council to rescind the District 6 nomination to the Commission on Immigrant Affairs, Rebecca Forest. Casar wrote, “During a speech at a political rally, the recent nominee from District 6 […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: The Return
What a country! … Before hearing a set of briefings from Transportation Department staff at a March 25 meeting of the City Council Mobility Committee, Council members had a high-level discussion about the merits of regulating Austin’s taxicab industry. Council Member Don Zimmerman turned heads when he compared Austin’s taxicab regulations with his experiences in […]