One step over the line… The Planning Commission held a rare weekend hearing Saturday to listen to public input on the latest iteration of the Land Development Code. While the expected clashes took place during the hearing, for which more than 200 people signed up to speak, there was also a clash outside of the […]
Reporters’ Notebook
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Reporter’s Notebook: Wide awake at the wheel
Letting go of control… Ford Motor Company has announced plans to carry people and goods around Austin in self-driving cars as early as 2021, but most people in the general public say they wouldn’t feel comfortable taking their eyes off the road in an autonomous car. In August, the Zebra, an insurance comparison company, conducted […]
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Reporter’s Notebook: Think of the children
Cub Scouts bring improvement initiatives to the Planning Commission… Webelos Scout Pack 81 Den 4 arrived at the Oct. 8 convocation of the Planning Commission to speak solemnly to the commissioners about their concerns for the city and what they appreciate. The appearance was part of the pack’s Building a Better World requirement, in which […]
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Reporter’s Notebook: Read all about it
Planting the seeds… Just because water is crystal clear doesn’t mean it is clean. Craig Nazor, a citizen who sits on the Animal Advisory Commission, alerted the Environmental Commission on Oct. 2 that the discharge from the Walnut Creek Water Treatment Plant may potentially be harmful to park visitors. The plant, he explained, has a […]
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Reporter’s Notebook: Questions and apologies
Barrientos raises questions… Former Texas state Senator Gonzalo Barrientos has raised questions about the convention center expansion, Hotel Occupancy Taxes and Proposition B in a letter sent to Austin City Attorney Anne Morgan. Specifically, Barrientos questions the community benefit associated with the proposed expansion and whether music and preservation can be funded through the extra […]
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Reporter’s Notebook: The end of Austin?
And another thing… In arguing against the proposed expansion of the Austin Convention Center at last week’s Music Commission meeting, local developer Brian Rodgers drew some confused and sideways glances from commission members. Rodgers, a Tourism Commission member who helped fund the November ballot measure that could derail the expansion, used a seemingly random if […]
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Reporter’s Notebook: (Cont’d)
If forums were homes… South Austin residents concerned about the city’s policies regarding homelessness and plans for opening a housing center in the area are pushing for candid questions and answers at a community meeting scheduled for Tuesday night. The groups Safe Austin for Everyone Project and SafeHorns are emphasizing that the meeting from 6:30 […]
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Reporter’s Notebook: At what cost
Where’d you go, Harper-Madison?… After District 1 Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison filed her mid-year campaign finance report in July, it turned out that she raised $3,695 in campaign funds in January, February and March and spent $3,589. As Council members are prohibited from raising money outside a one-year window that ended in December, she was […]
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Reporter’s Notebook: Have some pride
Build that fence… The Austin Music Commission has asked the city to send a representative to its September meeting to update the group on work to address the recent rash of shootings and violence in the area around Red River and Seventh streets during evening hours when clubs and music venues in that district are […]
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Reporter’s Notebook: Hearsay and opinion
Careful what you read on the internet, folks… Capital Metro’s current incarnation of Project Connect is no different from anything else the agency ever does: complicated, controversial and confusing. Time, however, is running out for the community and the agency to figure out what it wants to do and whether this project is going to […]
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Reporter’s Notebook: Parting words
When Planning commissioners say adieu… The June 25 meeting marked the end of an era at the Planning Commission. Despite several years of rarely seeing eye to eye when it comes to development, Karen McGraw and James Schissler stepped down from their posts amicably, with an acknowledgment that each has served the city in a […]
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Reporter’s Notebook: Ethics, at a cost
Frank Rodriguez case costs city… After the Ethics Review Commission failed to agree upon a settlement in the case against Frank Rodriguez last May, the case came back before the commission for a final hearing last week. Rodriguez had received $37,000 for consulting services from the Latino HealthCare Forum and used his position to help […]