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Local Government
Travis County Commissioners Court extends emergency disaster declaration
Following the local disaster declaration last Friday, the Travis County Commissioners Court unanimously extended the county’s disaster declaration in light of ongoing concerns about public health risks associated with COVID-19. This state of emergency will continue indefinitely or until the…
Travis County • By Jessi Devenyns • Mar 11, 2020
The city's rewrite of its land use code heads to court (again)
Lawyers representing a group of Austin homeowners will argue in court this week that landowners have the right to formally protest the rezoning of their property under a citywide land code rewrite. If the court sides with them, it could…
Courts • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Mar 9, 2020
Travis County seeks a 'Marshall Plan' for east side
Travis County Commissioner Jeff Travillion and Joe Straub, president of Rodeo Austin, started a conversation with members of the City Council Audit & Finance Committee Wednesday. “Let me just say for the record, I did not come to pick a…
Travis County • By Jo Clifton • Feb 28, 2020
Municipal court cases linger longer these days
Four years ago, the Austin Municipal Court generally took under 190 days to close cases. The number of days has since gone up to roughly 215 days, due to Senate Bill 1913 passed by the Texas Legislature in 2017, said…
City Hall • By Areeba Amer • Feb 26, 2020
Eckhardt talks revenue caps, Palm School negotiation in State of the County address
At several turns during her State of the County address Thursday, Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt reminded listeners that in many respects, the county operates as an extension of Texas’ state government. The pluses and minuses of that framework, she…
Travis County • By Chad Swiatecki • Feb 21, 2020
Activists push to protect Palm School, eyeing property's role in proposed cultural district
With Travis County moving ahead with action that could lead to development of the historic Palm School site downtown, local activists are hoping the city can find a way to preserve the property and make it a major part of…
Travis County • By Chad Swiatecki • Feb 20, 2020
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State Sen. Kirk Watson stepping down in April to lead Hobby School of Public Affairs
State Sen. Kirk Watson, who has represented Austin in the Texas Senate since 2007, announced he’s resigning this spring to become the founding dean of the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston. In a letter to Gov.…
Texas State Legislature • By Andy Jechow, KUT • Feb 19, 2020
Lawsuit claims TCAD hiding sales price information
Protax, which represents property owners who are protesting the property values assigned to their homes, and 10 of its employees have sued the Travis Central Appraisal District alleging the agency has violated the Texas Public Information Act. According to the…
Courts • By Jo Clifton • Feb 13, 2020
County leaders champion no-cash bail
Amidst an aggressive push from activists to reduce arrests and incarceration, Travis County leaders highlighted two important initiatives Tuesday as evidence that the county is a leader in progressive criminal justice policy. First, the Travis County Commissioners Court quickly approved…
Travis County • By Jack Craver • Feb 12, 2020
Babies, immigrants fueling Travis County growth
Contrary to public perception, Travis County’s population would be booming even without newcomers from California. That was one of the main takeaways from a presentation to the Travis County Commissioners Court on the most recent population data from the American…
Travis County • By Jack Craver • Feb 7, 2020
Travis County hires law professor as its first-ever public defender
Travis County has hired University of Virginia law professor Adeola Ogunkeyede as the first person to lead its public defender office. Until last year, the county was the largest jurisdiction in the United States without an office to handle cases…
Travis County • By Andrew Weber, KUT • Feb 5, 2020
New nonprofit seeks to boost census participation
With six weeks until the 2020 census kicks off, the local effort to boost participation hopes to raise additional money for outreach efforts. Census Program Manager John Lawler, who is overseeing the Austin/Travis County Complete Count Committee, which both the…
