Newsletter Signup
The Austin Monitor thanks its sponsors. Become one.
-
-
Most Popular Stories
- Austin is increasing security at city parks and greenbelts following string of car break-ins
- Objections arise over Project Connect’s plan to use parkland
- Advocates urge immigrants in Austin to plan – but not panic – over new Trump orders
- Documentary film highlights the history of an 1870s-era home and the story of Clarksville
- New areas at Enchanted Rock could open as soon as this fall after park more than doubles in size
-
-
-
Discover News By District
-
-
-
The Austin Monitor thanks its sponsors. Become one.
Travis County
Travis County takes brand-new tack in courthouse search
Travis County’s search for a new site on which to build a new civil courthouse has taken an unprecedented turn after the Commissioners Court on Tuesday voted to solicit proposals from potential private partners interested in both putting up land…
Travis County • By Caleb Pritchard • Feb 21, 2018
In State of the County address, Eckhardt looks forward to future term
With no credible threat to her re-election in November, Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt delivered a State of the County address on Thursday night that had the luxury of looking a full five years into the future. Clocking in at…
Travis County • By Caleb Pritchard • Feb 9, 2018
In picking a new CTRMA rep, Travis County goes with a familiar face
The Travis County Commissioners Court on Tuesday chose an old hand to be its newest representative on the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority’s board of directors. In a unanimous vote, the court awarded the seat to attorney John Langmore, a…
Travis County • By Caleb Pritchard • Jan 31, 2018
Sobering Center one step closer
The Travis County Commissioners Court unanimously approved a contract on Tuesday awarding Tegrity Contractors the right to construct the Austin Sobering Center. Austin/Travis County Sobriety Center will remain the name of the local government corporation that operates the facility. The contract…
Travis County • By Caleb Pritchard • Jan 24, 2018
Eckhardt's watchword for 2018: Teamwork
Christmas came early for Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt when, on Dec. 11, no one from either of the two major parties stepped up to challenge her for her seat. That means Eckhardt will skate to a second term without…
Travis County • By Caleb Pritchard • Jan 5, 2018
Daugherty, the odd man out, finds ways to make it work (mostly)
Commissioner Gerald Daugherty is the only Republican on the Travis County Commissioners Court, but as long as that body maintains its track record of financial prudence, he’s okay with that. In 2017, the court lowered the county’s property tax rate,…
Travis County • By Caleb Pritchard • Dec 27, 2017
Subscribe to our newsletter
Rare drama for persistent optimist Gómez
Commissioner Margaret Gómez, generally the most unassuming member of the Travis County Commissioners Court, will start off 2018 with an unusual amount of attention on her and her alone. The Precinct 4 commissioner is the only one among her colleagues…
Travis County • By Caleb Pritchard • Dec 27, 2017
Travillion's first year set a brisk pace for continued advocacy
Travis County Commissioner Jeff Travillion hit the ground running in his first year as the representative of Precinct 1, a role that he sees as an opportunity to reverse decades of repressed opportunity east of Interstate 35. “Every day that…
Travis County • By Caleb Pritchard • Dec 26, 2017
Criminal justice, conservation and CAMPO keep Shea engaged
2017 was the year that Gov. Greg Abbott, in particular, opened fire on Travis County, hacking state grants for key criminal justice programs after Sheriff Sally Hernandez softened her office’s policy on dealing with federal immigration enforcers. For Commissioner Brigid…
Travis County • By Caleb Pritchard • Dec 26, 2017
County officials launch inmate tablet pilot
The Travis County Sheriff’s Office will launch a pilot program in 2018 that will put tablet computers in the hands of inmates at the county correctional complex in Del Valle. On Tuesday, deputies briefed the Commissioners Court on the progress…
Travis County • By Caleb Pritchard • Nov 30, 2017
Travis County braces for new annexation law
The state’s new law that will make municipal annexations more difficult will also bring new complications for Travis County, the Commissioners Court learned on Tuesday. Scheleen Walker, long-range planning manager at the Transportation and Natural Resources Department, told the court…
Travis County • By Caleb Pritchard • Nov 29, 2017
STAR-Vote collapses
Lack of interest from the private sector has sunk Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir’s plans for a proprietary new voting system. On Tuesday, DeBeauvoir told the Travis County Commissioners Court that STAR-Vote is all but dead. The news marked a…
