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3-2 on bond ballot proposal Commisioners ask voters to approve $199 million in bonds Travis County Commissioners voted 3-2 Tuesday to put about $199 million in bonds before voters November 6. Commissioners Margaret Gomez of Pct. 4 and Ron Davis of Pct. 1 voted against the package, saying it would cost too much for people […]

On bond proposals today Staff suggsts cutting match for SH 130 to $21 million When Travis County Commissioners meet this morning they’ll be looking at a pared down list of road bond projects, as well as some suggested reductions in funds for parks and replacement of narrow bridges. The county’s Transportation and Natural Resources staff […]

Jay Wyatt, union leader, UTC chair Jay Wyatt, President of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1091 and Chair of the Urban Transportation Commission, knows the transit business inside out. He started out in the early seventies as a school bus driver and soon went to work driving a UT shuttle bus. In 1978, he became a […]

Hilton Hotel height, ownership Landmark site plan 'correction' raises more questions Last month, Mayor Pro Tem Jackie Goodman made what she thought was a simple request for the heights of a number of downtown buildings. Goodman wanted to compare the heights of the Monarch at the foot of Rainey Street, the Plaza Lofts, the Convention […]

To Lumbermen's height Crenshaw, Arnold and Fath lead charge The Parks and Recreation Board gave a thumbs down to the request by Lumbermen’s Investment Corporation (LIC) to build a 180-foot tall tower near Town Lake as part of its development near Sand Beach Reserve. The Planning Commission had sent the request to the Parks and […]

Garcia files treasurer forms Council to set Nov. 6 election next week An energized and enthusiastic Mayor Kirk Watson set out on his quest to be Texas Attorney General Tuesday, but promised Austinites he would continue to be their mayor until his successor is elected. Watson, who said he had talked with 34 other news […]

For Attorney General today As predicted, Mayor Kirk Watson will be resigning to run for Texas Attorney General. Although widely expected to have a press conference today, Watson has decided to have one-on-one conversations with members of the media instead. Margaret Justus, press secretary for the Watson campaign, said the mayor would be speaking with […]

Andy Ramirez, Vice President for Power Production at Austin Energy By David Ansel Andy Ramirez, Austin Energy’s Vice President of Power Production, came to Austin in 1996 from Central Power and Light Company. He was brought in to make Austin’s “production fleet”—its various electricity-generating plants—competitive. The prospect of electricity deregulation in Texas, which goes into […]

No to MLK parking garage/condos City wants block for garage and cooling plant The first two items the City Council voted on yesterday concerned parking garages. In the first, the Council voted 6-1 to proceed with a lawsuit to claim by eminent domain a city block downtown to build a 400-space parking garage for the […]

Or she'll oppose MLK parking garage Final vote on condos & garage set for today The developer of a proposed condo and parking garage on West MLK has received a demand from an adjacent property owner for “reasonable approval rights” as well as $250,000—or she will oppose the development at today’s City Council meeting. Attorney […]

Pay raise for themselves, others Only Baxter votes no on salary proposal The first presentation of the preliminary Travis County budget was made Tuesday morning, and the first amendment, made only minutes later, was a pay raise for the county’s elected employees. Discussion of both the budget and the pay raise was relatively brief. Later […]

Delayed for salamander consultation Nieman still not offering enough for environmental group The Save Barton Creek Association last night voted to ask the City Council to postpone consideration of a zoning change on the Brodie Springs tract until consultation between the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is completed. […]