Whispers

In observance of Labor Day, city administrative offices and other municipal facilities will be closed Monday, Sept. 2, and business hours will resume Tuesday, Sept. 3. Closures include City Council offices, all recreation and senior centers, cultural centers, museums and libraries. Austin Public Libraries All locations will be closed Sunday and Monday, Sept. 1 and […]

Creek Show, the annual light-based art exhibition that sets Waller Creek aglow, is coming back this November for its 10th anniversary celebration, honoring a decade of what it calls “high spectacle creativity, innovation, and community.” Creek Show alumni artists and designers are creating a new series of light-based immersive spectacles along the creek that will […]

Mayoral candidate Doug Greco has earned the endorsement of the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund. The group, which is dedicated to electing LGBTQ+ candidates to office, will work to promote its endorsement and Greco among its supporters. In a statement about the endorsement, the group wrote, “LGBTQ+ people remain severely underrepresented in government nationwide – holding just […]

The Labor Day holiday comes with public safety concerns, so the Austin Parks and Recreation Department will limit vehicle capacity at Commons Ford Ranch Metropolitan Park during the weekend so that emergency and staff vehicles can come and go as needed. Parking will be limited to specified areas within Commons Ford starting Friday, Aug. 30, […]

Austin ISD has been picked as the only Texas school district to receive a federal grant to fund solar panels at 14 campuses in historically underserved communities. Those rooftop panels produce 2 megawatts of energy, the equivalent of powering 230 homes in Austin, and the district anticipates an additional 5 megawatts with money from the […]

Following an equipment failure that left about 6,400 Austin Energy customers without power last Thursday night, the energy utility has made a permanent fix to its substation. In a press release about the fix, Austin Energy officials thank the public for their conservation efforts, which they say “were instrumental in keeping the power flowing, allowing […]

This Tuesday’s work session, which would have been subject to a new court ruling on speaker rules, has been canceled. In a post on the City Council Message Board, Mayor Kirk Watson explained, “The City Manager and his team have let my office know that there are no scheduled briefings for our upcoming Council Work […]

In an effort to help and inform would-be recipients of $3 million in Heritage Preservation Grants, the city is holding workshops and office hours over the next month. The grants can go toward projects that are connected to preserving Austin’s diverse history. According to a press release from the city, “Eligible projects must engage new […]

Judge Daniella DeSeta Lyttle granted a temporary restraining order against the city of Austin on Thursday. The order prevents the city from moving forward with November’s charter election, which has 13 proposed amendments to the city’s governing document. The judge found that the city did not provide adequate notice for the charter election item at […]

Applications to join the Imagine Austin Working Group are open, but they close Friday, Aug. 30. The group will be a resource for the city’s planning team as they work to revise Imagine Austin, which is the city’s comprehensive plan that guides how the city grows and is developed. The working group will be made […]

A burn ban is now in effect for the unincorporated areas of the county. Travis County commissioners voted to issue the ban at their Tuesday meeting, on Aug. 20, when it immediately went into effect. The ban will remain in effect for 14 days unless further action is taken. The ban does not apply to […]

An online information session on the Mueller Affordable Homes Program, created for families earning less than the area’s median income who might not otherwise be able to afford a home or rent an apartment in Central Austin, is set for 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 26. The session on affordable housing options will cover […]