In December 2019, the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, or AUS, hosted more than 778,000 passengers, many of whom bought snacks, coffee, lunches and books, as well as gifts for their friends and relatives. By April 2020, that number had plunged to just 24,643, thanks to the coronavirus. The 96.6 percent decline in passengers weighed heavily on airport […]
COVID-19
Posted inCity Council
Council refines SAVES proposal
The city has not yet found the right balance in regards to distributing $15 million in financial assistance under Save Austin’s Vital Economic Sectors (SAVES). As City Council prepares to consider allocating $8.5 million in sales tax revenue to the program on Thursday, there is still no consensus on an administrative plan to best help […]
Posted inAustin
Abbott allows Texas bars to open again
Texas bars will soon be allowed to open at 50 percent capacity indoors at the discretion of the presiding county judge, according to a new order from Gov. Greg Abbott. Abbott’s newest executive order applies to areas with “low Covid-19 hospitalizations,” which is defined as hospital regions where Covid-19 patients constitute 15 percent or fewer […]
Posted inCity Council
Staffers explain how Covid relief funds were disbursed
This summer, City Council rushed to provide economic relief to small businesses and nonprofits shouldering the burden of closures during the first few months of the Covid-19 pandemic. On Thursday, as they ratified a contract with the Better Business Bureau for services performed in awarding funding under three programs, Council members still had questions about […]
Posted inAustin
Austin families navigate food insecurity inflicted by Covid-19
Jacylin Moya and her mom woke up early Saturday morning to do something they had never done before – go to a Central Texas Food Bank drive. With a line of cars ahead of them, they waited in their car until 8 a.m., when it was time to drive up and collect their box of […]
Posted inAustin
Council approves $15M for vital businesses
City Council unanimously approved a revised version of the Save Austin’s Vital Economic Sectors (SAVES) relief effort on Thursday to provide financial assistance to some of the city’s most vulnerable music and arts venues, child care providers, and restaurants and bars. The modified plan will draw a total of $15 million from city sales taxes, […]
Posted inAustin
How Austin Public Library adjusted to the pandemic
Early on a Tuesday morning, Austin’s Central Library would normally be a bustling place. But today, patrons like East Austin resident Todd Fitzgerald arrive one at a time, wait for the phone call to announce that their books are ready, and collect them from a small table outside the front doors without ever making contact […]
Posted inTravis County
Travis County launches new coronavirus relief grants for nonprofits
With $61.1 million to spend and the clock ticking ever closer to the expenditure deadline of Dec. 30 set by the federal government for coronavirus relief funds, the Travis County Commissioners Court authorized a new grant program called TCTX Serve to assist area nonprofits. The county already has $560,000 allocated to support organizations that provide […]
Posted inAustin
Questions arise about how BBB administers grants
At Tuesday’s City Council work session, Mayor Steve Adler asked Sylnovia Holt-Rabb, the acting director of the Economic Development Department, to explain what went into the selection of the Better Business Bureau to administer nearly $26 million in federal emergency funds the city received for Covid-19 relief grants for small businesses, nonprofits and creative workers. […]
Posted inCity Council
City offers $15M funding plan for SAVES
In the absence of sufficient state and federal economic relief for Covid-19, the city has identified four potential local funding sources totaling $15 million for the Save Austin’s Vital Economic Sectors (SAVES) effort. If approved by City Council this week, the financial assistance would be split among local child care providers, music and arts venues, […]
Posted inParks
PARD contends with homeless encampments during pandemic with limited resources
With nearly 300 parks and 17,409 acres of property to oversee, Wes Bickham, an environmental coordinator with the Parks and Recreation Department, has a lot of ground to cover in his work finding alternative solutions for people experiencing homelessness who are camping on city park grounds. Couple this vast expanse of city greenery with the […]
Posted inCity Council
Over half the city’s Covid-19 relief programs enter funding distribution stages
By the end of September, nine of the 13 established economic relief programs for those impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic will have entered their funding distribution phase, providing money to Austinites in need. In a Sept. 23 progress report, Chief Economic Recovery Officer Veronica Briseño said the city has distributed over $37.5 million in financial […]