Austin and Travis County officials are urging people to wear face coverings and to avoid large gatherings as the city and the state reopen for business. If that refrain sounds familiar, it’s because you’ve heard the song and it bears repeating, officials say, lest Austin see a surge in hospitalizations for Covid-19 that could cripple […]
Mayor Steve Adler
Mayor of the city of Austin, elected in November 2014
Posted inAustin
Texas attorney general warns some Austin-Travis County Covid-19 orders are ‘unlawful’
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sent a letter to Austin Mayor Steve Adler and outgoing Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt on Tuesday saying some of the requirements in their local public health orders are unlawful and “likely to confuse residents.” Paxton sent similar letters to leaders in Dallas County, Bexar County and the city of […]
Posted inAustin
City ‘continues to work through’ governor’s order to slowly reopen Texas
Texas’ statewide stay-at-home order expires Friday, but the city of Austin has yet to clarify how this might affect local residents, how it will enforce the governor’s new order and what, if any, additional requirements the city will enact. “The city of Austin continues to work through the implications of the governor’s Executive Order,” a […]
Posted inCity Council
Adler urges Austinites to stay at home despite state rollback
When Gov. Greg Abbott announced last week that he would gradually begin to reopen the state, confusion began to mount about what that means for daily life. Is the stay-at-home order lifted? Should we begin to go back to life as it was before? Austin Mayor Steve Adler told the Austin Monitor on Monday night […]
Posted inAustin
Austin, Travis County extend stay-at-home orders, which now require face coverings
Mayor Steve Adler and Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt have extended stay-at-home orders until May 8 and have expanded those orders to mandate that residents wear fabric face coverings during essential work and activities. According to a press release sent out by the city about the new orders, “Everyone over the age of ten must wear […]
Posted inAustin
Austin begins the week under new city restrictions
This week, Austin enters a new phase of public health preparedness, under a new order from the city that expands restrictions put in place last week as part of an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19. The new order, which was issued Saturday, prohibits social gatherings of more than 10 people and gatherings of 10 […]
Posted inPublic Health
Updated: Austin closes bars, prohibits dining in at restaurants and limits gatherings in response to COVID-19
Restaurants are limited to drive-thru and pick-up service, bars must close, and indoor and outdoor gatherings of more than 10 people are prohibited in Austin effective noon Tuesday. Critical infrastructure, like grocery stores, pharmacies, government buildings, schools and hospitals, are exempt from the order, Dr. Mark Escott, interim director of Austin Public Health, said as […]
Posted inAustin
Minus a few hiccups, Adler says real estate community can expect great things for Austin
Despite how things may appear in this moment, in the wake of the cancellation of South by Southwest, Mayor Steve Adler believes the future could hardly look brighter for the city of Austin. With the city ready to adopt a new Land Development Code as well as the best transit proposal ever to make it […]
Posted inCity Council
Adler: 2019 saw action, and frustration, on city’s long-standing issues
Looking back on 2019, Mayor Steve Adler sees a year where a series of major issues came to inflection points on which he and City Council had to take decisive action – and then face the criticism that often follows such moves. From the June vote to decriminalize homelessness and the recent first-reading approval of […]
Posted inCity Hall
Ethics Review Commission finds Frank Rodriguez in violation of city ethics rules
Justice has been a long time coming in the case concerning Frank Rodriguez’s continued ties to Latino Healthcare Forum, a nonprofit he founded while serving as a senior policy adviser to Mayor Steve Adler. After the Ethics Review Commission chose not to accept a settlement agreement presented by both parties last month, commissioners heard the […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Trees, fiber, petition
Heritage tree transplants see high success rates… Moving heritage trees within the city of Austin is no easy feat. It is, however, almost always successful. Out of the 20 transplant sites listed on the City Data Portal, all of the trees are thriving, according to Keith Mars, the Community Tree Preservation Division manager. He told […]
Posted inRoads
Mayor Adler says more lanes on I-35 won’t solve Austin’s traffic woes – but it’s a start
Austin Mayor Steve Adler wants you to know something. “I do not believe that adding lanes to I-35 … is the answer to congestion,” Adler said in an interview with KUT, saying that merely adding lanes will make traffic worse on the notoriously congested highway. Adler was responding to criticism of his vote in support […]