City Council Member Kathie Tovo, with assistance from Mayor Steve Adler, has produced a 23-page resolution outlining Council’s desire to create a plan for the southeast part of downtown, including use of the Palm School for cultural programming and expansion of the city’s convention center. The resolution is set for consideration on Council’s May 23 […]
Mayor Steve Adler
Mayor of the city of Austin, elected in November 2014
Posted inCity Council
Council asks city staff for ideas on local Green New Deal, EVs
City Council unanimously approved its own Green New Deal resolution last week in response to the devastating consequences of the climate crisis, from record temperatures to the historic flooding seen in Austin and Central Texas over the last decade. Council Member Leslie Pool sponsored the resolution, while Council Member Alison Alter said the intent is […]
Posted inAustin
DAA launches annual report and new nonprofit
Amidst a multitude of rosy economic statistics on Tuesday, the Downtown Austin Alliance released its first State of Downtown report at the inaugural Future of Downtown event. The report seeks to be “a market snapshot illustrating the central role downtown plays as Austin’s economic, governmental and cultural center.” The taxable property value for downtown property […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Politics, resurrected
The return of Zimmerman… After a few years of (relative) silence from Don Zimmerman, it appears that the former District 6 Council member is once again ready to enter the fray. In an Easter Facebook post, Zimmerman announced he was throwing his famous hat into the ring and exploring a campaign to become Texas House […]
Posted inAustin
Adler says Texas has ‘declared war’ on Austin: ‘We must be prepared to defend ourselves’
Austin Mayor Steve Adler opened the annual State of the City address Wednesday with a quote from Charles Dickens: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Adler said Austin is experiencing a “golden moment” and is in a good position to address challenges like affordability, mobility and equity. But, he […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Chinese Democracy
The press release is made of cheese… How best to follow up a City Council meeting that saw unanimous action to ease the development of affordable housing? If you’ve got the big office on the second floor at City Hall, the answer is getting farcical and sending the recipe for Kerbey Lane Cafe queso, along […]
Posted inAustin
Mayor talks taxes, mobility at RECA lunch
Mayor Steve Adler faced a friendly crowd at Wednesday’s Real Estate Council of Austin meeting. He spoke about his hopes for the future, outlined challenges the city faces in the areas of mobility, affordability and property taxes and answered questions from RECA board Chair Patrick Rose. Right now, Adler said, Austin is the coolest place […]
Posted inTransportation
Adler succeeds Conley as CAMPO chair
In accordance with its bylaws, the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization unanimously approved Austin Mayor Steve Adler’s succession to chair of the Transportation Policy Board at the board’s meeting Monday evening. The previous chair, Will Conley, announced his plan to resign at the board’s last meeting on Jan. 14. The board also approved a motion […]
Posted inCity Hall
City putting high expectations on pending ‘homelessness czar’ position
By the end of this month, the city is expected to name a new “homelessness czar” – or homeless strategy officer in city hiring speak. The new hire will become the point person to coordinate programs from the city and the nonprofit community aimed at relieving the increasingly distressed situation of the city’s homeless population. […]
Posted inCity Hall
After re-election, Adler in ‘do stuff’ mode for 2019
As upbeat as Mayor Steve Adler stays most of the time when talking about the stalled and heavily criticized CodeNEXT rewrite of the city’s land use code, it’s still easy to hear the exasperation and disappointment that lingers over the issue. Adler still thinks pulling the plug on the process this summer was the right […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporters’ Notebook: On tacos and cities
Bullish on tacos… Anyone who’s heard Mayor Steve Adler invoke his civic pride at events over the past four years has undoubtedly heard him praise the availability and variety of breakfast tacos as a badge of honor for the city. Adler has also been pretty frank about Austin’s mobility and transit challenges, which means an […]
Posted inTransportation
Movability aims to keep cutting traffic with 2019 Mobility Challenge
Several local businesses were honored for successful participation in the 2018 Mobility Challenge Thursday morning during the Mayor’s Mobility Leadership Breakfast. The Mobility Challenge, now in its fourth year, has received mobility commitments from 60 local organizations representing over 100,000 employees commuting to and from their workplaces. The city-funded collaborative effort between Movability and the […]