Council Member Greg Casar announced Monday that he will not be seeking Sen. Kirk Watson’s now-vacant District 14 seat. In early March, Casar explored the possibility of running for state Senate. However, that move was quickly overshadowed by the cancellation of South by Southwest and the unprecedented fight against Covid-19 that has since consumed Austin […]
Senator Kirk Watson
Posted inTexas State Legislature
State Sen. Kirk Watson stepping down in April to lead Hobby School of Public Affairs
State Sen. Kirk Watson, who has represented Austin in the Texas Senate since 2007, announced he’s resigning this spring to become the founding dean of the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston. In a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott, Watson, a Democrat, said his last day in office will be April 30. […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Wake wake
Is nothing sacred?… The Historic Landmark Commission exercised its right to delay the advancement of an application for a two-story deck at 311 E. Sixth St. at its Jan. 27 meeting. In a unanimous vote, commissioners asked staff to postpone the case and begin researching the building to determine if it qualifies for historic landmark […]
Posted inCity Hall
Council seeks review of insurance appeals
Last month, Chuck Lesniak retired from the city of Austin after 28 years, most recently as the city’s environmental officer. However, his involvement with the city is continuing as he urges City Council to establish a third-party appeals process that might help city employees whose health insurance claims have been denied. This week’s Council agenda […]
Posted inTransportation
Austin Monitor Radio: Transportation BBB
This is the recording of our April 5 transportation discussion with State Senator Kirk Watson and Austin City Council Member Ann Kitchen. Post is embedded below. The evening was sponsored by the Downtown Austin Alliance. Austin Monitor Radio is brought to you by Austin Water. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/260635507″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]