Tag Archives: Austin

Houston-Austin rail study

Posted on December 29, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From Houston Tomorrow: The Texas Department of Transportation presented results from a study on the potential for new 110 mph passenger rail service between Houston and Austin, potentially connecting College Station, according to Guidry News and documented in the minutes of the December … Continue reading →

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Austin rethinking its May election

Posted on December 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Yeah, maybe that wasn’t the best decision. Austin City Council members are again discussing whether to move the May council election back six months a politically fraught question that led city officials to trade thinly veiled insults earlier this year. … Continue reading →

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Austin mulls far-reaching bag ban

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This will be worth watching. The City of Austin might enact one of the broadest bag bans in the nation and prohibit disposable paper and plastic bags at all checkout counters starting in January 2016. In the meantime, starting in … Continue reading →

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Austin will get its vote on district Council seats

Posted on November 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

You Austin folks won’t get to vote for Council members next November, but you will get to vote for what kind of Council members you have. The council approved Thursday a resolution that calls for a district proposal to go … Continue reading →

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There’s an app for reporting handicapped parking space violators

Posted on October 29, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

In Austin, anyway. Ever see someone parked illegally and wanted to do something about it? Your chance might be coming. A new smartphone app could allow people in Austin to report illegal parking in spots reserved for people with disabilities. … Continue reading →

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Austin ISD moves its election to November

Posted on October 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

As the song goes, two out of three ain’t bad. The Austin school board voted unanimously on Monday to move trustee elections from May to November. The school district will share November election costs with the county and the Austin … Continue reading →

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Austin officially keeps May elections

Posted on October 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

That’s all she wrote. The Austin City Council decided Friday to hold the 2012 council elections in May instead of November, ending a weeks-long debate marked by accusations of voter suppression and political expediency. A new state law aimed at … Continue reading →

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Austin will keep May elections for now

Posted on September 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, the city of Austin holds its municipal elections in May. They have three year terms for City Council, so half of their elections are held in even-numbered years. As we also know, a bill that was passed … Continue reading →

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High school firefighting classes

Posted on September 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This is interesting. Seeking to tighten spending, the Austin Fire Department last year decided to ax a program at LBJ High School that allowed students to become certified to be firefighters upon graduation. But the Austin school district has decided … Continue reading →

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No grass, no problems

Posted on September 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Texas is in the midst of one its worst droughts ever, yet one of the more arid cities in the state is seeing no noticeable drop in its reservoirs. How is that possible? Simple: They got rid of lawns years … Continue reading →

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More angst over May elections

Posted on August 31, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Star Telegram adds to the litany of woe surrounding the upcoming changes to the state’s elections calendar. Over three months, some voters would face a primary, followed by city and school elections, followed by primary runoffs, followed by city … Continue reading →

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There’s more than one way to do it

Posted on August 29, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Really interesting story about the different approaches being taken by Austin and San Antonio to draw clean energy jobs to their towns. While Austin has taken the traditional route of offering various types of incentives to help create a market … Continue reading →

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Austin ISD rehiring some teachers

Posted on August 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

A little bit of good news. The Austin school board voted Monday to abandon plans to expand class sizes to save money, reverting to the ideal student-teacher ratio of 22-to-1 for classes in kindergarten through the fourth grade and prompting … Continue reading →

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Redistricting lawsuit relocated

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

More preliminaries. A panel of Austin-based federal judges assigned to hear a redistricting lawsuit filed by prominent Travis County Democrats and the city of Austin has decided that case should be transferred to San Antonio’s federal court. Most of the … Continue reading →

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Austin to propose ban on plastic bags

Posted on July 29, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Good for them. The City Council will vote Aug. 4 on a resolution from [Mayor Lee] Leffingwell and Council Members Mike Martinez and Chris Riley that would direct staff members to propose a scope for the ban and a timetable … Continue reading →

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Austin braces for job losses

Posted on July 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Ready or not, here they come. The Texas Education Agency said Tuesday that it is laying off 178 employees this week. Those are among the first of thousands of state government layoffs expected in the coming weeks. The TEA decision … Continue reading →

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“Zero waste” grocery stores

Posted on July 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This is a really interesting idea. That environmentally friendly canvas shopping bag you proudly lug to the grocery store is about to get a lot more full, if you do your shopping in Austin, Texas. You’ll need to fill it … Continue reading →

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Sometimes, a little spite goes only a little way

Posted on July 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve decided I’m more amused by this story than anything else. Last year, six tea party members in the Houston area promised to make Austin City Council members pay for rebuking Arizona’s new immigration enforcement law, and they used extensive … Continue reading →

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Austin presents a single-member Council map

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The city of Austin has released the first maps of a proposed six-district City Council, which Mayor Lee Leffingwell would like to put on the ballot next year for public approval. The City of Austin has for decades operated under … Continue reading →

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Composting

Posted on July 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The city of Austin is looking for more ways to reduce the amount of solid waste that it puts in landfills. Aiming to cut down the waste that Austinites send to landfills, the City of Austin is sponsoring free composting … Continue reading →

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Non-robust job numbers in Texas

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

As goes the country, so goes the state. The Houston area is showing signs of a slowdown after coming off some fairly strong job gains during the winter months. “It’s very consistent with the national pattern,” said Barton Smith, professor … Continue reading →

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“America’s largest city with no pro sports teams”

Posted on June 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This Houston Press lamentation about the city of Austin contained the following tidbit that caught my eye: Austin is America’s largest city with no pro sports teams (though some would debate the amateur status of the Texas Longhorns). Well, that … Continue reading →

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May elections

Posted on June 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, the Lege passed a bill that would have the effect of moving the date for primary runoffs into May. This is causing heartburn for cities like Austin that hold their municipal elections in May of even numbered … Continue reading →

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A short post about airport WiFi

Posted on June 4, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport now has free WiFi service. Maybe after the Terminal B construction is finally done, IAH can have it, too.

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Austin wants to get on the bike sharing bandwagon

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Good for them. San Antonio became the first city in Texas to install a bike-share system last month, when it opened 14 B-cycle stations within a few miles of downtown. Now Austin is considering spending about $1.8 million, plus operating … Continue reading →

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The Austin rail debate

Posted on April 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The city of Austin is gearing up for another debate about how and where – and if – to build more rail there. This is the third time since 2000 that they’ve gone through such a debate. This AusChron story … Continue reading →

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More on the Lone Star Rail District

Posted on February 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The following comment was left on my earlier post about the Lone Star Rail District and its efforts to build a rail line between Austin and San Antonio, and I thought it was worth highlighting: LSTAR is actually much further … Continue reading →

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San Antonio still in for Austin rail line

Posted on February 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I wish them the very best of luck with this. San Antonio officials will continue to pursue a passenger rail line that one day could connect the Alamo City to Austin, a transit project that’s already been in the works … Continue reading →

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District representation in Austin

Posted on January 30, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I have to admit, it hadn’t occurred to me that there were any large cities in Texas that didn’t have City Council districts, but Austin is such a place, at least for now. Mayor Lee Leffingwell will soon propose sweeping … Continue reading →

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What school districts may do to respond to the budget cuts

Posted on January 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

They may raise taxes: Some school officials also are considering even more unpopular options – increasing property tax rates or eliminating special tax breaks. In some cases, even those moves aren’t expected to raise enough money to plug the worst-case … Continue reading →

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What school districts have to look forward to

Posted on January 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From San Antonio: The San Antonio Independent School District is bracing for $33 million to $55 million in cuts for the coming fiscal year, due mainly to the state budget shortfall. The trustees Tuesday night discussed options to reduce costs … Continue reading →

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Katz’s finally kloses

Posted on December 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

An era comes to an end. Marc Katz’s delicatessen on West Sixth Street is finally closing. Katz, whose business M&M Katz Inc., has been mired in U.S. Bankruptcy Court since 2004, said his business is shutting down Jan. 2 after … Continue reading →

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Opening thoughts on the carnage

Posted on November 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

In no particular order… – Republicans gain 22 seats in the State House, for a 99-51 advantage. That’s with Pete Gallego, Hubert Vo, and Donna Howard, all of whom had been trailing early, coming back to win. Howard’s margin of … Continue reading →

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San Antonio smoking ban protests

Posted on July 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The proposal to strengthen the smoking ban in San Antonio has drawn protest from a previously silent constituency. LULAC, the San Antonio Mixed Beverage Association, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the San Antonio Restaurant Association … Continue reading →

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