Results tagged “cityofaustin”

After months-long discussions over how to counter an estimated $30 million revenue shortfall, the City Council yesterday voted unanimously to approve the final Fiscal Year 2010 budget.

The new AISD Diane Gorzycki Middle School in southwest Austin will begin the school year on a green note. By later this week, Austin lawn might be a little brown. Falling lake levels have prompted the LCRA to demand additional water conservation steps from their wholesale customers. Beginning today, August 24th, and until further notice, Austin will begin enforcing stage two water conservation regulations.

It’s a site Native Americans came to for healing and—perhaps more awesomely—where Robert Redford learned to swim. But the millions-year-old Barton Springs pool will be closing for six to eight months thanks to something frustratingly man-made: holes in the concrete bypass culvert.

A City of Austin sponsored class that promises an insider’s view of local government along with hands-on experience will be offered beginning in September. It is a quick overview of Austin's 31 departments. The cost: a couple of hours of class time for 10 weeks. The instructors: Executive team members like the assistant managers, City staff, and Department Directors. The class is not only a reverse show-and-tell, but also an opportunity to find people who might be interested in serving later as volunteers. For example, here is one of the application questions: In what ways would you like to be a community leader in Austin in the next five years? And, for the skeptics out there, this should only cost the city around $2,500 in printing costs.

Think you've got the chops to solve City of Austin's budget woes? They've put up a "Budget Simulation Exercise" that lists a slew of areas, from Library and Police to Watershed Protection and Health & Human Services, where sources of increased revenue are possible. The point of the exercise is to come up with at least $9.3 million in savings or new revenue, though even this falls well shy of the estimated $30-43 million shortfall that the current 2010 budget faces.

In honor of Mayor Will Wynn's last day in office, Austinist compiled these top five lighter moments from his eight-year-long tenure. As News 8 reports, Wynn plans to stick around Austin and will be working for a Dallas-based energy firm, so, you know, you'll totes be able to hang out with him at Key Bar.

Amidst a massive budget shortfall, City of Austin is considering whether or not to cancel this year's Trail of Lights at Zilker Park.

Tori Amos is coming to the Long Center on July 25. Tickets go on sale May 26 here.

The city council has postponed today's scheduled vote on awarding a contract to create the new city web site.

Texas Monthly founder and former publisher Mike Levy has dropped out of this year's mayoral race. In a written statement, Levy attributed his decision to "very personal and family considerations," including the recent death of his mother.

AE is hosting a town hall meeting tonight at City Hall, which you can participate in via their live online broadcast. You can also submit questions by calling in (512-974-5597). The meeting will run from 6:30 to 9 p.m.

Native Austinite Chris Riley is formally kicking off his campaign for the City Council Place 1 seat tonight with a fete at Threadgill's World Headquarters on Riverside. The event is free and all are invited to attend. "This is a chance to meet Chris and other fellow Austinites who are getting involved with issues like reducing our dependency on cars, growing our green economy, and promoting our music & arts scenes in town," said campaign staffer Michael Litt. The party runs from 6 to 8 p.m. [More info]

Lee Leffingwell joins the Austin mayor's race. City of Austin under a hiring freeze as of today. The Austin woman accused of hitting a police horse with her shoe has been sentenced to 5 years probation. Austin-based B-Side Entertainment lands millions in new financing and will soon enter the feature distribution business. Environmentalists want more regulation of coal ash disposal in Texas. No Special Session this year on KLRU. San Antonio Toyota plant still on single shift as part of the automaker's national slowdown on vehicle production.

Texas' Top 10 Most Wanted Fugitives includes an Austinite. State Senate still arguing this afternoon about that two-thirds majority thing. Civil rights advocates suing DPS over new driver's license requirements for immigrants. City Council will vote on Barton Springs Pool Master Plan tomorrow. Local activist and Executive Director of Austin Free Net Ana Sisnett died yesterday. Man steals 350 medical records from St. David's Hospital on Monday instead of taking them to the archiving company. New study says that Ike damaged about half the homes in Harris County and left over 18,000 houses uninhabitable.

Sponsored by Council Member Mike Martinez with support from Council Members Laura Morrison and Randi Shade, the ordinance states that "confusion regarding the operational requirements, permitting procedures, and enforcement mechanisms applicable to outdoor music venues has caused problems for neighborhood residents, venue operators, and city staff," and while a resolution is worked out, "imposes a temporary 'time out' on the issuance or renewal of outdoor music permits." If approved, new permits and renewals wouldn't be issued until February 27, the day after the City Council is expected to reach a resolution on the matter.

State Senate starts off the session with a tense closed-door discussion on the two-thirds rule. It's official: Straus is now Speaker of the Texas House after a unanimous vote. Because of confusion re: the permitting process, City Council mulling over a temporary hold on outdoor music permits. The helicopter crash yesterday on the A&M campus killed a Lufkin soldier. Meals on Wheels and More accepting converter box coupons to pass on to their homebound clients. T. Boone Pickens hopes that some stimulus funds will go towards converting commercial trucks to natural gas. 1978 Dallas rape/homicide case overturned by an appeals court, meaning a man who's been on death row for 30 years could soon be freed.

It's unclear whether the 69-year-old Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-Independent, who last vied for the governor's seat in 2006, will again attempt to rally support around her "One Tough Grandma" slogan. Strayhorn previously served as the first (and only) female mayor of Austin for three consecutive terms, from 1977 to 1983.

howing support for the Live Music Task Force's recommendations to City Council tomorrow is one of the most important things you can do tomorrow at 2 pm. Prior to LMTF's presentation in chambers, the Save Austin Music folks are organizing a march to city hall, starting at Antone's at 1 pm.

City Manager Ott presented his proposed 2009 budget to the city today. Expect higher garbage and water rates, as well as rotating library branch closures. Public library usage up this summer. O ho, the Wells Fargo Tower has been sold. It looks like the Rio Grande levees will hold up after South Texas received a battering from Dolly.

Austin's continued involvement in the Central Texas Clean Cities Program, has earned the city a $12,500 in grant funds from the U.S. Department of Energy.

Austin Water Utility’s Free Toilet Program is back! If you’re an Austin Water Utility customer whose toilets were installed before 1996 you may be eligible for a new, high-performance toilets for free. The new high-performance HETs (high-efficiency toilets) use only 1.28 gallons with each flush. New flapperless technology means these toilets get the job done in just one flush with even less water than some modern toilets.

What do you get when you recycle 80,000 pounds of aluminum cans, or approximately 2.7 million cans? Well, evidently $5,000 dollars and a national award for the City Recycling Challenge. Mayor Will Wynn accepted the Cans for Cash prize on behalf of the City of Austin at the recent U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting taking place last week.