After a long history of covering City Hall, Travis County and the like, the Austin Monitor stopped publishing in October 2025 to pursue a new project: Austin Current. For the foreseeable future, the Monitor will live on as a searchable…
Nearly three years after the city approved funding to upgrade the Millennium Youth Entertainment Complex, the project remains incomplete. The wait for new theater seating to complete the upgrade has been pushed back to at least summer 2026…
In August of 2023, after three years of planning and many thousands of dollars, City Council was forced to scrap its comprehensive Zilker Park Vision Plan, amid a bitter battle waged by detractors and the park’s surrounding residents. But…
Although Austin has fewer overall automobile crashes than other major Texas cities, the percentage of crashes involving serious injury or death of a pedestrian is still at the same rate — 27.9 percent– as other large Texas cities. That is…
Austin’s most famous trail is on track to get a $25 million upgrade. A new boardwalk is planned for the south shore of Lady Bird Lake, replacing a cramped section of the Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail between South First Street and…
The Downtown Commission is asking City Council to reject new height limits for downtown towers and, instead, replace the city’s Downtown Density Bonus Program with a funding system tied to future property-tax revenue. Their recommendation,…
Between the I-35 expansion, MoPac construction, and the general growing pains of the metroplex beyond its transportation infrastructure’s capacity, Travis County Judge Andy Brown has long advocated for the need for commuter rail between…
At their most-recent meeting, City Council’s Mobility Committee heard a presentation from Assistant City Manager Michael Rogerson the burgeoning air taxi industry, which Rogers framed as an emerging issue for city transportation. “As a…
Gov. Greg Abbott says he’s using state police to clear homeless encampments across Austin – including on parks and trails maintained and owned by the city. That was news to Austin Mayor Kirk Watson. Watson said Tuesday that the order from…
Travis County Judge Andy Brown and Mayor Kirk Watson held a joint news conference Monday to announce that each had signed disaster declarations related to wildfire risk. “On Friday I signed a disaster declaration,” Brown said. “It will…
A small parcel in the Hancock neighborhood may see more intense zoning in the future after winning an endorsement from the Planning Commission during their September 23 meeting. Property owners are seeking a change from multifamily…
Travis County elections officials estimate only about 25% of registered voters will cast a ballot this fall, keeping with the trend of lower voter turnout on off-year elections. But, that doesn’t mean there aren’t important issues to weigh…
Last week, Travis County announced that the Austin-San Antonio region has been selected for a two-year program to facilitate the region’s climate change resilience efforts. “Government boundaries may define jurisdictions, but they don’t…
Austin has fallen behind cities of a similar size when it comes to caring for its elders. It’s no longer in AARP’s top 10 cities to live in for older adults as of 2022. In fact, last year, it didn’t even make the top 25. That might not be…
The city of Austin has begun dispatching a team that includes both mental health experts and police to address mental health emergency calls coming from the downtown area. The Austin Field Integrated Response Support Team, or Austin FIRST,…
The number of complaints of fraud, misuse of resources and abuse by city employees continues to increase each year, according to Brian Molloy, chief of investigations for the Austin City Auditor’s Office. Molloy told the Council Audit and…
On Monday afternoon, city leaders and transportation policymakers gathered to celebrate the unveiling of Vision Zero’s 10 Year Report on Austin’s progress toward making traffic deaths a thing of the past. “Traffic crashes aren’t accidents.…
The owner of a site in East Austin’s Rosewood neighborhood is asking for a zoning change that would allow future development to include a bar. So far, that request has been met with opposition from neighbors and city staff, over nine…
Parents, staff and community members took the mic one after another for the first time last week to express how they felt about the Austin Independent School District’s school consolidation plan. Some worried about the social and academic…
County commissioners have taken their biggest step yet towards getting families tangible access to child care following a voter-approved tax increase to fund sweeping investment in that sector last November. Of the $75 million approved…
Austin’s roadway art, including the rainbow crosswalk at Fourth and Colorado streets and the “Black Artists Matter” painted on 11th Street could soon be gone. Gov. Greg Abbott ordered cities and counties Wednesday to remove displays like…
City Council voted 8–3 on Thursday to purchase a commercial property on South Interstate 35 to serve as the city’s first housing navigation center for people experiencing homelessness, following hours of debate and neighborhood…
If the Austin Independent School District closes 13 schools as planned, what happens next could remove some of the most valuable public land nestled among residential neighborhoods across the city. The Austin ISD board — made up of nine…
Members of Austin’s Public Safety Commission approved a resolution on Monday calling for a full audit of the progress made on police training academy reforms. In November, 2020, the city hired Kroll Associates to review and evaluate the…
Coffee and cafes are on the City Council menu this week. This Thursday’s meeting will include a resolution that directs city staff to study how small hospitality businesses can open in residential neighborhoods more easily. The proposal…
In an expensive city like Austin, it’s a tough time to raise property taxes — especially on top of rising gas bills and a county tax hike to fund disaster relief for the July floods. Yet that is what the City is asking the voters to…
We have written several exciting new chapters this year, but this one might be the biggest: The Austin Monitor will become the Austin Current. The Austin Current is a bold, new local newsroom built to keep pace with Austin’s explosive…
How many years should it take for a concession in city parks to gain legacy status? City staff are proposing 30 years, but some Parks and Recreation Board members say that number is too high. After deliberating whether to recommend…
A conditional use permit requested by the city was approved by the Zoning and Platting Commission during their Sept. 2 meeting. The permit was nearly rejected, and eventually postponed, during an earlier meeting of the commission. The…
A long-awaited list of which Austin Independent School District campuses will close for the 2026-2027 school year will be released to parents at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. In an Instagram video, Austin ISD Superintendent Matias Segura said the…