Results tagged “citycouncil”

• McCain moves to block FCC net neutrality.
• Still no word from Iran on proposed nuclear deal.
• North Korean leader Kim Jong Il makes summit offer to South Korea.

Austin's department of Economic Growth and Redevelopment Services has posted a job listing for Music Program Manager. The job is Austin City Council's alternative to a city music department.

• Interracial couple in Louisiana denied marriage license.
• Bank of America loses $2.24B as loan losses rise.
• Bomb kills 4 U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

A resolution set to go before the city council this week would change the rules of the road for Austin drivers. The measure would prohibit drivers from texting or emailing while driving and calls for a three-foot safety zone between drivers and pedestrians or cyclists.

• California, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Florida and Georgia all report record unemployment numbers for May.
• Iran's top leader warns of protest crackdown.
• No city music department for Austin, just yet.

Rick Perry makes Rush Limbaugh honorary Texan, saying, "God bless Rush Limbaugh!" A disturbing record: 200 executions under Gov. Perry (so far). 27-year-old Lance Cpl. Matthew G. Reza from Austin was killed in Afghanistan over the weekend. 30-year-old man charged with capital murder in recent death of 17-year-old LBJ High School student. Mother caught on tape at Dell Children's Hospital repeatedly putting feces through her 3-year-old daughter's feeding tube. Teenager smoking in bed starts a fire in South Austin apartment complex. Blanton Museum has a new director: Dr. Ned Rifkin, former undersecretary for art at the Smithsonian Institution. Councilmember Martinez wants you to stop texting while driving.

Austinites will have to wait a bit longer for a new city website. City officials have decided not to award a $700,000 contract to a California company for the work and to seek a new round of bids, according to the Austin Business Journal.

As city officials take time to review their options for the new city web site, a local grassroots effort has sprung up to offer a helping hand. OpenAustin is a "community-based effort to crowdsource the requirements and development" of the city's web site.

Mayoral candidate Brewster McCracken sent out an email this morning announcing that he has decided not to pursue the June runoff election.

Got Saturday plans? Feed your political beast today before 7pm and pick the next Mayor and Council Members of the city where you live, drink booze, and eat tacos. Elise Hu has a slick map of early voting polling places, and the League of Women Voters has a tidy little questionnaire for you to catch up on your research. Don't forget your ID (or voter registration card) — Happy voting Austin!

• MoPac open again after fatal accident this morning.
• Items the Austin City Council approved Thursday.
• Police seek man on the run after SWAT call in East Austin.

• Gov. Perry issues disaster declaration for the state as swine flu cases increase in number (to 16).
• State lawmakers were warned 14 months ago that Texas was ill-equipped to deal with a flu outbreak.
• Possible swine flu case leads to closing of AISD's Lucy Read Pre-K (til May 11).

Soon, city employees can zip around town in their choice of Smart car or bicycle. At last night's meeting, the city council approved a 200-vehicle car-share pilot program with car2go, Daimler’s smart-car based car-share initiative. At the same time, council members approved the purchase of 15 bikes for city employees to use for business needs or during lunch.

April 1st approaches, there's one event taking place that we hope turns out not to be a joke; on Wednesday, the Austin Mayoral and City Council candidates are gathering at the Paramount to present their position on the arts. The cast of potential leaders will have time to share their visions for the future of the arts in our city and answer audience questions. Former Austin City Council member Betty Dunkerley will moderate the event.

The Paramount Theatre will play host Wednesday night to a forum involving candidates for mayor and City Council. All the mayoral candidates and City Council candidates are invited to take part in this event, where they are expected to address the status of the arts in Austin and their ideas for the future of the arts in Central Texas. The forum is sponsored by many local organizations, including the Austin Film Festival, Austin Lyric Opera, Conspirare, and the Paramount & State Theatres.

You may be SOL if you had paid Image Tile for work yet to be done. Three men put out a truck fire in South Austin yesterday, saving the life of the passenger. Austin man steals $178,000 worth of NASCAR tickets and tries to sell them on Craigslist. Body found 26 years ago finally identified. Austin marathon will have many streets closed on Sunday. City Council postpones public hearing and vote on Wildflower Commons. How the recession will affect Texas social services programs.

City Manager Ott's budget shaving would cut library hours from 50 a week to 40. Spansion seized for $9 million owed in taxes. House committee assignments made today: Rep. Strama to chair the Technology, Economic Development and Workforce committee. Travis County authorities trying to get a 23-year-old woman extradited from Mexico for the videotaped sexual assault of two children. City Council says no to South Texas Nuclear Plant expansion. Lesbian couple tries to get a marriage certificate in Dallas County, taking part in National Freedom to Marry Day. Preservation Texas announces the most endangered historical buildings in the state.

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]

After a strained meeting last week with Hispanic city leaders that led them to send a letter to the city council complaining of his condescending attitude, City Manager Ott says he "has great respect" for Austin's diversity. School zones are back in effect: AISD started today. Two FLDS members charged with bigamy. Kyle corrections officer in critical condition after a vehicle hit his bike this morning.

After a string of local and national accidents involving construction cranes, Austin's City Council will decide tonight if it should ask the city manager to study whether the city should regulate the safety of cranes. Cranes have towered over Austinites in greater numbers these last few years, showing a city in flux with a dramatically altered skyline. The Statesman counts two dozen on a given day. Of late, however, the greatest concern has not been the long-neck steel eyesores, but whether the cranes won't come down on your head, or the lunchroom in your office building.

So there’s a couple of new heads in The Hall, and I have to ask the question: the result of the elections seriously feels like little more than a new layer of paint, and is that what we need right now? With everything that's building up and out around us?

Spurred in large part by Mayor Will Wynn's concern that Austin was losing too many music venues, the City created the Live Music Task Force last February. As the downtown area grows and develops, it is the charge of this task force to find a way to find a way to optimally integrate music into our city's future.

Tonight at the City Council Chambers, Austin's Live Music Task Force will meet to discuss sound issues -- and you're invited.

Our pal Austin Contrarian is reporting that at last night's City Council hearing, the councilmembers acceded to demands from the Hyde Park Neighborhood Association to deny pedestrian and bicycle access between Hyde Park and a new development on 51st Street. This means that not only will the street grid that is the basis of Hyde Park not be extended for cars, it will also not be extended for bikes and pedestrians. The street grid is the groundwork on which an urban environment is built. Urban streets form a network that allows movement in every direction via multiple modes of transportation. Suburban streets form a maze of dead ends and require every trip to use an arterial road, almost always by car.

Ethics Reform Commission hosting City Council candidate forum Thursday evening. UT student in trouble with campus police after bringing his gun on campus. Copperas Cove High School student suspended after answering a call from his dad (who is stationed in Iraq) between classes; the school doesn't allow cell phones. Richardson man arrested for traffic violation, mistakenly chosen from a lineup by victim of another crime and jailed for 23 years has been cleared by DNA evidence.

http://seattlest.com/2008/02/28/foo_fighters_da.php">announced his presidential bid.

AT&T Marathon this Sunday morning; watch out for street closures. Early voting starts next week, but you can't vote at Northcross! Bill Clinton will visit Hillary's new Austin campaign headquarters on Saturday night. Ack! 26,000 people so far have entered the raffle for the 100 seats at next week's debate. UT Associate Athletic Director Douglas George Wilson being investigated by Travis County and UT for possible theft of $60,000.

Wednesday at the Drafthouse Downtown, Japanese documentary filmmaker Kazuhiro Soda will be on hand to introduce his documentary, Campaign (Senkyo), a fine look at campaign ethics, the dirt of politicking (we love when that's a verb) and contemporary Japanese culture in general.

Police on the lookout for Adrian Jaimes and his three abductors; his older sister recognized one of the abductors as someone who had harassed her and her brother in January on their way home from school. Sorry, Texas GOP Primary voters planning to vote for Romney! He's dropped out so that his campaign won't help the terrorists win. Or something like that. A lot of Texas GOP voters not happy about having to vote for McCain.

Allen Demling has announced that he will run for election to the Place 1 seat in 2008 (the seat currently held by Lee Leffingwell, who is also running). The election is Saturday, May 10, 2008. Allen will be competing in the 2nd Annual Misprint Magazine Beard and Moustache competition at Club DeVille on Saturday, February 9th. He also has a fundraising event scheduled for February 22nd at the Scoot Inn.