Austin

Austin voters will decide this November on the fate of seven bond propositions totaling $925 million. Proposition A asks voters to decide on a $250 million bond for affordable housing. 

There are five Austin City Council seats up for grabs in the November election, along with a race for mayor. To help get you ready to vote, KUT is publishing overviews of each race.

Here are the candidates running for District 9, which runs through Central Austin from the Hyde Park neighborhood to the Oltorf Street area.

A lawsuit challenging Austin's ban on camping in public places was in court today.

Attorneys representing Gary Bowens, who is chronically homeless, argued in front of Municipal Judge Mitchell Solomon that the city law is unconstitutionally vague and violates the Eighth Amendment protection against cruel and unusual punishment.

The Diocese of Austin says it will release the names of clergy who have been accused of molestation.

Residents in the Greater Austin area ranked high in voter turnout and knowledge of key issues, but have lent less of a helping hand, according to the 2018 Greater Austin Civic Health Index.

The race for District 8 in Southwest Austin is wide open. In July, incumbent Council Member Ellen Troxclair, who has represented the district since 2015, announced that she would not seek re-election. During her tenure, Troxclair earned a reputation as the lone conservative on the Austin City Council.

A Houston-based religious nonprofit behind the so-called bathroom bill is suing the City of Austin over its anti-discrimination hiring ordinance. The U.S. Pastor Council filed suit in a federal district court late last week, alleging the city rule's lack of exemptions for churches or other religiously affiliated groups violates state and federal law.

Whether you end up pronouncing it differently or not, the road formerly known as Manchaca has a new name: Menchaca. The Austin City Council overwhelmingly approved an ordinance to change the name of the South Austin road to honor the Tejano revolutionary and San Antonio luminary, José Antonio Menchaca.

So who was he?

The city has given the go-ahead to a contract that would keep its portable public toilet operating for the next five years. The 24-hour toilet, which aims to keep the downtown area clean over special events like this weekend's Austin City Limits Festival, will cost Austin $115,000 this year.  

City Council members voted today to rename the South Austin road some believe was named for José Antonio Menchaca to reflect the correct spelling of his name. Currently spelled Manchaca – note the "a" in lieu of an "e" – its colloquialism, Manchac, has been chiseled into the cerebellum of any human who's ever crossed into Austin's city limits.

Update: Travis County Commissioners voted 3-2 to continue negotiations with ROT Rally organizers to keep the annual event at the Expo Center.

Our original post continues: 

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The Austin City Limits festival starts up again at Zilker Park this weekend, and as one of the city’s biggest festivals begins, another could meet its end. A vote today by Travis County Commissioners could mean farewell for the ROT Rally.

Every Oct. 1, the City of Austin welcomes a new budget – and with it, new city fees. These can be anything from public library fines to what it costs to adopt a dog from the city shelter.

You might have seen signs around town telling you how to vote on certain ballot propositions in November. It’s a big list. There are 11 of them — Proposition A through K.

KUT, the Austin Monitor, Glasshouse Policy and A Functional Democracy are hosting a series of forums for candidates running for Austin City Council this fall.

Join us at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 25, at the North Door at 501 Brushy St. for a kick-off event.

Salvation Army, one of the largest service providers for homeless women and children in Austin, is adding thousands of square feet to its shelter in East Austin.

Cody Wilson, founder of the 3D-printed gun firm Defense Distributed, has been accused of sexual assault of a minor last month, a second-degree felony. In a press conference today, the Austin Police Department said the self-styled "radical libertarian" and gun-rights activist was last seen in Taipei, Taiwan and that he missed a flight back to the United States.

The City of Austin will host three community forums over the next week to consider changing how city police officers are supervised.

A new study from the University of Texas points to widespread gentrification in Austin, stretching from northern neighborhoods to the eastern edge of South Austin. Researchers say the groups most impacted by displacement are low-income African-American and Hispanic renters.

For the first time in four years, the housing choice voucher program – formerly known as Section 8 – has reopened its waitlist to Austin residents in need of rental assistance.

The Austin City Council approved a $4.1 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year, with more money going toward homelessness outreach and an increase in the minimum wage for city employees.

Correction: The city filed a brief in response to an injunction temporarily halting its sick pay ordinance. It has not yet appealed.

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The City of Austin said it plans to appeal a state court’s decision to put on hold the city’s paid sick leave ordinance, which was set to go into effect Oct. 1.

Austin is slowly making progress toward becoming a more affordable city, according to a new analysis, but many residents are still finding it difficult to pay for housing.