Tag Archives: Austin

I can drive 85

Posted on June 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

And so can you, on the right road. State transportation officials are testing a new 41-mile segment of an Austin area toll road to see whether it would be safe to post the state’s first 85 mph maximum speed limit. … Continue reading →

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“Zero waste” grocery store set to open

Posted on June 3, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Coming soon to Austin. The idea for a package-free organic grocery store started years ago when brothers Christian and Joseph Lane were discussing a simple business idea: refilling beer and wine bottles. From there, they decided to include other basic … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, glorious food | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

“Crazy” ants come to Austin

Posted on May 5, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

They’re on the move. There’s a new ant in town, and wherever it goes, fire ants start disappearing. It also doesn’t sting or bite. But don’t get excited yet. The Rasberry crazy ant which showed up in Travis County and … Continue reading →

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Friday random ten: South By Southwest

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

You may have heard something about South By Southwest, the big music/arts/techie shindig they have in Austin every year. I’ve never been and honestly probably never will, but I have grabbed some of the free tunes they make available after … Continue reading →

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Homeless Hotspots

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

You’ve probably heard about this by now. If you’re looking for WiFi at the South by Southwest tech conference this week, instead of heading to a cafe or bumming off of a neighbor, you might just ask a homeless person. … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

It’s Super-Commuter!

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

You think you have a long drive to work? Ben Wear writes about a study of people who take it to the extreme. The researchers define a supercommuter as someone who works in the central county of a metropolitan area … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Austin bans bags

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

They go farther than other cities have gone. At 2 a.m. [Friday], the Austin City Council passed one of the broadest bag laws in the nation, agreeing to ban disposable paper and plastic bags at all retail checkout counters starting … Continue reading →

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Austin may accelerate its bag ban schedule

Posted on February 18, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

They’re considering their options. The City of Austin might ban the thin plastic and paper bags offered at checkout counters beginning in March 2013 a year earlier than expected and scrap plans to require retailers to charge a fee for … Continue reading →

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On free speech and reproductive rights

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I must say, I was a bit flummoxed by this story. The City of Austin might repeal a 2-year-old ordinance requiring some facilities that counsel women with unplanned pregnancies to post signs saying they don’t offer abortions or contraceptive services. … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

It’s hard to get beyond coal

Posted on January 14, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The city of Austin is trying, but there are many obstacles along the way. In Austin politics, it’s almost an article of faith that the city must aggressively curb its contribution to global climate change, regardless of what transpires across … Continue reading →

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Another Lone Star Rail update

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

From the Statesman: Commuter rail between San Antonio and Georgetown, at least as a legislatively sanctioned policy goal, will have its 15th birthday this spring. The tiny government agency created later to make it a reality is almost 9 years … Continue reading →

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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 →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

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 →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

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 →

Posted in Food, glorious food | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

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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