Watson celebrates as anti-Project Connect bill fails in Texas House "Mayor Kirk Watson joined House Democrats from Austin on Thursday to deliver a potentially fatal blow to House Bill 3899 — the anti-Project Connect bill that sought to derail the multibillion dollar mass transit project's funding plan and appeared to be on a fast-track to becoming law." (Ryan Autullo, Austin American-Statesman)
Texas lawmakers on cusp of reviving school property tax breaks for big, expanding businesses "State senators on May 24 voted 27-4 in favor of the Texas Jobs and Security Act, designated as House Bill 5, which would effectively bring back the core of the controversial Chapter 313 incentives program that came to an end in 2022." (Mike Christen and Justin Sayers, Austin Business Journal)
$5M in federal funds secured for Walnut Creek Trail extension "U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett announced May 19 that he secured $5 million in federal funding for the Walnut Creek Trail extension project. Once complete, the trail will span 19 miles and connect Govalle Neighborhood Park in east Austin to Balcones District Park in north Austin. The project as a whole is being funded through the 2016 and 2020 Mobility Bonds." (Brittany Anderson, Community Impact)
Latest estimate shows Austin's homeless population dipped slightly as folks move out of downtown "All told, the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition found 2,374 people were unhoused in Travis County during an overnight survey known as a point-in-time count in January. This was a decrease from when the last census took place in 2020, which saw a 10-year high." (Andrew Weber, KUT 90.5)
City to ban unsafe fence designs "The city will soon prohibit unsafe fence designs, like those with spiked or widely spaced pickets, to reduce the risk of serious injury and death in humans and animals. On Tuesday, the Planning Commission unanimously recommended City Council approve the new rules. This comes a year and a half after Council passed a resolution to initiate a process to put the rules into city code." (Jonathan Lee, Austin Monitor)
