Early voting begins Monday, April 25, and runs through Tuesday, May 3, in the May 7 city of Austin election over a single proposition: Prop. 1, the ordinance filed by petition that would eliminate fingerprinting and trademarking requirements for ridesharing drivers, among other changes.
On Tuesday, several City Council members attended a press conference to refute “misinformation” disseminated by Ridesharing Works for Austin (which supports Prop. 1), in particular rejecting the advertising claim that defeat of Prop. 1 would impose new background check burdens on the city and costs on taxpayers. CM Delia Garza said, “This election is not about whether you like Uber or Lyft. It’s about whether corporations should be able to make their own rules.”
Spring storms battered Austin over the weekend, with rainfall so heavy that the Lower Colorado River Authority was forced to open floodgates at Tom Miller Dam.
Openly gay Austin pastor Jordan Brown has sued Whole Foods Market after allegedly buying a cake from the North Lamar store decorated with the words: “Love Wins Fag.” After reviewing security footage, Whole Foods claims Brown left the store with only “Love Wins” on the cake and has filed a countersuit claiming the accusation is fraudulent.
Face-to-face visits return to the Travis County Jail this week after two years spent facilitating all inmate visitations through Securus‘ video conference devices. Such visits may occur from 9am-1pm every day, except Mondays. (Visitors must arrive and sign up at the jail at least one hour before their visit, and may arrive to sign up from 7:30am-noon.)
Texas Department of Criminal Justice Executive Director Brad Livingston announced Friday that he’ll retire from his position this August after nearly 20 years spent with the agency, including 11 as chief executive.
Rep. Dawnna Dukes, D-Austin, faces a criminal investigation into allegations that she used her legislative staff to run personal errands and work on the African American Community Heritage Festival during office hours. In addition to an ongoing investigation by the state auditor’s office, the Austin American-Statesman now reports that Travis County prosecutors have opened their own probe.
Low oil prices will put pressure on the next state budget, Comptroller Glenn Hegar told a meeting of the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday. This comes as lawmakers will face increased bills to fix the broken Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, and underfunded public education needs.
This article appears in April 22 • 2016.