City Council is on annual hiatus, and won’t meet again until its July 27 budget work session. In the meantime, five incumbents are campaigning for re-election.
In its final act before the break, Council confirmed last week an additional 2% homestead property tax exemption, bringing the current total to 8%. See “Council: No Marxism Around Here,” July 8.
Mayor Steve Adler is on a two-week economic development tour to South Korea, China, Singapore, and Taiwan, hoping to open markets for local businesses. The trip coincides with the 30th anniversary of declaring Taichung, Taiwan, as Austin’s sister city.
Austin Firefighter Eddie Hernandez received a 60-day suspension and a series of additional sanctions after being arrested for a DWI. Hernandez failed a field sobriety test after falling asleep while in line at the In-N-Out Burger drive-through in North Austin.
Austin’s Public Safety Commission concurred with Austin Police Department plans to continue meeting with stakeholders to refine APD’s still-evolving body camera policies. The commission also suggested the city conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the program’s effectiveness and costs after two years of implementation.
The city’s Historic Landmark Commission seems determined to continue the fight over the naming of Lee Elementary School. Last week, commissioners testily cross-examined Austin ISD staff over the decision to remove the original (but now incorrect) art deco Robert E. Lee sign, to make way for the new Russell Lee name.
Facing securities fraud charges, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton accepted more than $329,000 from political donors and “family friends” to pay off his mounting legal bills, according to Texas Ethics Commission filings. The names put to rest who was footing the AG’s massive legal tab, expected to hit millions.
Protests erupted in Baton Rouge, La., on Tuesday, July 5, after a graphic video of police shooting and killing 37-year-old black man Alton Sterling outside of the convenience store where he sold CDs went viral. The Baton Rouge Police Department said in a statement that police were responding to a disturbance call from a complainant who claimed a black male in a red shirt threatened him with a gun.
Hillary Clinton will not face criminal charges for keeping classified documents on a private email server while she was secretary of state, FBI Director James Comey announced this week. Unsurprisingly, Sen. Ted Cruz declared that Comey’s decision “threatens the rule of law.”
This article appears in July 8 • 2016.