Audrey McGlinchy
@AKMcGlinchy
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Housing reporter @KUT , Austin's @NPR station. Host of Growth Machine: How Austin Engineered its Housing Market: Tips: audrey @kut .org
Austin, TX
Joined May 2012
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BREAKING: The Austin City Council cuts roughly $20 million from the police budget to be immediately transferred to other services, including Austin Public Health. There's a lot more to this story, which is forthcoming
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Austin 911 call takers have a new script this month. Now when someone calls they'll get to ask for mental health services, per city memo today.
“Austin 9-1-1, do you need Police, Fire, EMS, or Mental Health Services?”
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BREAKING: The Austin City Council votes to lower the amount of land needed to build one house, called minimum lot size, to 1,800 sq feet.
That's down from 5,750 sq feet, originally adopted in 1946. Story coming soon.
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NEW: Mayors from Austin, Houston, San Antonio & other Texas cities have sent a letter to
@GovAbbott
asking for the authority to enforce rules for wearing masks.
"We should trust local officials to make informed choices about health policy," write the mayors.
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Good morning to everyone except the people who take the time during a statewide power and water outage to write
@KUT
complaining about how our female journalists speak on air.
The audacity, truly.
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Incredible work from
@KUT
photojournalists who were out yesterday alongside radio reporters covering protests at
@UTAustin
.
This photo from
@MichaelMinasi
is so powerful.
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The story of Austin is growth. This city is great at attracting businesses and people to move here in large numbers.
How the city has responded to this growth -- that’s the bigger story. And it’s one that has led to an increasingly unaffordable & segregated city. 1/
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BREAKING: The Austin City Council has voted not to pay for testing for marijuana, effectively ending prosecution of low-level weed cases in the city. Story coming soon.
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I have to say -- it is pretty maddening that at this meeting Austin council members have been citing the recent
@nytimes
article about Austin's unaffordability.
Do y'all read local journalism? We've been covering this recent unaffordability crisis all year.
As Austin's only gotten increasingly more unaffordable the past year, the City Council is talking housing supply and affordability today -- the former directly affecting the latter.
Here's some background, from me:
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NEW: In report,
@UTAustin
committee says administrators violated their own rules when responding to pro-Palestinian protests in April.
The committee also said the university's assertion that protesters violated rules "lack[ed] adequate foundation."
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NEW: Students at
@UTAustin
have announced they've formed a tenants' union, intent on helping fellow students navigate renting in the state's most expensive big city.
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NEW:
@UTAustin
has laid off a quarter of its central communications and marketing dept, citing a desire to focus on "managing reputational issues and crises."
The move follows a turbulent academic year, including DEI layoffs and pro-Palestinian protests:
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NEW:
@UTAustin
changes its message again, now says students arrested during protests will not have their access to campus restricted at all.
They could face bans to campus at a later date -- once finals are over.
Here's our updated story:
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NEW: Records show when Toby Baker, deputy chief of staff for Gov. Greg Abbott, texted Mayor Kirk Watson for help with permits for his kids' charter school, the mayor immediately agreed to help and enlisted a city-funded consultant to work on the case.
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I wrote a story about the housing market in Austin. It’s a story with few answers and with, well, data that really bummed me out. Let’s get into it. 1/
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Breaking: The Austin City Council has voted to restart its guaranteed income program, approving a $1.3 million contract with a nonprofit to oversee the program.
The move comes a week after TX AG Ken Paxton sued Harris County over a similar program:
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@Alison_Alter
@spencercronk
BREAKING: After hearing hours of testimony on police violence, Austin council members pass 4 items related to police policy & budget – including banning use of tear gas and not paying to add more police officers. They say this is just the start of changes:
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I’m at
@UTAustin
where pro-Palestinian protesters have returned to the lawn, where dozens were arrested last week. I see a few tents.
UT police has issued an order for protesters to disperse.
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BREAKING: The Austin City Council has scrapped parking minimums, decades-old rules requiring developers to build a minimum number of parking spots alongside homes and offices.
Background here from a story I did this summer:
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NEW: In 2019, Austin city council members passed a policy they hoped would get developers to build more affordable housing. It appears to be working: 1/
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NEW: The City of Austin has long talked about a 'right-to-return' policy, where people affected by gentrification get first dibs on affordable housing.
Now the city says its ready to actually implement this policy:
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UT Austin announced today it will offer low- to moderate-income students up to $1,800 per academic year to help pay for housing.
But in a city where the average rent is $1,600 a month, some students I spoke to said -- yeah, that's not enough.
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Charges have been dismissed against nearly all those arrested during protests at
@UTAustin
yesterday for lack of evidence, my colleague
@England_Weber
reports:
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The injection of PR into every aspect of journalism is incredible.
I'm trying to fact-check someone's work history. Reached out to employer to confirm. Forwarded to PR agency who told me they won't "comment".
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As a journalist, I try hard not to use the words “ever” or “never” in stories (very hard to fact-check), but this story called for it.
Austin rent prices are going up – and very, very quickly. Let’s dive in: 1/
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NEW: This summer, the City of Austin & an investment fund celebrated its purchase of 7 apartment complexes. The buildings were old and poorly maintained. So, rent was cheap. The city would keep rent cheap.
Instead, rents went up & people were displaced:
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NEW:
@MayorAdler
confirms to me that he will be announcing, along with the county, a shelter-in-place order tomorrow for Austin.
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BREAKING: Three Austin city council members have confirmed that City Manager Spencer Cronk will be fired or asked to resign.
In a private meeting last night, council members unanimously said the city needs new leadership:
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On March 29, 1962, I-35 opened in Austin. Dozens of girls from local high schools came out to celebrate the day. A marching band played. Men in dark suits made speeches.
The highway would change the city forever. 1/
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Just two years ago, Austin’s housing market was, well, a frenzy. Dozens of bids on one house. People offering $100,000 over asking price. Today, things look very different. 1/
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NEW: With early votes in, Austin's Prop A (to decriminalize weed and ban no-knock warrants) looks like it'll pass easily.
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BREAKING: The Austin City Council votes to make $15 million in reserve funds avail as relief fund for people affected financially by COVID-19. The money will be routed thru non-profits, with council asking half the $$ be available as direct cash payments. Story coming soon.
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BREAKING: Head of
@AustinWater
, Greg Meszaros, is resigning. This comes after Austin was under a boil water notice for 3 days following errors made by employees at the city's largest water treatment plant.
Story coming soon.
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BREAKING: In pursuit of more & cheaper (smaller) houses, the Austin City Council has passed the first part of its so-called HOME initiative. It lets property owners build up to three homes where typically one or two have been allowed.
Background here:
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NEW: Landlords in Austin have started lowering rent prices after 2 years of incredible increases.
This month, the average price of rent in the city was $1,679 -- down $34 from this time last year:
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Two explosions went off as protesters tried to block police from leaving campus with arrested protesters. I can’t tell what caused the explosions.
You can see the first explosion at the end of this video
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I wrote a story about why that $2,930 a month rent number (and that 86% rise in rent) has a lot of flaws, what numbers I use and the potential harmful effects of not using good rent data. 1/
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Austin Council Member
@CMChitoVela
has called for a meeting this morning following the decision to overturn Roe so the council can vote on an item that would, effectively, de-criminalize abortion in Austin.
Background here:
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Pls stop calling journalists "media partners." I am not your partner. You likely make twice what I do and it's my job to hold whomever you work for accountable. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.
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Guys, Gritty's coming to Austin for SXSW and nothing else matters. There's no other reason I'd go to Container Bar on a Saturday morning.
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.
@austinenergy
released a report today detailing what happened during the Feb. winter storm where thousands of people in Austin lived without power for days.
And wow, the report is a real lesson in how governments write reports for the public that are entirely inaccessible.
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BREAKING: Eviction hearings in Travis County have been stalled until after April 1. Kickouts, where a sheriff forcibly removes someone from their home after an eviction has been decided, will be stopped for two months. This is all per a standing order from Travis County JPs
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UT Austin PD has issued a second dispersal order. They’ve set up barricades between protesters and the tower.
State troopers have arrived in riot gear.
Protesters chanting at state troopers, “You failed Uvalde” and “Off our campus”.
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BREAKING: Austin City Council Members mandate at least 6-8 paid sick days, depending on biz size, for all private employees in the city. Rules effective Oct. 1, with fines for violators starting June 1, 2019.
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Most Spanish speakers I've ever heard during (virtual) public comment City Council this morning. Makes me wonder if we offered public comment by phone on a regular basis, how would that change who we hear from?
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Update: the council has passed this. Going forward, you won't be fined for returning a book late to your Austin public library.
The Austin City Council is set to vote on eliminating overdue library fines today. If the measure passes, Austin would be following the move of hundreds of library systems across the country:
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Since early 2020, the City of Austin's been trying to build an affordable home in one of the city’s richest neighborhoods. Neighbors have sued, halting construction.
They say this has nothing to do with affordable housing. The city says, how could it not?
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Well this seems ODD.
The head of
@austinenergy
retired two weeks ago. The city now says they do not have a copy of a retirement or resignation letter from her.
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In Austin, residential and commercial developers are required to build a minimum amount of parking. On Thursday, council members will likely vote to do away with that.
Story here:
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Billboards posted outside Austin by a state police group read: "Austin Police Defunded, Enter At Your Own Risk!" The assumption is that if you cut a police budget, as Austin did, crime rates will rise. So, I wrote a story with a bunch of line graphs. 1/
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At a public meeting about the idea of turning old Austin school sites into homes for teachers, several people opposed the district building apartments.
"While single-family homes would match the character of the neighborhood, they argued, an apartment complex would not."
Austin ISD wants to turn the former Rosedale School and the Anita Ferrales Coy Facility into housing that teachers and staff can afford. The proposals include apartment complexes, single-family homes, and townhomes.
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NEW: The median sales price of a home in Austin has surpassed $600K. According to latest
@ABoR_REALTORS
numbers, homes in March 2022 sold for a median price of $624K.
That represents a 22% increase in price compared to this time last year. Here's a graph I put together quickly:
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BREAKING: The Austin City Council passes an ordinance giving renters affected by COVID-19 up to 60 days to pay owed rent before a landlord threatening eviction can start the process. Story coming soon.
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Hey Austin! Tomorrow
@KUT
releases the first episode of a podcast that looks at the city's response to its own growth and how that's created a very expensive & segregated city.
It's called Growth Machine. Subscribe here, etc.:
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NEW: We confirmed
@statesman
reporting that a
@UTAustin
professor has been arrested by state police and fired from his job after confronting police at an on-campus protest last week.
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The City of Austin is in court today over a case I wrote about in 2021.
The city’s been trying to build an affordable house on a piece of land it owns in West Austin. A neighbor sued:
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BREAKING: The Austin City Council votes to amend rules limiting how tall buildings can be within a certain distance of a single-family home.
The city cuts this distance from 540 feet to 75 feet. No story on this yet, but some general background:
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With everything tallied, the city council flagged roughly $150 million, which amounts to about a third of funding for police, to potentially be moved out of the department or spent elsewhere.
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Well hey, look at that. Robert E. Lee Road became Azie Morton Road.
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NEW: The City of Austin now says it will have to remove Flo, the 100-year-old tree whose branches arch over Barton Springs Pool. There will be a farewell ceremony next week.
Background here:
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Hi, hi -- since we've all been left to our own devices in this massive power outage, I'm working on a story of neighbors helping neighbors. Do you know someone who has taken people in, made food for others, offered rides? DM me or email: audrey
@kut
.org Thank you!
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Protesters now chanting, “There’s no riot here, why are you in riot gear?” at
@TxDPS
officers.
Using a mic, police have issued another dispersal order.
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A panel of community members asked by the City of Austin to review videos used to train police write that the videos perpetuate racist, sexist and classist stereotypes. The report was released Monday - and pretty quietly, might I add. Here's my story:
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On Friday, more than 60 low-income families became the co-owners of their mobile home park in North Austin -- 5 years after the previous owner tried to evict them.
On Saturday they held a (distanced) parade to celebrate:
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INBOX: For the fifth month in a row, rent prices in the Austin area are falling. They're down 5% compared to this time last year. This in a city where it (literally) takes a global pandemic to nudge rent prices down.
Worth noting: Rents are still up 26% since 2020.
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As of today,
@KUT
has pulled The Daily from our airwaves.
NEWS: Major public radio stations in Los Angeles, DC, Chicago, Seattle, Dallas, Pittsburgh etc send joint protest to NYT in fallout over collapse of "Caliphate" series.
They cite "troubling" actions of "The Daily" host Michael Barbaro & presence of producer Andy Mills. /con't
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NEW: Austin city council will vote on at least six
@Austin_Police
policy changes next Thursday including banning tear gas and 'impact munitions' against demonstrators, banning chokeholds & reducing the dept's military-grade equip:
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I’m outside the the federal courthouse in Austin as supporters of abortion rights gather to march to the Capitol.
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Hi Twitter -- know anyone whose landlord has raised their rent *significantly* in the past couple of months? We're experiencing an historic rise in rent prices & I've been hearing about monthly rent raises as high as $500.
Would love to talk to y'all: audrey
@kut
.org / DM me
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Amidst a national conversation about police budgets, this year the City of Austin got roughly 37,000 responses to its online survey on how money should be spent in this coming budget. In years past, the city averaged about 2,000 - 3,000 responses.
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.
@KVUE
"discovered" a policy that's existed for years, maybe decades? Yes, developers can pay a fee instead of build affordable housing. This is not new and you did not uncover it.
Developers could offer affordable housing, but we’ve uncovered a system that allows them to just pay the city instead. Watch the
@KVUE
#Defenders
investigation tonight at 10 p.m.
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It’s the first time in at least six years that the council has not increased the police budget, which has grown by 50% since 2013.
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In unanimous vote, Austin city council members send the
@Austin_Police
contract back to the negotiating table. They've asked for a new contract by March 22
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Right after the
@statesman
story broke yesterday, I called
@MayorAdler
. He spoke with me for 30 minutes about his family's decision to host a 20-person wedding and then fly to Mexico in early November. We've posted the full audio and transcript here:
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.
@KUT
reporters routinely work more than 40 hours a week to bring our listeners great stories. Last week I worked 51 hours. We just all got a pay cut.
@KUT
reporters were just told that UT will no longer pay out overtime. Will put OT in a comp-time like bank instead. Massive hit to many who took jobs here expecting that lower salary would be somewhat alleviated by OT. Apparently this policy went into place a week ago.
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When the Austin Aquarium went dark during last month's winter storm, one mammal keeper snuggled the otters for warmth and comfort.
This past year has been rough. I figured we could all use a break to listen to some otters:
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.
@GregCasar
confirms what I've heard: Travis County plans to extend the ban on notices to vacate (the beginning of a formal eviction) beyond its current moratorium, which expires July 25.
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Really hope someone is reporting the story of what is going on at the
@TexasObserver
Juuuust in case anyone is curious, the reporters & editors who have left the Observer since October include:
@Tahtone
, me,
@amalahmed214
,
@Pdineclah
,
@SophieNovack
,
@michaelsbarajas
& Michael Patti 👀
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INBOX: For the seventh month in a row, Austin area rents have dropped. Rent prices were down about 5% last month compared to this time last year.
The average monthly rent in the region is $1,547 for an apartment any size, down from $1,632 last year.
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There's been a lot of reporting on Austin having its highest number of homicides in 20 years & if that's related to cuts to police funding. Reupping my story about how there's no evidence that spending on police and violent crime rates are related:
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Local incomes just can’t compete. I think this is the graph that bummed me out the most. You typically don’t want to buy a home that’s more than 3 – 3.5x your income. The median home price in Austin is now nearly 5x the median family income. 8/
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At Saturday's public hearing on Austin's land code rewrite, 69% of those who spoke were white homeowners. That's in a city that is majority non-white and majority renter.
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I asked every Austin City Council member (minus the newly electeds) to tell me the story of a time they changed their vote b/c of something someone said during public comment. No one could:
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The median sales price of a home in the Austin area rose $100K in less than six months. I gotta break from my journalistic even-handedness and remark that that is WILD. It represents a roughly 40% rise in prices year over year. Here’s a graph: 2/
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In 1954, 21 families moved into new homes in Austin. And when they did, they agreed to be part of an experiment.
I went through state & local archives, plus cold (ha!) called a bunch of people to tell the story of Austin’s Air Conditioned Village:
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Very cool to wake up to news that
@KUT
's podcast "Growth Machine", which chronicles the long history of Austin's population growth and resulting housing issues, gets a nod from the Headliners Foundation.
If you haven't listened, no time like the present:
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Hey
@statesman
, I'm glad you're covering this, but I'd appreciate some credit for breaking this story. My work is linked to once, but only in the context of pulling a quote I got from the developers. Here's my story, which broke the news last March:
A spending spree has made a Dallas company the controlling interest of the East 12th Street corridor, one of Austin’s most iconic and culturally sensitive neighborhoods.
But what are they doing with all that land? Our investigation, Buying Up the Block:
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BREAKING: The Austin City Council has unanimously voted for a department-wide investigation into racism, homophobia, sexism in
@Austin_Police
-- including an audit of officers' social media posts.
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NEW: Ahead of eviction bans set to expire on Saturday in the city and county, Travis County has extended its ban. Landlords are now prohibited from starting the formal eviction process until Sept. 30.
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I've been trying to embrace my Philly accent more in my radio reports. Got a non-garbage email from a human today about it, so guess I'll keep it up:
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Some personal news: After tomorrow, you won’t be hearing my voice on
@KUT
again until late August. I’m taking leave to travel and brush up on my language skills. I’ll wait while you make all the "Eat Pray Love" jokes…
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I just left the protest on the UT Austin South Lawn. This video was taken right before state troopers on horseback started forcing protesters to disperse, shouting “move, move” while inching them back. Then my phone died.
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On Thursday, the Austin City Council will consider a guaranteed income program, also called basic income.
If approved, 85 low-income families would get $1,000 a month for a year -- no strings attached:
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Guys, gut check this before you retweet it. No, Austin's median rent is not just $100 less than New York City's.
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