City Council holds public hearing on land code rewrite

News and updates from Austin's news in your inbox Email not displaying correctly? [View Online]( [Statesman]( MORNING HEADLINES Start your day with a fresh roundup of news, features and commentary. Saturday's Top Story [City Council holds public hearing on land code rewrite]( [City Council holds public hearing on land code rewrite]( The Austin City Council is holding its sole public hearing leading up to Monday's scheduled preliminary approval of an overhaul of the city's [Read More »]( Local News [Travis County Commissioner Jeff Travillion receives Austin NAACP s top award]( [Travis County Commissioner Jeff Travillion receives Austin NAACP’s top award]( Travis County Commissioner Jeff Travillion is being honored with the Austin NAACP’s highest award for his work improving equity in the region’s eastern crescent. [Read More »]( [Downtown Round Rock evacuated prior to Christmas event]( [Downtown Round Rock evacuated prior to Christmas event]( Round Rock police have evacuated downtown for unknown reasons prior to the Christmas Family Night Event Friday evening. [Read More »]( [Second motel for Austin s homeless will cost up to $6.8 million]( [Second motel for Austin’s homeless will cost up to $6.8 million]( Less than a month after the Austin City Council approved an $8 million purchase and renovation of a motel in Southeast Austin to provide housing to the city’s homeless, council members next week will consider the purchase of a second motel for $6.8 million. [Read More »]( [Austin police offering $1,000 in search for woman linked to deadly drug deal]( [Austin police offering $1,000 in search for woman linked to deadly drug deal]( Austin police are searching for a woman linked to a North Austin drug deal that left one man dead last month, court documents filed this week say. [Read More »]( [Austin s 2nd motel for homeless will cost up to $6.8 million]( [Austin’s 2nd motel for homeless will cost up to $6.8 million]( Less than a month after the Austin City Council approved an $8 million purchase and renovation of a motel in Southeast Austin to provide housing to the city’s homeless, council members on Monday will consider the purchase of a second motel for $6.8 million. [Read More »]( [Man accused of sexual contact with 9-year-old in bank bathroom, police say]( [Man accused of sexual contact with 9-year-old in bank bathroom, police say]( A 29-year-old is accused of making sexual contact with a 9-year-old boy in the bathroom of a Chase Bank branch in Northeast Austin last summer, according to court documents. [Read More »]( Business [Fuzzy s Taco Shop shuts down in Bastrop]( [Fuzzy’s Taco Shop shuts down in Bastrop]( Fuzzy’s Taco Shop in Bastrop announced Friday it was closing effectively immediately.“Our hearts will forever be in debt to a community that helped a tiny taco shop grow into a place of so many amazing memories. [Read More »]( [Growth, history collide: Project planned near enclave designed by golf legend Harvey Penick]( [Growth, history collide: Project planned near enclave designed by golf legend Harvey Penick]( For the small group of East Austin homeowners living in the Penick Place subdivision -- where golf legend Harvey Penick’s 1951 house still stands -- life is about to change. [Read More »]( [Round Rock Nutty Brown venue construction delayed again]( [Round Rock Nutty Brown venue construction delayed — again]( Construction of the highly anticipated Nutty Brown Amphitheater in Round Rock has been delayed once again. [Read More »]( [Austin economy slowing, but still strong]( [Austin economy slowing, but still strong]( Even a cooling Austin economy is plenty warm. [Read More »]( [VIDEO: Austin races pair up drones, AI technology]( [VIDEO: Austin races pair up drones, AI technology]( Drone racing could become even more cutting edge with the help of artificial intelligence navigation. [Read More »]( Sports [Wimberley stuns rival Navarro, advances to football state semis]( [Wimberley stuns rival Navarro, advances to football state semis]( SAN ANTONIO — When it came to a fourth-round playoff meeting between bitter district rivals Wimberley and Geronimo Navarro, forget the schemes and strategies between two teams that know each other’s every strength and weakness. [Read More »]( [Games of the Day: Manor, LT compete in Dome doubleheader; Lampasas, LH meet again]( [Games of the Day: Manor, LT compete in Dome doubleheader; Lampasas, LH meet again]( Manor (8-5) vs. [Read More »]( [Westlake rolls past SA Brandeis into state semifinals]( [Westlake rolls past SA Brandeis into state semifinals]( SAN ANTONIO - Defense may not have gotten Westlake that elusive second state title quite just yet, but it carried the Chaps to a third consecutive regional crown. [Read More »]( [The Dotted Line: Who will be this year s top senior football player in Texas?]( [The Dotted Line: Who will be this year’s top senior football player in Texas?]( The approaching early signing period and the winding down of the high school season in Texas translates to an upcoming update to the 2020 Fabulous 55. [Read More »]( [Jones fumes as Cowboys stay in funk]( [Jones fumes as Cowboys stay in funk]( Jerry Jones tried ripping the coaching staff of the Dallas Cowboys after the first loss in the current three-game skid, then he took the gentle approach after the second. [Read More »]( Opinion [Herman: The Rockys who would be president]( [Herman: The Rockys who would be president]( Because everything is better with a soundtrack, and if you can read and hum at the same time without hurting yourself, I’d appreciate it if you’d hum the “Rocky” theme while reading this. [Read More »]( [Letters to the editor: Dec. 7, 2019]( [Letters to the editor: Dec. 7, 2019]( Council decisions couldundermine neighborhoodsIt appears City Council takes the view that it has the "right" to determine population density in any part of the city, regardless of the opinion of taxpaying citizens, many who have lived in their neighborhood for 20 or 30 years. [Read More »]( [Charen: The deaths of thousands as a partisan bludgeon]( [Charen: The deaths of thousands as a partisan bludgeon]( Josef Stalin is reputed to have said: "The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic. [Read More »]( [Blow: What Kamala Harris campaign teaches us]( [Blow: What Kamala Harris’ campaign teaches us]( Kamala Harris entered the presidential race with a bang. [Read More »]( Nation [Iran frees Chinese-American scholar for US-held scientist]( [Iran frees Chinese-American scholar for US-held scientist]( TEHRAN, Iran (AP) " Iran and the U.S. conducted a prisoner exchange Saturday that saw a detained Princeton scholar released for an Iranian scientist held by America, marking a rare diplomatic breakthrough between Tehran and Washington after months of tensions. [Read More »]( [PG E says it has reached $13.5 billion wildfire settlement]( [PG&E says it has reached $13.5 billion wildfire settlement]( SAN FRANCISCO (AP) " Pacific Gas and Electric says it has reached a $13.5 billion settlement that will resolve all major claims related to devastating wildfires blamed on its outdated equipment and negligence. [Read More »]( [Haley: Killer hijacked Confederate flag meaning for some]( [Haley: Killer ‘hijacked’ Confederate flag meaning for some]( Former South Carolina Gov. [Read More »]( [Man who offered $500 for killing an ICE agent is acquitted]( [Man who offered $500 for killing an ICE agent is acquitted]( BOSTON (AP) " A man who tweeted that he would give $500 to anyone who would kill a federal immigration officer was acquitted Friday in a case that centered on whether a threatening social media post is protected speech. [Read More »]( [Elon Musk cleared of defamation in pedo guy tweet trial]( [Elon Musk cleared of defamation in ‘pedo guy’ tweet trial]( LOS ANGELES (AP) " Elon Musk defeated defamation allegations Friday from a British cave explorer who claimed he was branded a pedophile when the Tesla CEO called him 'pedo guy' in an angry tweet. [Read More »]( World [Iran: Held US grad student to be exchanged for scientist]( [Iran: Held US grad student to be exchanged for scientist]( TEHRAN, Iran (AP) " Iran's foreign minister said Saturday a detained Princeton graduate student will be exchanged for an Iranian scientist held by the U.S., marking a potential breakthrough between Tehran and Washington after months of tensions. [Read More »]( [Indian woman who alleged gang-rape dies after burn attack]( [Indian woman who alleged gang-rape dies after burn attack]( NEW DELHI (AP) " An alleged rape victim in northern India set on fire on her way to a court hearing in the case she filed died in a hospital in New Delhi, officials said Saturday. [Read More »]( [Lebanon s journalists suffer abuse, threats covering unrest]( [Lebanon’s journalists suffer abuse, threats covering unrest]( BEIRUT (AP) " Lebanese journalists are facing threats and wide-ranging harassment in their work " including verbal insults and physical attacks, even death threats " while reporting on nearly 50 days of anti-government protests, despite Lebanon's reputation as a haven for free speech in a troubled region. [Read More »]( [Germany s Merkel voices shame during 1st Auschwitz visit]( [Germany’s Merkel voices ‘shame’ during 1st Auschwitz visit]( OSWIECIM, Poland (AP) " German Chancellor Angela Merkel voiced a feeling of "deep shame' during her first-ever visit on Friday to the hallowed grounds of the former Nazi German death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau, where Adolf Hitler's regime murdered more than a million people. [Read More »]( [Abandoned baby giraffe befriended by dog in Africa dies]( [Abandoned baby giraffe befriended by dog in Africa dies]( JOHANNESBURG (AP) " A baby giraffe that was befriended by a dog after he was abandoned in the wild has died, a South African animal orphanage said Friday. [Read More »]( Austin360 [Austin not as weird to family from Afghanistan as it could be]( [Austin not as weird to family from Afghanistan as it could be]( Austin not as weird to family from Afghanistan as it could be [Read More »]( [Tyson Cole and Aaron Franklin opening Asian smokehouse Loro in Houston]( [Tyson Cole and Aaron Franklin opening Asian smokehouse Loro in Houston]( Tyson Cole and Aaron Franklin opening Asian smokehouse Loro in Houston [Read More »]( [12 holiday TV episodes you need to watch right now]( [12 holiday TV episodes you need to watch right now]( 12 holiday TV episodes you need to watch right now [Read More »]( [The do s and don ts of Christmas caroling, according to John Aielli]( [The do’s and don’ts of Christmas caroling, according to John Aielli]( The do's and don'ts of Christmas caroling, according to John Aielli [Read More »]( [Exclusive details: Franklin Barbecue s taco and coffee truck (softly) opens]( [Exclusive details: Franklin Barbecue’s taco and coffee truck (softly) opens]( "I like tacos."See, celebrity chefs are just like you and me.It was that simple thinking that led James Beard Award-winning barbecue boss Aaron Franklin to want to open a taco trailer behind his restaurant on East 11th Street. 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