Austin, TX
Austin City Council hears over 5 hours of public comment on homeless shelter, affordable housing
City Council hears hours of public comment
The Austin City Council’s packed agenda forced their meeting to run later than expected, with almost 200 items and over five hours of public comment. Hot button items included creating a temporary homeless shelter and the idea of turning single-family lots into smaller lots for affordability.
AUSTIN, Texas – Austin City Council’s almost 200 item agenda resulted in over five hours of public comment. The main items spoken about were a temporary homeless shelter and an idea of turning single family lots into smaller, more affordable homes.
Over 100 people spoke at the podium to give their say during public comment on the council’s extensive agenda. One of the main items up for debate: council member Leslie Pool’s item 126, to turn single family lots into more affordable, smaller homes.
“I am just so against 126,” said one Austin resident.
Some Austinites who spoke against the item questioned the impact it could have on the city.
“You put six houses on what used to be one lot, now two, where’s that all going to go? We’re going to end up with more sewer issues. Let alone the impacts to our power,” said another resident.
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Austin City Council is taking up an item that could turn lots for single family homes into smaller lots for more affordable homes like townhomes or row houses. FOX 7 Austin’s Amanda Ruiz has the details.
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However, many supported the item and said everyone should have the chance to live in Austin.
“We should not have to choose between staying in the city and having a family,” said an Austin resident.
Supporters of the item said townhomes, rowhomes, triplexes and four-plexes will be affordable options.
“There are not enough townhomes, cottage homes, and condos for those who are just starting out, and these are often beautiful buildings,” said an Austinite in support of item 126.
Other residents could not agree with that statement.
“I get it, but if you look it up, and you Google a row home in the Mueller, it’s $700,000. That’s not affordable. You just can Google that,” said one resident against item 126.
Another hot button issue was agenda item 111. Many were against the idea of creating an emergency homeless shelter in a city-owned facility for a year. They said it seemed like a rushed project that would not help the homeless issue at all.
“I’m going to call the marshaling yard what I feel it is. It’s a displacement project. It’s just meant to get people out of the eyes. It’s the ‘keep Austin pretty’ initiative. Mayor Watson, I heard you recently speak that you are committed to solving homelessness, but I’m concerned that what your focus seems to be is more on cleaning it up,” said one resident during public comment.
The public speaker said a more permanent solution is needed and not a temporary one.
“I actually think it’s trashy for us to be investing in these band-aid solutions on this gaping wound of homelessness. We are not addressing the root problem,” said the same resident.
Item 111 passed.
Austin, TX
Texas Supreme Court overturns ruling that state Attorney General Ken Paxton testify in lawsuit
(AP) – The Texas Supreme Court on Friday overturned a lower court ruling that state Attorney General Ken Paxton testify in a whistleblower lawsuit at the heart of impeachment charges brought against him in 2023.
The court on Friday said Paxton’s office does not dispute any issue in the lawsuit by four former Paxton employees and agreed to any judgment in the case.
“In a major win for the State of Texas, the state Supreme Court has sided with Attorney General Paxton against former OAG employees whose effort to prolong costly, politically-motivated litigation against the agency has wasted public resources for years,” a statement from Paxton’s office said.
An attorney for one of the plaintiffs declined immediate comment, and a second attorney did not immediately return a phone call for comment.
The former employees allege they were improperly fired or forced out for bringing to the FBI allegations that Paxton was misusing his office to protect a friend and campaign donor, who in turn, they said, was helping the attorney general to conceal an extramarital affair.
The Supreme Court ruling noted that the Texas governor and Legislature have expressed a desire to hear testimony from the witnesses prior to agreeing to appropriate funds to settle the lawsuit.
The court said forcing Paxton, First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster, Chief of Staff Lesley French Henneke and senior advisor Michelle Smith to testify earlier could improperly be used for legislative purposes in deciding any appropriation.
Under the preliminary deal, Paxton agreed to apologize to the former employees for calling them “rogue” employees, settle the case for $3.3 million and ask the state to pay for it, prompting the state House to reject the request and begin its own investigation, leading to the vote to impeach him.
Paxton was ultimately acquitted after a Senate trial.
The Supreme Court termed its ruling conditional upon the lower trial court complying with the decision, while saying it is “confident the trial court will comply” with the order.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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A Texas city has been named among the top ten U.S. cities to live in over the next two years.
Ten Texas cities were included in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2025-2026 Best Places to Live list. For the annual rankings, U.S. News analyzed 150 major cities in the U.S. based on quality of life, job market, value of living and people’s desire to live in the area.
How did your city fare on the list? Here’s a breakdown of the data.
LIST: 10 best US cities to live
Texas’ capital secured a spot in the top 10 places to live, as determined by U.S. News.
- Naples, Florida
- Boise, Idaho
- Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Greenville, South Carolina
- Charlotte, North Carolina
- Raleigh, North Carolina
- Huntsville, Alabama
- Virginia Beach, Virginia
- Austin, Texas
- Boulder, Colorado
Austin offers healthy balance of work and pleasure, US News says
Austin had an overall score of 6.8 out of 10, compared to Naples’ score of 7.1. The Texas capital also scored 6.8 in the quality of life index, with a value index score of 6.3.
“With the slogan ‘Keep Austin Weird,’ this Texas city is laid-back to the point that if you’re dressing up, it must be a life event,” the U.S. News analysis says. “People here enjoy the outdoors, even more so with their dogs. Austin has a contagious vibrancy and enthusiasm.”
U.S. News notes Austin’s strongest assets are a mix of work and pleasure. The number of companies headquartered in Austin makes it attractive to working professionals, especially those in technology, government, education, and health care. But the capital is far from being “all work, no play.” Its claim as the live music capital of the world invites music lovers to take a listen, whether at the airport, along streets downtown, or at one of the approximate 200 venues throughout the area.
Austin also ranked no. 32 on U.S. News’ Best Places to Retire in 2025 list.
LIST: Best Texas cities to live
Here are the rankings and scores U.S. News gave for the ten Texas cities included in the list:
Ranking
City
Overall Score
Quality of Life
Value Index
#9
Austin
6.8
6.8
6.3
#48
McAllen
6.4
6.6
7.6
#62
El Paso
6.3
6.5
7.3
#77
Corpus Christi
6.2
5.8
7.0
#87
Brownsville
6.2
6.2
7.7
#89
San Antonio
6.1
6.1
6.8
#95
Dallas
6.1
6.4
5.6
#97
Houston
6.1
5.9
6.2
#99
Beaumont
6.1
5.5
7.3
#107
Killeen
6.0
5.9
7.3
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