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Austin News

Tuesday, November 5, 2024

Juliette Fairley News

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Life:Powered policy director: Chapter 313 abatements won't 'go away quietly'

By Juliette Fairley | Jun 5, 2021

Chapter 313 tax abatements are set to expire on Dec. 31, 2022, as the Texas Senate has rejected House Bill 4242, but experts say wind and solar farm advocates won’t fade away without a fight.

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Energy Alliance director says Chapter 313 tax abatements have 'multiple problems generally when it comes to renewable energy'

By Juliette Fairley | Feb 4, 2021

Although Chapter 313 tax abatements are under scrutiny for how they dole out taxpayer dollars to renewable energy projects that could otherwise be economically unviable, Texas state Rep. J.M. Lozano (R-Kingsville) and Sen. Beverly Powell (D-Fort Worth) have introduced legislation that would extend the program.

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Texas Public Policy Foundation aims to raise energy IQ with new school curriculum

By Juliette Fairley | Jan 25, 2021

When Jason Isaac’s son brought home his standardized test prep packet, the father was appalled to see the only science question related to energy was to ask which ‘'fossil fuels cause global warming?’'

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Eanes ISD discloses percentages of association dues, fees spent on lobbying

By Juliette Fairley | Jan 15, 2021

Some 88% of Texans oppose taxpayer-funded lobbying but many are unaware of how they pay for it, according to a Texas Public Policy Foundation poll.

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San Antonio IT expert: SolarWinds hack could be the start of smaller, broader breaches

By Juliette Fairley | Dec 21, 2020

The SolarWinds hack last week on the supply chain allegedly was an attack by Russian operatives that leveraged the system’s own best practices, according to a local IT expert.

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First Allandale Central Austin Food Drive collects more than 2,600 pounds of food for Central Texas Food Bank

By Juliette Fairley | Dec 18, 2020

When the Allandale Neighborhood Association (ANA) got wind that the Central Texas Food Bank was low on reserves, the group decided to do something about it.

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Ex-boxer Ramos running for City Council, vows to use bonds to solve Austin's social ills

By Juliette Fairley | Oct 16, 2020

As an elite professional boxer, Casey Ramos trained day and night. Now running for City Council District 2, he’s campaigning with the same intensity while raising a newborn with his fiancée.

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UT institute helps incarcerated sex trafficking survivors secure clemency

By Juliette Fairley | Sep 28, 2020

When Texas officials called on Noël Busch-Armendariz to help with the first known human trafficking case in Central Texas, she felt proud to be invited to the table.

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Musician Alesia Lani asks Austin officials to 'help save the music'

By Juliette Fairley | Sep 22, 2020

If local Austin officials don’t lend significant aid to musicians and music venues, live performances could completely shut down, according to a popular Austin-based international musician.

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Austin attorney says Texas PUC's 'facts' for withholding pricing information do not add up

By Juliette Fairley | Sep 22, 2020

Although it is important for electricity costs to be released to the public so that customers can hold its elected officials accountable for pricing, the Public Utility Commission (PUC) of Texas is alleging work product privilege in refusing a recent request for public information, according to a news release.

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Gould: 'Our city officials talk a big game' about creative sector, 'but I don’t think they fully understand what’s at stake here'

By Juliette Fairley | Sep 21, 2020

When the local music scene in Austin came to a screeching halt in mid-March due to COVID-19, musician Lauryn Gould went from performing live five to seven nights per week to zero in just a matter of days.

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COVID-19 forces hip-hop artist Kydd Jones to diversify live performance income stream

By Juliette Fairley | Sep 17, 2020

When Kydd Jones appears at weekly live performances, he’s accustomed to performing in the spotlight before large audiences. However, with COVID-19 on the scene and SXSW being canceled, everything has changed, and Jones has had to adjust.

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Austin changes indicators for COVID-19 gating, analyst says hospitalizations give more accurate picture

By Juliette Fairley | Sep 2, 2020

The number of people currently in care and being admitted to the hospital for COVID-19 infections is more real-time accurate than deaths and less subject to various biasing factors than case numbers, according to a data analyst.

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Political consultant questions contributions of influence peddlers to Austin council members

By Juliette Fairley | Aug 12, 2020

When a veteran political consultant became aware two years ago that a local developer and lobbying firm were making campaign contributions to members of the Austin City Council, his first thought was that the influence peddlers are at it again.

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Efforts to stop child sex trafficking are on the rise in Texas

By Juliette Fairley | Aug 5, 2020

New Friends New Life joined efforts to stop child sex trafficking with its drop-in center for children who are homeless or being sex trafficked

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Former council member questions Austin's proposed budget

By Juliette Fairley | Jul 22, 2020

The Austin City Council doesn’t use zero-based budgeting tools to ensure efficient spending of existing dollars, according to a former council member.

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Austin activists want police budget cuts but a 3-year labor contract protects officer benefits

By Juliette Fairley | Jul 6, 2020

Austin Police Association president says the department is already short-handed