Author Archive

Joshua Fechter

Infrastructure

Austin will now allow more homes to be built on single-family lots

City officials hope that allowing up to three units per lot will increase supply and slow the explosive increase in housing costs. The measure was approved by Austin City Council in a 9-2 vote late Thursday night.

  • By Joshua Fechter, The Texas Tribune
Management

A New Texas Law Erodes the Power of City Councils

The long-sought bill stops the state’s bluer urban areas from enacting laws that exceed state law on a number of fronts. Republicans say the patchwork of local laws were hurting businesses.

  • By Joshua Fechter, The Texas Tribune
Management

In Runoff Race, Austin Voters Pick Next Mayor

Kirk Watson, a former state senator who was Austin’s mayor from 1997 to 2001, pitched himself as a back-to-basics candidate who could ease the city’s growing affordability crisis.

  • By Joshua Fechter, The Texas Tribune
Finance

Austin Becomes First Texas City To Test a Taxpayer-funded “Guaranteed Income” Program

Austin joins at least 28 U.S. cities, like Los Angeles, Chicago and Pittsburgh, that have tried out some form of “guaranteed income” — financial assistance targeted at needy households.

  • By Joshua Fechter, The Texas Tribune
Management

Austin becomes the first Texas city to experiment with 'guaranteed income'

Austin joins at least 28 U.S. cities, like Los Angeles, Chicago and Pittsburgh, that have tried out some form of “guaranteed income” — financial assistance targeted at needy households.

  • By Joshua Fechter, The Texas Tribune