On Tuesday, September 1, 2009, the Travis County Commissioners Court voted three to two to financially aid Tecolote Farms in drilling a new well. I was one of the two votes against.
Although I advocate for the preservation of agricultural industry, especially the organic variety, I will not commit public funds for the benefit of private interests without a reasonable belief that the public expenditure will solve the public issue at hand. Read More »
The EPA recently changed its standard for rating the quality of air in regard to ground-level ozone in the United States. The national human health standards for ozone have been lowered to 75 parts per billion, measured by monitoring equipment, including a monitor in Travis County. The upshot is that Travis County is now unofficially in non-attainment. Tailpipe emissions and electricity consumption (because of coal-powered plants that produce most of our electricity) are our chief contributions to dirt in the air. Our driving, mowing and energy consumption habits are creating high ozone concentrations affecting our health as well as the health of our vegetation and our economy. Read More »
There is no doubt that we in Central Texas are hurting more economically than we have in a long time. Wherever I go, I hear hopeful speculation of what federal dollars our region may draw down. I too am hopeful that federal stimulus will chart a course toward new or renewed investment in education, health care and energy independence. But, we must do our part locally to the greatest extent possible so that federal dollars can be routed to the most desperate areas of our national economy.
The following chart illustrates how our region is better off than our state and our country in most metrics of economic health. Read More »
Monday night the CAMPO Policy Board, on behalf of Williamson, Travis and Hays counties purchased less than 7 miles of highway, 12 lanes wide, stretching through the short grass prairie of eastern Travis County, containing no added benefit in reduced vehicle miles traveled (no rail, no rapid bus, no high occupancy vehicle lanes, no congestion pricing). According to a study conducted for CAMPO in 2006, this project will increase the average speed by 3 miles per hour for a commuter traveling from Elgin to Austin City Hall resulting in a decrease of up to ten minutes in average commute time. The price tag for this nominal increase in convenience for our predominantly single occupant commuter population is $630 million.
In transit terms, $630 million would pay for: Read More »
Just over one year ago, at the height of public outcry over toll roads, the Policy Board of the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) unanimously passed a set of covenants to govern the use of toll revenue collected from the Phase II toll roads. The covenants generally require that toll revenues stay within two miles of the road on which they were generated. The covenants allow for diversion of excess toll revenues from one toll road corridor to other projects only after specific public input and a 2/3 vote of the CAMPO Policy Board. Finally, the covenants require that tolls be reduced and eventually eliminated after the debt for the toll road has been retired and potential improvement projects within the corridor have been exhausted. On Monday, the CAMPO Policy Board will consider overturning some of these covenants, including the public meeting requirements. Read More »
I believe that the first line of representative democracy occurs at the neighborhood level. Neighborhood associations, churches, and local interest groups provide the vital links in the chain of representation between the individual and his or her government be it local, state or federal government. This chain of representation is oiled by communication and reasoned dialogue. I believe that communication and reason produce action in the public interest and prevent the policy paralysis of personal interest. Today however, that belief was tested. Read More »
Married student housing in UT’s Brackenridge Tract along Lake Austin Blvd. deserves our support. This is affordable, family friendly housing at its best – mixed race, multi-cultural, multi-generational, close to good schools, groceries, recreation and transit. This is just the kind of mixed-income inner city development we claim to crave. Additionally, the married student housing attracts the best graduate students from around the world to our university, to our city, to our public schools and to our neighborhood. The support that is coalescing around the married student housing is a beautiful example of people with a voice rallying around people with little voice. The graduate students’ need our voices because: Read More »
The toll roads as proposed by TxDOT warrant and have my continued opposition. Monday night we heard eloquent statements from four other board members regarding the serious inefficiencies and inequities presented by the plan as proposed. Knowing that TxDOT will not give us the funding necessary to build the road infrastructure we need unless tolls are used as leverage, it is imperative that we as a board face these inequities head-on and do everything we can to blunt their effects. Read More »
