Hector Perez
KUT News
News Clips
Independent Print Work
Mayor's Resolution Run Highlights City Accomplishments
Activists Focused on Anti-Fluoridation Initiative For November Ballot
Number Of Charter Schools Continues To Rise in Texas
Unique Festival Takes Over Local Park
City Affordable Housing Programs Criticized At Meeting
City Looks To Put Loan Program On Forefront
By Hector Perez
More than 100 City of Austin employees joined Mayor Lee Leffingwell at the annual Mayor’s Health and Fitness Resolution Run/Walk last week.The run began outside City Hall and took participants on a one and a half mile run through part of the Ann and Ray Butler Hike and Bike trail. Although the event was open to the public, the majority of this year’s participants were city employees.
By Hector Perez
Austin activists are looking to place an initiative on November’s ballot that would end fluoridation of the city’s water supply.The practice became a part of the city’s water treatment process after a public referendum in 1973. Decades later, opponents say that the fluoridation process puts the community at risk.
By Hector Perez
Citizens criticized Austin’s current affordable housing programs at a public hearing held by the city’s Community Development Commission.This was the fourth in a series of hearings seeking input for the city’s community needs assessment.
By Hector Perez
The city’s Economic Development Department is hoping to increase awareness of its Family Business Loan Program by directly reaching out to business owners.The program uses federal money to provide low-interest loans to small local businesses. Vicky Valdez, manager of the program, said the new approach comes from a need to reach owners whose businesses may not allow them the time to learn of the program’s benefits.
By Hector Perez
A new report has placed Texas near top of the list in charter school growth across the nation.Thiscomes a year after the Texas Legislature agreed to gradually raise the cap on the number of charters allowed in the state. Officials at local charter schools have said that increased parental appeal is a large factor in this growth.
By Hector Perez
The music that filled the air, the crowds roaming the streets—if you quickly drove by Adams Hemphill Park last Saturday, you might have thought it was another college party.A closer look would have told a different story.The trombones, trumpets, drums, adults and children created a unique buzz that none of the nearbyfraternity houses could produce.
By Hector Perez
Nearly a third of all AISD students -- about 25,000 -- are so-called English-learning students, a 35 percent increase over the last five years. Despite programs aimed at encouraging high English proficiency, the district still finds low academic performance among Hispanic students.
By Hector Perez
The shooting death of Larry Eugene Jackson Jr. has resulted in a call from the Austin Police Association for an independent investigation: Not into the shooting itself, but into who leaked a statement from the officer that killed him saying the death was accidental.
By Hector Perez
Picture 90 educational volunteers: That’s the number of AmeriCorps members the Austin school district is placing at two of its high schools for the next three years. It’s all part of the School Turnaround AmeriCorps initiative, a new program aimed at placing AmeriCorps members in some of the nation’s lowest performing schools. AISD was one of thirteen school districts that were chosen nationwide.