Prop B passes: What happens now to the homeless in downtown Austin?
There’s still a divide on what should happen next with the homeless population in Austin.
AUSTIN, Texas - The Monday after the Proposition B vote found Michelle Joseph doing what she does every Monday.
Joseph, with a group called Drive By Howdy, helped at an Austinhomeless camp under I-35, providing food and basic hygiene supplies. I’m here because they are still here, she said.
Joseph and the group she s with have been helping for almost a year now. For her, there s been way too much talk
Stop Candlewood group to deliver community letters to Austin City Council advising against hotel purchase
Homeowners and businesses in the area have said that the decision to purchase the hotel was made without any warning to them. Author: KVUE News Staff Updated: 12:08 PM CDT May 4, 2021
AUSTIN, Texas With the Austin City Council set to discuss the purchase of the Candlewood Suites in Williamson County this week, opponents of the idea are rallying once again to advise councilmembers against it.
Leaders of the group Stop Candlewood Rupal Chaudhari and Fredi Cheng, along with other advocates, plan to drop off dozens of signed letters from concerned homeowners and businesses in the area to Mayor Steve Adler and the council on Tuesday.
I just want to say this to the City of Austin Mayor . not one time have you called me about this matter. Not only does he not care, he s saying go to hell, Gravell said during the protest on Sunday.
Dozens of nearby home owners shared their safety concerns regarding the plans. Austin City councilmember Mackenzie Kelly also voiced her disapproval of the hotel. It may be hard to believe this as the only republican on the Austin City Council, but there s other councilmembers who have been open to having conversations about alternatives for the Candlewood, said Kelly.
Williamson County leaders filed a lawsuit saying they were not informed of the purchase. Judge Gravell made a promise to protestors on Sunday that he will do everything in his power to fight this deal from moving forward.
A 4-year-old girl has died from injuries sustained in an incident at a Raleigh hotel. Subsequently, a man has been charged in connection with her death. Milton Ray Horton, Jr. was charged with murder. Horton, 27, was arrested by Raleigh police. Around 4:30 on Sunday morning, Raleigh police arrived at the Candlewood Suites hotel on Lead Mine Road to find the child seriously hurt. Police said she suffered severe injuries and later died at a hospital. WRAL did an extensive search Horton and learned he’s been arrested six times as an adult in Wake County – for crimes like breaking and entering, resisting a public officer and trespassing.
. It s all part of the City s Reimagining Public Safety Initiative. So how is this going to help?
Adler: Well, what we did last week was to not change any functions, to not change any people, but to take certain departments and put them under civilian control. So the finance department and the police department is now part of the overall City finance department. As with all other departments, the building services division is now in charge of facilities, as in all other departments, and 9-1-1, 3-1-1, these important emergency call services are now under, again, common operational control. We think it s going to make the city more efficient. It s going to help taxpayers and we think it s going to ultimately improve both the operations and the safety in the city.