City Losses Out on Federal Weatherization Money
More than 50 low income households in Austin won’t get federal stimulus money to make their homes more energy efficient. $600,000 in federal weatherization funds were on the table. But the city of Austin missed a deadline to get $400,000 of that money because of a lack of communication among city leaders and staffers. The council did vote yesterday to approve the remaining $200,000.
Council members spent a great amount of time questioning department heads and the city manager to see where the breakdown in communication happened. You can watch that interaction in the video archive from yesterday's council meeting here.
UT Law Dean Resigns Under Pressure
The dean of the University of Texas at Austin law school has resigned. Dean Larry Sager told KUT’s reporting partner,The Texas Tribune, he resigned yesterday at the request of UT President Bill Powers.
Powers told the Tribune there’s been growing concern about Sager’s management of the law school. Some professors are concerned about the way Sager has been handling faculty compensation. He had announced in August his intention to step down at the end of this academic year.
DMV Approves Controversial License Plate
The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles has approved a specialty license plate that reads “One State Under God” and has three crosses on it. The DMV board voted 4-3 yesterday to approve the plate.
Opponents say the design is disrespectful of religious freedom and sends a message that the state of Texas is unwelcoming to faiths other than Christianity. KVUE reports the Calvary Hill plate will benefit a non-profit youth organization in East Texas called the “Glory Gang."