Determined to change policing in Texas’ capital city, the Austin City Council last August voted to cut one-third of its police budget to fund mental health programs, a hotel for homeless people and other alternative public safety measures.
Only a year earlier, the council had resoundingly rejected a proposal to divert a tiny fraction of that spending.
Then came the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, which radically expanded the ideas Americans are willing to contemplate to transform policing.
“It’s clear that millions of people marching in unison and calling for change really pushed elected officials to make more transformative change,” said Greg Casar, the Austin City Council member who proposed the cuts. “My office alone received about 20,000 calls and e-mails from Austinites in the week where protests and marches were most heightened in Austin asking for change to the budget.”
Photo by Drew Angerer, Getty
The killing of George Floyd inspired a reckoning in major cities across the nation. But in a moment of intense political division, the future is far from clear. May 21, 2021 9:26am
Determined to change policing in Texas capital city, the Austin City Council last August voted to cut one-third of its police budget to fund mental health programs, a hotel for homeless people and other alternative public safety measures.
Only a year earlier, the council had resoundingly rejected a proposal to divert a tiny fraction of that spending.
Then came the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, which radically expanded the ideas Americans are willing to contemplate to transform policing.
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Minneapolis wants more notice for renters before an eviction filing As pandemic eases, state s ban may be nearing end. May 18, 2021 6:06pm Text size Copy shortlink:
The Minneapolis City Council is scrambling to pass a new protection for renters before a statewide eviction ban ends.
Council Members Jeremiah Ellison, Jamal Osman, Cam Gordon and Council President Lisa Bender have introduced an ordinance that would require landlords to give tenants at least two weeks written notice before filing an eviction complaint in court for unpaid rent.
More than half of Minneapolis residents, or about 89,000 households, are renters, according to the city. Many of them are people of color and low-income.