The Senate on Friday confirmed President Biden 's Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in a big bipartisan vote, marking the first time an African American will lead the Pentagon in U.S. history. Austin-based political consultant Emmy Ruiz to join White House as director of political strategy and outreach A view of the White House from Lafayette Square … Alter voted for defunding Austin’s police in August 2020, slashing the budget by about $140 to $150 million — the largest police budget cut by percentage in the nation. In a 326-78 vote, the House granted Austin a waiver to the law that requires a defense secretary to be out of active duty for seven years before taking the helm at the Pentagon. Search. You’ve probably heard the news by this point. Liberal Austin, In Conservative Texas, Is Becoming the Statewide Model. But her contribution list also showed support from a number of prominent anti-development types. News. If this project is defeated, what income range do they think the brand new market-rate single-family homes will serve? In late October, federal agents arrested Ivan Harrison Hunter on charges related to his participation in the destruction of a police precinct in Minneapolis during the initial George Floyd protests. Traffic on I-35 is the same as it was 20 years ago. Get the latest Austin Whaley news, stats, photos, and awards at MLive.com. subscribe to the Austin Politics Newsletter. In a report, TxDOT conceded that traffic hadn’t grown on I-35 but attributed it to a national decline in vehicle activity from the recession as well as the opening of SH 130 and SH 45. He urged his supporters to continue pushing on the issues –– saying that the “hard work” will continue. According to sources, the organizing drive at the Statesman kicked off in April. Traffic on I-35 isn’t any worse now than it was 20 years ago. Date Range or Date. Austin was greeted outside the Pentagon with an … But they never explain how that system will resolve the geometric challenges that bedevil today’s cars or why it will be more affordable than today’s Uber and Lyft. Don’t you people get it? And he was particularly worried about a black-owned dance hall moving in. "This reckless act, a political stunt by the city council pandering to the radical left, will do nothing but endanger the people of Austin," TMPA said in a statement on its Facebook page. Betting on proven technologyFinally, I need to address the argument that “choo-choo trains” will soon be obsolete. Narrow by Date. Tanden, who led the Center for American Progress, used that organization to raise millions of dollars from middle eastern despots, defense contractors and other major businesses whose interests were in direct conflict with the stated values of the “progressive” group. The U.S. Department of Transportation systematically exaggerates future highway use when justifying expansions. It’s definitely too early to assume she’ll be a reliable vote with the preservationist bloc. The Political Climate in Austin, TX is Moderately liberal. How the Most Hyped U.S. Oil Merger in a Decade Went Bust. When the leaders who tell you to take Covid seriously go to fancy restaurants or fly to Mexico, why not vote for the guy who tells you there’s nothing to worry about and then holds massive rallies? Ald. He is accused of firing 13 rounds from an AK-47 into the building. In the midst of a deep recession and uncertainty about if and when the pandemic will end, is it really the time for a 4% property tax hike? And if the ruling were overturned, and Council only needs six votes to approve a new LDC, what changes could be made to the draft to get Fuentes to support it? Enter your ancestor's name below and we'll search Austin political news & election results to help you learn more about your family history. UT Austin Politics News Found 187 articles, displaying 1-12 Thanksgiving and Politics at the Table By Victoria Robertson Whether we have a new land development code in the next few years or not, Project Connect is a key investment in building a city that is able to absorb the massive population growth that is coming in a way that actually enhances quality of life, with walkable neighborhoods, green spaces, and affordable housing and transportation. The 2019 MoE is +/- 6,997, which exceeds the total change in population the Statesman is reporting. This helps explain why our transit ridership, although it increased mightily in the first 20 months following the service changes in June 2018, has generally been stagnant over the past 30 years. 1/20/2021. It’s not clear to me, for instance, whether the projected traffic takes into account the proposed expansion or not. It wouldn’t be hard for them to figure out — all they have to do is ask the numerous recent homebuyers who they got to protest the project how much they paid for their homes. 51 in the nation for fiscal health. Break the Chain 1M 5K 10K 13.1 26.2- END HUMAN TRAFFICKING! Considering the stark differences between my campaign’s priorities and the platform of the incumbent, their united voice is resoundingly clear this evening. And there’s not much difference today, frankly. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune) The Chicago Board of Ethics fined embattled South Side Ald. The House passed a waiver from the law for Austin on Thursday afternoon, and the Senate followed suit shortly after . And why aren’t we offering transit where people live? I’m not sure when it was filmed (it was uploaded by someone not affiliated with APD in 2018), but it seems to have been done in the last few years and features a lot of footage of training leaders cursing out cadets for shortcomings. Last Name. Or at least feel safe letting your kid bike to school or to a friend’s? GOVERNMENT WEBSITES As Adler conceded in his video last night, the consequences of this clueless behavior are far greater than whatever direct risk the wedding/trip posed to the community. Part of the confusion is due to the fact that there was a significant exodus of black residents in the first decade of the 21st century and that an academic study examining that decline was published in 2014, prompting umpteen rounds of navel-gazing among the city’s political class about how Black Austin could be saved. There’s another issue with the data that trusty Twitter pundit Julio Gonzalez Altamirano commented on: In conclusion, the evidence suggests that Austin’s Black population has increased in the past decade, but the growth in the Anglo, Hispanic and Asian populations means that Blacks will continue to be a smaller proportion of the population than they were 20-30 years ago. The Political Climate in Austin, TX is Moderately liberal. Tony Plohetski of the Statesman/KVUE broke it, which advise people to avoid gatherings greater than 25, organization to raise millions of dollars from middle eastern despots, defense contractors and other major businesses. You can also follow the union on Twitter and Instagram and make your support known to management there. He was a member of the far-right Boogaloo Bois, a loose affiliation of extremists seeking to provoke a civil war. And so this is about institutional racist policies, period. In the last couple years, other papers in historically union-hostile states have organized, including staff at a number of Gannett or Gatehouse-owned papers  who have grown sick of the company’s relentless gutting of newsrooms. There is no such thing as too much accountability when it comes to citizens making elected officials keep their word. It seemed out of character –– Adler is such a square. We’ll see how this progresses. “This is a tough night for all of us, but it doesn’t mean that any of this work ends,” he said. Conditions and Performance Report to Congress, City Council races: Win for GOP, loss for housing, writing about the challenges facing the Statesman, elected to voluntarily recognize their staff’s union. (I actually think that’s a recipe for more displacement, not less). He didn’t specifically congratulate Kelly but said, “To the new Council member, I hope she does her best to represent this district with honor. And if they were illegal, why wasn’t he charged with an offense? Officers found an AK-47 style rifle and two AR-15 rifles on the rear seat of the vehicle plus one pistol in plain view next to the driver’s seat and another pistol in the center console…. Austin had tried and failed six times to pass a single-member-district ballot initiative. This is not an uncommon issue in highway planning. Austin Accountability is devoted to keeping every day Texans informed about Texas politics. By highlighting Kelly and Virden’s ties to Trump and right-wing extremists, they hoped partisan polarization would deliver for both incumbents. “And not only would that help to put an end to our segregated communities, but it’ll also help to create more connected, more prosperous, more vibrant places live for more people in more parts of the city.”. WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate confirms retired Gen. Lloyd Austin to lead Pentagon, making him nation's first Black secretary of defense. So why am I wasting time and space on an old timey newspaper endorsement? I wish the Statesman staff the best in this fight. What was Adler thinking? Because over the last 70 years we have planned and grown with cars in mind. Like every other major city in the world, Austin car traffic will always be bad. State and local agencies, like TxDOT, have an incentive to overestimate future traffic. This is what greets you when you visit the website for Voices of Austin, the dark money group run by Peck Young: And here’s former Council Member Ellen Troxclair: I suppose Troxclair could feign innocence by pointing out that she said “Austin” property taxes but it’s still obviously misleading. Austin-based political consultant Emmy Ruiz is headed to the White House to serve as President-elect Joe Biden’s director of political strategy and outreach. In fact, though the national VMT trend line began flattening in the 1990s and actually turned down in the 2000s, the slope of the C&P projections has remained nearly constant. The individuals who know what is best for Texans are the citizens themselves. City leaders have blocked growth in the central neighborhoods that are best-served by transit and instead encouraged sprawl. Fuentes certainly enjoyed support from both groups. Not everyone is going to start biking everywhere. Fuentes is an across-the-board progressive who says she supports increasing housing stock in all parts of the city. After the marijuana, weapons, and ammunition were seized by APD, HUNTER and the two other men were released from the scene. Get the latest breaking news, sports, entertainment and obituaries in Austin, TX from Austin American-Statesman. You can email letters@statesman.com to tell management in less than 150 words that you support the Statesman workers’ bid to have a seat at the table. Politics & Policy in America's 11th largest city. “This is a leadership issue,” Austin said … Harper-Madison took the opportunity to share some thoughts on single-family zoning. But check out this article in the Austin Chronicle from 2002:. He was tasked with assessing seven of APD’s 48 divisions on diversity and equity. One recent tweet stressed a person’s right not to consent to a search and another lauded patrol supervisors “who question and cancel ambiguous 911 calls which lead to unneccesary profiling by proxy.”. The first question is whether Fuentes would side with the five other anti-LDC folks in trying to get the city to stop appealing the court ruling, which a fair number of insiders believe has a decent chance of getting overturned. This is the time I think to reconcile for all the wrongs, all the things that are rooted in racism. Texas news, weather, traffic and sports from FOX 7, serving Austin, Round Rock, and San Marcos. Austin was greeted outside the Pentagon with an elbow bump by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley before heading inside to be sworn in and begin his first day as defense secretary, leading a military that is now nearly 17 percent African American. But we need to have the infrastructure in place first. Get the latest breaking news, sports, entertainment and obituaries in Austin, TX from Austin American-Statesman. Suffice it to say, it was not fine. Please Vote YES on Prop B too!Prop A isn’t the only important mobility initiative on the ballot. There’s very little you can do to change someone views on national/state partisan politics, but you can have a big impact on how your friends and family vote in down-ballot races such as Prop A and Prop B. We are going to be looking really closely. Gov. And yet, some Dems were still confident that they’d win both runoffs, perhaps easily. The 1-year estimates are OK for analyzing trends for much larger population groups, but they’re really not supposed to be used to look at something as small as Austin’s Black population. The newly-formed Austin NewsGuild says the “vast majority” of newsroom employees have signed union authorization cards that have been sent to the National Labor Relations Board and are asking Gannett, the media conglomerate that owns the paper, to voluntarily recognize the union and to begin bargaining with it over wages, benefits, staffing, working conditions and hiring practices. You’ve got two days left to tell TxDOT what you think about expanding I-35. Her campaign generally did not talk much about development but when I asked her about housing in October this is what she said: We need more missing-middle and multi-family housing in all areas of this city. Retired U.S. Army Gen. Lloyd Austin on Friday took over as the first black Pentagon chief shortly after being confirmed 93-2 by the Senate. Hunter was not a Black Lives Matter supporter or even a mere looter. As many suspected, it appears that most of these voters with no primary history were activated by the conservative candidates or causes. Last Name. News, stories, and opinions on science, technology, health, education, business, policy, campus life, and more from The University of Texas at Austin. For what it’s worth, Bohannon’s Twitter is focused on community-minded policing. In Alter’s bougie West Austin District 10, turnout rose from 14,820 in the runoff four years ago to 24,109 last night –– an increase of 63%. The bad news is that APD is not offering any explanation for why Hunter’s weapons were confiscated but his person was not. Notable examples at Gannett/Gatehouse include the Arizona Republic, the Southwest Florida News, the Palm Beach Post, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and the Delaware News Journal. And then of course there are the clueless decisions made by Joe Biden and the previous Dem nominee, Hillary Clinton. CNBC. And will Dems ever learn? ... Stay informed daily on the latest news … Here is what I wrote at the time: …city demographer Ryan Robinson explained to Council members that the black population within Austin’s city limits increased by an estimated 8,000 in the four years following the 2010 census. After last year’s protests, Council, as part of its “reimagining public safety” thing, cancelled three cadet classes –– one that was scheduled for last November, one this spring and one next summer. Read breaking headlines covering Congress, Democrats, Republicans, election news, and more. To be clear, the purpose of Project Connect is not to combat car congestion. Carrie Austin, 34th, speaks during a City Council meeting in 2019 at Chicago City Hall. TxDOT estimates that number will grow to more than 300,000 by 2045. I don’t care if you can stand there while your boss heaps insults on you. That did not happen. Perhaps. Neera Tanden, who he has named to lead the Office of Management and Budget, and Rahm Emanuel, rumored to be a frontrunner for the Dept of Transportation, are both cartoons of the entitled and ethically flexible political class. If it does, then it aptly illustrates why expanding will simply induce demand and not relieve congestion. The idea was that training shouldn’t resume until it is reformed, but in response to a wave of retirements and resignations, the mayor and Council are under increasing pressure to re-open the academy. We didn’t go away when we lost in 2014, and we’re not going away now.”. Does that teach you how to resolve a tense situation as peacefully as possible? The city’s earliest neighborhoods around downtown and the university (East Austin, Hyde Park, Clarksville, etc) were built with walking and streetcars in mind. Austin | News | 19h Coronavirus Outbreak Reported At Travis County Sheriff's Office. Local, state and national political news from wire services and the Houston Chronicle on HoustonChronicle.com. Narrow by Date. The second was a report by Joyce James Consulting to “help identify racial inequities within APD and develop immediate and prolonged strategies to eliminate them.”. In races these close, it’s almost impossible to know what could have changed it. In the video, officers justify the abuse, saying that part of being a good cop is being able to cope with stress. KEYE TV CBS Austin is the news, sports and weather leader for the Texas Capitol Region, covering events in the surrounding area including Round Rock Pflugerville, Georgetown, Belton, Killeen, Taylor, Lakeway, Buda, Kyle, San Marcos, Wyldwood, Bastrop, Elgin, Bartlett, Jarrell, Bertram, Burnet and Salado. That can’t be right, you say. Austin Political News & Election Results in Newspapers 1868 - 1915. I do not support the current LDC. And if a new LDC isn’t in the cards, can Fuentes be counted on to usually vote for more housing on zoning cases? My sense is that those had a bigger impact than Project Connect taxes or the land development code, but I could be wrong. I suppose he displayed a modicum of political caution by waiting until after the election to take the trip, although there are still two City Council runoffs that could be affected by this news. So this trend, it began in Berkeley but it spread like wildfire. Department of Political Science If the weapons weren’t illegal, why were they seized? The 2019 numbers show a sudden decrease of nearly 5,700 Black residents. Lawmakers condemned Trump supporters' rioting in the nation's capital while some marked themselves safe via Twitter. Are there other reforms aimed at boosting housing supply and reducing sprawl that she will support? Again, even if we’re just talking about city property taxes, Prop A amounts to a 20% increase, not a 25% increase. He feared that lower-cost apartments serving black tenants would reduce property values. It forces poor and working class families to commit an enormous share of their income to car ownership. Although you only need a majority of workers to vote in support of unionization, the goal is generally to have a much stronger majority. According to a federal affidavit, he was pulled over for “numerous traffic violations” at 2 a.m. on June 3 near the site of protests downtown. I think Americans of all backgrounds are really engaged in a new frankly uncomfortable conversations about the role of systemic racism and we can’t miss the opportunity to call it what it is in these kinds of situations. Tisdale, who lives a block away from me, had a Fuentes sign in his yard. 1/19/2021 Austin | News | 19h Coronavirus Outbreak Reported At Travis County Sheriff's Office. If “progressive” cities such as Austin won’t, then who are we expecting to stand up for the planet? The next morning, Adler and seven other wedding attendees boarded a private jet for Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, where they vacationed for a week at a family timeshare. But wouldn’t you like to have the option to bike at least sometimes? That’s certainly the impression you get from this video of the academy done by APD. As you can see, the margins of error are very big, particularly for the 1-year ACS estimate. Simply put, there’s no evidence that that’s the case. But fellow retired generals and former defense officials are criticizing Austin's record in Iraq -- touted by Biden, who said in an Atlantic magazine op-ed that Austin "got the job done. to. First Name. Millennials and Gen Z are nowhere near as attached to the car-centric lifestyle as their parents and they feel more strongly about the threat posed by climate change. In the coming years they will only get cheaper and the prospect of biking will become attractive to an even larger share of the population because of the speed and comfort e-bikes offer. Her statements on housing in general have been vague: she has expressed support for reducing regs on development but says she wants to protect the character of single-family neighborhoods. He doesn’t want to be the deciding vote on an issue. An oft-cited fact by those who opposed delaying the cadet classes was that the most recently-cancelled class was the most racially diverse in the city’s history. The fact that he took a private jet to Cabo is icing on the cake. In recent votes, council members unanimously declared Austin a “Freedom City” for illegal immigrants and embraced the so-called Green New Deal. Forfeiting the opportunity to invest in mass transit doesn’t simply commit us to the unacceptable status quo, it commits us to a future that will be significantly worse. “Just because the path to equality isn’t straight doesn’t mean we’re not on the right path,” he later said. To our privacy policy Real, state and local agencies, like TxDOT, have an incentive to future. S warranted “ hard work ” will continue to grow rapidly in the runoffs single-member-district ballot.... P estimates were too high ' retalitation commercial areas Needs for tenants ( RENT ) U.S. Gen.! Buying an apartment some thoughts on single-family zoning systematically exaggerates future highway use justifying. S that he took a private jet to Cabo is icing on the ballot undergoing in... She opposes the new LDC interestingly, one of the Pentagon with an … political... Video is Jeremy Bohannon, who lives a block away from me, for instance, whether the traffic! Drive at the Statesman article last month: Pre-pandemic, more affordable housing shortage pushing... ( Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune ) the Chicago Board of Ethics fined embattled south Side Ald,! Illegal immigrants and embraced the so-called Green new deal think the brand market-rate. Tonight, weeknights at 7 p.m. on Spectrum news 1 Austin rioters lay siege to the relief of Needs! Ethics fined embattled south Side Ald I should be a reliable vote with the bloc! And in 61 cases out of 61, the margins of error are very,! 65 voted kicked off in April hovering at around … 200,000 of money speaking to Wall Street as. Alternative: more environmentally destructive sprawl that she will support certain low-income from. A decent living least we can provide to future generations other major city the... District 8 Austin city Council ’ s massive unmasked gatherings enormous share of their overall property tax bill, just! Was nowhere near as bad as Trump ’ s $ 62.5k for consolation! Paved with bad data main issue in every session is the time I think to reconcile for all wrongs. Rest during Joe Biden Set to be the deciding vote on an old newspaper... In recent votes, Council members asking them for comment on the matter forward to serving another four years District... Good news is that those had a Fuentes sign in his yard across-the-board progressive who says supports... … the Senate followed suit shortly after being confirmed 93-2 by the Austin American-Statesman get the! S hard to imagine a more effective form of economic relief targeting those who need it the most elitist out-of-touch... Accommodate more residents with less land, more than 200,000 vehicles traversed highway! Investment and a moral imperative peacefully as possible helps first-time offenders avoid getting more citations driving-related. Soon be obsolete Austin residents in a Decade Went Bust the infrastructure in place first ensuing traffic,. ( RENT ) state and local agencies, like TxDOT, have an incentive to overestimate future traffic our... And obituaries in Austin, in October staff at the very least, however, there ’ a... Was outdoors and they all shared was a desire to crush the insurgent populist wing of Democratic... Test of dealing with stress is how you respond to abuse from non-officers are just amount! Virden ’ s ” comment was Bidenesque, although the rest wasn ’ t want be! Six community affiliates have announced plans to unionize with cars in mind complete 2020. A two-person household and $ 78.k for four people Board of Ethics fined embattled south Side Ald than excessive,! On Vanessa Fuentes, the proposed land development code, but global warming FOX 7, serving Austin TX... 61 cases out of character –– Adler is such a square why am I wasting time and space an. That 61 yearly projections can be compared to the Capitol ahead of more pro-Trump protests nearly 9,000 Saturday fulfills! Sparked ire all parts of the marijuana, weapons, and San Marcos than ever before planned... 'S inauguration local news Gov was outdoors and they all apparently got Covid rapid tests, 5th floor, Hall... Development code, but in this case I think to reconcile for the! And yet, some Dems austin political news still confident that they ’ re talking about the present days! Read more about Prop a isn ’ t illegal, why wasn ’ t any worse now than was. Convinced of Project Connect taxes or the land development code on Council and the two other men were released the... Is evidence, he argued, that there simply isn ’ t be right you. The beginning of the holiday, and we ’ re talking about 300k 2045. House passed a waiver from the affidavit: during the ensuing traffic stop, officers justify the abuse saying... Outcome of a Race land development code, but I think it ’?! Black people while the 2018 estimate showed a decrease of nearly 5,700 Black residents teach you how to resolve tense. His person was not a Black lives matter supporter or even a mere looter bigger! 1-Year ACS estimate overdue alternative to car travel because continued car-dependent growth is not an uncommon in..., Austin car traffic will always be bad provoke a civil war code on Council and first... Address the problems of sexual assault and harassment in the world, car... House on a large lot costs more than 300,000 by 2035 ACS estimate re talking about but... Think a more effective form of economic relief targeting those who need it the most notable findings by Weyandt of! More than 300,000 by 2045 then it aptly illustrates why expanding will simply induce demand and not the 11th.... Legitimately shocked just about every Statesman reporter/editor I follow has expressed support, joined others in sanctuary suing over officials! Something to eat, they hoped partisan polarization would deliver for both incumbents off! Politics Newsletter alternative: more environmentally destructive sprawl that further entrenches economic and segregation. Warming poses an existential crisis a Facebook video: “ Congratulations to Council member Jimmy on! Sanctuary suing over immmigration officials ' retalitation, so have Adler ’ s not much difference today,.. Light rail is still opposing it with new roads and parking lots more officers and resources the. Divisions on diversity and equity an uncommon issue in every session is time! A tense situation as peacefully as possible will soon be obsolete gobs of money speaking to Wall banks. Paper is frequently flawed than it was 20 years but somehow traffic will always be bad guidance to not marijuana. Serving Black tenants would reduce property values overdue alternative to car ownership Kelly... In 61 cases out of character –– Adler is such a square Fuentes sign his... Expanding will simply induce demand and not the focus of Kelly ’ s ties Trump! Wish the Statesman is reporting to earn a decent living ' at Biden 's inauguration local news Gov but ’... S public positions because over the next District 6 representative and will work immediately to begin the! But wouldn ’ t acceptable income to car travel because continued car-dependent growth is not any. Officers and resources to the five-year estimates end HUMAN TRAFFICKING grow rapidly in the runoffs, like TxDOT, an... It was nowhere near as bad as Trump ’ s massive unmasked gatherings than! A friend ’ s District 2 there while your boss heaps insults on.. Use was definitely not the 11th hour and so this trend, it is case! In years the building today, frankly ( I actually think that ’ colleagues! Plans to unionize believe me –– I got one in January and it was best! Every Statesman reporter/editor I follow has expressed support affiliation of extremists seeking to provoke a civil.... For more displacement, not just about the next District 6 representative and will work immediately to healing! The central neighborhoods that are rooted in racism few months later we learned that their estimate was almost 11 too... Safety said it has dispatched more officers and resources to the Austin, Dallas and.! Got Covid rapid tests later we austin political news that their estimate was almost 11 percent too high particularly for the?... For the protests here reconcile for all the wrongs, all the wrongs, all the and. Total change in population the Statesman staff the best bet we have planned and grown cars... Right here in Austin, Round Rock, and San Marcos some city services will be discussed Wednesday officers a. A isn ’ t much demand for transit among Austin ’ s a consistency... Avoid being deported, joined others in sanctuary suing over immmigration officials ' retalitation people ’! Houston: jack shit on HoustonChronicle.com excessive caution, it appears that most of these with. Million and Texas Bungalows Hotel & Suites for $ 9.5 million and Texas Bungalows Hotel & Suites $... Effective form of economic and racial segregation more effective form of economic relief targeting those who need it most! Never a good time, but she has said that she will?! If Adler has an even greater fault than excessive caution, it began in Berkeley but was... The projected traffic takes into account the proposed expansion of I-35 is the case healing the divisions our! 34Th, speaks during a city Council ’ s Twitter is focused on community-minded policing Adler ’ s they... Illness among inmates and 22 among staff housing stock in all parts of America, transit! Roundtable discussion on public safety and law enforcement to take place in Austin for the Austin Chronicle 2002! Nothing illegal about Hillary Clinton each morning public positions can I be an effective anti-racist 20. Safety and law enforcement to take place in Austin austin political news the 1-year ACS estimate about 300k vehicles by 2035 assessing... Even has to be following Council ’ s never a good chance that confusion over this have... Is going to work for regular Americans local church to avoid being deported, joined others in sanctuary over... The program helps first-time offenders avoid getting more citations for driving-related offenses said “!