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Axios Austin
What to do in Austin this week: Classical music trivia, "The Wolves"
Here are some of our picks for things to do in Austin this week.πΈ Learn to sing, play guitar and write songs at the Windsor Park branch of the Austin Public Library, 4-5:15pm tonight, for beginners and intermediate learners. Free.π Get your fashion on with a celebration of Austin-based designer Jean Jones, who's hosting a 30th-anniversary party at the Tudor Cottage at Pease Park from 6-8pm Tuesday. Free.The event includes a panel on sustainable fashion with Texas Monthly executive editor Kathy Blackwell, Jean Jones and Leah Ashley Finn of Living With Leah.πΌ Compete in Classical Music Trivia Night, hosted by KMFA's Guillermo Delgado. At the Brewtorium Brewery & Kitchen on Wednesday, 7-9pm. Free.π Attend a performance of "The Wolves," a Pulitzer Prize finalist about big questions facing soccer-playing young women. On Thursday β and through Nov. 19 β at the Mary Moody Northern Theatre at St. Edward's. Tickets start at $15.Get more local stories in your inbox with Axios Austin.
How long it takes to break even on your home in Austin
Data: Zillow; Note: Calculations assume typical increases in home values, 3% closing costs paid at purchase and 1% home maintenance fees, 6% closing costs, and 6% agent fees paid at sale; Chart: Erin Davis/Axios VisualsGet comfy, new Austin homeowners. It could take up to 16 years to break even on your purchase, per Zillow data exclusively shared with Axios.Why it matters: That's how long you'd have to stay in your house before you can sell and make a profit.Context: Historically, experts have said you need to stay in your home for at least five years to break even. But with mortgage rates inching toward 8%, new homeowners will need to stay put longer to avoid going underwater.Get more local stories in your inbox with Axios Austin.
Speakeasy Trona opens in East Austin
We recently stopped by Trona, a new East Austin speakeasy from local restaurateur Tatanka Guerrero.The big picture: Newly formed hospitality management collective Dreamers & Doers opened the concept at 1812 E. 12th St. last week.What's happening: To get inside the sort-of-secret spot, you'll have to follow the bar on Instagram to find their reservation hotline, which will be posted periodically.Details: The entrance to the tiny bar β just 1,200 square feet β is on the backside of East 12th St., behind Skinny's Off Track Bar and Full Circle.Visitors arrive at a set of massive metal doors, which are only opened...
Why American Airlines and Virgin Atlantic are trimming Austin's airport service
American Airlines is canceling service starting in early 2024 to 21 of the 46 destinations it currently serves out of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, including Cincinnati; Kansas City, Missouri; Memphis, Tennessee; Tampa, Florida; and Washington Dulles.Context: The announcement comes on the heels of Virgin Atlantic ending its Austin to Heathrow Airport in London service after 18 months.Why it matters: Through the last decade, the airport was booming right along with the city, and the service cutbacks reinforce a new era of uncertainty in an Austin with vast office vacancies downtown and widespread tech layoffs.Zoom out: Locally and nationwide, bookings are softening...
Why the UT Longhorns are increasingly looking for football players outside Texas
Data: cfbstats; Chart: Will Chase/AxiosThe era of hometown talent in college football may become a thing of the past.State of play: The University of Texas and the Southern schools that won the past eight College Football Playoff National Championships have historically relied on in-state talent. But an Axios analysis of recruiting data shows that, across the country, college football programs are increasingly recruiting from out of state.Why it matters: The growing professionalization and commercialization of college athletics is reshaping the recruiting landscape, Axios' Simran Parwani reports.It used to be that the University of Texas could count simply on its relationship...
What to do in Austin this weekend
Here's what's in store this weekend.π Wonder at puppets, in pieces conceived for adults, at the Austin Puppet Incident, 7:30pm Friday and Saturday at the Dougherty Arts Center. Tickets start at $15.ποΈ Shop at Ani's Day & Night Holiday Market noon to 5pm Saturday. Hot chocolate and mulled wine on hand.π Meet Texas authors β including Austin's Lawrence Wright and Elizabeth Crook β and grab signed copies of their books at the Humanities Texas Holiday Book Fair, 10am-1pm Saturday.π¨ Celebrate new art at Flatbed Press' Holidaze opening reception, 4-6pm Saturday.π² Watch "Beto, Beto el Abeto," a festive Spanish and English retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Fir Tree," 7:30pm Friday and Saturday and 2:30pm Sunday. Zilker Botanical Garden. Free. π΅π· Listen to "The Prince and the Pana," a multilingual musical that follows an African prince seeking to save his people, presented by the Puerto Rican Cultural Center, at the King-Seabrook Chapel at Huston-Tillotson, 6:30pm Saturday, 3pm Sunday. Tickets are $20 β and $5 for kids.π Cheer on the Texas Stars as they face the Chicago Wolves at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park, 7pm Friday and Saturday. Tickets start at $49.Get more local stories in your inbox with Axios Austin.
New Lyft feature for women and nonbinary people launches in Austin
Women and nonbinary Lyft riders and drivers in Austin will soon be able to connect on the app, an effort by the company to provide more peace of mind during a ride-share experience.Driving the news: The program, dubbed Women+ Connect, is now available in Austin and roughly 50 other cities.The program first rolled out in September in Chicago, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose, with plans to quickly expand nationwide.Why it matters: Advocacy groups have long questioned the safety of ride-sharing, and recent reports indicate a startling number of violent crimes have occurred during Uber and Lyft rides,...
Downtown foot traffic lags behind pre-pandemic levels
Data: University of Toronto; Note: Downtown defined as the central location with the highest concentration of employment in each metro area; Chart: Axios VisualsFoot traffic downtown remains roughly three-quarters of what it was in 2019, according to University of Toronto researchers tracking how cities are emerging from the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic.By the numbers: Austin ranks 31 out of more than 50 major U.S. cities in terms of post-pandemic downtown recovery, with a nearly 73% recovery rate.That's based on the number of downtown visitors in March through mid-June 2023, as compared to the same time period in 2019.Why it...
Seven Spirits serves up cocktails, food
On a quest to finally see what replaced Mexican restaurant Takoba, we headed to Seven Spirits for a cocktail and food.Details: The counter-service bar, which opened in July, is run by Takoba and El Tacorrido owner Jose de Loera.The new spot is perfect for our increasingly cooler nights, with a garage door that allows for breezy indoor and outdoor seating.Plus, the cocktail menu showcases Mexican liquors: tequila, mezcal, sotol, pox, charanda, bacanora and raicilla.πΉ To drink: We loved the Rosa de Nopal, a not-too-sweet sotol cocktail with maraschino liqueur, prickly pear, grapefruit and lemon ($15). The Rosa de Nopal at Seven Spirits. Photo: Nicole Cobler/AxiosSix-word review: How the color pink should taste.π½οΈ To eat: The menu includes guacamole (with grasshoppers on top), tuna tostadas, ricotta empanadas, tacos and more.We loved the al pastor tacos ($7 for two), made with pork shoulder and pineapple-habanero pico.The fresh fish on the tuna tostadas ($13) was melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Topped with avocado puree and ponzu.π Where: 1411 E. 7th St.Pro tip: Happy hour runs from 5-7pm, with $3 beers, $4 off cocktails and $5 frozens.π¬ Know a drink we should try? Hit reply and tell us.Get more local stories in your inbox with Axios Austin.
AfroTech networking conference returns to Austin
A major conference aimed at promoting Black professionals in the tech sector kicks off Wednesday in Austin. Why it matters: The AfroTech Conference is a key networking and mentoring event in an industry that has seen limited executive opportunities for people of color.Details: Sessions at this year's conference, at the Austin Convention Center, include "Innovations, Patents and Black Excellence," "Ensuring Longevity for Men of Color" and "Centering Black Travelers through Technology."Speakers include actress, producer and writer Issa Rae; producer, artist and entrepreneur Timbaland; and TIME chief marketing officer Sade Muhammad.Flashback: When the conference launched in 2016, "We were...
How We Luv Video founder Macy Cotton likes to spend her day in Austin
We recently caught up with Macy Cotton, an attorney and Midland transplant who co-founded We Luv Video, to ask about her ideal Austin day.We Luv Video, a nonprofit video rental store, screening space and cultural center β and the spiritual successor to beloved video store I Luv Video βopened over the summer on North Loop, just east of North Lamar.Cotton and her husband, Ryan Teel, also an attorney and co-founder of We Luv Video, live in East Austin's Chestnut neighborhood.How do you start your day?"We like to take a really long walk with our whippet, Peach, either way south, to...
What to do in Austin Oct. 30-Nov. 2
There's no shortage of things to do in Austin this week.π Join Austin writer and artist Edward Carey as he talks about his new novel, "Edith Holler," about a child in early 20th-century England whose actor father has forbidden her to leave a theater. At BookPeople Monday, 7pm. Free.π¨ Ponder the Mother/Land exhibit, featuring Yuliana Lanina's work, which "delves into the artist's complex relationship with the war in Ukraine," at the Central Library, through Nov. 5. Free.πͺ Take in a talk about the Women's Auxiliary Service Pilots, also known as the "Fly Girls of World War II," at noon Wednesday at the Bullock Texas State History Museum. Free.π Visit the DΓa de Los Muertos community altar, organized by allgo, a nonprofit celebrating queer people of color, at 701 Tillery St., 6-8pm Thursday. Free.βΎοΈ Catch the University of Texas baseball team play against itself in a fall warm-up series at 6pm Thursday at Disch-Falk Field. Free.Get more local stories in your inbox with Axios Austin.
Why Cruise suspended its Austin self-driving car operations
Tapping the brakes on a nationwide experiment in autonomous vehicles, Cruise has suspended its self-driving cars in Austin.Why it matters: The driverless car operations had led to complaints from Austin drivers and first responders.Catch up quick: Officials with Cruise, a California-based subsidiary of GM, announced late last week they are pausing driverless operations."The most important thing for us right now is to take steps to rebuild public trust," company officials posted on X.Context: The move comes after the California Department of Motor Vehicles on Tuesday suspended Cruise's driverless testing permits in San Francisco due to an "unreasonable risk to public...
Why you likely need a raise to buy a home in Austin
The median household income in greater Austin is $95,000 a year, but you'll need to earn $31,000 more to comfortably afford the median-priced home, per a new analysis from Redfin.Why it matters: Americans haven't felt this discouraged about home buying in decades.The median home price in the Austin-Round Rock area was $452,080 in September, per the Austin Board of Realtors.Mortgage rates continue to hover around 8%.Details: Figuring in a 20% downpayment and monthly mortgage bills, Austin homebuyers must earn $126,000 to afford a median-priced home, per Redfin.That necessary-income number is a 7.7% increase from roughly a year ago.Yes, but: That's...
Why you likely need a raise to buy a home in Austin
The median household income in greater Austin is $95,000 a year, but you'll need to earn $31,000 more to comfortably afford the median-priced home, per a new analysis from Redfin.Why it matters: Americans haven't felt this discouraged about home buying in decades.The median home price in the Austin-Round Rock area was $452,080 in September, per the Austin Board of Realtors.Mortgage rates continue to hover around 8%.Details: Figuring in a 20% downpayment and monthly mortgage bills, Austin homebuyers must earn $126,000 to afford a median-priced home, per Redfin.That necessary-income number is a 7.7% increase from roughly a year ago.Yes, but: That's...
When Austin X-rayed its Halloween candy
Halloween ... a time for dressing up, knocking on neighbors' doors and getting your treats X-rayed.Flashback: As a public service, hospitals across the country in the 1980s customarily opened their doors on All Hallows' Eve so parents could rest easy knowing their kids' Baby Ruth bars contained no razor blades, needles or pins β just pristine junk food.Halloween fears around tainted treats go back at least to the early 1980s, after seven people were mysteriously killed in Chicago by cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules.Zoom in: Check out this 1986 American-Statesman clipping we found, attesting to this moment in time. Clipping from Austin American-Statesman, Oct. 30, 1986, via Newspapers.com.We also came across mentions of Halloween X-ray candy clinics in Round Rock, Taylor and Georgetown.Get more local stories in your inbox with Axios Austin.
UchibΔ is expanding Austin's Uchi empire
Austin's Uchi opened its casual Japanese restaurant and bar UchibΔ earlier this month at 601 W. Second St., and reservations are going fast.Why it matters: Chef Tyson Cole's Uchi helped put Austin's culinary scene on the national map and, after opening outposts in a handful of other cities, including Miami and Denver, the restaurant is expanding its brand in Austin.Cole opened Uchi 20 years ago, bringing elevated sushi to South Austin.He launched sister restaurant Uchiko in 2010, and the opening of spinoff UchibΔ gives the brand an even bigger footprint in the city.Cole has been nominated for a James Beard...
Austin-based music app integrates generative AI
Users of Austin-based social listening app Earbuds can now build playlists, find songs and discover new artists with the help of a virtual assistant powered by ChatGPT.Driving the news: The app, which allows users to easily share music across streaming platforms, recently announced that it has integrated generative artificial intelligence.What they're saying: Founder and CEO Jason Fox said that leveraging AI for music discovery will provide a more personal experience than typical algorithms."If we're helping users discover songs, discover artists, discover new music β that's going to lead them to share it with their network," he told Axios. "If we...
Austin-based music app integrates generative AI
Users of Austin-based social listening app Earbuds can now build playlists, find songs and discover new artists with the help of a virtual assistant powered by ChatGPT.Driving the news: The app, which allows users to easily share music across streaming platforms, recently announced that it has integrated generative artificial intelligence.What they're saying: Founder and CEO Jason Fox said that leveraging AI for music discovery will provide a more personal experience than typical algorithms."If we're helping users discover songs, discover artists, discover new music β that's going to lead them to share it with their network," he told Axios. "If we...
Why Austin stands a decent chance of a wetter-than-normal winter
Data: NOAA; Map: Erin Davis/Axios VisualsThere's a decent chance of a wetter-than-normal winter in Austin this year, per the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's seasonal outlook.Why it matters: Apart from this week's rains, it's been bone dry and super hot in Central Texas.Lakes Travis and Buchanan, the chief reservoirs for Central Texas, are now only 39% full. Water volume is at near record lows in the region's two major reservoirs. Chart courtesy LCRAZoom in: Austin has a 40% chance of a wetter-than-average winter, per NOAA.The big picture: This summer was the driest in 113 years in Austin, forcing many Central...
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Axios Austin, anchored by Nicole Cobler and Asher Price, is here to help readers get smarter, faster on the most consequential news and developments unfolding in their own backyard.
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