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Axios Austin
Austin school district grapples with budget amid teacher pay increase
Even as the Austin school board has agreed to give a critical raise to teachers and staff, its financial situation appears increasingly precarious.Driving the news: The Austin school board last week approved 7% raises for teachers to keep up with the rising cost of living and to stay competitive with surrounding districts.The local teachers union president, Ken Zarifis, praised the move, which comes on top of significant raises in this year's budget.Yes, but: The district is projecting a roughly $50 million budget shortfall in the next school year.Since at least 2017 the school board has been dipping into reserves to...
Austin light rail plan unveiled even as state officials question financing
Austin Transit Partnership officials released their preferred plan Tuesday for the city's light rail network, recommending an on-street, 9.8-mile route that would connect North and South Austin from West 38th to Oltorf streets and run southeast to near Ben White Boulevard.Driving the news: The final recommendation comes after the local government corporation narrowed their plans to five light rail options in March. Officials said they made the decision after receiving more than 5,000 public comments and holding 90 community meetings.Details: The selected option does not reach Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, although ATP officials say the option prioritizes a future expansion to...
Tenure on the ropes in Texas
Texas lawmakers are poised to dismantle tenure, a hallmark of academic job protection.Driving the news: The Texas House on Monday gave initial approval to a version of Senate Bill 18 that would let tenure continue — but would allow politically appointed overseers to fire faculty for reasons including "professional incompetence" or "conduct involving moral turpitude."Previously the Senate passed a version that would bar public universities from granting tenure to faculty members starting in 2024.Why it matters: The issue strikes at political control of universities — and the ability of Texas research institutions to lure talent as other states maintain a...
Drought, sedimentation leave Texas lakes dry
More than half of the world's largest lakes and reservoirs are losing water — and climate change and human consumption are the main drivers, a new large-scale study warns.Why it matters: About 2 billion people live in the basins of drying lakes, per the study published in the journal Science. Water insecurity is already an issue, with hundreds of millions of people around the world lacking reliable access to safe water.The findings underscore an urgent need to incorporate climate change and sedimentation impacts into sustainable water resources management, according to an editor's summary accompanying the study.Zoom in: Even with rains...
Austin debates the future of Zilker Park
A plan to remake the roughly 350-acre Zilker Park, our main central-city play area, faces opposition from some neighbors and environmental groups.Driving the news: The Austin Parks and Recreation Board will hear public testimony on the proposed Zilker Park Vision Plan tonight at City Hall.The board will make a recommendation to the City Council, which is scheduled to take up the matter in July.Details: The 234-page draft plan proposes up to three parking garages in the park — on the site of the baseball field on Azie Morton Road, near MoPac and Stratford Drive and beneath the playing fields. Other...
A new cemetery monument memorializes marginalized Austinites
Unidentified, long-ago buried Austinites will be recognized with a monument.Driving the news: Years-long efforts to address the grim discovery of a burial ground underneath a cemetery chapel come to a close this weekend.What's happening: Friday through Sunday, the city is hosting free guided tours of the Historic Colored Grounds and the Oakwood Cemetery Chapel at 1601 Navasota St.The events will include a dedication of a monument — featuring gravestone-like, polished granite markers — honoring the reinterred remains at 2pm Saturday and a homegoing celebration on Sunday at 2pm.Between the lines: In 2016, during the rehabilitation of the chapel, archaeologists monitoring construction...
Austin FC salaries among Major League Soccer's highest
Even as Austin FC muddles through a disappointing season — a victory Wednesday night against Seattle was only its third win through 12 Major League Soccer games — its payroll now ranks among the highest in the league.Driving the news: The MLS Players Association this week released its 2023 Spring-Summer Salary Guide, which contains annual base salary and annual guaranteed compensation data for the 869 players under contract with Major League Soccer, per the association.What they're saying: "Visibility into player compensation across the league empowers MLS players and their agents to negotiate for wages that represent their true comparative market...
Bill's Oyster opens in Austin's 2nd Street District
Cocktail bar and seafood restaurant Bill's Oyster has officially opened its doors in Austin's Second Street District, serving up seafood towers, fresh oysters and martinis for dinner — and soon lunch and weekend brunch.The big picture: Co-founder and executive chef Daniel Berg, an alum of New York City Michelin-star restaurants Daniel and Le Bernardin, opened Bill's with co-founder and lifelong Austinite Stewart Jarmon.It's Berg's first restaurant concept in Austin.Why it matters: Bill's Oysters joins a growing list of great spots to slurp down a raw oyster in our fine landlocked city.Plus, it's the latest business to open in the transforming...
Bill would ban Austin's Ashe juniper protections
A panel of state senators heard testimony Tuesday on a measure that would ban local ordinances that protect the Ashe juniper tree.Why it matters: Environmental activists have sounded the alarm over House Bill 2239, which they say would reduce the habitat of the endangered golden-cheeked warbler and have serious consequences for the Central Texas ecosystem.The House approved the measure last week in a 109-35 vote, sending the bill to the Senate.Zoom in: If the measure passes the Senate and Gov. Greg Abbott signs it, the law would end Austin's ordinance that prohibits property owners from removing Ashe junipers that have...
University of Texas launches conservative-minded institutes
As universities are attacked by lawmakers for being too liberal, the University of Texas is ramping up institutes and centers that cater to conservatives.Driving the news: UT announced this month that it will open a School of Civic Leadership, which will house the Civitas Institute, championed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick as a way to bring "intellectual diversity" and teaching on limited government and free markets.In 2020, the university launched the Salem Center for Policy, whose mission is to help students, business leaders and policymakers "cut through the noise of public policy," per its website, "... in pursuit of human...
New salary data shows how white men dominate Texas state agencies
White men dominate leadership positions at state agencies — just as they continue to do in the private sector — an Axios analysis of state salary data found.Why it matters: The analysis comes after Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state agencies, already stacked at the highest-paid ranks with white men, not to consider race in hiring decisions.Advocates for diversity and inclusion in hiring say it's a way to level the systemically uneven playing field.Context: Texas' top public earners, some with salaries reaching into seven figures, are elite coaches, medical doctors or medical school presidents.That tends to be the case with public...
New salary data shows how white men dominate Texas state agencies
White men dominate leadership positions at state agencies — just as they continue to do in the private sector — an Axios analysis of state salary data found.Why it matters: The analysis comes after Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state agencies, already stacked at the highest-paid ranks with white men, not to consider race in hiring decisions.Advocates for diversity and inclusion in hiring say it's a way to level the systemically uneven playing field.Context: Texas' top public earners, some with salaries reaching into seven figures, are elite coaches, medical doctors or medical school presidents.That tends to be the case with public...
Austin-bashing continues at the Texas Legislature
The filing of "Austin bashing" bills is a common pastime in the Texas Legislature, and this year is no exception.Driving the news: There are two weeks to go in the legislative session, and we've been tracking measures Austin leaders oppose.Some measures have already missed key legislative deadlines and will not make it into law.Yes, but: Legislative proposals have a funny way of sticking around until the final gavel, sometimes winning a second life after getting tacked on as amendments to bills headed to passage.The big picture: Many conservative lawmakers frame Austin as both lawless and overregulated.In the interest of protecting...
Air quality in Austin has stayed about the same
Data: EPA; Map: Kavya Beheraj/AxiosAustin air quality in the Austin metro area, as measured by fine particle pollution, has stayed about the same over the last decade.Why it matters: Fine particles, generated from fossil fuel burning and other sources, can enter our bodies when we breathe, making their way to the lungs or bloodstream and causing myriad health problems.They are linked to nearly 11,000 excess deaths across the United States annually, by one estimate.Non-white and low-income Americans are at a higher risk of death from exposure to fine particle pollution compared to other groups, per a 2022 study published in...
Central Texas breweries honored in "Olympics of beer"
Five Central Texas breweries — including three based in Austin — took home awards in one of the world's most prestigious beer competitions.State of beer: Austin Beerworks, Meanwhile Brewing and Pinthouse Brewing each took home silver medals in three different categories of the World Beer Cup competition — often dubbed the "Olympics of Beer."Austin Beerworks was honored for its "Golden Sour" in the wood- and barrel-aged sour beer category, while Real Ale Brewing in Blanco took home gold in the same category for their "Scots Gone Wild."Meanwhile was awarded for its "Fore!" — an Arnold Palmer-style kolsch — in the...
Central Texas breweries honored in "Olympics of beer"
Five Central Texas breweries — including three based in Austin — took home awards in one of the world's most prestigious beer competitions.State of beer: Austin Beerworks, Meanwhile Brewing and Pinthouse Brewing each took home silver medals in three different categories of the World Beer Cup competition — often dubbed the "Olympics of Beer."Austin Beerworks was honored for its "Golden Sour" in the wood- and barrel-aged sour beer category, while Real Ale Brewing in Blanco took home gold in the same category for their "Scots Gone Wild."Meanwhile was awarded for its "Fore!" — an Arnold Palmer-style kolsch — in the...
Things to do in Austin this weekend
Looking for some weekend fun? We've got you covered.🎨 Enjoy art installations and hands-on activities at the Dougherty Arts Center's free annual Art-O-Rama event from 1-4pm Saturday at 1110 Barton Springs Road.🌳 Learn about the Trail Conservancy's release of its first Arts + Culture plan, featuring an art installation by Dadalab and Music on the Trail. The open house runs from 9-11am Saturday at the Seaholm Waterfront Facility — 801 W. Cesar Chavez St. — and will introduce aspects of the plan.🛍️ Get your last-minute Mom's Day shopping done at the third annual May Market from the creators of Blue...
Things to do in Austin this weekend
Looking for some weekend fun? We've got you covered.🎨 Enjoy art installations and hands-on activities at the Dougherty Arts Center's free annual Art-O-Rama event from 1-4pm Saturday at 1110 Barton Springs Road.🌳 Learn about the Trail Conservancy's release of its first Arts + Culture plan, featuring an art installation by Dadalab and Music on the Trail. The open house runs from 9-11am Saturday at the Seaholm Waterfront Facility — 801 W. Cesar Chavez St. — and will introduce aspects of the plan.🛍️ Get your last-minute Mom's Day shopping done at the third annual May Market from the creators of Blue...
Last-minute Mother's Day plans in Austin
If you've put off making Mother's Day plans, we've found ideas that will accommodate a last-minute meal, keep you out of the rain and won't break the bank.For a reservation-less brunch: Caroline will offer two specialty entrees, plus one cocktail and dessert in addition to the full brunch menu. Walk-ins are welcome. Corinne still has reservations available all day. Photo: Courtesy of Jane Yun/CorinneFor a last-minute reservation: Snag a reservation at Corinne, which will offer specialty items like Nutella French toast and mom-inspired cocktails. For Austin views: The Loren at Lady Bird Lake will host a Mother's Day trunk show and market from 11am-3pm Saturday with local vendors and activities.For a special night out: Ballet Austin will close out its season with performances of "Cinderella" all weekend long. Tickets start around $40.For flowers: Weather permitting, spread out a picnic blanket at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and enjoy performances by Austin Symphony's string quartet throughout Sunday morning. Reservations are required, and tickets start at $15.Get more local stories in your inbox with Axios Austin.
Last-minute Mother's Day plans in Austin
If you've put off making Mother's Day plans, we've found ideas that will accommodate a last-minute meal, keep you out of the rain and won't break the bank.For a reservation-less brunch: Caroline will offer two specialty entrees, plus one cocktail and dessert in addition to the full brunch menu. Walk-ins are welcome. Corinne still has reservations available all day. Photo: Courtesy of Jane Yun/CorinneFor a last-minute reservation: Snag a reservation at Corinne, which will offer specialty items like Nutella French toast and mom-inspired cocktails. For Austin views: The Loren at Lady Bird Lake will host a Mother's Day trunk show and market from 11am-3pm Saturday with local vendors and activities.For a special night out: Ballet Austin will close out its season with performances of "Cinderella" all weekend long. Tickets start around $40.For flowers: Weather permitting, spread out a picnic blanket at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and enjoy performances by Austin Symphony's string quartet throughout Sunday morning. Reservations are required, and tickets start at $15.
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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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