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Axios Austin
Suburban growth around Austin slows
The population boom in Austin's major suburbs is slowing, per new Census Bureau figures.The big picture: Soaring real estate costs and the rise of remote work saw people by the tens of thousands relocate to areas farther out from the city center during the pandemic — but the rate of growth in Hays, Williamson and Bastrop counties slowed last year compared with the year prior.What they're saying: "There are so many headlines with Austin not a very affordable place to be that that's all getting lumped together and people appear to be moving to other parts of Texas," city of...
Remembering Murray Callahan, longtime owner of Callahan's General Store
Murray Callahan, the longtime owner of Callahan's General Store, died Saturday. He was 93.The big picture: Callahan was a beloved throwback in a fast-changing Austin, and spent more than 40 years working at Capitol Feed & Milling — the original store — before it expanded into Callahan's General Store.What we're remembering: Callahan served Central Texas' agriculture community, and helped the family grow the southeast Austin store into what it is today.In an obituary shared with Axios, the family remembered Callahan's friendliness and ability to make relationships across the globe.A photo of Callahan feeding his cattle has been featured in Texas...
University of Texas pares down affirmative action language
The University of Texas has whittled down the public-facing information about its affirmative action policy to a single paragraph.The big picture: Edits to the university's affirmative action website come as top state Republican officials have threatened to bar public universities from using state money for diversity programs.University officials say the language on the affirmative action website is in keeping with federal labor posting obligations and is unconnected to political friction around diversity matters.Catch up quick: Through at least last month, the university had a more robust explanation of its affirmative action policies available online."UT Austin is obligated to achieve and...
San Antonio Spurs extend brand to Austin
Spurs rookie Jeremy Sochan — a lone bright spot in a dim season for the San Antonio NBA squad — was in Austin this week bagging groceries at the H-E-B on East Riverside Drive.The big picture: The Spurs are playing a couple games in April at the Moody Center, with the team eager to expand its branding reach into Central Texas. Sochan came to dispense free merch and build excitement for the Austin matchups.The intrigue: After years of championship success, the rebuilding Spurs are in a tight race for the worst record in the NBA.The bottom teams are hoping to...
Texas beaver fossil named for Buc-ee's
A species of ancient beaver that was rediscovered by researchers in the University of Texas at Austin’s fossil collections has been named after the beloved chain Buc-ee's — known for its toothy cartoon beaver mascot.Details: Anchitheriomys buceei lived in Texas about 15 million years ago and would have looked similar to beavers today — except it was 30% larger than modern beavers. This scale shows the size of the newly discovered ancient beaver species relative to an average man and the North American beaver. Courtesy UT Austin / Jackson School of Geosciences/ National Center for Health Statistics/ USDA Forest Service.What happened: While driving down a highway in 2020, Steve May, a research associate at the UT Jackson School of Geosciences, spotted a Buc-ee’s billboard that said "This is Beaver Country."The phrase brought to mind the Texas beaver fossils he had been studying, per a UT news release.What they're saying: "I thought, 'Yeah, it is beaver country, and it has been for millions of years,'" May said.
Texas DPS to patrol Austin streets amid 911 response delays
State troopers will assist the Austin Police Department with patrolling the city amid staffing shortages that police say have led to 911 response delays and fewer officers on the streets.Driving the news: In a Monday afternoon news conference, Mayor Kirk Watson and other city officials said the move comes at no cost to the city.Officials would not disclose how many troopers would be tasked to Austin policing.Why it matters: The partnership between APD and the Texas Department of Public Safety is unusual, and reflects the more hand-in-hand posture toward Republican state officials promised by a pragmatic-minded Watson, who was narrowly...
Austin Energy revenue targeted by Texas Legislature
Austin leaders are alarmed about legislation they say could slash the city's budget and result in higher property taxes — but the bill's author, a Republican state lawmaker from Georgetown, says that's not his goal.Driving the news: Senate Bill 1110 would in some cases prevent cities from taking revenue from electric utilities they own or operate.State Sen. Charles Schwertner filed the bill after widespread power outages in Austin last month, as some key ratepayers complained about their electric bill payments supporting other important city services.Context: As much as 9% of city-owned Austin Energy's revenue is shuffled into Austin's coffers, according...
Five questions with Google's Nuha Elkhiamy
Nuha Elkhiamy, who arrived at Google nearly four years ago, says the future is bright for women in technology.Catch up quick: Google named Elkhiamy the site lead for the company's Austin-based operations in 2021, supporting more than 1,000 local employees.She has her hands full, juggling a role as director for people operations technology with the Austin office's diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.Why it matters: Women's History Month comes to a close this week, and Elkhiamy leads in an industry dominated by men.We spoke to Elkhiamy about her work at Google and her efforts to make the company more inclusive.This conversation...
Texas researchers say grass wages chemical warfare
An invasive grass that is showing up in Austin wages a chemical campaign to push out native species, per new research from the University of Texas.The big picture: Guinea grass, introduced more than a century ago to South Texas from Africa to help feed cattle, uses a combination of crowding that blocks out light from growing seedlings and what amounts to chemical warfare in creating soil that is toxic to native plants, per a new study in the journal Ecosphere.Why it matters: The grass raises the risk of more frequent, high-intensity wildfires.Details: Guinea grass toxins include 2-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, used by plants to suppress their competitors.What they're saying: "Guinea grass escaped its natural enemies and stressors in Africa," said Robert Plowes, a research scientist and author on the paper. "Its seeds are also very good at sticking to trucks, ranch equipment and roadside mowers, so it spreads easily."What we're watching: The researchers, who conducted work in Austin's Brackenridge Field Laboratory, are studying whether the grass can be kept in check with soil restoration and other old-school methods of range management.
UT men's basketball eyes deeper tournament run
After years of underwhelming post-season play, the Longhorns men's basketball team is poised to do something really special in this March Madness tournament.Driving the news: Friday's matchup against Xavier marks Texas' first Sweet 16 game since 2008.Catch up quick: This has been a rollercoaster year for the Longhorns.After being charged with a domestic violence felony, head coach Chris Beard was suspended in December and then fired. (The charges were subsequently dropped and he was hired at Ole Miss earlier this month.)Interim head coach Rodney Terry might have earned himself a full-time contract by steering the team to a pair of...
Austin airport rebounds from Southwest Airlines' meltdown
Data: BTS; Chart: Kavya Beheraj/AxiosAs the Austin airport continues to see a record number of travelers, new data from the U.S. Department of Transportation reveals the severity of Southwest Airlines' winter meltdown.State of play: For most airlines, summer will test how well they've rebounded from the chaos of the holiday season.But in Austin, that test comes early each year when South by Southwest crowds, spring breakers, WGC-Dell Match Play attendees and NASCAR fans swarm the airport throughout the month of March.Driving the news: The real story of winter holiday travel, of course, was Southwest canceling thousands of flights nationwide.New data...
GOP lawmakers threaten future of Austin ISD Pride Week
Austin ISD's annual Pride Week will continue through the weekend, despite threats and sharp criticism from state Republican leaders.The big picture: The district's Pride Week celebrates LGBTQ+ students, staff and families and encourages campuses to bring inclusive activities and resources to the classroom.The week concludes Saturday with a community event featuring interactive activities for students and families from 5-9pm at the AISD Performing Arts Center.AISD has translated its Pride posters into eight languages, including Burmese, Mandarin and Pashto.Driving the news: AISD Pride Week comes as Republican lawmakers threaten its future. Flashback: Last year, Attorney General Ken Paxton sent a letter...
Austin officials consider burying power lines
The Austin City Council is about to explore burying city power lines.The big picture: A devastating February ice storm snapped tree limbs across Central Texas, toppling power lines and leaving hundreds of thousands of Austinites without power — and cold, dark and hungry.What's happening: The council will take up a pair of resolutions on Thursday that order city staff to explore the feasibility of burying power lines.Follow the money: Peter Lake, chair of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, has estimated the cost at $1 million per mile or more to bury power lines.Austin Energy has more than 12,000 miles...
Austin officials consider burying power lines
The Austin City Council is about to explore burying city power lines.The big picture: A devastating February ice storm snapped tree limbs across Central Texas, toppling power lines and leaving hundreds of thousands of Austinites without power — and cold, dark and hungry.What's happening: The council will take up a pair of resolutions on Thursday that order city staff to explore the feasibility of burying power lines.Follow the money: Peter Lake, chair of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, has estimated the cost at $1 million per mile or more to bury power lines.Austin Energy has more than 12,000 miles...
GOP lawmakers threaten future of Austin ISD Pride Week
Austin ISD's annual Pride Week will continue through the weekend, despite threats and sharp criticism from state Republican leaders.The big picture: The district's Pride Week celebrates LGBTQ+ students, staff and families and encourages campuses to bring inclusive activities and resources to the classroom.The week concludes Saturday with a community event featuring interactive activities for students and families from 5-9pm at the AISD Performing Arts Center.AISD has translated its Pride posters into eight languages, including Burmese, Mandarin and Pashto.Driving the news: AISD Pride Week comes as Republican lawmakers threaten its future. Flashback: Last year, Attorney General Ken Paxton sent a letter...
What to know about Austin's final Dell Match Play
Austin Country Club's final Dell Match Play — and the last PGA match play for at least a couple years — kicked off Wednesday, bringing the game's top golfers and thousands of visitors to town for the four-day tournament.Driving the news: PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan confirmed earlier this month that this year's World Golf Championship Dell Technologies Match Play would be the final one at Austin Country Club, although he didn't rule out a match-play event at another location in the future."I think for right now, for next season's schedule, it didn't work," Monahan told reporters. "But match play...
What to know about Austin's final Dell Match Play
Austin Country Club's final Dell Match Play — and the last PGA match play for at least a couple years — kicked off Wednesday, bringing the game's top golfers and thousands of visitors to town for the four-day tournament.Driving the news: PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan confirmed earlier this month that this year's World Golf Championship Dell Technologies Match Play would be the final one at Austin Country Club, although he didn't rule out a match-play event at another location in the future."I think for right now, for next season's schedule, it didn't work," Monahan told reporters. "But match play...
Pflugerville adds a new bookshop
A new, independent bookstore that aims to be a welcoming spot for all readers opens in Pflugerville on Saturday.Driving the news: The Book Burrow peddles chiefly new books of all genres, but it also has ones that are used (or "pre-loved," as the bookstore calls them), a robust kids' section and books that are now banned elsewhere.The atmosphere: Homey.A wall of shelves faces a handful of tables that have Connect Four and other games on hand.During a soft opening event, a bookstore employee kept kids rapt with a reading of "The Box Turtle," by Austin children's book writer Vanessa Roeder.What...
Austin eviction filings at pre-pandemic levels
Reproduced from Eviction Lab; Chart: Axios VisualsEviction filings in Austin have returned to pre-pandemic levels, according to data from the Eviction Lab.That's a Princeton University project aiming to fill an "information hole in the center of the evictions crisis" by collecting data from court filings and other sources, research specialist Jacob Haas tells Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick.Driving the news: Sweeping local and national eviction moratoriums helped keep many families in their homes through the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic, but with those moratoriums long since over, many Americans are once again exposed to the threat of displacement.That's especially true as high...
New Netflix documentary looks at the Waco standoff
David Koresh now has his own Netflix special.Driving the news: The online streaming service launches "Waco: American Apocalypse" Wednesday, a three-part series about the terrible events that transpired north of Austin three decades ago.Between the lines: In its promotional material, Netflix describes the events in Waco as "the biggest gunfight on American soil since the Civil War," one that "ended with a fiery inferno captured live on national television."Or, as Sean O'Neal observes in a Texas Monthly review, "tragedy plus time equals a streaming series."What they're saying: "In the end, the story is the same one we’ve been watching for thirty years now, an unbroken loop of images that always leads to the same agonizing end," O'Neal writes, suggesting the new series "doesn’t say much of anything."Yes, but: Waco remains a touchstone for conspiracy theorists and anti-government activists.On Saturday, former President Trump will hold a Make America Great Again rally at the Waco airport, raising the symbolic stakes of his ongoing grievances as possible indictments hang over him.
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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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