Austin Area Info

Those who have visited or lived in Austin are fully aware that the city has always been full of creative vision.  One shining example of this vision is the Mueller development that is taking place in East Austin.

Unlike some cities, Austin viewed the moving of its airport as an opportunity for expanding the city.  Rather than leaving the 711 acre plot of land sitting empty after the Robert Mueller Municipal Airport was moved in 1999, the city decided to transform the land to an urban village.

Once the Mueller development is complete, the city will have an entirely new district for those looking to live in the Austin area.  As part of its creative vision, the development will implement a number of forward-thinking design elements.  For example, every

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Austin residents are always looking for ways to make their city safer.  To that end, a group of organizers from Safe Kids Austin recently staged a demonstration at Garrison Pool located in South Austin.  The purpose of this demonstration was simple:  to remind parents and children to be safe while swimming in one of Austin’s many area pools.

 

According to researchers, drowning is the second most common cause of accidental death in children ages 1 to 14.  With so many taking time out of their days to cool off in the pool, organizers of the event don’t want to see a tragedy occur.

"What we see unfortunately is older children who may not have strong swimming skills and even after hours are getting into areas around water - unsupervised - and that

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If you love to ride your bike, either as a means of commuting to and from work or because of the simpler pleasure of biking, you will be thrilled to learn about the biking improvements the city of Austin is looking to make.  In fact, the City of Austin’s Street Smarts Task Force, which was launched by Lance Armstrong and Mayor Will Wynn back in March of 2007, has put together a report that includes 100 recommendations for improving the ride of bikers.

 

Among the recommendations, the report calls for putting in new street markings as well as bike route signs.  It also identifies a need to offer cyclist safety education courses and to implement a requirement for motorists to maintain a distance of at least three feet from cyclists. 

 

Making

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According to a recent story in the Austin Daily Herald, Austin Public Schools can pat themselves on the back for a job well done.  The MCA-II testing results for both grades 3-8 and 10-11 have come out, and the results look promising.

The Herald reports that the students performed about the same as last year, falling at around the average mark for the state.  Some grades even showed improvement over last year.  In math, for example, the fourth grade students performed better than they did while in third grade.

“We’re looking at the majority of our grades increasing,” said John Alberts, director of educational services.

10th grade students also showed improvement.  In fact, they scored quite well on the GRAD portion of reading, which is important

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As if Austin didn’t already have enough to offer to its citizens, the Austin Park and Recreation Department is now offering a summer archery program.  This is the first year the program is being offered and it already has 36 people signed up.

The classes, which are being held in Packer Arena, are meeting twice per week.  Interestingly, participants range from young kids all the way to adults.  In addition, approximately 90% of the participants are taking an archery class for the first time thanks to the new program.

“The thing about archery is, you could be 80-years old and 600 pounds or 10-years old and 80 pounds and still be just as good at it,” instructor Steve Scott told the Austin Daily Herald.  “You could be in a wheelchair.  Anyone can shoot

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Chaparral Ice Rink Goes Green – Saving the Environment and Money at the Same Time

In an effort to become more energy efficient, Keye TV reports that the Chaparral Ice Rink has recently undergone some major renovations. 

One of the changes made at the ice rink was a new Zamboni.  According to the president of the rink, Charles Collins, the Zamboni is capable of saving 100 gallons of water each time the rink is resurfaced.  Considering this happens ten times a day, every day of the year, that is an impressive amount of water being saved.

The walls have also been insulated, which helps to maintain the 56 degree temperature that remains constant within the rink.  Not only that, by implementing green building techniques, the rink has doubled in size

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Although Austin’s housing market has managed to remain strong when compared to other markets throughout the country, the city has seen a little trouble when it comes to the office space market.  In fact, many landlords have been looking at the possibility of having to lower rent in order to draw in and retain tenants.  While this may be good news for businesses looking to save some money on office rental, it is not particularly good for landlords.

Fortunately, some experts believe that Austin may be on its way to bouncing back from its minor stumble.  In fact, the Austin Business Journal reports that vacancies within the central business district went from 16.1% in the first quarter to 15.5% in the second quarter.  In addition, the average rent for

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Austin is known for being on the cutting edge in a variety of ways, and this is certainly true when it comes to the medical practice within the city.  In fact, Austin doctors are teaching other doctors around the world about an innovative new technology that allows them to perform surgery without even needing to be in the same room as their patients.

With the help of this technology, surgeons can save time by performing delicate procedures on patients without having to actually travel to where they are located.  According to KEYE TV, the Heart Hospital of Austin is one of just five hospitals in the entire world that are able to transmit live surgery to other doctors in order to help them improve their medical knowledge.  In fact, one of the hospitals

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Newsweek recently listed Austin as among the “Hot New Tech Cities.”  According to the magazine, many new places around the country are popping up and giving Silicon Valley a challenge for the title of tech headquarters of the country – and Austin is among the cities leading the pack.

Of course, the fact that Austin is home to Michael Dell has certainly helped Austin snag this recognition, but the honor wasn’t bestowed upon Austin simply because of Dell’s presence.  Rather, the fact that nearly 2,000  high tech companies can be found in the region and that nearly 20% of the areas workforce is employed in the high-tech field certainly has something to do with it. 

“It takes an entrepreneur to think there’s life outside of Silicon Valley,” Joseph

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The sixth annual Keep Austin Weird 5k recently took place, and it was certainly a grand celebration and tribute to the weirdness of the city that was enjoyed by many.  In fact, according to Statesman.com, 3,000 runners participated in the mini-marathon and they were decked out in a wide variety of fun, interesting and, well, weird costumes.

Despite the 100 degree heat, the runners came out to Auditorium Shores to let loose and have a little fun.  Of course, there were some serious competitors as well. One of these was this year’s winner, Derek Yorek, who wore nothing but a race bib and a green Speedo.

Yorek, whose best 5k time is 14:22, was on his way to completing the run at under 15 minutes once again until a spectator got in his way.

"This lady

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