Austin News

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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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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Austin police officials are going the extra mile in order to make certain the streets stay safe.  In fact, officials are gearing up to launch the Compstat program, which will help them look at daily crime statistics while also determining methods of implementing more aggressive law enforcement tactics in areas that receive a higher rate of crime.  By looking for the crime “hot spots,” the city plans to more efficiently and effectively assign  offers to patrol.

"I think it will have a tremendously positive impact in terms of efficiency and responsiveness of the organization," Police Chief Art Acevedo said in the Statesman. "It will also be a tool for organizational accountability. If we are going to provide commanders with data, we expect them to be

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Austin prides itself in being at the forefront when it comes to cultural experiences.  But, as any Austin resident knows, this sometimes means venturing into the land of strangeness.  Of course, the unusual little events that are hosted by and within the city are all part of the charm of this amazing city.  The annual Veggie Dog Eating Contest is just one more example of how Austin offers more than what can be found in most other cities.

The event is already in its second year running and is held at the Scholz Garden located on San Jacinto.  Here, those interested in competing in the contest can enter as either solo competitors or they can enter the doubles category in teams of two.  Those that are not interested in competing can come and enjoy the

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According to the Dallas Business Journal, the Austin City Council has made its decision about developing the Green Water Treatment Plant area.  In a unanimous decision, the Council selected partnership through Trammell Crow Co to complete the amazing transformation.

This redevelopment initiative will be the largest one to ever take place in the downtown Austin area and is expected to have quite an impact on the Austin economy.  In fact, the development is expected to offer numerous employment opportunities and will bring in up to $700 million in taxes.

The new development, which can be seen in the rendering above, will include lodging, retail space, apartments, condos, and offices.  In all, the development will comprise of 2.6 million square feet of

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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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If you are a fan of tap dancing, you will be thrilled to learn that the International Tap Association has recently moved its headquarters to Austin.  In the process, it also named Acia Gray as its new president.  Gray, who was the co-founder and Artistic Director of Tapestry Dance Company, is well-known within the tap dancing community and is viewed as one of the most innovative tap dancers in the industry.

It is quite an honor for the City of Austin to become the new headquarters for the International Tap Association, which has over 1000 members located throughout 28 different countries.  The goal of the association is to promote a greater understanding of tap while also preserving the art form and further developing the special type of dance.  Another

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This past Saturday, the Austin Police Department held a special Police Fair in North Central Austin.  The point of the fair was to give officers the opportunity to reach out to residents and to let them know they are there to help.  The fair was also organized as a way to help residents better understand the services that are available through the police department as well as other related agencies.  The primary goal of the fair, however, was simply to create an open line of communication between the police department and its residents.

"They're a wealth of information. If we can break through the barrier that there's really a lot of communication that can take place and we can help each other. They can help us with things that are going on in their

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As part of its effort to make Austin more eco-friendly, the City of Austin is working toward making all of its vehicles “carbon neutral.”  In fact, the city plans to have all 4,400 of its vehicles “green” by the year 2020.

By utilizing vehicles that are carbon neutral, the city hopes to dramatically reduce its carbon emissions.  Of course, going green with their vehicles is only one component of this eco-friendly plan, as the city also intends to plant trees in order to help absorb the carbon that is in the air.

"We need to be serious about this issue and take action," Jake Stewart, who is the manager of Austin’s Climate Protection Plan, told Statesman.com. "We want to set an example that this is not something we should sit on our hands about.

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The City of Austin will soon be receiving a special recognition that hits home to many of its residents and comes just in time for one of the countries most important holidays.  According to the Austin Business Journal, the city will be receiving the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award.

This special award goes out to those cities and employers that demonstrate a great deal of support for U.S. troops.  Of the 2,200 nominations the Secretary of Defense received this year, the City of Austin is the only municipality to receive the award and is one of only 15 employers in the United States to be honored for its dedication to its troops.

“We greatly value the men and women who both work for the city and for our country, ensuring that we can

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