Keep Austin Weird? Where is the slogan from?

By

David Kobierowski, TheAustinPost.org

The phrase “Keep Austin Weird” has become so popular numerous other cities have copied it.  ”Keep _____ Weird” movements have popped up in Boulder, Colorado;  Portland Oregon; Louisville, Kentucky, and other cities. Wimberly, Texas even has its own phrase: ”Keep Wimberly Weirder.”

Have you ever wondered who started this saying?  Possibly it was a PR campaign started by the City of Austin that wanted to preserve and celebrate the unique aspects of Austin?  Nope, that’s not it.  

And what is so weird about Austin?   According to the 2010 book “Weird City” by Joshua Long, some of the weirdness includes:

- Leslie Cochran, local homeless transvestite icon who has run for Mayor multiple times, including finishing 2nd to winner Kirk Watson in 2000 when Cochran captured 7.7 percent of the Austin vote!

- Eeyore’s Birthday – this event was initiated in 1963 by a University of Texas professor who wished to provide a pre-final exam stress reliever for students.  Held annually on the last Saturday of April (the 2011 event is scheduled for Sat., April 30th) it draws over 20,000 people to Pease Park for live music, food, drum circles, intermittent nudity and recreational drug use.

- Ann Richards Congress Ave Bat Bridge – the largest urban bat colony in the world and a very popular tourist attraction.   Over 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats live under the bridge.  The 1980 renovation of the bridge created new crevices in the bridge that these bats love to make their home.

- Hippie Hollow Park – the only clothing-optional public park in Texas.  Situated on over 100 acres on the shores of Lake Travis, it’s been in regular use since the 1960′s.

- Austin Yard Art – examples are all over the city.

Some may have thought that the “Keep Austin Weird” slogan has been around for as long as Austin has been.  But here’s the story behind it, according to Long’s “Weird City” (P. 15):

“The legend of “Keep Austin Weird” goes something like this:  In the Spring of 2000, a local Austin Community College librarian by the name of Red Wassenich was calling into pledge his donation to an (almost) all volunteer Austin community radio station, 91.7FM KOOP Radio.  While many would argue this station is weird (playing everything from rockabilly Tejano to Czech melodies), Red was calling in specifically to support The Lounge Show, a segment which he describes as featuring ‘smooth crooners’ such as Bobby Darin and Louis Prima, along with strange tunes such as Bing Crosby’s ‘Hey Jude’ and William Shatner’s ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’”.

“When the DJ asked why Red was making a donation, he responded with a simple, “the show keeps Austin Weird”.  Red mentioned it to his wife and said, “that sounds like a slogan”.  Shortly after that, Red’s wife, Karen Pavelka, ordered a thousand blue and white bumper stickers beseeching fellow citizens to “Keep Austin Weird”.  There were no financial considerations.   As Red says ‘We never set out to make money and have been successful at that’ (at NOT making money).”

Since then, local corporations and financial opportunists have made a lot of money off of what Red started.  I’m told Red and Karen never copyrighted this saying and thus made no money from it.

91.7FM KOOP Radio is still going strong.  It’s the only 99 percent volunteer-run cooperative community radio station in the country.  The station has increased it’s listenership by over 80 percent over the last few years and has had the most successful membership drives of it’s 16 year history recently and raised over $12,000 for it’s “Sweet 16″ at Antone’s Night Club in January of this year with Kelly Willis, Sara Hickman, and Slaid Cleaves performing to 350 people.  91.7FM was also rated the “Best Little Radio Station in Texas” last year by Paste Magazine, the 3rd largest rock magazine in the world, and KOOP was honored by the Austin Mayor and City Council with a Proclamation in Dec 2010 for their continued 16 years or service to the Austin community.

Disclosure:  Karie Meltzer, Editor-in-Chief of the Austin Post, and I (David Kobierowski) host a radio show on 91.7FM KOOP Radio every Wed., Noon-1pm called “A Neighborly Conversation.”    We hosted a live interview with author Joshua Long on this show earlier in the year.  

More information about Josh Long’s book “Weird City” at http://www.utexas.edu/utpress/books/lonwei.html

More information about 91.7FM KOOP Radio at www.koop.org

Best,

David Kobierowski

 

AUSTIN AMONG ‘BEST PLACES TO LIVE’!!

Great Article on Austin! For the complete article go here: http://images.businessweek.com/slideshows/20110920/america-s-50-best-cities

The Best Places to Live

By Venessa Wong and Joel Stonington

Where would you live in the U.S. if money were no object? Many people might automatically pick New York or San Francisco, maybe New Orleans or Boston. But they might be missing out. All these cities are great, but other cities are even better. Welcome to Businessweek.com’s first America’s Best Cities ranking. With assistance from Bloomberg Rankings, Businessweek.com evaluated 100 of the country’s largest cities based on 16 criteria, which include: the number of restaurants, bars, and museums per capita; the number of colleges, libraries, and professional sports teams; the income, poverty, unemployment, crime, and foreclosure rates; percent of population with bachelor’s degrees, public school performance, park acres per 1,000 residents, and air quality. Greater weighting was placed on recreational amenities such as parks, bars, restaurants, and museums, and on educational attainment, school performance, poverty, and air quality. The data came from the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Sperling’s BestPlaces, GreatSchools, Onboard Informatics, RealtyTrac, and the Trust for Public Land. Read on to find out which cities top the ranking. Is your city on the list?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Austin, Tex.

America’s Best Places Rank: 12th
Population: 747,984
Mayor: Lee Leffingwell

Why it’s ranked: The “live music capital of the world” hosts a few of America’s best music festivals, not to mention the generally great acts that play the city’s more than 200 bars on any given night. Beyond nightlife, Austin has high numbers of park acres per person, great air quality, and low unemployment. Were it not for the second-highest rate of property crimes on this list, Austin definitely would have made our top 10.

How it ranked:
Percent with bachelor’s degrees: 43.5
Percent under poverty level: 17.5
Median household income: $50,236
Violent crime rate: 523.3
Property crime rate: 6,245.5
School score: 71.89
Pro sports teams: 0
Foreclosure rate: .0046
Percent Unemployment: 6.4
Park acres per 1,000 residents: 36.8
Bars: 209
Restaurants: 1818
Museums: 88
Colleges: 8
Libraries: 46
Air Quality Index: 80

10 U.S. Cities with the Cheapest Cost of Living from Kiplinger’s

Here is part of the article and a link to see all the results:

Don’t mess with Texas when it comes to affordability. Major metropolitan areas in the Lone Star State reign supreme on Kiplinger’s annual ranking of the least expensive places to live in the U.S. Indeed, all of our picks are cities located either in Texas or the heartland of middle America.

The cities on our least-expensive list all have housing prices well under $250,000; homes in one city average less than $200,000. Overall cost of living in these metro areas falls 15% to 20% below the national average.

We ranked the least expensive places to live using data from the U.S. Census (metropolitan statistical areas only) and the ACCRA Cost of Living Index, which is assembled by the Council for Community and Economic Research. The index measures relative prices in several categories, including consumer goods, housing, transportation, utilities and health care, to come up with a composite score for each city. The national average is 100. So a score of 80, for example, indicates that the cost of living is 20% below the national average. (For perspective, the most expensive city in the survey –- New York, N.Y. — is 218, indicating that the cost of living is 118% higher than the national average.) Population and median household income data are from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

Read more: http://portal.kiplinger.com/slideshow/cities-with-least-expensive-cost-of-living-2011/1.html#ixzz1ZpGCfyx5
Become a Fan of Kiplinger’s on Facebook

http://portal.kiplinger.com/slideshow/cities-with-least-expensive-cost-of-living-2011/1.html

Cow Parade Austin

If you live and comute around downtown Austin, you have definately seen the decorated cows around town. They have been here since July, 2011 and are soon to be auctioned off at the end of this month (October ,2011).

Here is a link to the website for and about the cows. http://cowparadeaustin.com/

and some of the info from the website:

CowParade, the largest and most recognized public art event in the world, is currently in Austin. Currently, more than 45 cows are on display, with more to come in August. In October 2011, a select number of cows will be auctioned off and a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas and Superhero Kids Fund.

Lowest Housing Starts Since World War II

At the projected 551,000 rate for new housing unit construction this year, it would be the lowest since at least 1945. Data in prior years are a bit sketchy, other than knowing that there was nearly zero construction during the Depression years of the 1930s.

So with population at 312 million in the U.S. today and rising by 3 million each year, housing starts are on track to be lower than when the U.S. population was only half its current size, more than 50 years ago.

 

The low construction also means that there will be a faster return to a healthier market. Inventory is thinning out. Home prices have shown stabilizing signs.   Low new housing starts will mean even further dents in overall inventory and a better chance for a home price recovery ahead. This time last year, many economists were calling for another major downturn in home prices as the homebuyer tax credit went away. The fact is that home prices will be down only modestly in the low single-digits this year. The very low home construction has helped minimize the home price decline potential.

Now, with housing starts so low, some investors are buying properties before a possible housing shortage develops in the upcoming years. Investors are also buying as a hedge against inflation (since gold, another hedge against inflation, appears very pricey). Both homebuilders and the banks – the providers of construction loans – will soon realize the housing market recovery potential. Therefore, housing starts will rise from 2012 on, to about 600,000 in 2012 and 800,000 in 2013. That pace will still be well below the historical average of 1.5 million housing starts that would be needed each year.

Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist

Lawrence Yun is Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of Research at NAR. He directs research activity for the association and regularly provides commentary on real estate market trends for its 1 million REALTOR® members.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Austin Area Home Sales Up by More Than 30 Percent For Second Consecutive Month

Austin Board of REALTORS® Releases August 2011 Real Estate Statistics

September 20, 2011 – According to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) report released today by the Austin Board of REALTORS®, 1,978 single-family homes were sold in the Austin area in August 2011, totaling a 33 percent increase from August 2010. During the same time period, the median price for Austin-area homes was $200,000, a figure that was unchanged compared to the same month of the prior year. Judith Bundschuh, Chairman of the Austin Board of REALTORS® commented, “With the impact of the homebuyer tax credits fully behind us, it’s encouraging to see three consecutive months of year-over-year growth in sales volume for Austin-area homes, particularly the strong growth seen late this summer.” As reported previously, a total of 1,973 Austin-area homes sold in July 2011, which is 32 percent more than July 2010. Additionally, 2,145 single-family homes were sold in June 2011, nine percent more than June 2010. Austin-area homes spent an average of 79 days on the market in August 2011, which is two days longer than August 2010. The Austin market also featured nine percent fewer new listings, 22 percent fewer active listings and 19 percent more pending sales than August 2010. “The trend of decreasing inventory of single-family homes that we’ve seen in recent months accelerated in August 2011, dropping below six months of inventory for the first time since February 2011,” said Bundschuh. The inventory of homes for a market can be measured in months, which is defined as the number of active listings divided by the average sales per month of the past 12 months. In August 2011, the Austin market had 5.7 months of inventory, compared to 6.9 months of inventory in August 2010. The Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University cites that 6.5 months of inventory represents a market in which supply and demand for homes is balanced. The following sections describe trends in other sectors of the Austin real estate market. Townhouses & Condominiums The volume of townhouses and condominiums (condos) purchased in the Austin area in August 2011 was 215, which is 16 percent more than August 2010. In the same time period, the median price for condos was $162,000, one percent less than August 2010. When compared to the same month of the prior year, these properties spent 30 percent longer on the market, or an average of 107 days. Leasing In August 2011, 1,949 properties were leased in Austin, three percent more than August 2010. The median price for Austin-area leases was $1,300, seven percent higher than the same month of the prior year. August 2011 Statistics 1,978 – Single-family homes sold, 33 percent more than August 2010.   $200,000 – Median price for single-family homes, unchanged from August 2010.   79 – Average number of days single-family homes spent on the market, two days longer than August 2010.   2,386 – New single-family home listings on the market, nine percent less than August 2010.   8,705 – Active single-family home listings on the market, 22 percent less than August 2010.   1,789 – Pending sales for single-family homes, 19 percent more than August 2010.   5.7 – Months of inventory of single-family homes, 1.2 months less than August 2010.   $516,797,994 – Total dollar volume of single-family properties sold, 31 percent more than August 2010. The Austin Board of REALTORS® is a non-profit, voluntary organization representing more than 8,000 licensed REALTORS® in Central Texas. Visit AustinHomeSearch.com, a public resource on Austin real estate, for the latest news on the local housing market. For more information, please contact Angela Brutsché at 512-454-7636.

America’s 20 Can-Do Capital’s from Newsweek

I am going to list 10 and give the link to see the rest. Austin, Texas is #10!

Here is the story:

Economic experts fear a 50 percent chance of a new recession, but some parts of the country still have it going on. From business development to sustainability, livability to transportation and infrastructure, Newsweek offers a glimpse not just of how our nation’s 200 largest cities are performing across these categories, but how they’re progressing.

The largest 200 cities in the United States were on the hook for a maximum of 25 points for each category, for a total possible score of 100. Differences in the yearly ranges of data used are due to data availability.

For sustainability we took into account 2008 county emissions data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for 13 major air pollutants, with total emissions divided by population to determine a final carbon footprint; we also took into account the change in total park acreage from 2008 to 2009 with data from the Trust for Public Land, and the percent change in LEED-certified buildings from 2006–08 to 2009–11 with data from the U.S. Green Buildings Council.

For livability we considered the change in the percent of people with health care from 2008 to 2009 and the change in the percentage of people over 25 with at least a bachelor’s degree, both with data from the U.S. Census Bureau. We also considered the change in cost of living from 2005 to 2009, with data from Moody’s.

For transportation and infrastructure we looked at the momentum of new construction via the percent change in new building permits from 2005 to 2010, and we looked at how people travel with the percent change in people who take public transportation or walk to work from 2007 to 2009, both with data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

For business development we considered the change in Moody’s cost-of-doing-business index from 2005 to 2009; the change in unemployment from 2006 to 2011—with data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; the percentage change in patents issued from 2005 to 2010 with data from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; the small-business growth rate from 2005 to 2009 with data from the U.S. Census Bureau and Payscale; and venture capital growth for new startups (a combination of the percentage change in the number of venture-capital deals and the number of venture-capital companies from 2005 to 2009) with data from the National Venture Capital Association.

 

1. El Paso, Texas

Richard Bickel / Corbis

Sustainability: 21.46

Livability: 18.45

Transportation and Infrastructure: 20.37

Business Development: 11.15

Final Score: 71.43

2. Oakland, California

Moodboard-Corbis

Sustainability: 16.57

Livability: 19.71

Transportation and Infrastructure: 14.63

Business Development: 14.69

Final Score: 65.60

3. Riverside, California

Richard Cummins / Corbis

Sustainability: 21.98

Livability: 18.01

Transportation and Infrastructure: 11.80

Business Development: 12.40

Final Score: 64.19

4. San Antonio, Texas

Walter Bibikow / JAI-Corbis

Sustainability: 17.84

Livability: 14.69

Transportation and Infrastructure: 10.66

Business Development: 18.45

Final Score: 61.64

5. Omaha, Nebraska

John Coletti / AWL Images-Corbis

Sustainability: 11.42

Livability: 13.97

Transportation and Infrastructure: 22.15

Business Development: 13.85

Final Score: 61.39

6. Washington, D.C.

Charles Dharapak / AP

Sustainability: 15.27

Livability: 14.25

Transportation and Infrastructure: 18.65

Business Development: 13.04

Final Score: 61.21

7. Raleigh, North Carolina

Gerry Broome / AP

Sustainability: 18.10

Livability: 17.72

Transportation and Infrastructure: 12.02

Business Development: 13.20

Final Score: 61.04

8. Atlanta, Georgia

Qi Heng / Xinhua-Corbis

Sustainability: 15.33

Livability: 17.18

Transportation and Infrastructure: 12.03

Business Development: 16.45

Final Score: 60.99

9. Buffalo, New York

Brian Snyder / Reuters-Landov

Sustainability: 11.60

Livability: 13.75

Transportation and Infrastructure: 23.64

Business Development: 11.45

Final Score: 60.43

10. Austin, Texas

Erich Schlegel / Dallas Morning News-Corbis

Sustainability: 14.59

Livability: 13.34

Transportation and Infrastructure: 17.38

Business Development: 14.13

Final Score: 59.43

 

To see the rest of the article visit – http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/galleries/2011/09/11/american-can-do-cities-oakland-boston-philadelphia-photos.html

When will the TEXAS drought end???

 

SciGuy

A science blog with Eric Berger

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Analysis: When will the terrible Texas drought end?

A couple of weeks ago I reported on the possibility of the current drought plaguing Texas extending into next summer. This is because of the 50 percent probability that La Niña will redevelop after this fall, bringing another dry winter to the state of Texas.

With this in mind, now that we’re into fall, I asked ImpactWeather‘s Fred Schmude for his thoughts on the drought persisting for awhile. He responded with a long, and thoughtful answer, which I’ve attached below as a guest blog entry. It’s worth reading in its depressing entirety.

A question many people are raising right now is when will the current intense drought end?

Before we answer that question we really need to figure out what caused the current dry spell and see if there are any changes forecast for the near or distant future. The drought really intensified last winter thanks in large part to a very strong La Niña over the eastern Tropical Pacific. La Niñas typically result in a weaker than normal sub tropical storm track limiting the amount of rain producing weather disturbances that affect the Texas area during a normal winter.

For this year that phenomena started in February and intensified during March and April with very few rain producing weather systems. By the later part of spring and early summer the La Niña phenomena weakened and became a non player, however the very dry soil over the Texas region intensified the drought and allowed a semi-permanent upper-level high pressure to build over the area keeping most of the rain bearing tropical disturbances either south or east of the Texas Gulf Coast.  As a result, most of Texas was left high and dry resulting in the current 20-25 inch rain deficit we are currently experiencing in the Houston area and the increased fire danger as wildfires quickly spread across central and east Texas.

Unfortunately the main players that caused the very intense drought last winter are coming back this winter in the form of another potential La Niña condition. We currently are favoring a redeveloping moderate to strong La Niña this winter based largely on another weather phenomena called the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, or PDO.  The PDO is a large scale weather cycle over the northern Pacific Ocean which demonstrates alternating periods of cold and warm cycles, which can typically last 10 to 20 years.  When the PDO is in its cold phase La Niñas typically are more frequent and intense while the reverse is true during the warm phase of the PDO.  For this year the PDO has shifted toward the negative phase, which is signaling a redeveloping La Niña later this fall as colder than normal water over the eastern Pacific Ocean is funneled southward into the eastern Tropical Pacific.

As a result, we should see the current drought persist through next spring over most of Texas, including the greater Houston area as La Niña intensifies.  Yes, Texas will likely see some welcomed wet periods at times during the fall and early winter as the polar storm track occasionally shifts south bringing quick bursts of precipitation associated with cold fronts and other fast moving disturbances; however, below to well-below-normal precipitation will likely by the dominant weather trend over most of the state though next May.We can always hope for some type of a weak tropical system during the latter half of September into October, but even that scenario is looking less likely with time.

By the way our three driest years on record in the Houston area occurred in 1917 (17.66”), 1988 (22.93”) and 1901 (27.09”).  In a normal year the Houston area will typically receive around 45.00 to 50.00” of rainfall, so you can see in 1917 we had a little more than third of the normal rainfall while in 1988 we had roughly half.  This year we have currently tallied 11.00” for the year, while we should be at 32.58”, meaning so far this year we have received only about a third of our normal rainfall and are on a pace to tie or unfortunately surpass the all time 1917 record.

And in case you’re wondering what was going on in the eastern Pacific Ocean in 1917, there was a strong La Niña in place along with a negative phase of the PDO. Yes, it’s indeed amazing how history repeat itself, not only in life but with the weather.

UPDATE: Several readers, including Zack, have asked how dry soil contributes to furthering our hot and dry summer, as Fred mentioned above. Here’s his answer:

That’s a great question and can be best answered by a rule of thermodynamics that basically states dry soil heats up faster than wet soil. The reason being is when moisture is evaporated out of wet soil cooling results since evaporation is a cooling process. Dry soil does not have that same benefit and as a result with the near absence of significant evaporation (a cooling process) the air will tend to heat up faster.

Why is this important in regards to pressure? Well, in the world of weather pressure drops off more rapidly with height in cold air and more slowly with height in warm air. Since the soil has been so dry and warm over Texas the past 6 months the end result is a tendency for higher pressure aloft (~500 millibars or 18,000 feet) to sit over the Lone Star State, which creates a sinking and stable environment limiting clouds and rain bearing weather systems.

In essence I blame the dry soil for the most intense part of the drought we are now experiencing. The dry soil has a direct feedback on the strength and endurance of the upper high that is parked over Texas. We need a nice soaking rain that will moisten the ground over a large part of Texas and change the weather pattern for the late fall, winter and especially next spring. If the soil does not moisten up, we could easily see that strong upper high build right back over the area for next spring.

A great answer to a great question.

Austin area home sales volume up

According to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) report released today by the Austin Board of REALTORS®, 1,973 single-family homes were sold in the Austin-area in July 2011, a 32 percent increase from July 2010. During the same time period, the median price for Austin-area homes was $196,750, resulting in an 11 percent decrease when compared to July 2010.

Judith Bundschuh, Chairman of the Austin Board of REALTORS®, commented, “We can now compare month-to-month sales activity to a market that is not influenced by last year’s homebuyer tax credits.”

Chairman Bundschuh continued, “The median price for Austin-area homes decreased in July, reflecting a shift in demand from higher to lower-priced homes. The increase in sales compared to the drop in price shows that Austinites are hunting for bargains.”

Austin-area homes spent an average of 77 days on the market, four days longer than July 2010. The Austin market also featured 13 percent fewer new listings in July 2011, which was 20 percent fewer active listings and 28 percent more pending sales than in July 2010.

“The combination of decreasing listings and increasing sales means the inventory of Austin-area homes is beginning to shrink,” said Bundschuh. “Recent sales activity continues to follow an upward trend, indicating that Austin could be returning to a pre-recession cycle.”
 

 

The volume of townhouses and condominiums (condos) purchased in the Austin-area in July 2011 was 205, which represents a 45 percent rise over July 2011. In the same time period, the median price for condos was $164,250, three percent higher than July 2010, and townhouses spent an average of 82 days on the market, eight days less than July 2010.

 

Read Full Article

2012 Formula One dates and it begins in Austin, Texas!!

Get ready: the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix™ is coming to Circuit of The Americas™ on November 18, 2012!

The inaugural Austin race could very well decide the outcome of the 2012 season, as it will be the second-to-last race of the season, running back-to-back with the Brazilian Grand Prix.