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(Helen Armstrong (@helenarmstrong5)/Twitter)
Filling the National Mall grounds, the "Field of Flags" display in Washington, D.C. brought something different to the 46th presidential inauguration. And behind the display was none other than an Austin-based promotion company.
C-3 Concerts, the same company that usually puts on ACL each year, worked with the Presidential Inaugural Committee to design the display of 200,000 U.S. flags as part of their "America United" theme, according to KVUE.
The PIC announced earlier this month that "The Field of Flags" represents the "American people who were unable to travel to Washington, DC, and reflect(s) PIC's commitment to an inclusive and safe event that everyone can enjoy from their home."
The display also features 56 pillars of light meant to represent each United States state and territory.
The theme also includes a post-inaugural stop by the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery for a wreath-laying ceremony to honor the men and women in uniform who have died in combat.
C-3 concerts has previously worked on former President Barack Obama's inauguration in 2009 and 2013.
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(Engel & Völkers Austin/Twitter)
An unknown buyer will soon be living the dream after purchasing Austin's most expensive home—a nearly nine-acre property complete with a luxurious glass-walled mansion and a private lagoon in West Austin.
<p> With a whopping $38.9 million listing price, the undisclosed final sale broke the record as Austin's priciest home deal ever, according to agents at Engel & Völkers Austin.</p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">// JUST SOLD // This one-of-a-kind property was listed for $38,900,000 by Michele Turnquist & Kathryn Scarborough making this an <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ATX?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ATX</a> record-shattering sale! Special thanks to Cord Shiflet <a href="https://twitter.com/MorelandProps?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MorelandProps</a> as it was a team effort to close! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/doncrowellbuilders?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#doncrowellbuilders</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/miroriveraarchitects?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#miroriveraarchitects</a> <a href="https://t.co/hnz93djfe1">pic.twitter.com/hnz93djfe1</a><br/>— Engel & Völkers Austin (@MoveToAustin) <a href="https://twitter.com/MoveToAustin/status/1365698114678624265?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 27, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></div><p>The home sits on Lake Austin and has more than 665 feet of water frontage. If the lake wasn't enough, the property comes with its own lagoon, boat dock and infinity pool.<br/></p><p>The estate itself is glass-walled and glamorous, with a three-story guesthouse that has been featured on Architectural Digest. Connected to the guest house is an award-winning bridge overlooking the water as well as the main event—the seven-bedroom, nine-bathroom home. The house is divided in half by a courtyard and a 1,000 square-foot great room that is surrounded by glass on all sides.</p><p>Although the purchaser wished to remain anonymous, many are speculating that the purchase goes hand-in-hand with the recent tech migration to Austin. With big-name companies like Oracle and Tesla already planting their roots in the city and many more to possibly come, the Austin housing market has faced skyrocketing prices and demand.</p><p>If the property sold for even half as much as its listing price, it would easily break the record for Austin's most expensive purchase. The most expensive home on the market in Austin currently sits at $12.9 million.</p><p>The estate, named Willow Beach, was custom-made by Austin-based Miró Rivera Architects in 2010.</p>
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More vaccines could be headed to Austin as FDA greenlights single-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine
26 February
This story was updated Monday to include that the vaccine received official approval by the FDA this weekend.
The Food and Drug Administration approved the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine that is to be shipped out this month, increasing the number of vaccines available.
In a virtual meeting on Friday, the FDA Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee unanimously approved of the U.S.'s third available COVID-19 vaccine, which was officially approved on Saturday. Federal officials say 4 million doses will go out nationally this week, with an expected 20 million doses to be available by the end of March. The Texas Department of State Health Services has said it expects to receive about 200,000 doses, but has not released a timeline of when doses will be shipped and available.
<p><strong>How was the vaccine passed?</strong></p><p>Johnson & Johnson proposed their single-shot COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use authorization to the FDA earlier this month. On Thursday, the department said they found the vaccine to be safe and effective after conducting a clinical trial. </p><p>When tested on 44,000 people around the world, the vaccine was found to be around 66% effective against moderate to severe symptoms 28 days after vaccination. The vaccine's efficacy was highest, at 72%, in the U.S., while it was found to be lower in countries such as South Africa where more infectious strains are prevalent.</p><p>Most notably, none of the clinical trial participants died from COVID-19 at least 28 days after the shot. The vaccine also appears to drastically cut down hospitalizations to the disease and showed 86% efficacy against severe reactions.</p><p><strong>What makes this vaccine different than the others?</strong></p><p>While the two existing vaccines, Pfizer and Moderna, are more effective—around 95%—the Johnson & Johnson candidate has three significant advantages.</p><p>First, the vaccine is infinitely easier to store and ship. When the winter storm hit Texas, power outages wiped out about 1,000 Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in the state, which are required to be refrigerated. The Johnson and Johnson vaccine, however, requires no refrigeration. It also takes up significantly less space because it only requires one dosage instead of two, meaning the same amount of doses can be allocated to twice as many people.</p><p>Second, because it is a single-shot vaccine, it will also speed up the painfully slow vaccination process that currently exists. </p><p>On Friday, Austin-Travis County Alternate Health Authority Dr. Jason Pickett said that the vaccine's adaptability and ease of use will make it vital to fighting the virus.</p><p>"With Johnson & Johnson vaccine, one of the advantages is it does not require the same specific handling that the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines do," Pickett said. "Its availability, the fact that you can get one shot only, the fact that it can tolerate a better temperature range and get out to providers that wouldn't be able to handle the other vaccines as easily, makes this a very effective tool in fighting the pandemic." </p><p>Finally, the vaccine has proven to be mostly effective against new strains of the disease. When tested against the South African strain, the vaccine still had 64% efficacy at preventing moderate to severe effects from the disease. Moderna and Pfizer were conducted before these more infection strains were widely spread. </p><p><strong>What does this mean for Austin and the rest of Texas?</strong> </p><p>As Joe Biden meets with Gov. Greg Abbott in Houston to talk winter storm damages and the vaccine rollout, a shipment of 1.5 million vaccine doses are being brought to the state for next week. Abbott said that Texas will see vaccine shipments "increase dramatically" in the coming days.</p><p>According to Abbott, the state has allocated 8,000 doses to a new "Save Our Seniors" program, which is dedicated to bringing homebound seniors vaccine doses. However, with the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine pending approval on Friday, Abbott said they could have up to four times their original number brought to senior residents.</p><p>Abbott said that most of the Johnson & Johnson vaccines will be targeted toward senior residents. The state of Texas has given around 40% of seniors 65 and older at least one dose of the vaccine, and they hope to jump to 50% by the end of the week. </p><p>In late January, Austin-Travis County Interim Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott said that the vaccine will be available at any neighborhood pharmacy or medical office.</p><p>"In terms of vaccines it is a winner, and there are lots of benefits to this vaccine in terms of the public health response," Escott said. "The fact that it's a single dose makes it feasible for every clinic, every pharmacy, every doctor's office to have supplies so that folks can go to the places they normally get their vaccines to obtain this."</p>
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(The Bachelor/Twitter)
UT graduate and former NFL linebacker Emmanuel Acho has "accepted the rose" and will host "The Bachelor" franchise's latest special.
<p>Although there's been no word on whether or not he will replace longtime host Chris Harrison for upcoming Bachelor seasons, Acho will be the interim host for "The Bachelor: After the Final Rose" episode.</p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CL0Gho3Bb5P/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CL0Gho3Bb5P/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank"> <div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;"> View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div></a><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CL0Gho3Bb5P/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Emmanuel Acho (@emmanuelacho)</a><br/></div></blockquote> <script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script></div><p><br/></p><p>In the special, Acho will interview Bachelor Matt James and his final three, Rachael Kirkconnell, Michelle Young and Bri Springs. The episode is meant to be a tell-all about the season's drama and will air after the audience knows who gets the ring and who goes home.</p><p>Before the Bachelor, Acho made a name for himself at UT, making first-team All-Big 12 linebacker and leading the team in tackles his senior year. Acho went on to play for both the Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles before joining the sports analyst world in 2016, where he currently works for Fox Sports. </p><p>Perhaps most importantly, Acho became a social justice activist who started a social media series that later turned into a book addressing racism titled <a href="https://austonia.com/media/uncomfortable-conversations" target="_blank">"Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man"</a> in 2020. The book sold 18,000 copies in one day and is meant to confront racial ignorance in America today. </p><p>If kept on, Acho hosting could be a meaningful step toward change in a Bachelor franchise riddled with controversy. Most recently, host Chris Harrison made news after appearing to defend contestant Rachael Kirkconnell's participation in an antebellum South-themed fraternity party. In an interview on "Extra" with former Bachelorette Rachael Lindsay, Harrison commented on the "woke police" and how different racial issues were in 2018 versus today.</p><p>Kirkconnell eventually apologized after it was discovered that she also liked Confederate flag-related posts, but the controversy still remains. The incident seems to be the final straw for many fans who have long noticed racial insensitivity in the Bachelor franchise. </p><p>This December, Harrison further spurred on <a href="https://austonia.com/chris-harrison-austin" target="_blank">Bachelor exit rumors</a> after he said he would be moving to Austin, but no confirmation has been made.</p><p>Whether an activist for racial injustice such as Acho remains the host or has just stepped in for the moment is yet to be seen. The tell-all will air March 15 after the season's finale.</p>
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