Local news and fun, every day 6am.
Featured
austonia newsletter
Most viewed
With more moving to Austin every day, are roads, rail and flights keeping up with the growth?

A talk held by the Austin Chamber of Commerce devled into Austin's infrustrusture. (Laura Figi/Austonia)
Led in conversation by Michele Glaze with Samsung Austin Semiconductor, business leaders gathered at the convention center to talk about Austin’s resiliency and what that means for the city’s airport, transit and wider building and human infrastructure.
“How do we make sure that all these different investments, whether it's I-35, Capital Metro, or Project Connect or other investments downtown, etc,” Austin Transit Partnership's Peter Mullan started. “How are we ensuring that they're working together?
He went on to say that they shouldn’t be looked at in isolation. “I think we're actually in a really good position for these investments to support one another.”
Hosted by the Austin Chamber of Commerce, here’s their panel’s take on how different sectors of Austin are expanding and what interconnectedness might look like:
Tracy Thompson, Austin Bergstrom International Airport
More than 14 million passengers will pass through the airport this year. That’s according to a current forecast Thompson shared while adding that the airport is facing a “growth reality.”
After all, Austin has the fastest growing airport in the U.S. based on scheduled service, Thompson noted. It’s mainly due to an increase in service by Southwest and American airlines. Plus there are new services internationally, with flights now heading out to Germany and Amsterdam.
And while the airport may just seem like a stop along the way, Thompson talked about the role it plays in the growth of the city.
"Aviation, we do more than just move people in cargo, we move ideas,” Thompson said. “We get a lot of new ideas to our city, people benefit and our Austin Americans can go out into the world.”
Dewitt Peart, Downtown Austin Alliance
As President and CEO of the alliance, Peart is all about keeping track of projections for the rapidly growing space. His call is that the size of downtown will double in the next 10 years.
“Investment in infrastructure is so critically important because imagine you’re doubling the size of your central business district, arguably you’re going to double the number of people,” Peart said.
In his view though, it’ll require Austin taking charge on education and the workforce, affordability and strong transit. Peart mentioned that he also thinks it’s key to keep incentives high in order to continue attracting big tech.
“Projects like Samsung, Oracle, Tesla—we can’t screw that up,” Peart said.
Robert Bryce, journalist
With the anniversary of Winter Storm Uri this week, Bryce reminded the room that the grid came within about five minutes of a complete system blank, which he said would have caused mass mortality.
“The intermediate power networks are the fundamental networks that drive everything in our economy,” Bryce said. "Everything that we touch, eat, in one way or another has been electrified. And issues that we're facing in the United States and Texas, in particular, are the resiliency of our energy networks.”
He argued natural gas is not the villain and moving forward, the state should consider using multiple fuels. A report by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin found that failure by natural gas producers to supply adequate fuel to power plants exacerbated the electricity shortage.
For how the grid affects Austin in particular, Bryce pointed to Austin Energy, mentioning its recent decision to not shut down ownership of coal-fired capacity at the Fayette power plant.
If we’re facing more extreme weather, we cannot rely on weather-dependent renewables,” Bryce said.
Peter Mullan, Austin Transit Partnership
Mullan shot back on Bryce’s points.
“We had a long discussion about fuel diversity, I don’t think it’s gonna matter if we can turn the lights on if our planet is dead,” Mullan said.
Mullan’s main notes were about Project Connect, the multi-billion transit plan that voters approved in 2020. As chief of architecture at the transit partnership, Mullan says it’ll act as an equalizing force in the community by providing transportation access for people who don’t have ready access to a car or other forms of mobility. Recently, the project has also started on its $65 million anti-displacement plan.
“So it’s not just about trains, it’s about humans,” Mullan said.
But it’s also about businesses. He asked the room full of business leaders to reach out if they’re planning a project on the corridor, emphasizing that it’ll be better than working in isolation.
“We don’t have a huge track record in Austin of public-private partnerships,” Mullan said. “We have to build that capacity.”
- Downtown Austin is a great experience, 78% of residents say ... ›
- Why downtown Austin lights are on amid mass power outages ... ›
- Austin voters ask: How will Project Connect affect transit ridership ... ›
- $1 trillion infrastructure bill could mean funding for Project Connect, I ... ›
- New changes coming to the Austin Airport in 2022 - austonia ›
- Complete guide to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport - austonia ›
- More people moving to Dallas, Houston San Antonio than Austin - austonia ›
Popular
(Shutterstock)
For years Austin has been one of the top 5 places to live in the U.S., according to an annual ranking from U.S. News and World Report. But this year, Austin dropped out of the top 10.
The publication ranked Austin at No. 13, down from No. 5 last year, No. 3 in 2020 and No. 1 in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Cities ranking in the top this year were No. 1 Huntsville, Alabama, No. 2 Colorado Springs and No. 3 Green Bay, Wisconsin.
So why did it rank lower this year?
The hot housing market is part of the reason. The report states "Austin offers a lower value than similarly sized metro areas when you compare housing costs to median household income."
Still, Austin was the highest-ranked Texas city on the list. Adding to its desirability are its live music capital roots and the growing tech scene. The next Texas area on the list was Dallas-Fort Worth coming in at No. 32.
U.S. News says it analyzed 150 metro areas in the U.S. to make the list based on the quality of life, the job market, the value of living there and people's desire to live there.
- Austin named best city in Texas on U.S. News Best Places to Live ... ›
- Austin drops in WalletHub's 2021 Happiest Places to Live study ... ›
- Austin ranks in best cities for veteran to live in the U.S. - austonia ›
- Austin vs. Houston: what Texas city is best to live in? - austonia ›
- Top 5 in-demand neighborhoods in the Austin metro - austonia ›
(Pexels)
Austin parents and grocery store shelves are feeling the effects of a nationwide baby formula shortage.
Caused mostly by a February recall due to contamination issues, followed by the Abbott Nutrition factory closure in Michigan, the shortage has left Austin shelves barren. However, earlier this week, U.S. officials announced a plan with the facility to restart production.
In the meantime, local parents in crisis have turned toward the Mother’s Milk Bank to keep their babies fed.
HEB on East 7th has been picked clean of formula and is limiting purchases. (Laura Figi/Austonia)
The milk bank—which takes donations from lactating mothers and dispenses milk to babies in the NICU—has been helping feed upwards of 30 families in need as the formula supply tightens.
According to the bank’s executive director Kim Updegrove, Mother’s Milk Bank has seen an uptick in calls from parents with healthy babies in need of help since the shortage began.
“We aren't used to hearing from families with healthy infants,” Updegrove said. “They're typically very upset, angry, frustrated, sobbing—it's scary to not be able to feed your infants. So in the past few weeks, those calls have been significantly increasing.”
Mothers are only able to donate if they are within a year postpartum, so Updegrove said they are constantly bringing on and retiring donors. While donors had been on a 30% decline leftover from 2021 when the shortage began, Updegrove said the shortage has led to mass community interest and more than 90 prospective donors in just the past few days.
“We and other milk banks are experiencing significant interest from the community—becoming milk donors and helping to turn around this crisis,” Updegrove said. “Every infant needs to be fed, every one of us can relate to that need, and we need to make sure as a community that it happens.”
Whole Foods downtown was also cleaned out of typical formula. (Laura Figi/Austonia)
While you may still be able to find formula at places like Whole Foods—which currently has goat milk, soy and plant-based formula in stock—Updegrove said it might not be what a baby needs.
Updegrove said it is best to buy types that say “infant formula,” as they are FDA approved and will provide the nutrients, vitamins and minerals a baby needs. Plant-based, homemade, non-cow's milk or diluting formula may not provide the same nutritional value.
As the community navigates the shortage, Updegrove said the most important way to help out is to not panic buy or stockpile.
“This is a crisis for families,” Updegrove said. “This is the time for the community to gather together and figure out what everyone can do to help families with young infants.”