Local news and fun, every day 6am.
Featured
austonia newsletter
Most viewed

(Matthew Brooks, Keturak Jacobs Christmas)
Austin’s professional ultimate frisbee team is likely heading to the playoffs after a surprise comeback win over the weekend.
The team, Austin Sol, is having its best season yet after beating Atlanta Hustle, putting the Sol at 7-3 for the season. The Sol was born in 2016 as part of the Southern Division of the American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL). For those unfamiliar with the sport, think of it as a mix between soccer and football, except played with a quick-moving frisbee.
Although the Sol are now solidly in position to make the AUDL playoffs—which puts the two top teams in each conference against each other before the AUDL Championship weekend Aug. 26-27—they still have to win their next two games. They’ll play the Dallas Legion on July 16 and Tampa Bay Cannons on July 29, each of whom has not won a single game this season.
Alongside their June 4 victory over last year’s AUDL champions, the Carolina Flyers—which are 10-1 this season—the Saturday night win was certainly a highlight in the Sol’s season.
The Sol launched a four-point comeback in the second half to win 18-17. This probable playoff-berth is monumental in the six-year history of the Sol. After enduring several losing seasons and changes in coaching staff, it looks like the patience and dedication of Owner, Founder, and General Manager Patrick Christmas is paying dividends.
“Being able to share the sport we love with friends, family and fellow Austinites has been a dream come true,” Christmas told Austonia. “The team has put in a ton of work to get here and proven that they can compete with anyone in the country.”
The Sol turned a page through the COVID lockdowns, during which the 2020 season was canceled. They hired coach Steven Naji and brought on a new core of young, hungry players. After going 3-9 in 2019 and losing a couple of their top players to their in-state rivals Dallas, the Sol went 6-6 in 2021, narrowly missing the playoffs in a 22-23 loss to Dallas in the final game of the season. This year, the Sol are the undisputed superior in Texas, having beaten Dallas four times this season.
You can learn more about the Sol and buy tickets for the games here.
Popular
Austin is one of the top metro areas where homebuyer income saw the greatest surge during the pandemic and it came at a cost to locals.
A new analysis by real estate services firm Redfin reports that affluent out-of-towers have contributed to surging home prices in metros like Austin. Due to this trend, Redfin notes, many local buyers with lower incomes have been priced out.
“For white-collar workers earning high salaries, remote work is a huge financial boon,” said Sheharyar Bokhari, Redfin senior economist. Jobs with that flexibility, Bokhari says, enable them to move from a tech hub like San Francisco to a more affordable part of the country where they can get more home for their money and even put some toward a rainy day fund.
“It can have the opposite effect on locals in those destinations–especially renters–who are watching from the sidelines as home prices skyrocket while their income stays mostly the same,” Bokhari said.
In Austin, the median homebuyer income surged 19% from 2019 to 2021, ultimately reaching $137,000. In that time, the median home price growth was 48%, just behind Boise, Idaho which was more than 50%.
But the housing market is starting to slow. Redfin says high mortgage rates and unsustainable price growth have driven demand down. In fact, Austin is among the 20 housing markets that have cooled the fastest in the first half of this year.
“People are still moving in from California and they still have enough money to buy nice homes in desirable neighborhoods, sometimes with all cash,” said Austin Redfin agent Gabriel Recio. “But the days of homes selling for 25% over asking price with multiple offers are over. Buyers are no longer as eager now that mortgage rates are up and there’s buzz in the air about the slowing housing market.”
As a result, Recio says, local and out-of-town buyers have an opportunity to buy a home at the asking price or even under.
Redfin carried out its analysis using data from the home mortgage disclosure act to review median household incomes for homebuyers who took out a mortgage, though it doesn’t include buyers who paid using all cash.
- Omaze launches $2 million Austin dream home sweepstakes ... ›
- Austin's April home sales take a dip amid record home prices ... ›
- Former Torchy's CEO lists Spanish Oaks home for $7.5 million ... ›
- Austin's million-dollar home sales are rivaling Dallas, Houston ... ›
- Texas' most expensive home for sale is at Austin's Lake Travis ... ›
- Austin-area man hits the jackpot with HGTV Dream Home - austonia ›
- Austin-Round Rock metro sees record home prices in March ... ›
(Shutterstock)
School is back in session—do you know the latest TikTok trends?
With Austin ISD resuming session on Monday, school officials are keeping tabs on the newest TikTok trends that could pose classroom disruptions and property damage.
TikTok trends swept through Austin-area schools last year with the “Devious Lick” challenge, which encouraged students to steal from school property and reportedly caused $15,000 in damages at Round Round ISD; and the “slap a staff member” challenge.
On the distraction end, a substitute teacher was dismissed from Bowie High School in December after bringing in a karaoke machine to class and singing Britney Spears’ “Toxic” for the class on TikTok.
Officials told KXAN they are staying aware of the trends as they change during the 2022-2023 school year and the district will investigate perceived threats. Since TikTok trends vary in severity, they will also evaluate to see which trends could cause harm or not.
Finally, the school district said it does not tolerate violence or bullying and will focus its efforts on protecting students both physically and digitally.