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

A rendering of the data center an hour north of Austin. (Meta)
Meta, Facebook’s parent company, is expanding in Central Texas with plans for an $800 million Hyperscale Data Center an hour north of Austin, in Temple.
This follows news from the start of the year that Meta plans to expand its Austin workforce and take on the largest lease ever in downtown Austin.
The Temple facility is set to begin construction this spring. Once finished, it’ll be about 900,000 square feet and sit off Industrial Boulevard and Northwest H K Dodgen Loop.
Meta expects to bring on 1,250 construction workers to build the center and will have about 100 operational jobs.
As the second data center Meta has established in Texas following the initial Fort Worth facility, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the company’s expansion is a testament to the state’s “exceptional business climate.”
"It is because of hardworking Texans and our commitment to helping businesses grow that companies continue to move and expand all across Texas,” Abbott said. “We are excited to welcome Meta to Temple and look forward to the new job opportunities they will bring to the local community, as well as the advancements in technology we will see in the future."
Adrian Cannady, CEO of Temple Economic Development Corporation, said he was thrilled with the announcement.
"Texas was recently named the top state in the nation for tech worker migration,” Cannady said. “When you combine that with Temple's low cost of doing business and central location between major markets, it creates an incredible competitive advantage for our region.”
The announcement boasted Temple as a regional employment hub on the rise, noting that the center will be in a “prime location” between Dallas and Austin where there’s a low cost of living and expanding career opportunities.
- Californians consider their future in Austin - austonia ›
- How is Austin involved in the metaverse? - austonia ›
- Facebook's Meta takes all office space in Austin's tallest tower, signs ... ›
- TikTok to move into downtown Austin skyscraper - austonia ›
- Best tech companies in Austin to get hired at - austonia ›
- TikTok to move into downtown Austin skyscraper - austonia ›
- A new office tower is coming to North Austin's Domain area - austonia ›
- Facebook could soon occupy some of Austin's tallest building ... ›
- 65-story tower with luxury hotel rooms, condos coming to Downtown ... ›
- Round Rock to gain Sabey data center in early 2023 - austonia ›
Popular
(Moriah Wilson/Instagram)
Austin police are investigating the killing of Moriah "Mo" Wilson after she was found with gunshot wounds inside an Austin home.
Wilson, a gravel and mountain bike racer, was visiting Austin from Colorado in preparation for the Gravel Locos race on Saturday taking place in Hico, a small town 2 hours from Austin.
On Wednesday, her roommate came home and found Wilson unresponsive with "a lot of blood near her,” police said. It is now being investigated as a suspicious death. No further information on the suspect or motive behind the killing are available at this time.
Wilson recently had become a full-time biker after winning a slew of races in the past year.
(Pexels)
Some of your favorite Instagram filters can’t be used in Texas anymore and Austinites are sounding off on social media.
Meta, Facebook and Instagram’s parent company, announced on Wednesday that certain filters would no longer be available in Texas.
The change is a result of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit against Meta, alleging the company uses facial recognition technology that violates laws in Texas. A release from Meta says it stopped using facial recognition tech in November 2021 and denies Paxton’s allegations.
Some Austinites bemoaned the shift, saying some of their favorite filters were now unavailable.
This was my FAVORITE filter on @instagram and they done removed it cause I’m in Texas ! Like wowwwwww pic.twitter.com/uX60hdIC0Q
— Pinkyy Montana (@inkstar_pinkyy) May 11, 2022
i heard that instagram filters got banned in texas? what the actual fuck y’all better give me my favorite filter back
— lia 🤍 (@liatootrill) May 11, 2022
loved this stupid filter sm i hate texas pic.twitter.com/DXr9mmUc64
— birthday boy jeno 🎂 (@beabtox) May 12, 2022
But more often than not, locals joked about the ban.
Texas women seeing the filter ban on IG pic.twitter.com/yDMcP3Qtsr
— Christian (Anabolic) Flores (@christian_flo24) May 11, 2022
So, the state of Texas has banned filter use on IG? THE END IS NEAR. 😂
— THE FRANCHISE! Франшиза (@NYCFranchise718) May 12, 2022
And some in-between chose to show off some natural beauty.
I live in Texas, but no filter needed. 😉 pic.twitter.com/A6teRgYMKn
— bad and bruja (@starseedmami) May 11, 2022
filter, no filter..texas women still reign supreme.
— 🎍 (@_sixile) May 11, 2022
Finally, some are trying to cash in on the opportunity.
Texas IG users- if you want to filter your picture cashapp me $1.50 $ErvnYng
— Gemini (@ervn_y) May 11, 2022
Meta said it plans to create an opt-in system for both Texas and Illinois residents, who are facing the same issues.