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In an effort to help create a safe space for LGBTQIA+ youth, two soccer support groups—Los Verdes and The Plastics—are collaborating on limited-edition merch.
Austin FC support group Los Verdes and inclusive women and queer Major League Soccer support group The Plastics have designed a summer scarf that combines their love of soccer, Tejano culture and inclusivity.
The scarf features each group's logo and the phrase "Y'all means all" over stripes that were inspired by Daniel Quasar's Progress Pride flag. All proceeds from the merch will be donated to Out Youth, an organization that provides a safe space and resources to LGBTQ youth and their families.
According to Los Verdes' website, the new scarf "represents the solidarity and exchange between communities: LGBTQ+, womxn, non-binary, Latinx, Tejan@s, Chicanos, Hispanics, and all fellow FÚTBOL LOVERS."
Last month, Los Verdes collaborated with Austin Coalition on bandanas that showed their support for combating racial injustice.
The Los Verdes x The Plastics SG summer scarf is available here on pre-order until Sept. 11.
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(Bob Daemmrich)
Decision time
You've seen and heard messaging from the city, transit opponents, and the big money PACs. You've probably read Emma Freer's in-depth, multi-part series, a fact-based exploration of Project Connect—and the tax rate election proposal, known as Proposition A, that would fund it—from multiple perspectives.
<p data-children-count="0">As Election Day approaches, here are what we think are five of the strongest arguments on both sides of the issue. </p><p data-children-count="0"><strong>Reasons to support Proposition A:</strong><br/></p><p data-children-count="0"><u>1. Congestion has been Austin's #1 community issue</u></p><p data-children-count="0">Ask any group of people in Austin "what is the biggest issue facing the city right now," and, pre-pandemic, many would say "congestion." Traffic-clogged highways reduce quality of life and limit economic growth. Building more highways is not practical in a city that's already been largely built. Adding toll lanes to major highways like MoPac has not had much impact, and does nothing to solve problems on feeder roads. Transportation experts largely agree that building new highways does not reduce congestion and instead brings more people onto the roads and encourages people to make longer commutes. Congestion is starting to reappear as more people resume their traditional routes to work and school. </p><p data-children-count="0"><u>2. We're a big city now, and this is how successful cities do transit</u></p><p data-children-count="0">Austin is the 11th largest U.S. city right now. Of the 10 ahead of us, only one, our neighbor San Antonio, has no light rail. A rail system of some kind is part of the modern city's transportation mix. Whether it's a giant system like New York's—with almost 500 stations—or the more modest systems in Houston and Dallas, rail is a proven way of moving people in urban areas. Higher housing density around transit stations may help address the city's affordability crisis and create new, walkable areas with a higher quality of life.</p><p data-children-count="0"><u>3. An effective transit system addresses social and environmental issues</u></p><p data-children-count="0">Austin was racially, economically and culturally partitioned by our highway system—I-35 and MoPac, in particular. A rail system could provide equal transit opportunity for all and help unify the city. And moving people via mass transit is more efficient than in individual vehicles, offering cleaner air, fewer carbon emissions and less fossil fuel usage. Think about the proposed line from downtown to the airport. How many car trips would be saved? And the message to visitors would be clear: We're a modern city, and we care about our environment. </p><p data-children-count="0"><u>4. The sooner we get started, the sooner we'll have it</u></p><p data-children-count="0">Best case, financing and building new lines will take a decade, maybe more. Voters turned down rail transit projects in 2000 and 2014. If Austin turns down this opportunity, it could be years before there's another one. Some projects are hard to visualize, but when they're complete, they seem inevitable. Think of how essential our city icons are: Zilker Park, the hike-and-bike trail, Barton Springs, the Forty Acres. A city-wide rail system could be the same.</p><p data-children-count="0"><u>5. City leadership supports it</u></p><p data-children-count="0">Mayor Adler and every member of the council supported putting Project Connect on the ballot this year. This is what our elected leadership thinks is best for the city. If approved, we should expect them to move quickly to start implementing, without resistance.</p><p data-children-count="0"><br/></p><p data-children-count="0"><strong>Reasons to oppose Proposition A:</strong></p><p data-children-count="0"><u>1. The total costs are unknown, and not fully funded by the ballot prop</u></p><p data-children-count="0">The $7.1 billion cost figure is an estimate—the exact costs are unknown and depend on timetable and operational issues. Boston's "Big Dig" was estimated at $2.5 billion and ended up costing more than $20 billion to build. And the Prop A tax increase, best case, will only pay for 55% of the plan. The hope is to get a federal transportation grant for the other 45%. But there are no guarantees. And with federal budget deficits at an all-time high, there's no assurance that the federal money will come. What if it doesn't? Will the project be shut down? Will there be another historic tax increase? There's no plan for this scenario. </p><p data-children-count="0"><u>2. There are no engineering studies with the proposal</u></p><p data-children-count="0">The Project Connect proposal calls for running the downtown portion of the system underground and creating underground plazas for shopping and entertainment. But no engineering studies have been done. How feasible is it to locate rail lines and plazas underground in our karst limestone geology that's marked by underground passages into the aquifer? And how much will it cost to mitigate structural and environmental issues and work around existing downtown infrastructure? These costs and operational issues are not known. <strong></strong></p><p data-children-count="0"><u>3. It's a solo effort by the city that mostly lacks regional support</u></p><p data-children-count="0">Transportation and traffic congestion are regional issues, as people regularly cross boundaries when choosing where to live and work. The city is growing more slowly than surrounding areas of our region, so the ideal solutions come from a shared regional vision, cooperation and cost-sharing. But Austin is alone in this effort. There is little cooperation with surrounding jurisdictions on Project Connect, except Leander. But that city has been close to pulling out of CapMetro for more than a year, and the result may be inevitable, given what leaders there view as inadequate rail transit ridership to and from Austin. Except for the red line in far north Austin, there's no rail service proposed west of Lamar Boulevard and no linkage to West Lake Hills and Lakeway.</p><p data-children-count="0"><u>4. This may not be the time for a big tax raise</u></p><p data-children-count="0">People are hurting. While Austin real estate prices continue to climb and some companies are creating jobs, the pandemic-driven recession has closed or impaired large numbers of businesses, leading to layoffs, furloughs and stalled hiring. Entire industries are shut down. The live music capital has no live music. With so much financial pain, is this the time for a big tax increase? By committing so much money to the transit program, the city may not have the financial flexibility to address other big issues that may ultimately be more important. </p><p data-children-count="0"><u>5. COVID may change things in ways that we can't foresee</u></p><h3 data-children-count="0"></h3><p data-children-count="0">No one knows how long the pandemic will last, and, in what ways, if any, it will change our society in the long term. It's possible that everything will return to a pre-COVID normal at some point. But it's also possible that live-work patterns will see lasting change as more people work entirely or partially from home, reducing traffic congestion. Ride-sharing and autonomous vehicles may create technology disruption that makes big transit systems obsolete. It's also possible that social distancing will become part of our culture, and people will be reluctant to ride on public transport with groups of strangers. Why make a multi-decade, multi-billion dollar financial commitment without knowing precisely what our city is going to need post-pandemic? </p><p data-children-count="0"><br/></p><p data-children-count="0"><strong>More on the argument: </strong></p>
<h2><a href="https://austonia.com/project-connect-argument" target="_self">Proponents vs. opponents: How should Austin vote on Prop A?</a></h2>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDUyMzk5OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxODUzNjI4OX0.FtvfXigkkJiQ466CDeQsxg0PH7sfZSeWNt6UnVjT8Ec/img.jpg?width=980" id="078d9" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c5d0d42556d24e192ef49e3ab42f1703" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Proponents vs. opponents: How should Austin vote on Prop A?
<p class=""><br/></p>
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(CC)
Google leased office space in downtown Austin in 2019.
Chances are, if you moved to Austin in the past two years, it was probably for a tech job.
<p>Only Vancouver and San Francisco topped Austin in the <a href="http://cbre.vo.llnwd.net/grgservices/secure/North%20America%202020%20Tech-30.pdf?e=1603991030&h=7ef32502539f5ee741d6f2f78a81993b" target="_blank">latest tech market rankings released Thursday</a> from CBRE, a commercial real estate services firm. Austin tech jobs grew by 22.9% in 2018-19, topping Seattle and New York City to round out the top 5 tech markets in the U.S. and Canada.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="46be623b0fc61e7db4751411a5fe7bc7" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="8847e" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDYzNDg4NC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwODgwMTYzN30.vvoIR67eHAguKXF6kul2Y9kGFkqpIEd5ASw8kHMucYM/img.png?width=980"/>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">CBRE</small></p><p>Austin also ranked in the top 10 for office market rental growth from mid-2018 to mid-2020, growing 9.1% in that time.<br/></p><p>Last year, Austin placed fifth on <a href="http://cbre.vo.llnwd.net/grgservices/secure/NA%20Tech-30%202019.pdf?e=1603993315&h=9c14d0652b2a41cfda31c863b19a870b" target="_blank">CBRE's Tech-30 list</a> with a similar growth rate of 22.5%. Here are other takeaways from CBRE's annual technology jobs report:</p><ul class="ee-ul"></ul><ul class="ee-ul"><li>11,857 Austin tech jobs were created 2018-19. In total, 63,663 people were employed in the high-tech software and services fields in 2019.</li><li>22.6%<strong> </strong>of Austin office jobs were in the technology sector in 2019.</li><li>$102,586 is the typical salary for an Austin software engineer.</li><li>Northwest Austin was the top tech submarket locally and the 23rd fastest-growing submarket the past two years in U.S. and Canada, with 3.3% tech office growth.</li><li>6.5 million square feet is how much office supply is under construction in Austin, with another 1.9 million square feet available to sublease.</li><li>The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex was the only other Texas market to rank among top tech markets at #7.</li></ul>
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(Chris Caselli)
The Mexic-Arte Museum's Day of the Dead Exhibition last year.
With films like Coco streaming on Disney+ and Day of the Dead Barbies lining Walmart shelves, it is clear that the commercial aspects of Dia de los Muertos are alive and well.
<p>Despite its trending marketability, this ancient Mexican tradition of altars and offerings remains a rite of remembrance. The holiday begins Nov. 1 and ends Nov. 2, with traditional activities starting days in advance.</p><p>Jessica Tovar, an educator and artist who lives in north Austin, sees Dia de los Muertos as a time of "unity between families" which is expressed through an ancestral celebration. </p><p>"I am delighted to remember loved ones who are no longer with us," she says.</p><p>Tovar, who is originally from Tamaulipas, Mexico, recalls how Day of the Dead festivities were a major part of her primary education.</p><p>"At school, every year we made a mega altar in the school theater and we all participated by decorating it, bringing food, flowers, toys, photos, pan de muerto, fruit, etcetera," she says. "Families would gather around the altar to sing, socialize, dance, and would eat the food from the altar. Some came to celebrate dressed as catrinas (an elegantly attired female representation of death) or had their faces painted as calacas (skulls)."</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e180ce86d0aca49abdfa355eb399ba4b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="af2fe" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDYzMzk5OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMTY3ODA2OH0.keCUh3tG1le-yQ4bKyqpT-KNMdAt8AD8fLCz874uWxQ/img.jpg?width=980"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Painting by Jessica Tovar, inspired by Dia de los Muertos. </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">(Jessica Tovar)</small></p><p>Tovar, who often employs Day of the Dead imagery in her art, notes that the holiday carries a commitment in Mexico that is, perhaps, lacking in the states.<br/></p><p>She says in Mexico the tradition begins days before with people making altars in their homes and decorating the tomb of their deceased loved ones with their favorite things. And on Nov. 1, the cemeteries are open 24 hours for people to celebrate the tradition day and night.</p><p>"When you walk among the tombs you see people singing together or alone with a big speaker; some bring serenata with a mariachi while others are sharing el pan de muertos, drinking pulque or tequila together. You look at others crying, others smiling, and some telling stories/anecdotes," Tovar says. "The emotions are different among all. This tradition unites family, friends, neighbors, and strangers with all the events around the city."</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9c0a5370d8aec7797075ef59f74b5769" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="5fdf2" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDYzMzk1Ni9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzODI1MzIwMX0.U678ydr71LmOgv--mLljus2O9HTVP4qnpbecfYzWXh4/img.jpg?width=980"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">A cemetery in Michoacán, Mexico decorated on Nov. 1, 2018.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">(CC)</small></p><p>While she thinks the tradition in Austin would be beautiful, Tovar has alternatively enjoyed attending the annual downtown Day of the Dead parade—which was canceled this year. The Viva la Vida Festival coincides with the Mexic-Arte Museum's Day of the Dead Exhibition.<br/></p><p>In Austin the Day of the Dead celebrations have—like everything else—been affected by COVID-19, so the corresponding events have had to go online.</p><p>The <a href="https://mexic-artemuseum.org/" target="_blank">Mexic-Arte Museum</a> will hold its 37th annual Day of the Dead Exhibition virtually. The online event, which will run from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2, will exhibit community altars that pay homage to Latino victims of the pandemic, as well as people who have died from AIDS and heroes of the U.S. civil rights movement.</p>
<p>Austin has depended on the Mexic-Arte Museum's guidance regarding Dia de los Muertos since the non-profit opened its doors in 1984, and every year interest in the festival has increased.<br/></p><p>Mario Villanueva, marketing and events associate at the Mexic-Arte Museum, says close to 15,000 people participated in last year's parade.</p><p>Rather than view the virtual exhibition as a limitation, Villanueva says he sees the digital outreach as an opportunity for Mexic-Arte to engage with a wider audience. </p><p>Navigating through the pandemic has called for a <a href="https://mexic-artemuseum.org/exhibitions/" target="_blank">new website</a> featuring a virtual tour of the exhibits, as well as online instructions on altar construction and the creation of sugar skulls.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d7c4e3b3a54eeadb516d221cbd588c10" style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="auto" type="lazy-iframe" scrolling="no" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XqxKlx1crk8?rel=0" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" width="100%"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Sugar Skull Tutorial by the MACC</small>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">
<a href="https://youtu.be/XqxKlx1crk8" target="_blank">youtu.be</a>
</small>
</p><p>"Having everything virtual, making more content online has opened up a new way that we can share the knowledge," says Villaneuva, who considers Day of the Dead a genuine way for communities to cope with and heal from tragedy.<br/></p><p>Last year's Day of the Dead exhibition opened a few weeks after the <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/10/10/769013051/el-paso-walmart-shooting-suspect-pleads-not-guilty" target="_blank">El Paso shooting</a>, so the Mexic-Arte Museum made an altar dedicated to the 22 people killed in the racially-motivated domestic terror. Villanueva said the result of the altar was "something that was really, really beautiful."</p><p>Olivia Tamzarian, the culture and arts program supervisor at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center, says this year people are making altars at home and sharing photos during its <a href="https://spark.adobe.com/page/51lWXmvNMgNjo/" target="_blank">virtual program</a>.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="41d2181fafc10376c6cf4d6357b72a39" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="f0153" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDYzNDE2OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMDEwOTU3MH0.9WF7BF8e20NM5G_H4-lrSWPZCyfnlE97EyAzmTTNvYE/img.jpg?width=980"/>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">(Ulises García/Mexican American Cultural Center)</small></p><p>The very tone of this year's Day of the Dead celebration has been affected by the cautions around COVID.<br/></p><p>"You know there is a lot of talk in the Latino community about how Latinos have been <a href="https://austonia.com/covid-19-latino-disparity" target="_blank">disproportionately affected by COVID</a> and that's not something that's lost on us," says Tamzarian. "It's very real when you have a festival to celebrate the deceased and then you are worried about the actual deceased in your community. It becomes not just a celebration but almost like a political movement, to talk about these things in a way that becomes very desensitized when you just hear it on the news."</p><p>Tamzarian, who personally discovered Day of the Dead when she was about 20 years old and living in Mexico, sees the celebration as a form of psychological healing. </p><p>"I think it's healthy because it gives a chance, a place or an excuse for a time of the year to talk about people you were supposed to have forgotten," Tamzarian says.</p><p>Heirlooms on the altars is of great significance, Tamzarian says. One original idea of the Day of the Dead is the creation of an ofrenda, an altar that you put highly personal objects on. Personal items like a deceased family members glasses, gloves, or hat, are put on the altar because there is a belief that those personal items have a spiritual connection to that person."</p><p>"What's so interesting now is how it's being mixed with all sorts of commercial objects as well, so you might take your old grandfather's hat but then you might go to H-E-B and buy a little plastic skull or a candle and put that on the altar too," Tamzarian adds, elaborating on the malleable nature of the ancient Latino celebration.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="319eaa1e4fa3abe377976d8a66fd8902" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="eea7e" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDYzNDA5MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNjY1MzAwOH0.DD5kEWAvCOvohc8J1bge1JYOBt9Wq22hAv77b8Yu6Aw/img.jpg?width=980"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">A Dia los Muertos alter by Olivia Tamzarian.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">(Olivia Tamzarian)</small></p><p>Tamzarian recalls witnessing a visiting student being moved to tears at the sight of a particularly powerful altar.<br/></p><p>"We had a girl come in and when she saw the altar she burst out crying and I was worried like 'Oh God, maybe she saw someone she knows' and I was like 'What's going on?' and she was like probably around 11 and she said 'I've never seen … this looks just my grandmother's house' is what she says: 'I've never seen something like this in a museum before.'"</p><p>Tamzarian says, the girl described the altar as a kind of a validation of her culture. </p><p>"The fact that it is something that could be in a museum means that it's an art tradition that has so much value—cultural and historical value," says Tamzarian. <span></span>"That her grandmother had this sort of alter in her home and had candles up and everything, that she was able to see this in a museum just put it into perspective, that it is something to be proud of and that it isn't something that should die."</p>
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDYzNDI2OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxODIyNzkyOX0.SBlVffj3a7o9JrnlyUkxcjj6tdlPPiLt8RoiMlBS2sA/img.jpg?width=980" id="f1c06" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="b74ec99d8d2a05f2117e7dbf0fba0a6e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
(Chris Caselli/Mexic-Arte Museum)
A band marches downtown in the 2019 downtown Vida la Vida festival.
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(CC)
Today is going to be a windy one, according to The National Weather Service, which predicted breezy conditions in the Austin area and South Central Texas.
<div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="36cc15b897a0e812eb175eb2a701a9c3" id="d14c5"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1321824719453249537"><div style="margin:1em 0">North/Northwest winds today will be breezy and capable of 30-40 MPH wind gusts. The highest winds will likely be in… https://t.co/CyuHDj6oIO</div> — NWS Austin/San Antonio (@NWS Austin/San Antonio)<a href="https://twitter.com/NWSSanAntonio/statuses/1321824719453249537">1603982546.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Through mid-morning to the evening hours, the Austin area should expect 15-20 mph sustained winds with the occasional 30-35 mph gust of wind.<br/></p><p>In the Edwards Plateau and the Hill Country, occasional gusts up to 40 mph can be expected, though temperatures remain around the mid-60s.</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c97a3d2e886bec31d7dae3e609c6e4d8" id="cd1f3"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1321779878048444416"><div style="margin:1em 0">Today will be clear, cool, and breezy. Highs in the 60s for most of the area with gusty winds. https://t.co/bPpRaN4YjW</div> — NWS Austin/San Antonio (@NWS Austin/San Antonio)<a href="https://twitter.com/NWSSanAntonio/statuses/1321779878048444416">1603971855.0</a></blockquote></div><p>A 10 a.m. snapshot showed winds ranging from 30-37 mph in the Central Austin area, so it is recommended to secure any loose decorations or anything that might blow away outside.<br/></p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4b20678bf5dd7b73bc4581c528a688c3" id="aef8a"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1321829522656927746"><div style="margin:1em 0">Here is a look at current wind gusts across the area at 10 AM. https://t.co/bdjjUzzrCp</div> — NWS Austin/San Antonio (@NWS Austin/San Antonio)<a href="https://twitter.com/NWSSanAntonio/statuses/1321829522656927746">1603983691.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Winds are expected to subside to around 10 mph this evening. Tomorrow is expected to be sunny with variable light winds, according to <a href="https://weather.com/weather/tenday/l/e984113ce3e551f4914f965a69b5e6f0ad8f76cb5da62ea88e32639a2af2a66f" target="_blank">The Weather Channel</a>.<br/></p>
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In round figures the 18 active candidates running for the five seats on the Austin City Council raised a quarter-million dollars just in the last few weeks alone and they spent more than a half-million dollars during the same period. Total fundraising to date is nearly $1.2 million.
(Pexels)
Social media bots may have influenced the 2016 election, but experts at The University of Texas are more worried about social media influencers changing the outcome of this year's presidential race.
<p>It's increasingly common for digital content creators to participate in the political process. In <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/social-media-political-ads-blindspot-influencers/" target="_blank">an interview with WIRED</a>, Samuel Woolley, the propaganda research director at UT's <a href="https://mediaengagement.org/" target="_blank">Center for Media Engagement</a>, said influencers are hired by campaigns and even outside groups to convert their large followings into supporters for their candidates. </p><p>"The campaigning world is years behind the brand world, and influencer marketing is already huge in the brand world, so I'd be very surprised if this doesn't pick up in the next few years," UT undergraduate research assistant Ana Goodwin told WIRED.</p><p>But there are also "nanoinfluencers"—smaller-scale social media celebrities with less than 10,000 followers—who have a more direct relationships with their audience. Woolley said these real users are spreading misinformation the same way bots did during the last presidential election.</p><p>"If we're thinking about the ways in which different sorts of strategies and tech gets used in campaigns, nanoinfluencers are definitely among the most novel and problematic," Woolley told WIRED.</p><p>Social media platforms are cutting off political advertisements, so influencers are more capable of targeting voters in the last days of the presidential race. Woolley and the Center for Media Engagement published their research findings in mid-October detailing how real people are being paid to sway votes.</p><p>"Partisan organizations are leveraging these "authentic" accounts in bids to sway political discourse and decision-making in the run up to the 2020 U.S. elections. Political marketers tell us that they see influencers, particularly those with more intimate followings, as regarded as more trustworthy by their followers and therefore better positioned to change their behavior," the researchers <a href="https://mediaengagement.org/research/social-media-influencers-and-the-2020-election/" target="_blank">stated in their findings</a>. </p><p>And it's not just one political party engaging in this behavior. Both sides of the aisle have paid people who often don't reveal they made money in exchange for influencing their audience.</p><p>"Such influencers, far from being 'volunteer digital door knockers,' are paid, highly organized surrogates of political campaigns failing to report this new mode of politicking," the research states. "Social media firms and governments face serious challenges ahead in dealing with this new form of digital propaganda."</p><p>This issue represents one challenge in an array of misinformation campaigns. The UT media engagement center has done similar studies recently about <a href="https://mediaengagement.org/research/encrypted-propaganda/" target="_blank">political manipulation in encrypted messaging apps</a>, such as WhatsApp and Signal, as well as <a href="https://mediaengagement.org/research/tiktok-time-to-snitch/" target="_blank">TikTok shaming</a> in the COVID-19 era. </p>
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(Charlie Harper III/Austonia)
Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin estimate there is a 38% chance the COVID-19 pandemic is growing locally, down from an estimated 100% chance yesterday.
What accounts for this 62% overnight drop?
<p>Austin-Travis County Interim Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott said it reflects the relatively low number of COVID-related hospital admissions reported over the last couple of days.</p><p>On Monday, 11 people were admitted to hospitals in the Austin metro, far below the seven-day moving average of 26 at the time. Yesterday, 13 people were, and the moving average had fallen to 19.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="87ee2c192ae9ad831d016c642ebd7d3d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="4ca0a" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDYyOTIzNS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MDAwNzIxNX0.nsJIh8CWiaFcS_ORbZIjws0i5tRlWddCYfzSl21RQRw/img.png?width=980"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">The seven-day moving average number of daily hospital admissions has declined over the last two days, from 22.3 to 19.1.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">(Austin Public Health)</small></p><p>Escott attributed the drop in admissions to increased vigilance among Austinites after he and other local health officials <a href="https://austonia.com/austin-covid-october" target="_blank">sounded the alarm last week</a>.<br/></p><p>"As people respond, as people take more protective actions … we see an impact on transmission," he said on Wednesday. "We see an impact on cases. We see an impact on hospitalizations. That's exactly what we want to happen."</p><p>While updating council members and county commissioners on the local COVID situation yesterday, Escott cited the latest projections from the COVID-19 Modeling Consortium, which estimated there was a 100% chance the pandemic was growing locally. </p><p>But researchers hadn't yet included the latest hospital admissions data in their model, Escott explained. Once they did, it estimated there is a 38% chance the pandemic is growing locally.<br/></p><p>This is "fantastic news," Escott said Wednesday. He also added that the projections are subject to change as people recommit to protective behaviors, such as masking and social distancing, or abandoning them. <br/></p><p>For example, researchers at the consortium <a href="https://austonia.com/austin-school-reopening" target="_blank">projected last month</a> that Austin could reach a Stage 2 level of risk by October. "Unfortunately that was too optimistic, and we missed that mark," Escott said.</p><p><br/></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3577b22f525069b5a48c64dd56d6b5e3" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="fbf53" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDYyOTE2NC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MzQyNjgyNH0.ZGq99QedSNb36GO8LbI8v7zHUHeQrREh4K0j_qAyEAM/img.png?width=980"/>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">(COVID-19 Modeling Consortium at the University of Texas at Austin)</small></p><p>Although the projections now suggest around 250 hospital beds will be needed for COVID patients in the metro by Thanksgiving, down from 700 yesterday, Austin isn't out of the woods yet.<br/></p><p>The consortium currently estimates there is a 79% chance the pandemic is growing in the Dallas area and an 88% chance it is in the El Paso area, where hospitals are already at capacity and a countywide curfew is in effect.</p><p>"This is certainly something we have to pay attention to because, as we saw this summer, surges in other jurisdictions across the state often predated surges of our own," Escott told commissioners Tuesday.</p><p>Another concern is a significant increase in the number of new COVID cases reported at long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes. </p><p>In the last two weeks, Austin-Travis County facilities reported 40 new cases—or four times the number reported in the previous two-week period. </p><p>Metro hospitals are preparing for a possible surge, and the field hospital at the Austin Convention Center "stands ready to take on additional patients," Escott said Wednesday. </p><p>In the meantime, local health officials stressed the importance of increased vigilance—despite pandemic fatigue—as the holiday season gets underway. </p><p>"We can't all surge at the same time," Escott said.</p><p><strong>More today on COVID:</strong></p>
<h2><a href="https://austonia.com/covid-halloween-austin" target="_self">Austin health leaders issue a Halloween challenge: 'What new traditions can you create?'</a></h2>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDYyOTQ2MS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NTUzOTgyOX0.eO_sOP7sE_dluFlcdQbSO8JjWk7-yAKbh_Jht5ZP4m8/img.png?width=980" id="32f8d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ecc6ad8d5f8d625644afbe1fc5402db7" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
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