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The construction of the Boca Chica, Texas SpaceX launch site in 2019.
Elon Musk continues to reach for the stars after deciding to bring Tesla to Austin with his newest endeavor that could bring a SpaceX resort to Texas.
The SpaceX Launch Facility in Boca Chica, Texas—a small village with 40 houses 20 miles east of Brownsville, Texas—posted a new job listing on its website, seeking a Resort Development Manager to conduct a large construction project. The position entails leading the creation of a Spaceport resort, "from inception to completion."
This once in a lifetime job opportunity requires a bachelor's degree and five plus years of experience in construction project management, according to the job listing. The resort development manager will oversee developing a high end, luxury tourist space resort for the public.
SpaceX has yet to reveal if the resort is underway, but based on the job description the project is in the early stages.
The Boca Chica SpaceX location has already brought growth to the small town, developing it into "a 21st century Spaceport." It has provided hundreds of jobs for the area and is now promising even more with the creation of a Space City.
The location is also hiring a Spaceport Development Specialist to, "assist in all aspects of project implementation."
SpaceX has been buying land across Boca Chica, offering up to three times the appraised market value for current houses. However, growing pains are evident. Some residents are holding out, stating the appraised value does not reflect the market prices of their properties.
The residents have mixed reactions to the recent development in Boca Chica due to the many requirements it places on their shoulders. Those who choose to stay are expected to register with the county, wear badges and sometimes be evacuated during launch days which occur once a month.
The launch site has had various tests and projects at this location. Its most recent success is the new Starship prototype, SN5, performing a 40 second "hop," before returning to the ground.
SpaceX, a once young startup by Musk, is setting new space travel standards and rules. It has successfully launched and landed the U.S.'s first crewed mission for NASA in nine years.
Besides providing job opportunities in Boca Chica, Elon Musk has also helped Texans out closer to home. Tesla is currently underway with constructing a $1.1 billion Gigafactory in Southeast Austin.
While SpaceX is focusing on the sky, Tesla is more grounded. It is projected to supply 5,000 jobs in Austin where it will develop the new Cybertruck and Model Y, a midsize SUV.
It turns out Texas has been a seemingly perfect fit for Elon Musk's projects and developments. With the abundance of job supply and economic income, the forecast in Texas offers a limitless sky, no overcast in sight.
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(Austin FC/Twitter)
In a match marred by injuries and key player absences, Austin FC lost 2-0 in Los Angeles for the second time on Saturday to West Division titan LA Galaxy.
Austin FC goalkeeper Brad Stuver was tasked with the near-insurmountable task of holding back the LA Galaxy's Chicharito, who is now the league's top scorer this season, and he nearly succeeded.
The club saw its first major threat from the formidable Chicharito when a penalty was drawn on Jhohan Romana. In his usual game-saving fashion, Stuver leapt to the right to kept the scoreboard empty and block what many thought would be the league leader's first goal of the match.
BIG TIME BRAD.
Take a bow, sir. 👏 pic.twitter.com/66kpgJ9o1e
— Austin FC (@AustinFC) May 15, 2021
With a Hector Jimenez injury midway through play, a Jon Gallagher absence due to injury and a man down as Captain Alex Ring sat the bench, however, the team was unable to get a win in their second trip to Los Angeles.
Austin FC was slated to play against the odds after Ring was benched due to a second yellow card last week. To cover the wound, the club put standout rookie Daniel Pereira in his stead and placed Danny Hoesen back at the crown of the lineup after fellow striker Gallagher stayed home.
Hector Jimenez got his first start with the club at right back in the stead of Nick Lima, but the run was short-lived. The 32-year-old suffered an injury after attempting to save the first LA Galaxy goal, but Galaxy midfielder Sebastian Lletget still scored the match opener after popping a shot over Stuver to make the match 1-0.
Austin FC plateaued through much of the first half, and the forces of the universe were in the Galaxy's favor as they encroached on Austin's defense.
The club found new stamina, as they usually do, when a set of subs were brought in to up the club's tempo, and ten minutes of the match were entirely Kekuta Manneh's. Manneh, the club's only player with Austin ties, subbed in the 60th minute of play and immediately made an attempt on goal. The winger would make three more attempts, one of which just missed the top right corner of goal, before LA made its next advances on Austin's defense.
Head coach Josh Wolff said he hoped for a goal for Manneh, who doesn't often get to hit the pitch.
"His contributions were obvious, and I would have liked to see him get a goal there," Wolff said.
It looked like Austin might tie it up during the "Kekuta Era," but Chicharito played true to his stats. Stuver went head-to-head with Chicharrito once again and lost as he scored his seventh goal in five matches in the 77th minute of play.
⚽️ x 7️⃣@CH14_ scores his league-leading seventh of the season! #LAvATX pic.twitter.com/28zLnOmKWb
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 15, 2021
Matt Besler said he was up for a challenge as the club's central defender and he's unsurprised at Chicharito's success. Besler also said and he respects Chicharito on and off the pitch becuase of his openness about mental illness.
"I was looking forward to the challenge," Besler said. "His recognition of where the space is world class, and it's no surprise that he's scored goals everywhere that he's gone. I respect him as a player and I also respect him off the field."
Another attempt on goal was made by the Galaxy's Kevin Cabral, who sunk one in past Stuver just minutes later, but the goal was called offsides. Still, the match came to an anticlimactic end as Austin FC was unable to get one in goal and lost 2-0.
Besler, who has seen the ebbs and flows of his Sporting Kansas City, his club of 12 years, said that it takes patience to be a successful team. Still, he's impressed that Austin FC has made as much ground as they have in their expansion year.
"I understand that it's going to be a process, and we are in our fifth game of our existence, but the fact that we're at where we are at isa good sign," Besler said. "Towards the last third of the season, that's when hopefully we can peak and look a lot like our final product."
Austin FC will have a chance to snap their two-match losing streak as they head to Nashville SC for their sixth-straight road match at 8 p.m.on Sunday.
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(Tito's Handmade Vodka)
Ingredients:
- 750 ml Tito's Handmade Vodka
- 1 cucumber, peeled and sliced
Directions: Peel and slice cucumber, removing the seeds. Drop cucumber into a glass container and fill with Tito's Handmade Vodka. Let sit for 1-2 days. Strain when the infusion has reached the desired flavor.
Austin-Travis County Interim Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott estimates around 70% of residents have some for of immunity to COVID-19. (Austonia staff)
Nearly half of Travis County residents 16 and older are fully vaccinated, as of Friday afternoon, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. And an even greater portion likely have immunity.
Austin-Travis County Interim Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott estimates that around 70% of local residents have some form of immunity to COVID-19, either because they have recovered from the disease or are vaccinated. This is approaching the threshold for herd immunity.
"We're starting to approach that 70% mark of combined disease and vaccination, so we may start to see some significant changes when it comes to disease trends," he told council members and county commissioners on Tuesday.
Escott arrived at this percentage by assuming that there is no overlap between those who have had COVID and those who have been vaccinated. "While there's certainly some overlap … there does not seem to be a lot of overlap between those two," he said.
Herd immunity occurs when enough people are immune to a disease that it is unlikely for someone who contracts the disease to spread it. With no one to infect, the disease dies out.
Public health experts have said herd immunity for COVID will require around 80% of the population to be immune based on its relative infectiousness.
Although natural immunity contributes to herd immunity and is partially responsible for the sharp downturn in the number of new COVID infections in recent months, vaccination is the gold standard among experts because of the increased security it offers.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler celebrated the new CDC guidance as proof of vaccines' efficacy. "Since more people will not be wearing masks, it makes it even more important to get vaccinated," he said in a statement Friday.
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