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This week, you'll see stories useful for someone new to Austin in anticipation of Austonia's "How to Austin" event. To attend, sign up here.
Animals
(Austonia)
Austin is the largest no-kill city in the country as well as second most pet-friendly, according to a recent study by WalletHub. Many Austinites are devoted supporters of local shelters such as the Austin Animal Center and Austin Pets Alive, serving as volunteers, donors and adoptive families. It's also not uncommon to see well-behaved dogs lounging outside coffee shops, on restaurant patios or running around Lady Bird Lake—with their owners, of course.
Wilder animals also call Austin home. As many as 1.5 million Brazilian free-tailed bats live part of the year inside the crevices of the Congress Avenue bridge. Grackles congregate by the dozens on electric lines at dusk, calling to mind a scene out of a horror movie. Monk parakeets, migratory birds introduced to Austin by humans, have been spotted all over town. And peacocks roam at Mayfield Park.
Attire
(Allen's Boots/Instagram)
Austin may be the capital of Texas, but cowboy hats are a rarity here. Trucker caps are more the norm.
And while there are more cowboy boots in Nashville, you can get yourself a pair down South Congress, where local boot sellers include Allen's Boots, Heritage Boot Co. and Tecovas. Women often wear them to Texas Longhorn football games and to jeans-and-cowboy-boots-themed events. And when men wear them, they usually wear "ropers, a shorter boot with a squared-off heel and a wider toe.
Jeans are acceptable anywhere, any time, even at church.
Food and drink
Desert Door distillery in Driftwood, Texas. (Emma Freer)
Austin staples include breakfast tacos from a local spot such as Tacodeli; kolaches, which nod to the Czech heritage of many Central Texans; queso, of which there are many varieties and favorites; and brisket, a Texas barbecue specialty that warrants long lines at places like Franklin, La Barbecue and Micklethwait.
When it comes to beverages, Austin is fortunately known for many, from craft beers brewed on-site to fresh smoothies whipped up at JuiceLand to perfectly roasted coffee to sotol distilled at Desert Door in nearby Driftwood. Pace yourself!
Frontage roads
(Austonia)
Frontage roads, sometimes called access roads, service roads or feeders, run parallel to Texas highways and allow access to cross-streets and businesses. They also double the number of times you need to merge, are expensive to build and maintain, and can be very confusing to people from other states, almost all of which don't have them.
History
The new Waterloo Park in downtown opened for light-up sneak peek in December.
Originally a small community near the confluence of the Colorado River and Shoal Creek, Austin used to be called Waterloo, which may be derived from the battle where the English defeated Napoleon, according to the Austin History Center.
Waterloo was purchased by the Republic of Texas to serve as its capital in 1839 and renamed in honor of Stephen F. Austin, who colonized the Mexican-controlled region in the early 19th century and defended slavery in spite of Mexico's effort to ban it. The U.S. annexed Texas in 1845, and Austin became the state's capital the following year.Icons
Willie Nelson(Wikimedia Commons)Austin is home to an increasing number of celebrities and other high-profile folks, from Matthew McConaughey and Elon Musk to Kendra Scott and James Van Der Beek. But some people are in a class of their own, including beloved country music star and local vaccine recipient Willie Nelson.
Some other late icons include:
- Civil Rights leader Barbara Jordan, who was the first Black person elected to the Texas Senate and the first Black woman from the South elected to the U.S. House of Representatives
- Texas blues rocker Stevie Ray Vaughan, who performed at local clubs such as an Antone's and whose memory is honored by a statue along Lady Bird Lake
- Richard Overton, who was the nation's oldest World War II veteran and a beloved Austin resident
- Darrell Royal, who coached football at the University of Texas from 1957 to 1976 and won more games than any other coach in Longhorns history
Nomenclature
"Party Island" on Lady Bird Lake, seen from above on Aug, 8, 2020. (Jordan Vonderhaar)
Some people feel strongly about South Congress and consider it touristy at best—and sacrilege at worst—to call it by its marketing name SoCo.
Austin roads have a funny way of going by multiple names, which can be confusing even to drivers who are familiar with the city's streets. MoPac, named after the Missouri Pacific Railroad along which it runs, also goes by Texas Loop 1. The Capitol of Texas highway is more commonly known as 360. I-35 is called all sorts of things, many of them unprintable. Many smaller roads have both a name and a number, such as Bee Cave Road in West Austin, which is also called Ranch to Market 2244, RM 2244 and Bee Caves Road.
Similarly, many east-to-west downtown streets have both a name and a number. First Street is always known by its proper name, Cesar Chavez Street. Sixth Street will do, but it is also sometimes called Pecan Street. The portion between Congress Avenue and I-35 serves as an entertainment district and is mostly referred to as "Dirty Sixth," for obvious reasons. Locals over 25 years old are more often found on West Sixth—or west of Congress.
There's also the issue of Town Lake, as many long-time locals know it, which was renamed Lady Bird Lake, after former first lady Lady Bird Johnson, who helped beautify it.
Pronunciation
Like most places, Austin has its idiosyncrasies. Some of the odd local pronunciations have to do with the Spanish origins of many street names. Central corridor Guadalupe, which sounds lovely in Spanish, becomes the pedestrian GWAD-ah-LOOP—or just GUAD—in the mouths of many Austinites.
You can try to show yourself as a local by using the older (and sometimes preferred) pronunciations of names that have since changed. After considerable research, and for reasons of equity, Manchaca Road—pronounced MAN-shack—is now Menchaca Road, or Men-CHAH-kah. But for many residents, old habits die hard.
Another tough name is the street and corresponding river just outside of Austin: Pedernales. Memorize how it should be said. Don't think about it, just do it: PUR-den-nal-ehz.
Don't worry about how to pronounce the name of the Mueller residential and commercial area in Northeast Austin. MULE-er, MEW-ller or MILL-er will all do. Nobody knows.
Sports
(Austin FC)In addition to many recreational leagues, whose members play volleyball and flag football at public parks all over town, there are also some professional teams who represent Austin.
- Major League Soccer club Austin FC will start their inaugural season on April 3 at the newly named Q2 Stadium; it is the first major league sports team to represent Austin and has gained a substantial fan base in the community
- United Soccer League club Austin Bold FC, founded in 2018, plays at the Circuit of the Americas' Bold Stadium
- United Women's Soccer team FC Austin Elite plays at the Round Rock Multipurpose Complex
- Minor League Baseball team the Round Rock Express plays at Dell Diamond
- NCAA team the Texas Longhorns play football at Texas Memorial Stadium, basketball at the Frank Erwin Center and baseball at UFCU Disch-Falk Field
- American Hockey League team the Texas Stars play at Cedar Park Center
Go teams!
Now that you look the part, make sure to check out our guide to civic issues in Austin:
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- Austinites have been complaining about the city losing its weird charm since the 1800s ›
Since then our team has covered the pandemic, Black Lives Matter protests, our newest corporate citizen (Tesla) and celebrity resident (Joe Rogan), homelessness, two elections, the mayor's trip to Cabo San Lucas, Project Connect and the administration of the first COVID-19 vaccines.
To end the year, we've compiled a list of 10 important stories we published this year. Here's to more to come in 2021!
1. 'Somehow life feels richer than ever' for some Austin families finding new at-home routines (April 16)
(Hoke)
Karen Brooks Harper spoke to local families early on in the pandemic to learn about how they were coping—and discovered that many were bonding during all the time spent at home together. "I don't want this crisis to go on forever, but I desperately want our future as a family to look more like this," one mom said.
2. Two days of protest: demonstrators shut down I-35, Austin police respond with tear gas as police killings mobilize residents (June 1)
(Austonia staff)
In late May, Austin residents took to the streets to protest the police killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Mike Ramos in Southeast Austin. Protests continued through the summer and ultimately led to the Austin City Council voting to cut the police department's budget—to the chagrin of many state lawmakers.
3. Elon Musk seeks fast-track approval of $1.1 billion Tesla plant (June 23)
(Felix Mizioznikov/Shutterstock)Editorial advisor Rich Oppel and myself teamed up to write about one of the biggest economic development projects seen in Austin this generation: the forthcoming Tesla Gigafactory, which is under construction in Southeast Travis County after a marathon process to secure property tax abatements and environmental permits.
4. Meet the two names from Austin behind the transformation of the new Joe Rogan podcast studio (Sept. 10)
(Joe Rogan/Instagram)
Senior Producer Sonia Garcia profiled two local business owners entrusted by mixed martial arts enthusiast and comedian Joe Rogan to construct his new podcast studio, where he has since interviewed fellow Austinites Matthew McConaughey and Alex Jones. The recent transplant moved to the Texas capital from Los Angeles in July, bringing his $100 million podcast with him.
5. The Austonia guide to Proposition A, the ballot issue that could green-light Project Connect (Oct. 14)
(Emma Freer/Austonia staff)
On Nov. 3, Austin voters overwhelmingly supported Proposition A, which raised the city's property tax rate to help pay for Project Connect. The $7.1 billion transit overhaul plan is already being implemented, but it faced vocal opposition. This guide dives into how much Project Connect will raise property owners' tax bills and how it will address concerns about displacement.
6. Austonia named one of four nationwide finalists for Best New Publisher (Oct. 14)
(Bradley Wilson) Publisher Mark Dewey was thrilled to announce that the Local Independent Online News Publishers association had chosen Austonia as a finalist for its national best emerging publisher award. "Recognition like this from our peer group motivates us to work even harder on our mission of connecting you to our ever-changing city," he wrote to readers.
7. Photo essay: A look inside Austin's homeless camps amid COVID, cleanups (Nov. 11)
Photo essay: A look inside Austin's homeless camps amid COVID, cleanups(Jordan Vonderhaar)Photojournalist Jordan Vonderhaar visited homeless camps around Austin to document how residents were dealing with the pandemic—and ongoing cleanups orchestrated by local and state agencies. Last year, Austin City Council voted to overturn the city's camping ban. Advocates applauded the move as an important step toward decriminalizing homelessness. But many residents, business owners and state leaders opposed the decision, which they argued would threaten public health and safety.
8. Austin health official concerned about bars "masquerading as restaurants" to stay open amid COVID surge (Nov. 20)
(Laura Figi/Austonia)Reporters Laura Figi and Waylon Cunningham wrote about a state loophole that allows bars to reclassify as restaurants in jurisdictions, such as Travis County, that have not allowed bars to reopen. Dr. Mark Escott, the local public health authority, raised concerns about this policy last month, citing the rising number of COVID cases and hospitalizations, and has continued to advise residents not to attend such establishments. But bar owners and employees say they must remain open—or close permanently.
9. What Adler's Mexico vacation means for his chances in the Biden administration—and post-COVID political career (Dec. 3)
Earlier this month, news broke that Austin Mayor Steve Adler had hosted a small, outdoor wedding for his daughter in early November and then traveled via private jet to a family timeshare in Cabo San Lucas—while publicly asking Austinites to stay home. I spoke with political experts about what this scandal might mean for his career, especially if he runs for higher office.
10. Good times have faded at the TarryTown Shopping Center, the once-thriving neighborhood hub where animal rights activist Jeanne Daniels has pushed out local favorites (Dec. 22)
(Blair Newberry)
Writer Bryan Rolli took a deep dive into the once buzzing TarryTown Shopping Center that now stands desolate. Since inheriting the shopping center in 1999, Jeanne Crusemann Daniels has enforced strict rules that have resulted in the elimination of businesses that used or sold animal products. Long-time Austinites and former business owners remember what the shopping center was once like.
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