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(Andrei/Adobe)
Travis County is reportedly working on a deal to bring Tesla to the Austin area.
Travis County is reportedly considering a deal today that would offer incentives to bring Tesla to the Austin area, the Austin American-Statesman reports.
Both Austin and Tulsa were reported last month to be finalists for the electric car manufacturer's next assembly plant following Elon Musk's conflict with the state of California over reopening the Alameda factory.
This story is developing and will be updated.
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(Aaron Rogosin/SXSW)
While this years SXSW festival was canceled, it will return next year.
South by Southwest announced Tuesday it will include online programming as part of its 2021 festival, but has not eliminated the possibility of an in-person portion of the event.
<p>According to an announcement on the <a href="https://www.sxsw.com/news/2020/announcing-sxsw-online-a-digital-experience-from-march-16-20-2021/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=socialmedia&utm_campaign=sxsw2021_online&utm_content=sxsw_online_announcement&fbclid=IwAR3BdwFRfUZcKs5Ynp-GG2MSm9QL2RiAx8EUU4Yxpd6e-NstZdgj-j_TucE" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">SXSW website,</a> SXSW Online will be "a digital experience featuring conference keynotes and sessions, screenings, showcases and much more." SXSW Online will take place from March 16-20.</p>
<p>SXSW is working with the City of Austin and public health officials to make plans for an in-person event, though no details have been announced yet.</p>
<p>The festival will be preceded by SXSW EDU, a branch that focuses on all things education, from March 9-11. SXSW will accept "<a href="https://www.sxsw.com/apply-to-participate/panelpicker/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Panel Picker</a>" events for both SXSW and SXSW EDU. Applications will be accepted from Oct. 6-16.</p>
<p>SXSW will not accept applications for the music festival this year, as it will be "curated by programming staff with priority given to showcase presenters and artists who were scheduled for the 2020 event." </p>
<p>However, the Film Festival will still accept applications for Feature Film, Short Film, Episodic, Music Video, Virtual Cinema, Texas High School Short and Title Sequence from Oct. 6-28.</p>
<p>SXSW 2020 was cancelled at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic on March 6, a week before the event was supposed to begin. </p>
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(Buffalo Billiards/Facebook)
After 21 years in downtown, Buffalo Billiards will join the growing list of memorable Austin businesses to close due to the coronavirus pandemic.
<p>Buffalo Billiards sits across from the Driskill Hotel at 201 E. 6th St. The bar announced their temporary closure on its website in March, stating it would re-open "as soon as it's safe to do so." The bar has since announced that it is closing permanently due to rising operating costs and COVID-19 restrictions.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d9b16fe03b3ecfee20a3b2796ef8a7f2" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="b72a1" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDQzMTA4My9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0Mzc0OTI2NH0.CBpunMqeibUQ4eag4XRhLpjAdjXcpKYzr-b436eMLFM/img.png?width=980"/>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">(Buffalo Billiards Facebook)</small></p><p>General manager Tina Bodell said the decision to close was a difficult one but they wish other businesses well during this trying time.<br/></p><p>"We are proud to have been a source of entertainment for not only the Austin community, but also the many tourists and convention attendees that passed through downtown," Bodell wrote in an email to Austonia. </p><p>According to the website, Buffalo Billiards was built in 1861 and originally called the "Missouri House." The building was Austin's first boarding house and was rumored to have been a brothel. The bar was renamed Buffalo Billiards to preserve the good cowboy fun that was to be had there.</p><p>Pinball groups would meet at Buffalo Billiards since it was lined with old and new pinball machines. Bodell said they will miss the events they used to host and watching countless UT games at the bar.</p><p>"Thank you, Austin, for your support over the past 21 years," Bodell said.</p><p><br/></p><p><strong>More on Austin closures:</strong></p>
<h2><a href="https://austonia.com/mugshots-closes" target="_self">Iconic MugShots Bar closes after 18 years</a></h2>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDIzMDM0NC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNjIxMTE2N30.IFcnMI6dRYF0K49fkxBfLSJro7Uk_iDMoqHPzy9gg3g/img.png?width=980" id="f986d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="79aec2741acc688b9010d141ff8ba52d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Iconic MugShots Bar closes after 18 years
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Local COVID cases plateau after slight uptick; health authority urges caution ahead of flu season
16h
After a recent uptick in new confirmed COVID-19 cases, it appears the trend line is plateauing again and the local positivity rate is holding steady, at around 6%, Austin-Travis County Interim Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott told county commissioners on Tuesday.
"We've had this increase since the beginning of September that's leveling off a bit," he said.
<p>Escott attributed the increase to new cases among older children and young adults. In the last week, he said, more than half of the confirmed COVID cases reported in Travis County have been among the 10-19 and 20-29 age groups.</p><p>Despite this trend, however, the number of COVID-related hospitalizations fell over the same time period—and continues to decline. This is because younger people who contract the disease have a much lower risk of requiring hospital care than older people.</p><p>The seven-day moving average number of daily new COVID hospital admissions is 14, down from nearly 18 on Sept. 1.</p><p>Additionally, in the last three weeks the number of hospital beds filled by COVID patients has declined 45%, the number of ICU beds filled by COVID patients has declined 49% and the use of ventilators by COVID patients has declined by 56%. </p><p>"We're very pleased with our hospital capacity right now," Escott said. "Once again, there's plenty of room for folks in the hospital."</p><p>There is still concern, however, that Austinites may be <a href="https://austonia.com/health-care/private-doctors" target="_self"><u>delaying preventative care</u></a> for fear of taking up space at area hospitals or contracting COVID. Escott encouraged residents not to do this and to stay up to date with their regular appointments—especially immunizations.</p><p>The looming flu season has sparked fears of a <a href="https://austonia.com/flu-season-austin" target="_self"><u>"twindemic."</u></a></p><p>Last year, which saw <a href="https://time.com/5758953/flu-season-2019-2020/#:~:text=The%20current%20flu%20season,in%20at%20least%20a%20decade." target="_blank"><u>a particularly bad flu season</u></a>, local ICUs hit capacity from flu patients alone, Escott told commissioners.</p><p>"Our hospitals cannot handle surges of both," he said. "We're going to have to ration care." </p><p>Escott encouraged Austinites to get vaccinated before the flu season picks up later this fall. He also advised continued caution, especially for those at high risk, or who live with high risk individuals, of contracting COVID-19.</p><p>"It's the circumstances of social gatherings (where) we're seeing transmission," he said, explaining that new cases have been tracked to college parties and family gatherings. </p>
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(Lindagauntco/Creative Commons)
Local entrepreneur Kendra Scott will now be a "Shark" on ABCs Shark Tank's next season.
Kendra Scott, the Austin entrepreneur who owns a billion-dollar jewelry empire, will be the next guest judge on ABC's "Shark Tank" in its newest Las Vegas season.
<p>Scott, along with TOMS shoes owner Blake Mycoskie, will appear on various episodes of the show's 12th season, which airs on Oct. 16. "Shark Tank" judges listen to business pitches from small-time entrepreneurs and assist them in making their companies successful.</p><p>This is Scott's latest endeavor after becoming a professor of practice at The University of Texas at Austin. Her business, Kendra Scott, LLC, was started in 2002 and puts her among only 16 women in the U.S. to carry the title of founder of a company valued at $1 billion.</p><p><br/></p><p><strong>More on Kendra Scott:</strong></p>
<h2><a href="https://austonia.com/kendra-scott-ut-faculty" target="_self">Austin entrepreneur Kendra Scott joins the University of Texas faculty</a></h2>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzYwMTU1NC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNzM3MDUzMn0.kzOBoC0LCZuyyys_YR0mBMy9eLqSY56TTLKreAIcJvg/img.jpg?width=980" id="4916e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5ae4c4eba9cd41426ab4edf06a1fb8f3" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />(Stock photo)
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(The Weather Channel)
Weather as of 9 a.m. Tuesday.
Tropical Storm Beta is continuing to line the Texas coast after making landfall late Monday and will bring rain to Central Texas for the next two days.
<p>Showers and thunderstorms are expected Tuesday in Austin with wind gusts up to 20 mph, according to the <a href="https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=30.17770950000005&lon=-97.81015739999998#.X2n2MtNKi3I" target="_blank">National Weather Service</a>. Rain is expected to be less than an inch. Expect cooler temperatures in the 70s Tuesday before they rise to the 80s on Wednesday. </p><p>Rain is expected to linger into Wednesday, but clear skies can be expected for the rest of the week.</p><p><a href="https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2020-09-22-tropical-storm-beta-forecast-rainfall-flooding-texas-houston" target="_blank">The Weather Channel</a> reports the Houston area has received some of the heaviest rain so far with up to 10 inches and is expected to gain another 10 inches by the end of Wednesday. </p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0c7841584788c8e1024bda4785ab876c" id="0a881"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1308371853489045504"><div style="margin:1em 0">645a 9/22 - With the Center of Tropical Storm Beta now somewhere around Victoria based on radar, rain has spread fr… https://t.co/jQdm5H3PXe</div> — NWS Austin/San Antonio (@NWS Austin/San Antonio)<a href="https://twitter.com/NWSSanAntonio/statuses/1308371853489045504">1600775132.0</a></blockquote></div><p>The tropical storm is reportedly moving slowly at 3 mph along the coast with winds at 40 mph and is expected to be a tropical depression by Wednesday.<br/></p><p>Beta is the ninth tropical storm to make landfall in the U.S. this year. It is the 23rd named tropical storm, making it the second in history to be named according to the Greek alphabet after all 21 alphabetical names were exhausted this season. </p>
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Professor hologram: UT Austin partners with local company to launch ‘classroom of the future’
21 September
(Contextual Content Group)
McCombs Professor Steve Limberg teaches in a studio while his hologram appears in a classroom, where masked students are sat socially distanced.
Like Tupac at Coachella, one professor at the McCombs School of Business is beamed as a hologram before his audience.
<p>This semester, Steve Limberg is teaching his executive MBA class in a studio while his hologram is projected before students in the classroom. The setup allows both him and his audience to interact in real time, while minimizing their exposure to the coronavirus.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="66e1c045e9633b17108404f951f7b2f5" 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/Xz0RmrBShfQ?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...">Hologram Technology Launches Classroom of the Future | McCombs School of Business</small>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">(<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=103&v=Xz0RmrBShfQ&feature=emb_logo" target="_blank">youtube</a>)</small>
</p><p>"This is an authentic experience because I can see all the gestures and the nuances that the students are expressing, whether it be raising a hand or nodding, and as a result, it really is very much like being right here in the classroom," Limberg said <a href="https://news.utexas.edu/2020/09/17/hologram-technology-to-launch-classroom-of-the-future/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>in a press release</u></a>. </p><p>The accounting professor is the first adopter of the new product, called <a href="https://www.recourse.co/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>Recourse</u></a>, from local company Contextual Content Group. </p><p>Formed late last year, CCG is focused on creating content using 5G technology. However, when the pandemic began, the company quickly shifted its focus to solving a new problem that had emerged: how to make distance learning engaging and effective. </p><p>"We really wanted to give professors and students a choice," CEO and Chairman Jim Spencer told Austonia. "That's what we've done." </p><p>Spencer is also a lecturer at UT's Moody College of Communication. After speaking to some fellow faculty members on campus, he realized CCG could help address the issues facing his colleagues. </p><p>A hologram—enabled by 5G's high bandwidth capacity and near real-time processing speed—achieved the university's goals of keeping professors safe while enhancing the online classroom experience and allowing for the possibility of expanded use across campus. </p><p>When Spencer told Joe Stephens, senior assistant dean at McCombs, his idea, Stephens had some questions but quickly got on board. </p><p>"We know hybrid delivery is something we're going to have to work through for a while because there's no flip of the switch back to normal," Stephens said. </p><p>Armed with a contract from the McCombs School of Business, CCG began prototyping the Recourse product and developing it based on feedback from professors. </p><p>"The team works around the clock, and there's just a tremendous amount of passion and enthusiasm to try to help solve a real problem at UT," Spencer said. </p><p>In mid-August, when the fall semester began, Limberg's hologram began teaching in the classroom while the real Limberg simultaneously lectured before cameras in a safe studio. Students asked him questions and received answers in real time. </p><p>Overall, the feedback has been positive, Stephens said. In addition to helping give students a positive in-person experience, the Recourse program has helped incoming McCombs students get to know their classmates—an experience that may otherwise have been lost given the pandemic.</p><p>"It kind of has this other benefit of creating community," Stephens said.</p><p>Both he and Spencer are hopeful that more professors—at UT as well as other universities—will join Limberg in adopting <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg17T-SdW70&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">the Recourse product</a>.</p><p>"We are set up and ready to go and can accommodate more schools and classes at UT," Spencer said.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="66c72a0e7d081c781a1af0c08c05197a" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="be65a" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDQyNzg2MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzOTc2MDg5Mn0.C4oTk8FFTCkZMWDLQ64owpPKPDIKTxw-N36o7LzvoUA/img.jpg?width=980"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">McCombs Assistant Dean Joe Stephens said he is hopeful the Recourse program can be expanded to other classes next semester as well as other campuses. </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">(Contextual Content Group)</small></p><p>CCG also envisions myriad post-pandemic applications for this product, including a second version that will use natural language processing technology and artificial intelligence to allow for a hologram on-demand.<br/></p><p>As with many pandemic-era developments, the presence of a holographic professor at McCombs transitioned quickly from a novelty to an accepted norm.</p><p>"That's good," Stephens said. "There's not a distraction about it." </p>
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(Capital Metro)
This November, Austin voters will choose whether to raise their property tax rate to pay for a proposed $7.1 billion transit overhaul called Project Connect. It includes expanded bus service, including an Eastside transit center.
Austin voters will decide Nov. 3 whether to increase their tax rate to pay for a $7.1 billion, 15-year overhaul of the city's transit system.
<p>If approved, Project Connect will expand Austin's rapid bus line system, add two new light rail lines—from North to South Austin and to the airport—and lead to the construction of <a href="https://austonia.com/underground-rail-tunnel-in-austin" target="_self">a multi-block underground tunnel downtown</a>.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a02cd9b235b34c9120d8c62078656a80" 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/M1fP7IJVW8I?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...">A New Transit Plan for Austin | Project Connect by Capital Metro</small>
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<a href="https://youtu.be/M1fP7IJVW8I" target="_blank">youtu.be</a>
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</p><p>Austin City Council voted unanimously last month to <a href="https://austonia.com/transportation-austin-project-connect?share_id=5699284" target="_self">add the measure to the upcoming ballot</a>. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the council scaled down an earlier version that would have cost $10 billion. </p><p>The new figure of $7.1 billion would come from two sources. The larger amount would come from a hike in property taxes. Additionally, Capital Metro, the city's transit agency, says it will ask the federal government for a grant of $3.25 billion. </p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="82ef205855621198c971b603aa27fa34" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="2fdab" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDQyNDAzMS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMTcyMjMxOX0.XK13E7gymIPqN_lbrLYJHSPbTSKaEu9CDgzp-hmeWOs/img.jpg?width=980"/>
</p><p><strong>A step forward?</strong><br/></p><p>Transit for Austin—a coalition of community organizations and elected officials that includes all 11 members of City Council, has voiced support for the project.</p><p>The group argues that a city of Austin's size—<a href="https://data.austintexas.gov/stories/s/Imagine-Austin-Population-and-Jobs-Forecast/j5a7-yk8d/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">and continual growth</a>—is long overdue for a comprehensive transit system.</p><p>Building one through Project Connect, its members say, will make the city greener by reducing reliance on personal vehicles, more equitable by allocating $300 million to help prevent displacement and safer by getting people out of cars.</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f9d7618456f5e4b5bf315c54ac631900" id="5129a"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1306369522824290308"><div style="margin:1em 0">Can Project Connect Promote Equitable Access and Mobility Justice?
Only an active, informed, and engaged… https://t.co/UqbeJ83nXq</div> — Austin Justice Coalition (@Austin Justice Coalition)<a href="https://twitter.com/AtxJustice/statuses/1306369522824290308">1600297740.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Austin Mayor Steve Adler has been a vocal proponent of Project Connect for these reasons—and more.</p><p>"I think people want us to do this project because they want something done about traffic, they want something done about the environment; they want something to stop the fatalities and to actually address mobility equity for essential workers," he told Austonia.</p><p>In Adler's view, the broad scope of Project Connect is essential to its appeal.</p><p>"I don't think people want us to be nibbling around the edges and spending money on things that aren't actually going to be transformative," he said. "When something's big, obviously it's going to take time for it to be completed. But the public will start seeing this being handled immediately."</p><p>If voters approve the tax rate increase, Adler said they can expect to see the city purchase land for affordable housing along the proposed light rail lines and make updates to the bus rapid transit system in the short term.</p><p>For Austinites who don't plan to use transit now or in the future, Project Connect may still offer a tangible benefit.</p><p>"Even if I'm driving on the road and not trying to get on transit, I want everybody else to get off the road and get into transit," Adler said. "But in order for that to happen, people actually have to have choices that are good."</p><p>In July, a political action committee called Mobility for All <a href="http://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=344030" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">filed paperwork</a> signaling its intent to raise money in support of the tax rate increase, which will appear on the ballot as Proposition A.</p><p>While it has not yet filed a campaign finance report, the group lists its top donors on its website, including infrastructure design firm HNTB, Major League Soccer club Austin FC and Silicon Labs chairperson Nav Sooch.</p><p><strong>A step back?</strong> </p><p>But there is also vocal opposition to the project, spearheaded by two groups: the Our Mobility Our Future PAC and advocacy group Voices of Austin.</p><p>Both argue that Project Connect is too expensive—the median homeowner will see a $317 increase to her tax bill this year, if it is approved—and that the city is overpromising to voters what it can realistically achieve.</p><p>Robert Falk, an analyst with OMOF and volunteer with the Travis County Taxpayers Union, said it is "insensitive and out of touch" for the city to ask voters to approve "the greatest debt and tax increase in Austin's history" given the pandemic and uncertainty of the future.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="af393ccc22c987241cb15c47613eed5f" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="53742" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDQyNDAzMi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwODI1NDAxNX0.nb0v-ghFTvFrDH888zebR8qftVxIxSaWCSSzbrib5ZA/img.jpg?width=980"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Sources: Austin Community College, Austin ISD, Central Health, city of Austin and Travis County.</small></p><p>The PAC also argues that Project Connect lacks the necessary engineering and federal funding commitment to ensure it adheres to the proposed budget, which could leave local taxpayers footing the bill.</p><p>"We're building our whole house on this sand foundation of this federal money," Falk said.</p><p>Some Austinites are invested in preventing Project Connect from being approved.</p><p>OMOF has raised nearly $100,000, <a href="http://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=343270" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">according to its July 15 campaign finance report</a>, with the majority coming from four donors: real estate investor John Lewis, Mercedes-Benz dealer Bryan Hardeman, Travis County Commissioner Gerald Daugherty and Aminex Therapeutics chairperson Jim Skaggs.</p><p>The group feels it needs to counterbalance the city's slick marketing and "propagandizing" of Project Connect using taxpayer dollars.</p><p>"Prop A reads like a sales brochure," Falk said.</p><p>Voices of Austin, which formed this summer to represent Austinites who feel their views are unheard at City Hall, similarly believes that the city is not being transparent about the full cost of the plan.</p><p>"In these dire economic times we do not need Project Con, especially using illegal and misleading ballot language," Executive Director Peck Young said <a href="https://voicesofaustin.org/voices-of-austin-asks-whether-project-connect-is-really-project-con/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">in a statement</a>.</p><p>Falk describes Project Connect as 20th-century technology that will only benefit those who live along the fixed-route system. As an alternative, OMOF supports investing in emerging technologies such as micromobility—like scooters—and the promise of <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/23/21233085/v2x-vehicle-to-everything-fcc-safety-spectrum-airwaves-wifi" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">vehicle-to-everything, or V2X technology</a>, and autonomous vehicle fleets.</p><p>"The future of transit is distributed, on-demand, doorstep-to-destination convenience," he said.</p><p>Unlike a light rail system, which requires riders to come to it, these new technologies meet users where they are.</p><p>"Why would we go all in on a system that will be obsolete before it's complete?" Falk asked.</p><p><strong>The next step</strong></p><p>After more than <a href="https://communityimpact.com/northwest-austin/transportation/2018/10/26/what-is-project-connect/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">seven years of development</a>, Project Connect now faces voters, who will ultimately decide whether the plan becomes reality.</p><p>Despite the pandemic, turnout is <a href="https://austonia.com/city/5-lessons-learned-election" target="_self">projected to break records</a>, and Adler is hopeful that voters make it down to the proposition portion of their ballots.</p><p>"There's probably no perfect time to hold an election," he said.</p><p><br/></p><p><strong>More on Project Connect:</strong></p>
<h2><a href="https://austonia.com/underground-rail-tunnel-in-austin" target="_self">Dramatic downtown Austin drone flight reveals scope of Project Connect's massive underground rail tunnel</a></h2>
Project Connect massive underground rail tunnel
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1b92a6069738020cade05c1c163212cb"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OLZM_FXO8Bw?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>The downtown transit tunnel would separate the light rail lines proposed under Project Connect—Capital Metro's 20-year, $7.1 billion overhaul of the city's t...From Your Site Articles
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