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Laura Figi
Laura Figi is a news and lifestyle writer with a passion for representing all voices. She is a proud Texas State University alumna. Twitter: @figlet__
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(National Parks Service/CC)
As Austinites prepare to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2021, the holiday can be viewed with a new mindset than last year or maybe, ever before. After a year that tested people everywhere, now is as good a time as ever to reflect on the history of how we got here.
<p>Almost 58 years after Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous "I have a dream" speech at the March on Washington in 1963, America is still dealing with similar issues—even in our own backyard.</p><p>Alongside many other U.S. cities after George Floyd was killed by police in May 2020, Black Lives Matter protests erupted in Austin and continued, sporadically, for months.</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="7f8a16f38046f156b16b98293e3c8a15" id="7e346"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="4" style=" background:#FFF; border:0;
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</div></blockquote></div><p>And tensions from an election year meant unrest throughout the country. A contentious and nail-biting election, followed by a violent riot at the U.S. Capitol and another vote for impeachment of the president has left many nervous about the future.<br/></p><p>Not to mention, this all happened during a global pandemic.</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="dcee4ac5b1242236b6547befb3b57223" id="35168"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="4" style=" background:#FFF; border:0;
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</div></blockquote></div><p>Normally, there would be a parade in Austin to celebrate MLK day, but right now, things aren't normal. So this year—after a year that felt so dramatically different than those leading up to it—here are a few ways to celebrate Dr. King's legacy.<br/></p><p><strong>MLK Day Livestream and In-Car Rally</strong></p><p>Attend either in your car or in your home, this year's parade has been replaced by <a href="https://www.mlkcelebration.com/mlk-livestream-and-in-car-rally-austinmlkday/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a car rally</a> for the safety of the community. The rally begins at 10:30 a.m. and seeks to honor what Dr. King stood for: social justice and racial reconciliation.</p><p><strong>MLK Walk for Peace, Justice and Equality</strong></p><p>Stream the 32nd annual <a href="https://www.smithvilletx.org/eco-photo-fest-2020-copy/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">MLK Walk for Peace, Justice and Equality</a>, which will not meet in person this year, put on by the city of Smithville. The program is shared between Smithville, Bastrop and Elgin to celebrate Dr. King's life and work.</p><p><strong>MLK Day Artist Appreciation Broadcast</strong></p>The Vortex, 2307 Manor Road, will hold <a href="http://vortexrep.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">an appreciation broadcast</a> in celebration of Dr. King and BIPOC artists in the community instead of its usual open mic in honor of MLK Day. The broadcast starts at 8 p.m with all proceeds <p>going to the artists involved.</p>
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(TechCrunch/CC)
COVID-19 is still raging on, reaching the Texas House earlier this week, but Austin's tech sector is booming.
Here are some of Austin's most breaking stories, broken down into bite-size pieces, so you can be informed quickly.
<p><strong>Austin Convention Center receives first patients:</strong> The Austin Convention Center's alternate care site opened its doors on Tuesday and received its first three patients on Thursday. Following the surge resulting from holiday gatherings, hospital admissions for the virus have been on a steady incline, which puts other emergency patients at risk. With up to 200 spare beds to relieve hospital ICUs, Austin Public Health hopes the site will help control the overwhelming surge.</p><p><strong>Bumble files to go public:</strong> Austin-based matchmaker app is ready to get <a href="https://www.statesman.com/story/business/2021/01/15/austins-bumble-files-paperwork-go-public/4175483001/?utm_source=SND&utm_medium=Twitter&utm_campaign=statesman" target="_blank">on the market</a>—the stock market, that is. Bumble filed its registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, estimating that the initial public offering could raise $100 million, and could hit the stock market as early as this year. Though it hasn't released the number of shares it plans to sell or the price range, keep an eye out for the ticker "BMBL" on the NASDAQ.</p><p><strong>Chencho Flores dies after COVID-19 complications: </strong>Lifelong Austinite and multi-talented musician Chencho Flores said a final goodbye to his home city on Jan. 10 after suffering <a href="https://www.austin360.com/story/entertainment/music/2021/01/14/chencho-flores-renowned-austin-conjunto-musician-dies-covid-19/4159208001/?utm_source=SND&utm_medium=Twitter&utm_campaign=austin360" target="_blank">COVID-19 complications</a>. The 91-year-old began playing music around the community in the 1940s, picking up guitar, accordion and eventually becoming known for his singing and MC abilities. He stayed active in the community with Conjunto Los Pinkys up until his death.</p><p><strong>COVID-19 in the House: </strong>State Rep. Joe Deshotel, D-Beaumont, tested positive for COVID-19 three days after the Texas lawmakers called this year into session, he <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2021/01/15/texas-house-member-coronavirus-quarantine/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">told the Texas Tribune</a>. Deshotel had received a test six days before he tested positive and said he had "no idea" how he contracted it, though he is now in quarantine. The news came the day after House members gathered for the start of 2021 session, which will not require members to get tested before they enter the chamber. Upon hearing the news, some House members, including Democrats Erin Zwiener and Michelle Beckley, said they would quarantine according to CDC guidelines.</p><p><strong>Digital Realty goes east: </strong>Joining an ever-growing list of companies making Austin home base, <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/digital-realty-announces-relocation-of-global-headquarters-to-austin-tx-301208446.html" target="_blank">Digital Realty announced Thursday</a> that it would be packing up and moving its HQ from San Francisco to Austin. Austin has become a choice destination for business owners with <a href="https://austonia.com/austin-oracle-hq?q=oracle" target="_self">Oracle</a> and <a href="https://austonia.com/tesla-gigfactory-site-plan?q=tesla" target="_self">Tesla</a> both announcing their move to the city last year. Digital Realty already has Texas roots: an office in downtown Dallas and more than 30 data centers around Texas. The company did not announce when they would make it to Texas but they maintain they will keep a strong presence in San Francisco.</p>
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(Laura Figi/Austonia)
Lotto fever is reaching a peak here in Texas and it's no surprise why—this drawing's players stand to win $550 million in Powerball and a stupefying $750 million in Mega Millions. Needless to say, many Austinites are trying their luck this time around.
<p>The next Mega Millions drawing will name winners tonight and the Powerball drawing is tomorrow. The odds of winning the jackpot are one in 302,575,350.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
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<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">(Texas Lottery)</small></p><p>Local gas station employees, all of whom asked to remain anonymous, said they see upwards of 100 ticket sales per day when lotto numbers reach this high. Just this morning, someone bought $300 worth of Mega Millions tickets at a 7-Eleven downtown.<br/></p><p>A gas station manager on South Lamar said people get excited to play the lottery, and even though he's fairly sure he isn't going to win, he always buys one ticket. Last week, he said he sold 100 tickets to the same person. One time, he even sold $500 worth of tickets to a single person.</p><p>At the Valero on 628 E. Oltorf St., managers said they see wins in the $150-$500 range pretty frequently and they've even seen a few customers win higher jackpots.</p><p>Despite saying she almost never played the lottery, one woman, who also asked to remain anonymous, bought a ticket each for Powerball and Mega Millions. Though she doesn't expect to win, she said she would be generous if she did.</p><p>"I would buy a house and give a ton of it to charity," she said. "I would give it to try and help animals, end factory farming and help the environment."</p><p>Though the chances are ultimately very slim, the last Mega Millions draw saw one $1 million winner and 10 $10,000 winners from Texas, while the last Powerball draw saw two $1 million winners and eight $50,000 winners from Texas. You can't win if you don't try!</p><p>You can check your results <a href="https://www.txlottery.org/export/sites/lottery/Games/index.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
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(Karendesuyo/CC)
After a truly impactful year on the aviation industry, Norwegian Air announced that due to COVID-19 and government advice discouraging travel, it would abandon its long haul flights to focus on its European audience for the time being.
That means Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is losing two European routes: a nonstop route to London and Austin's sole nonstop route to Paris.
<p>"The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected the entire aviation industry," Norwegian Air said in a <a href="https://media.uk.norwegian.com/pressreleases/norwegian-to-focus-on-a-strong-european-network-3064682" target="_blank">press release</a>. "Travel restrictions and changing government advice continue to negatively influence demand for long haul travel, and Norwegian's entire Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet has been grounded since March 2020. Future demand remains highly uncertain. Under these circumstances, a long haul operation is not viable for Norwegian and these operations will not continue."</p>
<p>Norwegian said that instead, it will continue to offer short haul service to its Nordic customers and to key destinations around Europe. The airline said it plans to reassess opportunities in the future, as the world starts to recover from COVID-19.</p>
<p>Norwegian announced in October 2019 that it would offer nonstop service from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport—the only airline at ABIA to do so. The flights were scheduled to take off in May 2020 and were unfortunately never able to get off the ground. </p><p>British Airways will still provide a nonstop route from Austin to London, though service is temporarily suspended.</p>
<p>Norwegian Air CEO Jacob Schram said he doesn't expect customer demand for long haul flights to recover in the near future.</p>
<p>"Our focus is to rebuild a strong, profitable Norwegian so that we can safeguard as many jobs as possible," Schram said. "It is with a heavy heart that we must accept that this will impact dedicated colleagues from across the company. I would like to thank each one of our affected colleagues for their tireless dedication and contribution to Norwegian over the years."</p>
<p>The airline said it will issue refunds to customers that have been affected by the announcement.</p>
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