Page Two

This issue is our last of 2001, the legitimate first year of the new millennium, and about a quarter of the way through our 21st year. Certainly this year, marking the beginning of the next 100 years, announced itself with an outrageous historicity that is the more perverse for being essentially coincidental. In not quite the same way, our 21st year was impacted by the worsening economy. Live music, restaurants, and small retail have been hit hard. The consequences are felt throughout the many communities that make up our greater community. There is this idea of Austin around which a real city of steel and glass, vehicles, and people almost uncomfortably rests. Battered and busted, it has still survived the decades, the last boom both very kind and equally unkind. There was more money and prosperity than ever, which benefited the broad range of art groups and nonprofits, but the physical reality of Austin was more profoundly changed than ever. It is no longer a big town just a short drive from the undeveloped Hill Country.

The city had a wild year. Just as it was bursting at the seams to become too big a city, the gas deflated. The dot-com implosion ripple effect really hit the hardware side of the business; the ripple effect of that is still to be determined. The atmosphere has changed (though it doesn't feel as though the traffic has). How the next year is going to go is anybody's guess. How deep down and exactly what Austin's core economy is should be the theme for the voyage of social discovery over the next couple of years.

Politically, it was a lot more than Kirk Watson leaving the mayor's office and Gus Garcia taking the helm. It is the change from a rich council dealing with the issues of growth to a much poorer council focusing on deteriorating social services. This, in itself, is probably not a bad thing.

Statewide ... Statewide ... Statewide: Just read Michael King's column ("Capitol Chronicle") regularly. I don't want to be any more depressing than I've already been.

For us here at the Chronicle, it has also been an interesting year. It seems like a lot longer than 91é2 months ago that the last SXSW was held, and that it should be a lot more than 21é2 months to the next one. Our plate has been full: all the usual special issues and week-to-week work, accented by our 20th Anniversary, the special issue, many events, and an issue-wide redesign. The staff consensus seems to be that, although still needing some fine tuning, this new design works.

So, mostly depressing words for this festive holiday season. It would be foolish to pretend times aren't tense, but there is a core vitality to Austin that always seems to not just survive but thrive during adversity. All things considered, people seem remarkably upbeat as they face a clearly uncertain future. We wish you a very happy New Year's Eve and look forward to spending next year with you. May you live in interesting times -- both a curse and a blessing.