It’s wild now to remember a time when Austin would empty at the end of the semester and turn sleepy over the summer. This city doesn’t slow down for anything these days, and you only have to flip through this issue for proof. We’ve got a preview for a major cultural fest (ATX TV Festival), a story about a rock god rolling through town to play a show and some sandlot baseball (that’d be Jack White), a trend piece about the proliferation of South Asian street food (see Clara Wang’s cover story), and Qmmunity Editor James Scott’s roundup of Pride Month events, including a burgeoning presence in outlying communities including Lockhart and Marble Falls.
We also have a news feature that has everything to do with our population boom. News Editor Mike Clark-Madison and staff writer Austin Sanders team up to touch base on Project Connect, the pricey but transformative expansion of Austin public transit. Mike tackles the personnel issue; both Cap Metro and the Austin Transit Partnership are operating under interim directors during what Mike described to me as “a sensitive part of the process.” (Project Connect is close to a third of the way through the design process; at that milestone, planners will work with the Federal Transit Administration to secure federal funding.) And Austin takes a closer look at some of the knottier design challenges, including the Downtown/South Congress Tunnel, the Blue Line Bridge, and campus-area construction that has put a demolition target on the back of greasy burger mecca Dirty Martin’s.
Austin told me that what struck him most over the course of his reporting was the sheer complexity of the undertaking. “Each component is its own puzzle, but one that must be solved in a way that works with the other dozens of puzzles that exist throughout the entire system.” A native Austinite, Austin says he’s pretty jazzed at the idea of a top-of-the-line transit system that meets the demands of our massive growth. “The example I point to is the Blue Line and how cool it will be to ride south on a light rail train, enter a subway Downtown, and then emerge on to a new signature crossing over Lady Bird Lake.” Sounds like a hell of a ride to me. Find that story here.
Online This Week
Day Trips & Beyond: Gerald McLeod rounds up summer travel opportunities and updates on art around the state, including upcoming Meow Wolf outposts in Texas and an ancient Roman bust found at an Austin Goodwill store, on display in San Antonio.
A Union Win: After a yearlong campaign, the United Workers of Integral Care succeeded in unionizing the largest mental health care provider in Travis County.
Funny That Way: Qmmunity Editor James Scott interviews pioneering comedian Julia Scotti ahead of her set in Austin following the screening of a new documentary about her.
Film Festivals on the Horizon: What to look forward to at Cine Las Americas and the Austin Asian American Film Festival.
This article appears in June 3 • 2022.
