Cruising Through the City: Despite Cruise pausing service of its autonomous vehicles, Austin’s Downtown Commission has concerns about the growing presence of autonomous cars and the city’s inability to regulate them due to a 2017 state law that limits cities in regulating AVs. The commission says they would like to have access to shared data from all operating AVs to monitor their dangerousness.
Break-Ins Peaking at Hiking Spots: Our greenbelts have grown in popularity for hikers, tourists, and car thieves. The Parks and Recreation Department is battling to address the recent rise in car break-ins. So the city put up signs installed cameras at Mount Bonnell and nine other parks to see if break-ins decreased. The results have been mixed and adjustments are being made. For now, the police department’s advice is to bring any property out of the car and take it with you while you hike.
Musk’s Antisemitic Shitstorm: If Elon Musk isn’t losing his mind, he’s definitely lost advertisers for X, formerly Twitter. First, he echoed the white supremacist talking points of an X user. Then Media Matters for America published a story charging that X has been placing ads for major brands next to content that “touts Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party.” Now, Musk is suing MMFA. Read more online.
House Museum Gets Big Bucks: The historic Flower Hill house can’t accommodate more than a couple visitors at a time due to its general ricketiness, but a new grant from the Texas Historical Commission will help restore it to operate as the house museum of its former residents’ dreams. Read more online.
Erwin Center Demolished: Crews began demolishing the Frank Erwin Center Tuesday, named for a former chairman of the UT Systems board of regents. The $25 million demolition clears space for the new University of Texas Medical Center, which will include a new UT specialty care hospital and an MD Anderson Cancer Center, the Statesman reported. The nearly 50-year-old building was the venue of many concerts and UT men’s and women’s basketball games.
Youth on the Move: In case it wasn’t obvious enough from walking around Austin, a study from financial tech company SmartAsset released this week shows Austin is one of the most popular places for millennials to move. They ranked Austin No. 9 behind places like Denver and Seattle. The real question is where are Zoomers moving? Today’s Homeowner released a similar study this spring ranking Austin as the No. 5 most popular place for members of Gen Z to move.
Can’t Cantaloupe for a Bit: A salmonella outbreak in cantaloupes has plagued several states, including Texas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Don’t trust the melons!
SCOTX Takes on Abortion: This week, the Supreme Court of Texas considered an abortion lawsuit that seeks to make it easier for women to get abortions in medically dangerous situations. The law already contains language to that effect, but its application is unclear. Justices were skeptical, with one asking whether clarification would open up abortions due to issues such as high blood pressure. Read more online.
Quote of the Week
“The return to the heyday where everybody was in the office four or five days a week, that’s just not happening ever again.”
– Steven Pedigo, director of the University of Texas at Austin’s LBJ Urban Lab, discussing vacant office space
This article appears in December 1 • 2023.