From Lake to Tap: How Austin’s Water Becomes Safe to Drink

byVeronica Apodaca

The water that is used by the Ullrich Water Treatment Plant, one of three water-purification plants for Austin, begins its journey in Lake Austin, along with the multitude of debris that makes it undrinkable. 

With New Funding, Future Looks Bright for Austin’s Art in Public Places

byPamela Hall Vance  

The public art installation Tau Ceti is the tallest of the more than 325 art pieces in the archive of the City of Austin. Eight more public art projects soon will be added to the collection after the city announced $700,000 in additional funding.

How Austin’s LGBTQ Community Hopes to Recover from COVID’s Cultural Vacuum

byKrissi Reeves

As venues, bars and theaters shut their doors and cultural funding dried up because of COVID, many Austin LGBTQ arts organizers struggled to keep their heads above water and found it increasingly difficult to connect with their communities. 

The Naked History of Hippie Hollow

bySteven Morvant

In a city that prides itself on being weird, Hippie Hollow remains one of Austin’s most unique places. At this county park, stone steps wind their way down a rocky shore on Lake Travis. The Texas sun’s harsh rays are reflected off of the clear waters as the trees provide some shade to bathers. The […]

Austin Amps Up Communication to Answer Concerns About Feared Return of Deadly Winter Storm

byZach Dimmitt

No one could have seen it coming. In a state like Texas, bitter cold temperatures are common during the short winter months, but what happened on Valentine’s Day of 2021 was almost as likely as hell freezing over. The storm, that has come to be known as Winter Storm Uri, brought unprecedented low temperatures to […]

A Dozen Years On, Austin Organization Still Offering Stuffed Animals for Adoption 

byAlexa K. Haverlah 

Austin resident Wendy Mitchell has offered stuffed animals for adoption for a decade.

Central Texans Find Joy and Connection in Roller Skating 

byKrissi Reeves

While many roller rinks were shut down during COVID, Central Texans took to Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to find fellow roller skaters and public spaces to skate.

Social skate sessions now happen seven days a week at public spaces around the Austin area, including the Long Center, Palmer Auditorium, Alamo Pocket Park, Bartholomew Park and Rock Sports Arena. 

I-35 Expansion Plan Sparks Discussion Over Historical Barrier

byMinka Atkinson

Clearing neighborhoods and bulldozing businesses to expand an existing concrete barrier that has divided communities or digging deep into a reimagined urban core; these are the choices up for debate in the struggle to find a plan for modernizing I-35 through the center of Austin. Following a public comment period that ended Sept. 24, the […]

30 Years Later: Yogurt Shop Murders Still Haunt Austin

byAndrew Logan

The murdered girls’ families and those who worked decades trying to find and prosecute their killers say the 30th anniversary of their murders approaches with no sense of closure. The murders remain unsolved, and experts say that crimes lacking resolution can leave a psychological impact on an entire community.

West Campus Pie in the Sky: An Apartment High-Rise Nightmare

byKatie Berger

Dust coating floors and countertops. Missing living room furniture. Rats living in utility closets. Trash rooms piled high and overflowing into the hallway. Valuable packages sitting exposed in the lobby. These were among the conditions for residents at The Standard, the latest in a series of newly constructed high-rise apartment buildings in West Campus. The […]

ACL Music Fest Marks Return of Major In-Person Events in Austin

byTara Phipps

“A lesson we’ve all learned is that change is constant. I think we all learned that during the pandemic. It felt like it was never going to end, but it did. Here we are.”

Before QAnon, Satanic Panic Gripped Central Texas

byRamón Rodriguez

Thirty years ago, Oak Hill daycare owners Dan and Fran Keller were convicted and sentenced to 48 years in jail — a likely death sentence for Dan, 50 at the time, and Fran, then 42. Their supposed crime: sexually abusing children during satanic rituals. The Kellers were accused of forcing children to drink blood-laced Kool-Aid and to watch Dan and Fran dismember people with a chainsaw. Today, the claims are believed to have been false memories planted in children’s minds by the suggestive questioning of parents, law enforcement and therapists. But the damage was done.

Austin Sumo Wrestlers Prepare for National Competition

byRamón Rodriguez

Over the past 20 years, the male-dominated sport has found increasing popularity outside of Japan among wrestlers of different genders, weight classes and racial backgrounds. In 2022, the sumo World Games will be held in the U.S., in Birmingham, Ala — an opportunity to put American sumo on the map. 

Homeless People Face Waitlist for Services at Downtown Austin Community Court

byMizelle Mayo

About 200 unsheltered people are on a waiting list for the kind of intensive case management services at the Downtown Austin Community Court, which is temporarily located in the Terrazas Library at 1106 E. Cesar Chavez St. The court attempts to divert people charged with petty crime from the criminal justice system and to provide them with help getting their lives in order. 

The community court was established in 1999 and was the eighth community court in the U.S. and the first in Texas. Many of its clients are experiencing homelessness and tend to cycle through the criminal justice system. Initially, the court focused its efforts downtown, but it has since added East Austin and the West Campus area to its jurisdiction.

Austinites Engaging in the Profitable Fetish of Financial Domination

byRamón Rodriguez

In financial domination, a financial submissive, “finsub,” pays a financial dominant, “findom,” often without expecting anything in return, and often without meeting in person. In some findom arrangements, dominants hurl insults online at submissives. Submissives get aroused from the loss of control and surrendering of power, sex experts say.

Central Texas Food Bank A Godsend for Residents During Pandemic

byJillian Price

Food banks around Texas are seeing skyrocketing demand.

A year into COVID-19, UT’s non-white, low income students feel left behind

byAlyssa Weinstein and Alyssa Quiles

Yliana Roland, an 18-year-old student University of Texas at Austin student, was raised in Houston in a low-income community of color in which mental health was a taboo topic often swept under the rug. It wasn’t until she first arrived on campus during the pandemic this year that she was formally exposed to mental health […]

Cricket’s Popularity Reflects Central Texas’ Changing Demographic

bySumaiya Malik

Cricket, a team sport using a bat and hard ball, is thriving in Central Texas. Immigration from countries where cricket is popular, such as Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and South Africa, has fueled the rise of the sport. 

Six Square Aims to Provide Brighter Future For Austin’s Black Residents

byMadelyn Gee

Austin’s Black population is dwindling, and formerly Black neighborhoods are gentrifying rapidly. Some residents worry about losing connection to African-American history and culture. The organization Six Square aims to protect that connection. 

Advocates: Austin Must Shift to Financially Responsible, Long-Term Approach to Homelessness

byCaitlin Davis

At the corner of Goodness Way and Peaceful Path sits a garden, park and dozens of chickens within a permanent housing community for those experiencing chronic homelessness. The hills are covered in colorful tiny homes with decorative flags and lights hanging from welcoming entryways. Formerly homeless men and women gather around a singer playing the […]