Ranch Is a Haven for People with Intellectual Disabilities: A Photo Story

byShelby Knowles

At Down Home Ranch in Elgin, adults with intellectual disabilities help with everything from feeding the cows to collecting eggs from the hens and grooming the miniature horses.

City’s First Artist in Residence Has an Unusual Assignment

byAlvaro Céspedes

Rehab El Sadek will spend the next nine months finding ways to bring her creative vision to the Watershed Protection Department,

Pitched on Softball, Texas Freshman Leaves Baseball Career Behind

byVirginia Scherer

Jade Gortarez played baseball as a kid in California. When it was time for college, the University of Texas made her a softball star.

In Central Texas, Bats Rule the Roost as a Tourist Attraction

byAlexandra Paez

Ten things to know about the bat colonies that draw visitors to Austin, San Antonio and other locales.

Student, Parent, Teacher: She’s Seen All Sides of Gifted Education

byYi Li

Many parents of gifted children choose private schools that give kids more educational flexibility.

Hospice Austin Works to Break Down Barriers

byKaulie Lewis

At Hospice Austin, a disproportionate majority of clients across the organization are white, leaving minority communities underserved. A new outreach program seeks to fix that.

Despite Growing Numbers of Seniors, Geriatricians Remain a Rarity

byAlexandra Paez

The problem is simple: It requires more training, pays less than similar specialities such as family care.

Austin Police Officers Build Trust in a Time of Immigration Raids

byBetsy Joles

Arrests and the state’s new “sanctuary cities” law make life harder for everyone on the East Side, including law enforcement.

Church Finds New Path to Growth With a Mission of Diversity

byTaylor Jackson Buchanan

By building an ethnically diverse membership, Mosaic Church has quintupled the size of its congregation. “From the beginning, God has had a multi-ethnic church in mind,” Pastor Morgan Stephens said.

Female DJs Club Aims to Break Through Music’s Gender Wall

byMolly Smith

The women Chulita Vinyl Club share a passion for collecting records and an ambition to become DJs in a male-dominated field.

UT’s Teacher of the Aztec Language Looks Back on Two Years in Austin

byJesús Nazario

Nahuatl is still spoken by more than 1.5 million people in Mexico and has drawn attention from colleges in the U.S.

A World Record for Austin Spooners That Was Not to Be

byMegan Hix

UT students had the numbers, but they couldn’t comply with the strict standards of the Guinness Book.

Stars May Be Big and Bright in Texas, but None Is a Michelin

byHailey Becker

Reviewers for the French food guide sample the fare in just four American cities: New York, Chicago, the San Francisco Bay Area and Washington, D.C.

AmeriCorps Cuts Would Hurt Nonprofit for Low-Income Students

byLouise Rodriguez

Breakthrough works with students from middle school through college. It depends on AmeriCorps for employees.

Federal Budget Might Axe Loans Designed to Boost Small Business

byMolly Smith

Loans offered by community development financial institutions have been a longtime part of the economy, but President Trump’s 2018 budget proposal seeks to eliminate them.

Nearly 9 Years After Ike, Lawmakers Are Still Studying How to Protect Texas Coast

byBriana Zamora

There’s a consensus behind an $11 billion project for Galveston Bay, but funding remains elusive.

Lowriders Help an East Austin Neighborhood Protect a Park’s Personality

byYelitza Mandujano

City plans to build facilities for large events were shelved after residents said they wanted the park to remain user-friendly.

Austin Expands Efforts to Serve Non-English Speakers

byOmar Rodriguez Ortiz

Efforts will include translating essential documents into several languages and improving the translation feature of city websites.

Colleges Wrestle with How to Handle Hate Speech but Protect Free Speech

byDani Neuharth-Keusch

Universities grapple with how to preserve an environment conducive to learning and freedom of expression for all points of view.

At an Austin Elementary School, Refugees Represent 22 Nationalities

byKathryn Lundstrom

Wooldridge Elementary has developed expertise working with immigrant and refugee children.