The motto of the University of Texas is Disciplina praesidium civitatis according to the official seal, but you hear more about the school’s buzzy modern slogan, which would look so much better on the side of a blimp — “What Starts Here Changes the World.” We mean no disrespect to the rest of the world, but from our…
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Commentary, analysis, and quick thoughts on almost everything in town.
Demolition Pending for Northwest Austin’s Former Luby’s Cafeteria
Look, I’m not gonna pretend like I didn’t spend a lot of time in the Luby’s cafeteria at Steck Avenue and MoPac growing up in the 1990s. Everyone with living grandparents was in that carpeted dining room at least once a month, going to town on squares of fried fish and trying to ignore the…
Downtown Austin’s Parking Podium Problem Could Soon Be History
A number of amendments to Austin’s creaky ol’ Land Development Code passed by City Council at its meeting yesterday could pave the way for more housing along the pending Project Connect rail line, and that’s obviously great news. The resolution does a lot of things at once, including unlocking 120 feet or more of mixed-use development within a…
Huh, Turns Out Removing a Lane on Barton Springs Didn’t Destroy Austin
Have you driven on Barton Springs Road in the last six months since the city kicked off its yearlong road safety pilot project? We sure have, and the grand conclusion for drivers seems to be precisely the outcome predicted by the traffic engineers at the Transportation and Public Works Department — for cars, things are about the same, without the…
In South Austin, Industrial Boulevard is St. Elmo’s Next Big Deal
A number of rezoning cases on the agenda for Austin City Council’s February 1 meeting later this week point to big change on the map for the St. Elmo neighborhood of South Austin. But what’s interesting about the projects seeking these rezonings is that none are planned for the neighborhood’s main thoroughfare along St. Elmo Road, but instead a few…
Take a Closer Look at the Texas Capitol Complex Project’s Next Phase
You may have noticed there’s a couple of big holes in the ground over at the corner of 15th and Lavaca Streets in downtown Austin. They aren’t just digging those for fun, believe it or not! No, that’s the second phase of the Capitol Complex project, an effort by the Texas Facilities Commission to modernize the area directly…