Here are the top stories from the KUT Newsroom for the morning of August 20th. The Austin ISD school board will ask voters to approve new funding for the district. Austinites waste lots of food, and yet, we also have too many people who are food insecure. The Taylor ISD needs to build more schools or it will run out of room for students as the area continues its explosive growth. And it’s the first day of school in Austin! Please watch out while driving to and from work today.
How one Austin neighborhood paved the way for a culture of central air conditioning
Seventy years ago, 21 families took part in an experiment in Austin. They were testing something most of us would say we can’t live without today. KUT’s Audrey McGlinchy has this story.
Civics 101: What does Central Health do?
What do you think of when I say, “property taxes?” Maybe what you pay for Austin ISD pops up first. Maybe your city or county tax bill. But also on that list is a smaller portion for Central Health. As part of our “Civics 101” series here at KUT, which is bringing you stories about local institutions that keep everyday life running in Austin, KUT’s Olivia Aldridge tells us about Central Health, an organization that gets your tax dollars and might give you or your neighbor medical care.
Civics 101: What does a County Judge do?
There are a lot of moving parts and players in our local government systems. Sometimes it can be hard to know exactly what an elected officials job actually is. Take County Judge. As part of KUT’s Civics 101 coverage, we dive into that position with All Things Considered host Jerry Quijano and reporter Andrew Weber.
Civics 101: Taking the temperature of Texans
All this week the KUT News team is working on stories that explain how some of our local governments and systems work. We’re calling the series Civics 101. But for next story we’re going to move away from explaining how something works and focus on what people are thinking. KUT’s Jerry Quijano talked with Nathaniel Wright from the Texas Lyceum about the group’s annual poll that tries to gauge where Texans stand on a number of issues.
Civics 101: Austin Energy! The power company you partially own, even if you didn’t know it
This week, KUT is featuring stories on the local institutions that play a big role in day-to-day life in Austin. And it’s hard to think of one more important than Austin Energy. That’s the city’s electric utility. You might not think of it unless the power goes out, or you’re paying your bills. But, if you’re an Austin Energy customer, you have a voice in how the utility operates.
As part of our Civics 101 series…we now join KUT’s Mose Buchele for a party at a Moontower.
Civics 101: What’s a MUD?
How do you get water in your home? For many of you, it’s from Austin. The city owns and runs its own water system. But if you live outside the City limits, you’re probably getting it from what’s called a MUD.
All this week, the KUT newsroom is focusing our coverage on stories that help explain how some of our local government and other systems work for our Civics 101 series. This morning, KUT’s Kailey Hunt is talking about MUDs and why you should care about them.
Civics 101: What does a school board member do?
Even though school boards in Texas have been nonpartisan for more than a century, they have increasingly gotten swept up in political fights over things like library books and how race and gender are taught.
Grappling with those issues can totally be a part of the job, but it’s just one part. As part of our Civics 101 series that’s running all week on KUT and at KUT.org, Education reporter Becky Fogel takes a look at what school board members do through the lens of one Austin ISD trustee.Today
Civics 101: Who pays for highways?
Texas has a sprawling highway network with more than 200-thousand miles of lanes — almost the distance from Earth to the Moon. And those roads don’t come cheap. The Texas Department of Transportation outspends every other state, devoting about 18-billion dollars a year to highways.
Ever wonder who foots the bill?
All this week the KUT newsroom is focusing on stories that explain how parts of our local government work. To kick things off KUT’s Nathan Bernier takes a look at who pays for highways in Texas.
You can find all of our Civics 101 stories at KUT.org
Eclipse Week: For Austin-area porta potty purveyors, the total eclipse is big business
The eclipse is coming to Texas! And so are millions of people hoping to catch a glimpse. All this week, the KUT Newsroom will be reporting on this once-in-a-lifetime event and what it means for central Texas. You may have heard concerns about how hard it will be to find a place to stay…or how we might get stuck in traffic for hours. But when all those people flood local businesses, parks and outdoor spaces…they’re also gonna need a place to, you know, use the bathroom. KUT’s Olivia Aldridge reports from the eclipse sanitation beat.
Eclipse Week: Central Texas could make millions because of the eclipse. Will businesses be ready?
A total solar eclipse will cross North America on April 8th. Central Texas cities, including Austin, will be some of the best places to watch in the country. All this week, the KUT Newsroom will be reporting on this once- in- a-lifetime event in Morning Edition, All Things Considered and of course at KUT-dot-ORG. This morning, we’ll kick off our coverage by looking at how Central Texas businesses are bracing for a large influx of people. Larger cities are excited about the economic benefits… but smaller ones may not be able to handle the crowds.
KUT’s Maya Fawaz and Luz Moreno-Lozano having been checking in to see how central Texas cities are handling it. We’ll start with Maya out in Hays County.
Play Ball! Central Texans audition for a chance to sing the national anthem at a Round Rock Express game.
The start of the minor-league baseball season is an opportunity for young ballplayers to audition for a spot in the Major Leagues.
But, as KUT’s Jimmy Maas explains, for dozens of Central Texans, they just hope they’ll be picked for triple-A…to sing the national anthem at Round Rock Express home game.
Driven Out: Progress Coffee’s fresh start in Austin cut short by I-35 expansionDriven Out:
Imagine spending three years turning an old gas station into a cafe. And then right when you’re about to open, you realize the place will be torn down to make room for a highway.
That’s what’s happening to Progress Coffee on I-35 in Austin next to the upper decks. TxDOT has the green light to widen the highway, and more than a-hundred homes and businesses will be forced to move. We have an ongoing series about those displacements called Driven Out.
For this edition, KUT’s Nathan Bernier takes us to the locally owned coffee joint that’s had a long-brewing relationship with I-35.
An Austin-area school district is struggling to find teachers, so it’s going to train its own
It’s a familiar story across the country, fewer people want to be public school teachers. Teacher shortages escalated from crisis to catastrophe in the wake of the pandemic. But the number of people interested in the profession has been trending down for more than a decade. KUT’s Becky Fogel reports on one Central Texas district that’s trying to turn around that trend by creating its own pipeline of future teachers.
Austin area braces for eclipse traffic surge
Some Central Texas roads could be jam packed with eclipse watchers on April 8th. That’s the first time in over a century the moon will completely block the sun in Texas. As KUT’s Nathan Bernier reports, no one knows exactly how bad traffic will be. But in 2017, a total eclipse caused historic gridlock.
Texas screening rates for colon cancer are in the toilet. Dell Med experts want to change that.
Colorectal cancers are usually preventable with regular screening. But in Texas, screening rates are dismally low. As KUT’s Olivia Aldridge reports, researchers at UT’s Dell Medical School are trying to fix that.
Austin’s only snow this winter likely came from power plants
Well, Spring is almost here and we’ve had virtually no snow in Austin this winter. That is, unless you live in a narrow stretch of East Austin between Decker Lake and the Austin Airport. It did snow there, and pretty much only there, one Monday morning in mid January. This week, as the KUT Newsroom has been focusing on water issues in the area, KUT’s Mose Buchele brings this update on that highly localized snowfall, and it’s surprising likely source.
Why Austinites should embrace a ‘summer blonde’ lawn during a drought
A mild February, especially the last couple of weeks, may have you dreaming of Spring. But that means, if you have a yard, it’s time to start work on flower beds and other landscaping. But with increasingly unpredictable rainfall and extended droughts, you may be thinking about what to plant to survive our new weather reality. Over the last few days the KUT newsroom has been focusing on water and all it means to our area. Today a story from the Texas Standard’s Alexandra Hart about ways you can cut water use without simply letting your lawn die.
What is an aquifer?
Over the last few days, the KUT Newsroom has been focusing on water. We’ve talked about droughts, strained water infrastructure, and even our history of using water to generate electricity. Today…we’re going to explain one of the key components of our water system – the aquifer. You’ve probably heard the word used a lot…but may not know exactly what one is, or how it works. KUT’s Maya Fawaz explains:
Just six years from now, Georgetown may not have enough water for everyone
The city Georgetown is one of the fastest growing places in the country. That rapid growth has lead to lots of issues…specifically when trying to get city infrastructure like roads and utilities to keep up with increased demand. That includes water! The KUT newsroom is spending a few days focusing specifically on water and all it means for our area. So KUT’s Williamson County reporter Kailey Hunt decided to check out what’s going on with Georgetown’s stressed water infrastructure.