Austin, TX
APA! signs agreement to build on property, expand to others
APA! signs agreement to build on property
The City and Austin Pets Alive! have signed an agreement allowing APA! to rebuild on its current property and expand to other properties.
AUSTIN, Texas – The City and Austin Pets Alive! have signed an agreement allowing APA! to rebuild on its current property and expand to other properties.
“What we do is we serve to help the animals that fall through the cracks,” said Dr. Ellen Jefferson, president & CEO of the nonprofit organization.
But they are also dealing with cracks in the concrete.
“This place needs to come down,” said Dr. Jefferson.
Austin Pets Alive! has been at the 70-year-old Town Lake property since 2011, but before that, it served as the City’s animal shelter before the Austin Animal Center moved to the Levander Loop location.
In 2017, Austin City Council authorized the negotiation of a 25-year agreement with renewal options that would allow APA! to upgrade and build on the current property.
Fast-forward to August 24, and an agreement was signed.
“The reason it’s taken six years to get to the point where we’re actually signing the agreement is that the property has some really big obstacles associated with it. Right now, the current buildings are built under power lines and over water mains because the buildings are older than the City’s infrastructure,” said Dr. Jefferson. “The power lines are the biggest problem, and we just never were able to reach an agreement with the City of Austin on what to do with them. And our building is so old and falling down that we really needed to just move on.”
Through partnering with the Austin Animal Center, APA! has been able to help Austin maintain its title as the largest no-kill city in the country.
Last month alone, APA! took in 30 dogs from AAC as part of a pilot boarding agreement due to a distemper outbreak and overcrowding.
“We take in about 12% of their total population every year just naturally,” said Dr. Jefferson. “And then when there are big issues, we work together to try to find a solution.”
Going forward, APA! will demolish and rebuild on the current property while pursuing other properties.
“Austin Pets Alive! is looking at other locations for the bulk of our services, and then what we are really excited about being able to do here is to rebuild an adoption center and a foster service center and really make it very public friendly,” said Dr. Jefferson. “Since we know we can no longer keep doing everything that we do here, it’s really important that we are successful in being able to fundraise for multiple properties and for rebuilding here. It is a lot to juggle, and we’re really going to lean on the community for support.”
Dr. Jefferson said they are currently looking for private, individual donors who are interested in making large donations toward expansion efforts. Interested donors can reach out to APA!’s philanthropy department.
Austin, TX
Texas Supreme Court overturns ruling that state Attorney General Ken Paxton testify in lawsuit
(AP) – The Texas Supreme Court on Friday overturned a lower court ruling that state Attorney General Ken Paxton testify in a whistleblower lawsuit at the heart of impeachment charges brought against him in 2023.
The court on Friday said Paxton’s office does not dispute any issue in the lawsuit by four former Paxton employees and agreed to any judgment in the case.
“In a major win for the State of Texas, the state Supreme Court has sided with Attorney General Paxton against former OAG employees whose effort to prolong costly, politically-motivated litigation against the agency has wasted public resources for years,” a statement from Paxton’s office said.
An attorney for one of the plaintiffs declined immediate comment, and a second attorney did not immediately return a phone call for comment.
The former employees allege they were improperly fired or forced out for bringing to the FBI allegations that Paxton was misusing his office to protect a friend and campaign donor, who in turn, they said, was helping the attorney general to conceal an extramarital affair.
The Supreme Court ruling noted that the Texas governor and Legislature have expressed a desire to hear testimony from the witnesses prior to agreeing to appropriate funds to settle the lawsuit.
The court said forcing Paxton, First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster, Chief of Staff Lesley French Henneke and senior advisor Michelle Smith to testify earlier could improperly be used for legislative purposes in deciding any appropriation.
Under the preliminary deal, Paxton agreed to apologize to the former employees for calling them “rogue” employees, settle the case for $3.3 million and ask the state to pay for it, prompting the state House to reject the request and begin its own investigation, leading to the vote to impeach him.
Paxton was ultimately acquitted after a Senate trial.
The Supreme Court termed its ruling conditional upon the lower trial court complying with the decision, while saying it is “confident the trial court will comply” with the order.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
See how the Austin skyline changes annually from ACL Fest 2024
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A Texas city has been named among the top ten U.S. cities to live in over the next two years.
Ten Texas cities were included in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2025-2026 Best Places to Live list. For the annual rankings, U.S. News analyzed 150 major cities in the U.S. based on quality of life, job market, value of living and people’s desire to live in the area.
How did your city fare on the list? Here’s a breakdown of the data.
LIST: 10 best US cities to live
Texas’ capital secured a spot in the top 10 places to live, as determined by U.S. News.
- Naples, Florida
- Boise, Idaho
- Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Greenville, South Carolina
- Charlotte, North Carolina
- Raleigh, North Carolina
- Huntsville, Alabama
- Virginia Beach, Virginia
- Austin, Texas
- Boulder, Colorado
Austin offers healthy balance of work and pleasure, US News says
Austin had an overall score of 6.8 out of 10, compared to Naples’ score of 7.1. The Texas capital also scored 6.8 in the quality of life index, with a value index score of 6.3.
“With the slogan ‘Keep Austin Weird,’ this Texas city is laid-back to the point that if you’re dressing up, it must be a life event,” the U.S. News analysis says. “People here enjoy the outdoors, even more so with their dogs. Austin has a contagious vibrancy and enthusiasm.”
U.S. News notes Austin’s strongest assets are a mix of work and pleasure. The number of companies headquartered in Austin makes it attractive to working professionals, especially those in technology, government, education, and health care. But the capital is far from being “all work, no play.” Its claim as the live music capital of the world invites music lovers to take a listen, whether at the airport, along streets downtown, or at one of the approximate 200 venues throughout the area.
Austin also ranked no. 32 on U.S. News’ Best Places to Retire in 2025 list.
LIST: Best Texas cities to live
Here are the rankings and scores U.S. News gave for the ten Texas cities included in the list:
Ranking
City
Overall Score
Quality of Life
Value Index
#9
Austin
6.8
6.8
6.3
#48
McAllen
6.4
6.6
7.6
#62
El Paso
6.3
6.5
7.3
#77
Corpus Christi
6.2
5.8
7.0
#87
Brownsville
6.2
6.2
7.7
#89
San Antonio
6.1
6.1
6.8
#95
Dallas
6.1
6.4
5.6
#97
Houston
6.1
5.9
6.2
#99
Beaumont
6.1
5.5
7.3
#107
Killeen
6.0
5.9
7.3
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