Austin, TX

Austin breaks ground on first carless affordable housing project

Published

5 months ago

July 27, 2024

Austin breaks ground on first carless affordable housing project

AUSTIN, Texas — The city of Austin celebrated the groundbreaking of its first carless community Saturday morning, an affordable condominium in East Austin that will be powered completely by solar energy.

The Ivory condominiums will be named after Scottie Ivory, a longtime advocate for equal opportunity in East Austin. In an effort to be even more affordable and sustainable, this community won’t have parking lots or garages, but will instead eliminate the need for car payments and gas by providing residents with electric bikes instead.

Jame Houston Jr.’s family has lived in this East Austin home for three generations. He says it’s just not the same neighborhood anymore.

“The neighborhood changed. They did a lot of new remodels, you know, a lot of building new houses and stuff.” Houston said. “People just moved in, you know, it came from, you know, just different parts of the states and different parts of the world, and they’re just buying in.”

Gentrification has been a longstanding concern in East Austin.

“It’s hard for us to, you know, to try to keep, you know, making that payment,” Houston said.

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In fact, nearly everyone CBS Austin tried to speak to for this story was from out of town, staying in remodeled AirBNBs.

“They knew that one day this property would be the most valuable property in the city and let you pay rent for 27 years,” District One Austin city councilmember Natasha Harper-Madison said. “And didn’t fix nothing.”

But the Chestnut Neighborhood Revitalization Corporation is trying to fight back with the groundbreaking of The Ivory condominiums, a new affordable housing project on Chicon Street between 12th and 13th. 40 of its 53 units will be for low-income families.

“Austin right now, I and the city council, are dedicated to affordability first,” Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said. “Affordability first.”

Not only will the community be entirely solar-powered, but it will also be completely carless. Residents won’t need a vehicle but instead will be provided an electric bike. And there will be two communal electric vehicles for when public transportation won’t work.

“They get to go where they make their money, it’s easy for them to jump on the bus, walk, whatever…” Harper-Madison said.

Harper-Madison lives within walking distance of The Ivory and hopes this kind of community becomes a blueprint for the future.

“This is the kind of template for the rest of the city, rest of the nation,” Harper-Madison said. “These people don’t need parking, in which case, if they don’t need parking, it made it more affordable.”

And while James isn’t so sure about the carless situation, if it keeps people in East Austin, he’s in support of his new neighbors.

“If they’re building it and people can live, I think it’s a good arrangement. I think it would be a good place to live,” Houston said.

This project is possible because of the Affordability Housing Unlocked Ordinance Madison helped get passed in 2019, which modified certain development restrictions.

The Ivory’s website says tenants are expected to move in by the Summer of 2025.

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Austin, TX

Cedar Fever season underway in Central Texas

Published

7 hours ago

December 16, 2024

Press Room

Cedar Fever season underway in Central Texas

Cedar Fever season arrives in Central Texas

It is Cedar Fever season and many in Central Texas are starting to feel the symptoms.

AUSTIN – Cedar Fever season is in full swing across Central Texas and is expected to last through February.

Itchy eyes, runny nose, scratchy throat, symptoms are all too familiar for central Texans.

Dr. Ronald Cox of Greater Austin Allergy says it has noticed an uptick in patients coming in with those symptoms.

“Unfortunately, this is one of the most beautiful times in Central Texas. There’s beautiful weather outside and you can’t go outside because of the cedar,” said Dr. Cox.

Cedar allergies, otherwise known as “Cedar Fever”, are in full swing. It’s an allergic reaction to pollen from mountain cedar trees, also known as juniper trees.

“What’s unique about Cedar Fever is it actually feels like you do have a fever and wipes people out,” said Dr. Cox. “This one actually makes you feel bad.”

Dr. Cox says it’s unique to Texas because other areas don’t typically have an allergy season in the winter months.

“It’s not the cedar that’s in your backyard. The wind can carry pollens up to 300 miles. So, it’s what’s indigenous to your area and the Hill Country is just loaded with cedar,” said Dr. Cox.

While the season typically begins around Christmastime, Dr. Cox says this year it came at the start of December. He anticipates it will last until February.

According to FOX 7 Austin’s Pollen Sense Sensor, you can see a jump in the cedar level at the beginning of the month.

According to Dr. Cox, it’ll get worse before it gets better.

“Probably the latter part of December 1st and a couple of weeks of January should be a peak,” said Cox.

But there are things Texans can do to alleviate symptoms. Dr. Cox says it depends on what those look like.

“A lot of people will have itchy, runny, sneeze and if that’s your main complaint, the over-the-counter antihistamines work well for that,” Dr. Cox said.

Dr. Cox says if your main concern is itchy or watery eyes, he recommends over-the-counter eye drops.

To avoid allergy symptoms, he also recommends keeping your windows closed.

You can also track the pollen outlook for your week.

You can find more information here.

AustinWeather

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Austin, TX

Clemson vs. Texas in CFP bracket: Kickoff time, date for away playoff game

Published

15 hours ago

December 16, 2024

Press Room

Clemson vs. Texas in CFP bracket: Kickoff time, date for away playoff game

CLEMSON — No. 12 seed Clemson football will face No. 5 seed Texas in the first round of the CFP.

The Tigers (10-3) will travel to Austin, Texas, to face the Longhorns (11-2) on Saturday (4 p.m. ET, TNT) at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium. This will be the first matchup ever between Clemson and Texas.

The winner advances to play No. 4 seed Arizona State, the Big 12 champion, in the Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Jan. 1 (1 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Here’s what time Clemson vs. Texas will start and what day it will happen:

Clemson vs. Texas in CFP game date

Clemson will face Texas on Dec. 21.

What time Clemson plays Texas in CFP

Clemson vs. Texas starts at 4 p.m. ET and will air on TNT. Streaming options for the game include FUBO, which offers a free trial to new subscribers.

Where is Clemson vs. Texas

Texas will host Clemson in Austin, Texas, at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium.

Clemson vs. Texas predictions

Texas has been one of the best teams in the country despite losing in the SEC championship. Its only two losses are to Georgia, who also beat Clemson in Week 1. Backed by over 100,000 fans, the Longhorns will beat Clemson and advance to the second round of the CFP. Clemson is 0-2 against SEC teams this season too.

Clemson vs. Texas odds

Game lines and odds from BetMGM:

Spread: Clemson (+11.5)
Over/under: 51.5
Moneyline: Clemson (+325), Texas (-400)

Clemson vs. Texas tickets

Tickets are only available on the secondary market and start at $101 on StubHub.

To see a full list of ticket prices, visit StubHub.

CFP schedule

First round (campus site games)

Friday, Dec. 20, 2024:

No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Notre Dame (8 p.m. ET, ABC)

Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024:

No. 11 SMU at No. 6 Penn State (noon ET, TNT)

No. 12 Clemson at No. 5 Texas (4 p.m. ET, TNT)

No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State (8 p.m. ET, ABC)

Quarterfinals

Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024: Fiesta Bowl (State Farm Stadium — Glendale, Arizona)
Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025: Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (Mercedes-Benz Stadium — Atlanta), Rose Bowl Game (Rose Bowl — Pasadena, California) and Allstate Sugar Bowl (Caesars Superdome — New Orleans)

Semifinals

Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025: Capital One Orange Bowl (Hard Rock Stadium — Miami)
Friday, Jan. 10, 2025: Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (AT&T Stadium — Arlington, Texas)

National championship

Monday, Jan. 20, 2025: Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta)

What bowl games are in CFP?

The Fiesta Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl, Allstate Sugar Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl and Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic are the six bowl games featured in the CFP.

Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00

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Austin, TX

More drone sightings on the rise

Published

23 hours ago

December 16, 2024

Press Room

Police in Boston have arrested two men after drones were spotted flying “dangerously close” to Logan Airport last night. This comes amid growing concerns about a series of drone sightings that started in the Northeast and have expanded across the country. FOX’s CB Cotton is in New Jersey with the latest.

Posted December 15, 2024 9:32pm CST

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