Austin, TX

Thousands gather for annual Texas Rally for Life at Austin Capitol

Published

10 months ago

January 25, 2025

Thousands gather for annual Texas Rally for Life at Austin Capitol

Thousands descend on Texas capitol for pro-life march

Around 4,000 people marched down Congress Street Saturday to continue a push for even tougher abortion restrictions and to urge the funding of pro-life pregnancy centers.

AUSTIN, Texas – Roughly 4,000 people marched to the Austin Capitol Saturday carrying signs that read “Choose life” and “defund planned parenthood.”

It’s part of the annual Texas Rally for Life, which falls on the week of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion; however, that has since been overturned, and Texas now has a near-total abortion ban.

Thousands of pro-life supports march in Austin Saturday.

Local perspective:

After marching around the capitol, people dropped off baby supplies for pregnancy centers. Organizers estimate that more than 40,000 diapers and 13,000 wipes were donated.

With a near-total abortion ban in Texas and Republicans making up a majority in the Texas and U.S. House and Senate, this year’s march feels more like a victory lap for participants. They’d like to build on that.

What they’re saying:

“I hope today sends a message that we in Texas are pro-life,” said Amy O’Donnell, the communications director for Texas Alliance for Life.

“It communicates to the public, to Texans, that this issue is important and we’re speaking for the unborn,” said Kate McDonald, who was with the Leander Area Republican Women. “Those that can’t speak for themselves. It’s an important issue that we need to continue to fight for.”

They discussed funding for pro-life pregnancy centers and the Texas abortion law itself.

“We are always one election away from losing our gains, and the reality is that our work is far from over,” said O’Donnell.

Just this week, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick called on legislators to further define Texas’ law on how ill or at risk a pregnant person has to be to receive an abortion.

“We’re also working to make sure that doctors are clear of our law,” said O’Donnell. “We hear a lot of misinformation that our laws don’t save women’s lives.”

Thousands of pro-life supports march in Austin Saturday.

The other side:

Democrats have asked for clarity on this too.

“So we can ensure that those who have pregnancy complications will be able to get the health care that they need to have,” said State Representative Donna Howard (D-Austin).

While there was no counterprotest at the capitol, the ACLU of Texas said it’s still fighting back.

“At the ACLU of Texas we are committed to fighting for reproductive justice in Texas,” said Blair Wallace, the policy and advocacy strategist for the ACLU of Texas

Wallace said a top priority right now is training people through the Texas Abortion Advocacy Network to learn how to fight for pro-choice despite the state’s ban.

“We’re building a powerful movement of advocates and working to push back, you know, against things like criminalization and expanding access to care because we know that the Texas we know can exist and will exist, it just really takes all of us coming together,” said Wallace.

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Austin, TX

‘Horizon’ Supercomputer Will Make Austin the Center of U.S. Research Power

Published

26 minutes ago

November 19, 2025

Press Room

‘Horizon’ Supercomputer Will Make Austin the Center of U.S. Research Power

AUSTIN, Texas — The next wave of scientific discovery is being built right here in Central Texas.

The Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) at The University of Texas at Austin is teaming up with Dell Technologies and NVIDIA to launch Horizon, which will become the largest academic supercomputer in the United States when it goes online in 2026.

Designed to be a major engine for open science, Horizon will help researchers tackle some of the toughest problems of our time—from extreme weather forecasting to medical breakthroughs to national security.

A Texas-sized leap in computing power

Horizon will deliver 300 petaflops of performance—making it ten times faster than TACC’s current supercomputer, Frontera. For researchers, that means bigger projects, faster insights, and entirely new possibilities.

“It’s really exciting for Austin and for the University of Texas,” said Dan Stanzione, Associate Vice President for Research at UT and Executive Director of TACC. “We’ll have the largest academic computing resource in the country. Researchers will have unparalleled access to computing anywhere in the world.”

A supercomputer built in Central Texas

Horizon isn’t just located in Austin—it’s being built here, too.

Dell is designing the integrated racks.

Final assembly is happening in Georgetown.

The system will be housed in a Round Rock data center.

NVIDIA chips and VAST storage—both companies with Austin teams—power the hardware.

“Everyone involved has an Austin tie,” Stanzione said. “Finally deploying one of these major systems in the Austin area is pretty exciting.”

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What Horizon will do

In its first year, TACC expects hundreds of research projects to run on Horizon. Some of the earliest will focus on Texas-specific challenges, such as:

More accurate hurricane and storm surge forecasts

Disaster resilience modeling for the Gulf Coast

Healthcare and drug discovery

New materials and battery development

Horizon will also become the AI hub for UT Austin, enabling breakthroughs in machine learning and large-scale data analysis.

Keeping a giant cool

Running a supercomputer this large takes serious engineering. Each cabinet draws around 225,000 watts, requiring advanced cooling solutions.

Propylene glycol will flow directly across the chips, while chilled water circulates through rear-door radiators. In total, the system will move about 400,000 gallons of water per hour to keep everything stable.

What Dell says

For Dell Technologies, Horizon is a major step forward for the region and the research community.

“Horizon delivers over 300 petaflops of performance—ten to twelve times faster than Frontera,” said Seamus Jones, Director of Server Engineering. “It will help researchers break boundaries and drive advancements in technologies we haven’t even imagined yet.”

A new era for Texas innovation

With Horizon, Austin is poised to become the nation’s center for high-performance academic computing. The supercomputer will serve thousands of researchers across disciplines—and could reshape how science is done for years to come.

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Austin, TX

Volunteers build wheelchair ramp for resident, marking 40 years of Texas Ramp Project

Published

2 days ago

November 17, 2025

Press Room

Volunteers build wheelchair ramp for resident, marking 40 years of Texas Ramp Project

AUSTIN, Texas — Volunteers gathered in East Austin on Saturday to build a wheelchair ramp for a local resident, marking the Texas Ramp Project’s 40th anniversary of providing free mobility solutions to Texans in need.

Jimmy Garcia received the ramp at his home on East 22nd Street, where volunteers worked from morning through early afternoon to complete the installation. Before the ramp, he relied on his wife Jenny or their children to help him navigate the stairs.

“I feel grateful. I appreciate it,” Garcia said. “It’s a good program.”

Volunteers gathered in East Austin on Saturday to build a wheelchair ramp for a local resident, marking the Texas Ramp Project’s 40th anniversary of providing free mobility solutions to Texans in need. (Photo: Texas Ramp Project)

Jackie Gardener, the build team leader, said the organization has served more than 30,000 individuals across Texas since its founding in 1985. The nonprofit commemorated four decades of service by constructing one of 40 ramps planned across the state.

“It is such a special feeling of joy to be able to see a client take a look at their ramp and know that in less than a day, we’ve really changed somebody’s life,” Gardener said.

ALSO | Pflugerville fire crew aids statewide wildfire readiness as central Texas risks rise

More than 1.7 million Texans use wheelchairs or walkers, with nearly 23% of residents 65 or older living with mobility-limiting disabilities, according to the organization.

Jenny Garcia said the ramp would restore her husband’s independence after concerns about falls on the steps. “It’s going to be a big improvement with his walker to be able to come down by himself and have his independence back somewhat,” she said.

The organization depends entirely on its network of 3,500 volunteers. WellMed and the WellMed Charitable Foundation have contributed more than $100,000 and helped build over 100 ramps.

More information is available here.

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Austin, TX

High school volleyball: Three Austin area schools make state finals

Published

2 days ago

November 16, 2025

Press Room

High school volleyball: Three Austin area schools make state finals

UIL STATE VOLLEYBALL FINALS

When/where: Thursday-Saturday in Garland.

Thursday — Class A, Blum vs. Water Valley, 3 p.m.; Class 2A DI, Jewett Leon vs. Nocona, 5 p.m.; Class 2A DII, Iola vs. Crawford, 7 p.m. Friday — Class 3A DI, Goliad vs. Bushland, 11 a.m.; Class 3A DII, Clifton vs. Boyd, 1 p.m.; Class 4A DI, La Vernia vs. Decatur, 4 p.m.; Class 4A DII, Wimberley vs. Eagle Mountain, 6 p.m. Saturday — Class 5A DI, A&M Consolidated vs. Highland Park, 11 a.m.; Class 5A DII, Cedar Park vs. Argyle, 1 p.m.; Class 6A DI, Pearland Dawson vs. Northwest Nelson, 4 p.m.; Class 6A DII, Austin High vs. Southlake Carroll, 6 p.m.

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