Good Morning, Southwest Austin & Dripping Springs!
Top Story
Austin Museum Day highlights local resources across over 35 museums
The Austin Museum Partnership is celebrating the 28th annual Austin Museum Day where community members can celebrate art, heritage, music, nature, science and more at over 35 participating museums.
What to know: All day Sept. 21, museums across the city will open their doors and offer specialized activities and guided exhibit tours.
The special day represents a longstanding partnership between the city’s cultural centers, where the public can reignite their connection with the resources available to them at their local museums.
Get involved: Participating museums include:
Austin History Center
Austin Museum of Popular Culture
Bastrop County Historical Society Museum & Visitor Center
Travis County directs $34M in taxpayer funds for affordable child care
Less than a year after voters approved a countywide tax rate increase to expand affordable child care, Travis County officials have launched the first wave of investments under the Creating Access for Resilient Families, or CARES, initiative. Commissioners approved a $24 million contract with Workforce Solutions Capital Area, which will use existing programs to provide care for 1,000 children ages 0-3, and three interlocal agreements totaling $9.7 million with Austin ISD, Del Valle ISD and Manor ISD to expand pre-K and after-school programs.
The details: Austin ISD will extend Apple Blossom Centers’ half-day and after-school programs to 306 children; Del Valle ISD will serve 200 pre-K4 students; and Manor ISD will provide care for 1,593 children.
The initiatives are part of a broader plan to create nearly 9,800 child care opportunities countywide, including expanded nontraditional-hour programs and increased subsidy slots. County officials said more contracts are in the works, with an additional 1,700 slots expected in the coming months.
Austin airport CEO highlights $10B economic impact amid expansion plans
Austin airport CEO Ghizlane Badawi spoke at a Round Rock Chamber luncheon Aug. 28, outlining the multibillion-dollar expansion currently underway and the hefty economic benefit for the region.
The big picture: Badawi characterized the airport as the “economic engine for Central Texas,” noting that a 2018 Texas Department of Transportation study estimated Austin-Bergstrom International Airport’s economic impact at $7.6 billion—a figure now projected at approximately $10 billion, Badawi said.
What’s happening?: Presently, under the expansion initiative—Journey with AUS—there are six projects under construction and five in design.
Looking ahead: City of Austin officials gave the green light to new lease agreement with airlines during an Aug. 28 council meeting. This means airlines will commit to the expansion program and lease the over 20 new gates airport officials expect to open in the early 2030s, according to an ABIA news release.
International Balloon Museum brings interactive, inflatable art exhibit to Northwest Austin
International contemporary art company Balloon Museum opened a pop-up exhibition at the former Louis Shanks furniture store in June.
A closer look: The Let's Fly—art has no limits—exhibit features a variety of inflatable art pieces for patrons to interact with. The exhibit is inspired by concepts of freedom, flight and lightness, exploring air as a symbol of limitless travel and movement, according to Balloon Museum information.
The Austin museum will run until Nov. 2, according to the company's website.
The background: With more than 7 million visitors worldwide, Balloon Museum has opened pop-up exhibits across the globe, including in Rome, Paris, Madrid, London, Berlin and Singapore. Pop-up locations in the United States have included New York, Atlanta, Miami, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
