Central Texas residents can support their favorite local nonprofits on Giving Tuesday on Dec. 2.

How it works: Giving Tuesday is celebrated on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and is focused on showing radical generosity. People are encouraged to engage with, volunteer or donate to a local cause they care about. 

Get involved: For the ninth consecutive year, I Live Here I Give Here will accept donations on Giving Tuesday for various nonprofits in the Central Texas area through its Amplify ATX website. The online platform allows Central Texans to explore giving opportunities, learn about their impact and donate to organizations where they live.

Funds may be directed to a specific nonprofit or donated to the Amplify Fund, which helps support all participating nonprofits in Austin and Central Texas, according to I Live Here I Give Here.

The background: Giving Tuesday was started by a New York-area nonprofit in 2012 and has since spread to over 150 countries, with 34 million people participating globally last year.

Austin leaders voted to extend a housing financing tool into several neighborhoods home to higher shares of lower-income residents, with the aim of bringing more affordable homes and apartments to those areas.

Under state law, cities can designate Homestead Preservation Districts, or HPDs, in targeted areas with higher rates of poverty and lower median incomes. After a district is established, financing tools like tax increment financing or land banking can be used to support local affordable housing development.

After recent City Council action, officials voted this fall to double the share of tax revenue set aside under Austin's original HPD on the east side, which supported several housing complexes. They also designated three new districts in North Central and Southeast Austin as well as in the West Campus area for future low-income housing. Financing tools in those neighborhoods could be set up next year.

Earlier this year Austin Public Library announced its plan to close the Recycled Reads location as a result of some cuts in the 2025-2026 city budget proposal.

The library has released the timeline for the used bookstore’s closure and other important dates to note amid the transition.

What they’re saying: The library has already begun moving operations from the used bookstore to library branches. In October, the system relocated one of its four Passport Services Offices from Recycled Reads to the Yarborough Branch Library. 

In a news release, the library announced the Recycled Reads location at 5335 Burnet Road will officially close in January. Community members will be able to visit the location until Jan. 17.

Some context: Austin Public Library was established in 2009 as a means to support the city’s Zero Waste Plan. Materials in sellable condition were sent to the used bookstore location to keep them out of landfills and give the public an opportunity to purchase them.

• 5335 Burnet Road, Austin

Downtown hotel Hyatt Regency Austin marked the completion of a property-wide renovation in November.

The details: The property renovation impacted the hotel’s 448 guestrooms and suites and introduced three new dining concepts:

• Ripple & Roots, a Tex-Mex restaurant led by Chef de Cuisine Perla Alvarado in partnership with Executive Chef Kevin Patton, that offers an indoor-outdoor bar, a patio on Lady Bird Lake and service at the remodeled pool and cabanas
• Cypress Grove, a restaurant and dining space specializing in breakfast and supporting private catering functions for lunch and dinner
• Juniper Breeze Market, a grab-and-go market cafe

• A refresh of the lobby
• Redesigned guestrooms and the addition of two new guestrooms, including the Lake View Residence suite
• Upgraded meeting and event spaces