Category Archives: Regional

Location, Location, Location

This year marks my tenth year living in Austin. I’m from upstate New York, a fairly agricultural area with small cities, towns, and farms dotting the lush green land. Unfortunately, it is also a location of economic depression as businesses move south. I left my hometown seeking a better economy, more sunshine, no snow, and greater educational opportunities. My search was rewarded here. I do miss the northeast sometimes, especially during the change of seasons. I also would prefer living in a smaller city with less aggressive traffic. On the whole, however, Austin is the best place for me at this point of my life.

A study has been released by Bert Sperling ranking the most and least stressful cities in America. Some interesting highlights from the study (paraphrased from the Sperling’s BestPlaces report):

Most of the top-ten stress cities deal with high unemployment rates. This creates a ripple effect of reduced tax revenues, which in turn contributes to a situation in which crime rates increase while social services decrease.

Las Vegas: a strong economy, but at what cost? It has the highest suicide rate and the highest percentage of divorced residents.

Miami, despite its #2 ranking as a high stress city, seems to report the lowest rate of poor mental health.

Low stress cities are often centers of government or have a local university, which can provide stability during economic fluctuations.

Honolulu residents seem to get better rest and reported the fewest days of depression, anxiety, or tension.

A strong positive correlation exists between the rates of suicide and divorce. Cities with a high rate of one have a high rate of the other.

Top Five Most Stressful Cities

  • Tacoma, WA
  • Miami, FL
  • New Orleans
  • Las Vegas, NV
  • New York, NY

Top Five Least Stressful Cities

  • Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY
  • Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle, PA
  • Orange County, CA
  • Nassau-Suffolk, NY
  • Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN

And Austin? We rank about midway at number 60.

To explore the study in greater detail, visit here. You may also want to peruse the book, Cities Ranked and Rated: More than 400 Metropolitan Areas Evaluated in the U.S. and Canada, which is due for release in March.

What is Taizé?

Someone recently asked me if I knew what a Taizé service is. I didn’t, so I thought I’d see what I could find. At FaithLinks, there is a brief description of it. The roots of this tradition are in France, where it was established during the second World War. It’s an ecumenical Christian prayer tradition that focuses on meditation, much like Centering Prayer.

More information can be found at the Taizé site in France. Music for a Taizé service can be found at GIA Publications. For those living in Austin, you can learn about services by joining Taizé-Austin at Yahoo.

Deck the Halls

There are many upcoming events around Austin to enliven the advent of the holidays. Below are a few of them.

I heard there is a holiday art fair of sorts on South First street this weekend, starting on Thursday the 4th. At Jovita’s on Saturday around noon the South Austin Jug Band will perform. The South First street neighborhood sports a lot of funky, unique stores, cafes, and house decor. It’s an old neighborhood with lots of personality.

On Friday, December 12 at 7:30 p.m., the Austin Civic Orchestra will perform holiday favorites at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church at Steck and Mesa. The events have general seating; General Admission is $8.00; Senior/Student is $6.00; Children under 12, admission is $3.00. The orchestra is comprised of volunteers and does not play for profit. They are extremely good as well!

Then on Monday, December 22 at 12:00 noon, there will be a TUBACHRISTMAS concert. The performance will take place at the Texas State Capitol on the South Steps. Registration and rehearsal will be at 9:30 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church – Family Life Center, 13th & Lavaca. Parking is on the street (do not park in the church lot). For more information contact the coordinator, Steve Bryant, at 512-471-0835.

Austin Television Premiere

Cicadas, a homegrown Austin feature film written and directed by Kat Candler, will air on cable channel 15 (Austin Music Network) on Thursday, November 13 at 11:00 p.m., and Saturday, November 15 at 10:00 p.m.

The 92-minute movie follows four teenagers as they cope with the savageries of school, quest to find/create their identity, and yearn for relationship in a confusing and frightening world. More information can be found at the website.

(Information via Tiffany)

The Cost of Divorce

With the fact of life that divorce will continue, something constructive for the community good can result.

$15 divorce filing fee added in Williamson County

A $15 Family Protection Fee was added to the cost of a divorce in Williamson County.

County commissioners added the fee to help fight domestic violence and said it will generate about $22,000 each year.

“It allows the commissioners court to assess an additional $15 filing fee for divorces and to put that in a special account called a Family Protection Account. And then distribute those funds to nonprofits in their county that serve victims of family violence and sexual assault,” Theresa Leftwich of the Williamson County Crisis Center said.

Travis County has not implemented this yet. However last year there were 8,495 divorces in the county. This would have generated $127,000 in funds to support community agencies providing family services. I think this would be a reasonable step to take.

Thank You

To the person who found my leather day planner at Barnes & Noble in the Arboretum, I thank you for turning it into the lost and found.

Thank you for respecting my property and privacy. Thank you for doing the right thing rather than keeping it for your use. Thank you for contributing positive energy to the universe. Your kindness saved me time, labor, and many headaches.

May your thoughtfulness be returned many times over.

Oh So Pleased

I want to celebrate a recent accomplishment that I had a hand in creating. I am a Friend of the Wells Branch Community Library, a community resource that is growing. (They have no residency requirement, which means anyone not living within the city limits of Austin can get a free card.) They’ll be moving into their new facility soon.

The library has built an alliance with the Barnes and Noble at La Frontera Shopping Center (Round Rock); last Saturday from noon to 6:00 p.m., volunteers handed out vouchers to shoppers. The customers then handed vouchers to the cashier, and 20% of the purchases was donated by the bookstore to the library. I worked for the last hour. We were instructed not to solicit, so we had to be subtle in our approach. All told, we handed out 100 vouchers, and our profit from the book sale is $1190.

I’m quite satisfied with this outcome! If you want to help the library serve others, you can become a friend very easily. I know I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: support your local public library. Access to publications is a fundamental expression of our first amendment right.

Words to Ponder #34

My diaries were written primarily, I think, not to preserve the experience but to savor it, to make it even more real, more visible and palpable, than in actual life. For in our family an experience was not finished, not truly experienced, unless written down or shared with another.
–Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Bring Me a Unicorn (1971)

This quote is in honor of Web Writers Weekend Journal Conference in Austin, which begins this afternoon. I’m looking forward to getting to know the many people whose online journals and weblogs that I read. The Internet community of writers is a fascinating one. Relationships span continents. We share opinions, debate, and entertain readers with ordinary life stories told well. We come to know aspects of many writers more deeply than their “real life” folks might. We become attached. We extend. We visit each other. We send gifts and snail mail. The Internet is invaluable to writers — it provides an opportunity for expressiveness and community that is most suitable to the introspective and sometimes solitary person.

The Commute: Living in a Metal Box

Austin is growing up (or out, depending on perspective). As written in the Austin American Statesman:

…the “travel time index,” indicates what percentage of extra time travel takes in each city during peak travel times… In Austin, the travel time index in 2001 was 1.31, meaning peak trips take 31 percent longer than free-flow trips. That was up from 1.27 in 2000. In 1990, before the boom, that number was 1.12. That equates, the authors say, to 30 hours of delay per person per year. That’s about five minutes a day. The numbers for other Texas cities: Dallas-Fort Worth, 1.33 and 36 hours; Houston, 1.39 and 37 hours; San Antonio, 1.21 (down from 1.23 in 2000) and 18 hours.

So we’re playing with the big kids now. Although at least we aren’t on par with Los Angeles — it has a time travel index of 1.83, up from 1.80 in 1990.

When there’s congestion, road rage is not far behind. How can you reduce stress while commuting? How do you avoid road rage incidents?
Continue reading →

Austin Blogger Meetup

Next week’s Meetup, as I recall, is going to be at Mozart’s. At the last meeting, we identified locations for the next four months, and I wrote them down someplace. As soon as I find the list, I’ll post them too. The reason we’re breaking from the official Meetup locations is that they are often unsuitable for our size group (too small) or simply unconducive to conversation (competing with two musical acts at one location confirmed that).

For those unfamiliar with what I’m talking about, check out Meetup: Organizing local interest groups.

[Update: Found the list! Starting with next month: October, Opal Divine’s on 6th St.; November, Flightpath Coffeehouse; and December, Texspresso on Anderson Lane.]

The Lifeblood of Democracy

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed people can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.
-Margaret Mead

The Wells Branch Community Library is about to move into a gorgeous new building, and the Friends of the Library invite you to celebrate this achievement. There will be a Gala on October 16 featuring an international theme, and tickets are only $20.

What is so compelling about this library? Well, it’s the result of a grass-roots effort by dedicated reader-citizens, and their mission is to make information available to everyone and to promote reading. They serve everyone in the greater Austin-Round Rock area, regardless of whether a patron pays city taxes. (The Austin and Round Rock libraries charge annual fees for those outside the city limits.) However, as a growing community resource, many items are still needed: shelving for books, patron area furnishings, computers, software, office furniture, books, tapes, and CDs. They also have a serious need of volunteer help for the move and in the new building, since it will be 14,000 square feet larger than where they are currently (2,000 square feet).

You can become a Friend of the Library as individual for as little as $20, or as a family for $40; a junior membership is available for $12 to those through age 16.

We are also seeking business sponsors. Depending on the level of your contribution, you will receive various benefits to help promote your business. Besides, by investing in the community, you’re doing a good deed that will have an impact for years to come.

If you’re an Austinite, please consider giving your support to this endeavor. If you’re not an Austinite, you are welcome to join — or perhaps this has inspired you to support your local public library.

The will of the people is the only legitimate foundation of any government, and to protect its free expression should be our first object.
-Thomas Jefferson