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Hundreds of homes proposed on South Congress
A residential development proposal could transform a 2.84-acre section of South Congress Avenue, with 375 units planned near Live Oak Street.
Driving the news: The proposal by real estate development firm Intracorp would replace a senior living facility, two auto repair shops and surface parking on the east side of South Congress.
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson falters in power outage crisis
Photo Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios. Photo: Hutton Supanci/Getty Images
He campaigned as someone who could solve Austin's big problems, but weeks into his tenure as mayor, Kirk Watson finds himself on an abject apology tour.
The big picture: “The city has let its citizens down," Watson said at a news conference on Friday, as Austin Energy officials once more dodged questions about when power would be fully restored. "It’s unacceptable and I’m sorry."
How Axios Austin readers coped with power outages
Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
More than 250,000 Austin energy customers lost power during last week's ice storm — about half of all homes in the city — and 20,000 Austin Energy customers remain without power.
The big picture: We asked how you dealt with the blackouts, the second time in as many years that the city has faced widespread power outages.
Massive food spoilage casualty of Austin freeze
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
One of the casualties of last week's freeze: Perfectly good food.
Why it matters: That tragic moment of tossing fast-spoiling food from unlit fridges has played out countless times across Austin.
Lawrence Wright turns gaze on Austin in New Yorker piece
Writer Lawrenece Wright has written a new piece about how Austin is changing. Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images for The New Yorker
Lawrence Wright, the famed Austin-based chronicler of Scientology and al-Qaeda, among many other subjects, has a new piece in The New Yorker examining change in his hometown.
Driving the news: In "No City Limits," Wright has put together a kaleidoscopic portrait of Austin, a city he first moved to in 1980.
Insurance claims set to mount as Austin thaws
A fallen limb atop the back of a car in South Austin. Photo: Nicole Cobler/Axios
You parked your 2015 Toyota Corolla on your pretty Austin street innocently enough, but a pecan tree branch, heaving with ice, gave up the ghost due to the ice storm this week. Now your car looks like a John Chamberlain sculpture.
Driving the news: A lot of Austinites, despondent over roof or car damage from falling trees, are now looking for help.
Things to do in Austin this weekend, Feb. 3-5
Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios
This week sucked, but we hope things will start to feel back to normal by the time the weekend rolls around.
Here's what we're eyeing for low-key fun:
Thousands of Austin households still without power
Frozen power lines are seen toppled over on Wednesday in Austin. Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Even with temperatures rising, Austin Energy officials Thursday afternoon backtracked from their earlier prediction that power would be restored by Friday evening.
Why it matters: More than 121,000 households, or 22.38% of customers, remained without power as of 6am today.
- "At this time, we are unable to provide a restoration time," Austin Energy officials said in a tweet Thursday.
What happened: Utility officials blame frozen power lines and fallen tree limbs for the outages, which left more than 150,000 Austin Energy customers without power this week — and continue to leave Austin and Round Rock public schools shuttered.