Latest / Austin Signal / City Council approves financial agreement for Dog’s Head development

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City Council approves financial agreement for Dog’s Head development · Austin Signal

• 0:08
  More than 12,000 homes and
• 0:10
  apartments, along with millions of
• 0:11
  square feet in office, retail and
• 0:13
  industrial space, could all be
• 0:15
  coming to a large, undeveloped piece
• 0:17
  of land just north of the Austin
• 0:19
  Airport.
• 0:20
  We'll have the latest on the dog's
• 0:22
  head development.
• 0:23
  And rainbow crosswalks and Black
• 0:25
  Artists Matter slogans may have
• 0:27
  been erased from Austin roads,
• 0:29
  but what are community members
• 0:30
  thinking of doing to replace them?
• 0:32
  The Austin Signal
• 0:34
  is a production of KUT News,
• 0:36
  hosted by Ben Philpott.
• 0:39
  Plus, KUT News is launching a
• 0:41
  reporting project looking into data
• 0:42
  centers here in Central Texas.
• 0:44
  We'll get a preview of all that
• 0:45
  work. And it's Friday, so we'll
• 0:47
  check in with KUT Arts Desk editor
• 0:49
  Stephanie Frederico about what's
• 0:51
  going on over the weekend.
• 0:53
  That and more coming up next on
• 0:55
  Austin Signal.
• 1:07
  Hello everyone, this is Austin
• 1:09
  Signal. I'm Ben Philpott.
• 1:11
  It's Friday, July 24th.
• 1:13
  Thanks so much for tuning in.
• 1:15
  Last night, the Austin City Council
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  approved a financial plan for the
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  Dog's Head development.
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  The project promises thousands of
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  homes and apartments, millions of
• 1:23
  square feet in retail, business and
• 1:25
  industrial sites, and billions
• 1:27
  in tax revenue.
• 1:29
  That includes Amazon's robotics
• 1:30
  division as a major tenant.
• 1:32
  But the plan does come with concerns
• 1:34
  about how fast the city has moved to
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  approve the giant project.
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  KUT's Luz Moreno-Lazano reports the
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  decision came after hours of
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  pushback and little support from
• 1:43
  the community.
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  Not another nickel, not another
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  dime! Not another Nickel, not
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  a dime!
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  No more money for Amazon's crime!
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  No more Money for Amazon Crimes!
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  Community leaders and organizers
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  rallied in front of Austin City Hall
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  Thursday morning to speak out
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  against a proposed 2,600-acre
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  dog's head development.
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  City officials revealed this week
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  that Amazon's robotics division
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  would serve as a project's primary
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  tenant.
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  The property, which sits along the
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  Colorado River, would include more
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  than 6,000 single-family homes,
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  6,200 multi-family units,
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  and millions of square feet in
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  office, retail, industrial and
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  hospitality space.
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  Nearby residents have raised
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  concerns about the potential
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  environmental impacts.
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  Many have also criticized the city
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  for fast-tracking the deal.
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  Lee Edwards is president of the
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  Southeast Colorado River
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  Neighborhood Association.
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  Been a terrible process
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  and an even worse plan.
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  I'm left with more questions than
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  answers.
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  The rally marked the start of hours
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  of public testimony as the City
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  Council prepared to approve the
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  creation of a tax increment
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  reinvestment zone, or TURRS, for the
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  development.
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  That's a financing tool that allows
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  the city to direct a portion of
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  property tax dollars back into the
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  area to support infrastructure like
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  roads and utilities.
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  The city used a similar tool to
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  develop the Miller neighborhood,
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  which used to be an airport.
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  Some who spoke in favor of the
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  project highlighted the potential
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  opportunities for jobs, recreation,
• 3:09
  and affordable housing.
• 3:11
  Alexis Willis says the development
• 3:12
  is important for quote, keeping
• 3:14
  Austin open for business.
• 3:15
  I commend this council for
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  recognizing the opportunity to
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  negotiate meaningful public benefits
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  that simply wouldn't exist if this
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  property remained outside the city's
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  jurisdiction.
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  Councilmember Mike Siegel was
• 3:25
  critical of how the city arrived at
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  this vote. He says the project could
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  have included more public
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  engagement, better environmental
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  protections, and job opportunities.
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  I do want Austin to be open for
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  business.
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  I agree we can't send the message
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  that Austin is unready for growth,
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  that we're unready for innovation or
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  jobs or investment, but what
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  I think city management got wrong is
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  how we responded to this
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  opportunity.
• 3:47
  Councilmember Krista Lane didn't see
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  it that way.
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  From where I sit, this looks like
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  opportunity. This looks like jobs
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  that can help people
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  own their homes and
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  stay rooted in their community.
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  Approving the TURZ is just one part
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  of making the project a reality.
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  The council is not expected to give
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  it final approval until 2027.
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  I'm Luz Moreno Lozano in Austin.
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  Austin's artistic crosswalks are
• 4:21
  being painted over by the city after
• 4:23
  a directive from Texas
• 4:24
  transportation officials.
• 4:26
  But supporters of the art have
• 4:27
  already started thinking about what
• 4:29
  they can do next.
• 4:31
  KUT's Gabriel Velazquez-Nera
• 4:32
  reports.
• 4:34
  This week about 75 people
• 4:36
  gathered at the intersection of
• 4:38
  4th and Colorado for a vigil.
• 4:40
  They were saying goodbye to the
• 4:41
  LGBTQ plus inspired rainbow
• 4:43
  crosswalks that were once painted on
• 4:46
  the intersection.
• 4:46
  Long before rainbow crosswalks
• 4:48
  existed, LGBTQIA
• 4:50
  plus people were creating spaces
• 4:52
  where none existed.
• 4:53
  And they blew off a little
• 4:55
  steam in the direction of those they
• 4:57
  blame for its removal.
• 4:58
  The reason why we continue
• 5:00
  to lose our rights in
• 5:02
  the state of Texas is because
• 5:04
  of Greg Abbott.
• 5:07
  Greg Abbot!
• 5:10
  Since the community found out the
• 5:11
  crosswalks would be removed, they
• 5:13
  have done what they can within the
• 5:15
  law to represent the community.
• 5:17
  Banners with the queer flag hang
• 5:19
  above the street, and a new
• 5:21
  community mural was painted on one
• 5:23
  side.
• 5:24
  Drag performer Bridget Bandit, who
• 5:25
  helped organize the event, says she
• 5:27
  would like to see even more
• 5:28
  representation at the intersection.
• 5:31
  Austin doesn't have a gayborhood
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  the way that other major Texas
• 5:34
  cities do.
• 5:35
  And so I do think the city
• 5:37
  carving out and protecting a space
• 5:39
  dedicated to the LGBTQ community
• 5:41
  that can't be targeted so
• 5:43
  easily by state attacks like we've
• 5:45
  seen with the crosswalk would
• 5:46
  really, really matter, especially
• 5:48
  right now.
• 5:49
  A few blocks north, another
• 5:50
  community in Austin is working on
• 5:52
  its own what's next after
• 5:54
  state leaders removed the block long
• 5:56
  message Black Artists Matter in
• 5:58
  the middle of the Austin Black
• 6:00
  Cultural District.
• 6:01
  The city knew ahead of time that the
• 6:03
  art was going to be removed.
• 6:05
  So last year, it created a
• 6:07
  public spaces task force to
• 6:09
  figure out what could replace the
• 6:10
  painted over street.
• 6:11
  Daphne McDowell is on the task force
• 6:13
  and is the CEO of Six Square,
• 6:16
  an organization that helps preserve.
• 6:17
  And amplify the stories of East
• 6:19
  Austin.
• 6:20
  The projects are still in early
• 6:22
  development, according to Daphne,
• 6:24
  but ideas are currently in the
• 6:25
  works.
• 6:26
  I have a meeting with Cap Metro to
• 6:28
  help with the bus stops there
• 6:30
  and like the beautiful mural they
• 6:32
  put at the bus stop at
• 6:34
  the ivory, something similar to
• 6:36
  that.
• 6:36
  Banners honoring black artists
• 6:38
  might also be added above the
• 6:40
  street.
• 6:41
  Texas transportation officials
• 6:42
  notified cities across the state
• 6:44
  that they would have to remove
• 6:45
  anything that wasn't traditional
• 6:47
  road markings.
• 6:48
  Down in San Antonio, officials have
• 6:50
  already started replacing their lost
• 6:51
  art.
• 6:52
  The city added sidewalk art, which
• 6:54
  the state government cannot
• 6:55
  regulate.
• 6:57
  While it's still an option in Austin
• 6:58
  for East 11th Street, down in
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  Colorado and 4th, it's much more
• 7:02
  unlikely, according to Steven Rivas.
• 7:04
  Rivas is also on the city's
• 7:06
  public spaces task force.
• 7:08
  He says that upcoming construction
• 7:09
  of a light rail system will affect
• 7:11
  the sidewalks.
• 7:13
  Any kind of major infrastructure
• 7:15
  changes on that street, it
• 7:17
  could be affected by construction
• 7:19
  within 18 to 24.
• 7:20
  Riva says the streets around 4th and
• 7:22
  Colorado might become pedestrian
• 7:24
  walkways.
• 7:25
  If that happens, Bridge Abandoned
• 7:27
  hopes the city will carve out a
• 7:28
  dedicated space for the OGPTQ
• 7:30
  community.
• 7:32
  I'm Gabriel Velázquez-Neda in
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  Austin.
• 7:42
  The data center industry in Texas is
• 7:45
  growing, but so is the pushback.
• 7:47
  Folks in rural areas especially have
• 7:49
  been dealing with rapid expansion of
• 7:51
  these facilities.
• 7:52
  The centers have brought jobs and
• 7:54
  economic activity, but also
• 7:55
  noise pollution and strain on
• 7:57
  resources like water and electricity
• 7:59
  and even some housing shortages.
• 8:02
  KUT News has been looking into data
• 8:04
  center growth and how it's
• 8:06
  shaping the
• 8:08
  communities that they're being built
• 8:09
  in. KUT's Williamson County reporter
• 8:11
  Kaylee Hunt is part of the team
• 8:13
  digging into this and she joins me
• 8:15
  now. Hi, Kaylee.
• 8:16
  Hey, Ben.
• 8:17
  So, you know, we've been talking about
• 8:18
  this with the last couple of weeks,
• 8:19
  for the last couple of week here on
• 8:20
  Austin Signal with other reporters
• 8:22
  working on the project.
• 8:23
  But please, real quickly, just
• 8:24
  remind us what y'all are focusing
• 8:26
  on.
• 8:27
  Yeah. So this project is titled the
• 8:29
  data center next door.
• 8:31
  And, uh, it came about basically
• 8:33
  when our county reporter team kept
• 8:35
  realizing that data centers
• 8:37
  just kept coming up on our beats,
• 8:38
  right? We needed to, uh.
• 8:40
  The idea kept coming back.
• 8:42
  So we knew that we needed to.
• 8:44
  Uh, we wanted to do some kind of
• 8:46
  series and with the
• 8:48
  help of our fabulous editor, Matt
• 8:49
  Largie.
• 8:50
  Right, right.
• 8:50
  We came up with the idea for this
• 8:52
  five-part series to help
• 8:54
  people better understand what data
• 8:56
  centers are, why they're
• 8:58
  coming to Central Texas, and what
• 9:00
  some of those impacts will be on
• 9:02
  the communities that they're being
• 9:04
  built in.
• 9:05
  So you're the Williamson County
• 9:06
  reporter, we've got Lee Walden,
• 9:08
  Hayes County reporter Katie McAfee,
• 9:10
  our Travis County reporter.
• 9:11
  The three of you just got back from
• 9:12
  a trip to Abilene as part of
• 9:14
  this project.
• 9:15
  How does that city play into the
• 9:17
  stories surrounding data centers?
• 9:18
  That's right.
• 9:19
  Yeah. So one of the things we wanted
• 9:21
  to explore with the project is
• 9:23
  the economic impact that data
• 9:24
  centers have on local communities.
• 9:27
  And we really thought there'd be no
• 9:28
  better city to explore this theme in
• 9:30
  than Abilene.
• 9:31
  And that's because they
• 9:33
  are home to the
• 9:35
  Stargate project, which is a
• 9:37
  big project
• 9:40
  backed by OpenAI and Oracle.
• 9:42
  And it's part of this larger 500
• 9:44
  billion dollar nationwide
• 9:46
  build out of AI infrastructure under
• 9:48
  the Trump administration.
• 9:50
  So, and this complex is huge,
• 9:52
  then it's four million square
• 9:54
  feet and it's built over just over
• 9:56
  a thousand acres of land.
• 9:57
  Like it's massive.
• 9:58
  And so-
• 9:59
  That's almost as big as a Bucky's.
• 10:00
  Yeah, no, it's huge.
• 10:02
  It's huge and so what we
• 10:04
  heard was, you know, developers and
• 10:06
  city and county officials tout
• 10:08
  benefits to the local economy,
• 10:10
  such as increased tax revenue,
• 10:12
  improvements to local
• 10:13
  infrastructure,
• 10:15
  job creations.
• 10:16
  And so we thought, you know, hey,
• 10:18
  we're going to make a little road
• 10:19
  trip up to Abilene and talk
• 10:21
  to the folks there and see if
• 10:23
  they've actually started to see some
• 10:24
  of these benefits.
• 10:25
  So, real quickly, yes, I do know
• 10:26
  that's larger than a bucky's, but
• 10:28
  also when you got there, you talked
• 10:30
  to people, what were they saying?
• 10:31
  Yeah, we, we talked to lots of
• 10:33
  folks, you know, we talk to
• 10:35
  a lady whose family lives
• 10:37
  actually right next to
• 10:39
  the Stargate project.
• 10:40
  We talked to a construction worker.
• 10:42
  We talked a nurse who's running for
• 10:44
  state representative.
• 10:46
  On this on this platform against
• 10:48
  data centers or?
• 10:49
  That has become part of her
• 10:51
  platform.
• 10:52
  Yes. And you know, there's one
• 10:53
  common theme.
• 10:54
  All of these people said that the
• 10:56
  city is facing a major housing
• 10:58
  shortage and affordability crisis.
• 11:00
  And they say this was caused
• 11:02
  by the influx of all these thousands
• 11:04
  of workers that are required
• 11:06
  to build out the Stargate project.
• 11:08
  And one of the folks, I want to play
• 11:10
  a clip here from our trip.
• 11:12
  His name is Michael Prado and he
• 11:14
  helps run one of Abilene's homeless
• 11:15
  shelters called Hopehaven.
• 11:17
  And he says he's used to helping
• 11:19
  individuals that experience chronic
• 11:21
  homelessness, but over the last year
• 11:23
  or so, because of these spikes in
• 11:25
  rent and the shortages in housing,
• 11:27
  he's had to pivot to helping
• 11:29
  families who are now experiencing
• 11:30
  homelessness.
• 11:31
  You can listen to a clip from him
• 11:33
  here.
• 11:34
  There's no one bedrooms and if there
• 11:36
  is they're like $12.50
• 11:38
  to $15.50 a
• 11:40
  year ago I was
• 11:43
  able to put to find one
• 11:45
  bedroom one bath all bills paid
• 11:47
  $6.99 right now that
• 11:49
  don't even exist
• 11:51
  I think that's an aspect of it I've
• 11:52
  never really thought about is the
• 11:54
  idea of home shortages or home
• 11:56
  prices spiking and what that might
• 11:57
  do when a data center comes to town.
• 11:59
  Well, you know, we've talked a lot
• 12:01
  about how you and Lee and
• 12:03
  Katie are all kind of doing this
• 12:04
  together. What is it like?
• 12:05
  You know, the vast majority of
• 12:07
  stories reporters work on are
• 12:09
  a solo job.
• 12:10
  So what's it like to be able to work
• 12:11
  with two additional reporters?
• 12:13
  And how are you all working together
• 12:14
  on this?
• 12:15
  It's awesome.
• 12:16
  It's awesome, especially
• 12:19
  for a series like this and
• 12:21
  it's it's such a
• 12:23
  you know It's such a complex
• 12:25
  and nuanced topic.
• 12:27
  And I think anytime, I'm
• 12:29
  just really grateful that our
• 12:30
  newsroom has put
• 12:32
  together this team of the three of
• 12:34
  us and allowed us to really explore
• 12:36
  this topic.
• 12:37
  And we all bring our individual
• 12:39
  strengths to the team,
• 12:41
  our individual experiences and
• 12:43
  knowledge from our geographic areas.
• 12:45
  And so I'm really excited about the
• 12:46
  project and I hope it really gives
• 12:48
  people better understanding of what
• 12:50
  data centers are.
• 12:51
  And then first story is on Tuesday,
• 12:54
  right? So how are you guys gonna
• 12:55
  kick off this big series?
• 12:57
  Yeah, you know, we're gonna keep it
• 12:58
  really simple.
• 12:59
  We're just gonna start off by
• 13:00
  saying, trying to answer the
• 13:01
  question, what is a data center?
• 13:04
  Well, I think that's a great way to
• 13:06
  start it.
• 13:06
  Start simple, right?
• 13:08
  All right, well, we've been speaking
• 13:09
  with Kaylee Hunt, KUT's
• 13:11
  Williamson County reporter.
• 13:13
  Thanks so much, Kaylee.
• 13:14
  Thanks, Ben.
• 13:21
  And just a couple of quick headlines
• 13:22
  for you today.
• 13:23
  Triple-digit heat across Texas this
• 13:25
  week pushed electricity
• 13:28
  demand to record highs twice.
• 13:30
  That's according to the Electric
• 13:32
  Reliability Council of Texas, or
• 13:33
  ORC, ERCOT, which runs the state's
• 13:36
  power grid.
• 13:37
  On Tuesday, demand surpassed 87,000
• 13:39
  megawatts. That broke a record set
• 13:41
  in August.
• 13:42
  The following day, we went up to
• 13:44
  91,000 megawatts, setting a new
• 13:46
  record again.
• 13:47
  So please this weekend be careful if
• 13:49
  you are out in the heat.
• 13:51
  And of course, stay off Lady Bird
• 13:52
  Lake.
• 13:53
  You've got the watercraft ban going
• 13:55
  on until Saturday at five.
• 13:57
  We'll be right back.
• 14:02
  You're listening to Austin Signal.
• 14:04
  I'm Nami Surur, creator of the
• 14:06
  live storytelling event, Accent
• 14:07
  Unmuted.
• 14:09
  Storyteller Glenn Clifton's first
• 14:11
  time in Marfa, Texas had
• 14:13
  him witness a simple gesture
• 14:15
  that initially puzzled but
• 14:17
  eventually endured him to American
• 14:18
  culture.
• 14:23
  In 1996, about a
• 14:25
  year after my wife and I had
• 14:26
  immigrated to the US, we decided
• 14:28
  to do a trip out to West Texas,
• 14:31
  specifically in Marfa, Texas,
• 14:34
  when it was still very
• 14:35
  beaten up and run down.
• 14:37
  So the thing about Big Bend is it's
• 14:39
  an amazing part of the country.
• 14:41
  It really is another world.
• 14:43
  And actually, not long ago,
• 14:45
  it wasn't even part of America.
• 14:47
  You know, it was part of Mexico.
• 14:50
  The Apaches lived there.
• 14:51
  It really...
• 14:53
  It felt to us like a
• 14:55
  place otherworldly,
• 14:57
  totally unusual and
• 14:59
  unlike we've ever experienced in our
• 15:01
  lives.
• 15:05
  And we were driving around in a
• 15:06
  1987, I believe,
• 15:09
  Honda Civic packed
• 15:11
  to the brim with all the equipment
• 15:12
  that we needed to do this trip.
• 15:15
  So after about a week of
• 15:17
  camping and driving around Big Bend
• 15:18
  and enjoying this otherworldly
• 15:21
  landscape, we kind
• 15:23
  of looked a bit wild, I must say.
• 15:27
  So needless to say, everyone we ran
• 15:28
  into was very confused by
• 15:30
  us.
• 15:31
  We spoke English with this really
• 15:33
  weird accent.
• 15:34
  And then...
• 15:35
  The response of, you're from Africa?
• 15:40
  That led to some interesting
• 15:41
  conversations, especially with the
• 15:43
  border patrol.
• 15:44
  Let's just leave it at that.
• 15:50
  So after this week and a couple
• 15:52
  of days in Big Bend,
• 15:53
  we made our way up to Marfa, Texas.
• 15:56
  And we'd heard, my wife and I are
• 15:58
  both in the art and design world.
• 15:59
  We'd heard there were these amazing
• 16:01
  arts installations in town.
• 16:03
  And we decided, what better
• 16:05
  thing to do in Marfa than find these
• 16:07
  installations?
• 16:08
  Pre-smart phones, no street signs.
• 16:10
  Apparently all the street signs in
• 16:11
  the town have been taken down or
• 16:13
  faded, so.
• 16:15
  However, 1,800 people, how
• 16:17
  hard could it be?
• 16:22
  After a couple of hours, we started
• 16:24
  both noticing something really
• 16:25
  weird.
• 16:26
  Every car we passed,
• 16:28
  everyone casually greeted us from
• 16:30
  one end on the steering wheel,
• 16:33
  popping up the index finger as we
• 16:36
  drove past them slowly.
• 16:37
  Very cinematic.
• 16:39
  Almost like we were imagining
• 16:42
  this, and if we are
• 16:44
  not, is it some kind of secret code
• 16:46
  that we, again, don't know
• 16:48
  about? Maybe this is something
• 16:50
  that... And also, you're never
• 16:52
  quite sure in these situations if
• 16:53
  it's a good or a bad thing.
• 16:55
  So you're like, okay, not gonna
• 16:56
  react, let's just see how it goes.
• 16:58
  Keep looking for the art.
• 17:00
  After a couple of hours, being
• 17:02
  experimental as I am, design and
• 17:04
  art-oriented, I'm like,
• 17:06
  well, let me see what happens if I
• 17:08
  wave back at these guys.
• 17:10
  And... Remember, this is everybody
• 17:12
  old, young, the sheriff.
• 17:15
  I mean, you name it.
• 17:16
  Everyone on bicycles.
• 17:18
  Everyone's doing the one-finger
• 17:19
  wave.
• 17:20
  So I'm like, okay,
• 17:21
  let's see what happens if I wave
• 17:23
  back at them.
• 17:24
  Actually, nothing changed in the
• 17:26
  whole situation except in me.
• 17:28
  It started feeling pretty good.
• 17:30
  I started making a connection with
• 17:32
  this community.
• 17:33
  I really felt like this
• 17:35
  is a place unlike I've ever been
• 17:37
  in my life.
• 17:38
  So...
• 17:41
  We started getting late.
• 17:42
  We said, okay, we're gonna find a
• 17:44
  hotel.
• 17:45
  Again, very slim pickings.
• 17:47
  We woke up early.
• 17:49
  We spoke to the locals to get the
• 17:50
  intel of exactly where to go to find
• 17:52
  these art installations.
• 17:54
  And they were sublime.
• 17:55
  There were these beautiful
• 17:56
  sculptures set out on the Marfa
• 17:58
  Plateau at high altitude,
• 18:00
  crisp, beautiful light,
• 18:02
  nobody else around.
• 18:03
  And it was truly
• 18:05
  worth a trip all by itself.
• 18:07
  Absolutely.
• 18:11
  A couple of days later back to our
• 18:13
  lives in the big city,
• 18:15
  a couple of things kept popping up
• 18:17
  in the back of my mind.
• 18:19
  The amazing landscape for sure,
• 18:21
  right?
• 18:23
  The skies out there, unbelievable,
• 18:25
  day and night, just the stars
• 18:27
  just will blow your mind all
• 18:29
  by themselves.
• 18:31
  The art, absolutely
• 18:32
  inspired, but
• 18:34
  the main thing was this weird
• 18:36
  wave that we experienced
• 18:38
  all three Marfa very consistently.
• 18:43
  It really felt like
• 18:44
  it connected us to this place in
• 18:46
  some weird way.
• 18:48
  Ten years later, we were
• 18:50
  fortunate enough to actually move
• 18:52
  there full-time and
• 18:53
  to every visitor,
• 18:55
  UPS driver, friend
• 18:58
  and some aliens,
• 19:01
  every time we drive past them on
• 19:03
  our bicycles or our cars the
• 19:05
  one finger comes up and it's and it
• 19:07
  means to us anyway.
• 19:09
  Hi We see you!
• 19:11
  And you are welcome.
• 19:15
  Thank you.
• 19:17
  That was Glenn Clifton, telling his
• 19:18
  story to a live audience at a
• 19:20
  recent Accent Unmuted in Studio
• 19:22
  1A here at KUT.
• 19:24
  I'm Nami Sirur and this is Austin
• 19:26
  Signal.
• 19:35
  Well, that was just lovely,
• 19:36
  honestly.
• 19:37
  You look, so, you know, I know it's
• 19:39
  been hot.
• 19:40
  You might want to just sit at home
• 19:41
  this weekend and pray that your air
• 19:43
  conditioning continues to work.
• 19:45
  But as always, there are a lot
• 19:46
  of fun things to check out over the
• 19:48
  weekend in our area.
• 19:50
  KUT's Art Beat Editor, Stephanie
• 19:52
  Federico, is here with some
• 19:53
  suggestions for the
• 19:55
  Where the Art Is segment.
• 19:58
  Hello, Stephanie.
• 19:59
  Hey, Ben.
• 20:00
  All right. I just mentioned the
• 20:01
  heat. So let's start with something
• 20:03
  that's definitely indoors.
• 20:04
  That's probably in the dark and it's
• 20:06
  cold. Hopefully any fun
• 20:08
  theater things happening this
• 20:09
  weekend.
• 20:10
  Well, one show that I'm looking at
• 20:12
  is called Sally and Tom,
• 20:14
  and this is a play within a play
• 20:16
  about the relationship between Sally
• 20:18
  Hemings and Thomas Jefferson.
• 20:20
  Oh, interesting.
• 20:21
  Apparently it's pretty funny, you
• 20:23
  wouldn't necessarily think that,
• 20:25
  but the story is a theater company
• 20:27
  is staging this historical drama
• 20:29
  about them and then rehearsals
• 20:31
  get a little bit messy.
• 20:33
  So it goes back and forth between
• 20:35
  them planning for the play and
• 20:36
  rehearsing and scenes from
• 20:39
  the actual play.
• 20:40
  And this is from.
• 20:41
  I love that concept.
• 20:41
  Yeah, right? Yeah.
• 20:43
  And this is from a Pulitzer Prize
• 20:44
  winning playwright.
• 20:46
  And that's at Zach Theater now
• 20:48
  through August 23rd.
• 20:50
  But I personally, I'm
• 20:53
  going to go see Austin ISD's
• 20:54
  production of Frozen this weekend.
• 20:57
  You know, I love high school
• 20:58
  musicals. Of course, who doesn't?
• 21:00
  Yeah, as part of the District Summer
• 21:02
  Theater series and it's featuring
• 21:04
  students from across the district.
• 21:05
  So it should be pretty fun.
• 21:06
  I've actually been to a few of these
• 21:08
  over the summers, and it's
• 21:09
  wonderful. The kids do a great job.
• 21:11
  And if you haven't been to the
• 21:12
  Austin ISD Performing Arts Center,
• 21:14
  it is a wonderful facility as well,
• 21:15
  so you really will enjoy it.
• 21:17
  Yeah, I'm really looking forward to
• 21:18
  it.
• 21:19
  So we do love our music, speaking of
• 21:21
  musicals, we do have our music here
• 21:22
  in Austin. So if someone's in the
• 21:24
  mood to groove, what should
• 21:26
  they be thinking about this weekend?
• 21:27
  Where would you send them?
• 21:29
  Well, among other places, I'm
• 21:31
  interested in the bee scene party at
• 21:33
  the Blanton this weekend, or it's
• 21:35
  just tonight.
• 21:37
  It's a night of electronic music,
• 21:39
  interactive art, there'll be some
• 21:40
  dancing, food and drinks,
• 21:42
  lots of ought's nostalgia,
• 21:45
  apparently there's a Y2K contest,
• 21:48
  costume contest,
• 21:50
  and a scavenger hunt, and yeah,
• 21:52
  right?
• 21:54
  So it should be fun.
• 21:55
  It's to close out the exhibit,
• 21:57
  run the code data-driven art
• 21:59
  exhibit. Oh, interesting.
• 22:00
  So, yeah.
• 22:02
  So, I hate to break the illusion for
• 22:04
  our audience here, but yes, I did
• 22:05
  actually sneak a peek at some of the
• 22:06
  things Stephanie was gonna talk
• 22:07
  about. And I will say that one of
• 22:09
  the thing you had listed was a real
• 22:11
  blast from the past for Gen
• 22:13
  Xers.
• 22:14
  I hear that Buddy Cole is coming
• 22:16
  to town.
• 22:17
  Yes, we love Buddy Cole.
• 22:18
  We had this whole conversation
• 22:19
  yesterday in the newsroom.
• 22:21
  He is the flamboyant
• 22:23
  lounge singer from the show Kids
• 22:25
  in the Hall.
• 22:26
  And if folks aren't familiar with
• 22:28
  Kids in Hall, it was a
• 22:29
  Canadian comedy back in.
• 22:32
  Oh, the eighties, early nineties,
• 22:34
  something like that?
• 22:34
  Mid nineties? I don't know.
• 22:35
  Yeah, really funny and buddy Cole's
• 22:37
  character was played by comedian
• 22:39
  Scott Thompson.
• 22:40
  He's here in town He has two nights
• 22:42
  at Creek in the cave.
• 22:44
  I think he's really funny.
• 22:45
  It should be a lot of fun
• 22:47
  Yeah, we spent, I mean, I don't
• 22:48
  know, like, way too long yesterday
• 22:49
  talking about kids in the hall in
• 22:51
  the newsroom.
• 22:52
  Okay, Stephanie, I follow you on
• 22:53
  Instagram, and I know that your art
• 22:55
  taste runs a little or
• 22:57
  maybe a lot more eclectic
• 22:59
  than mine.
• 23:00
  So what do you have for me?
• 23:01
  You know, other than Scott Thompson,
• 23:03
  other then Scott Thompson and kids
• 23:04
  in the Hall, what would you
• 23:06
  say, you know, would be something
• 23:08
  that I would enjoy?
• 23:09
  Hey, I did mention Austin
• 23:11
  ISDs.
• 23:12
  Well, that's true. And I've been to
• 23:13
  those before, yes.
• 23:14
  That is totally you. I know you've
• 23:15
  been.
• 23:16
  But I also know you might like an
• 23:18
  early night, right?
• 23:20
  Oh, yeah, sure.
• 23:21
  Sure.
• 23:23
  So Interplanetary Help Desk is
• 23:25
  hosting a series of concerts and
• 23:26
  dance parties as part of its Let's
• 23:28
  Fund Good Festival that's going on.
• 23:31
  It started this week, it's running
• 23:32
  through August 29th.
• 23:34
  All the shows cost $10 and all
• 23:36
  the proceeds from the shows go to a
• 23:37
  lot of different nonprofits in the
• 23:39
  Austin area.
• 23:41
  On tomorrow night, I know you might
• 23:42
  like this, there is gonna be a dance
• 23:44
  party with lots of new wave
• 23:46
  albums featuring stuff
• 23:48
  from The Cure, from The Smiths,
• 23:50
  Depeche Mode, New Order.
• 23:52
  I'm gonna bring out my eyeliner.
• 23:53
  All right, totally our thing,
• 23:55
  man.
• 23:56
  And tonight, there's an Ava cover
• 23:58
  band called Disco
• 24:01
  Tech.
• 24:02
  They're playing at Chess Club.
• 24:04
  And the money from that show is
• 24:05
  going to the Texas Council on Family
• 24:07
  Violence.
• 24:08
  So there are a lot of good shows.
• 24:10
  And our intern, Caroline, or
• 24:12
  not our intern Caroline, I'm sorry,
• 24:13
  I'm giving credit to Caroline when
• 24:15
  it's not for her, is for Chad.
• 24:16
  We had a story from our freelancer,
• 24:18
  Chad Switecki, who did
• 24:21
  a story about, let's find.
• 24:22
  Good festival.
• 24:23
  We have a story at kut.org and you
• 24:25
  can see the lineup and all the
• 24:27
  nonprofits where the shows the
• 24:29
  shows are benefiting and things like
• 24:31
  that.
• 24:31
  Good art for a good reason.
• 24:33
  Yeah, totally.
• 24:34
  That's Stephanie Federico, editor of
• 24:36
  KUT's Art Beat.
• 24:37
  Thanks so much for stopping by.
• 24:39
  Of course, Ben.
• 24:40
  And you can go to KUT.org to see all
• 24:42
  of the stories that we've done about
• 24:43
  our wonderful local arts community.
• 24:55
  And that's it for us today on Austin
• 24:57
  Signal. Thanks so much to KET's
• 24:59
  Kaylee Hunt, and of course,
• 25:00
  Stephanie Federico, who was just in
• 25:02
  here for coming on today's show.
• 25:04
  Rayna Sevilla is our technical
• 25:05
  director.
• 25:06
  Alexandra Hart is our producer.
• 25:09
  Kristen Cabrera is our managing
• 25:10
  producer.
• 25:11
  Jimmy Moss is the show runner.
• 25:13
  And for today, anyway, I'm Ben
• 25:15
  Philpott.
• 25:16
  Stay out of the heat if you can this
• 25:18
  weekend, and please have
• 25:20
  a great weekend.