Central East Austin Weed & Seed Initiative is the winner of the 2011 Butler Spirit of Collaboration Award which was presented at the CAN End of Year Reception on December 16th at the George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center.  The Weed & Seed Initiative brings together residents, businesses, schools, law enforcement and agencies to weed out crime and despair and to seed in programs that provide hope and renewal in Central East Austin.

The Butler Spirit of Collaboration Award, in honor of former CAN Executive Director Fred Butler, is presented to a collaboration that has worked to bring people, organizations, and groups together to collectively address community needs. 

The City of Austin has been awarded a $3 million Community Challenge Grant by HUD's Office of Sustainable Housing Communities.  The funds will be invested in the East Austin Colony Park community and will be focused on stimulating economic development and connecting housing with jobs, transportation and quality schools.  Austin was one of only 27 communities across the country designated as a recipient of these funds.  Learn more.

The Austin American Statesman reports on progress made to secure Union Pacific's urban railroad for a passenger rail system that will travel from Georgetown to San Antonio.  The agreement will also require an alternate freight line east of Austin. 

The Lone Star Rail District was created 9 years ago to facilitate regional rail.  The eventual goal is a passenger system that will travel from Dallas to Austin, San Antonio and Houston.  Efforts to promote the rail in the five county Austin MSA are being coordinated through the Project Connect partnership between the City of Austin, Capital Metro, Capital Area Metropolitan Organization and Lone Star Rail. 

Click here to learn more. 

A draft of the Success by Six Early Childhood Stakeholders' School Readiness Action Plan is ready for review and comment. The three year plan was developed by early childhood stakeholders in Travis County and establishes goals, strategies, targets, next steps and responsible entities to carry out the plan to help children and their families receive the services and supports they need to enter kindergarten ready to learn.  People with a stake in assuring that children enter school ready to learn - that's all of us - are invited to review the plan and to provide input by Monday, January 9th.

Click here to review the draft plan and click here to provide input via a Zoomerang survey.  Direct questions to Leah Munier at leah.munier@unitedwaycapitalarea.org.

Texas is one of the fastest growing states in the nation and, over the past decade, the five county Austin MSA was the fastest growing metro area in the State.   Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization has just released its 2006 - 2010 Growth Monitoring Report to take a closer look at exactly where this growth is occurring.  The report tracks permits for new multi-family and single-family residences and finds that, while the City of Austin and the unincorporated areas of Travis County are still number one and number two in the shear numbers of new permits, the fastest growing city is Buda.  The report takes a look at the growth in relation to transit and toll ways and also the Activity Centers identified in CAMPO's 2035 Plan.

Thirty seven percent of the 1,245 homes that received weatherization services through Austin Energy's federally funded weatherization program have elderly residents and another 388 have people with disabilities. The overwhelming majority of the households live at or below the poverty level, which is $22,000 for a family of four. 

Weatherization services, such as attic insulation, energy-related repairs and maintenance, and replacement of inefficient appliances or air conditioning and heating systems not only make a home more comfortable, but reduce monthly energy costs.  Austin Energy estimates that families that received weatherization services will save an estimated $1200 annually on their energy bill. Austin Energy anticipates helping more than 1,600 households with weatherization services by the end of the program.  The program was funded with $10.4 million in federal stimulus funding.

The City of Austin and Travis County are teaming up to host a Community Job Fair and Resource Expo on Wednesday, January 25th from 2 - 7 p.m. at Palmer Auditorium. More than a hundred public and private employers and non-profit agencies will be in attendance.  Workshops in interviewing and resume writing will be on-going and computers will be available for attendees to use.  This year's Expo will also include a veterans-specific area to showcase services and employment opportunities for veterans.   For more information, call 974-3210.

The sixth annual Feria Para Aprender (The Learning Fair) is scheduled to take place Saturday, January 28, 2012 at the North Lamar Event Center from 10 to 3 pm.    

The 2010 Census revealed that 1 in 4 children in America under the age of 5 live in either California or Texas. Half of those children are Latino and many of them live right here in Central Texas. This diverse population is our region's rising generation. Central Texas's success will be measured by their success. 

The purpose of the Feria Para Aprender is to create a learning environment that provides the growing population of students with Spanish speaking parents the information, tools, and resources that are needed to academically excel.  For more information click here. 

The Hogg Foundation in partnership with the federal Office of Minority Health is hosting a free, one-day conference on February 7th to promote integrated health care as a means of eliminating health disparities in racial and ethnic minority populations and persons with limited English proficiency.    

Conference participants will learn about integrated health care service models and practices, key components of cultural and linguistic competency, and recommendations developed by a national consensus panel of experts on how to bring these together to achieve quality health care for all. Participants will also learn how these recommendations can be effectively implemented.

Learn more and register for "Quality Health Care for All: Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities through Integrated Health Care."

Austin Travis County Integral Care will host the Central Texas African American Family Support Conference on February 16th and 17th. The conference provides information and educational opportunities to consumers, families and the community about mental health, developmental and intellectual disabilities, chemical dependence, co-occurring disorders, and physical health issues.

The mission of the conference is to strengthen family and individual awareness of available health care services, behavioral and physical, through culturally sensitive education, supports, and partnerships. It strives to increase individual and family awareness of available behavioral and physical healthcare services, reduce stigma, and eliminate health disparities. Learn more and register.