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Economic Development Incentives Tied to Wages and New Jobs |
 The Travis County Commissioners Court has approved a new economic development incentive policy that requires companies seeking tax breaks to pay at least $11 an hour for all workers, including contract employees and construction workers. Austin City Council is considering a similar proposal.
The policy adopted by Travis County Commissioners Court restricts development incentives to companies bringing new jobs to the area and making at least a $25 million investment in facilities. Click here to review the new Travis County Economic Development Incentives Policy. |
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Who Voted Against Housing Bonds? |
City of Austin voters approved all of the proposed bond propositions on November 6th except one - Proposition 15 to provide $78 million for affordable housing.
City of Austin Demographer, Ryan Robinson, has mapped where opposition to the bonds was heaviest.
Areas in blue show where more than 55% of voters opposed Proposition 15.
You can find this map and maps depicting voting results for other propositions at http://www.austintexas.gov/page/demographic-maps. |
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Perry Says "No" to State Health Exchange |
Texas Governor Rick Perry has notified the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that Texas will not set up a State Health Exchange. Under the Affordable Care Act, all people are required to have health insurance. The Health Insurance Exchange, which will most likely now be offered to Texans by the federal government, allows consumers to compare and contrast private insurance options to decide which is best for them. Part of the cost of private insurance will be subsidized for low-income Texans and Medicaid would be expanded to cover all legal residents who earn less than 133% of the federal poverty level. Read Governor Perry's press release.
Last month, economist Ray Perryman released an analysis of whether it makes economic sense for Texas to fully implement the Affordable Care Act. The report states, "During the first 10 years after implementation, The Perryman Group estimates that the total cumulative gross benefits to the state economy include $270.0 billion (in 2012 dollars) in output (real gross product) and 3,174,640 person-years of employment." The title of the report sums up the analysis, Only One Rational Choice: Texas Should Participate in Medicaid Expansion Under the Affordable Care Act. |
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ECHO Video Highlights Need for Permanent Supportive Housing | |
Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO) has released a new video highlighting the need for Permanent Supportive Housing for people who are homeless in Austin and Travis County.
 | | Permanent Supportive Housing: Watch, Learn, Share! |
This video was directed and produced by Layton Blaylock, director of the award winning "Art From The Streets" documentary. A 2012 census of the homeless in Austin counted 2,244 homeless men and women, barely more than half of them in shelters. ECHO is now recruiting volunteers to help with the next Point-in-Time Homeless count. On January 25th and 26th, hundreds of volunteers will canvass Travis County to count homeless men, women and children living on the streets, under bridges and in camps. To volunteer to help or to learn more, visit www.austinecho.org.
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CAN Senior Research Analyst Receives National Award
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Chantel Bottoms, CAN's Sr. Research Analyst, received an Emerging Leaders Award from the Community Indicators Consortium at their national conference in Washington D.C. this month. The award recognizes leaders under 45 who have made an extraordinary contribution to the indicators field.
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CAN End of Year Celebration Dec 14 | |
Join us for the CAN End of Year Celebration in the Atrium of Austin City Hall. The reception from 2:30 - 4:00 p.m. will follow the CAN Board of Directors meeting on Friday, December 14th. |
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CAN Community Dashboard | |
The CAN Community Dashboard tracks key socio-economic indicators for the Austin, Travis County, and the larger 5-county metro area.
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| CAN Events Calendar | |
Keep up with community events and post your own events on the CAN Community Events Calendar.
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| Connect to Research | |
Visit the CAN website for links to new research and reports. You can also catch up on the latest CAN twitter feeds at caction.org. |
| Follow CAN's Tweets | |
Get short, timely updates on meetings, research and more on CAN_Austin. |
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St. David's Helps Fill Void of Unexpected Cuts | |
The St. David's Foundation is giving more than $445,000 in grants to local health and wellness agencies to help fill a gap left by unexpected funding cuts from the United Way for Greater Austin. When last year's United Way Campaign fell short of campaign goals, 24 local agencies were notified their funding would be cut or reduced. St. David's Foundation stepped in to help about half of those agencies.
The grants will fund agencies that provide eldercare and mental health services as well as healthcare career training, general health and dental care programs. Some of the agencies receiving the grants include Family Eldercare, Meals on Wheels and More, Capital IDEA and more. See this KVUE.com article for more. |
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City and County Seek Input on Community Development Efforts | |
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development provides grants for cities and counties to carry out community development activities that will revitalize neighborhoods and improve affordable housing options. Travis County received a little over $1 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding in the last fiscal year that was spent in the unincorporated areas of Travis County. The City of Austin received about $12.5 million in federal grants for CDBG, HOME Investment Partnerships, Emergency Solutions Grant, and Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS (HOPWA).
Each year, cities and counties that receive these federal funds are required to report to their citizens how the funds were used. These Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Reports (CAPER) are now available from both the City of Austin and Travis County for public review and comment.
The City of Austin will receive public comment on its FY 2011-12 CAPER through 5 p.m. on December 4th. Visit the City website to review the CAPER and to learn more.
Travis County will receive public comment on its FY 2011-12 CAPER through December 14th. Visit the Travis County website to learn more.
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Healthcare Legislative Quarterly Forum |
 Austin Travis County Integral Care is hosting a community conversation about local priorities on health and human services with members of the Travis County legislative delegation. Texas State Representatives Donna Howard, Elliott Naishtat, Eddie Rodriguez, and others will be joined by Texas Senator Kirk Watson. The forum will be held on Tuesday, December 4th from 10 - 11:30 a.m. at the IBC Bank Community Room, 2817 E. Cesar Chavez. Click here for more information. |
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Collective Impact Workshop for Nonprofit Organizations |
Nonprofit organizations are invited to a workshop on how to use the principles of Asset Based Community Development and Results Based Accountability to achieve greater results and impact. ACC's Center for Community Based & Nonprofit Organizations is hosting the event on Wednesday, December 5th at the Highland Business Center.
Workshop topics will include collective impact; an introduction to, and examples of, Asset Based Community Development and Results Based Accountability; and why Place-Based Strategies and Community Engagement are critical to improving communities. Click here to register and to learn more. |
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Meet-and-Greet Imagine Austin Priority Action Teams |
 Austin community leaders, civic partners and residents are invited to meet the City of Austin's Priority Action Teams working on 8 priority initiatives and contribute civically to Imagine Austin's shared vision on Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012, 6:00-8:00 p.m. at the Austin City Hall Atrium. Informational presentations will be made at 6:20 p.m. and 7:20 p.m., each covering the same information and last approximately 20 minutes. Free public parking will be available in the parking garage accessible off Lavaca Street from Cesar Chavez Street. Bicycle racks will also be available. Capital Metro's Trip Planner can be used to find public transportation routes. Light refreshments will be provided. RSVPs requested to ImagineAustin@austintexas.gov or on Imagine Austin's Facebook Event Page.
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Why Bother? Engaging Our Changing City |
As Austin grows and thrives, our city is becoming more diverse. Latinos, African-Americans, and Asians now make up over 50% of our residents. Yet this diversity is not reflected among citizens who vote. The Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life, KUT and KLRU are hosting a public dialogue series to get people talking about why they participate in civic life and why they don't. Join the conversation on Monday, December 10th from 7 - 9 p.m. at the ACC Eastview Campus, 3401 Webberville Road. Click here to learn more and to RSVP. |
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Summit on the Future of Latino Health | |
 The La Fe Policy Research and Education Center will bring together community, elected officials and health care advocates to discuss the Future of Latino Health and the Affordable Care Act on December 13th and 14th. Whether and how to implement the Affordable Care Act will be a major topic of discussion in the upcoming 83rd Legislative Session. The conference will include information on the impact of these decisions on Latinos.
The event is free and will be held in San Antonio. Some travel scholarships are available. Visit lafepolicycenter.org for more information. |
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Building a Strong Texas Future: Children's Policy Conference |
 Texas experts, community and business leaders and advocates from across the state will come together for a Children's Policy Conference in Austin on Wednesday, February 6, 2013.
The conference will share leading ideas for building success for all Texas children and political strategists Harold Cook and Ted Delisi will offer an inside look at Texas politics. Expert-led workshops will be offered on a host of childhood issues.
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Central Texas Housing Market Trends, Preferences and Opportunities |
 CAPCOG's Sustainable Places Project will host a regional forum on how local governments can prepare for projected growth in the five-county Austin metro area. The forum, Central Texas Market Trends, Preferences And Opportunities, will feature two distinguished guest speakers, Dr. Arthur C. Nelson, Director, Metropolitan Research Center, and Scott Polikov, President of the Gateway Planning Group.
The presentation and open discussion will address emerging real estate market trends and best practices for local governments to be prepared for these changes. The free event will be held on Tuesday, December 11th from 1:30 to 3:30 pm at the Thompson Conference Center on the UT Campus near the LBJ Library. Registration is required and seating is limited; please RSVP to Ange Kogutz at regionaladmin@capcog.org. |
| 2-1-1 Training | |
 2-1-1 Texas offers free monthly trainings on when to use 2-1-1 Texas and how to search the 2-1-1 Texas database to find information about available community resources. The targeted audience for these trainings is social services professionals and volunteers. Registration for the training sessions, offered the last Friday of each month, is not required.
Training sessions are held on the last Friday of every month at 2 p.m. at United Way for Greater Austin, 2000 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and last about an hour and a half. For more information, call 2-1-1 and select option 1 or email Amy Price at amy.price@unitedwaycapitalarea.org.
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 Working to promote equity and opportunity. Community Action Network (CAN) is a partnership of government, non-profit, private and faith-based organizations who work together to enhance the social, health, educational and economic well-being of Austin/Travis County. As a convener, connector and informer, CAN... - enhances awareness of community issues,
- connects efforts and strengthens partnerships across issue areas, and
- provides a collaborative forum for developing strategies that promote equity and opportunity for all.
CAN Partners: Austin Chamber of Commerce, Austin Community College, Austin Independent School District, Austin Travis County Integral Care, Capital Metro, Central Health, City of Austin, Community Justice Council, Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce, Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Huston-Tillotson University, interfaith Action Central Texas (iACT), One Voice Central Texas, Seton Healthcare Family, St. David's Foundation, St. Edward's University, Travis County, United Way for Greater Austin, University of Texas at Austin, and Workforce Solutions - Capital Area. www.caction.org |
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