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2012 Round Up of Demographic Trends |
The December Data Points newsletter highlights the most important economic and demographic issues for the Austin region in 2012. A few of the top 9 "Data Points" for the past year are listed below:
- Austin is one of only 18 metro areas nationwide that have recovered all of the jobs lost during the recession. Six of the 18 "resilient" metro areas were in Texas.
- The region has experienced a mismatch in talent and opportunity. Over the past five years, the number of Central Texas residents with a bachelor degree has increased 60% more than the number of jobs at corresponding skill levels.
Visit http://datapoints.org to read the entire issue and to subscribe to this monthly data report by the Capital Area Council of Governments' John Rees. |
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LCRA Votes to Withhold Water to Farmers |
 Noting record-breaking drought conditions, the LCRA Board of Directors agreed in a special meeting held yesterday to withhold water from most farmers this year if water supply conditions do not improve by March 1.
The vote was unanimous, but the decision must be approved by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. LCRA staff recommended the move to protect municipal and industrial water customers. The amount of water flowing into the Highland Lakes was the lowest on record in 2011 and 2012's inflow was the fifth lowest on record. Five of the 10 lowest water flow years on record have occurred since 2006. |
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No Affordable Housing Bonds - What Next? | |
In November, the Affordable Housing bond proposition was the only bond proposition rejected by Austin voters. The Proposition would have allowed for $78.3 million in funds to support the development of affordable housing in Austin. Many people are beginning to look for other alternatives to addressing the issue.
The Austin City Council passed two resolutions sponsored by Laura Morrison and Mike Martinez last month. One directs the city manager to provide a report on the Housing Trust Fund by the end of this month. The other directs the city manager to identify other potential city resources for affordable housing.
ECHO has announced that Austin City Council Member Cheryl Cole will speak at a Rally for Affordable Housing this Saturday, January 12th at 10 a.m. at St. Martin's Lutheran Church, 606 W. 15th Street. Council Member Cole will discuss the issue and outline strategies for moving forward. |
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Free Tax Preparation Puts Million$ Back in the Pockets of Low-Income Families | |
Foundation Communities will open 7 Community Tax Centers beginning next week to file taxes for free for families and individuals making up to $50,000 annually. During the 2012 tax season, Foundation Communities prepared 16,000 returns and helped Austin-area families gain over $27 million in refunds. This year, with the help of over 650 IRS-certified volunteers, the goal is to help even more families evade the costs of paid preparation and gain much-needed refunds.
Call 2-1-1 or visit www.CommunityTaxCenters.org for more information. If you would like to help spread the word about this free tax preparation service, call Clint at 512-610-7376 or email outreach@foundcom.org. |
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Mental Health Forum with Hollywood Producer |
 The Hogg Foundation for Mental Health is hosting a free Mental Health Forum with Hollywood producer and mental health advocate Gary Foster. Foster's interest in mental health grew from his work producing the movie The Soloist, a film based on a true story of a friendship between a Los Angeles Times journalist and Julliard-trained musician with a diagnosis of schizophrenia living on the streets of L.A.
Since producing the movie, Foster has become a strong supporter of the World Health Organization's Quality Rights Project, designed to improve the quality of care and human rights conditions in mental health and social care services around the world.
The forum will be held on Tuesday, January 15th from 3 - 4 p.m. Learn more and register. |
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ECT Symposium - Water:Key to Our Future! | |
Envision Central Texas will offer a full-day symposium on strategies and approaches to water conservation and management in relation to architecture, engineering, city planning, law and social concerns. The symposium will be held on Friday, February 15th and will feature key-note presentations by Dean Frederick Steiner of the UT School of Architecture and Pliny Fisk, Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems.
Continuing Education Credits are available. Learn more and register at www.envisioncentraltexas.org. |
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CAN Video - Creating the Future We Want | |
See how many community leaders you can identify in this CAN video on the challenges and opportunities that growth and demographic shifts pose for our future.
 | | Central Texas Creating the Future We Want |
Many thanks to KLRU and the many community leaders who assisted CAN in the production of this video. |
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CAN Board Welcomes 7 New Members | |
At their meeting this Friday, January 11th, the CAN Board of Directors will welcome Board members representing 7 new partner agencies, invited to join the CAN network this past year. New CAN partner agencies include:
- Capital City African-American
Chamber of Commerce
- City of Pflugerville
- Del Valle ISD
- Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce
- Greater Austin Hispanic
Chamber of Commerce
- Huston-Tillotson University
- Manor ISD
CAN Board meetings are televised live and on-demand at Cable Channel 6. |
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Community Council Focus on Crime | |
The Austin Police Department will share information about the "Restore Rundberg" initiative and Travis County Community Justice leaders will share information about a new Mental Health Planning Grant at the January 10th Community Council meeting. The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Boards and Commissions Room of Austin City Hall. the meeting will be aired live and on-demand at Cable Channel 6. |
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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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| 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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Save Texas Schools Rally at the Capitol | |
 Save Texas Schools is holding a rally at the State Capitol on Saturday, February 23rd to raise support for more funding for public education, advocate against high-stakes testing, and to oppose school vouchers. The rally begins at 11 a.m. and organizers hope to beat the 2011 record of about 13,000 people. Learn more at savetxschools.org.
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2-1-1 Training on Connecting People to Community Resources | |
2-1-1 Texas offers free training on how to utilize the 2-1-1 system to link people in need with available community resources. The targeted audience for these sessions include social services professionals, volunteers, mental health professionals, educators, healthcare providers, and front-line community workers or volunteers. Training sessions last about an hour and a half and will be held on the following Fridays at 2 p.m. United Way for Greater Austin, 2000 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Reservations are not required.
- February 22
- March 22
- May 24
- July 26
- September 27
United Way 2-1-1 will also provide special training sessions for social service agencies and community groups at their locations. For more information, call 2-1-1 and select option 1 or email Amy Price at amy.price@uwatx.org |
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CAN is a partnership of governmental, non-profit, private and faith-based organizations which leverage mutual resources to collectively improve social, health, educational and economic opportunities in our community.
CAN Partners: Austin Chamber of Commerce, Austin Community College, Austin Independent School District, Austin Travis County Integral Care, Capital City African American Chamber of Commerce, Capital Metro, Central Health, City of Austin, City of Pflugerville, Community Justice Council, Del Valle Independent School District, Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce, Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Huston-Tillotson University, interfaith Action Central Texas (iACT), Manor Independent School District, 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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