Team Joe Williams

A great new listing with Team Joe Williams

2012-02-16T13:15:00.000-06:00

A great new listing presented by Foorest Higdon. This property boasts a backyard that rivals a nature preserve.

www.9511woodvale.com

Austin Modern Home Tour!!!

2012-02-03T11:15:00.000-06:00

Team Joe Williams would like to support our very own Kim Fry this weekend at http://www.modernhometouraustin.com/!!
See her at
http://www.modernhometouraustin.com/2011/12/meet-609-w-live-oak-street/

Austin Modern Home Tour Modern Home Tour Austin

www.modernhometouraustin.com

The Modern Home Tour Austin was founded in 2008, and is held annually to showcase Modern Homes and Architects in Austin. Tickets, dates and more!

The 100 Best Places to Raise a Family - Find out which cities in America are the best—and the worst—for you and your brood. By Research by Sara Vigneri; Illustration: Sean McCabe

2011-09-30T14:18:00.002-05:00

Television executives seized the idea long ago: American families value where they plant their roots. The Cosbys had Brooklyn. The Cunninghams, Milwaukee. The Simpsons, Springfield.

But fathers face reality when they're not in prime time. They want to raise their children somewhere safe, where they can attend good schools with favorable student-teacher ratios, above-average test scores, and respectable budgets. Plenty of museums, parks, and pediatricians also contribute to a good quality of life, whereas multihour commutes, expensive houses, and divorcing friends and neighbors do not.

Best Life editors used these categories and data from the U.S. Census Bureau, National Center for Education Statistics, FBI, American Association of Museums, National Center for Health Statistics, and American Bar Association to evaluate 257 cities. Here are the best—and worst—places to raise a family.

1      Honolulu, Hawaii (Schools spend almost $9,000 per pupil, unemployment ranks less than half the national average, and you can play on the island of O'ahu's 125 beaches.)
2      Virginia Beach, Virginia
3      Billings, Montana
4      Columbus, Georgia
5      San Diego, California
6      Des Moines, Iowa
7      Minneapolis, Minnesota
8      Madison, Wisconsin (Madison has a high number of pediatricians per capita.)
9      Colorado Springs, Colorado
10    Santa Rosa, California
11    Wichita, Kansas
12    Los Angeles, California
13    Corona, California
14    Austin, Texas
15    Stamford, Connecticut
16    Omaha, Nebraska
17    Naperville, Illinois
18    Fort Wayne, Indiana
19    Springfield, Illinois
20    Boise, Idaho
21    Manchester, New Hampshire
22    South Bay Area, California
23    New York, New York
24    Fontana, California
25    Louisville, Kentucky
26    Plano, Texas
27    Oceanside, California
28    Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
29    Sacramento, California
30    Ann Arbor, Michigan
31    Reno, Nevada
32    Las Vegas, Nevada
33    Lincoln, Nebraska
34    San Bernardino, California
35    Grand Rapids, Michigan
36    Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina (Median value of a home: $202,733)
37    Kansas City, Kansas
38    Fremont, California
39    Buffalo, New York
40    Berkeley, California
41    Cambridge, Massachusetts
42    Kansas City, Missouri
43    Waterbury, Connecticut
44    Syracuse, New York
45    Phoenix, Arizona
46    Albuquerque, New Mexico
47    Akron, Ohio
48    Boston, Massachusetts
49    Escondido, California
50    Fairfield, California
51    Antioch, California
52    Elgin, Illinois
53    Rochester, New York
54    Seattle, Washington (Residents spend $266 per person annually to maintain the city's parks.)
55    Tucson, Arizona
56    Santa Clarita, California
57    Denver, Colorado
58    Indianapolis, Indiana
59    Glendale, Arizona
60    Chicago, Illinois
61    Atlanta, Georgia
62    San Antonio, Texas
63    Mobile, Alabama
64    Concord, California
65    Denton, Texas
66    Coral Springs, Florida
67    San Francisco, California
68    Cedar Rapids, Iowa
69    El Paso, Texas (Classrooms average fewer than 16 students for every teacher.)
70    San Buenaventura, California
71    Worcester, Massachusetts
72    Baltimore, Maryland
73    Richmond, California
74    Lowell, Massachusetts
75    Portland, Oregon
76    Jacksonville, Florida
77    Fort Collins, Colorado
78    Orlando, Florida
79    Modesto, California
80    Montgomery, Alabama
81    Tampa, Florida
82    Salinas, California
83    Newport News, Virginia
84    Oakland, California
85    Augusta, Georgia
86    Fort Worth, Texas
87    Washington, D.C.
88    Tulsa, Oklahoma (Residents spend just 17 minutes commuting to work.)
89    Bellevue, Washington
90    Cincinnati, Ohio
91    McKinney, Texas
92    St. Louis, Missouri
93    Hayward, California
94    Midland, Texas
95    Sterling Heights, Michigan
96    Greensboro, North Carolina
97    Arlington, Texas
98    Alexandria, Virginia
99    Winston-Salem, North Carolina
100   Lexington, Kentucky

The 10 Worst Places to Raise a Family (from best to worst)

Springfield, Missouri
Dayton, Ohio
Corpus Christi, Texas
Flint, Michigan (Country's highest violent-crime rate)
Columbia, South Carolina
Waco, Texas
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Fayetteville, North Carolina
Beaumont, Texas (Long-standing air-quality challenges)
Clarksville, Tennessee (Low educational spending: $6,729 per student)

Escape the hustle & bustle of Austin....

2011-09-06T10:58:00.000-05:00

....and enjoy a fabulous life living in Georgetown with this gem!! More info @ www.225faubion.com

Economist: Austin economy keeps outperforming nation's as a whole

2011-08-15T13:22:00.000-05:00

Against the worst national economy in more than 60 years, the Austin area stands out as the best market in the nation.

That's the bottom line from Mark Sprague, an expert who follows the economy and housing markets both locally and nationally.

Sprague, director of business development for Mission Mortgage in Austin, gave an overview of the economy and housing picture and delivered his 2012 forecast for the nation, state and Austin area to a group of real estate and mortgage lending professionals Thursday.

Sprague said the housing market has bottomed out in Austin and Houston, but nationally "has a ways to go." He said mortgage defaults and residential foreclosures will remain high, but he noted that more than half of the nation's foreclosures are concentrated in a handful of metro areas, including Atlanta, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Phoenix.

Sprague said he "tends to be negative" and conservative in his outlook, but the data show the local economy is outperforming the nation as a whole on several fronts. Its unemployment rate is 6.7 percent, lower than the statewide 7.9 percent rate and the U.S. rate of 9.2 percent.

Housing prices have held relatively stable — Austin didn't have the appreciation bubble and thus no major price drops — and the foreclosure rate isn't nearly as high in the five-county area as some other places — 1 per 1,044 homes compared with 1 in 60 in Las Vegas.

The Austin area also has a low supply of newly built homes on the market, with about a three-month inventory. Six months is considered a healthy balance . That comes amid growing demand, with 56,000 people a year — 153 a day — moving to the area.

"There's tremendous demand coming to this city," Sprague said. But there is a tight supply of apartments and houses to lease, and only 1,500 apartment units being built this year.

Sprague's positive local outlook was in contrast to a gloomy national forecast delivered Wednesday by Mark Dotzour, chief economist and director of research for the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.
Dotzour did predict good news for Austin, saying the area would continue to add jobs in the next year, at a 1.1 percent clip.

For 2011, the five-county Austin metro area is expected to add 7,000 to 11,000 jobs, with the gain probably closer to 15,200 more jobs this year than last, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Sprague said.

Austin has doubled its population every 20 years, he said, through every downturn for the past 100 years.
Nationally, Sprague said, recovery may take time. Economists project substantive growth will not occur until late 2012, he said.

But there are positive signs, he said. Among them: Corporate profits are up, credit markets have stabilized and housing prices have firmed in most markets.

In Texas, the state should see job growth of 1.5 percent and possibly 2 percent for this year, Sprague said. The state gained 133,100 jobs from August 2009 to August 2010 — about 48 percent of the 278,000 jobs added in the United States during that time.

"We're in a good place," Sprague said. And unlike Dotzour — who said he opened an account in Canada as a potential "escape value" — "I'm still keeping my money in the states," Sprague said.

Austin is #1 Place to Live!!!

2011-08-05T09:15:00.000-05:00

RelocateAmerica's Top 100 Places to Live in 2011

Welcome to the 14th annual list of America's "Top 100 Places to Live". Each year RelocateAmerica researches, identifies and shares the best places to live in America. Over several months at the beginning of each year, the research & editorial team begin the process based on site nominations and issues most important to relocating consumers and homeowners for the year ahead. For 2011, the team found the best communities that are well positioned for economic recovery, already experiencing strong economic recovery or have proven overall economic stability. Factors such as employment, education, community leadership and overall quality of life are strongly considered and all the data is examined to determine the Top 100.

New for this year, we are giving local residents, business & community leaders the chance to weigh in on which Top 100 cities are worthy of Top 10 Status in various breakout categories. Below are the Top 10 Overall Cities for 2011. Don't despair if your city isn't listed, there is still opportunity to have a say in why your community may be worthy of another one of our Top 10 Breakout lists.

2011 Top 10 Overall Places to Live

#1 Austin, Texas	#2 Grand Rapids, Michigan
#3 Boulder, Colorado	#4 Raleigh, North Carolina
#5 Dallas, Texas	#6 Greenville, South Carolina
#7 Augusta, Georgia	#8 Boise, Idaho
# 9 Omaha, Nebraska	#10 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Austin among top 100 places to live, report says

2011-07-26T10:02:00.002-05:00

Austin is one of 100 finalists in RelocateAmerica's 14th annual best places to live contest.
The Texas capital city was one of three finishers in the Central Texas region. Round Rock and Cedar Park were also listed. The website is taking votes until Aug. 2 to decide the top 10 winners.
The company chose the finalists from nominations and other parameters considered important when relocating. This year, cities best positioned for economic recovery were considered high priority, as well as overall economic stability. This includes factors such as employment, education, community leadership and overall quality of life.
In March, Austin was named the second best job market in the U.S. Also in February, Business Review USA called Austin one of the eight best places to live and work.
Last year, Austin came in third on the RelocateAmerica.com list. Click here to vote for this year's winner.

Forbes calls Austin America’s No. 1 "boom town"

2011-07-13T09:20:00.000-05:00

Austin was named the city most likely to grow and prosper during the next decade.

Forbes, in partnership with the Praxis Strategy Group, recently examined what the next decade has in store for America’s 52 largest cities. The publication used recent U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics growth and demographic data to compile a list of the expected "boom towns." The Central Texas region from Round Rock to San Marcos came in first.

The report lauded the Austin area for its impressive two-year employment and population growth, as well as the local number of college graduations and children. A separate report said Austin is expected to add 6,000 residents in one month this summer.Other Texas cities high on the list included: San Antonio/New Braunfels (No. 4), Houston (No. 5) and Dallas (No. 7).

A slideshow of Forbes' top boom towns is available here.

The ranking comes as no surprise, as Austin is a regular on regional "best of" lists. Click here for a roundup of its recent appearances.

Austin is accustomed to being at or near the top of this list. It also led the nation in small-business vitality in 2010, and was fourth in 2009. No U.S. market enjoys a faster annual growth rate for small businesses than Austin’s 1.5 percent

Austin, Houston rank as best places for young adults to get started

2011-06-20T13:48:00.000-05:00

The Southwest has become the new frontier for young Americans -- the region that offers the widest range of opportunities for men and women getting started in their careers.
Four metropolitan areas in the Southwest, led by No. 1 Austin and No. 2 Houston, are among America’s seven best places for young adults, according to new rankings by On Numbers.
Dallas-Fort Worth and Oklahoma City are the other high-rated Southwestern entries, ranking fifth and seventh, respectively.
On Numbers analyzed 65 metros with populations above 800,000, searching for qualities that would appeal to workers in their 20s and early 30s. The study’s 10-part formula gave superior marks to places with strong growth rates, moderate costs of living, and substantial pools of young adults who are college-educated and employed. (See the database below for top-to-bottom rankings, along with selected statistics.)
The top 10 U.S. cities for young adults in in the opportunity standings are:

Austin
Houston
Washington
Raleigh
Dallas-Fort Worth
Boston
Oklahoma City
Salt Lake City
Seattle
Baton Rouge, La.

The least desirable markets for young adults, according to the On Numbers study, are No. 65 Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif., and No. 64 Detroit. Both areas have lost more than 2.5 percent of their jobs since 2006, and both are saddled with exceptionally high unemployment rates for workers between the ages of 16 and 34.
The 10 factors in the study’s formula were: 10-year population growth, five- and one-year employment growth, per capita income, five-year income growth, share of total population in the 18-34 age range, unemployment rate for the 16-34 age group, share of householders in the 18-44 age range who earn more than $150,000 a year, share of 18- to 34-year-olds with college degrees, and median rent.
All data were the latest available from the U.S. Census Bureau. On Numbers will focus more closely on a few of the factors above as the week progresses.

OPPORTUNITY RANKINGS FOR YOUNG ADULTS

Rank	Labor market	Opportunity score for young adults	Annual rate of population growth (2000-2010)	Annual rate of job growth (2006-2011)	Share of total population fitting in 18-34 age range (2009)	Jobless rate for 16-34 age range (2009)	Members of 18-34 age range with bachelor's degrees (2009)	Total population (2010)
1	Austin	9.827	3.22%	1.73%	29.31%	9.99%	29.36%	1,716,289
2	Houston	8.540	2.35%	1.23%	24.56%	10.43%	20.15%	5,946,800
3	Washington	8.127	1.53%	0.22%	23.98%	11.12%	38.78%	5,582,170
4	Raleigh	6.310	3.56%	0.80%	24.25%	12.26%	35.89%	1,130,490
5	Dallas-Fort Worth	5.943	2.13%	0.64%	25.13%	11.93%	20.76%	6,371,773
6	Boston	5.823	0.36%	0.05%	23.92%	11.55%	38.70%	4,552,402
7	Oklahoma City	5.689	1.35%	0.22%	25.89%	9.26%	21.20%	1,252,987
8	Salt Lake City	5.043	1.50%	0.16%	27.77%	9.90%	23.30%	1,124,197
9	Seattle	4.917	1.23%	-0.20%	25.04%	11.89%	29.09%	3,439,809
10	Baton Rouge, La.	4.600	1.29%	0.06%	26.89%	10.35%	20.14%

Austin ranked 4th best for college grads!!!

2011-06-09T12:30:00.000-05:00

Austin was ranked fourth best city for college graduates, according to a new listing from The Daily Beast.
The news website ranked the top 25 cities for college graduates based on housing costs, job opportunities, average income, cost of living and the percentage of 22- to 24-year-olds. Austin was reported having an average $37,544 per-capita personal income and 4.5 percent of the population in their early 20's.
Austin came in at No. 4 behind Fayetteville, N.C.; Omaha, Neb.; and Oklahoma City. Houston was ranked No. 5.

The ranking is the second to list Austin as a top location for young minds. Bloomberg Businessweek last year ranked the Texas state capital as fifth best. To read that story, click here. That same week, Austin was named the No. 1 best location for entrepreneurs.

Austin is a regular on best of rankings in various categories.

Read more: Austin ranked 4th best for college grads | Austin Business Journal

Texas adds 732,800 jobs in 10 years; no other state tops 100,000 Read more: Texas adds 732,800 jobs in 10 years; no other state tops 100,000 | Austin Business Journal

2011-05-24T12:08:00.000-05:00

Texas has enjoyed an unequaled economic boom the past 10 years.

The inventory of private-sector jobs in Texas increased by 732,800 between April 2001 and the same month this year, according to an On Numbers analysis of new federal employment data. The analysis is by G. Scott Thomas for The Business Journals, the national online news affiliate of the Austin Business Journal.

No other state registered an increase of more than 100,000 private-sector jobs during the decade. Only 19 states and the District of Columbia posted any gains at all.

Click here and scroll to the bottom of the story for a state-by-state breakdown of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Texas avoided the real estate bust that decimated the economies of several large Sunbelt states, including California and Florida, during the 2008-2010 recession. It consequently was positioned for a faster takeoff once the national economy began improving, allowing it to create 251,700 new jobs in the past year alone.

The runners-up to Texas in private-sector growth were Arizona and Utah, which added 90,200 and 90,000 jobs respectively, during the decade from 2001 to 2011.

California suffered the biggest decline during the decade. It had 623,700 fewer private sector jobs last month than it did a decade ago. Michigan was next with a 10-year loss of 619,200 positions.

Austin is among the top job generators in the state. The city added 4,100 positions just between March and April this year, bringing unemployment down to 6.5 percent.

Read more: Texas adds 732,800 jobs in 10 years; no other state tops 100,000 | Austin Business Journal

Trader Joe's Scouting For Sites In Austin

2011-05-03T12:09:00.002-05:00

By American-Statesman staff | Tuesday, May 3, 2011, 09:32 AM

Trader Joe’s, the California-based natural foods grocers whose customers are ardent fans, is coming to Texas.
The Dallas Morning News reported this morning that the company is looking for locations in Austin, Dallas and Houston. The company operates small stores — 10,000 to 15,000 square feet — but is a strong competitor.

10 Best Cities for the Next Decade - Yes, Austin is on the list!!

2011-04-20T12:09:00.000-05:00

They're prosperous, innovative, and they'll generate plenty of jobs, too.

By the Editors of Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine

From Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, July 2010

We live in challenging times. Unemployment remains high, and the U.S. lead in technology and science is slipping as many foreign countries gain ground. But some U.S. cities, though slowed by the Great Recession, still thrive by lifting good old American innovation to new levels. And that will help put more Americans back to work and keep our international edge.

In Kiplinger's latest search for top cities, we focused on places that specialize in out-of-the-box thinking. "New ideas generate new businesses," says Kevin Stolarick, our numbers guru, who this year evaluated U.S. cities for growth and growth potential. Stolarick is research director at the Martin Prosperity Institute, a think tank that studies economic prosperity. "In the places where innovation works, it really works," he says.

And it's no coincidence that economic vitality and livability go hand in hand. Creativity in music, arts and culture, plus neighborhoods and recreational facilities that rank high for "coolness," attract like-minded professionals who go on to cultivate a region's business scene. All of which make our 2010 Best Cities not just great places to live but also great places to start a business or find a job.

1. Austin, Tex.
Austin is arguably the the country's best crucible for small business, offering a dozen community programs that form a neural network of business brainpower to help entrepreneurs. Now overlay that net with a dozen venture-capital funds and 20 or so business associations, plus incubators, educational opportunities and networking events. Mix all these elements in what many call a classless society, where hippie communalism coexists with no-nonsense capitalism, and you’ve got a breeding ground for start-ups.

Don’t discount the fun factor: In the self-proclaimed live-music capital of the world, music and business creativity riff off one another. The city’s famous South by Southwest festival, where concerts, independent film screenings and emerging technology overlap, is a prime example.

2. Seattle, Wash.
Rain City? We'd say Brain City. Home to a well-educated workforce, a world-class research university, über innovators Microsoft, Amazon and Boeing, and a host of risk-taking, garage-tinkering entrepreneurs, Seattle crackles with creative energy. "We only have two products here: smart people and great ideas," says Mark Emmert, president of the University of Washington.

3. Washington, D.C.
Every tourist knows postcard D.C., the city that is home to the White House, the Capitol and all those free Smithsonian museums. But those who live in D.C. know better. The region is chock-full of job prospects, entertainment venues and great neighborhoods, and it is booming. Eleven of the 25 richest counties in the U.S. are located in the region, which also boasts a low unemployment rate.

4. Boulder, Colo.
Boulder is a wealthy, intellectual hot spot where environmental and scientific ideas blossom into businesses. Three economic drivers power Boulder: the University of Colorado, federal research laboratories and more than 6,600 small businesses and corporations, all woven into an entrepreneurial fabric. The city is also a mecca for those seeking healthy, active lifestyles.

5. Salt Lake City, Utah
You can’t beat the cost of living and doing business in Salt Lake City. Utah has relatively low wages, taxes and operating costs. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that “our offices are 15 minutes away from four ski resorts,” says one local employer.

6. Rochester, Minn.
Rochester is built on the world-renowned Mayo Clinic’s rock-solid foundation, and, in return, the community serves as great hosts and hostesses to 2.7 million visitors each year (many of them Mayo patients). Synergy among the city’s resources has been well cultivated and is paying dividends. Rochester opened the Minnesota BioBusiness Center in spring 2009 -- providing room to grow in the form of 150,000 feet of office space. The center, located a block from both the Mayo Clinic and the university, represents the city’s aspiration to build an even stronger bioscience and medical-research community. “If there’s a theme to what we’re doing here, it’s collaboration. . ."

7. Des Moines, Iowa
There’s more to Des Moines than agricultural jobs. A likely worker shortage sparked by retiring baby-boomers has lit a fire under Des Moines’s civic leaders. The city is working to lure back young Iowans and attracting global talent by developing its downtown and promoting the jobs available in the many industries that flourish there. Other big draws: low-cost housing, plus the city’s long-touted reputation for family-friendliness and a “19-minute commute.”

8. Burlington, Vt.
Burlington's local-food movement perhaps best tells the story of how environmentalism drives much of the city's economic growth. Many shops and restaurants along Burlington’s Church Street Marketplace, the famous pedestrian mall, serve up local goodies. A couple blocks over, the City Market/Onion River Co-Op, a community-owned grocery store, offers more than 1,000 Vermont products. (And atop the supermarket, generating 3% of the Co-Op’s energy needs -- enough electricity to power six Burlington homes -- are 136 solar panels from groSolar, another Vermont-based company.) And the crown jewel for locavores: The Intervale Center is a nonprofit organization that has managed 350 acres of family-owned farmland in Burlington since 1988 and provides 10% of the town’s food. "We’re 30 years ahead of the country with the local-food movement. . ."

9. West Hartford, Conn.
Community is key in West Hartford, a place where you actually know your neighbors. But this once-sleepy suburb of Connecticut’s capital is not content to be merely an idyllic place to live and raise a family (it is, by the way). West Hartford made our list because it is transforming itself from a suburb into a destination -- in this case, a regional destination for shopping and dining. Small business is the new game in town, and everyone is playing.

10. Topeka, Kan.
In its reserved, midwestern way, Topeka has engineered a prosperity that most cities of similar size would envy. As the capital city of Kansas, nearly 25% of Topeka’s workforce is employed by the government, providing a stable job market where unemployment has stayed around 7%. The city boasts quality schools, friendly people, good hospitals, a university and -- one of its biggest selling points -- low housing costs.

Austin ranks high for, well, just about everything

2011-04-15T13:09:00.000-05:00

Rarely does a week go by without Austin being listed at or near the top of a "best of" list.
With so much positive PR for this city flying around, I thought it would be helpful to wrangle it all together. So here goes.

• The biggie people still like to talk about came from Kiplinger’s Personal Finance in May 2010, which tagged Austin as the No. 1 best city to live in for the next 10 years.
• Just last week, Austin placed third in a "Youngest Cities" ranking, which was based on how youthful residents feel, not their actual age.
• When it comes to social networking, few cities beat Austin's prowess, Men's Health magazine says.
• Austin is the second-best place to find a job right now, according to number crunchers at Ajilon Professional Staffing.
• In November, Austin was deemed to have the second-strongest job market in the country by the Milken Institute (behind only Killeen, Texas).
• That backs up another list in July 2010 that put Austin among the top job-generating cities.
• In May 2010, Austin was listed among the country’s healthiest cities on two other lists.
• A CNN /Money study last year labeled Austin as recession-proof.
• Austin was chosen as one of the eight best places to live and work in the U.S. by Business Review USA.
• Austinites have the ninth-best “quality of life,” according to Portfolio.com study in May 2010.
• Austin (again) ranked No. 4 on a list of the biggest tax procrastinating cities. I'll go out on a limb and put this one in the "positive" category because it illustrates how laid back and cool this city is. We're much too busy this time of year with rodeos, music festivals and perfect weather to be bogged down by tax forms.
• Austin was ranked the third-best city to move to in the United States, according to a RelocateAmerica.com report about a year ago.
• They were on to something, because earlier this year U-Haul said Austin is one of the most-moved-to cities in the country.
• Austin was pi cked as the nation’s most progressive and proactive entrepreneurial center in a July article from Entrepreneur.com.
• PayScale Inc. just ranked Austin second among cities considered an IT startup “Hot Spot."
• Austin is the third-best city for young entrepreneurs, says Under 30 CEO.
• Entrepreneur magazine ranked Austin a top creative center in July.
• If you're a college student, there are few places better than Austin, according to a Huffington Post ranking.
• Austin ranks as the nation’s fifth-best city for new college graduates in the latest annual listing by Bloomberg Businessweek.
• Austin was deemed by Men’s Health to be America’s most sex-happy city.
• Austin was Yahoo Travel’s third-best city for singles last year. And Vavoom.com put Austin as its second-best city for dating behind Miami earlier this year.
• Austin did well on a Forbes list in June 2010 highlighting the best cities for young professionals.
• We have some of the cleanest air in the country, according to another list.
• Au stin is the best city for Hispanics, according to Popular Hispanics.
• While we're not really an industrial town, Austin is still one of the country's top cities for manufacturing jobs, according to Manufacturers' News Inc.
• In December, Forbes put Austin at No. 12 on its first list of the best cities for shopping.
• We already have more restaurants per capita than most cities, but that didn't stop Austin from being named recently as one of the top 10 emerging restaurant markets in the U.S.
• When it comes to live music, Austin is No. 3 in the U.S., according to MSNBC.com.
• Austin is also one of the safest cities of its size, another study said.
• Late last year, Austin residents were ranked the 7th brainiest in the U.S. by Daily Beast.
• And all that brainpower must make life easier, because Austin is one of the least-stressed cities in the U.S.

Read more: Austin ranks high for, well, just about everything | Austin Business Journal

Survey: Austin one of top 'youngest' cities

2011-04-07T11:04:00.000-05:00

Survey: Austin one of top 'youngest' cities

Austin Business Journal - by Julie Donnelly, Boston Business Journal

Date: Wednesday, April 6, 2011, 11:59am CDT - Last Modified: Wednesday, April 6, 2011, 1:16pm CDT

It's not how old you are, it's how old you feel — and Austinites feel relatively young.
Austin was named third in a "Youngest Cities" ranking by RealAge , a subsidiary of the Hearst Corp. that uses an online test to measure health behaviors to determine "how old your body thinks you are," according to the website.
Cities where residents report lots of exercise and little smoking topped the list of "Youngest Cities," with Salt Lake City in the top spot, followed by San Francisco, Austin, Denver and Boston.
The "Oldest Cities" reflected survey results from residents who scored worse on several measures of health. Besides smoking and exercise, the survey also asked participants about their sleep habits and blood pressure. Five of the ten "Oldest Cities" also had the highest blood pressure.
Knoxville, Tenn. was named the "Oldest City", followed by Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point, N.C., and Nashville, Tenn. Five of the ten "oldest cities" are in the South.
To compile the rankings, RealAge executives said they analyzed online survey data for America’s 50 largest metropolitan areas by taking a random sample of 1,000 survey results from each city. RealAge said the sample data were adjusted for age differences, so cities with a large population of retirees weren't penalized, and those with with large numbers of college students didn't benefit.

Austin's Urban Rail Website is up!!!

2011-04-06T14:11:00.001-05:00

Taking charge of Austin's future.

Austin needs to fix some of the worst transportation problems in the country. The ASMP brings us together to focus on:

Sustainability:
Promoting the economy, equity and the environment.
Livability:
Safe, affordable, practical choices for all lifestyles.
Mobility:
Faster, easier and better trips for everyone.

http://austinurbanrail.com/

Austin 2nd best job market in U.S., firm says

2011-03-28T11:51:00.000-05:00

Austin ranked high on another job market listing, taking the second slot on an employment outlook report released on Tuesday.
Ajilon Professional Staffing named Austin the second best place to find a job in the U.S., according to a U.S. Department of Labor statistics analysis and staffing trends nationally. The recruiting and workforce solutions firm cited Austin's lower than average unemployment rate — 7.3 percent — diversity of industries, and rich talent pool.
The company also considered cost of living, the number of businesses hiring, and the education level of residents.
Austin has often been picked for similar lists. One last month from Business Review USA named Austin one of the eight best places to live and work in the U.S. Forbes called the city the third best job market in the U.S. in January. The publication also ranked Austin No. 1 last year for economic recovery, 8th best for business and careers, No. 2 most innovative and 10th best place for for young professionals, among other rankings.
Minneapolis-St. Paul topped the Ajilon Staffing ranking released on Tuesday, in large part due to an uptick in hiring by large financial services, health care, retail, and manufacturing.

Read more: Austin 2nd best job market in U.S., firm says | Austin Business Journal

In-N-Out Burgers landing in Texas soon

2011-03-24T11:37:00.002-05:00

California-based fast food titan In-N-Out Burgers is steaming ahead with its first expansion to the Lone Star State, according to reports this week.
The Orange County Register reported the drive-up burger chain planning at least eight stores in Texas. The Austin Business Journal reported rumors of such an expansion after the International Council of Shopping Centers conference last November, but it seems executives are now really making moves.
“Coming soon” signs are popping up in North Texas, with the first store in the Dallas area slated for a spring opening, the California paper reported.
Austin is still apparently on the chain’s radar screen, but an executive told the Orange County Register that they’re too busy in Dallas right now to lay down plans here.
Even for a giant like In-N-Out, time could be a factor. The Austin burger scene, as of late, is getting a lot meatier.
Carl’s Jr opened its newest location in Westlake earlier this year, at the same time as local favorite P. Terry’s Burger Stand planned new stores in Lakeway and South Austin. Mooyah Burgers Fries and Shakes announced an expansion from the Dallas area to the central part of the state last November, about the same time fastest-growing franchise Five Guys Burgers targeted Austin for growth. Adding another local to the mix, the culinary champions of Z Tejas, Roaring Fork and others opened Hopdoddy Burger Bar last fall.
Only time will tell whose beef reigns supreme.

It's Loud! It's Crowded! And people LOVE it!!!

2011-03-17T11:23:00.000-05:00

http://www.austin360.com/music/sxsw-wrap-wednesdays-highlights-1326702.html?cxtype=rss_news

TJW LOVES SXSW!!! We hope you get to share in the fun!!

2011-03-15T10:23:00.000-05:00

TJW LOVES SXSW!!! We hope you get to share in the fun!! Visit this website for all the latest information on the fun - http://sxsw.com/

An Announcement from Mark Willis, CEO Keller Williams Realty

2011-03-11T12:06:00.000-06:00

Austinite launches iPad 'gym'

2011-03-01T11:10:00.000-06:00

Austin-based Train in Sync LLC launched a mobile fitness application for Apple Inc.'s iPad.
The "cardio Escape" program is described as a fitness, health and training tool with leadership from trainer David Richardson, co-star of A&E series "Heavy." The application includes a library of running, biking and hiking videos in Texas that simulate the environment for the user — plus synced voice commands for motivation.
The downloadable tool displays outdoor videos of actual trails while training on a stationary machine. Runners, hikers and bikers can simultaneously listen to music libraries and choose from a customized set of work-outs. A record-keeping option also lets users track progress, log workouts and share with friends.
The application is available on iTunes.

Keller Williams Family Reunion 2011

2011-02-21T13:37:00.000-06:00

Google hosting Austin hiring event

2011-02-16T11:56:00.000-06:00

Austin Business Journal

Date: Friday, February 11, 2011, 1:07pm CST - Last Modified: Friday, February 11, 2011, 1:38pm CST

Google Inc. is hosting a networking event next week to fill 12 open positions at its Austin office.
The "Network with Google" happy hour will run from 6-9 p.m. on Feb. 16 at Cedar Street, 208 W. 4th St. A spokeswoman said attendees should come with a resume in hand. Drinks, appetizers and sweets will be provided and local Google staff will answer questions.
The positions, according to Google's Austin hiring website, are primarily sales, with a handful of sales and technical positions also available.
The hirings are part of a company-wide effort to fill 6,000 open positions. Officials said last week they have received more than 75,000 applications so far.

Texas Hill Country Winter!!

2011-02-10T11:13:00.000-06:00

It's been a crazy winter down here in the Texas Hill Country... with scenes we don't see very often. This winter picture is the bridge over Town Lake on Loop 360 (Colorado River)... which meanders toward downtown Austin... which is on the left side of the picture!

Austin's Version Of A Winter Wonderland!!!

2011-02-07T10:25:00.000-06:00

Carl's Jr. considers moving HQ to Austin

2011-02-01T11:24:00.000-06:00

The Dallas Morning News reported Carl’s Jr. restaurants considering Austin and other Texas cities for a headquarters move.

The fast food chain's CEO Andrew Puzder said he is meeting with Texas Gov. Rick Perry to discuss the possibility of moving the company from Carpinteria, Calif. The executive praised Texas' "business-friendly” atmosphere, specifically its no-income-tax policy.
The company, CKE Restaurants Inc., also operates Hardees , La Salsa and Green Burrito and has dozens of stores in Texas. Officials said recently they are targeting growth in the Lone Star State. A press release last January said Carl's Jr. would double its Texas presence during the next nine years, including a new Carl's Jr. opened in West Austin Monday.

The headquarters move would bring about 500 jobs to Texas, according to the Dallas Morning News. Officials are also considering Dallas and San Antonio.

Read more: Carl's Jr. considers moving HQ to Austin | Austin Business Journal

Pending home sales rise

2011-01-31T10:31:00.000-06:00

Austin Business Journal - by Jeff Clabaugh , Washington Business Journal

A recent report on the housing market shows continued improvement, with pending sales of existing homes rising nationwide in December.

The National Association of Realtors said its Pending Home Sales Index, which measures signed purchase contracts but not closed sales, rose 2 percent nationwide. In the South, the region that includes Texas, pending home sales jumped 11.5 percent in December.

"The latest pending sales gain suggests activity is very close to a sustainable, healthy volume of a mid-5 million total annual home sales," said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. "However, sales above 6 million, as occurred during the bubble years, is highly unlikely this year."

The Realtors' trade group forecasts mortgage rates will rise only modestly in the next few months, and expects to see a favorable environment for buyers with good credit.

The shift would be a welcomed change for Austin, where single-family home sales were down 5 percent 2010, according to the Austin Board of Realtors.

One of 12 Americans lives in Texas (and other 2010 census findings)

2011-01-26T11:58:00.002-06:00

The 2010 census will continue to release more information as the year progresses, giving everyone a rich picture of how Texas and the rest of the United States is changing.

The initial numbers last month were necessary so states could know how many congressional districts they would have and redraw their district boundaries accordingly. Texas, we know, already is the biggest winner, with four additional districts. California, for the first time, failed to add any.

Most people already are looking at changes over the past decade, since 2000, but those looking further back are gaining insights about regional changes. Texas again is standing out, and speculation is accumulating about the reasons.

A fascinating article appeared recently in the Wall Street Journal by Michael Barone, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Barone looked at census figures going back eight decades. Here's a gem he produced:

"Today one out of 12 Americans lives in Texas - the same proportion that lived in New York City in 1930. Metropolitan Dallas and metropolitan Houston, with about 6 million people each, threaten to overtake our fourth-largest metro area, San Francisco Bay (population about 7 million), in the next decade."

Barone divides the past 80 years into two 40-year periods, making 1970 a middle "flex point."

Before 1970, the large cities in the Northeast were population magnets. So were "foundry" states such as Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania, especially as blacks moved from the South seeking union-protected factory jobs.

The unions peaked about 1970. U.S. factories began to lose their competitiveness to foreign manufacturers, and the economy shifted more to services, high technology and finance. The big Northeast cities and their states boosted tax rates that made them less business-friendly.

After the 1970s, the center of gravity for auto manufacturing moved south, where unions had less of a stranglehold.

"Back in the 1930-70 period, liberal political scientists hoped and expected America would become less like Texas and more like New York, with bigger government, higher taxes and more unions ... Americans have been voting with their feet for the Texas model, with its low tax rates, light regulation and openness to new businesses and enterprises," Barone wrote.

Texas now has 25 million people. New York's population is 19 million.

It just wasn't taxes and unions, though.

Demographic analyst Richard Hokenson of New Jersey, who spoke in San Antonio several times during the 1990s, adds that the spread of cheap air conditioning throughout the South helped encourage the population shift. Immigration, energy, utility, transportation and real estate also might be cited as factors.

Higher education might be another one. Harvard and Yale universities aren't the only top-tier options anymore.

The trend has business-investment and job implications. The question Barone poses is whether 2010 will become another "flex point."

More to the point, will Texas, facing a budget deficit of up to $27 billion, go the way of New York and the regions that experienced slower growth in the last 40 years?

Public policy, from state and local governments, plays a big role in the answer - something for Texas lawmakers to keep in mind this legislative session.

American Attitudes About Home Ownership

2011-01-25T14:09:00.000-06:00

According to a NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® survey of 3,793 adults conducted by Harris Interactive and released in January 2011, home owners and renters agree that home ownership benefits individuals and families, strengthens our communities, and is integral to our nation’s economy.
Here you’ll find highlights from the research report plus easy ways to share the information.
Among the findings of NAR’s “American Attitudes About Homeownership” survey:

The vast majority of both home owners and renters say that owning a home is a smart decision over the long term. Even in today’s challenging economy, 95% of owners and 72% of renters believe that over a period of several years, it makes more sense to own a home.

Home owners are much more likely to be satisfied with the quality of their family and community life than renters. While more than half of owners (56%) are “very” or “extremely” satisfied with the overall quality of their family life, only about one-third (36%) of renters report the same levels of satisfaction. Also, 43% of home owners are “very” or “extremely” satisfied with their community life, compared with 30% of renters.

An overwhelming majority of home owners are happy with their decision to own a home. A full 93% of owners surveyed would buy again.

Most renters aspire to home ownership. The majority of renters (63%) say they are at least somewhat likely to purchase a home at some point in the future. Among them, young adults (18- to 24-years-old) have the strongest aspirations for home ownership.

The survey also confirmed that home owners and renters continue to have concerns about the economy:

In today’s market, many aspiring home owners face worries about job security and credit worthiness. Among renters who are “very” or “extremely” likely to buy a home in the future, three out of five consider confidence in job security or creditworthiness to be an obstacle.

Home owners and renters both believe that the mortgage interest deduction should not be targeted for change. 74% of owners and 62% of renters say it’s “extremely” or “very” important that the MID remain in place.

Given the strong public support of and aspirations for owning a home, we need to keep in place policies that support and encourage responsible, sustainable home ownership.
Resources You Can Use:
REALTORS® may share the data above with their clients and communities. For additional information, check out these resources:
Download a full summary of the survey results > (PDF: 112 KB)
View survey charts and graphs > (PDF: 860 KB)
News Release: Owners, Renters Agree—Owning a Home is a Smart Decision >
Tools for Working With the Media:Share these ready-to-use story ideas and articles with local media and tell the story of home ownership in your community.
Home Ownership: The Right Move, from the January 2011 Home Delivery newsletter
Survey Shows Owners and Renters Agree Home Ownership Matters, Real Estate Facts, February 2011

Downtown condo sales rose 50% in '10; Austin 360 top sold Read more: Downtown condo sales rose 50% in '10; Austin 360 top sold | Austin Business Journal

2011-01-24T13:17:00.000-06:00

Austin condo sales doubled last year, while prices were stable, according to recent Multiple Listing Service data released Monday.
A report from AustinTowers.net, a downtown Austin real estate blog, compiled MLS data from 25 downtown residential towers. The group tracked 168 sales last year, or about 50 percent more than in 2009. The average selling price last year was $294 per square foot, down from $296 per square foot in 2009. Units sold for an average $308 per square foot in 2008.
“With more than 2,000 new downtown condo units built downtown in the last decade, overcapacity and the real estate downturn threatened to depress condo prices” AustinTowers Editor Paul J. D’Arcy said.
“The 2010 sales results show that the market remains quite strong given the difficulties facing the broader real estate and mortgage markets.”
The report said the average price per unit sold downtown was $343,983 up from about $330,344 last year, but down from $345,856 in 2008. The average time to sell a condo was 100 days, a 12-day increase from 2009.
The latter half of the year was particularly active, the Austin Business Journal reported in November. In October, there were 30 closings for downtown condos, according to Travis County data confirmed by developers. Twenty-one of those were at the three latest high-profile condo buildings downtown: the Four Seasons Residences , Spring Condominium and The Austonian .
The 360 condos in Austin at the corner of Nueces and West Fourth streets was the highest selling property last year, closing about 38 deals, according to AustinTowers.net. Of all units sold, eight buyers paid more than $1 million, up from two in 2009 and one in 2008.
A significant number of condos also sold for close out prices, with about 38 going for less than $200,000. One buyer paid $86,000 — the lowest price paid for a downtown condo last year.
Developers are still planning new projects downtown, as well. A 12-story, 72-unit condominium complex is being planned at 805 Nueces St., at the corner of Nueces and 9th streets downtown.

UT signs $300M ESPN TV network deal

2011-01-20T12:11:00.000-06:00

Austin Business Journal - by John Ourand & Michael Smith, SportsBusiness Journal

Date: Wednesday, January 19, 2011, 12:22pm CST - Last Modified: Thursday, January 20, 2011, 11:30am CST

The University of Texas on Wednesday revealed a 20-year, $300 million deal with ESPN to create the Longhorn Network, the first-of-its-kind channel to broadcast live UT athletic events, shoulder programming and non-sports university content.
The Longhorn Network will launch this fall and be owned by ESPN, which will pay the school a rights fee that averages $15 million a year, sources said. In addition, ESPN has committed close to $400 million in production value to the channel over the 20-year term. IMG College, the Longhorns’ multimedia rights holder, negotiated the deal with UT.
All three parties – UT, ESPN and IMG – signed the contract, sources said, because some of the rights had to be sublicensed from IMG, while other rights came directly from the university. ESPN submitted a bid for the deal last October.
The network is expected to generate 50 to 100 jobs in Austin, reports stated. Organizers are in discussion to build a glass-walled studio in the north end zone complex of Royal-Memorial Stadium. The network will provide a range of programming, from sports events to documentaries and academic lectures to theater performances.
In addition to the channel, Texas makes more than $10 million a year from its multimedia rights agreement with IMG, which will give the school an annual revenue stream of about $25 million for its multimedia rights and the channel combined. The Longhorns’ budget for the 2010-2011 fiscal year, already the nation’s richest, is $137 million.

Did You Buy A Home In 2010?

2011-01-14T12:35:00.002-06:00

Did you buy a home in 2010? Then it's time to file for your homestead exemption, saves you lots on taxes! Email us for your county's form, you have until April 30th to file and it's free!!!

Austin 3rd best job market in U.S., Forbes says Read more: Austin 3rd best job market in U.S., Forbes says | Austin Business Journal

2011-01-13T14:05:00.000-06:00

Austin Business Journal

Date: Friday, January 7, 2011, 11:52am CST

On the eve of a Katie Couric interview on Austin's job market, the city was ranked as having the third best employment prospects in the U.S.

Forbes.com released a report Thursday ranking Austin 3rd best job market in the U.S. The business publication cited the city's low unemployment, about 7.1 percent, and low job-seekers per opening ratio, about 2.39 to one.
Forbes said Austin has many assets that have helped it weather the downturn: It's a state capital and major convention center, especially for the music industry, and home to the University of Texas and a wealth of technology companies.
In October, Austin officials announced a new Eco-Merge Green Corporate Center devoted to producing new technologies, Forbes said. Also, several international firms, including Toshiba and China's Taiwan Clean Energy, plan to open shop here.
The listing is not Austin's first appearance on Forbes' best of lists. The publication ranked Austin No. 1 last year for economic recovery, 8th best for business and careers, No. 2 most innovative and 10th best place for best cities for young professionals, among other rankings.
Washington, D.C. topped the most recent list as healthiest labor market among major U.S. metro areas. By one estimate, the nation's capital has roughly one advertised job opening for every unemployed worker in the region. Its unemployment is just 6 percent, the lowest among the country's largest 50 metros.
Las Vegas was ranked as having the worst major job market with 14.3 percent unemployment and eight unemployed workers for every job opportunity.

Just Listed... This is a great buy near the Domain & Arboretum under 200K!

2011-01-06T10:54:00.000-06:00

Forrest Higdon
(512) 573-5733
fhigdon@gmail.com
Keller Williams Realty

11511 Toledo Drive Austin , Texas 78759
Area: Austin

One of a Kind: 11511 Toledo Drive

One of a kind home with an amazing living room featuring a great stone fireplace, huge vaulted ceilings & beautiful hardwood floors. This single story sits on a large corner lot featuring a rear entry garage, large trees & a well kept exterior. The owners have gone through the trouble to remove the popcorn ceilings & renovate the bathrooms, giving the home a warm & updated feel. With the home's favorable location to the Arboretum & easy access to Mopac & 183 this home really is a must see!

Forrest Higdon
www.TeamJoeWilliams.com

10 Best Places to Buy a Home in 2011

2011-01-04T12:50:00.000-06:00

By: http://www.walletpop.com/bloggers/diane-wedner/

Last decade's bipolarhousing market is over. The ups, the downs, the thrills, the spills -- largely behind us. Yes, prices and sales are stuck in neutral in large swaths of the country.

But let's ring in the new decade optimistically, with Walletpop's Top 10 List of the Best Places to Buy a Home in 2011. This mostly unscientific and partially-biased list is based on a grab-bag of lifestyle priorities and, yes, thorough reporting.

Here we go, in no particular order:

1. Austin, Texas: Best All-Around City Population: 799,267
Median home price: $119,788
Why here: Texas' capital and a great college town, Austin is beautiful and the 12th-most-affordable American metro area. Job growth from 2000 to 2010 was 14.1%, according to Trulia; unemployment currently is 7.1%, compared with 9.8% nationwide. The city's population is growing too. These positive indicators are expected to continue in the coming decade. Fortune 500 companies abound here; it's home to more than 2,000 tech companies. Home prices are reasonable for the $73,747 median family income and let's face it, nobody does BBQ better than Texas

.2. Deerfield Beach, Florida: Most Affordable Town With a View
Population: 74,584
Median home price: $89,400
Why here: There may be cities with lower median prices (not many), but I'm guessing you need a down coat to live there. This burg comes complete with year-round warm weather and beachfront properties that not too long ago cost a bundle ($400,000+). It's close to Fort Lauderdale and Miami, where residents can go for professional sports and cultural events.

3. Broomfield County, Colorado: Best Jobs
Population: 55,000
Median home price: $239,000
Why here: Jobs! It also doesn't hurt that the county is tucked between Denver and Boulder, so the scenery is nice too. Job growth in this area exploded 50% during the last decade. High-tech giants Oracle, Ball Corporation and VMware employ lots of folks, and IBM and Avaya are nearby. If you're college-educated, you're in good company: About 38% of the county's residents hold a bachelor's or higher degree, according to the Broomfield Economic Development Corporation. If you ski and hike, we're talkin' bliss!

4. Durham, NC: Best City to Retire In
Population: 223,284
Median home price: $178,700
Why here: Since we're talking about retiring, first on the list of pluses is Duke University's renowned medical center. Also, Duke's popular senior learning program offers 100 courses every term, on campus. So if golf's not your game, but mathematics is, there you go. If, however, golf is your game -- you've got that too. Plus Broadway hit shows, concerts and lots of places to hike. Home prices are a steal for what you get.

5. Woodbury, Minnesota: Best Place to Raise Kids
Population: 58,515
Median home price: $240,100
Median home price: There are so many great places to raise kids, but this suburb 10 miles from St. Paul has a lot going for it. Yes, winters are cold (not a small thing), but it's Minnesota -- we're talking thousands of lakes. Woodbury has 100 miles of trails for hiking and biking, and is a stone's throw from thousands of acres of parkland. The schools are great, including the Math & Science charter school. 3M employs multitudes, as does state government. What's not to like? OK, the winters. Deal with it.

6. Warner Robins, Georgia: Best Military Town For the Buck
Population: 53, 629
Median home price: $110,400
Why here: Located midway between Atlanta and Savannah, Warner Robins' housing affordability is the big draw. The median price of a home is $110,000, while the median family income is about $63,000. That leaves some extra dough to hit the local aviation museum, motor speedway and golf club. The city's main employer is the military (home of Robins Air Force Base), bringing engineers and employees from around the globe, so the population is eclectic. The city fared well during the recession.

7. Madison, Wisconsin: Best College Town
Population: 562,000
Median home price: $209,400
Why here: A gem of a city located between two lakes, Madison is where it's happening in the Midwest. Home of the state's capital, it's got a top-rated, Big 10 university (with all the sports and cultural events that come with it); affordable housing; tons of eateries and shopping; smart people; friendly atmosphere. You don't have to be a student or the parent of one to buy a home here. A never-ending supply of renters keeps your investment solid. You may end up living here yourself.

8. Pocono Mountains, Pennnsylvania: Best Vacation-Home Location For the Price
Population: 340,000 for the whole region
Median home price: $110,000 for Pocono Lake; prices vary throughout the region
Why here: Year-round playground, with skiing in winter, equestrian activities in spring, summertime sailing and hiking in autumn. You can get a two-bedroom home with 1,256 square feet for $99,999 in Mount Pocono; a three-bedroom cottage in 1,255 square feet is listed for $139,000 in Pocono Pines, according toHomeAwayRealEstate.com.

9. Portland, Oregon: Best City For Gen-Y
Population: 551,302
Median monthly rent: $1,200
Why here: It's green (literally and figuratively) and it's gorgeous. Rents are a bit higher, but some big companies pay well, such as Intel, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Legacy Health System, Fred Meyer Stores. The attitude is way-laid back and there are tons of venues for merry-making: music clubs, coffee shops and art galleries. When it's not raining, you can bike through the city, hike Mt. Hood and hit the zillions of hiking trails nearby.

10. San Francisco: Best City, Period, Price Be Damned
Population: 815,358
Median home price: $628,000
Why here: If you have to ask ... The Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Park, the Bay, the hills, the views, the museums, street cars, cable cars, clubs, nightlife, architecture, coffee houses, bookstores for bibliophiles (City Lights, anyone?), hiking and biking everywhere, Tony Bennett (OK, just in your head), famous hotels and restaurants. Yes, it's foggy in summer, but who cares?

Sources, median home prices: trulia.com and zillow.com, http://www.walletpop.com/

Somethin' brewing at the Austin Four Seasons...

2010-11-10T12:30:00.000-06:00

Austin Business Journal - by Francisco Vara-Orta

Austin now has another Latin American-inspired food and beverage destination at the new Four Seasons Residences .

The Coffee Cup , the first U.S. location of the Central American coffee chain rooted in El Salvador, opened last week at 305 E. Cesar Chavez St., at the base of the Four Seasons condo tower.

The Coffee Cup has 31 coffee stores in Central America, with the Austin location being the first in the U.S, according to Director of Operations Jose Luis Urrutia. The store specializes in preparing handcrafted coffee beverages including espressos, lattes, cappuccinos, and shaken iced coffees, as well as special recipes for coffee crunches and frappes. They also offer a variety of fruit smoothies and green tea smoothies.

But there are food options for breakfast and lunch. Pastries, bagel sandwiches and ham-and-cheese croissants are for sale for breakfast, and panini sandwiches and quiches for lunch. The store also does catering.

The Coffee Cup provides complimentary Wi-Fi with inside and outside seating and free parking for customers. Walls are covered with photos of women sorting coffee beans and warehouses with pallets of beans. The owners said that beans are grown and roasted on the land they own in El Salvador.

The Coffee Cup is the latest in a spurt of new businesses offering products or cuisines from Latin America.

Vince Young Steakhouse opens November 6th

2010-11-01T12:06:00.000-05:00

Austin Business Journal - by Staff Reports

Legendary Longhorn quarterback Vince Young will open the doors to his first restaurant venture in Austin next month.

The BCS National Championship winner, who now throws for the Tennessee Titans , has partnered with Phillip Brown and his wife Laura McIngvale-Brown in The Vince Young Steakhouse. Phillip Brown will act as executive chef.

Food will be seasonal and local, according to a press release Friday. Bill Stubbs created the restaurant's design described as classic steakhouse with an Austin touch.

The Vince Young Steakhouse will open at 301 San Jacinto Blvd. on Nov. 5. A media event will kick off at 2 p.m., followed by an invitation-only cocktail reception. The restaurant opens for regular dinner Nov. 6. It will be open evenings and nights seven days a week.

Goodbye Sony Walkman...

2010-10-25T12:18:00.000-05:00

By Adrian Kingsley-Hughes | October 25, 2010, 8:25am PDT

After selling more than 200,020,000 units, Sony is finally pulling the plug on the cassette-based Walkman. Personally, I was surprised to find that they were still being made.

Note: To put that sales number into context, Apple has sold some 260,000,000 iPods worldwide.

The Walkman first went on sale in Japan on July 1st 1979 before later being exported worldwide. In its time it as popular and as widely loved as Apple’s iPod. So rapid was the success of the Walkman that by 1983 the cassette had outsold the vinyl record.

It’s hard to imagine how the Walkman changed the way we listen to music. That said, I think that the audio cassette, and the act that it was the first convenient file sharing medium, had a lot to do with the success of the Walkman. I remember how twin-tape decks, and later high-speed dubbing (which sounded less pirate-y than “high speed copying”), massively increased the demand for devices like the Walkman because it gave people easy access to cheap music … the latest album could be yours for the cost of a blank cassette. Yeah, I guess we should be kinda sorry that all the copying we did (not to mention recording stuff off the radio) killed off the music industry … ;)

I have fond memories of my first Walkman. Sure there was warble and flutter in the audio (really bad at times), heads needed cleaning, there was all that rewinding hassles, and I had countless tape-chewing incidents, but I still loved my Walkman. It lasted years, suffering countless crash landings and even the odd soaking. It might still be here somewhere …

Now get off my lawn.

Oh, and by the way, you’ll still be able to get a Walkman, just not a cassette model. Sony will continue to manufacture CD and MiniDisc based models.

So, who has fond memories of the Walkman.

ESPN bids for future University of Texas TV

2010-10-25T12:08:00.000-05:00

ESPN has countered a bid by Fox Sports to operate a University of Texas channel and is now viewed by industry insiders as a legitimate competitor to partner with the school on a Longhorns network.

ESPN’s pitch has been buoyed by John Skipper, the network’s executive vice president of content, who recently has engaged officials from Texas and the school’s multimedia rights holder, IMG College, in the negotiations.

Though Skipper has not traveled to Texas for these negotiations, sources said he has been more engaged with IMG College, which is handling the bidding process.

While Texas and IMG originally expected to have a network partner selected by the end of the month, sources say the timetable has shifted and likely will move into November. August is targeted for the formal launch of a Longhorns network, with programming from all of the school’s athletic teams on the channel.
IMG also has had discussions with AT&T , DirecTV , Time Warner Cable and Comcast , as well as private equity firms, in its search for a partner to run the new network. But the competition appears to be down to Fox and ESPN, two networks well-versed in launching channels and navigating the travails of distribution.
Representatives from Fox and ESPN declined to comment on the ongoing talks.

Each network brings strengths to the bidding. Fox guarantees instant distribution with its trio of Fox College Sports channels — FCS Atlantic, FCS Central and FCS Pacific — any one of which could be turned into a Longhorns network. Texas officials are said to covet that kind of distribution, which has been traditionally hard to attain for startup networks like this.

The school also is enamored by the strength of ESPN’s brand and believes an association with it will add credibility to a fledgling network. One executive close to the talks said school officials like the cachet of being with ESPN.

ESPN’s value is believed to be in its creative development on the programming side, something school officials deem critical to the network’s long-term sustainability.

Texas’ marquee football and basketball games will go to the Big 12 Conference’s media partners — Fox and ABC/ESPN — leaving, at best, one live football game and a handful of live basketball games for the new network. That means the majority of original football and basketball coverage on the new network would come through shoulder programming and studio shows.

Fox owns the cable rights to the Big 12 through 2011-12 and ABC/ESPN owns the network rights through 2015-16, but any games not picked up by those networks would be available for broadcast to Texas.
The Fox and ESPN bids include a financial investment to start the network and resources to make its content appealing, from sports shows to entertainment programming from the school’s Austin, Texas, home.
Two weeks ago, Fox Sports appeared to be the clear front-runner, but ESPN announced its interest in a big way last week when Skipper took on a greater role in the talks.

Texas Athletic Director DeLoss Dodds has said that Texas will not have an ownership stake in the new channel. Industry sources say a number of ownership scenarios are still being considered. One scenario has IMG College and the media partner creating a network as a joint venture, in which case Texas would receive a rights fee and would not have an ownership stake.

Another scenario exists that involves Texas joining IMG College and the media partner in a three-way deal in which revenue would be shared among them.

Dodds has said that Texas can expect about $3 million in annual revenue from the new network once it’s launched, and the revenue would increase based on the network’s success. The Longhorns are not expected to carry any risk if the network were to fail.

Read more: ESPN bids for future University of Texas TV | Austin Business Journal

Will your next car be a smartphone?

2010-10-20T09:31:00.000-05:00

(CNN) -- Forget about using your smartphone in the car. Your next car might be one.

A growing number of auto and electronic companies are creating systems that put touchscreens, and the ability to talk and text, right into the dashboard.

In the near future, a significant percentage of new cars on the road are expected to come equipped with the ability to update Facebook statuses by voice and even surf the Web from the driver's seat.

Ford, General Motors and several other automakers are pitching the systems as a safer and easier way to let drivers do what many of them are already doing -- using their smartphones while driving.

"We saw this trend of mobile devices increasing, and we said this is an area where we can offer the customers a safer way to use those in the car," said Ford spokesman Alan Hall.

Safety experts aren't completely convinced, though. Some say that while hands-free devices remove part of the danger from using phones while driving, it remains to be seen how such devices are going to be used.

"There's still a lot we don't know about how these 'infotainment' systems are going to affect how people drive," said Russ Rader, spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. "We still don't know how drivers are going to integrate these systems into their driving environment."

Ford has been a leader in the field with its Sync and MyFord Touch systems, in which phones, MP3 players, radio and navigation tools all can be controlled by voice or by using an in-dash LCD screen.

MyFord Touch has a Wi-Fi receiver built in, effectively creating a Wi-Fi hotspot in the vehicle.

At the end of this year, Ford plans to roll out "App Link," a voice-control system that links apps from the user's smartphone to the car in some models. It will launch with Android and BlackBerry systems; the iPhone operating system and Windows Phone 7 will be available by the end of 2011, Hall said.

The technology will be available in 80 percent of Ford vehicles within five years, according to Hall.

But Ford is hardly alone. And it's not just car companies that are getting involved.

General Motors is promoting its own smartphone-like capabilities as part of an upgrade to its OnStar system. The improvements are designed to go after Sync, which has been a hit for Ford, especially among younger customers.

Pandora, podcasts and Wi-Fi are included. And GM officials say future versions may include the ability to update Facebook statuses and send text messages by voice control.

"Our system is first and foremost about safety and security, but we are evolving that now to include connectivity," OnStar spokesman Sam Mancusotold Wired magazine last month. "Some people might say that we are behind in that space, but we are not. We were doing connected services as far back as nine, 10 years ago, but the marketplace really wasn't ready for it yet."

Microsoft and Kia Motors have teamed up to create UVO, a touchscreen and voice-enabled system that lets drivers make calls, send text messages, change radio stations and scroll their music playlists.

It features a 4.3-inch dashboard screen, about the same size as the screen on the Droid X and some other smartphones on the market.

"[The system] is a breakthrough for in-vehicle infotainment that helps allow drivers and passengers to safely and easily use all of their personal technologies to create personalized in-vehicle communications and entertainment experiences," said Michael Sprague, vice president of marketing for Kia.

Early this year, Pioneer unveiled an enhanced stereo system that integrates maps, the Pandora music site and other apps -- plus another that allows devices such as iPods and home computers communicate.

Rader, from the highway safety group, said that with more options come more opportunities for drivers to get distracted.

"It's true that with a truly hands-free system, you're not fumbling with a device. You're not trying to dial a number," he said. "But the conversation itself appears to be a major part of the distraction. There's no indication from the research that we're making things more safe by going hands-free."

It's difficult to track the exact role smartphones play in traffic accidents, since many wrecks are caused by more than one factor. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, though, says that cell phone use "whether it is a hands-free or hand-held device, degrades a driver's performance."

And a growing number of people worldwide own smartphones, which add Web surfing, apps, games and GPS-mapping to the list of diversions available to phone users in the driver's seat.

According to a Pew report, 38 percent of Americans accessed the internet on their phone last year -- up from 25 percent the previous year.

Hall said the new in-car systems address a simple truth. People already are driving while talking, texting and tweeting. Anything that can make that safer, he said, is a good thing.

"It really doesn't add any level of distraction to a driver that a driver can't already do," he said. "If they want to surf with a laptop in their passenger seat, they can do that in a car from 1970."

Future plans for the Sync system include the ability to surf the Web on the in-dash touchscreen, but only when the vehicle is in park.

Rader, whose group is funded by the insurance industry to help cut down on the number of car accidents, acknowledged that phone technology, even physically holding a phone in one hand and the steering wheel in the other, isn't the only reason drivers take their eyes off the road

"Distracted driving isn't new," he said. "It hasn't suddenly appeared because of all this new electronic technology. Drivers who use their phones a lot might be the kind of drivers who would be distracted by other things.

"We just keep inventing new ways to distract ourselves."

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/mobile/10/19/smartphone.cars/index.html?iphoneemail&ref=nf

The Top 25 Recruiter Picks

2010-10-12T14:35:00.000-05:00

By: The Wall Street Journal Staff

Under each school you'll see any individual majors where companies also ranked the school, along with other general information about the school's location, application deadlines and student body. Click on each school name to go to the university's website.

Where possible, we've pulled school-related data on number of students, tuition, application deadline, undergraduate enrollment and admissions contact information directly from each institution's website.

In some cases, data was collected via school profiles on collegeboard.com. Logos were requested from the schools.

1. Pennsylvania State University
. .Penn State, with its main campus located in University Park, Pa., has undergraduates enrolled in more than 160 different majors. It has 20 undergraduate campuses, 10 of which offer University-owned housing. The school is 54% male and 46% female, representing 50 states and 131 countries. The average student/faculty ratio is 17:1.

How majors match up
Accounting (5)
Business/Economics (11)
Computer Science (7)
Engineering (9)
Finance (6)
MIS (2)
.Upcoming Application Deadline: Nov. 30
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state $15,250; Out-of-state $27,114
Undergraduate Enrollment: 38,630
Admissions Phone: 814-865-5471
Admissions Email: admissions@psu.edu

2. Texas A&M University
. .This Texas school's main campus is in College Station, about 100 miles northwest of Houston and 100 miles northeast of Austin. The school has 10 individual colleges and boasts more than 800 student organizations ranging from athletics and recreation to professional and community service.

How majors match up
Finance (5)
Engineering (16)
Business/Economics (24)

.Upcoming Application Deadline: Jan. 15; Dec. 1 (priority)
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state $8,387; Out-of-state $22,817
Undergraduate Enrollment: 38,810
Admissions Phone: 979-845-3741
Admissions Email: admissions@tamu.edu

3. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
.
.University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, centrally located between Chicago, Indianapolis and St. Louis, has more than 150 majors and 1,000 student organizations. Students come from all 50 states and 118 countries. The school is 54% male and 46% female.

How majors match up
Accounting (3)
Engineering (4)
Computer Science (9)
Business/Economics (10)
.Upcoming Application Deadline: Jan. 2
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state $13,658-$18,386; Out-of-state $27,800-$32,528
Undergraduate Enrollment: 31,209
Admissions Phone: 217-333-0302
Admissions Email: ugradadmissions@uiuc.edu
4. Purdue University
. .More than half of this Indiana university's students are from the state (62%) with 38% coming from elsewhere. Its West Lafayette campus offers more than 200 majors for undergraduates along with 18 intercollegiate sports teams and more than 850 student organizations.

How majors match up
MIS (1)
Engineering (2)
Computer Science (8)

.Upcoming Application Deadline: Nov. 15, other programs March 1
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state $9,070-$10,408; Out-of-state $26,622-$27,960
Undergraduate Enrollment: 29,851
Admissions Phone: 765-494-1776
Admissions Email: admissions@purdue.edu

5. Arizona State University
. .Arizona State University's four campuses are within the metro Phoenix area. The West campus is known for professional and liberal arts, its Polytechnic campus focuses on technology and innovation, the downtown Phoenix campus hosts the school's professional programs like journalism and public administration, and its Tempe campus is home to the university's research-based programs.

How majors match up
Business/Economics (19)
Engineering (24)

.Upcoming Application Deadline: Feb.1
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state $8,132; Out-of-state $20,296
Undergraduate Enrollment: 54,277
Admissions Phone: 480-965-7788
Admissions Email: ugrading@asu.edu

6. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
. .This Michigan school's campus is in Ann Arbor offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and several thousand undergraduate research opportunities. There are more than 150 first-year seminars, with no more than 15-18 students each. The university boasts the most living alumni in the world: more than 400,000.

How majors match up
Business/Economics (1)
Finance (1)
Computer Science (3)
Accounting (6)
Engineering (6)
Marketing/Adv (7)
.Upcoming Application Deadline: Nov. 1 (early); Feb. 1 (regular)
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state: $11,837, Out-of-state: $36,001
Undergraduate Enrollment: 26,208
Admissions Phone: 734-764-7433
Admissions Email: n/a

7. Georgia Institute of Technology
. .Georgia Institute of Technology has nine schools and two outreach campuses -- one in Savannah and the other in Metz, France. The student body is 64% male. More than 60% of the university's students come from Georgia, with roughly 30% coming from out-of-state; another 10% are international students.

How majors match up
Engineering (1)
MIS (3)
Computer Science (4)

.Upcoming Application Deadline: Oct. 1 (early); Jan. 15 (regular)
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state $8,716; Out-of-state $26,926
Undergraduate Enrollment: 13,515
Admissions Phone: 404-894-4154
Admissions Email: admission@gatech.edu

8. University of Maryland, College Park
. .This Maryland school's campus, stretching 1,250 acres, is about 10 miles from Washington D.C. It enrolls 67% in-state students; the student body is made up of 47% women. There are 13 colleges and schools within the university, which offers 127 undergraduate majors.

How majors match up
Engineering (3)
Accounting (7)
Computer Science (10)
Business/Economics (21)

.Upcoming Application Deadline: Nov. 1 (priority); Jan. 20 (regular)
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state $8,415.44; Out-of-state $24,830.44
Undergraduate Enrollment: 26,542
Admissions Phone: 301-314-8385
Admissions Email: um-admit@uga.umd.edu

9. University of Florida
. .University of Florida, located in Gainesville, is home to 16 colleges and more than 150 research centers and institutes. Its freshman retention rate hits 94%, with almost all students attending from in-state (97%). There are 60% women in the student body. Alumni, topping 330,000, live in all 50 states and 135 countries.

How majors match up
Finance (12)
Business/Economics (23)

.Upcoming Application Deadline: Nov. 1
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state $5,045; Out-of-state $27,322
Undergraduate Enrollment: 36,386
Admissions Phone: 352-392-1365
Admissions Email: n/a

10. Carnegie Mellon University
. .Carnegie Mellon, located in Pittsburgh, Penn., sits on 143 acres in its urban campus. The university boasts a student/faculty ratio of 10:1. It consists of seven schools and colleges with just 17% of students coming from in-state. The school's motto "My heart is in the work," comes straight from Andrew Carnegie.

How majors match up
Computer Science (1)
Finance (4)
Business/Economics (7)
Engineering (21)

.Upcoming Application Deadline: Nov. 1 (Early I); Dec. 1 (Early II); Jan. 1 (Regular)
Tuition (2010-2011): $42,136
Undergraduate Enrollment: 6,023
Admissions Phone: 412-268-2082
Admissions Email:
undergraduate-admissions@andrew.cmu.edu

11. Brigham Young University
.
.This Utah school's campus is situated in Provo, about 50 miles south of Salt Lake City. The most popular majors are exercise science, management and psychology. Students come from 110 countries and are almost evenly split between male and female. Almost one-quarter of students are married.

How majors match up
Accounting (1)

.Upcoming Application Deadline: Dec. 1 (Priority); Feb. 1 (Final)
Tuition (2010-2011): Latter Day Saints $4,420; Non-Latter Day Saints $8,840
Undergraduate Enrollment: 30,745
Admissions Phone: 801-422-2507
Admissions Email: admissions@byu.edu

12. Ohio State University
.
.Ohio State, located in Columbus, was founded in 1870 as a land-grant university. It's the second-largest university campus in the United States, offering 14 colleges, 175 undergraduate majors and about 12,000 courses. Almost 80% of first-year classes have fewer than 40 students. The campus stretches across 1,700 acres and 457 buildings.

How majors match up
Business/Economics (2)
Accounting (10)
Engineering (13)

.Upcoming Application Deadline: Feb.1
*Tuition (2009-2010): In-state $8,706; Out-of-state $22,278
Undergraduate Enrollment: 41,348
Admissions Phone: 614-292-3980
Admissions Email: askabuckeye@osu.edu

13. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
. .This school offers nine colleges and 65 bachelor's degree programs. The main campus, located in Blacksburg, includes more than 125 buildings and 2,600 acres, which includes an airport. There's an average of 16 students to every faculty member.

How majors match up
Engineering (5)
Computer Science (5)

.Upcoming Application Deadline: Nov. 1 (Early); Jan. 15 (Regular)
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state $9,458; Out-of-state $23,217
Undergraduate Enrollment: 23,558
Admissions Phone: 540-231-6267
Admissions Email: vtadmiss@vt.edu

14. Cornell University
. .This Ivy League school is located in the Finger Lakes region of central New York, about 225 miles to New York City. There are more than 500 student organizations, with attendees coming from all 50 states and more than 100 nations. Undergraduates pursue studies in more than 80 academic programs in the university's seven undergraduate colleges.

How majors match up
Engineering (7)

.Upcoming Application Deadline: Nov. 1 (Early); Jan. 3 (Regular)
Tuition (2010-2011): $39,450
Undergraduate Enrollment: 13,931
Admissions Phone: 607-255-5241
Admissions Email: admissions@cornell.edu

15. University of California - Berkeley
. .This Northern California school's Berkeley campus is just 15 miles from San Francisco. Almost three-quarters of undergraduate classes have fewer than 30 students. There are 14 colleges and schools with 130 academic departments and more than 80 interdisciplinary research units.

How majors match up
Computer Science (2)
Marketing/Adv (3)
Finance (3)
Business/Economics (6)
Accounting (8)
Engineering (12)
.Upcoming Application Deadline: Nov. 30
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state $12,462; Out-of-state $35,341
Undergraduate Enrollment: 25,530
Admissions Phone: 510-642-3175
Admissions Email: ouars@uclink4.berkeley.edu

16. University of Wisconsin, Madison
. .This Wisconsin school's campus in Madison sits on almost 1,000 acres. The university also has an arboretum and experimental farms. About 65% of students are Wisconsin residents, 24% out-of-state and 11% come from Minnesota; the school offers discounted tuition to Minnesotans.

How majors match up
Accounting (2)
Marketing/Adv (5)
Finance (8)
Engineering (20)

.Upcoming Application Deadline: Nov. 1 (First Notification Period); Feb. 1 (Second Notification Period)
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state $9,050; Minnesota resident: $10,820 Out-of-state $24,300
Undergraduate Enrollment: 30,343
Admissions Phone: 608-262-3961
Admissions Email: onwisconsin@admissions.wisc.edu

17. University of California, Los Angeles
.
.This California school is situated in Westwood Village in Los Angeles, about five miles from the Pacific Ocean. There are 174 buildings on 419 acres. It has 12 professional schools with 118 undergraduate degree programs. There are more than 4,000 teaching faculty.

How majors match up
Finance (7)
Accounting (9)
Business/Economics (17)
Engineering (19)
.Upcoming Application Deadline: Nov. 30
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state $10,781; Out-of-state $33,660
Undergraduate Enrollment: 26,687
Admissions Phone: 310-825-3101
Admissions Email: ugadm@saonet.ucla.edu

18. Texas Tech
.
.Texas Tech is located in Lubbock in the South Plains of West Texas. It boasts students from every county in Texas -- about 95% of students are in-state. The school offers 150 undergraduate degree programs within 11 academic colleges. The school, founded in 1923, is in the Big 12 conference.

How majors match up
Engineering (25)

.Upcoming Application Deadline: May 1
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state $8,260; Out-of-state $17,560
Undergraduate Enrollment: 24,236
Admissions Phone: 806-742-1480
Admissions Email: admissions@ttu.edu

19 (tie). North Carolina State University, Raleigh
. .North Carolina State, an NCAA Division I university, has 10 undergraduate colleges serving students from all North Carolina counties. The majority of students -- 91% -- comes from in-state, and just more than half --56% -- are male.

How majors match up
Engineering (15)

.Upcoming Application Deadline: Oct. 15 (Early Action 1); Nov. 1 (Early Action 2); Feb. 1 (Regular)
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state $5,829; Out-of-state $18,314
Undergraduate Enrollment: 25,255
Admissions Phone: 919-515-2434
Admissions Email: undergrad—admissions@ncsu.edu

19 (tie). University of Virginia
. .Thomas Jefferson founded this school, located in Charlottesville, in 1819. It offers more than 60 majors in six undergraduate schools. Almost three-quarters are Virginian, with 54% women and 46% men. The university offers more than 480 public service and outreach programs.

How majors match up
Business/Economics (9)

.Upcoming Application Deadline: Jan. 1
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state $10,836; Out-of-state $33,782
Undergraduate Enrollment: 17,981
Admissions Phone: 434-982-3200
Admissions Email: undergradadmission@virginia.edu

21. Rutgers University, New Brunswick
. .This New Jersey school's main campus is in New Brunswick, about 35 miles from New York City. There are 27 schools and colleges offering more than 100 major undergraduate programs. Almost all -- 96% -- students are in-state, with 45% of the student body comprised of women.

How majors match up
Business/Economics (3)

.Upcoming Application Deadline: Nov. 1 (Early); Dec. 1 (Regular)
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state $12,560; Out-of-state $24,316
Undergraduate Enrollment: 29,095
Admissions Phone: 732-932-4636
Admissions Email: admissions@ugadm.rutgers.edu

22. University of Notre Dame
. .Notre Dame, founded in 1842, is an independent, national Catholic university adjacent to South Bend, Ind. and 90 miles east of Chicago. It stretches across 1,250 acres containing two lakes with 138 buildings in its four colleges and six major research institutes. The school also offers more than 40 centers and special programs. Just 7% of students come from Indiana.

Upcoming Application Deadline: Nov. 1 (Early); Dec. 31 (Regular)
Tuition (2010-2011): $39,919
Undergraduate Enrollment: 8,372
Admissions Phone: 574-631-7505
Admissions Email: admissions@nd.edu

23. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
. .This main campus of The Massachusetts Institue of Technology is located in Cambridge, extending 168 acres, some of which are across the Charles River Basin. The school accepted 10.7% of applicants in 2009, with just 10% in-state.

How majors match up
Engineering (8)
Computer Science (6)

.Upcoming Application Deadline: Nov. 1 (Early); Jan. 1 (Regular)
Tuition (2010-2011): $39,212
Undergraduate Enrollment: 4,232
Admissions Phone: 617-253-3400
Admissions Email: admissions@mit.edu

24. University of Southern California
. .This California school's campus is in University Park, the heart of Los Angeles' downtown arts and education corridor. A little more than half of the students are Californians, and the school enrolls more international students than any other U.S. university. Out of almost 36,000 applicants, 24% were admitted. The student body is made up of 53% women.

Upcoming Application Deadline: Oct. 15 (Part 1); Dec. 1 (Scholarship Consideration); Jan. 10 (Regular)
Tuition (2010-2011): $41,172
Undergraduate Enrollment: 16,751
Admissions Phone: 213-740-1111
Admissions Email: admitusc@usc.edu

25. (tie) Washington State University
. .Four campuses with 12 colleges make up this Washington school, which is across the state -- or about 300 miles -- east of Seattle. There are four campuses with 12 colleges offering more than 200 fields of study and more than 100 majors. The student/faculty ratio is 15:1.

Upcoming Application Deadline: Jan. 31 (Priority)
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state $9,488; Out-of-state $20,530
Undergraduate Enrollment: 21,726
Admissions Phone: 509-335-5586
Admissions Email: admiss2@wsu.edu

25. (tie) University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill .
UNC-Chapel Hill
.Set in the town of Chapel Hill, this flagship state university has a diverse student body and offers 77 majors for undergraduates. Nearly 80% of the school's freshman are typically in the top 10% of their high school class.

Upcoming Application Deadline:
Tuition (2010-2011): In-state ; Out-of-state
Undergraduate Enrollment: 17,981
Admissions Phone: 919-966-3621
Admissions Email: unchelp@admissions.unc.edu

Coach Cook Talks Real Estate with Joe Williams

2010-09-23T11:25:00.000-05:00

Joe Williams, Co-founder of Keller-Williams, speaks with the Coach Cook Team about Florida's Real Estate market:

Podcast

Austin unemployment falls to 7.2%; adds 3,800 jobs

2010-09-17T12:33:00.000-05:00

The Central Texas unemployment rate fell for the second consecutive month to 7.2 percent in August after the area gained 3,800 positions from July, the Texas Workforce Commission reported Friday.

The Austin-San Marcos region netted a gain of 18,700 positions last month versus August 2009, with leisure and hospitality business continuing to post the highest year-over-year gains. The industry is employing about 8,400 more people than the same time last year, followed by government with about 6,400 more posts.

The "professional and business services" sector was the second highest taker, rising about 2,900 positions since August 2009, followed by education with 2,500 more employed. The trade, transportation and utilities sector suffered the most losses year-over-year, shedding about 1,900 jobs since August last year. Financial activities was the second highest loser, dropping about 700 posts.

Between July and August, professional and business services experienced the highest gain, adding about 1,300 jobs, which is normal for this time of year, the commission said. Education and health services (900 jobs) and mining logging and construction (700 positions) were the next highest growing. No sectors lost jobs month-to-month.

Total employment in the Austin-San Marcos region was 769,200 last month. The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 9.5 percent last month and Texas' fell to 8.4 percent.

Read more: Austin unemployment falls to 7.2%; adds 3,800 jobs - Austin Business Journal

10 Reasons To Buy a Home

2010-09-17T12:08:00.000-05:00

SEPTEMBER 16, 2010 The Wall Street Journal

Enough with the doom and gloom about homeownership.

Sure, maybe there's more pain to come in the housing market. But when Time magazine starts running covers that declare "Owning a home may no longer make economic sense," it's time to say: Enough is enough. This is what "capitulation" looks like. Everyone has given up.

After all, at the peak of the bubble five years ago, Time had a different take. "Home Sweet Home," declared its cover then, as it celebrated the boom and asked: "Will your house make you rich?"

But it's not enough just to be contrarian. So here are 10 reasons why it's good to buy a home.

1. You can get a good deal. Especially if you play hardball. This is a buyer's market. Most of the other buyers have now vanished, as the tax credits on purchases have just expired. We're four to five years into the biggest housing bust in modern history. And prices have come down a long way– about 30% from their peak, according to Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller Index, which tracks home prices in 20 big cities. Yes, it's mixed. New York is only down 20%. Arizona has halved. Will prices fall further? Sure, they could. You'll never catch the bottom. It doesn't really matter so much in the long haul.

Where is fair value? Fund manager Jeremy Grantham at GMO, who predicted the bust with remarkable accuracy, said two years ago that home prices needed to fall another 17% to reach fair value in relation to household incomes. Case-Shiller since then: Down 18%.

2. Mortgages are cheap. You can get a 30-year loan for around 4.3%. What's not to like? These are the lowest rates on record. As recently as two years ago they were about 6.3%. That drop slashes your monthly repayment by a fifth. If inflation picks up, you won't see these mortgage rates again in your lifetime. And if we get deflation, and rates fall further, you can refi.

3. You'll save on taxes. You can deduct the mortgage interest from your income taxes. You can deduct your real estate taxes. And you'll get a tax break on capital gains–if any–when you sell. Sure, you'll need to do your math. You'll only get the income tax break if you itemize your deductions, and many people may be better off taking the standard deduction instead. The breaks are more valuable the more you earn, and the bigger your mortgage. But many people will find that these tax breaks mean owning costs them less, often a lot less, than renting.

4. It'll be yours. You can have the kitchen and bathrooms you want. You can move the walls, build an extension–zoning permitted–or paint everything bright orange. Few landlords are so indulgent; for renters, these types of changes are often impossible. You'll feel better about your own place if you own it than if you rent. Many years ago, when I was working for a political campaign in England, I toured a working-class northern town. Mrs. Thatcher had just begun selling off public housing to the tenants. "You can tell the ones that have been bought," said my local guide. "They've painted the front door. It's the first thing people do when they buy." It was a small sign that said something big.

5. You'll get a better home. In many parts of the country it can be really hard to find a good rental. All the best places are sold as condos. Money talks. Once again, this is a case by case issue: In Miami right now there are so many vacant luxury condos that owners will rent them out for a fraction of the cost of owning. But few places are so favored. Generally speaking, if you want the best home in the best neighborhood, you're better off buying.

6. It offers some inflation protection. No, it's not perfect. But studies by Professor Karl "Chip" Case (of Case-Shiller), and others, suggest that over the long-term housing has tended to beat inflation by a couple of percentage points a year. That's valuable inflation insurance, especially if you're young and raising a family and thinking about the next 30 or 40 years. In the recent past, inflation-protected government bonds, or TIPS, offered an easier form of inflation insurance. But yields there have plummeted of late. That also makes homeownership look a little better by contrast.

7. It's risk capital. No, your home isn't the stock market and you shouldn't view it as the way to get rich. But if the economy does surprise us all and start booming, sooner or later real estate prices will head up again, too. One lesson from the last few years is that stocks are incredibly hard for most normal people to own in large quantities–for practical as well as psychological reasons. Equity in a home is another way of linking part of your portfolio to the long-term growth of the economy–if it happens–and still managing to sleep at night.

8. It's forced savings. If you can rent an apartment for $2,000 month instead of buying one for $2,400 a month, renting may make sense. But will you save that $400 for your future? A lot of people won't. Most, I dare say. Once again, you have to do your math, but the part of your mortgage payment that goes to principal repayment isn't a cost. You're just paying yourself by building equity. As a forced monthly saving, it's a good discipline.

9. There is a lot to choose from. There is a glut of homes in most of the country. The National Association of Realtors puts the current inventory at around 4 million homes. That's below last year's peak, but well above typical levels, and enough for about a year's worth of sales. More keeping coming onto the market, too, as the banks slowly unload their inventory of unsold properties. That means great choice, as well as great prices.

10. Sooner or later, the market will clear. Demand and supply will meet. The population is forecast to grow by more than 100 million people over the next 40 years. That means maybe 40 million new households looking for homes. Meanwhile, this housing glut will work itself out. Many of the homes will be bought. But many more will simply be destroyed–either deliberately, or by inaction. This is already happening. Even two years ago, when I toured the housing slump in western Florida, I saw bankrupt condo developments that were fast becoming derelict. And, finally, a lot of the "glut" simply won't matter: It's concentrated in a few areas, like Florida and Nevada. Unless you live there, the glut won't have any long-term impact on housing supply in your town.

Fate of downtown Austin towers still unknown

2010-09-13T11:17:00.000-05:00

Friday, September 10, 2010
Austin Business Journal - by Jacob Dirr ABJ Staff

One of two high-profile downtown Austin buildings mired in Chapter 11 has sold at a foreclosure auction for $4.35 million, while the other was slated to be sold to a New York City buyer for $8.4 million before the deal was canceled.
The Bosche-Hogg Building, a historic office space at Congress Avenue and Eighth Street, decimated by low occupancy, sold at auction on Sept. 7 for $4.35 million, enough to satisfy the $4.1 million total debt listed for the building, according to records.
804 Congress LLC, a holding company led by Stefan Whitwell, filed for bankruptcy on Aug. 3 and unsuccessfully tried to keep creditor Wells Fargo from foreclosing on the property, according to court records.
Meanwhile, the La Vista on Lavaca condos, also known as The Fondren Building, at Lavaca and 17th streets is involved in a separate bankruptcy case filed on July 2. It landed a Madison Avenue investor willing to pay $8.4 million, but appears to have lost the catch, for now.
In court records filed since the Austin Business Journal last reported on the building in mid-July, the Fondren Building owners filed claims of $13.8 million in debts and $9.3 million in assets.
The Bosche-Hogg Building
When the Austin Business Journal reported on the historic Bosche-Hogg building bankruptcy in mid-August, West Coast hotelier Gregory Peck, of Crescent Hotel Group PV LLC, said he planned to buy the building and convert it to a posh boutique hotel.
But at a Sept. 7 foreclosure auction, another company, Gone To Texas Capital One LP, was the victor of a bidding contest with unknown parties, which drove the price of the building unexpectedly high, said James Ruiz, the lawyer who represents Wells Fargo.
Gone To Texas Capital One was formed six days before the auction, with Sheldon David Kahn listed as the general partner and president of the company, according to state records.
Attempts to reach Kahn were unsuccessful.
Ruiz said the bid was acceptable for Wells Fargo, which means the company had $4.35 million in cash holdings at the time of the sale. Ruiz said he heard Kahn also plans to transform the Hogg building from a vacant office tower to a niche hotel, but that information could not be confirmed.
The building’s previous owner, 804 Congress LLC, filed for Chapter 11 reorganization after a similar effort to file bankruptcy and sell to a different buyer in 2009 disintegrated, according to records.
Half-finished downtown Austin condo
The partially completed Fondren Building, now an unsightly concrete skeleton near the Capitol, continues to elicit interest from buyers, said Mac Pike, a partner in the Sutton Co. and LaVista partnership manager.
On Aug. 20, the partnership asked a judge for permission to sell the building to Brian Carr of High Brook Investment Management LLC in New York for $8.4 million.
Reached at his office, Carr said his company has since terminated the contract to buy and declined to comment on his planned use or if High Brook will remain interested.
Pike said the deal was canceled for technical reasons, and said that does not mean Carr won’t re-emerge as a buyer.
Future efforts to sell the building could run into snags, though. Travis County, which is owed $175,950 in unpaid property taxes, and Dallas-based Precept Builders Inc., which is owed $3.7 million, filed objections after the request to sell.
The company also owes local land lawyer and real estate investor Jimmy Nassour about $500,000, according to records.

Read more: Fate of downtown Austin towers still unknown - Austin Business Journal

Austin second best college town, study says

2010-09-09T16:35:00.000-05:00

by: Austin Business Journal

Ample arts, strong creative class and beating entrepreneurial heart are just a few reasons Austin was ranked one of the best places for college students, among other factors, a recent study reported.

The American Institute for Economic Research ranked the Texas state capital the second best place for students in mid-sized cities, out of more than 222 considered in the index. Rather than focusing on a specific school's performance, the study analyzes indicators related to the city including:

■The number of college students per 1,000 residents (85.2 in Austin)

■Student diversity (4.5 percent Austin students hold foreign passports)

■Research capacity ($306 academic research and development expenditures per capita in Austin)

■Degree attainment (37.3 percent of the 25-34 year old population with college degrees in Austin)

■Cost of living ($954 rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Austin)

■Arts and leisure venues (34.5 cultural and entertainment venues per 100,000 residents)

■Commuting options (7.7 percent percentage of workers older than 16 commute on foot or by public transportation or bicycle in Austin)

■Creative class, or the percent working in arts, education, knowledge industries, science and engineering, management and other fields (38.5 percent in Austin)

■Income per capita ($39,602 in Austin)

■Entrepreneurial activity (112.9 net annual increase in total number of business establishments per 100,000 residents in Austin)

■Year-over-year ratio of college-educated population in the area

■Unemployment rate (7.3 percent in Austin)

Read more: Austin second best college town, study says - Austin Business Journal

Tropical Storm Hermine Montage.

2010-09-08T14:21:00.000-05:00

To see pictures from the Statesman, copy and paste link into your broswer.

http://galleries.statesman.com/gallery/tropical-storm-hermine-090710/124955/#124954

Report: Austin among least stressed in U.S.

2010-09-07T13:24:00.000-05:00

Tuesday, September 7, 2010, 9:32am CDT

By: Austin Business Journal

Good health and relatively-low unemployment has placed Austin the fourth least stressed city in the U.S., a Portfolio.com study reported Tuesday.

The national news site for small- and mid-sized business executives analyzed the nation's 50 largest metropolitan areas and found Detroit residents the most tense. The publication used various indicators to calculate the ranking, including local unemployment, personal financial data, environmental factors, health risks, crime rates and living standards.

Detroit topped the list largely due to steep unemployment, about 14.3 percent of its population, combined with a high 9.9 percent living in poverty. The Michigan metro also reported a high murder and robbery rate and low levels of sunshine.

Stars' town Los Angeles came in second most stressed; a combination of expensive housing and high pollution and unemployment. Cleveland, Ohio came in third followed by Riverside, Calif. (No. 4); St. Louis (No. 5); New York City (No. 6); New Orleans (No. 7); Chicago (No. 8); Birmingham, Ala. (No. 9); and Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (No. 10).

Among the most relaxed, Salt Lake City topped the list followed by Virginia Beach-Norfolk, Va; Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.; Raleigh, N.C.; Austin; Oklahoma City; Denver; San Antonio; Kansas City, Mo.; and Phoenix.

Portfolio attributed Salt Lake City's high standing to low crime levels, easy commutes, high employment and good health.

Read more: Report: Austin among least stressed in U.S. - Austin Business Journal

F1 Austin track map, site revealed

2010-09-01T11:11:00.000-05:00

Formula 1 Austin Grand Prix organizers unveiled designs for a 3.4 mile track Wednesday, confirming at the same time its location on a 900-acre site in southwest Austin.

Full Throttle Productions LP Managing Partner Tavo Hellmund in May announced intentions to host the race in Austin for nine years beginning in 2012. And in July, he revealed Texas business mogul Red McCombs was backing the plan as a major investor. The team had narrowed the site down to a plot previously slated for a housing development in Elroy, but said at the time it was still exploring other options.

Officials said in a press release this morning the location affords a natural landscape, varying elevations and a view of the downtown skyline. Race organizers have said the track will cost about $200 million, but have not estimated a cost for the surrounding facilities.

“In the modern era of Grand Prix racing, I think this track layout and topography will be very special,” said Hellmund, who is also chairman for the Formula 1 Austin plan.

He said the design is likened to ‘classic’ circuits of the 1960's era, with a combination of 20 fast and technical turns and elevation changes of 133 feet. Details on the master plan and spectator facilities will be revealed at a later date, according to the release. The track venue would accommodate about 140,000 people.

Some have questioned the F1 planners' short construction time line with necessary planning approvals still needed, including building a water pipe to the site. The city certified Lewis Contractors as the lowest bidder to install the pipeline on the same day F1 race organizers picked the location as its likely choice. But one city staffers then said the approval only applied to previous plans for a housing development.

Lewis was slated to begin the $2.6 million tax-payer funded project in October and finish in February 2011, but city staff could not immediately confirm if that plan was still in affect. Lewis Contractors Inc. Principal Ronnie Lewis said in a previous interview he has no indication the contract execution is on hold.

Hellmund has at least twice said his site had water and wastewater permitting, according to reports. A spokesman was not immediately available to answer whether F1 planners will resubmit.

Road access has also been cited as a concern. F1 spokespeople did not confirm race organizers’ intention to pay for improvements or comment on traffic concerns. A study will be performed and once they have results, race organizers “will be sitting down with appropriate agencies to address the results,” F1 lawyer Richard Suttle said.

A start date for such a study has not been set, Suttle said.

Read more: F1 Austin track map, site revealed - Austin Business Journal

Hook 'em, Horns: 2010 Schedule

2010-08-31T10:23:00.000-05:00

See the 2010 Schedule for Texas Football, here!

Best Cities 2010: Austin, Texas

2010-08-27T13:31:00.000-05:00

By Bob Frick, Senior Editor

Everything may be bigger in Texas, but Austin’s genius is nurturing the power of small. Just ask Rob Neville, who wants to develop his biotech firm, Savara Pharmaceuticals, into a major player in the field of inhaled-drug therapy. The firm started in Kansas, but Neville transplanted it to Austin because the city is arguably the country’s best crucible for small business.

Neville, a native of South Africa, has rooted his company in a city with, he says, “a huge angel-financing network, billionaires who will freely offer you advice,” plus a culture that “attracts the best and brightest, who will work for less just to be in Austin.” Savara is based in the city’s renowned Austin Technology Incubator. Austin Technology is a joint project of the University of Texas, which is a research powerhouse, the city of Austin and the business community -- just one example of the collaboration that characterizes the city.

Neville isn’t himself a scientist. “Many people could have done a life-sciences company better than me,” he admits. But he has faith in Austin. His first company, software firm Evity, blossomed in Austin; Neville sold it to BMC Software for $100 million in 2000.

And the Austin magic isn’t limited to high-tech businesses. Blair Smith is co-owner of Dirty Dog, a dog-grooming business (you can wash your own pet or let the pros do the job). When Smith needed capital, she found it through Meet the Lender, a community program that allows business owners to participate free of charge. “We’re such a weird business that traditional banks don’t get us,” says Smith.

Meet the Lender is but one of a dozen Austin programs that form a neural network of business brainpower to help entrepreneurs. Now overlay that net with a dozen venture-capital funds and 20 or so business associations (Refresh Austin and Bootstrap Austin, to name just two), plus incubators, educational opportunities and networking events. Mix all these elements in what many call a classless society, where hippie communalism coexists with no-nonsense capitalism, and you’ve got a breeding ground for start-ups. “People act in a loose confederation with each other,” says Bijoy Goswami, who heads Bootstrap Austin.

No wonder Austin topped Portfolio.com’s small-business-vitality charts in 2010. Between 2004 and 2009, when employment nationwide dropped a bit, Austin’s employment increased by almost 16%. Plus, the number of small businesses jumped by 6% between 2006 and 2007 -- far more than in any other market, according to Portfolio.com.

And don’t discount the fun factor, especially when it comes to music. As the self-proclaimed live-music capital of the world, Austin has 200 venues, ranging from rowdy college rock bars to sophisticated jazz clubs to blues joints with sticky floors and waitresses who call you darlin’

Music and business creativity riff off one another. The city’s famous South by Southwest festival, where concerts, independent film screenings and emerging technology overlap, is a prime example. And performers infuse local businesses with bright ideas inspired by their music. Alex Victoria is a director of software engineering at HomeAway, an online business that matches owners of vacation homes with renters. But on nights and weekends, you can find him practicing and performing in a punk-rock band, The MidgetMen. Especially in Internet businesses, says Victoria, “you’re moving fast, taking lots of things and mashing them together -- a lot like musicians playing off each other.”

As important as music is to Austin, the area’s atmosphere -- its lakes and parks, plus its unique and funky businesses -- also defines the vibe. The epicenter of “Keep Austin Weird,” a slogan adopted to promote small, local businesses, is South Congress Avenue. If you don’t enjoy SoCo spots -- such as the massive Allens Boots shop, Lucy in Disguise With Diamonds costume store or breaded, deep-fried avocado served from the Mighty Cone taco truck -- you can always live in nearby Round Rock, which is more strait-laced. But that wouldn’t be weird, now would it?

Best Cities To Find A Job

2010-08-25T12:04:00.000-05:00

Click here, to see the best cities to find a job!

...and yet ANOTHER Austin staple!

2010-08-19T11:55:00.000-05:00

The 17th season of Unplugged at the Grove kicks off on Thursday, April 15.

"Unplugged At the Grove", presented by 93.3 KGSR, will showcase some of the best of Austin's diverse musical community each Thursday, weather permitting, under the stars on Shady Grove's tree-shaded patio.

The music starts every Thursday at 8pm!

• April 15, 2010 •
Charlie Mars

• April 22, 2010 •
Radney Foster

• April 29, 2010 •
Ray Wylie Hubbard

• May 6, 2010 •
Seth Walker

• May 13, 2010 •
Kelly Willis

• May 20, 2010 •
Bruce Robison

• May 27, 2010 •
Rhett Miller Solo

• June 3, 2010 •
BettySoo

• June 10, 2010 •
Alpha Rev

• June 17, 2010 •
Marcia Ball

• June 24, 2010 •
Carolyn Wonderland

• July 1, 2010 •
Band of Heathens

• July 8, 2010 •
Warren Hood

• July 15, 2010 •
Hayes Carll

• July 22, 2010 •
James McMurtry

• July 29, 2010 •
Guy Forsyth

• August 5, 2010 •
Charlie Robison

• August 12, 2010 •
The Trishas

• August 19, 2010 •
Suzanna Chofel

• August 26, 2010 •
Amy Cook

• September 2, 2010 •
Paul Thorn

• September 9, 2010 •
Sahara Smith

• September 16, 2010 •
Jimmy LaFave

• September 23, 2010 •
Kat Edmondson

• September 30, 2010 •
The Gourds

Check it out, here.

Another Austin MUST!!!

2010-08-19T11:49:00.001-05:00

93.3 KGSR’s Blues on the Green returns to Zilker Park for its 20th season in 2010!

Bring your friends and family out every other Wednesday evening between June 9th and August 18th to enjoy six big nights of Austin’s longest running FREE music series. Patrons can enjoy food and non-alcoholic beverages from local restaurants, and stop by our local charity area for volunteer and donation information. Blankets, lawn chairs, dogs on leashes, children are all welcome. Be sure to bring sun block!

Text "Blues" to 68704 to join the Blues on the Green alert club and get access to exclusive information and contests!

ALL SHOWS START AT 7:30PM.

Read more and check out the lineup here.

Downtown Austin may get hotel on Congress Ave.

2010-08-16T11:10:00.000-05:00

Friday, August 13, 2010
Austin Business Journal - by Jacob Dirr ABJ Staff

The Bosche-Hogg Building — a historic office space at Congress Avenue and Eigth Street decimated by low occupancy and under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection — could become a swanky, boutique hotel.

The building is under contract for sale to Crescent Hotel Group PV LLC, which operates two posh hotels in San Francisco and Beverly Hills, according to court records.

But Wells Fargo, which has assumed the mortgage and is seeking to foreclose, called the hotel a “pipe dream” and said the recent bankruptcy filing fits a pattern of broken promises and bad faith, according to court records.

The owner of the building, 804 Congress LLC, filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in early August, facing a foreclosure sale, after a similar effort to file bankruptcy and sell to a different buyer in 2009 disintegrated, according to records.

804 Congress LLC’s attorney said his client is confident the pending sale will go through and the bankruptcy will reach a successful conclusion.

The holding company owes Wells Fargo about $3 million and California-based VIA Lending LLC about $500,000 for loans used to buy the building in 2006, restore its historic character and unsuccessfully market it for sale since.

Stefan Whitwell, owner of Tierra Capital LLC and 804 Congress LLC, could not be reached. Two phone numbers for Tierra Capital were disconnected, and its website is down.

Whitwell has a contract to sell the building to the hotel developer for $7.3 million, which would satisfy the $4.1 million total debt listed for the building, according to records. The county last appraised the property for $5.5 million and Whitwell’s firm pegged its value in court documents at $7 million.

Crescent Hotel is the brainchild of Gregory Peck, a 36-year-old with a record of developing niche hotels, who said he sought out property in Austin.

Peck said his company is indeed buying the building, and will give it a complete interior overhaul, with plans of opening an 85-room hotel by the end of next year.

“It will be a very-unique, well-designed property,” Peck said, “It will be something the community will be proud of.”

Meanwhile, Wells Fargo alleges in court documents that the hotel group can’t find money to close the deal and that it’s a bust. Peck said his company has the financing and the means to close.

Downtown advocate and Realtor Jude Galligan said he would welcome a hotel at the site. Converting the Hogg Building into a boutique hotel would add much needed downtown hotel rooms and invigorate the northern end of Congress Avenue, he said.

Whitwell’s company bought the building in 2006. It spent an untold sum on renovations with the intent to market office condos, but instead put the 40,000-square-foot, six-story building up for sale in May 2007, according to past reports.

Court records show the building was consistently operating at a loss towards the end of 2009, losing about $69,000 from September to January.

The final blow may have come when Frog Design Inc., which had been an anchor tenant occupying four of the six floors, left the building at the end of 2009.

Frog is still owed its $40,000 lease deposit, according to court records.

Afterward, the holding company told tenants of its “financial crisis” and warned that basic utilities could cease, and the remaining tenants fled, Wells Fargo said in court records. The holding company then leased its space to Tierra Capital for an “unconscionable” rate, Wells Fargo alleges.

The holding company has also paid Tierra Capital tens of thousands to manage the property, while accruing $80,000 in current unpaid county tax, which is about $20,000 more than it owed in 2009, according to court records.

The building receives a 33 percent tax reduction worth about $40,000 a year at its currently assessed value, according to NAI REOC Austin’s marketing website.

The worsening financial picture hasn’t kept Whitwell from putting the building to use. In March, he held an event for the Make-A-Wish Foundation to raise money for a 13-year-old girl to go to New York City and experience “various museums and galleries.”

An Austin Make-A-Wish representative said event hosts are not paid.

JDIRR@bizjournals.com | (512) 494-2528
Read more: Downtown Austin may get hotel on Congress Ave. - Austin Business Journal

Check this out!

2010-08-13T15:03:00.000-05:00

Austin Business Journal

Two new restaurants are under construction at the ambitious Oasis, Texas retail development created by restaurateur-turned-developer Beau Theriot.

The luxury, Mediterranean village-like retail center sits afoot the 120-acre Comanche Canyon Ranch development above the eastern shore of Lake Travis. The multiple-phase, $250 million project is planned for single-family homes, 40,000 square feet of office space, 24 condominiums, a 25,000-square-foot retail complex and a four-story parking garage.

Theriot, with partner Houston-based RHS Interests Inc., received approval in 2006 for the development surrounding his popular, decades-old restaurant The Oasis. The entrepreneur said in 2007 the commercial center would eventually include 35 to 45 restaurants and shops, possibly including a high-end spa and salon. Dick Clark Architecture is designing the project.

Uncle Billy's Brew and Que is one of the new restaurants joining the center. The business will sell traditional barbecue dishes and home-brewed craft beers.

The Schiller Del Grande Restaurant Group, which includes James Beard award-winning Texas Chef Robert Del Grande, is developing a separate space into a Mediterranean-inspired eatery called Soleil.

Both restaurants are set to open this fall. Officials said in a press release the retail village will open next spring.

Read more: Two new eateries to open at Oasis, Texas project on Lake Travis - Austin Business Journal

Get To Know Our Capital City!

2010-08-05T15:25:00.000-05:00

In the state capital of Texas, we pride ourselves on being far from ordinary. In fact, we celebrate being “weird.” Austin is a hot spot for creativity and embraces its community of musicians, artists, entrepreneurs and progressive thinkers.

We're home to a singer named Willie, a cyclist named Lance and a Longhorn steer named Bevo. And we’re known for being the Live Music Capital of the World®, a title that we take pretty seriously with nearly 200 live music venues.

But that’s not all that forms our landscape. As the gateway to the Texas Hill Country, rolling hills and sparkling waterways abound in Austin. And each night during the summer, we gather to watch 1.5 million bats take flight from underneath the Ann Richards Congress Avenue Bridge.

Now that we’ve covered some of our sights and sounds, it’s time to get a taste of Austin. The kitchens of some of the country's best Tex-Mex and barbecue restaurants can be found here. As can a wide selection of local and organic specialties.

All this just scratches the surface of what makes Austin like no place else. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, there’s always something playing here. We invite you to take in as much as you can.

More information at the website: http://www.austintexas.org/visitors/about_austin/

Judge strikes down Prop. 8, allows gay marriage in California [Updated]

2010-08-04T16:26:00.002-05:00

L.A NOW
August 4, 2010 | 1:48 pm

A federal judge in San Francisco decided today that gays and lesbians have a constitutional right to marry, striking down Proposition 8, the voter approved ballot measure that banned same-sex unions.U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker said Proposition 8, passed by voters in November 2008, violated the federal constitutional rights of gays and lesbians to marry the partners of their choice. His ruling is expected to be appealed to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and then up to the U.S. Supreme Court.[Updated at 1:54 p.m.: "Plaintiffs challenge Proposition 8 under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment," the judge wrote. "Each challenge is independently meritorious, as Proposition 8 both unconstitutionally burdens the exercise of the fundamental right to marry and creates an irrational classification on the basis of sexual orientation." Vaughn added: "Plaintiffs seek to have the state recognize their committed relationships, and plaintiffs’ relationships are consistent with the core of the history, tradition and practice of marriage in the United States.“ Ultimately, the judge concluded that Proposition 8 "fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license. Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples. … Because Proposition 8 prevents California from fulfilling its constitutional obligation to provide marriages on an equal basis, the court concludes that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional.”]Walker, an appointee of President George H.W. Bush, heard 16 witnesses summoned by opponents of Proposition 8 and two called by proponents during a 2½-week trial in January.Walker’s historic ruling in Perry vs. Schwarzenegger relied heavily on the testimony he heard at trial. His ruling listed both factual findings and his conclusions about the law.Voters approved the ban by a 52.3% margin six months after the California Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage was permitted under the state Constitution.The state high court later upheld Proposition 8 as a valid amendment to the state Constitution.
An estimated 18,000 same-sex couples married in California during the months that it was legal, and the state continues to recognize those marriages.
The federal challenge was filed on behalf of a gay couple in Southern California and a lesbian couple in Berkeley. They are being represented by former Solicitor General Ted Olson, a conservative, and noted litigator David Boies, who squared off against Olson in Bush vs. Gore.
A Los Angeles-based group formed to fight Proposition 8 has been financing the litigation.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown refused to defend Proposition 8, prodding the sponsors of the initiative to hire a legal team experienced in U.S. Supreme Court litigation.
Backers of Proposition 8 contended that the legal burden was on the challengers to prove there was no rational justification for voting for the measure. They cited as rational a view that children fare best with both a father and a mother.
But defense witnesses conceded in cross-examination that studies show children reared from birth by same-sex couples fared as well as those born to opposite-sex parents and that marriage would benefit the families of gays and lesbians.

-- Maura Dolan in San Francisco

Wear orange, get a free Whataburger: August 3rd!!

2010-08-03T14:31:00.000-05:00

Austin Business Journal

Texas fast-food favorite Whataburger is giving away free burgers to celebrate its 60th birthday.

Customers can receive a free sandwich Aug. 3 by wearing the restaurant's brand color, orange. The promotion will be offered at all Whataburger locations from 5-8 p.m. that day.

San Antonio-based Whataburger Restaurants LP got its start in 1950 when founder Harmon Dobson opened his first roadside stand in Corpus Christi. The company now operates 700 locations, including more than 20 in Central Texas, in 10 states and sales of more than $1 billion annually.

Read more: Wear orange, get a free Whataburger - Austin Business Journal

Keller Williams Realty Named Highest Ranked in Home Buyer Satisfaction by J.D. Power and Associates for Third Straight Year

2010-08-03T13:57:00.000-05:00

AUSTIN, TEXAS (July 30, 2010) —According to the J.D. Power and Associates 2010 Home Buyer/Seller StudySM, Keller Williams Realty, Inc., the third largest real estate company in the United States, has received the highest overall satisfaction ratings from home buyers among the largest full-service real estate firms for the third year in a row. The company also ranked second among home sellers in the study for the second year in a row.

“We are incredibly proud of our associates for earning this distinction and want to thank them for their commitment to their clients and communities," said Mark Willis, CEO of Keller Williams Realty. “We see this honor as demonstration of our company philosophy that it is the agent’s brand that matters most and no amount of money spent on advertising can replace the influence and reputations our agents have in their local communities. Our associates have earned this on their own, by building relationships in their communities."

The study was produced by J.D. Power and Associates to measure home buyers and sellers customer satisfaction. The results of the home-buying experience were determined by three factors including the buyer’s experience with their agent, the real estate office and a variety of additional services. Keller Williams Realty performed particularly well in the agent and office factors. And, overall satisfaction of buyers for the industry was up over last year.

Additionally, the study noted that the importance of real estate agents has increased substantially in the past year, with buyers and sellers relying on the negotiating skills of their chosen agent and help in navigating the market.

“It is thrilling to see our firm, once again, get public recognition for its incredible focus on customer satisfaction from such a prestigious group. Our associates continually demonstrate that it is possible to deliver the highest level of customer service in one of the toughest real estate markets on record," said Mary Tennant, president and COO of Keller Williams Realty. “We feel incredibly fortunate to be in business with them, and want to congratulate them on their hard work and dedication."

In the past year, Keller Williams Realty has continued to grow despite the well-publicized turmoil in the real estate industry. In addition to becoming the 3rd largest real estate company in the U.S., surpassing RE/MAX®, Keller Williams Realty was ranked as the No. 1 real estate franchise on the 31st Annual Franchise 500 list by Entrepreneur magazine and was voted the Most Recognizable Brand of Real Estate Franchises and the Trendsetter of the year for 2009 in an industry-wide survey for the Swanepoel TRENDS Report.

http://www.kw.com/kw/pressrelease.html?pressReleaseId=121

Texas cities hold top four job-growth spots

2010-07-29T12:08:00.001-05:00

Austin Business Journal - by G. Scott Thomas Buffalo Business Journal
Austin and the three other major Texas markets registered the nation’s strongest employment gains during the past five years, according to figures released Wednesday morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
   Austin came in No. 3 with 56,100 new private-sector jobs created between June 2005 and June 2010. Houston topped the list with 129,800 new private-sector jobs followed by Dallas, with 71,300 jobs created. San Antonio ranked No. 4, with a gain of 32,600 positions during the same time period.
   Click here for the five-year employment records of the nation’s 100 biggest labor markets.
   Los Angeles posted the nation’s sharpest decline since 2005, losing 376,400 private-sector positions. Other big drops were reported in Detroit (down 328,800 in five years), Chicago (down 253,000) and Miami-Ft. Lauderdale (down 165,800).
   Eighty-four major markets suffered declines in private-sector employment during the half-decade; only 16 finished on the upside.
   The news was a bit better for the short term, with 24 markets enjoying increases between June 2009 and June 2010.
   Austin had the biggest one-year gain, up 8,400 private-sector jobs. Dallas ranked third, with 4,800 private-sector jobs created between June 2009 and June 2010.
   Chicago had the biggest one-year drop, down 83,400 jobs.

sthomas@bizjournals.com
716.514.1618
Read more: Texas cities hold top four job-growth spots - Austin Business Journal http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2010/07/26/daily33.html

Red McCombs revealed as F1 Austin investor

2010-07-28T13:06:00.001-05:00

Austin Business Journal - by Ashley Furness, Jacob Dirr Staff Writers

Organizers behind the Austin Formula One race, planned for 2012, revealed this morning that Texas business mogul Red McCombs is backing the plan as a major investor, but did not release the exact track location, design or construction timeline.

Jacob Derr

"Keep in mind as we all get excited about this, we still have many challenges," McCombs said during a press conference.
   Officials said McCombs Enterprises, the investment management division for McCombs Partners, and Austin-based Profit Capital are participating in a group raising funds for the F1 Austin plan announced in May.
   A Tuesday morning press conference announcing the backers was tightly controlled, allowing only preselected audience members to ask questions after the presentation. It is unclear whom the questioners worked for, and they did not identify their publications. At one point, a local TV reporter shouted what appeared to be an unscripted question from the back of the room. When the reporter tried to ask a follow-up question, he was cut off by the moderator, who called on someone else to speak.
   After the press conference, McCombs Manager Rad Weaver said the F1 investor group, which includes Full Throttle Productions LP Managing Partner Tavo Hellmund, plans to finance the project through cash, investors and traditional debt financing, but he would not indicate how much money has been secured to date. But, Weaver added, McCombs would not have gotten involved unless he was confident the project would be a success.
   McCombs, the namesake of University of Texas’ McCombs School of Business, founded the Red McCombs Automotive Group and co-founded Clear Channel Communications with Lowry Mays. He also previously owned the Minnesota Vikings, the San Antonio Spurs and the Denver Nuggets. He is a National Football League “Owner of the Year” award winner, San Antonio Business Hall of Famer, Texas Business Hall of Famer and National College Football Hall of Famer. He holds honorary doctorates from Southwestern University, The University of Texas at San Antonio and Texas Lutheran University.
   McCombs is ranked 258 among America's richest people, worth an estimated $1.3 billion, according to a 2009 Forbes.com listing.Weaver said he doesn’t expect the group to seek municipal bond funding and that the McCombs company secured its partnership about seven weeks ago. He said any businesses seeking information on partnerships or contracts should contact the organizers through a new site: formula1unitedstates.com.
   Weaver confirmed earlier reports that the actual race track will cost less than $250 million, not including support facilities.
   During the press conference, officials said a university-centric research park and commercial developments will be built around the race track. Weaver said a cost estimate or plan to finance the surrounding development has not been completed. The surrounding area could be developed by McCombs, sold to developers or done as ground leases, he said.
   Questions remain about the actual track location, with Hellmund and McCombs appearing to contradict themselves during the press conference. It appears a 900-acre Elroy location, in the Del Valle Independent School District, is the primary choice. But other sites are still being considered, McCombs said.
   "If a little magic came into the game, I might try to convince Tavo that there might be another site," McCombs said.
   Last week, ESPN quoted Hellmund as saying the track was going northeast of Austin. The Elroy site is southeast of downtown within the city of Austin’s extra-territorial jurisdiction, which means Austin has limited control over the land unless it’s annexed.
   Del Valle Independent School District President Richard Vasquez said he did not know the exact location and was only contacted by race organizers last week. He said the school district is not offering economic incentives, but officials are excited about the potential windfall of property tax revenue and job creation.
   The potential southeast site north of FM 812 and south of Elroy Road was previously planned for the 1,800-home Wandering Creek residential development. The $40 million project southeast of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport was repeatedly stalled by planning setbacks.
   In 2007, the last time the race was held in the U.S., ESPN reported that 100,000 to 200,000 people attended the race each year while it was held in Indianapolis from 2000 to 2007. Other U.S. host cities include Watkins Glen, N.Y.; Long Beach, Calif.; Las Vegas; Detroit; Dallas; and Phoenix.

Read more: Red McCombs revealed as F1 Austin investor - Austin Business Journal
http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2010/07/26/daily18.html

Best Cities 2010: Austin, Texas

2010-07-26T16:55:00.000-05:00

By Bob Frick, Senior Editor

Everything may be bigger in Texas, but Austin’s genius is nurturing the power of small. Just ask Rob Neville, who wants to develop his biotech firm, Savara Pharmaceuticals, into a major player in the field of inhaled-drug therapy. The firm started in Kansas, but Neville transplanted it to Austin because the city is arguably the country’s best crucible for small business.
Neville, a native of South Africa, has rooted his company in a city with, he says, “a huge angel-financing network, billionaires who will freely offer you advice,” plus a culture that “attracts the best and brightest, who will work for less just to be in Austin.” Savara is based in the city’s renowned Austin Technology Incubator. Austin Technology is a joint project of the University of Texas, which is a research powerhouse, the city of Austin and the business community -- just one example of the collaboration that characterizes the city.
Neville isn’t himself a scientist. “Many people could have done a life-sciences company better than me,” he admits. But he has faith in Austin. His first company, software firm Evity, blossomed in Austin; Neville sold it to BMC Software for $100 million in 2000.
And the Austin magic isn’t limited to high-tech businesses. Blair Smith is co-owner of Dirty Dog, a dog-grooming business (you can wash your own pet or let the pros do the job). When Smith needed capital, she found it through Meet the Lender, a community program that allows business owners to participate free of charge. “We’re such a weird business that traditional banks don’t get us,” says Smith.
Meet the Lender is but one of a dozen Austin programs that form a neural network of business brainpower to help entrepreneurs. Now overlay that net with a dozen venture-capital funds and 20 or so business associations (Refresh Austin and Bootstrap Austin, to name just two), plus incubators, educational opportunities and networking events. Mix all these elements in what many call a classless society, where hippie communalism coexists with no-nonsense capitalism, and you’ve got a breeding ground for start-ups. “People act in a loose confederation with each other,” says Bijoy Goswami, who heads Bootstrap Austin.
No wonder Austin topped Portfolio.com’s small-business-vitality charts in 2010. Between 2004 and 2009, when employment nationwide dropped a bit, Austin’s employment increased by almost 16%. Plus, the number of small businesses jumped by 6% between 2006 and 2007 -- far more than in any other market, according to Portfolio.com.
And don’t discount the fun factor, especially when it comes to music. As the self-proclaimed live-music capital of the world, Austin has 200 venues, ranging from rowdy college rock bars to sophisticated jazz clubs to blues joints with sticky floors and waitresses who call you darlin’.
Music and business creativity riff off one another. The city’s famous South by Southwest festival, where concerts, independent film screenings and emerging technology overlap, is a prime example. And performers infuse local businesses with bright ideas inspired by their music. Alex Victoria is a director of software engineering at HomeAway, an online business that matches owners of vacation homes with renters. But on nights and weekends, you can find him practicing and performing in a punk-rock band, The MidgetMen. Especially in Internet businesses, says Victoria, “you’re moving fast, taking lots of things and mashing them together -- a lot like musicians playing off each other.”
As important as music is to Austin, the area’s atmosphere -- its lakes and parks, plus its unique and funky businesses -- also defines the vibe. The epicenter of “Keep Austin Weird,” a slogan adopted to promote small, local businesses, is South Congress Avenue. If you don’t enjoy SoCo spots -- such as the massive Allens Boots shop, Lucy in Disguise With Diamonds costume store or breaded, deep-fried avocado served from the Mighty Cone taco truck -- you can always live in nearby Round Rock, which is more strait-laced. But that wouldn’t be weird, now would it?

From Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, July 2010

Applied Materials Hiring 200 in Austin

2010-07-26T16:49:00.000-05:00

Austin Business Journal
Monday, July 26, 2010, 11:44am

Nanotechnology developer Applied Materials Inc. plans to add about 200 jobs in Austin by October to meet a rising demand from chip makers. Officials at California-based Applied Materials (Nasdaq: AMAT), which employs about 1,500 local workers, said the new jobs would be in manufacturing and logistics. About half of the jobs will be temporary positions, but the remainder would be full time, spokesman Steve Taylor said.

Applied Materials, which was founded in 1967, develops semiconductor industry manufacturing equipment. It employed 2,700 local workers in 2007.

The hiring news comes about two months after Applied Materials said it was selling a third of its 1.6 million-square-foot Northeast Austin campus, and as Applied wrote down $83 million in thin film solar panel manufacturing equipment in the spring. Company officials said last week Applied Materials would cut up to 500 jobs to shift from selling its SunFab thin-film solar panel manufacturing equipment and concentrates on other energy businesses.

Last year, the company eliminated 69 jobs in Austin and 1,500 company-wide. Also, in February 2009, officials announced plans to suspend Austin manufacturing operations for four weeks.

In May, Applied Materials reported a $264 million second-quarter profit on $2.3 billion in revenue compared with a $255 million loss on $1.02 billion in revenue during the same period last year. On Monday, company shares were trading at $12.57, up 6 cents or 0.49 percent.

Austin picked as the nation’s most progressive and proactive entrepreneurial center

2010-07-23T15:21:00.001-05:00

Austin was picked as the nation’s most progressive and proactive entrepreneurial center, according to an article from Entrepreneur.com. The publication identified 50 cities that best promote entrepreneurial pursuits. It touted Austin’s innovative spirit, commerce and emerging technology culture. Among those efforts, the city's Emerging Technology Program attracts growing firms and supports established locals.
Austin is home to many successful start-up companies, as well as the growing South-by-Southwest Interactive conference, where social media giant Twitter first announced its micro-blog model. Also in the past year Facebook Inc., LegalZoom Inc. and Host Gator LLC have announced offices in Austin, while other established companies have grabbed funding, new space and people.
This year alone has seen 31 relocations and expansions in the technology-related space, representing nearly 3,000 new jobs, according to the Austin Economic Growth and Redevelopment Services Office.
”Austin is a magnet for talent and a leader in innovation which makes it an ideal location to grow your business,” Economic Growth Director Kevin Johns said.
Others on Entrepreneur.com's list (in order) include Brooklyn, N.Y.; Seattle; Nashville, Tenn. and Providence, R.I., among others.

Read more: Austin picked as top entrepreneurial center in U.S. - Austin Business Journal http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2010/07/19/daily42.html

Texas Realtors touting state program

2010-07-21T11:36:00.000-05:00

$500M fund picks up where feds left off
Austin Business Journal - by Francisco Vara-Orta ABJ Staff

   With the federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers having expired in April, Realtors and mortgage lenders in Texas hoping to maintain the pace of home sales are looking for help from a new agent of sorts — Bond 77.
   That’s the name of a new program, launched this month by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, under which the department is making $500 million available to eligible homebuyers for mortgage loan assistance — either through down payment assistance or by facilitating a lower interest rate. The Bond 77 program is part of the state’s ongoing first-time homebuyer program.
   “It’s the single-largest financing initiative for state homebuyer funds in the 27-year history of the program and serves as the state’s response to the recent expiration of the federal homebuyer tax credit,” said Gordon Anderson, a spokesman for the Department of Housing and Community Affairs.
   The state is now making available the first $50 million of the $500 million, which state officials said will be distributed on a first-come-first-served basis. It’s anticipated that it will take 18 months to expend the program’s total amount. And once it’s gone, it’s gone, Anderson said.
   Targeting low- to middle-income homebuyers, interest rates on the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages by lenders in the program are either 4.99 percent or 5.74 percent. The loans featuring the higher interest rate come with down-payment and closing-cost assistance — up to 5 percent of the mortgage amount — in the form of a second lien, 30-year, 0 percent interest loan. Although no monthly payments are required on this second lien, the amount of assistance is due in full when the home is sold or refinanced, or when the first lien mortgage is repaid.
   In some cases, the value of the assistance may exceed the recently expired federal tax credit. In a hypothetical example involving a $200,000 home in Austin, lender Leahy & Associates estimated the Bond 77 assistance would total $9,867.
   “It’s something I’m starting to use in my sales pitches,” said Celeste Hare, a Realtor with Team Ensor of Sky Realty. “It’s not a silver bullet, but if you have a first-time buyer who is really strapped for cash, it’s worth the time to check this program out.”
   Mortgage loans are available to qualified Texans through a network of over 45 participating lending institutions with more than 235 branches located throughout the state. Promotion and awareness has been scarce, as the state is relying on mortgage lenders to educate Realtors so they, in turn, can inform homebuyers about the program.
   At least two Austin home mortgage lenders, Leahy & Associates and John McClellan of the Austin branch of Supreme Lending, independently of each other, have been reaching out to Realtors with webinars and radio segments to educate them on tapping into the new program.
“This is going to be huge because it will help get people into homes without having to pay a big down payment, which can dissuade them from getting a home even if they can afford the monthly payments because the down payment is just not within complete reach,” said Ryan Leahy, a partner of Leahy & Associates.
   McClellan said one advantage of the program is that it isn’t only for first-time homebuyers, but also for existing homeowners looking to buy a home in the state’s targeted areas, which include areas in six census tracts throughout Austin where revitalization is sought. In such zones, participating homebuyers can have higher incomes and buy more expensive homes to spur home sales in areas that are more in need of moving homes off the market.
   Austin home sales continued to rise last month, up 31 percent compared with April 2009, according to statistics released last week by the Austin Board of Realtors. Home sales for the month totaled $486 million with 2,043 single-family homes sold, according to the Multiple Listing Service report. When compared with April 2009, the median price was unchanged in Austin, at $190,700.
“Financing is the obvious challenge in keeping sales moving upward, so this is a badly needed boost,” said John Horton, president of the Austin Board of Realtors.

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(512) 494-2523

Read more: Texas Realtors touting state program - Austin Business Journal http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2010/05/31/story4.html

Vote to make Juvenile Myositis a memory!!

2010-07-16T11:57:00.000-05:00

CureJM is an all volunteer organization brought together by circumstance, but with the same determination to cure their child, grandchild or loved one and to never let another child suffer from JM. CureJM volunteers realize that finding a cure to this disease requires constant dedication to raising funds and awareness.

This project will allow the CureJM foundation to continue critical research. Funding the center of excellence will allow JM researchers to combine clinical evaluation with drug research targeted at combating the devastating effects of this disease. Many researchers believe that there is also a genetic predisposition to autoimmune diseases. As such, they feel that a child afflicted with JM is likely to have a blood relative who suffers from another autoimmune disease such as diabetes or arthritis. Continuing to fund this vital research is of paramount importance to fulfill CureJM’s goal to make sure that no child suffers another day with JM.How will the 250K be Used?

$ 169,000 JM Center of Excellence Support

$ 11,000 Pilot Study in Cardiovascular Risk Factors for Patients with JDM

$ 70,000 Genome Study

For more info: http://www.refresheverything.com/makejmamemory

10 Best Cities for the Next Decade

2010-07-15T10:57:00.000-05:00

They're prosperous, innovative, and they'll generate plenty of jobs, too.

By the Editors of Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine
From Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, July 2010

   We live in challenging times. Unemployment remains high, and the U.S. lead in technology and science is slipping as many foreign countries gain ground. But some U.S. cities, though slowed by the Great Recession, still thrive by lifting good old American innovation to new levels. And that will help put more Americans back to work and keep our international edge.
    In Kiplinger's latest search for top cities, we focused on places that specialize in out-of-the-box thinking. "New ideas generate new businesses," says Kevin Stolarick, our numbers guru, who this year evaluated U.S. cities for growth and growth potential. Stolarick is research director at the Martin Prosperity Institute, a think tank that studies economic prosperity. "In the places where innovation works, it really works," he says.
   After researching and visiting our 2010 Best Cities, it became clear that the innovation factor has three elements. Mark Emmert, president of the University of Washington in Seattle, put his finger on two of them: smart people and great ideas. But we'd argue that it's the third element -- collaboration -- that really supercharges a city's economic engine. When governments, universities and business communities work together, the economic vitality is impressive.
   And it's no coincidence that economic vitality and livability go hand in hand. Creativity in music, arts and culture, plus neighborhoods and recreational facilities that rank high for "coolness," attract like-minded professionals who go on to cultivate a region's business scene. All of which make our 2010 Best Cities not just great places to live but also great places to start a business or find a job.

1. Austin, Tex.

Austin is arguably the the country's best crucible for small business, offering a dozen community programs that form a neural network of business brainpower to help entrepreneurs. Now overlay that net with a dozen venture-capital funds and 20 or so business associations, plus incubators, educational opportunities and networking events. Mix all these elements in what many call a classless society, where hippie communalism coexists with no-nonsense capitalism, and you’ve got a breeding ground for start-ups.

Don’t discount the fun factor: In the self-proclaimed live-music capital of the world, music and business creativity riff off one another. The city’s famous South by Southwest festival, where concerts, independent film screenings and emerging technology overlap, is a prime example.

to continue reading the article: http://www.kiplinger.com/magazine/archives/10-best-cities-2010-for-the-next-decade.html

Austin, Texas is 10th on the list of best cities for young professionals

2010-07-14T12:06:00.001-05:00

America's best cities for young professionals

by Francesca Levy

Forbes

   University valedictorians, overachievers and would-be entrepreneurs across the country graduated this month into a bleak economic landscape. Faced with 9.5 percent national unemployment, even the most ambitious young people are thinking carefully about how to find their best shot at success.
   Our advice? Consider moving to Houston, Texas, Washington D.C., or Minneapolis, Minn. These three cities top Forbes' fourth-annual list of best cities for young professionals—places where ambitious college grads can get a strong start on a high-powered career.
   These metros boast affordability, good job prospects and larger-than-average incomes. And they're already home to some of the country's biggest companies and alumni from the prestigious schools—a recipe that offers well-educated graduates a best shot at upward mobility.

Behind the numbers
   To find out where young professionals have the best chances, we started by looking at all of the Metropolitan Statistical Areas across the U.S. Then we eliminated cities with fewer than 1 million people, and cities where Moody's Economy.com predicts job growth will be negative over the next year.
   Since job prospects are so important to young professionals, next we ranked each city based on its current unemployment rate. Then we looked at what those people who have jobs actually earn, ranking all metros based on the average salary of college graduates, using data from Payscale.com. We also wanted to focus on places where those just starting out could stretch their salary the farthest, so we factored in the cost of living index from Moody's Economy.com. To measure the diversity of high-profile employment options, we ranked each metro based on how many of the 200 largest U.S. public companies call that city home.
   Finally, in order to get an idea of where America's most promising young people are already living, we looked at where recent grads from six different elite universities have chosen to settle. We counted how many members of the Class of 2000 at Princeton University, Harvard University, Stanford University, Duke University, Rice University, and Northwestern University are currently living in each city. The presence of well-educated students from around the country points to both a concentration of talent, and a strong network of career-minded young people.
When ties appeared in our final ranking, we broke them based on which city had a higher average salary for college graduates.

The Lone Star shines
   There are good prospects for ambitious young professionals across the country, but Texas dominates our list, boasting three of the top 10 spots. Because of its business-friendly environment and abundance of oil money, 14 of the country's largest companies (as measured by market capitalization) are based in our No. 1 city, Houston. Only New York, N.Y., which ranks No. 4 on our list, boasts more big employers. Houston also shines thanks to high average incomes and a concentration of grads from elite colleges—and not just from local Rice University, but from across the country.
   No. 6 city Dallas, where the technology and energy sectors boost the local economy, promises a healthy $63,000 median salary for college graduates. Austin, Texas, the seat of state government and a major recipient of government spending, makes the list at number 10. The city's 7 percent unemployment rate is well below the national average. Texans in these cities have reason to feel more confident about their prospects than in metros that were harder hit by the housing crisis.
"In Austin and Dallas job security concerns are probably less than in other places," says James P. Gaines, research economist at the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University. "That's mainly because of the belief that the economy in Texas is not as subject to major implosion that maybe some other areas are susceptible to."

Continue Reading at : http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37878750/ns/business-forbescom/
© 2010 Forbes.com

CNBC's Top States For Business 2010—And The Winner Is Texas

2010-07-14T11:54:00.001-05:00

They say everything in Texas is big, and that sure goes for its stature in business.

With the biggest point total in the history of our study, Texas posts a big victory as America’s Top State for Business 2010.

Thinkstock Getty Images

Top Five
Texas reclaims the top spot from last year’s winner, Virginia, which slips to No. 2. Texas was last on top in 2008, and Virginia took the crown in the inaugural year of our study, 2007. That leaves Texas and Virginia dead even in the battle for bragging rights at two wins apiece.

Rounding out the top five are No. 3 Colorado, No. 4 North Carolina, and No. 5 Massachusetts, which makes its first appearance among America’s Top States for Business.

Scoring & Categories
Our fourth annual study of America's Top States for Business puts all 50 states to the test, measuring them on 40 different metrics in ten key categories of competitiveness. We developed these categories back in 2007 with the help of business groups including the National Association of Manufacturers. And we weight the categories based on how frequently states use them as selling points to attract business. That way, we hold the states to their own standards, and tell you how they measure up.
The categories and weightings, for a total of 2,500 points, are:

• Cost of Doing Business (450 points)
• Workforce (350 points)
• Quality of Life (350 points)
• Economy (314 points)
• Transportation & Infrastructure (300 points)
• Technology & Innovation (250 points)
• Education (175 points)

• Business Friendliness (175 points)

• Access to Capital (50 points)
• Cost of Living (25 points)
We use publicly available data on the metrics in each category to score the states, and then add up those scores to rank America’s Top States for Business.

2010 Dynamic
Coming out on top is always an accomplishment, and never more so than this year. The national economy is anemic, and state budget pressures are growing across the country. In fact, even top-ranked Texas is struggling to make ends meet. The state faces a Texas-sized, $4.6 billion budget shortfall for fiscal 2011, according to the non-partisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. That is more than 12 percent of the state budget.
Add to that a sluggish job market across the country, and even the top states cannot afford to rest easy.
In No. 3 Colorado for example, unemployment in May was a relatively low 8 percent. But KUSA-TV reporter Greg Moss in Denver says the unemployment rate does not tell the full story.
“Although ours is way below the national average, it's remained pretty flat. So we're seeing a lot of long-term unemployed," Moss says.
In runner-up Virginia, which has a built-in cushion of technology and government jobs, particularly in the northern part of the state, the employment picture statewide is somewhat shaky.
“The recession of the past two years has hit manufacturing rather hard,” says reporter Tom Schaad of WAVY-TV. “Here in Hampton

Roads, International Paper in Franklin closed a major mill, putting 1,100 people out of work. That’s one example.”

What separates the top states from the rest is their ability to cope with those types of economic stress, offering environments that allow businesses to thrive even in a slowdown.

Texas By The Numbers
Texas powers past the tough times on the strength of its economy—top-ranked in our Economy category four years in a row. The Texas economy is the 15th largest in the world, according to government figures; larger, for example, than all the Scandinavian nations combined.

The Lone Star State is home to 64 Fortune 500 companies, more than any other state, in a wide variety of industries. So while the state’s last win in 2008 came with oil at a record $145 a barrel—a natural tailwind for the largest industry in Texas—the state managed to do even better this year despite the fact that oil is trading at roughly half that price.

Texas has also managed to avoid the worst of the real estate crisis, according to reporter Ashanti Blaize of KXAS-TV. “While in other major cities we’ve seen condo high-rise projects either slowed or come to a screeching halt, in Dallas we've seen an influx of some of those projects,” says Blake.
However, that economic strength has a side effect. Rising commercial rents and high wages hurt the state in the all-important Cost-of-Doing-Business category, where it comes in at number 30.

Continue reading at :http://www.cnbc.com/id/37642856

VOTE in The 2010 Best of Austin Poll!!

2010-07-14T11:39:00.003-05:00

2010 Best of Austin Poll Ballot

Ballots must be submitted online by Monday, July 19, 2010.

To vote: http://www.austinchronicle.com/feedback/bestof/10/

Texas popular among relocating Americans

2010-07-13T09:20:00.000-05:00

Read more: Texas popular among relocating Americans - Austin Business Journal http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2010/07/05/daily31.html?surround=lfn

An increasing amount of Americans want to move to Texas, according to a recent survey by a homeowner relocation website.

Attracted by stable real estate prices and a relatively low unemployment rate of 8.5 percent, 6.9 percent in Austin, Relocation.com found that in June, 50 percent more people said they wanted to move to the Lone Star State than in its previous survey in February.

Texas knocked California out of the top spot, with the Golden State moving to third. Florida came in second and North Carolina and Georgia rounded out fourth and fifth.

The survey tallied the responses of 1,000 participants who completed the questions in June. The study is a continuation of customer surveys started in March 2009 to gauge relocation behaviors.

The survey also said fewer American were moving due to foreclosure on their homes and that 4 percent of participants said they were able to purchase a home for the first time due to the drop in real estate prices. Another 10 percent said they were moving into bigger homes or a more desirable neighborhood.

New York-based Relocation.com is a website that connects moving homeowners with professionals offering relocation services.

*image property of clipart

Austin's Mopac Expressway slated for new lanes, new surface

2010-07-12T12:48:00.000-05:00

Read more: Austin's Mopac Expressway slated for new lanes, new surface - Austin Business Journal

   A multi-year, $250 million Mopac Expressway improvement will allow future drivers to pay to avoid one of Austin's worst bottlenecks, according to plans state transportation officials announced Wednesday.
   The Austin Business Journal reported the latest in the toll lane plan in June, while officials were still negotiating how to pay for the project that was stalled in 2007.
   Now, the Texas Department of Transportation has agreed to spend about $3.6 million this summer applying new asphalt meant to quiet the roadway; while future projects call for a fourth "managed" lane in both directions beginning at Parmer Lane and stretching to the Colorado River downtown.
   The department has allocated about $2.3 million to wrap up environmental work for the lane project expected to finish in 2016. The new roads will be tolled and separated from the main road by dividers.

http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2010/07/05/daily23.html

Austin, Texas second most innovative city in America!!!

2010-07-09T11:28:00.002-05:00

The Knowledge Economy

America's Most Innovative Cities
Andy Greenberg, 05.24.10, 06:00 PM EDT

A Silicon Valley city tops the list, of course. But the No. 2 hot spot may surprise you.

                                    Turns out everything really is bigger in Texas. Including the brains.

Over the last year residents of Austin have patented inventions including a laser-guided nail clipper for dogs and cats, an electronic fishing reel system, a fertilizer that also functions as a pesticide, and a gadget that can detect explosive chemicals with microphones--along with about 2,900 other ideas, the second-most per-capita of any metro area in the U.S.   Silicon Valley still dominates the U.S. as a magnet for innovative companies and people. But in our first-ever ranking of America's Most Innovative Cities, the "Silicon Hills" of Austin were close on the Valley's heels.

For our ranking we started with the 100 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the U.S. and used data from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to determine number of patents per capita. Then we combined it with venture capital investment per capita from the National Venture Capital Association, along with those cities' ratios of high-tech, science and "creative" jobs from ZoomProspector.com and Payscale.com.

  It's no surprise that Silicon Valley, specifically the city of San Jose and neighbors like Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Mountain View and Cupertino, ranked first in all four of those categories. Those cities are home to some of the world's largest tech companies, from Cisco ( CSCO - news - people ) to Google ( GOOG - news - people ) to Apple ( AAPL - news - people ). But less expected were the runners-up on our list: Austin and neighboring Round Rock, Texas, cities that produced an impressive average 1.7 patents for every thousand residents over the last 12 months.

   Austin's culture of innovation may be boosted by well-known tech credentials like the South by Southwest (SXSW) Web startup and music festival held annually in March, as well as the nearby headquarters of hardware industry giants Dell ( DELL - news - people ) and Freescale Semiconductor ( FSL - news - people ). But they also have two secret weapons in the innovation race: the University of Texas's Cockrell School of Engineering, and IBM's ( IBM - news - people ) Austin research lab.

   IBM produces more patents than any other company in the world, and for the last seven years Austin has produced more of those patents than any other IBM office. In total the lab produced 880 patents in 2009. That's just 30 less than all of Cisco, and 300 more than Sun Microsystems ( JAVA - news - people ), Boeing ( BA - news - people ), AT&T ( T - news - people ) or Toyota ( TM - news - people ). Six of IBM's 25 top inventors live in Austin, including one with more patents to his name than any other IBMer, a chip-focused engineer named Ravi Arimilli. "For IBM, Austin has evolved into a real hotbed of innovation," says Tony Befi, the company's site manager.

   Befi cites the University of Texas at Austin as a major source of the area's innovative workers. It ranks ninth on the U.S. News World and Report list of best engineering schools, but its size helps to distinguish it. Every year its Cockrell School of Engineering pumps out more than 1,000 undergraduates, far more than higher-ranked engineering schools like MIT, Caltech or Stanford. "Employers come to Austin because they can get quality and quantity," says Michael Powell, director of the school's career center.

   Raleigh, N.C., which took the third-place spot on our list, has a similar mix of academia and industry. Raleigh placed first on our ranking this year of the country's Most Wired Cities and has drawn in tech powerhouses like Cisco, Lenovo ( LNVGY.PK - news - people ) and IBM with its neighboring Research Triangle Park, a science and business focused area between the city and neighboring Durham and Chapel Hill. Those companies are fed with fresh talent from schools in the surrounding area, including Duke, North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

   Al Lee, director of quantitative analysis at jobs site Payscale.com, points to big tech firms' support from local universities to explain most of the cities on our list. Provo, Utah, for instance, ranks ninth thanks in part to Brigham Young University; Madison, Wisc., ranks seventh due in part to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Provo ranked second in the number of science and tech jobs per capita, and Madison ranked third in its proportion of creative jobs. "The lesson seems to be, if you don't have a strong university nearby, you can't be an innovative city," says Lee.

   Yahoo! BuzzOne city noticeably absent from our top-20 list: New York. Despite claims that so-called "Silicon Alley" is an up-and-coming scene for high-tech startups, its tech scene still composes only a tiny slice of the city's economy. New York placed 49th, just below Dayton, Ohio. Though it ranks 14th in venture capital investment per capita, it comes in 47th for high-tech jobs and 81st in patents per capita.

   Payscale's Lee argues that instead of creative innovation, the majority of New York's brainpower is being funneled into creating new tricks in the financial industry, sometimes with less than beneficial results. "New Yorkers took all the intellectual vigor that goes into creating new technologies in Silicon Valley, and instead used it to destroy our economy," he says, referring to the fiascoes of subprime mortgage and collateralized debt obligations.

   But if New York isn't a threat to Silicon Valley's dominance, then smaller cities like Austin and Raleigh may be. Aside from universities and tech companies, UT Austin Dean of Engineering Greg Fenves cites a less tangible culture of creativity. "We have a saying here: 'Keep Austin weird,' " says Fenves, who moved to the city from Berkeley, Calif., several years ago. "In a sense, all innovation is weird. We're creating things that the world has never seen before."

http://www.forbes.com/2010/05/24/patents-funding-jobs-technology-innovative-cities.html?partner=email

Congratulations to Brian & Nichole K. on their first home!!!

2010-07-02T12:50:00.002-05:00

Come check out this GREAT property!

2010-07-02T12:33:00.000-05:00

http://d.vrguild.net/c/nEcard.pl?U=1005250850439415&AID=3pvLmyuFiz6

A Picturesque Paradise!

HomeAway signs deal with Keller Williams - Austin Business Journal

2010-07-01T11:29:00.002-05:00

Two weeks after signing a co-market deal with mega-seller Realogy Corp., HomeAway Inc. bagged a similar deal with the Keller Williams Realty Inc. franchise.

The Austin-based company, founded in 2005, branched off from its core vacation home rental site about two months ago, launching buying and selling marketplace, HomeAway Real Estate. The company appears to be following the same growth fast track as its rental site, broadening its audience through realty company partnerships.

In the past year, HomeAway has purchased three competing rental sites, closed more than $300 million in financing and kicked off its first national marketing campaign at the 2010 Super Bowl.

As part of the real estate agreements, Keller and Realogy market their homes through HomeAway, which at the same time drives traffic to the HomeAway Real Estate site. Keller associates can also choose to become "HomeAway members" and post rental history, average rental rates and other information to market the home.

Austin-based Keller, founded in 1983, operates 680 franchise offices nationwide.

"This is a fantastic opportunity for two influential Austin-based companies with global reach to mutually benefit from partnering with one another," HomeAway Vice President Martin Slagter said. "Keller Williams has a strong presence in vacation destinations that significantly adds to our breadth of vacation properties."

Terms of the marketing agreements were not disclosed.

HomeAway employs 540 workers and operates 10 offices worldwide. In 2006 and 2007, the completed a string of acquisitions including OwnersDirect.co.uk, VRBO.com, Abritel.fr and VacationRentals.com. It also operates Homelidays.com in France, HomeAway.co.uk, HomeAway.de in Germany and HomeAway sites in Spain, Italy, France, Portugal, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland.

Read more: HomeAway signs deal with Keller Williams - Austin Business Journal

HomeAway signs deal with Keller Williams - Austin Business Journal

Team Joe Williams

A great new listing with Team Joe Williams

Austin Modern Home Tour!!!

Team Joe Williams would like to support our very own Kim Fry this weekend at http://www.modernhometouraustin.com/!!See her athttp://www.modernhometouraustin.com/2011/12/meet-609-w-live-oak-street/

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Livability:

Mobility:

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Downtown condo sales rose 50% in '10; Austin 360 top sold Read more: Downtown condo sales rose 50% in '10; Austin 360 top sold | Austin Business Journal

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Check this out!

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Team Joe Williams would like to support our very own Kim Fry this weekend at http://www.modernhometouraustin.com/!!
See her at
http://www.modernhometouraustin.com/2011/12/meet-609-w-live-oak-street/