By Pamela LeBlanc

Guess where Austin falls on the latest fitness poll, this one by the American College of Sports Medicine’s American Fitness Index?

Ninth place.

That makes it the highest ranking Texas city on the list. Dallas is next closest, at 35th place. San Antonio comes in 39th and Houston is 41st.

The Washington, DC area topped the list. Minneapolis-St. Paul and Denver came in second and third. To see the whole list, go here.

Austin ranked 19th on community/environmental indicators related to the built environment, recreational facilities, park-related expenditures, physical education requirements and primary health care providers. It ranked fourth on personal health indicators related to health behaviors, chronic health problems and health care.

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Saturday, May 30 2009, 9:00am - 10:30am

The Austin Public Library will join the community on Saturday, May 30, at 9 a.m. to celebrate the grand opening of the newly constructed North Village Branch located at 2505 Steck Avenue near the corner of Burnet Road and Steck Avenue.  This newly constructed 11,000 square foot library is replacing the 5,000 square foot storefront lease spaced facility located in the North Star Home Shopping Center at 2139 W. Anderson Lane where it has been located since 1971.

The Austin community is invited to attend the grand opening ceremony at 9:00 a.m. with music, breakfast foods and children’s entertainment. At 10:00 a.m. the Library will hold the dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony for the new facility.
Location: 2505 Steck Avenue
Contact: 974-9960

Source: ImpactNews.com

With upcoming events in Downtown Austin in the coming weeks, the city launched a new web site Friday to keep residents up to date about street closures with a user-friendly web tool.

The effort by the City of Austin is designed to improve mobility and reduce delays by showing special event road closures.

The site will provide advance notice of street closures to residents so they can plan the best traffic routes to avoid delays. The website was a key recommendation of the Special Events Task Force report to City Council, and was designed to track and report permitted city events, such as running events and parades.

Full Story at keyetv.com

By ROBERT T. GARRETT / The Dallas Morning News

AUSTIN – The Senate unanimously approved a $182.3 billion, two-year state budget Thursday that covers many basic needs and doesn’t raise taxes. So smooth was the process, it took just a few minutes, and senators asked no questions.

But that ease masks a looming fiscal crisis.

Billions of dollars in federal economic stimulus money let lawmakers traipse past tough decisions. But a similar federal bump isn’t likely in 2011. And as school property tax cuts eat into the budget while business tax revenue keeps falling short, budget writers very well could have to slash in two years, especially if the recession lingers.

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Austin Business Journal - by Kate Harrington ABJStaffAn Austin-based medical office developer plans to build the next component in the University Park development and tap into a growing demand for medical offices.

Onair Development, a boutique real estate investment firm focused on the development, acquisition and management of health care real estate, will buy the southwestern tract from University Park — formerly known as East Avenue — to build the 120,000-square-foot medical office building. University Park is being built on the recently vacated Concordia University Texas campus.

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The Austin Music Memorial program is seeking nominations for 2010 Music Memorial inductees. Individuals considered for induction must have made important contributions to the development of music in Austin and the Austin music community.

The Austin City Council will select the 2010 inductees, each of whom will be honored with a personalized, engraved disc on the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Center for the Performing Arts City Terrace at an induction ceremony in March 2010.

Nominations are being accepted through Aug. 31.

In order to be considered, a nominee must have been deceased for at least three years prior to Aug. 31, contributed to Austin music and been from, worked or lived in or around Austin.

Full story at Impact News

WashingtonEnergyServices.com
The city of Austin, Texas has enacted an ordinance that could become a national model for energy efficiency in the coming years.

Various media reports this week describe the new ordinance, which requires homeowners to get an energy audit for their house before they can put it on the market.

According to the Austin American-Statesman, the law applies to homes that are more than 10 years old and the results will have to be shared with prospective homebuyers. The newspaper notes that sellers will not be required to make any actual upgrades based on audit results.

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THURSDAY

New Directions workshop, Riverland Community College, 2200 Riverland Drive, Albert Lea. 433-0820. 6 p.m. Free workshop for employees who have been laid off from a job, are looking for a new career or need additional training to advance in their current field. No registration required.

Austin Area Farmers Market, downtown Austin. (507) 889-3271. 4 p.m.-6 p.m.

SATURDAY

Geocaching 101, Myre-Big Island State Park, 19499 780th Ave., Albert Lea. (507) 379-3403. 2 p.m. Learn the basics of geocaching and the operation basics of GPS units. Limited number of units available; free admission; vehicle permit needed to enter park.

Mower County Breakfast on the Farm, Gene Anderson Farm, 30111 620th Ave., Waltham. (641) 220-4809. 7:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Hosted by Mower County Farm Bureau. Breakfast by Chris Cakes, displays, children’s activities. Family rate of $12 or $3 a person, with ages 6 and under free.

Austin Area Farmers Market, Oak Park Mall, Austin. (507) 889-3271. 9 a.m.-11 a.m.

More at PostBulletin.com

By: News 8 Austin Staff

Austin Pride is fast approaching, and this year’s theme is “One Community, One Pride.”

Austin Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce President Jimmy Flannigan said in years past, the Pride Festival and the Pride Parade have been operated by different organizations, Equality Texas and the Gay and Lesbian Chamber, accordingly.

“Last year, after finally getting the two events on the same day, for the first time in history, the community decided to bring the two events together into a single Pride,” he said. “So, for the very first time, both events are happening under the same organizing body, at the same time, at the same location, and it’s really a much better representation for the community.”

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AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Senate has voted to allow a group of state universities to compete for money to help them become major research centers.The bill would create funding pools for emerging research schools.Texas currently has only three nationally recognized top research schools at the University of Texas at Austin, Texas A and M University and Rice University.Supporters of the bill say 10,000 students leave Texas for top tier research schools in other states. For example, California has nine top research schools.The Tuesday night vote sends the bill back to the House for final approval.

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