FEMA arrives to assess Williamson County tornado damage "TAYLOR — Federal officials on Wednesday began a preliminary assessment of tornado damage in Williamson County, a task they said could take up to 60 days." (Claire Osborn, Austin American-Statesman)
Meta unveils plans for massive data center in Temple "Meta Platforms Inc., parent company of Facebook, is planning a massive data center in Temple, investing about $800 million in the town that lies between Austin and the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The hyperscale data center facility will total about 900,000 square feet by the time the dust clears." (Spencer Brewer, Austin Business Journal)
Austin boasts biggest share of million-dollar homes in Texas "The Austin housing market remains competitive, and as the days go on, house prices continue to rise. A recent report shows the number of local homes valued at more than $1 million has tripled in the last two years. Data from real estate website Redfin shows that in Austin, the share of million-dollar homes in February 2020 was 3.9 percent; in February 2022, it reached 12.3 percent. The percentage of million-dollar homes in Austin is growing faster than in any other city in Texas." (Pamela Comme, KVUE via CultureMap Austin)
Will the only Austin suburb with a train stop get rid of it? "Voters in Leander, one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, will head to the ballot box in May to decide whether to halt a 1% sales tax that funds the city's participation in the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority — and potentially redirect at least $164 million over the next 10 years to the city's general fund to be used for other things, like economic development." (Justin Sayers, Austin Business Journal)
ABIA working to address traffic, TSA backups with record traveler count forecast "Days after high travel volume backed up its traffic and security screening lines, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport officials said passengers will continue to face frequent congestion when traveling through Austin. ... ABIA officials released the operational update following a weekend that saw nearly 9,000 passengers March 27 and more than 8,200 passengers March 28 pass through ABIA gates before 8 a.m. alone. The airport experienced backups at rental car return lines and Transportation Security Administration checkpoints, and also issued a fuel shortage alert asking airlines to fly into Austin with extra jet fuel." (Ben Thompson, Community Impact)
Vela seeks new solutions for housing the homeless "Council Member Chito Vela has proposed that the city request the cash equivalent of on-site affordable housing upon approval of the Statesman planned unit development on Lady Bird Lake. Under his proposal, the money would go toward temporary shelter for people experiencing homelessness." (Jo Clifton, Austin Monitor)
Texas power grid, energy sectors facing elevated Russian cyber threats during war in Ukraine "Russian hackers have been probing Texas’ energy infrastructure for weak points in digital systems that would allow them to steal sensitive information or disrupt operations, according to interviews with energy companies, state officials and cybersecurity experts." (Mitchell Ferman, Texas Tribune)
