Texas' Growth Comes Into Focus
Just how Texas' population changed over the past decade is becoming more and more clear, as this week's dump of U.S. Census data gets parsed and analyzed. The Statesman has this story this morning about the growth explosion in Central Texas suburbs, including these eye-popping statistics:
• Hutto grew by 1,076 percent. Only the city of Fate, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, grew faster in the past decade . • South of Austin, Kyle added 22,702 residents, a 427 percent increase, as it became the retail hub of northern Hays County, and nearby Buda grew by more than 200 percent. • Pflugerville shed its pastoral history to add 30,000 residents, a 187 percent increase, and Manor exploded by 318 percent. • Even Uhland, a gem east of Kyle on the Hays-Caldwell county line, nearly tripled its 2000 population - from 386 to 1,014 - and was the state's 36th fastest-growing city.
U.S. House Repeals 'Doggett Amendment'
Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives added another twist in the saga of $830 million dollars in federal education money set aside for Texas. U.S. Rep Michael Burgess (R-Lewisville) authored a bill that blocks enforcement of an amendment in a 2010 education bill aimed specifically at Texas. From our reporting partners at the Texas Tribune:
Republicans do not like the amendment, introduced by U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, last summer, because it requires Texas — and only Texas — to guarantee that it will maintain state funding for education throughout 2013. Democrats support the amendment because it requires the state to use the federal money to supplement, rather than supplant, its public education funding.
The measure still has to pass the Senate, where Texas Sens. John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison have introduced a similar bill.
Austin Marathon Street Closures
Today is the Austin Marathon, which brings road closures that could impact travel across central Austin. The Statesman has a good map of the route and closures.
