Monthly Archives: April 2015

(Community Matters) such a treat to see Sonya, Reid, Dio & Gabel this weekend. They are hoping for months, planning by the week & living day by day.

(Community Matters) I was brainstorming with a friend about how do we effectively communicate the impact of cumulative, institutional & cross-generational discrimination – why today does it still matter if our parents, grandparents or great grandparents were discriminated against?

if they weren’t allowed to attend school (or a good school)? if they lived in a red-lined area so couldn’t obtain a mortgage in order to buy a home (thus accumulating equity in their home, a source of major wealth for most Americans) . . . if they weren’t allowed to earn a fair wage because of racial prejudice excluding from certain jobs . . .

I don’t say this to incite guilt. And, we should probably remind ourselves that many of us were born on 1st, 2nd or even 3rd base while some were prevented from even entering the area of town where the ballpark was located.

(Community Matters) Peter Zandan released results of his latest (now annual) Austin poll – see AAS story and super interactive results pages here.

I’ve highlighted some results. The published poll includes a larger than City of Austin universe. Peter’s folks were kind enough to give the same results by crosstab.

• Overwhelming enthusiasm for 20% homestead exemption
• Overwhelming enthusiasm for eco. development incentives recruiting middle class ($60kish) jobs
• Strong majority support for: 1) revising development code to allow more apartments, townhouse, garage apartments, 2) affordable housing or artists, musicians and other creatives, 3) developing the Austin for tomorrow rather than today or its past.

Among full universe polled:

79% support a 20% homestead exemption, 71% believe Austin should provide incentives for more middle class wage jobs, 57% support changing development rules to allow more town homes, garage apartments and other small apartment buildings, 54% believe we should provide more affordable housing for musicians, entertainers and artists, 58% want us to build for the future (vs protect as is or return to past). Important information.

Among City of Austin Residents:

80% support a 20% homestead exemption, 71% believe Austin should provide incentives for more middle class wage jobs, 59% support changing development rules to allow more town homes, garage apartments and other small apartment buildings, 57% believe we should provide more affordable housing for musicians, entertainers and artists, 57% want us to build for the future (vs protect as is or return to past). Important information.

Among City of Austin Residents who voted in the last 4 years:

83% support a 20% homestead exemption, 68% believe Austin should provide incentives for more middle class wage jobs, 58% support changing development rules to allow more town homes, garage apartments and other small apartment buildings, 57% believe we should provide more affordable housing for musicians, entertainers and artists, 59% want us to build for the future (vs protect as is or return to past). Important information.

The margin of error for the total sample size of 814 and a population of the Austin MSA (1.8M+) is +/- 3.4 percentage points.