byShelby Knowles
The damage was a blow to a low-income community that struggles with crime. But within a few weeks, the repairs were done and people were back tending their beds.
byDani Neuharth-Keusch
Since Donald Trump was elected president, churches in growing numbers are joining a new sanctuary movement to house immigrants in jeopardy of being deported.
byTaylor Jackson Buchanan
Team reaches out to the homeless and the home-bound, to provide care and reduce reliance on expensive emergency room visits.
byKaulie Lewis
Local radio stations KLRU and KUT raise concerns over President Trump’s plans to cut funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
byMolly Smith
The Austin Harm Reduction Coalition operates a clandestine syringe exchange while trying to convince legislators to lift legal sanctions on the practice. The coalition argues that would protect users’ health and save the state money.
Area foodies and farmers are hopping, er, hoping that grasshoppers catch on in Austin as a cheap, sustainable food option.
byQiling Wang
The search for spiritual fulflllment has led some people to an updated version of an ancient practice.
Scientists dismiss UFOs as fantasies. But one Austin group meets regularly to scan the skies for spaceships from outer space.
A movement to promote burials that allow bodies to decompose naturally is being led by women who hope to change the conversation surrounding death and death care.
byBetty Arreola
Hurricane Katrina inspired April Watkins to become a nurse. An earthquake in Haiti spurred her to start annual trips to help the rural poor there.
byDagney Pruner
At female gun clubs in Central Texas, women share an interest in self-protection with style: Custom-colored guns and holsters adapted for women’s bodies are growing in popularity.
bySwathi Narayanan
Several groups are helping the newcomers find welcome and help in an unfamiliar city.
Mitchel Wong has prospered as an eye doctor, rancher and real estate investor. His $20 million donation will create a new institute at Dell Medical.
byLynda Gonzalez
High schools are under pressure to get more graduates into college. College and career centers at each campus help students navigate the process.
byTravis Putnam Hill
Some landlords’ policies reject tenants for long-ago or minor crimes, even for arrests that never led to convictions. Landlords are beginning to consider changes.
byJackson Prewitt
In an anger-filled campaign season, some people are finding an unusual way to vent their political views — — buying Trump pinatas just to beat them up.
At the Wild Basin Preserve, members of the public track birds with mobile apps, helping collect information for wildlife biologists.
byDestinee Harrison
Only 3.6 percent of UT-Austin professors are black, while 77.3 percent are white – a figure that is high even by Texas standards.
byWes Scarborough
This summer, the team faces two big challenges: a short-staffed dive team and more lake-goers. On top of that, its divers are typically working in cold conditions with little or no visibility.
Small-scale projects, from bus-stop benches to spruced-up alleys, are showing a new way to improve urban life.
