History of the Continental Club 1955-Present All is right in Austin when Steve Wertheimer's club is pumpin' MICHAELCORCORAN MAY 4   SHARE   This is the latest in our series of 10 Austin music venues open at least 30 years. In the 1930s it was home to Spears BBQ Kitchen, then became a washers-only Half Hour Laundry in 1947. The Continental Club opened there in 1955 as a swanky private club featuring lounge acts with Vegas dreams. It was later a topless bar and day drinkers dive. But the 1315 address of South Congress wouldn’t be a magic number until the ‘80s when it became a black box clubhouse for a new generation of local alternative guitar groups like True Believers, Zeitgeist, Wild Seeds, Doctors’ Mob, Dharma Bums, T.I. and Glass Eye, as well as van-touring bands like the Minutemen, Replacements, Sonic Youth, 10,000 Maniacs and so on. This new Austin scene was born in ‘83 in a manger upstairs from a mechanic’s garage on Justin Lane called Sparky's. Open only a few mo...

  Hey ASM Crew-   This little analysis may help your renters get off the rent fence. You can either click the link below or hit the QR code—same presentation.   The comparison:   renting at $2500/mo + renters insurance + misc fees (pets, parking space, etc). It also assumes a 3% savings rate for their money   Versus   buying a $400K home with 3 options: 5% down conventional, 10% down conventional and FHA (3.5% down). It also assumes a property appreciation rate of 4% and the income tax bracket (for tax savings).   Results: At the end of the day, with the tax write offs, owning is > $300/mo cheaper than renting. Look at the tax benefits over 5yrs. Around $55K in write offs! Remember, renters pay 100% interest (or $516K on this) vs $320K to $340K in interest and MI over that period. WOW!   Link:  https://mcedge.tv/8z1tvq       I’d love to come to a staff meeting to run through this with you!   Joel     Thank you...

 

  In my first Watson Wire as mayor, I shared some of the  Ground Rules  that I’ve developed over the years to help guide me through difficult policymaking decisions.   One of those principles – have a long-term vision with short-term focus – stemmed from surviving cancer oh so many years ago. When you’re supposed to be dead, well, that helps to put the fleeting nature of time in some perspective. I’ve tried to focus on achieving results right now, but in a way that benefits the long term.   Striking a balance between the now and the future is often the greatest challenge of policymaking. That challenge has been on my mind a lot lately as we’ve been navigating through all the big, thorny, controversial, high-stakes issues that we’ve inherited.   The legislation aimed at killing Austin Light Rail is a good example. Some in the Legislature are coming after us because we used a new funding mechanism – in full compliance with state law – to go big on light rail....

  AUSTIN What’s the origin behind the ‘Keep Austin Weird’ slogan? by: Kelsey Thompson Posted: May 1, 2023 / 06:45 AM CDT Updated: Apr 29, 2023 / 05:02 PM CDT AUSTIN (KXAN) — You’ve seen it on bumper car stickers and t-shirts, and maybe even mentioned out loud. But how did the slogan “Keep Austin Weird” come to be? The phrase dates back to Red Wassenich, an Austin Community College librarian who mentioned the phrase back in 2000 while calling in a donation to KOOP Radio, per  Austin History Center archives.  The weekly “The Lounge Show” would play “offbeat music,” the inspiration behind Wassenich’s contributions, according to a  2002 New York Times interview. “Whoever answered the phone said, ‘Why did you support the show?'” Wassenich said during his NYT interview. “I said, ‘I don’t know. It helps keep Austin weird.'” What emerged since was a cultural adoption of the phrase by fellow Austin residents and businesses. Wassenich began printing the slogan onto bumper stic...