Zilker Area News: Tiny Pies Coming to Lamar Union

 

I saw this on Saturday while walking to breakfast at Maudie's (tacos make great fuel for an early trip out to COTA for F1 United States Grand Prix related events).   Tiny Pies is coming to Lamar Union, to work out of the space formerly occupied by a purveyor of fancy juice drinks (not smoothies, as a friend told me he was once castigated for using the wrong beverage terminology).   I don't have any additional details; now that you have seen a photo of the sign you have as much information as I do.  What I can tell you is that in the event you have not tried Tiny Pies, they make some delicious products.  

[11/11/21 Update: They are open.]

The Night Owl Podcast

 

The Tavern in Austin

Halloween is coming up, so in the spirit of said holiday I'm again recommending a great podcast on reputedly haunted places in Austin: The Night Owl Podcast.  Whether you are a paranormal enthusiast or a skeptic, many of these episodes feature interesting bits of local history.  Of course, if you're a believer in ghosts then all the better for enjoying the episodes.  

My favorite episodes are about The Tavern and The Clay Pit.  I go into more detail in the post in which I initially recommended The Night Owl Podcast.

September 2021 Austin Residential Real Estate Market Statistics

 

Data compares September 2020 to September 2021.  Visit abor.com/marketstatistics for more information and for charts on additional counties in Austin's MSA.   

Visit us at Floyd Real Estate, LLC, if you are thinking about buying or selling property (residential, commercial, or land) in the Central Texas area.   We would be happy to advise you on your real estate related needs.  

Floyd Real Estate is a Texas real estate brokerage, TREC Lic. #9003790

Zilker Area News: Coyote Sightings

 I've seen on a few neighborhood sites that coyotes have recently been seen in the Zilker neighborhood.  People have even reported daytime sightings, which I recall as hitherto extremely rare.   So, if you live in the area (or any neighborhood near a creek, greenbelt, etc):

• Keep small pets indoors or inside a fenced yard if possible.  
• Coyotes have killed many Zilker cats over the years.  
• Check out these tips on "coyote hazing" in the event you confront one: Humane Society's Coyote Hazing Tips
• Check out the city's information on handling coyotes: City of Austin Coyote Information
• If you are wondering where to buy bear spray, look no further than REI (and if you're a member, said purchase of said bear spray will go toward your dividend).

Cars and Inflation

In case don't read the news plus your staff or private banking family office makes all of your purchases, you may missed that many things are more expensive now than they were in 2019.  Cars are one of these things; not enough supply being chased by increased amounts of money.  Many things are said to be at fault on the supply side, including COVID inspired supply chain problems and chip shortages (blame COVID, a fire in a major chip plant, and our very own snowpocalypse among others for causing the chip issues).  

Where am I going with this?  We bought a car this week and it was already 10% more expensive than if we'd bought the same car at the start of the summer.   I don't see them getting cheaper any time soon.   Furthermore, to get what we wanted we checked the dealer website frequently and were in contact with one of their sales associates for a couple of months (she had the parameters of what we were looking for). So, if you are looking for something new to drive it may take extra effort.  Silver lining, though, is that trade-in values are quite high.  I was pleasantly surprised at the amount they gave us for a 2015 BMW 335i with 80K miles.   My brother had a similar experience earlier in the summer when he sold a Ford F-150 Raptor for almost as much as he'd paid for it 2 years prior.  

Other thoughts: 

• BMW's 335 and 340 cars are fun to drive (as are, I assume, M3's).  You get a plenty of power from the inline 6 (with twin turbo) placed into a relatively small vehicle.  Also, the 3-series is a great size for fitting into the ever-tightening parking of central Austin.  
• Yes, the NXP facility in Oak Hill makes chips for cars and it was knocked offline by power and water shortages during the February 2021 winter storm.   
• If you are in the market for a used car (of the Certified Pre-Owned variety) then you may be impressed by the number of low mileage cars available.  This is because of COVID, of course.  Many leased BMWs, Audis, etc. sat in driveways while people worked from home and/or quarantined.  Now they're being turned in and sold.

[Update:  Here's some advice from Nerdwallet via Market Watch on buying a car these days.]

Sci-Fi: The Expanse Season 6 Premiers December 10th

 

Get ready for some juice! #TheExpanse season 6 is coming. pic.twitter.com/XDYGZ9VEpH

— The Expanse (@ExpanseOnPrime) October 8, 2021

How to Give Input on New Austin City Council Districts

Go to Speak Up Austin for more information on how to give input into the proposed new district maps.  

Here are the upcoming public forums:

• Saturday, October 16, 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM - South Austin Recreation Center, 1100 Cumberland Road, Austin, TX 78704
• Monday, October 18, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM - videoconference 
• Wednesday, October 20, 6-:00 PM - 8:00 PM - Dell Jewish Community Center, 7300 Hart Lane, Austin, TX 78731

Preliminary Redrawn Map for Austin City Council Districts

The Current Austin City Council District Map (click to enlarge)

You've probably hear that the Texas Legislature is currently involved in redrawing district maps for state and Federal offices.  The City of Austin is also redrawing its maps for city council districts.  Last month, the Independent Citizen's Redistricting Commission issued its preliminary map of the new council districts.   

The city has 3 public forums listed as upcoming on its Facebook page.   The commission will redraw a final map at the end of the month and present it to the city council by November 1st.  

Take a look at the new map.  I, for example, was quite surprised to find out that the preliminary map would place me in district 9 [note: I ran for office in district 5 back in 2014].  I have ideas about why they did this to my precinct, though I am not happy at the thought of being split off from the rest of Zilker (no offense to D9; I'd just rather stay in the same district with Zilker and Barton Hills).  So, check the map: you may be for a surprise as well.  

Manor Downs to Become an Industrial Park

On a trip to Las Vegas earlier this year, one of the members of our party spoke wistfully of wagering on horse races at Manor Downs back in the 1990's.  I had forgotten about Manor Downs, and for good reason: it stopped holding horse races in 2010 and closed shortly thereafter (though inexplicably it still has a functioning website).  

We know people with rental property in the area, thus I keep an eye on the current events in the Manor area.  I recently read that Dalfen Industrial will convert the 146 acre Manor Downs site into an industrial park with six buildings (totally about 1 million square feet in aggregate).   Construction is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2022 and the estimated time of completion is in the fourth quarter of 2023.  

Manor Downs hosted Farm Aid II in 1986.  While the new project is not as cool as that, it is a positive improvement to the area and indicative of the regional growth the Central Texas area is experiencing.   

If you live in Texas and really want to see live horse racing, you can still find tracks open near San Antonio, Dallas, and Houston.  

Zilker Area News: Genie Car Wash Closed

 Genie Car Wash on South Lamar along with the adjacent Jiffy Lube and auto repair ship have closed.   Apartments and offices will be built on the site.  

If you need your car washed south of the river, here are a few options:

• Self Wash: Eureka Car Wash on South Lamar and Del Curto.  It's a self-wash setup. 
• Other people wash your car: The Finish Line  or Barton Springs Car Wash

If you really love Genie Car Wash, you can go to the location at 7320 Burnet Rd.   While you're up there, stop by Top Notch or Tumble 22.  

TV: Seinfeld

 It is now streaming on Netflix.  After you watch a few episodes, check out the Seinfeld Law blog.