State of the Re:Union
Austin, TX: Growing Pains

Host: Al Letson
Producer: Tina Antolini

DESCRIPTION: Unlike places that have been thrown into a state of crisis by a disaster, Austin, Texas has been thrown into crisis by success.  It’s become a hot place to move to-- in the 1970s, Austin had 325,000 people… Today it’s over a million. But, along with the economic advantages of that popularity, has come a considerable identity crisis. Austin has long prided itself on its funkiness, and many residents have grown worried new development and growth might jeopardize the city’s countercultural “feel”… So they’re doing all they can to make sure it survives. In this hour, SOTRU looks at the tension between “keeping Austin weird” and it’s growing success.

BILLBOARD (:59)
Incue: From PRX and WJCT...
Outcue: But first, this news.

NEWS HOLE: 1:00-6:00

SEGMENT A (12:29)
Incue: From WJCT in Jacksonville, Florida
Outcue: That's ahead on State of the Re:Union.


A. Explosion of Growth and How Austin Got Weird: In this opening segment, we hear from some longtime residents about the explosion of growth the city has seen in recent years, setting up the premise for the show. We meet a variety of weird characters that give the city its countercultural feel. We also hear about the origins and evolution of “weird” in Austin, to help set the scene. Josh Long, author of “Weird City: Sense of Place and Creative Resistance in Austin” helps us out… As does Eddie Wilson, founder of the famed Austin club Armadillo World Headquarters.

B. The origins of Keep Austin Weird: In this story, Red Wassinich, the creator of KAW, tells us about its origins. We then hear how the battle between local bookstore Book People and Borders helped turn the phrase from a little known slogan into an anthem for the city.


SEGMENT B (18:59)
Incue: You're Listening to State of the Re:Union
Outcue: PRX-dot-ORG

A. Not Everything is Bigger in Texas: News of a Walmart coming to the city’s North Cross neighborhood was met with dismay by some… They thought that a  store planned to be as large as the stadium the Texas LongHorns play in just had no place in a downtown neighborhood filled with thriving local businesses and a pre-existing traffic problem. A group formed called Responsible Growth for Northcross. They held protests, including one forming a human chain across the proposed site to show how big it would be… and, while they haven’t been successful in stopping the Walmart, this is not a story of failure. Because of their dissent, the new store’s footprint has been reduced from 225-thousand square feet to only 92-thousand, less than half of what it was going to be. And it won’t be open 24 hours a day.

B. Is Austin Music in Need of Saving? Austin has been long known as the “live music capital of the world”—in fact, a city resolution made it official in 1991. And, while the scene is still vibrant, there are some worried about its future, amidst Austin’s exploding growth in recent years. One of the city’s biggest strips of music clubs—Red River—is adjacent to a fancy condo development that club owners are worried could threaten the beloved gritty night scene and culture. And, as the cost of living in an increasingly popular spot has risen over the past decade, the pay for most local musicians has stayed the same, or gotten lower. Still, people are coming together working on this issue. In 2005, a coalition of groups helped found HAAM, the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians. It provides healthcare for low-income, uninsured musicians in the city who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford it.


SEGMENT C (18:59)
Incue: You're listening to State of the Re:Union
Outcue: our job is to bring them back together (music tail)

A. A Trailer Park Movement: Back in 2006, Michael Rypka wanted to open a restaurant, but didn’t have enough cash on hand to do it. So, he bought an airstream trailer and turned it into a taco stand, called Torchy’s Tacos, and parked it on South Congress Street. Lots of people came, and soon, others were opening up trailer-based restaurants. Hey Cupcake parked near Torchy’s Tacos, and it inspired Josh Frank to open TREAT, which sells s’mores kits from a trailer, with a little propane campfire set up out front, so you can toast your own marshmallows. Soon, hundreds of trailers were opening up in hubs around town, with good trailer eateries trying to recruit other good ones to park near them, to make their area a food destination. And that gave Josh Frank an idea: an official (restaurant) trailer park. He just opened EAT, which stands for East Austin Trailer Eatery. It turned a vacant lot into a restaurant trailer park, linked to a big (formerly) abandoned building that he’s turned into an arts complex, with studios for rent to local artists… And the trailer culture is even catching on with the non-edible world… It also may be the new face of entrepreneurship in general. Chad Swisher had worked in ad agencies for years, and wanted to open up his own shop, but couldn’t afford the office space. So he and a friend started Big Blue Sky Creative, which is an ad agency based out of an airstream trailer. They drive it around to client’s businesses, or park it in locations they think might appeal to their prospective customer.

B: Dear Austin Letter: A “Dear City” letter from Chad Swisher.

C. The Cathedral of Junk, and Public Art vs. City Codes: Vince Hanneman’s unearthly pile of junk in his backyard has inspired international visitors and awe from locals alike. He began it in the late 80s, and, at its height, it contained 60 tons of junk: lawnmower wheels, bicycle parts, stacked toilets, car bumpers, etc. Most of its contents have been items brought to Vince by visitors, over the years. But, as Vince’s neighborhood has become hot on the real estate market, his neighbors started complaining to the city.  They sent engineers to look at its safety and determined he needed to break it down into smaller pieces, and get permits to allow the public in to see them… This set off a long battle with the city to maintain some remnant of the cathedral, with community members volunteering to help disassemble it.

D. The Battle of the Weirds: With the evolution of the Keep Austin Weird slogan… there’s complaints about “Fake Weird”—the people who’ve seized on the slogan and are trying to sell t-shirts and other paraphernalia that capitalizes on it… and even… “Fake Normal.” A resident has started a “Make Austin Normal” campaign that is more than a little tongue in cheek, calling for big box stores and the eradication of weird.

E. Vox: The above leads us into the Vox section, which is a community wrangling with the notion of “weird”—is Austin weird? Will it remain that way in the future?

PROGRAM OUT @ 59:00

Austin, TX: Growing Pains is available on PRX without charge to all public radio stations, and may be aired an unlimited number of times prior to January 31, 2017. The program may be streamed live on station websites but not archived. Excerpting is permitted for promotional purposes only. 

State of the Re:Union is presented by WJCT and distributed by PRX.  Major funding for the State of the Re:Union comes from CPB, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Delores Barr Weaver Fund at The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida.

Thanks for your consideration of State of the Re:Union with Al Letson.