Mayor Lee Leffingwell delivered a proclamation declaring Sept. 1 to be “Destination Dignity Day” in Austin to celebrate civil rights for people with disabilities and advocate for the elimination of the “R-word” from vocabularies.

The Austin Chamber of Commerce awareded 24 Austin-area businesses during the chamber's 10th Annual Greater Austin Business Awards at the Hilton Austin Hotel Sept. 1. More than 300 businesses were nominated in six categories. The awards were founded in 2001 and have grown each year. Award categories included innovation, customer service, community service, education, environment and take on traffic. Each category recognized winners in small, medium, large business sizes and nonprofit.

Austin Pets Alive (APA), a local nonprofit dedicated to making Austin a no-kill city, now has its first Adoption and Resource Center at 2805 Manchaca Road allowing for an increase in adoptions as well as improved resources for animal care.

City officials convened at City Hall Aug. 30, in front of a backdrop of bustling traffic on Cesar Chavez Street, to announce the formation of the "Get Austin Moving" political action committee, a group whose goal is to support a transportation bond going to vote Nov. 2.

Residential property listings in Austin

Real estat market data for the Southwest Austin Multiple Listing Service Area

Taylor Estates is located near Dittmar Recreation Center and park and close to shopping at Southpark Meadows. There are older homes for sale as well as new construction.

During his first appearance in Austin as president, Barack Obama displayed the Hook ’em Horns to a crowd of nearly 3,000 people greeting him in the Gregory Gym at The University of Texas at Austin.

This is the fourth in a series of candidate interviews that will appear until the November general election, as part of Community Impact Newspaper’s mission to promote civic involvement.

The newest Austin ISD campus, Ross Baldwin Elementary School, expects 500 students to be enrolled for the first academic semester this fall for grades prekindergarten through fifth grade.

W. Charles Akins High School is the second largest high school in Austin with approximately 2,700 students, 67 percent of whom are on free or reduced lunch.

On Aug. 30, Austin ISD signed a contract with Texas Disposal Systems to expand its school composting program to include all 81 elementary schools in Austin.

The Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders was one of 32 schools in the Austin Independent School District to be ranked exemplary by the Texas Education Agency for the 2010 academic year.

Public access television may soon be strapped for funds after a city and state-funding agreement expires in about a year, at around the same time Channel Austin’s contract ends with the city.

One indication of the underground pipeline that neighbors many Southwest Austin properties is the small yellow warning signs along a strip of undeveloped land about 40 feet across that cuts through the area.

The Goodwill GoodGuides program matches at-risk teens with positive adult role models.

For Russell Cage, Trapeze Austin owner, mastering the art of the flying trapeze begins with patience and the willingness to try something new.

New businesses, volunteer opportunities, and local happenings in Southwest Austin.

Was I the only one whose commute time seemed to double a couple of weeks ago?

Once ranch and agricultural land on the outskirts of the city center, Southwest Austin now holds two of the fastest growing ZIP codes

A $90 million transportation bond, composed of near-term pedestrian, bicycle and road improvement projects, was approved Aug. 5 for public vote this November.

The Texas State Library and Archives Commission was awarded an $8 million federal grant to increase computer access in libraries and will match the grant with an additional $3.7 million to enhance learning and job opportunities for Texans.

Austin civic groups and nonprofits can use a solar trailer free of charge to help power events provided by Austin Energy's solar team. The 1,000-watt trailer system can help power a sound stage, lighting systems and small appliances, and is more environmentally friendly than gas-powered generators.

In keeping with the building's sustainability theme, Sunset Valley City Hall began installing a solar array Aug. 23.

Austin Habitat for Humanity will showcase Aug. 21 the mission they have pursued over the last 25 years.

Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce leaders are considering a move of the chamber’s headquarters located near St. Edwards University in South Austin.

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center received a $1.4 million donation from Mollie Steves Zachry of the San Antonio Area Foundation to go to the establishment of an arboretum that will showcase the diversity and significance of Texas’ trees.

Thanks to the efforts of H-E-B area stores and its Help End Hunger campaign, more than 240,000 meals will be made available to Austin’s hungry families through the Capital Area Food Bank A check for $80,000 was presented to the food bank on August 17 at the South Austin store on Slaughter Lane.

First-time homebuyers who want to share their story can try out for a chance to appear on HGTV’s “My First Place," set to air sometime in 2011.

The Austin Toros will move to the Cedar Park Center for the 2010-2011 season, team officials announced Monday.

During his first appearance in Austin as the President of the United States, Barack Obama displayed the hook ‘em horns to a crowd of nearly 3,000 people roaring and waving in response at the University of Texas.

The investment partnership led by Braun Enterprises plans to begin renovating and immediately leasing its new acquisition in Southwest Austin, said Dan Braun of Braun Enterprises, a Houston-based real estate company.

The Austin City Council approved the 2010 transportation bond unanimously Aug. 5 totaling $90 million in costs to be voted on by the public this November.

Goodwill Industries of Central Texas representatives plan to help Austin-area singers who think they have what it takes to win “American Idol” earn a spot for a try out on the national television show.

The stretch of Pillow Road that runs north of Jones Road to Hwy. 290 in Sunset Valley will be renamed MSG Bob Horrigan Trail to honor the fallen soldier Master Sgt. Robert Horrigan.

The acclaimed human anatomy exhibit, Our Body: The Universe Within, has come to Austin. The educational and artistic displays show the human interior from every conceivable angle. The exhibit tours all of the major systems in the body including the muscular, skeletal, cardiovascular and nervous systems. The MicroWorld display also gives viewers a look at healthy and diseased tissue in various organs, skin and cells using extreme magnification.

The Texas Education Agency released statewide school rankings July 30 with 32 of the 122 Austin district schools, including charter schools, receiving a ranking of exemplary.

The Austin Community College South Austin Campus, along with Barton Creek Mall Customer Service and Westgate Regal Theater 11, were awarded the Austin Access Award by the City of Austin in recognition of their dedication to equal access and welcoming environments.

The City of Austin has released its proposed $2.8 billion fiscal year 2011 budget that includes no layoffs for city staff, but does include a proposed property tax rate hike and raises for civilian and public safety city employees.

Formula One race promoter Tavo Hellmund announced July 27 that the Wandering Creek area in Del Valle has been proposed as the site of the United States' first purpose-built F1 racing track since the 1970s.

Travis County Commissioners heard a briefing on the county's preliminary Fiscal Year 2011 budget July 27 and set the schedule for adopting the budget, which will include two public hearings in September.

The Capital Metro Board of Directors approved the hiring of Linda Watson as the agency’s new Chief Executive Officer on July 26. Watson will start work at the transportation agency Aug. 16.

The Austin Independent School District Office of Dropout Prevention and Recovery is seeking volunteers to participate in a two-week dropout recovery initiative, We CARE (Connect, Address, Recover and Educate). Volunteers will be assigned a list of students who have been identified as dropouts and contact them, or their parents, to encourage the students to return to school this fall.

Residential property listings in Austin

Real estate market data for the Southwest Austin Multiple Listing Service Area

Belterra is a master-planned community nestled on 1,600 acres off Hwy. 290 in Hays County. The neighborhood includes parks, greenbelts, a pool complex and recreation center.

Interviews with candidates Kurt Kuhn and Melissa Goodwin