Portal:Austin

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The Austin Portal

Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas, the county seat of Travis County, and home to the University of Texas at Austin. Shortcut:
P:ATX

Situated in Central Texas, Austin is the fourth-largest city in Texas (behind Houston, San Antonio, & Dallas respectively) the 16th largest in the United States, and the 5th largest city in the South. According to the U.S Census Bureau, Austin has a population of 709,893, as of July 1, 2006. The city is the cultural and economic center of the Austin-Round Rock Metropolitan Area that has a population of more than 1.5 million, and is among the fastest growing cities in the U.S.

Austin was selected as the #2 Best Big City in "Best Places to Live" by Money magazine in 2006, and the "Greenest City in America" by MSN ("Greenest" referring to a commitment to sustainable living).

Residents of Austin are known as "Austinites," and include a mix of university professors, students, politicians, lobbyists, musicians, state employees, high-tech workers, blue-collar workers, and white-collar workers. The city is home to enough large sites of major technology corporations to have earned it the nickname "Silicon Hills." Austin's official slogan promotes the city as "The Live Music Capital of the World", a reference to its status as home to many musicians and music venues. In recent years, many Austinites have also adopted the unofficial slogan "Keep Austin Weird"; this refers partly to the eclectic and progressive lifestyle of many Austin residents, but is also the slogan for a campaign to preserve smaller local businesses and resist excessive commercialization.

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Selected article

The University of Texas at Austin (often referred to as The University of Texas, UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a doctoral/research university located in Austin, Texas. It is the flagship institution of The University of Texas System. The main campus is located less than a mile from the Texas State Capitol in Austin. According to The Public Ivies: America's Flagship Public Universities (2001) by Howard and Matthew Greene, The University of Texas at Austin is one of America's "Public Ivy" institutions of higher education, defined by the authors as a public institution that "provides an Ivy League collegiate experience at a public school price." Founded in 1883, the university has had the fifth largest single-campus enrollment in the nation as of fall 2006 (and had the largest enrollment in the country from 1997–2003), with nearly 50,000 undergraduate and graduate students and 16,500 faculty and staff. It currently holds the largest enrollment of all colleges in the state of Texas.

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Selected picture

The Frost Bank Tower at night.

Photo credit: Baldylocks1 (talk · contribs)

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Selected biography

Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American entertainer and songwriter. He is widely viewed as one of the most beloved and notorious country music singers in the world. He reached his greatest fame during the so-called "outlaw country" movement of the 1970s, but remains iconic, especially in American popular culture. In recent years he has continued to tour, record, and perform, and this, combined with activities in advocacy of cannabis, as well as a well-publicized 2006 arrest for cannabis possession, have made him the subject of renewed media attention.

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Austin news

March 4 - Hillary Clinton and John McCain win Super Tuesday primaries.
February 24 - Ron Paul speaks at the University of Texas

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Did you know...

...that the Congress Avenue Bridge is home to the world's largest urban bat colony?
...Leslie Cochran, a homeless crossdresser and local celebrity, placed second in the 2000 Mayoral race against Democratic incumbent Kirk Watson?

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Quotes

"I want to thank you for taking time out of your day to come and witness my hanging."
—George W. Bush at the dedication of his gubernatorial portrait in Austin, Texas (January 4, 2002)

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