Hi friends, two weeks ago I told you the Austin school district was deciding its budget, and that the public comment card was open while the cuts were still on the table. Last Thursday night the board voted, and this week I can tell you what they chose. The short version: the librarian cuts that were on the list did not happen.
Three things, as always: one coastal Mexican patio for the heat, a free book festival plus the rest of the weekend around it, and the budget decision now that the gavel has come down. Here is your weekend.
Eat, this week
East Austin · $$$ · lunch and dinner, Friday through Sunday
Este is the coastal Mexican companion to Suerte from Fermín Núñez and Sam Hellman-Mass, built in the old Eastside Cafe space on Manor Road with a sun-drenched room and a big covered deck, which is right where you want to be for a long summer lunch. It is mariscos with an Austin accent: start with the shrimp aguachile and the tuna tiradito, both bright, citrusy, and built around charcoal, and go from there. It landed on national best-new-restaurant lists when it opened, so dinner fills up on Resy, but they hold back seats at the bar, the chef’s counter, and the lounge for walk-ins. I’d aim for the patio before the sun drops.
Do, this weekend
Carver Museum, East Austin · Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. · free
The easiest plan this weekend is a free one. The Austin African American Book Festival takes over the George Washington Carver Museum and Library on Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., for its twentieth year. The bill is genuinely deep: Pulitzer winner Nikole Hannah-Jones, Operation HOPE founder John Hope Bryant, novelist ReShonda Tate, and Austin poet laureate Zell Miller III, plus a marketplace and a kids zone. It is indoors and air-conditioned, which in late June is its own argument, and it is free and open to everyone. Bring a tote for the books you did not plan to buy.
Know, this week
Two weeks ago the plan in front of the Austin ISD board would have cut hundreds of positions, librarians among them, to close a deficit of about 181 million dollars. Last Thursday night the board voted seven to one to adopt the budget, and in a late amendment it put the librarians back: every campus keeps a full-time librarian, paid for this year out of the district’s reserves. The budget still carries about 205 million dollars in cuts, so this was not a reprieve for everything. Bigger classes at more schools, fewer counselors at some campuses, and trimmed stipends are all in it. The district says it will revisit the numbers on August 13, when the board signs off on a final version using certified property values. If you wrote in last month, that is where it landed.
Worth bookmarking
The Austin coffee list I keep texting people.
Tell me one thing
Where is your favorite Austin patio to eat when it is this hot? I am making a list. Reply and tell me. I read every one.
See you next Thursday. If someone you know keeps asking where to go this weekend, forward this to them.
P.S. The directory behind these picks, more than two thousand Austin restaurants you can sort by neighborhood, price, and cuisine, is right here. Forward it to whoever always asks you where to eat.