Austin

As home to the state capitol, a flagship university and natural treasures like Barton Springs, Austin isn’t hurting for landmarks. But there’s also an underground placemaking collection: the city's street art.

There’s the “Greetings From Austin” mural on South First Street, movie stills on the old Varsity Theatre building across from campus, even the “I Love You So Much” scrawled on the side of Jo’s Coffee on South Congress Avenue.

There’s also “Jeremiah the Innocent,” more commonly known as the “Hi, How Are You?” frog. Painted by songwriter Daniel Johnston, the design was famously worn by Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain.

Earlier this week, the frog was defaced by taggers. And while it’s not the first time that’s happened, it raises an interesting question: What happens when unofficial landmarks like Johnston’s frog – which, with its charmingly crude design could itself be mistaken for graffiti – get tagged?

AISD Graduation Rates Continue to Rise

For the third year in a row, graduation rates are up in the Austin Independent School District.

The class of 2011 graduated 80 percent of students – that's up just over a percentage from last year and about six percent higher than than in 2008.

The Texas Education Agency says AISD made significant jumps in graduation rates specifically for economically-disadvantaged students and students who are still learning English. Debra Reedy, the Director of Assessment and Accountability for AISD, is pleased with those gains.

“That’s kind of been our goal, certainly in the last couple of years, to really focus on those gaps within those student groups and to try to decrease the gaps,” Reedy says.

The University of Texas Board of Regents tabled the request to purchase an additional radio station for KUT Austin this afternoon.

The UT Board of Regents was being asked to approve UT-Austin’s purchase of 98.9 FM on behalf of KUT. KUT would repay the university its $6 million purchase over 20 years, at four percent interest. “No restricted funds, including student tuition and fees, will be used to finance this acquisition,” states backup information on the Board of Regents’ agenda.

Under the proposal brought to the regents, KUT would use the new frequency as a non-commercial, all-music format, and KUT 90.5 FM would become an all-news and information format.

When asked for comment, KUT's management told us, "The chancellor said his office has received some questions about this proposal. We'll work with him and the regents to answer those questions."

Looking for an excuse to dip out of work early? Here’s one, courtesy of the National Weather Service’s Austin - San Antonio bureau:

“The afternoon rush hour will be a mess along the I-35 corridor,” it writes on its Facebook page. “You can avoid the worst backups by leaving now or waiting until after 6 pm.”

Following yesterday’s rains (and flooding in Bastrop County), more storms are expected tonight. The NWS anticipates under a inch of rain for most of the region, although some areas may receive as much as four inches, and wind gusts as high as 40 mph.