In The Spotlight

Austin Under 40 announces 2014 nominees, including Camille Styles, Paul Qui and Colin Pope

Austin Under 40 is shining a light on the most influential young professionals in Austin with the announcement of its 16th annual Austin Under 40 nominees. Selected for their professional contributions as well as their community involvement, the 70 nominees represent a wide swath of Austin industries, from business and entrepreneurship to culinary arts and hospitality.

Buzzworthy names you'll likely recognize include Colin Pope, who serves as editor in chief of Austin Business Journal, Camille Styles of CamilleStyles.com, Chef Paul Qui of Qui and East Side King, and community leader Alex Winkelman from Citizen Generation.

Nominees and guests will gather on Friday, April 4 at the Austin Music Hall for an awards gala presented by UFCU where winners in the 14 categories (listed below) will be named, as well as one "Austinite of the Year." The annual event benefits the Austin YMBL Sunshine Camps and YWA Foundation, which send thousands of low income, high potential youths to summer camp, support mentoring and tutoring activities, and supply educational scholarships.

The full list of Austin Under 40 nominees for 2014 is as follows:

Arts, Sports, Media & Entertainment: Matthew Hinsley, Austin Classical Guitar Society; Colin Pope, Austin Business Journal; Camille Styles, CamilleStyles.com; Matt Swinney, Austin Fashion Week; Shawn Ullman, FeelRich.com

Business & Entrepreneurship: Leon Chen, Tiff’s Treats; Nadim Elias, HT Staffing; Chelsea McCullough, Texans for Economic Progress; Mousumi Shaw, Sikara Jewelry; Ellis Winstanley, Tradelogic Corporation

Clean Technology and Energy: Jose Beceiro, Cockrell School of Engineering at UT; Clay Butler, The Butler Firm; Zeina El-Azzi, SunEdison; Andrew Johnston, Austin Energy; Andrea Ricaurte, CleanTX

Community Service and Nonprofit: Priscilla Cortez, Bacon Lee & Associates; David Neff, PwC; Leo Ramirez, MiniDonations; Christopher Williston, Independent Bankers Association of Texas; Alex Winkelman, Citizen Generation

Culinary Arts and Hospitality: Joanna McCreary, W Austin; Maximillian Petty, Olivia; Paul Qui, Qui; Balinder Singh, Clay Pit; Dorothy Trainer, Intercontinental Stephen F. Austin

Engineering, Architecture and Design: Matt Fajkus, MF Architecture; Allison Jaffe, Allison Jaffe Interior Design; Keri Juarez, City of Austin Public Works Department; Jon Salinas, Salinas Architecture; Will Schnier, BIG RED DOG

Financial Services and Insurance: Jeff Davidson, AXA Advisors; Adam Flagg, Upstream Investment Partners; Sara Maxwell, Locke & Ritter; Brian May, Pioneer Bank; Kit Mellem, Build A Sign.

Government and Public Affairs: Veronica Briseno Lara, City of Austin; Terri Broussard Williams, American Heart Association; Michael McGill, Office of the Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole; Rudolph Metayer, Health and Human Services Commission; Katie Naranjo, GNI Strategies

Legal: Mollie Duckworth, Baker Botts; Sara Foskitt, Foskitt Law Office; Elizabeth Hadley, GT Law; Christine Richardson, Locke Lord; Judson Sutherland, Hajjar, Sutherland, Peters & Washmon

Marketing, PR and Advertising: Shilpa Bakre, ACVB; Ashley Beall, TRIBEZA; Brian Dolezal, Hahn Public Communications; Jennifer Gooding, Prime PR; Joy Shoffler, Leverage PR

Medicine, Healthcare and Sciences: Andrea Campaigne, MD, Nurture OBGYN; Kate Henderson, Seton Healthcare Family; Aliya Hussaini, MD, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation; Jared Leger, Arise Capital Investments; Brett Matens, St. David’s Healthcare

Real Estate: Kevin Burns, Urbanspace; John Hay, Hay Darby PLLC; Corby Jastrow, Prominent Title; Kristi Simmons, AQUILA Commercial; Will Steakley, DEN Property Group

Technology and Startups: Joshua Alexander, Toopher; Mason Arnold, Greenling; Chad Bockius, CopperEgg; Joah Spearman, Localeur; Dustin Wells, Headspring

Youth and Education: Matthew Abbott, Wayside Schools; Christin Alvarado, Advancing America Foundation; Mike Braeuer, Explore Austin; Bryan Rubio, Breakthrough Austin; Emily Smith, Cunningham Elementary

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Gala tickets are available for $150, tables for $1400. VIP pre-party ticket add-ons are $25 and include complimentary beverages courtesy of Deep Eddy Vodka, Duchman Winery and select local craft breweries.

Camille Styles.

Courtesy of CamilleStyles.com

Camille Styles.

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Self-driving Roller Coaster

More self-driving cars expected to roll out in Austin for 2025

Photo courtesy of Waymo via KVUE

Various brands offering self-driving cars are on-and-off in Austin.

Expect to see more self-driving rideshare vehicles, also known as robotaxis, on Austin roads next year.

Robotaxi company Waymo, which you may have already seen on Austin's roads, is partnering with Uber. At some point next year, customers will be able to use the Uber app to call a self-driving ride.

Austin-based company Avride is in the testing phase and plans to roll out its robotaxis next year.

Currently, Volkswagen ADMT and Amazon's Zoox are in the testing phase in Austin, while Hyundai's Motional is in the mapping phase.

Last year, robotaxi company Cruise paused operations in Austin after the California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked the company's permits to operate driverless vehicles in the state. And last week, General Motors said it would no longer fund the company because of the time and resources needed.

This way of getting around has come with its safety concerns and issues. The city is tracking those concerns. According to the Transportation Department, the problems span from blocking the roads and parking in front of people's homes for weeks with lights beaming through their windows, to actual wrecks.

Since July 2023, robotaxis have been involved in 75 incidents. Only 21 of those incidents happened in 2024. It's important to note that Cruise has not been operating in Austin this year.

Since July 2023, driverless rideshare vehicles have been involved in 22 near collisions, eight collisions and seven instances where driverless taxis ignored directions from the Austin Police Department (APD).

According to the data, at least four of those Austin police incidents happened in recent months. The issues varied from driving through police checkpoints, to malfunctioning and getting stuck at an APD road closure near pedestrians, causing safety concerns.

A Waymo spokesperson said their vehicles have gesture recognition capabilities, which they've been training APD officers on using.

As the report shows, sometimes it does not work and Waymo said it is working to improve that. The spokesperson said that as of just last week, Waymo's First Responder Program has been independently verified by TÜV SÜD, making Waymo the first autonomous vehicle (AV) company to receive third-party validation for our emergency response protocols. They also said the data to date indicates the Waymo Driver is already reducing traffic injuries and fatalities in the places where the company currently operates.

Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com.

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