women's health

Planned Parenthood downtown to lose funding this week, only two remain funded instate

The unfortunate word is out: Austin’s Planned Parenthood, an institution to low-income and uninsured women off East 7th Street, will be completely defunded in just two days.

The Department of State Health Services began notifying contractors late last week that their funding would be completely revoked or reduced for FY 2012 (which starts Thursday, September 1st).

The result? Six of the state’s eight Planned Parenthood clinics have now had their funding removed; the two remaining (one in North Texas and the other in Waco) barely have funding at all.

For Austin, this will likely mean that more than 4,000 women who depend on Planned Parenthood for basic reproductive healthcare will now have nowhere to go. To many outraged citizens and organizations alike, this decision is outlandish, to say the least. Sadly, it has been a long time coming.

The decision is comes on the heels of our Texas lawmakers’ successful attempts to cut (or drastically reduce) the budget for women’s access to basic reproductive healthcare and family planning. Spearheaded by Rick Perry, the state budget goal was to eliminate more than two-thirds of funding for women’s health services, including life-saving breast and cervical cancer screenings.

But Austin’s Planned Parenthood refuses to stop helping women receive adequate care. They have launched a campaign called Austin Stands with Planned Parenthoodto both increase awareness of the defunding and raise money to continue treating women in need.

The organization conducted a survey of Texas residents, and found that the majority of Texans do not think Planned Parenthood should be defunded from providing cancer screenings, yearly check ups, birth control or testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections.

Having proved the majority of its public supports its initiatives, the campaign seeks to rally that public to ensure that women’s reproductive and family planning rights do not get thrown to the wayside. As the campaign exclaims:

“The Texas Legislature is continuing attacks on women’s health and now the health care for 400,000 Texans is in serious jeopardy.”

To keep hundreds of thousands of women from becoming at risk of missing life-threatening cancers, the campaign calls on Texans to contact their legislators to “restore family planning funding and oppose any effort to defund Planned Parenthood.”

The campaign is also fundraising to raise $350,000 for client assistance, so that women do not go without life-saving care while they wait for policy-makers to reverse what’s been waged “The War on Women’s Health.”

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What a racket

New padel club gets Austin familiar with popular Latin American sport

Photo by Juan J Valdes

Padel is not a new sport, but interest in paddleball has shown its potential to take root in Austin.

Considering the runaway success of pickleball in Austin, padel should be going crazy in no time. The sport isn't new; it's been around since 1969. And in fact, pickleball is even four years older. Regardless, a renewed interest has new spots to watch and play popping up left and right, and joining the party is Padel39.

The new padel ball club is now open at 2510 Rutland Dr., near Q2 Stadium and right behind Turnstile Coffee Beer Cocktails and Burgers. It's also near Restart CBD, but hopefully you won't need any pain remedies; people usually say padel ball is easy to pick up.

Even though it's already open, Padel39 is hosting a grand opening on Friday, October 18. From 6-9 pm there will be drinks, snacks, and a padel expo game (starting at 7 pm). "In-house pros" from Padel39 will compete against two professional Mexican players.

Padel39 courts The courts themselves are charming, covered by green turf and surrounded by white, resort-style seating.Photo by Josh Graziadei

Descriptions of the sport invariably take the form of "like [x racquet sport] but with elements of [y and racket sports]." If keeping track of all the differences just feels like too much, picture a solid racket — i.e. not stringed — with holes drilled in it. Padel balls are nearly identical to tennis balls, but smaller and with a lower air pressure; a release explains that this is so it doesn't bounce as high. (It also assures readers that the noise is less annoying than that of a pickleball.)

The most exciting part: there is a net in the center of the court, but the whole thing is encased in glass walls, which are part of the game. Austinites who have spent time in Latin American countries or Spain may already be familiar with the sport, since it's much more popular there. It was invented in Acapulco, Mexico, by Enrique Corcuera, and now Padel39 bears the first two numbers of all Acapulco ZIP Codes.

Co-founder Will Boyce, born in France and educated at the University of Texas, used to play tennis for the school. Now he and his wife, co-founder Naomi Boyce, have grand plans for the new club. The release positions it as "helping [to] redefine the ever-evolving area of North Austin near Q2 Stadium," and the website already hopes to open new locations in "the coming years."

Padel39 co-founders Will and Naomi Boyce Co-founders Will and Naomi Boyce.Photo by Juan J Valdes

So far, though, it's only two weeks in, following a soft opening. Spread across two acres, there's plenty of room to play, plus a sports bar and a lounge for remote work.

Padel39 Memberships start at $89 per month or $890 per year, but players can also rent courts as needed for 90 minutes at $30. More information about the club is available at padel39.com. Guests who would like to stop by the grand opening will need to message @padel.39 on Instagram. The event is limited to 100 people.

sports padel openings