Financial hardship

Austin suburb could face 'economic ruin' due to pandemic, says new study

San Marcos' economy is tied to Texas State. Closing again could put the city at risk.

The main campus of Texas State University is an economic engine for San Marcos. As the city’s largest employer, it contributes more than $1.1 billion a year to the local economy.

A study published September 6 suggests San Marcos could face “economic ruin” if the coronavirus pandemic forces Texas State to once again halt on-campus activity. This comes exactly one month after a similar study identified the Austin suburb among the U.S. cities at financial risk due to COVID-19.

San Marcos ranks 10th on Business Insider’s list of the 30 college towns in the U.S. that could be hit especially hard financially if their anchor schools don’t reopen this fall due to the novel coronavirus or must close again after reopening.

To rank the pandemic’s economic threat to college towns, Business Insider looked at undergraduate enrollment as a share of each town’s population. It reviewed data for the 200 colleges and universities with the largest number of degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates based on fall 2018 data. Business Insider focused mainly on schools that offer bachelor’s degrees, and included only those towns with at least 30,000 residents.

In San Marcos, the 33,531 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates, excluding those who take only virtual classes, make up 52.6 percent of the population, according to the study.

The fall semester at Texas State started August 24. About 60 percent of classes are being offered in person and about 40 percent online. The Texas Tribune reported last month that some folks doubt face-to-face classes at Texas State would continue throughout the semester.

“I feel like all of the school reopening plans are based on models of idealized human behavior as opposed to real human behavior,” Nicole Taylor, associate professor of anthropology at Texas State, told the Texas Tribune. “They’re predicated on the assumption that people will follow the rules.”

Two other college towns in Texas show up on the list: College Station (Texas A&M University) at No. 12 and Huntsville (Sam Houston State University) at No. 17.

In College Station, the 53,150 degree- or certificate-seeking undergrads, excluding those who take only virtual classes, represent 45.8 percent of the population, according to Business Insider. In Huntsville, the 16,588 degree- or certificate-seeking undergrads, excluding those who take only virtual classes, make up 39.3 percent of the population.

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Meteor News

How to see the Draconid meteor shower in Austin this week

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Meteor shower

A meteor shower will be visible from most of North America, including Austin, during the week of October 6-10.

The Draconid meteor shower – also called the Giacobinids – was predicted to produce the most meteor activity on the night of October 7 and through the early hours of October 8, but there is still time to catch the tail end.

There will still be sightings on subsequent nights, stargazing experts say.

According to EarthSky, a cool website devoted to all things starry, the Draconids will be visible right after it gets dark, rather than the more common early morning hours most meteor showers are visible.

The best time will be just after sunset, until around midnight. Viewers won't have to stay up until the crack of dawn.

Helping to make the meteor even more visible is a waxing moon, barely a crack, which will cast less light and keep the sky darker overall.

EarthSky says that the meteors are radiating from two stars known as the Dragon’s Eyes, called Eltanin and Rastaban, found in the constellation Draco. Which is located in between the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper.

However, the meteor shower will be visible across the sky.

The shower is dubbed a "sleeper" in that it produces only a handful of meteors — 10 per hour. But they move slower, so the duration of each streak of light sometimes lasts longer — one to two seconds, rather than a rapid flash.

Meteor showers consist of debris left behind by comets and asteroids, which throw off bits of rock and ice as they orbit the sun. The Draconids are the result of Earth passing through this trail from the comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner. The comet completes an orbit of the sun about every seven years, and according to CNN, the last time it got this close to Earth was in September, 2018.

The best way to see it is to find a place that's far from artificial light, then lie on your back and look up at the sky with a wide view. No special equipment is needed.

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