democratic darling

Texas university steps out of the shadows with political superstar in new faculty position

Texas State has added a political star to its staff.

Texas State University/Facebook

It may not be in the White House, but former presidential hopeful Beto O'Rourke is starting a new job in January: professor. The Texas Democratic darling is taking a position at Texas State University in San Marcos, the university's paper reported on October 15.

According to the University Star, O'Rourke will join the Department of Political Science as an instructor beginning in the spring 2021 semester. O'Rourke's course will be virtual and focus on Texas politics, the paper reports.

In an interview with the University Star, the department's chair, Ken Grasso, said the school was "happy to have him."

A former representative for El Paso, O'Rourke made a 2018 run to unseat Texas Senator Ted Cruz. Though unsuccessful, his grassroots campaign eventually caught the attention of Texas voters and political donors across the country, leading to the closest Texas Senate race in 40 years. (Cruz won 50.9 of the vote to O'Rourke's 48.3 percent.)

O'Rourke's rising star led to a recent bid for president, though he ended his campaign in November 2019. Since then, O'Rourke has been actively supporting Democratic nominees on the campaign trail, even organizing a star-studded, get-out-the-vote virtual event this week alongside Oprah Winfrey and Willie Nelson.

In his interview, Grasso said he hopes O'Rourke can bring some of that star power to Texas State.

“I don't know that so much it's going to increase enrollments; it'll certainly increase visibility,” Grasso told the University Star. “That's always a good thing. We tend to sometimes to get lost in the shadow of other institutions.”

politics colleges

keep austin healthy

Austin is the 2nd 'healthiest' city in America, Forbes says

Photo by Max Bender on Unsplash

There are plenty of places for Austinites of varying abilities to be active.

The city's abundance of yoga studios, health-conscious restaurants, and run clubs is paying off: Austin was just named the second healthiest city in the nation in a new study by Forbes Advisor.

The report, "Cities With The Least Healthy (And Healthiest) Populations, Ranked" examined 2021 health data from the City Health Dashboard for 46 of the most populated cities in America. Eight metrics were analyzed for each city, such as the number of heart disease or opioid overdose deaths per 100,000 residents, the percentage of adults with diabetes or high blood pressure, among others.

The study focuses exclusively on physical health, and leans on broad risk factors more than the actual occurrence of specific diseases or conditions.

Austin ranked second to San Jose, California, which was dubbed the No. 1 healthiest city in America.

Forbes found that Austin has the lowest percentage of adult high blood pressure out of all 46 cities in the report, at just 22.5 percent. Only 7.4 percent of Austin residents have diabetes, which is the fourth-lowest rate nationwide. The city also boasts the fifth-lowest percentage of adults who smoke (11.3 percent).

Here's how the report ranked four other metrics for Austin:

Eighth-lowest number of heart disease deaths per 100,000 residents (175.5)
Eighth-lowest number of opioid overdose deaths per 100,000 residents (9.6)
10th-lowest percentage of adults who report having obesity (28.2 percent)
10th-lowest percentage of adults who report being physically inactive (18.5)

Austin has a reputation for being an accommodating city, whether it's through restaurants expanding their culinary offerings for vegans and vegetarians, or through local organizations adding exercise equipment to outdoor trails. And you can't forget about all the new gyms and country clubs opening around the city.

At the opposite end of the study, Detroit, Michigan landed as the most unhealthy city in the country.

Elsewhere in Texas
Though Austin is one of the healthiest cities in the U.S., and the healthiest in the state, several other Texas cities fell far behind. Houston appeared as the No. 12 most unhealthy American city on the list, and unhealthiest in Texas. The report attributes this to a high percentage of adults who report binge drinking (18.2 percent), smoking (17.2 percent), and more.

"Houston has the seventh-highest percentage of adults who report having obesity (37.7 percent) and the eighth-highest percentage of adults with diabetes (12 percent)," the report said.

San Antonio ranked as the 15th unhealthiest U.S. city, followed by Dallas (No. 18), El Paso (No. 22) and Fort Worth (No. 25). Arlington appeared as No. 30, technically making it the No. 18 healthiest city in the U.S.

The top 10 cities with the most healthy populations are:

No. 1 – San Jose, California
No. 2 – Austin, Texas
No. 3 – Seattle, Washington
No. 4 – San Diego, California
No. 5 – Denver, Colorado
No. 6 – San Francisco, California
No. 7 – Boston, Massachusetts
No. 8 – Raleigh, North Carolina
No. 9 – Colorado Springs, Colorado
No. 10 – Minneapolis

The full report can be found on forbes.com.

austin healthy reports rankings