Aquarium's Troubled Water

Troubled water: Despite controversy, Austin Aquarium now offering birthday party packages

The Austin Aquarium is engaging in an aggressive social media campaign aimed at boosting interest in the new attraction.

Photo courtesy of Visit Portland

Despite allegations of starvation and mistreatment of animals at their Portland aquarium, the owners of the new Austin Aquarium are charging ahead with plans to open the attraction by the end of the year. This week, the aquarium is offering 50 percent off birthday parties to be held at the space, despite some people's advocating for a boycott and PETA's request for an formal investigation into the space.

But the controversy isn't just regulated to Portland and Austin. On September 24, Ammon Covino pled guilty to conspiracy for attempting to illegally buy sharks and stingrays for his Idaho aquarium.

The birthday party offer is the latest in an aggressive public relations and social media campaign launched by the Aquarium. In addition to such deals as half-price yearly memberships, the aquarium is opening its doors to the public, hosting events including a Halloween party and membership drives in the parking lot of its Northwest Austin locale.

The Aquarium also posts news of newly acquired animals and construction updates on Facebook, despite getting in trouble with the city in July for housing animals without the proper permits.

Since August, when two former employees at the Portland Aquarium released a list of more than 200 animals who died under their care, the owners of the Austin Aquarium, brothers Vince and Amman Covino, have been dealing with a public relations nightmare. A month before a piece published in The Oregonian accused the brothers of causing undue harm to animals in an effort to save money, a group in Austin had already rallied to call for a formal boycott of the aquarium.

While the city of Austin has not done anything to stop construction, they did cite the aquarium for illegally housing animals without the proper permits on July 18. In a follow-up visit, the animals were found to have been removed. In August, PETA sent a letter to the city of Austin requesting a formal investigation into the aquarium. In an interview with KVUE, Peter Covino, father of the owners, said, "We had permits for everything we've done, we've had permission for everything we've done."

But the controversy isn't relegated to only Portland and Austin. On September 24, Ammon Covino pled guilty to conspiracy for attempting to buy sharks and stingrays illegally for his Idaho aquarium.

As the aquarium finalizes construction and prepares to open, it remains to be see if Austinites will embrace the new attraction — or if the Austin Aquarium will be a fish out water.

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2 wealthy Austin suburbs top list of biggest holiday spenders in U.S.

Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

Cedar Park, Round Rock, and Austin loooove to do up the holidays.

It looks like Santa Claus is going to be competing with residents in Cedar Park to see who brings the most lavish holiday gifts this year.

This festive Austin neighbor ranked No. 23 in WalletHub's annual report of U.S. cities with the biggest holiday budgets in 2024.

Residents in this well-to-do suburb are expected to spend $2,930 on their Christmas gifts this year. That's up $576 from the $2,354 they were ready to shell out in the 2023 ranking — and it bumped them up 21 spots from their previous ranking at No. 44.

The U.S. Census Bureau says that Cedar Park's estimated population of 77,516 had a median household income of $118,903 in 2023. No wonder they have the extra cash to spare.

Cedar Park consistently makes the list of the top U.S. cities with the biggest holiday spenders, and now Round Rock is also climbing up the list, landing at No. 39 this year, up significantly from its previous low ranking of No. 283 in 2023.

The average holiday budget in Round Rock skyrocketed from $1,148 last year to $2,538 this year in an eyewatering $1,390 increase. You gotta spend to stay on top.

The No. 1 city in the U.S. for biggest holiday spenders in 2024 is Newton, Massachusetts, a wealthy suburb right outside of Boston, where the median income measured in 2022 was $176,373. Slots 2 through 5 were all cities in California's Silicon Valley: Sunnyvale, Palo Alto, Mountain View, and Milpitas.

Meanwhile, Austin proper landed at No. 87 in 2024 with an average holiday budget of $1,905.

Each year, WalletHub calculates the maximum holiday budget for over 550 U.S. cities "to help consumers avoid post-holiday regret," the website says. The study factors in income, age of the population, and other financial indicators such as debt-to-income ratio, monthly-income-to monthly-expenses ratio, and savings-to-monthly-expenses ratio.

Whether an Austinite's holiday budget is under $200 or more than $1,000, it's better to prioritize remaining within that budget instead of racking up the credit card bill, according to WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo.

"There are plenty of ways to enjoy the holidays and show you care without spending much money, like hosting potlucks or giving handmade gifts," said Lupo.

Other Texas cities that made it into the top 100 are:

No. 7 – Flower Mound ($3,541)
No. 11 – Frisco ($3,412)
No. 13 – The Woodlands ($3,395)
No. 15 – Sugar Land ($3,214)
No. 18 – Allen ($3,070)
No. 25 – League City ($2,897)
No. 32 – Plano ($2,658)
No. 45 – North Richland Hills ($2,484)
No. 52 – McKinney ($2,386)
No. 60 – Pearland ($2,223)
No. 76 – Richardson ($1,980)
No. 81 – Carrollton ($1,932)
No. 92 – Lewisville ($1,848)

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