sxsw spat

SXSW squares off with Gov. Greg Abbott over growing artist boycott

South by Southwest has responded to a post by Gov. Abbott skewering artist protestors.

Photo courtesy of KVUE

A growing number of musicians are pulling out of South by Southwest (SXSW) due to concerns about the conference's ties to the military. Governor Greg Abbott and SXSW have now weighed in on social media.

Last week, CultureMap reported that a small number of artists had backed out of their official SXSW appearances, citing the conference's ties with the U.S. Department of Defense and the weapons manufacturer formerly known as Raytheon. The artists have also cited solidarity with Palestine as a reason for boycotting the conference.

Now that group is growing. The Austin for Palestine Coalition said Tuesday that more than 80 artists, musicians, and panelists have now joined the coalition's campaign, "War Mongers out of SXSW."

[...]

On Tuesday afternoon, Gov. Greg Abbott posted the following message on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter:

"Bands pull out of SXSW over U.S. Army sponsorship. Bye. Don’t come back. Austin remains the HQ for the Army Futures Command. San Antonio is Military City USA. We are proud of the U.S. military in Texas. If you don’t like it, don’t come here."

Soon after, SXSW reposted the governor's tweet, starting, "SXSW does not agree with Governor Abbott."

— (@)

The conference then wrote the following in a thread:

"We are an organization that welcomes diverse viewpoints. Music is the soul of SXSW, and it has long been our legacy. We fully respect the decision these artists made to exercise their right to free speech.["]

Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com. CultureMap has updated this article to provide new data.

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share the road

Texas races to the bottom in new list of best states for cyclists

Photo by Justin Wallace on Unsplash

If you've ridden your bicycle in Austin, you already know how true this is.

In what will come as no surprise to cyclists around Austin, the state of Texas is not a good place for bicycle riding. According to a new report of the "Most Cycling-Friendly States in the U.S.," Texas comes in at No. 47 — meaning that only three other states are worse.

The report, from Philadelphia personal injury law firm KaplunMarx, examines all 50 states based on six metrics: Air quality index, the number of cyclist deaths per one million residents, bike routes per square mile, local government actions supporting cycling, federal funding for cycling projects, and bicycle laws.

Texas musters a mere 31 points out of 100 for its "cycling friendly score."

The most cycling-friendly state in the U.S.: Minnesota, which earned 84 points to claim the title.

According to the report's findings, there have been 15 local government actions per capita in Texas that integrate pedestrians and cyclists in transportation projects. Texas' has a 41 air quality index value, and there are approximately 1.2 bike routes per 1,000 square miles in the state.

On cyclist deaths, Texas does a little better, with three cyclist deaths per one million residents in Texas — about nine percent lower than the national average.

According to KaplunMarx founding partner Ted Kaplun, there is an average of 857 cyclist fatalities in the U.S. every year. He adds that every measure or community effort to improve cyclist-friendliness is beneficial for all Americans.

"It's crucial for all states to continually assess and enhance their cycling provisions, learning from both high-ranking peers and their own experiences," he says.

Top-ranking Minnesota has only one cyclist death per one million state residents. It also has about 27.2 bike routes per 1,000 square miles.

After Minnesota, the remaining top five best states for cyclists are Massachusetts (No. 2), Rhode Island (No. 3), Washington (No. 4), and Iowa (No. 5).

At the bottom of the list are Nevada (No. 48), Arizona (No. 49), and Utah (No. 50) — all of which performed far worse than Texas to be declared the three least cycling-friendly states.

The entire country still has areas for improvement when it comes to creating a safer environment for cyclists, regardless of where each state landed on the list, according to Kaplun.

"With over 53 million Americans riding bicycles regularly, the importance of cycling-friendly infrastructure and safety measures cannot be overstated," said Kaplun in the report. "This isn't just about rankings – it's about enhancing the quality of life, promoting sustainable transportation, and most crucially, saving lives."

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