Hot Headlines

6 affordable Austin neighborhoods for homebuyers, plus more popular stories

Manor offers small-town charm and master-planned communities.

Photo courtesy of Whisper Valley

Editor's note: It's that time again — time to check in with our top stories. Here are five articles that captured our collective attention over the past seven days.

1. 6 affordable Austin neighborhoods for first-time homebuyers in 2021. This year, our best neighborhoods for first-time homebuyers story looks a bit different. The six best neighborhoods for first-time homebuyers represent areas where it is still feasible to get in around that $400,000-$500,000 threshold, which is very much the reality of the Austin market now.

2. Kendra Scott steps down as CEO of billion-dollar Austin jewelry company. After nearly 20 years, Kendra Scott is stepping down as CEO of her Austin-based company. She's not really going anywhere, though.

3. Groundbreaking South Austin restaurant closes after sale of original location. Another darling of the Austin restaurant scene is gone. Sway, the award-winning modern Thai eatery, permanently shuttered its original location in Bouldin Creek after selling the building.

4. Inclusive technology company latest to swap Northern California for Austin. Another tech company, this one providing technology and services for the deaf and hard-of-hearing, is trading Cali for the Capital City.

5. Austin population growth slows as suburbs continue to boom, says report. Population growth inside the city limits is on a downward trend, says a new report. The suburbs, however, are only just beginning what is predicted to be a major population boom.

hot-headlines

Reexamining Don Draper

Jon Hamm, Henry Winkler, and more headed to Austin for TV festival

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Jon Hamm is coming to Austin to talk about Don Draper.

From May 29 to June 1, 2025, the ATX TV Festival will take over downtown Austin, and this year Jon Hamm will be joining the festival for the first time.

Hamm will be here for an event called A Mad Men Retrospective, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the show's finale. In this panel (the moderator of which is not yet announced), Hamm will reflect on his Emmy-winning performance as Mad Men's Don Draper, the uniqueness of the character in the TV canon, and the show's influence 10 years after it ended.

Jon Hamm may be best known as Draper, but he's also given celebrated performances in several movies and other shows like Fargo, Black Mirror, and — fun fact! — Gilmore Girls.

Celebrating TV is what the ATX TV Festival is all about. This annual summer event is put on by ATX TV and consists of screenings, Q&As, and panel conversations; plus all sorts of parties, live music, happy hours, and other events. It's known for reunions of classic series and cult hits, and according to the website, it's like "TV camp for grownups."

Jon Hamm isn't the only heavy-hitter in this year's lineup.

Programming also includes an acting class and Q&A with Henry Winkler himself, a live script reading of classic episodes from The Golden Girls and Designing Women (guest actors to be announced), a reunion of the creatives and cast of the HBO hit series The Leftovers, a live recording of the podcast Sidebar: A Suits Watch Podcast with Suits stars and co-hosts Sarah Rafferty and Patrick J. Adams, and much more.

Additionally, the festival's annual Pitch Competition is still accepting open pitch submissions through January 17. This gives creatives in Austin a chance to pitch their show idea in front of some of the industry's biggest showrunners and executives. Those in the top 10 will receive a year of support to make the next steps in their TV careers.

Festival badges and passes ($150-535) are on sale now.

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