Inside the situation room: How Austin officials decided to cancel SXSW

News and updates from Austin's news in your inbox Email not displaying correctly? [View Online]( [Statesman]( MORNING HEADLINES Start your day with a fresh roundup of news, features and commentary. Sunday's Top Story [Inside the situation room: How Austin officials decided to cancel SXSW]( [Inside the situation room: How Austin officials decided to cancel SXSW]( At 11:18 Friday morning, after several days of back-and-forth about whether to cancel South by Southwest, Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt was returning from a doctor's appointment when she called Austin Mayor Steve Adler. [Read More »]( Local News [For Biden, the middle held on Super Tuesday in Texas]( [For Biden, the middle held on Super Tuesday in Texas]( Joe Biden's super short and super successful Super Tuesday campaign in Texas effectively began with an early afternoon rally Monday at Houston's Texas Southern University and culminated a few hours later as three former rivals converged in Dallas to bless him as the best bet to beat President Donald Trump. [Read More »]( [Person critically injured in North Austin crash]( [Person critically injured in North Austin crash]( A person was critically injured in a collision involving a motorcycle and a car in North Austin Saturday evening, according to Austin-Travis County EMS. [Read More »]( [During the worst pandemic in modern times, Austin shut down for almost a month]( [During the worst pandemic in modern times, Austin shut down for almost a month]( On Oct. 2, 1918, the Austin Statesman ran a soothing story under the headline "Spanish Influenza Discussed in an Intelligent Manner by Leading Austin Physician." [Read More »]( [Manor district trustee sues to oust board president]( [Manor district trustee sues to oust board president]( Manor school board Trustee Sam Samaripa filed a lawsuit on Monday through the Travis County district court to remove board President Elmer Fisher, Jr. from office. [Read More »]( [Spring forward: Sunday will be cloudy and mild, rain ahead]( [Spring forward: Sunday will be cloudy and mild, rain ahead]( Sunday will be cloudy and mild with a high near 71 and an overnight low around 62. [Read More »]( [Loss of SXSW a gut punch for some Austin businesses]( [Loss of SXSW a gut punch for some Austin businesses]( For Austin's downtown hospitality sector, the annual South by Southwest festival has become the financial equivalent of Christmas, Hanukkah and Black Friday rolled into a 10-day whirlwind each March. [Read More »]( Business [Startups grapple with SXSW missed opportunities]( [Startups grapple with SXSW missed opportunities]( Mariana Acuña-Acosta watched as, one by one, all the tech conferences her startup was scheduled to attend started canceling amid rising concern over the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. [Read More »]( Sports [Oklahoma State 81, Texas 59: With a big crowd and high hopes, Longhorns blown out]( [Oklahoma State 81, Texas 59: With a big crowd and high hopes, Longhorns blown out]( Texas' five-game winning streak is gone, and so is all the Horns' momentum. This was a total no-show on a day when the biggest crowd of the season (12,733) crammed into the Erwin Center ready to believe again. [Read More »]( [As senior year winds down, Texas Jada Underwood kept busy as a basketball player and teacher]( [As senior year winds down, Texas’ Jada Underwood kept busy as a basketball player and teacher]( During her senior year, Underwood has doubled as a versatile defender and a student teacher in U.S. History. [Read More »]( [Texas 4, Cal State Fullerton 3: Relief effort holds up as Longhorns survive another close call]( [Texas 4, Cal State Fullerton 3: Relief effort holds up as Longhorns survive another close call]( Following the series-clinching conquest at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, UT's record in one-run decisions improved to 4-2. [Read More »]( [Bohls: Streak, maybe the season, is over; when is enough enough for Texas, Shaka?]( [Bohls: Streak, maybe the season, is over; when is enough enough for Texas, Shaka?]( Enough. We've seen enough. I would imagine so has Chris Del Conte. And Gregory L. Fenves. [Read More »]( [Golden: Amid an Augie backdrop, Texas regains its footing against Fullerton]( [Golden: Amid an Augie backdrop, Texas regains its footing against Fullerton]( When David Pierce replaced Augie Garrido back in the summer of 2016, one of the first calls the new Texas baseball coach received came from Cal State Fullerton's Rick Vanderhook. [Read More »]( Opinion [Editorial: UT s misconduct policy awaits critical details]( [Editorial: UT’s misconduct policy awaits critical details]( University of Texas students deserve to know they’re safe. That starts with strong penalties to discourage sexual misconduct and send offenders packing. [Read More »]( [Pitts: There are more of us than there are of them]( [Pitts: There are more of us than there are of them]( Six hours is a good, long time. You could do a lot of things in six hours. You could drive from San Francisco to L.A.You could finish an audiobook. [Read More »]( [Opinion: For seniors, health crisis turns into information crisis]( [Opinion: For seniors, health crisis turns into information crisis]( Public health crises like what we are seeing with the spread of the coronavirus usually affect older adults most strongly. [Read More »]( [Letters to the editor: March 8, 2020]( [Letters to the editor: March 8, 2020]( Let’s consider whogets ’free stuff’ nowRe: March 4 letter to the editor, “Voting right at 18 should have come with strings.”The letter writer says that 18-year-olds should not have the right to vote because they are too easily led by promises of “free stuff.”I say older voters are too easily led by claims of “we can't afford this.”As a baby boomer I think my generation has sold out and is a pathetic shadow of what we could have been. [Read More »]( Nation [As virus outbreaks multiply, UN declines to declare pandemic]( [As virus outbreaks multiply, UN declines to declare pandemic]( LONDON (AP) " As cases of the coronavirus surge in Italy, Iran, South Korea, the U.S. and elsewhere, many scientists say it's plain that the world is in the grips of a pandemic " a serious global outbreak. [Read More »]( [Frustration mounts over virus-stalled ship in California]( [Frustration mounts over virus-stalled ship in California]( SAN FRANCISCO (AP) " Cruise officials and passengers confined to their rooms on a ship circling international waters off the San Francisco Bay voiced mounting frustration as the weekend wore on with no direction from authorities on where to go after 21 people on board tested positive for the new coronavirus. [Read More »]( World [With painted faces, artists fight facial recognition tech]( [With painted faces, artists fight facial recognition tech]( LONDON (AP) " As night falls in London, Georgina Rowlands and Anna Hart start applying makeup. [Read More »]( [Argentina announces first coronavirus death in Latin America]( [Argentina announces first coronavirus death in Latin America]( BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) " A 64-year-old man died in Argentina as a result of the new coronavirus, the first such death in Latin America, health authorities announced Saturday. [Read More »]( [The Latest: Washington nursing home deaths could be higher]( [The Latest: Washington nursing home deaths could be higher]( BEIJING (AP) " The Latest on the coronavirus outbreak (all times local): 9:20 a.m. The number of deaths linked to coronavirus in Washington state could be even higher than the 16 already announced based on figures released by the nursing home at the center of the region's outbreak. [Read More »]( [Coronavirus tightens grip on daily life around the globe]( [Coronavirus tightens grip on daily life around the globe]( BEIJING (AP) " The coronavirus tightened its grip on day-to-day life around the world on Saturday as ports in several countries turned back ships with infected passengers, Iran declared a 'sacred jihad' against the virus and the Vatican announced it would livestream the pope's weekly blessing. [Read More »]( [Tear gas sprayed across migrants at Turkey-Greece border]( [Tear gas sprayed across migrants at Turkey-Greece border]( EDIRNE, Turkey (AP) " A group of migrants on Saturday tried to bring down a fence in a desperate attempt to bust through the border into Greece while others hurled rocks at Greek police. [Read More »]( Austin360 [SXSW canceled: Attendees can defer registration to future year, letter says]( [SXSW canceled: Attendees can defer registration to future year, letter says]( The letter made no mention of possible refunds for registrants. [Read More »]( [SXSW canceled: Here s how to help artists, service industry workers]( [SXSW canceled: Here’s how to help artists, service industry workers]( Austin's biggest party is off, and people are looking to help the folks who would have made the fun happen. [Read More »]( [SXSW canceled: What s next for artists and venues]( [SXSW canceled: What’s next for artists and venues]( "The festival may be canceled, but the show must go on." [Read More »](   [Learn more about RevenueStripe...](   [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [Manage Account]( | [Contact Us](mailto:customercare@statesman.com) | [Privacy Policy]( | [Unsubscribe]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Newsletters]( We have an app for whatever you want - news, weather, entertainment and more. Statesman Live: [iPhone®]( [Android]( Statesman Weather: [iPhone®]( [Android]( Austin360: [iPhone®]( [Android]( Statesman does not participate in unsolicited email. 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