Asian population surges in Austin

When Channy Soeur came to Austin from Cambodia, there were maybe two or three Chinese restaurants in the city. Tops. And if you wanted Vietnamese, you could forget delivery the closest restaurant was in Houston.That was 1977. Today there are 75 Vietnamese restaurants in Austin, nearly 200 Chinese eateries, 92 …

• Updated: 11:47 p.m. Friday, May 6, 2011
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EEOC: Austin fire dept. discriminated when hiring

The Austin Fire Department discriminated against some minority job applicants, a federal review has found. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which looked at the department’s hiring practices since 2012, notified city officials in a letter received Monday, the Austin American-Statesman reported (http://bit.ly/1bqW7fb ). City officials learned of the review in …

• Updated: 8:50 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2013

Feds: Minority firefighter applicants were discriminated against

A federal agency has found that black and Hispanic applicants for the Austin Fire Department’s 2012 cadet academy were discriminated against.In a letter the city received Monday, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced that it had finished its investigation into the department’s hiring practices from that year and found …

• 5:25 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013
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Central Texas Digest: No discrimination against former APD commander, court rules

AUSTIN Man charged with assault at bar A man was taken into custody after police say he threatened another man with a pickax and hit him with a beer bottle in a North Austin club early Saturday. Harrison Serrato-Gomez, 25, struck a staffer with a beer bottle early Saturday after …

• Updated: 4:55 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2011

Jake and DeShawn’s lessons on race

We can learn some interesting things about politics and race in America when Jake Mueller and DeShawn Jackson each contact their state legislators to seek help in registering to vote.The short version: White lawmakers are more likely to respond to Jake and minority lawmakers are even more likely to respond …

• Updated: 7:15 p.m. Friday, May 6, 2011

Important events in state and national civil rights history

Jan. 1, 1863President Abraham Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing slaves in Confederate states.June 19, 1865Union General Gordon Granger reads General Order No. 3, freeing the slaves in Texas. The date is celebrated each year as Juneteenth, a state holiday.Dec. 6, 1865The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, abolishing slavery,

KXAN accused of racial discrimination, libel in 2 separate suits

Austin’s NBC affiliate has been hit with a pair of lawsuits.One accuses KXAN of racial discrimination; the other alleges the station aired a libelous report.Eric Lassberg, president and general manager of KXAN, did not respond to a request for comment on the two cases.Michael Fabac, who spent about five years …

• Updated: 8:58 p.m. Thursday, May 24, 2012

In Austin, nondiscrimination rules are old news

San Antonio’s proposed nondiscrimination rules — which many conservative Texans say amounts to stepping on religious freedoms — aren’t much of an issue in Austin. Austin has had similar rules for years that prohibit employers, housing providers and public places such as clubs from discrimination based on a person’s sexual …

• 6:55 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 5, 2013
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To resolve problems, give fire chief control of hiring cadets

The case for shifting all hiring duties for the Austin Fire Department to the employer — the city of Austin — is more compelling now that a federal agency has found that minority applicants for the Austin 2012 cadet academy were victims of discrimination. It should be a given that …

• 5:36 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20, 2013
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