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💚 Good Grief, literally
Pulido brought along the entire family when she accepted her winning check. | Photo courtesy Veronica Pulido | Chelsea Purgahn
Austinite Veronica Pulido planned her wedding in three months. It had to be expedited because she wanted her father, who had just been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, to be there when she walked down the aisle.
She had a wedding planner to help connect her to florists, DJs, caterers, and vendors. What she didn’t have was a planner to help her navigate the care her father needed at the end of his life.
Her father made it to her wedding, but after he died, Pulido was still thinking about how the process could have been so much easier.
Examples of resources available through Good Grief. | Graphics courtesy Veronica Pulido
That was the beginning of Good Grief — a directory of resources, support, services, community, and healing for Texans navigating the same situation that she was recovering from. After winning Austin FC’s Dream Starter competition in 2025, Pulido secured $100,000 to bring the company to life.
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Don’t forget:Early voting for the Saturday, May 2 municipal election started yesterday and will last through Tuesday, April 28.
Number
$130.5 million. That’s how much Austin Community College spent on a new facility to house the Austin Infrastructure Academy and expand training in skilled trades. Located near the airport, the new 560,000-sqft complex will become ACC’s second-largest campus.
Opening
Thoroughfare — a bakery, cafe, and deli from the folks behind ThoroughBread — is slated to host its grand opening celebration in the Mueller area on Thursday, May 21. That said, ThoroughFare appears to be open for business now. (CultureMap)
Outdoors
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center’s resident owl, Athena, left her nest after it was believed both of her owlets had died, but before you stop reading, there’s good news.One of the owlets is alive and under the care of Austin Wildlife Rescue while it recovers.
Coming Soon
Allday Pizza is opening a third location along 2222 in northwest Austin in a former Reid’s Dry Cleaners space. Stay tuned for an opening timeline.(Austin American-Statesman)
Edu
UT Austin was named one of Forbes’ ”New Ivies” — aka a school producing talent that the publication believes is on par with graduates of Ivy League universities, and adopting AI technology in innovative ways — for the third year in a row. Houston’s Rice University also made the list.
Closing
Taiwanese restaurant and boba shop CoCo’s Cafe is closing its shop along The Drag on Sunday, May 10, but its north Austin location will remain open. (CultureMap)
The Buy
Three can’t-live-without products we wish we knew about sooner:
🧼 Designed with pet owners in mind, these washing machine cleaning tablets remove built up odor and hair.
🍖 Perfect for grilling season, this silicone basting brush makes it easy to add oil, butter, or your favorite sauce to items while they’re cooking.
👚 Coined as an iron in a bottle, Downy’s wrinkle release spray is the easiest way to ensure you never leave the house looking less than polished.
In case you’ve ever doubted ATXtoday’s ability to make all your dreams come true, Veronica discovered Austin FC’s Dream Starter competition through our newsletter. Veronica did 99.99% of the work, but I’m thrilled to even play .01% of the role in Good Grief’s story.
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