There’s always more to learn about Austin. Here are two info-bits new to me, and maybe to you:

• Austin Community College offers a personal fitness trainer program. In an article about the role of community colleges generally, ACC is highlighted and there are photo-illustrations showing several Austinites enrolled there. Maybe you’ll recognize someone you know. The print version shows at least a dozen identifiable Austinites. The article appears in the July 20 issue of Time magazine (“Can Community Colleges Save the U.S. Economy?,” dateline Austin, byline Laura Fitzpatrick).
• Austin is the headquarters of an entity known as the Distressed Property Institute. This was learned from an article in the August issue of Smart Money about how the current market has changed things for real-estate agents: “Do-It-All Deal Makers,” byline Brad Reagan). The current issue is not yet on line, but a co-founder of the Austin-based outfit states that more than 12,000 agents will pay to take a two-day course in selling so-called “distressed properties,” reportedly up from 1,400 last year. Paying for and attending the course apparently enables a person to call use the Institute’s proprietary “Certified Distressed Property Expert Designation.” The linked site shows locations of future course sessions, presumably predicted centers of short sales.