The Austin Daily Drop

So, after Tuesday's announcement, do we still need to wear our masks? Consensus in Austin seems to be Yes, with local businesses announcing a variety of enforcement policies . AISD will still require masking on its campuses, and its teachers and staff are now eligible for COVID vaccines after an order from the Biden administration. The "Eyes Of Texas" firestorm at UT continues to intensify. Winter...

Nobody's talking about the Great Texas Freeze anymore, following the announcement from Texas Governor Greg Abbott yesterday from Lubbock that the state is lifting practically all statewide restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic as of March 10 - this includes limits on business openings and capacity , and also the ending of the statewide masking mandate . The Austin Independent School Dis...

Vaccines are top of mind in Austin this Texas Independence Day - area county leaders saw great success last Saturday with their mass-vaccination trial run at COTA and will do it again this weekend with a much higher goal in mind. Travis County sports the highest percentage in Texas of people "very likely" to get vaccinated when they can - conversely, 20% of Texans say they are "very unlikely" to t...

Potential severe weather today renews a threat of power problems due to weakened trees from the freeze. An Austin man is dead after a late night shooting , and another man in Georgetown is in police custody in connection with the disappearance of his wife over a week ago. The trial run of a vaccination mega-site at COTA was successful on Saturday. Winter freeze fallout continues for ERCOT , Austin...

Intense conversations at both the Capitol and Austin City Hall as lawmakers and city authorities sought answers on how our state and city infrastructure failed so dramatically - at the City level, not much was accomplished . The local death toll from Winter Storm Uri continues to be counted, as does the cost to Austin's schools . If you were hoping for fewer bugs this spring due to the freeze, its...

While Austin Water has fixed their system-wide problems, many Austinites remain dry due to pipe problems - especially Austinites who live in apartment buildings . A lawsuit contesting the language in an upcoming public referendum over public camping has failed - for now. Yesterday's report on how close Texas came to a full-blown power meltdown last week is frightening, but important to understand....

Austin's water woes are behind us as Austin Water lifts the boil-water notice citywide - there are a few steps for customers to take now that things are back to normal. Travis County's new district attorney is exploring criminal charges for those who may have been responsible for last week's energy catastrophe. Huge power bills are not likely for Austin Energy customers, but the opposite may be tr...

Austin has almost cleared the latest in a series of crises related to last week's winter freeze - our water crisis - but some Austin Water customers are still being asked to boil, and we're ALL still being asked to restrict our water use. Next up, a potential food crisis - ranging from depleted food banks to limited supply to grocery stores . ACL Live at the Moody Theater has a Texas songwriting l...

Feeling like a "normal" Monday - or closer to it, anyway - as Austin Water lifts the boil-water notice from parts of central and southeast Austin , meanwhile free drinking water is available again today. Capital Metro transit services will operate normally (and also free) starting today. The power's back on citywide, and Austin Energy reassures customers that huge bills are NOT on the way . Austin...

Water is top of mind in Austin this morning as progress continues in the restoration effort, but thousands remain without water. Luckily we live in a town where neighbors rise to the occasion and there are multiple opportunities to find free drinking water if it's needed. In addition to the boil-water notice which continues today, city officials have also temporarily banned all non-essential outdo...

Austin has traded in an energy crisis for a water crisis , which is likely to last awhile with an optimistic forecasted end this weekend . If you find yourself with no water to drink there's help available , and we're also noting a bunch of celebrities who have leveraged their influence to help Austin and Texas through the freeze and infrastructure disruption. Bright sides this weekend in the reop...

A five minute update on what's important to know in Austin, Texas today. The nearly week-long deep freeze is starting to thaw . Austin is still under a boil-water notice this morning, and it might last awhile . The fingerpointing has begun in earnest at the state level over the weather crisis, while local authorities seem more interested in understanding and correcting the situation . No school fo...