The Austin Daily Drop

In spite of expectations of record demand throughout the summer, ERCOT is expressing confidence that it will be able to meet that demand. Experts say further diversity among power suppliers is the key to future reliability. Gas prices are continuing to rise past record highs - Austin's average gas price could hit $5 per gallon soon. Early voting continues through Friday in the primary runoffs - Te...

On Saturday, a Planned Parenthood-organized abortion rights rally drew about 10,000 protesters and a Donald Trump rally drew about 8,000 attendees - friction between the two sides was superficial at worst, and both events concluded with very little police interaction. Early voting begins today for the runoffs of both parties' primaries. Lawsuits against Alex Jones by families of Sandy Hook shootin...

Competing, simultaneous political events on Saturday - a major abortion rights protest and a Donald Trump rally - have led to fears of unrest in downtown Austin. APD Chief Joe Chacon has reiterated that his department's policies have changed since the George Floyd protests in the summer of 2020, and pledges that his officers will keep public safety top of mind. Half of the Austin City Council's me...

A law passed by the Texas Legislature that prohibits large social media companies from banning users over their political viewpoints has been reinstated by a federal appeals court while its constitutionality is being evaluated in district court - meanwhile some Instagram filters are no longer available in Texas due to complaints over Meta's use of facial recognition technology filed by Attorney Ge...

Abortion rights remain top of mind in Texas - where care for women suffering from ectopic pregnancies and miscarriages is now thrown into doubt. Meanwhile, this Saturday will see a Donald Trump rally at the Austin Convention Center and a Planned Parenthood abortion rights protest at the Texas State Capitol - at the same time. This May has been the hottest for Austin on record , by a long shot - th...

Roe v Wade: worries mount that Texas' social services infrastructure is unready for the challenges of a "post-Roe world" . Meanwhile child care professionals across the country rallied Monday against unsustainable economic conditions. Texas remains dead center of a crushing heat wave that is expected to extend northward. Recent hot weather has begun to resemble that of 2011, a record-setting year...

Roe v Wade: Texas Republican lawmakers unveil plans to develop adoption programs - and take steps to prevent Texas women from seeking abortion care outside the state's borders - should Roe v Wade be struck down. Austin becomes the first Texas city to test a "guaranteed income" program, joining the likes of Los Angeles, Chicago and Pittsburgh. Amidst record heat , electricity shortage warnings are...

Roe v Wade: A large group of UT students marched from the UT Tower to the Texas Capitol yesterday in protest of the leaked U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion on Roe. Demand for emergency contraception products is skyrocketing in the wake of the leak. Concern is also growing in regard to how an overturning of Roe would affect in-vitro fertilization options . Saturday is Election Day! Be sure to make...

Roe v Wade: a University of Texas poll shows that the vast majority of Texas voters believe that abortion should be allowed in some form. Meanwhile, video emerges of physical altercations between protesters and Austin police . Severe storms are possible today, and Mother's Day weekend will be the hottest of the year so far, with 2022's first triple-digit days possible - a real-time readout of the...

Thousands of protesters marched on the Texas State Capitol building on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after the leaking of a U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion that indicates the impending overturning of the 1973 Roe V Wade decision - in that event, abortion would be immediately outlawed in Texas and a dozen other states. Similar protests occurred in Washington D.C. and at statehouses across the countr...

Austin's Public Safety Commission is calling on the city to make its EMS workers a better offer for a pay increase , while reporting shortages of police and EMS staff and an increase in aggravated assaults and property crimes. Kyle Rittenhouse , the teenager who was acquitted after killing two people during George Floyd protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin in 2020, is considering attending Texas A&M...

Warnings continue that Central Texas is facing what could be a significant wildfire season this summer. A man wanted for a double murder in Arizona was arrested in Pflugerville on Saturday. Texas law enforcement officers lost in the line of duty over the last year were honored in a ceremony at the Capitol on Sunday - the leading cause of LEO deaths: COVID-19. Over 1,000 Austin ISD employees were f...

A man riding a scooter has died after being hit by a car overnight on East 7th Street between Allen Street and Springdale Lane. Texas energy officials expect cryptocurrency mining to require as much as 6 gigawatts of electricity by this time next year - that's enough to power the entire city of Houston. Coming price hikes from Austin Energy will impact low-income and low-use customers hardest, som...

A new study from the National Education Association shows that, while Texas pays new teachers relatively well, our most experienced teachers are paid far less than the national average, lagging behind by $13,000 per year. A program launched last month to provide legal representation to low-income inmates at the Travis County Jail only made it nine days before exhausting its supply of staff. March...

In a possibly unintended side effect to his monumental purchase of Twitter, Elon Musk saw shares in Tesla take a $125 billion nosedive yesterday as investors worried he might sell off Tesla shares to finance his Twitter buy. APD and the justice system are all over the news today: Travis County Judge Julie Kocurek has recused herself from four cases involving Austin police officers in use of force...

It's official: Elon Musk is buying Twitter. Will he move the platform's headquarters to Austin ? After a two year break for the pandemic, Travis County is set to resume its policy of publicly shaming businesses who have fallen behind on paying commercial property taxes . Alex Jones has offered to testify before the U.S. House committee investigating the January 6 insurrection, if they'll grant him...

Austin transplant Elon Musk's offer to buy Twitter for $46.5 billion has led to serious consideration by its board that lasted into the wee hours of Monday. Meanwhile Musk's The Boring Company has just landed the biggest investment deal in Austin history, a $675 million series C investment that brings the tunneling company's valuation to $5.7 billion. Bigger than expected property tax appraisals h...

The Austin City Council has postponed a vote on a proposed universal basic income or UBI program that is designed to provide a $1,000 monthly sustenance payment to several dozen low-income Austin families. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a ban on some digital billboards by the city of Austin can stand, rejecting claims that the ban infringes upon free speech.  An employee at the center...

Elon Musk hyped the near-term prospects of Tesla's new Giga Texas factory during the company's quarterly earnings call in which the company revealed profits far beyond projections - $3.7 billion in the first quarter of 2022. Another local billionaire, Paul Mitchell's John Paul Dejoria , has continued his longtime relationship with the homeless support organization Mobile Loaves and Fishes with a $...

The brand new $375 million Moody Center is officially open today after yesterday's ribbon cutting ceremony featured UT Minister of Culture Matthew McConaughey breaking into song to "bless the Mood". Texas basketball coaches Chris Beard and Vic Schaefer spoke at the event as well. The first concert is tonight with John Mayer, the first sporting event will be the Moody debut of the professional bull...

Yesterday's sudden reversal of masking mandates for air travelers by a federal judge, dictating a dropping of that requirement by the Transportation and Safety Administration , has led to most major airlines declaring masks optional for their staff and customers. Austin Bergstrom International Airport , Capitol Metro transit services and Uber have also followed suit and will no longer require mask...

U.S. Representative Chip Roy , who represents part of Austin in Washington, expressed an early eagerness to contest the 2020 election win of President Joe Biden over former President Donald Trump, but argued against attempts to block Biden's certification, as shown by text messages published Friday by CNN. After 11 years of preparation, Austin Community College is set to mark the official completi...

The first of what's likely to be several lawsuits in that recent crash on Barton Springs Road has been filed by one of the several people injured against both of the drivers involved. Lots of real estate news this Friday: Austin homeowners should prepare for a shock when they see this year's value appraisal from the Travis Central Appraisal District - the average has jumped about $220 thousand in...

Google has announced a fresh investment in office space across the U.S. to the tune of 9.5 billion dollars, including new office space coming to downtown Austin. The City of Austin plans to acquire three more hotels to house people experiencing homelessness, and plans to sell city-owned property to Austinites displaced by gentrification . AISD's mental health services provider is being overwhelmed...

A South Austin man whose vehicle ran over and killed a 13-year-old boy with whom the man was engaged in conflict over alleged vandalism to the man's house over the weekend has been released on a surety bond. The Texas Business Hall of Fame is set to induct its youngest new member ever, and she's from Austin - Whitney Wolfe Herd is the founder and CEO of feminist dating app Bumble, Inc. whose names...