The Austin Daily Drop

Local COVID hospitalizations continue to drop as the Austin/Travis County COVID dashboard gets a facelift. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke has pledged to legalize marijuana in Texas if he's elected Governor in November. Action at the Austin City Council yesterday: they've agreed to an additional settlement for a teenager injured by police crowd control measures during the George F...

Austin's annual day of giving, Amplify Austin Day , is on right now until 6pm tonight - the list of non-profits and charities taking part is long and varied, and you're certain to find a cause that aligns with your interest. Local COVID statistics continue dropping dramatically - just one day after our local pandemic precaution level was reduced officially from Stage 4 to Stage 3, our weekly hospi...

Local COVID stats continue dropping with our hospitalization rate now within five points of Stage 2 range - Austin and Travis County health officials have again dropped our official local precaution level from Stage 4 to Stage 3 . Election results from the mid-term primary are mostly finalized, Governor Greg Abbott surpassed a field of right-wing challengers to secure nomination for re-election wh...

Austin area COVID-related hospitalizations continued dropping throughout the weekend and are now halfway thru Stage 3 range at 19.9, less than 5 points from Stage 2 - that new county map from the CDC shows Travis and Williamson Counties under low COVID risk, but Hays County under high risk. Today is election day in the mid-term primary. Only about ten percent of registered voters in Travis County...

A key Austin COVID statistic has dropped into Stage 3 range, just as universal masking is dropped as a county recommendation based on new CDC data - the CEO of Moderna is predicting an end to the pandemic this year, while cautioning that an Omicron-specific vaccine booster may be necessary. A third day of protests against the Russian attack on Ukraine was held at the Texas State Capitol yesterday....

Austin officially reduces pandemic precaution levels from Stage 5 to Stage 4 for the first time this year, while the CDC is set to revise its official mask guidelines today, and the Austin Independent School District seeks public input on how to modify its COVID protocols with dropping numbers. With a recent rise in traffic fatalities, the City is looking to Travis County law enforcement to fill t...

All the world watches with great concern as Russia begins an invasion of eastern Ukraine - the early effects we'll feel here in Texas and in Austin are likely to be felt at the pump as the conflict is certain to have global energy supply repercussions. Let's all hope and pray for peace. Another winter blast is working Central Texas over and its come with renewed worry about the Texas power grid. E...

COVID-related hospitalizations in the area continue dropping, and are now in the lower half of Stage 4 range , while the City of Austin remains officially under Stage 5 precautions - nationally new COVID case reports have dropped 90 percent since the peak of the Omicron wave in January. It got cold there didn't it? This cold snap will stick around longer than that last one, highs stay below 50 unt...

Local COVID numbers continue dropping through Stage 4 range - Austin remains officially under Stage 5 precautions - while studies indicated lately that a fourth vaccine shot may not be necessary for awhile for those who have received three. 17 of the 19 Austin Police Department officers indicted in connection to the George Floyd protests surrendered to authorities on Monday - they all face first d...

Austin's COVID stats continue improving, to the point that local health officials theorize we may be approaching some degree of "herd immunity" - but Austin remains under Stage 5 recommendations. The Austin Marathon returned to Austin's streets on Sunday - Sammy Rotich of Kenya was the winner, and Kelsey Bruce of Dallas was the first woman to finish. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick says he'll push...

Local COVID hospitalization stats drop out of Stage 5 range for the first time this year - a drop in demand for testing leads the City to consolidate all municipally-run testing to the Metz Elementary campus, city-run vaccines have moved from the Travis County Expo Center to the Travis County Constable Precinct 4 office west of the airport. At least 19 Austin Police Department officers are facing...

Local COVID hospitalizations are now very close to crossing into Stage 4 range , but dropping slower than previously expected - the Omicron subvariant BA.2 could be a factor. University of Texas faculty are alarmed at Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick's comments about The Liberty Institute - a new conservative-backed think tank at UT - and worry that it is aimed at suppressing the accurate teaching...

As local COVID stats continue improving, City health officials issue a reminder to get caught up on vaccinations in advance of Spring Break . Outgoing Austin Water Director Greg Meszaros points to attrition among the department's most seasoned professionals as a key cause of employee errors that led to the recent city-wide boil notice . UT's Faculty Council has passed a resolution defending the ri...

COVID hospitalization numbers have begun falling again after a brief uptick late last week. The first anniversary of Winter Storm Uri and its accompanying statewide energy disaster arrives. Polling shows Republican incumbents mostly safe from primary challengers, but Democratic voters mostly unfamiliar with candidates below Beto O'Rourke on the ballot - Governor Greg Abbott leads O'Rourke by ten p...

Happy Valentine's Day! Local COVID hospitalization stats took a small jump on Friday , but other stats continue improving . New cases coming from Texas schools have begun to decline too - AISD has lifted the two-per-participant limit it has lately been imposing for indoor athletic and fine arts events. AISD is also considering cutting hundreds of administrative jobs to balance budgets, as its reve...

COVID hospitalization rate continues dropping, but is still in Stage 5 range - CTR and new cases are still very high. Travis County residents are found to mask up more reliably than Texans or Americans overall, but student leaders at UT are dissatisfied with the institution's precaution policies. Austin City Council members are dissatisfied with Austin Water's explanations for the recent boil-wate...

COVID hospitalization stats have dropped within 5 points of the threshold between Stage 5 and Stage 4. With the boil-water notice behind us, it's notable that no actual contamination was ever found in the water system - the notice was pre-emptive in nature. A first degree murder indictment has resulted from last October's late night shooting of an Austin man in the driveway of a Martindale homeown...

Austin Water has lifted this week's pre-emptive city-wide boil-water notice , and say there are a few precautions to take before using water normally. Local leaders are curious why Austin Water waited 12 hours to make the water problem public on Saturday. Local COVID numbers continue dropping, leading to optimism about the spring events season - but the City is likely to remain under Stage 5 preca...

Our local COVID hospitalization average is rapidly approaching the threshold from Stage 5 into Stage 4, while the number of COVID patients in Texas hospitals has dropped below 10,000 for the first time since the Omicron wave began in December. The citywide boil water notice enters a third day as the City opens a seventh free water refill site . The Austin City Council is expecting a full report on...

Human error is apparently to blame for the current citywide boil-water notice , issued Saturday night. AISD parents are asked to send their kids to school with their own drinking water for now, while a series of steps are followed to get the boil notice lifted - estimates are this could come at the end of the day Tuesday, until then the City has opened five distribution sites for free drinking wat...

An eye-popping new COVID case count of over 10,000 posted yesterday is a data anomaly - the actual count was around 900. State leaders and energy executives say Friday's expected new winter record power demand may reach up to 74,000 megawatts - but still insist ERCOT and the grid are up to the task. As many as 70,000 Texans are now without power due to localized outages - Governor Greg Abbott has...

Local COVID hospitalization stats keep dropping, but are still quite high - we're now at about the same level as the peak of the second wave last winter, which was the all time record prior to the Omicron wave. The big freeze is here : temps will hit freezing around 7am Thursday and hard re-freezes will happen nightly thru Saturday night. Widespread shutdowns Thursday include most area school dist...

COVID hospitalization numbers continue dropping locally, while virus-related deaths statewide continue to climb. That much-hyped Arctic front arrives today, as state officials including Governor Greg Abbott begin backtracking on guarantees of no power interruptions due to cold weather . Local grocery and hardware stores are seeing demand spikes as Austinites prepare for the cold snap - Dallas scho...

COVID hospitalizations continue declining , while local officials arrange a new federally-funded free testing site which will operate at the former Metz Elementary in southeast Austin for the next three weeks. Austin City Council Member Greg Casar gets an endorsement from New York U.S. Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in his run for the U.S. House - the primary election is four weeks from today. Local...

Local COVID hospitalization stats continue dropping, while positives at schools across Texas are still at their highest rate of the entire pandemic . AISD teachers get two extra paid days off, while AISD's most economically-disadvantaged third graders see dismal math testing results. The Austin City Council has delayed its decision on the revival of the Austin Opera House near the South Congress e...