Friday
October 2, 2026
Today at a glance
- Weather 81° / 72°Flood watch. Low-water crossings fill fast — turn around, don't drown.
- Air quality 22 · GoodThree days of rain scrubbed the air clean. Shame about the sky.
- Lake Travis 89.7% fullRising, not falling: LCRA expects Llano River water to lift it a foot or two.
- Allergies Very LowAlmost nothing in the air. Breathe easy.
- Power grid NormalDemand peaks near 63,700 megawatts; ERCOT has 92,500 ready and room to spare.
- Sunrise 7:25 a.m.Just under 12 hours of daylight today, and most of it behind cloud.
Good morning, Austin. Three days of rain and we are still in it: a Flood Watch holds until seven tonight, another inch or two is coming, and the high only reaches 81. The lake is going the right way for once. Water off the Llano is working downstream and the Lower Colorado River Authority expects Lake Travis to pick up a foot or two by Sunday. Three days of rain have washed the air clean, and there is nothing in it to sneeze at either. If you are walking into Zilker today, the ground has been soaked since Wednesday and no amount of optimism will dry it out by noon. Boots, not canvas. Check atxfloods.com before you take any low crossing, and give the creeks the rest of the weekend.
The Briefing
The bullet is out. The questions aren't.
Surgeons removed the bullet from Wilber Garcés Pérez's back on Thursday, about 11 days after a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer shot him in north Austin. He was delivering food at the time. His lawyers, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch and Daniel Woodward of the Texas Civil Rights Project, said ICE would not let his wife into the operating room.
What the record holds about the shooting is thinner. At a federal hearing Wednesday, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) special agent Rick Bazan testified that the officer who fired wore no body camera, and that the second officer at the scene had switched his own off before arriving. Bazan said neither he nor his team had interviewed the officer who fired, or asked him whether the car struck him. A separate DHS unit is examining that.
Garcés Pérez stays in custody. U.S. Magistrate Judge Dustin M. Howell found him a flight risk and rejected the government's argument that he endangers the community. His defense attorney said he had been working toward legal residency; DHS says he had a work permit that expired in 2025 and a final order of removal. He is charged with assaulting, resisting and impeding a federal officer. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years.
What's next: The separate Homeland Security review of the shooting continues while Garcés Pérez is held by the U.S. Marshals Service. Today's flood watch and the Highland Lakes releases are in Weather, and the festival closures in Growth & infrastructure.
Sources: KUT (the surgery and the body cameras), KUT (the detention hearing and the testimony), KXAN (the bullet's removal and the removal order), Austin Chronicle (the assault charge)
City Desk
Money & bills
Travis County's new budget took effect, and most tax bills tick down
The Travis County Commissioners Court adopted a $2.3 billion budget that began Thursday, putting more money into affordable housing, mental healthcare and disaster preparedness. County taxes make up about a fifth of an Austin property tax bill. Spending rose 4%, but property values dipped, so the owner of a $372,633 home pays $1,439 to the county this year. That is about $30 less than last year. Austin Current
Overheard on Reddit
Electric Bill is getting out of hand
I live in a two bed two bath apartment for the last four years. The electric bill, in my opinion, was always high, but after this summer I took real action to reduce my electricity consumption. Not using the a/c during the hot hours, using low wattage lightbulbs, unplugging everything that I don't use in the home, and using blackout curtains to help with cooling down the home.
Also
New benefit amounts and eligibility rules for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) took effect Thursday for the roughly 37 million Americans who use it. KXAN
Overheard on Reddit
Those who have used food banks: How early to arrive?
Are the lines long? Is it a good idea to arrive before opening to avoid having to wait in line? I live North and am looking at the weekend distribution times at St. Vincent de Paul on Braker, NAMCC on North Lamar, and St Andrews Presbyterian Church on Wells Port.
The Texas comptroller's office put statewide taxable property value at $4.33 trillion for 2026, up 5.07% from last year, with smaller rises forecast for 2027 and 2028. FOX 7 Austin
Travis County Judge Andy Brown said counties are being asked to do more with less, naming mental healthcare the biggest ongoing gap left by the state. Austin Current
Public safety & courts
A bullet came out of a man's back 11 days after an ICE officer shot him
Wilber Garcés Pérez had surgery Thursday and is recovering in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. A federal judge ruled Wednesday that he stays in custody as a flight risk, but will not return to the South Texas detention center he was first taken to. He faces up to 20 years on a charge of assaulting a federal officer. KUT
A Bexar County man faces federal gun charges over a threat to the Capitol
Benny Caldera Jr., 40, of Converse, arrested last week on a state charge over a threatened attack on the Texas Capitol, was charged Thursday by the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas. The Texas Department of Public Safety said a day earlier that he had moved into federal custody. An affidavit says Caldera told a friend he was angry at the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). CBS Austin
Also
The Austin Police Department (APD) sex crimes unit is seeking a man who told shoppers at two Dollar Tree stores that a spider was on them, then reached into their clothing. CBS Austin
The Austin Fire Department is still working out what caused two fires a month apart at neighboring South Congress car dealerships, between Stassney Lane and William Cannon Drive. KXAN
Nicole and Tommy Martinez lost Drive 512 Auto Ranch in September. Fire investigators put the damage at about $275,000, and about $40,000 at the dealership next door. KXAN
Austin police are asking for help identifying a man who stole a motorcycle in East Austin. City of Austin
A man threatened an employee and took merchandise in a North Austin robbery, and police have asked the public to help identify him. CBS Austin
Growth & infrastructure
Tenants of a downtown high-rise now hear the power may be off until Halloween
A fire on the 33rd floor of The Bowie, near West Fifth and Bowie streets, emptied apartments around midnight on Sept. 18. An Austin Fire Department report said management verified displaced tenants would be accommodated. Residents were first told power could be back by Sept. 21. A Sept. 30 email moved that to Oct. 23 at the earliest, and possibly Oct. 31. KXAN
Also
Tenant Gracie Schulte, who moved into The Bowie about two months ago, estimates her stays in short-term rentals could reach $9,000 by Sunday. KXAN
There is no parking at Zilker Park for the Austin City Limits (ACL) Festival, and parking in the surrounding neighborhoods is prohibited. Some roads and lots stay closed through Oct. 16. Community Impact
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport broke ground on Concourse M, a temporary six-gate midfield building meant to absorb passengers while Concourse A is remodeled. Community Impact
A ground stop and a ground delay at the airport, both caused by Thursday's storms, were lifted by late evening. The ground stop came off just before 4 p.m. KVUE
Overheard on Reddit
Airport pick up fun fact
You don’t have to be picked up at the arrivals bottom terminal. Anyone can pick up or be dropped off on either level. There should be no reason that anyone is waiting in backed up traffic in arrivals at 10pm on a Thursday night when no one is up top in departing…
Transportation agencies launched CTXGO, a free app and website tracking road construction and conditions, as more than $20 billion of projects run across Central Texas. KXAN
The city is swapping cones and barrels on its Living Streets for planters, curb blocks and flexible posts, testing designs it may make permanent. More than 32 streets are enrolled. Community Impact
Three proposals to link Austin and San Antonio without more lanes are in play: autonomous air taxis, passenger rail on one of two routes, and a Boring Company tunnel. KXAN
City Hall & county
Monday closes registration for an election with five council seats on it
The Texas Secretary of State says Monday is the last day to register to vote in the Nov. 3 general election, and the form has to go in the mail. Austin's ballot carries five City Council races, a bond election and Proposition I. Travis County Elections answers registration questions at 512-854-9473. Texas Secretary of State
Also
The Zilker Botanical Garden Conservancy voted last month not to renew its contract, the city said. Austin Parks will honor current memberships, and the garden's main building may stay shut past Oct. 16. Austin Current
Overheard on Reddit
Monday Oct 5 is the last day to register to vote
If you need to register (or know someone who needs to register) Monday is the deadline. Note that you have to mail in a physical form, so don't wait until the last minute. Click here to register or update your registration: votetexas.gov Travis County Elections Info website: votetravis.gov County elections phone: 512-854-9473 The 2026 General Election is on Tuesday, November 3rd.
Six candidates are running for the District 1 council seat covering east and northeast Austin, the most crowded of the five council races and the first open seat there in eight years. Austin Current
Council Member José Velásquez faces four challengers in District 3, which takes in Govalle, Holly, Montopolis, Riverside and St. Elmo. Austin Current
Candidates in both districts named affordability, the bond election and Proposition I, which would require an independent efficiency audit of every city department every five years. Austin Current
Schools
The Austin Independent School District called off every extracurricular activity on Thursday night, football games included, because of the storms. After-school care at elementary campuses carried on. KVUE
A shortage of semi-tractors has left Austin Independent School District high school bands hauling equipment in box trucks for a seventh week, with parents carpooling to cover the gap. KVUE
The district says no band has missed a football game or a marching competition, and that staff are checking October's schedule weeks ahead to confirm transportation. KVUE
Districts using the state-written Bluebonnet Learning curriculum posted slightly better year-over-year results than those that did not, according to Texas Education Agency data released Sept. 30. Community Impact
Of roughly 1,200 Texas districts, 619 opted into at least one of the three Bluebonnet programs last school year: elementary math, secondary math and elementary language arts. Community Impact
University of Texas workers and students marched this week over changes to academic programs, after an email showed the university cutting majors centered on Latino, Black, women's and gender studies. Austin Chronicle
Business & street life
ACL opens on soaked ground, and the city says it goes ahead
The 25th Austin City Limits Festival starts today at Zilker Park, which closed Thursday night with the ground already saturated. The city says the festival proceeds unless its producers decide otherwise. Austin-Travis County EMS will be on site with other agencies and is asking people to wear waterproof layers and shoes that grip, and to download What3Words so responders can find them in a crowd. CBS Austin
Also
Lily Kasic, who bought tickets in August after moving to Austin, said she is packing for ruin: "definitely ready to be scrappy and abort mission if I need to go back home." CBS Austin
Umbrellas are not allowed inside Zilker for the festival, so a poncho or a rain jacket is the only cover a ticket buys. KXAN
Mohawk, at 912 Red River St., unveiled a grant-funded neon sign on Sept. 30 as the 20-year-old venue's cultural district presses for public support. Community Impact
Red River Cultural District executive director Nicole Klepadlo called the sign an investment in the city's cultural infrastructure. Community Impact
A vintage car showroom on South Lamar has started pouring coffee, and a Comedor chef has opened a walk-up kitchen inside a downtown bar. Community Impact
grayDUCK Gallery closed after a 16-year run on East Cesar Chavez with a wake that drew more than 100 people. Owner Jill Schroeder said she was ready for a change. KUT
Weather
Today: showers and thunderstorms likely before 4 p.m., then a chance of them, mostly cloudy, a high near 81, with one to two inches of new rain. Tonight: showers and thunderstorms likely, low around 72, another half inch to three quarters. National Weather Service
A Flood Watch covers Travis County and much of south central Texas until 7 p.m. today. Forecasters warn of potentially life-threatening flooding somewhere in the watch area, with creeks and streams rising out of their banks. National Weather Service
Saturday and Sunday both reach about 82 with storms likely and north gusts to 25 mph. Monday is mostly sunny and 84. National Weather Service
The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) opened a floodgate at Starcke Dam early Friday and expected to open another at Wirtz Dam later in the morning, passing Llano River water downstream. CBS Austin
Lake Travis stood at about 675 feet early Friday and LCRA expects it to rise one to two feet over the next couple of days, which would hold it under its full capacity of 681 feet. CBS Austin
LCRA said parts of the Hill Country have taken more than seven inches of rain since Wednesday, and does not expect to open floodgates at Buchanan, Inks, Mansfield, Tom Miller or Bastrop dams. CBS Austin
The joint Austin and Travis County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) went to a Level 3 activation at 7 a.m. Thursday. Watershed Protection has barricade crews on call until 6 a.m. Monday and Austin Fire has boat crews on standby. City of Austin
Austin police counted 24 vehicle crashes by 4 p.m. Thursday and no major flooding calls. One traffic signal went out, at Great Hills Trail and Rain Creek Parkway, of the more than 1,100 the city monitors. City of Austin
Travis County Parks closed Hamilton Pool on Thursday because of the flooding threat and asked Friday reservation holders to check before setting out. City of Austin
The Back Page
7 days until the Austin City Limits (ACL) Festival's second weekend · Weekend one runs Oct. 2-4 at Zilker Park, weekend two Oct. 9-11.
Lammes Candies is back. The Austin confectioner is 141 years old, has been making its Texas Chewie Pecan Pralines from the same recipe since 1892, and closed earlier this year, which in a city that loses something old every month felt like the end of it. New owners have reopened it online and it is taking holiday preorders. There is no storefront to walk into yet and no promise of one. But the pralines are the pralines, and somebody decided that was worth keeping. Community Impact