Saturday

October 17, 2026

Vol. I · No. 53 · Weather · One Good Thing

Today at a glance

Weather 70° / 51°Light-jacket morning, pleasant afternoon.
Air quality 27 · GoodClear air. A great day to be outside.
Lake Travis 94.4% fullThe lake sits close to full, a touch lower than it was last week.
Allergies HighElm and ragweed and grasses are heavy today. Windows closed, meds early.
Power grid NormalDemand peaks near 50,100 megawatts; ERCOT has 79,100 ready and room to spare.
Sunrise 7:34 a.m.The sun is up for 11 hours and 23 minutes today, and down by 6:57 p.m.

Good morning, Austin. The Wind Advisory is over, and what the front left behind is the first true fall weekend. Expect sun, a high near 70 and a low around 49 tonight. Pollen is heavy, so take the allergy pill before the coffee. A good weekend for the patio, if your sinuses allow it.

The Briefing · About our reporting

Before voting on new bonds, a look at the last $2.45 billion

Bar chart of the $2.45 billion in City of Austin bonds voters approved in 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2022, from KXAN's reading of the City's new bond dashboard: $1.72 billion spent, $240 million committed to existing projects but not spent, and about $490 million remaining. — Chart: The Austin Bulletin · KXAN

Early voting starts Monday, and two City bonds are on the ballot: $260 million for parks in Proposition A and $35 million for libraries in Proposition B. Commenters on KXAN's social media have been asking where the money from earlier bonds went. The City's new bond dashboard gives an answer.

Voters approved $2.45 billion across bond programs in 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2022. The City has spent $1.72 billion of it, KXAN reported from the dashboard. Another $240 million is committed to projects but not yet paid out, and about $490 million remains.

The 2016 transportation bond was $720 million. Of its 413 projects, 306 are finished and 24 were canceled. The 2022 affordable housing bond has spent 35% of its $350 million.

Spent and finished are different measures. The City says a project can be complete while final payments are still going out, and unspent money is not necessarily free for other projects.

Registration hit a record. Texas has more than 19 million registered voters, the Secretary of State said Friday.

What's next: Early voting runs October 19 through 30, and Election Day is November 3. The Props A and B guide covers both bonds.

Sources: KXAN (bond dashboard), Community Impact (propositions), Texas Tribune (registration)

City Desk

Money & bills

What Proposition A's $260 million would build

Proposition A splits $260 million five ways, Community Impact reported: $65.5 million for Austin Parks and Recreation buildings, $65 million for parkland improvements, $65 million for aquatics facilities, $35 million to buy new parkland and $29.5 million for parkland infrastructure. City officials narrowed this year's package to parks and libraries ahead of larger bond packages planned for 2028 and 2034. Community Impact

Also

Austin Energy's expanded e-ride rebate pays individual customers up to $600, fleets up to $800 a vehicle and Customer Assistance Program participants up to $1,300, first come, first served. KXAN

Public safety & courts

Driver shot by a passenger, then crashes downtown

A man was shot by someone inside his own vehicle as it traveled near West 10th Street and North Lamar Boulevard around 7:18 p.m. Friday, and he crashed, Austin police said. He went into surgery with serious injuries. Everyone in the car knew one another, police said, and a possible suspect was in custody and being questioned. CBS Austin

Also

Police said the body recovered from Lady Bird Lake near the Wishbone Bridge pedestrian trail early Friday showed no obvious signs of trauma, and the death is not being investigated as a homicide. KXAN

Austin Independent School District (AISD) police charged Deshon Xavier Hayes, a former Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) Early College High School band director, with an improper relationship with a student; he has not been arrested. KVUE

High winds helped a fire at 1513 Beckett Street in North Austin spread to a neighboring home early Friday; both people inside got out, and one went to a hospital. CBS Austin

German Rodriguez Hernandez was sentenced to 12 months and a day in federal prison for driving into a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) vehicle in Austin on January 12. KXAN

Growth & infrastructure

Austin Chamber of Commerce leaders studied Miami's Brightline trains on their annual trip; a second study of ridership and economic impact for an Austin–San Antonio passenger line is getting ready to start. KXAN

Image from the post — View on X ↗2 likes

Zipline, the drone service that lowers food orders to customers' lawns in Round Rock, plans to expand to Austin. FOX 7

Overheard on X

elaine@laineyyyy01 · Oct. 17

capmetro bus times are why I have trust issues

View on X ↗4 likes

City Hall & county

Another state error delays voter address updates

A state software error held up name and address changes Texans made on texas.gov from September 1 until last week, and the Secretary of State's office sent 15,000 records back to counties, Travis among them. Before early voting opens Monday, counties must sort out which updates came in by the October 5 deadline. Voters can check their registration at votetexas.gov. KUT

Also

University Presbyterian Church, at 22nd and San Antonio streets, will be an Election Day polling place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., West Campus's first in-neighborhood site in five years. KXAN

Three of nine Austin Community College board seats are on the ballot: Dana Walker faces Gloria Gonzales-Dholakia, Nan McRaven faces Trevor Hale, and Gigi Edwards Bryant is unopposed. Austin Current

Austin Economic Development opened a nine-question survey, in English and Spanish, to shape the economic development policy the Council ordered in May; listening sessions follow in early 2027. City of Austin

Schools

Mayor says Burnet and Webb petitions appear to clear the bar

Mayor Kirk Watson said Friday that enough parents appear to have signed to trigger closure of Webb and Burnet middle schools and prevent a state-appointed board, though nothing is final until the October 30 enrollment snapshot. AISD will verify signatures and report to the Texas Education Agency by December 1. "We are not there yet," said Marie Lebron, a trustee candidate. KXAN Austin Current

Timeline of the Burnet and Webb middle school parent petitions, from KUT and Austin Current: petitions were filed by the October 15 midnight deadline; signatures are checked against the October 30 statewide enrollment snapshot; the superintendent must send verified petitions to the Texas Education Agency by December 1; if the commissioner accepts them, a closure plan is due January 30, 2027. — Timeline: The Austin Bulletin · KUT; Austin Current

Also

Some Webb and Burnet parents told KUT they felt pressured to sign or got petitions already filled in with their family's information; Karen Peraza said she is looking into how to withdraw her signature. KUT

Webb now has an executive principal, Elizabeth Hodges, alongside its principal; University of Texas at Austin (UT) professor David DeMatthews said research on the role's results is not robust. CBS Austin

UT President Jim Davis said the university is reviewing its outside-speaker policies after podcaster Myron Gaines used slurs while debating students outside Gregory Gym. The Daily Texan

Business & street life

Bar Peached, closed since a fire in its Clarksville building, will move into neighboring Nightcap's space two doors down and hopes to reopen in March 2027; Nightcap stays open through October 22. KVUE

The Charles Oyster House, a Charleston-inspired seafood restaurant from Berg & Sons Hospitality, plans to open at 78 Rainey St. next spring. Community Impact

Cover to THE DEATH AND BIRTH OF ILIANA MAREK — View on Bluesky ↗6 likes

Bohème, a 20-room boutique hotel in a former apartment building at 400 Comal St., expects its first guests in late October, with its rooftop bar opening November 5. Community Impact

Lammes Candies, founded on Congress Avenue in 1885, is taking online preorders ahead of a spring 2027 relaunch under Fort Worth-based Delightful Development Co. Community Impact

Overheard on Bluesky

Mockingbird, MPH, CHES@amockingbird.bsky.social · Oct. 17

Austin was one of the best places to spend the 90s, and I think it was even better before then. Your waiters had PhDs, part time service jobs paid for rent so you could do creative work. I moved away when they tore down the bistro from Slacker to build a Starbucks. Rents were going up fast.

View on Bluesky ↗4 likes

Estella Castro said she closed two of her three Austinite Cannabis Company stores and laid off staff after state hemp rules took effect March 31; industry groups are challenging the rules in court. CBS Austin

Weather

No weather alerts are active for Travis County. Saturday is sunny with a high near 70 and north-northeast gusts up to 30 mph. Tonight is mostly clear with a low around 49, and Sunday is mostly sunny with a high near 74. National Weather Service forecast

Sources: National Weather Service forecast, Travis County active-alert snapshot

The Back Page

Early voting begins Monday, October 19; Election Day is November 3. Check official registration and election links.

One Good Thing: St. Luke's United Methodist Church on West Lynn, empty since the end of 2024, will become a second home for First Light Books next fall, stained glass and all. KXAN