Sunday
October 18, 2026
Today at a glance
- Weather 75° / 51°Sunny and mild, about as nice as October gets. Get outside.
- Air quality 21 · GoodClear air. A great day to be outside.
- Lake Travis 94.3% fullThe lake is close to full — good for boats and for the summer water supply. Down a touch from last week.
- Allergies HighElm, ragweed and grass are all heavy. Take the allergy pill early.
- Power grid NormalDemand peaks around 8 p.m. near 51,700 megawatts, with 66,400 on hand.
- Sunrise 7:35 a.m.The sun is up for 11 hours and 21 minutes today, and down by 6:56 p.m.
Good morning, Austin. Saturday morning was the coldest since April, and tonight should stay a little warmer, with a low around 54. Today is sunny with a high near 75 and barely any wind. Pollen is still high, so the allergy pill goes in before the coffee. Early voting opens tomorrow.
The Briefing
Early voting opens Monday, and the county is still catching up
Early voting starts Monday, and Travis County's voter registrar spent the weekend on another batch of records. The Travis County Tax Office told KXAN on Saturday that it had received 1,100 more from the Texas Secretary of State.
They are name and address changes that voters made on Texas.gov. A state "issue" held up 15,000 of those updates across Texas, the Secretary of State's office said, and counties now have them in time for early voting. Because the changes are to existing registrations, those voters can still cast a ballot, the office said.
It is not the first backlog this fall. About a week earlier, the Tax Office finished updating 32,000 records sent by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). Celia Israel, the county's tax assessor-collector and voter registrar, said then that staff were still going through 20,000 paper applications.
Not everyone is reassured. Valerie Debill of the League of Women Voters Austin Area told KXAN that someone could try to vote Monday and not be in the system. The Tax Office said its staff are working nights and weekends to process as many records as they can before the polls open.
What's next: Early voting runs October 19 through 30, and Election Day is November 3. The Vote 2026 guide lists every early voting site.
Sources: KXAN (voter records)
City Desk
Money & bills
What Props A and B would cost a homeowner
If voters approve both City bonds, the City estimates the average homeowner would pay $41.60 more a year, KXAN reported from the City's election guide; KUT earlier reported the City's estimate as $40 a year for a $495,000 home. Proposition A's $260 million includes $65 million for aquatics, possibly at pools such as Garrison and Big Stacy. Proposition B's $35 million could go to the Hampton at Oak Hill branch and a future Colony Park branch library. KXAN KUT
Also
Temu agreed to annual product safety testing, refunds to affected Texans and limits on sharing Texas customers' data in a $3 million settlement with the Texas attorney general. FOX 7
Public safety & courts
Austin Municipal Court is marking National Teen Driver Safety Week, October 18–24, and asks parents to talk with teen drivers about sobriety, distractions, speed limits and seatbelts. City of Austin
Austin police urged players in streamer Ice Poseidon's "SafeZone" game, a live-streamed real-life game in Austin with a $50,000 prize on Saturday, to play safely and call 911 about anything suspicious. KXAN
Growth & infrastructure
Gov. Greg Abbott has called for a pause on data center development until an audit is done, as state lawmakers weigh rules to protect the power grid and water supply, KXAN reported. KXAN
Overheard on X
TRAFFIC ALERT: Southbound I-35 Riverside Drive bypass lane will be closed Monday, Oct. 19, from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., for drainage work. Drivers on the southbound I-35 frontage road will use the traffic signal at Riverside Drive to continue south. #My35 #ATXtraffic pic.twitter.com/WbPjs3gLTz
Overheard on X
On Sunday 10/18 morning, CapMetro is conducting a controlled safety exercise at the Leander Park & Ride alongside @CityofLeander Fire and Police Depts, and others. pic.twitter.com/BJCaLGCmBv
City Hall & county
Both parties' groups rally Travis County voters
With early voting starting Monday, the Travis County Republican Party held a voter outreach event at Golfinity, offering help with logistics and rides to the polls. "I just want them to know we're here for them," said Andy Hogue, the party's communication director. No Kings held a Halloween-themed "Don't Ghost the Vote" fair with sample ballots and rides. "Community is the most important thing to us," said organizer Courtney Szigetvari. KVUE CBS Austin
Also
Proposition D would delete the City Charter's requirement that the Council meet at least once a week; members now meet every other week, KXAN noted in its guide to Propositions A–J. KXAN
A Texas Politics Project poll of 861 likely voters had Democrat James Talarico at 50% and Republican Ken Paxton at 47% for U.S. Senate, within the 3.34-point margin of error. KXAN
In July-through-September reports, Talarico raised $60.2 million, Paxton $10.2 million and Libertarian Ted Brown about $5,208; the main PACs backing Talarico and Paxton raised $9.6 million and $17.9 million. Community Impact
Schools
A federal rule limiting international students at the University of Texas at Austin (UT) to their degree's length in the U.S., four years at most, was due September 15 but was postponed. The Daily Texan
Business & street life
The fifth annual Austin Coffee Festival drew hundreds of people to the Palmer Events Center on Saturday and runs through Sunday, with tickets sold online. KXAN
Asmbly, a nonprofit makerspace in North Austin, gives members metal, wood, ceramics and electronics shops, plus a 200-watt laser that program director Adam Stow said can cut through a two-by-four. KXAN
Overheard on X
"Eastside Kings Festival"
At "Kings Bee Lounge" in Austin, Texas. pic.twitter.com/u42bT4TFPX
Urban Egg opened its first Austin restaurant at 7600 Burnet Road on October 12, serving breakfast and lunch. Community Impact
Crunch Fitness plans to open at 8716 Research Blvd. on October 28, and Tumble 22, a chicken restaurant, plans to open at 9761 Great Hills Trail near the Arboretum on November 7. Community Impact
Baolicious, a dumpling and bao shop, opened October 3 in The Linc at 6406 N. I-35; Pebble Onebird, a fried chicken spot, opened September 20 at 12129 N. Ranch Road 620. Community Impact
A $1.8 million renovation at StoneBridge Plaza II, 9600 N. MoPac (Loop 1), is making room for Lucid Private Offices, a leasable office space due to open in November, a state filing shows. Community Impact
Hill House Home, a women's and children's clothing brand, plans its third Texas store at Domain Northside in early 2027, and Dolce & Gabbana plans a store at The Domain. Community Impact
Domain Northside, home to tenants like Apple, Nike and Tecovas, is marking ten years of shops and restaurants in Northwest Austin. Community Impact
The House of Torment, Austin's haunted attraction, is running its first licensed maze this season, built around Jason Voorhees of the Friday the 13th films. Austin Chronicle
Austin had 115 reported ghost sightings, the most of 74 cities in home security company Vivint's 2026 study, which ranked Austin eighth-spookiest overall. KXAN
Overheard on X
Saturday in Austin ☀️ Linen dress, Birkenstocks, denim jacket, and off to South Congress." pic.twitter.com/NUtjyzC5ur
Weather
No weather alerts are active for Travis County. Sunday is sunny with a high near 75 and a light northeast wind. Tonight is partly cloudy with a low around 54, and Monday is mostly sunny with a high near 78. National Weather Service forecast
A hole punch cloud, a round gap in a cloud layer most likely left by an airplane freezing its supercooled droplets, appeared over the Austin area Saturday afternoon. KXAN
Overheard on Bluesky
Nice fallstreak hole over ATX this afternoon (taken from Lamar & 24th). Explanation in alt text.
KXAN's forecasters expect highs to climb through the workweek, near 90 by midweek, with rain chances under 10% through next weekend. KXAN
Sources: National Weather Service forecast, Travis County active-alert snapshot, KXAN
The Back Page
Early voting begins Monday, October 19; Election Day is November 3. Check official registration and election links.
Sunday Paper: Three longer reads from the week. KXAN walked through all ten City propositions, from the parks bond to the charter changes. Austin Current reported on the Burnet and Webb parent petitions and the parents who said they felt pressured to sign. And The New York Times and the San Antonio Express-News, in a story The Texas Tribune co-published, found Texas children ages 10 to 13 were referred for prosecution after school incidents more than 47,000 times since 2014.
One Good Thing: The Austin Public Library turned 100 on Saturday with music and art at the Central Library. It began in 1926 with 500 donated books in a rented second-floor storefront on Congress Avenue and now has 20 branches. KVUE