Wednesday
October 21, 2026
Today at a glance
- Weather 85° / 56°Air Quality Alert. Plan around it.
- Air quality 39 · GoodClear air. A great day to be outside.
- Lake Travis 94.1% fullThe lake is close to full — good for boats and for the summer water supply. Down a touch from last week.
- Allergies HighRagweed and elm and grasses are heavy today. Windows closed, meds early.
- Power grid NormalDemand peaks near 62,400 megawatts; ERCOT has 88,000 ready and room to spare.
- Sunrise 7:37 a.m.The sun is up for 11 hours and 16 minutes today, and down by 6:53 p.m.
Good morning, Austin. Sunny again, with a high near 85 and a low around 60 tonight. It is an Ozone Action Day, so share a ride or skip the drive-through if you can. Pollen stays high, ragweed first. Race-week crowds start arriving at the airport Thursday.
The Briefing
Travis County's first day of early voting beat every midterm this century
Monday set the pace.
Nearly 41,000 Travis County residents voted on the first day of early voting, about 4.3% of registered voters, KUT reported from Texas Secretary of State data. That beat every first day of a midterm this century, including 2018 at 4.14% and 2022 at 2.8%.
County Clerk Dyana Limón-Mercado said her office set out to make this "the most accessible election in our community's history." There are 45 early voting sites, up from 38 in the last midterm, open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day, weekends included. A Travis County voter can use any of them.
The pace was quicker here than across Texas. By Tuesday evening, KXAN's tracker of state data put statewide turnout at about 3.7% and turnout across its 15-county area at 5.2%.
On the Austin ballot are five City Council seats, a $295 million parks and libraries bond in Propositions A and B, and Proposition I, a recurring independent audit of City finances. Supporters say Prop I sets stronger standards than the City's audit ordinance. Opponents say it will be expensive and give the auditor a reason to cut deeper, KUT reported.
What's next: Early voting runs through October 30, when seven sites stay open until 10 p.m.; Election Day is November 3.
Sources: KUT (first-day turnout), KUT (voter questions), KXAN (turnout tracker)
City Desk
Money & bills
Travis County keeps paying for a teen diversion program
County commissioners have allocated $2 million to the Travis County Transformation Project, which lets some youths facing a family-violence assault charge enter treatment instead, KXAN reported. Finishing the program keeps the charge off their record. It has served 150 minors since its 2023 pilot. "We think that the data supports" that it made the community safer, District Attorney José Garza said. KXAN
Also
A west Austin driver paid more than $300 for a tire after a rock hit his car on Loop 360 near Courtyard Drive; the contractor said the rock likely was not its own. KXAN
Public safety & courts
Police ask witnesses to come forward in a July 4 killing
Austin Police Department (APD) detectives say about 200 people were present when Antonio Cleveland Jr., 18, was fatally shot in north Austin shortly before midnight on July 4, but few have talked to them. His mother, Sharamie Robinson, asked for help: "I'm begging for my community." A reward of up to $1,000 may be available; the homicide tip line is 512-477-3588. KXAN
Also
A federal grand jury indicted Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Austin, on an assault charge alleging he used his car as a deadly weapon. KXAN
Two 21-year-old men were charged with aggravated assault after a man was shot early Sunday near a gas station in the 700 block of East Seventh Street. CBS Austin
A man was charged with aggravated assault after pointing a gun at the owner of Conans Pizza South on West Stassney Lane on October 15, security video shows. FOX 7
A police Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit took a person barricaded in a vehicle at Cameron Road and Rutherford Lane into custody Tuesday afternoon, police said. KXAN
Growth & infrastructure
The airport's busiest stretch starts Thursday
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) expects heavy traffic from Thursday through Tuesday, with Monday, the day after Sunday's Formula 1 race, its single busiest day. It advises arriving 2.5 hours before domestic flights and three hours before international ones. On October 19 the airport began a utility project for its expansion, due to finish in 2029. The record day, after last year's race, topped 45,000 passengers. KXAN
Also
All four security checkpoints will be open, and a new garage should open its first 3,000 spaces by late this year, paid from airport reserves and revenue, AUS said. CBS Austin
The City's Environmental Commission is briefed tonight on changes to the Brackenridge agreement with UT Austin that would preserve Lions Municipal Golf Course; Council takes it up November 19. Community Impact
Austin Energy finished about 785 feet of tunneling to bury circuits along Lady Bird Lake; part of the Butler Trail stays rerouted through summer 2027. Community Impact
The $54.5 million replacement of the century-old bridge at the Zilker Park entrance is in design, with construction set to begin in summer 2027. Community Impact
Millie at Hangar, a 1.02-acre park with a playscape and sports court beside a new North Loop apartment complex, opens this fall. Community Impact
Developers broke ground on The Kent, a seven-story, 396-unit complex at 2631 Kramer Lane near The Domain, with first units expected by late 2028. Community Impact
A $100 million advanced manufacturing building called Project Toaster was filed with the state for 475 Patton Ave., with work planned from November 16. Community Impact
City Hall & county
Overheard on X
Nearly 41,000 people in Travis County cast a ballot on the first day of early voting for the Nov. 3 election, surpassing every first-day voter turnout record for a midterm election this century, according to data from the Texas secretary of state’s office. https://t.co/D5rw5nUqH5 pic.twitter.com/zFSEeuLkbH
Travis County voters can cast a ballot at any of the county's polling places during early voting and on Election Day, and can check a personal sample ballot online. KUT
In the new U.S. House District 37, which covers most of Central Austin, Rep. Greg Casar said affordability is his main priority, including caps on utility bills and child care costs. KUT
His Republican challenger, Lauren Peña, a paralegal who lives in public housing, said her priorities are lowering taxes and utility bills and increasing public safety. KUT
Overheard on Bluesky
There was a wait but not a super long one here in Travis County for early voting
Schools
Austin ISD trustees vote October 29 on new boundaries
Austin Independent School District (AISD) trustees vote October 29 on boundary changes aimed at overcrowding at Linder Elementary and at giving Marshall Middle School its own attendance area. Some households now zoned to Dobie, Kealing, Lamar and Webb middle schools could move to Marshall. The district says Lamar is at 114% of capacity; Marshall, built for 915, could see about 962 students assigned. CBS Austin
Also
The University of Texas at Austin's student-staffed cybersecurity center, which serves school districts and nonprofits free, opened an office in the Perry-Castañeda Library. Daily Texan
Business & street life
Wheatsville's Guadalupe store closes Saturday
Wheatsville Food Co-op will close its store at 3101 Guadalupe St. on October 25, after 45 years, Community Impact reported. The member-owned grocery cited declining sales, rising costs and upcoming light rail construction along Guadalupe. Its South Lamar store stays open. Saturn Cocktail Club at 906 Congress Ave. closed October 8, citing financial strain. Community Impact
Also
Musicians playing a gig can now park for a $5 flat rate at four downtown garages under Metropolis's Park & Play program, with nine more garages sought. KXAN
Night Owl Therapy is offering six free counseling sessions through November to workers hit by venue closures in the Red River Cultural District. KVUE
The Charles Oyster House, from partners behind Bill's Oyster, plans to open at 78 Rainey St. in spring 2027. Community Impact
Mexic-Arte Museum's 43rd Viva la Vida Festival and Parade for Día de los Muertos runs Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. at Fourth Street and Congress Avenue, free. Community Impact
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Austin chapter's 40th Homes Tour, a self-guided look at homes by nine local architects, runs Saturday and Sunday; two-day tickets are $50. Community Impact
Overheard on X
The bathhouse at Barton Springs in Austin circa 1925. This bathhouse had an upstairs dance pavilion. The wooden structure, built in 1922, provided changing facilities downstairs and, as mentioned, that open-air dance pavilion upstairs. It was destroyed in the catastrophic flood… pic.twitter.com/Hbg829xCNm
"Haas Brothers: Uncanny Valley," the Austin-raised twins' first major museum show in their hometown, is at the Blanton Museum of Art through January 17. KUT
Overheard on Bluesky
Filmmaker Gustavo Bernal is inviting audiences to rethink how we live in and shape Austin through his latest documentary film "ATX-ARCH: Space Poetry". A crowdfunding campaign is also underway to help fund the film's post-production.
Weather
An Air Quality Alert is in effect for the Austin area through 7 p.m. today: conditions favor high levels of ozone pollution, the National Weather Service (NWS) said. It is sunny with a high near 85, mostly clear tonight with a low around 60, and sunny Thursday with a high near 86. National Weather Service forecast
KXAN's forecasters expect the same cool mornings and warm afternoons through the weekend, with rain chances only around 10% next Monday and Tuesday. KXAN
Sources: National Weather Service forecast, Travis County active-alert snapshot, KXAN
The Back Page
Early voting is open October 19 through 30; Election Day is November 3. Check official registration and election links.
One Good Thing: An Army helicopter pilot lost his Stetson out the open door during Saturday's flyover of Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, and he is asking Austin to help find it. Chief Warrant Officer 5 Josh Muehlendorf has worn it since 2004 and thinks it landed in Hyde Park, North Loop or the Triangle. KXAN