Cover Story
Why Austin Can’t Seem to Quit Its Despised Coal Plant
Locals continue to get coal for Christmas
Travis County Commissioner Offers a Texas Perspective on Climate Action at COP28
WATCH: Brigid Shea on local government efforts
COP28: “Maybe You Should Ask a Woman”
Hillary Clinton and women climate leaders inspire in Dubai
Varsity Mural Finally Complete With New Image From Slacker
Empty 13th frame now filled by the iconic Teresa Taylor
Horror of Austin Shooting Spree Sparks President’s Call for Gun Reform
Shane James shot his parents and four others seemingly at random
UPDATE: Texas Supreme Court Temporarily Halts Decision That Allowed Pregnant Woman to Abort Fetus With Lethal Diagnosis
State of Texas argued “frivolous assertion of harm”
Free Week Announces January 2024 Lineup, and More Music News
Power Trip reunited at Mohawk; Sonic Guild divvied grants at ACL Live
Qmmunity’s 2023 Gift Guide
Gifts for the els, bees, gees, and teas – and the pluses!
As Council Works to Improve Affordability With HOME, How Will Displacement Factor In?
Research shows small lots boost affordability though concerns linger
Rental Assistance Arrives: Applications Open to Austinites Making Roughly $65,000 or Less
City partners with religious nonprofit to provide funds to tenants
NADC Burger Goes Brick-and-Mortar, Birdie’s Reprises Bistro Remy, Luminaire Gets Spanish with Wines, the Oyster Is (Part of) épicerie’s World, and More
All the news that’s fit to get your taste buds quivering
Commission Considers Making Venues Eligible for the Live Music Fund
As grants from this year’s program roll out to 368 recipients
Authors of Police Oversight Act Sue City for Failing to Fully Implement Ordinance
Suit names interim police chief and city manager as defendants
SXSW Adds Ho99o9, Kikuo, Sofia Kourtesis to 2024 Music Lineup
243 artists make up the festival’s second artist announcement
Texas GOP Leaders Won’t Criticize Antisemites, Nazis
What does “tolerate” mean?
Tickets for ACL Fest 2024 Go on Presale Thursday
Three-day GA price jumps to $320 a pop (for now)
At COP28’s Global Stocktake, Countries Look Inward
Process checks progress on Paris Agreement targets
COP28: Smaller Players Like Cities and States Are Taking Big Steps to Combat Climate Change
“Subnationals” speak to the implementation crisis
Spirit of Orgain Music Festival Blames Cancellation on “Their Financier”
After an earlier City of Hutto statement cited a “headliner issue”
Everything Everywhere All at Once Directors Return to South By Southwest
Daniels, Kara Swisher, AI, Mobile Suit Gundam for fest
Lost Cinema Reopening in East Austin
Blue Starlite teams with Millennium for community initiative
Health Finally Gets a Seat at the COP28 Table
VIDEO: “The climate crisis is a health crisis”
Q2 Stadium Chosen as 2024 Copa America Venue
Austin FC home will host group stage next summer
D.A. José Garza Dismisses Charges Against 17 Officers Indicted for 2020 Protest Response
D.A., City ask feds to investigate Austin Police Department
Blues Musicians Rally to Save Singer-Guitarist Sarah Barlow’s Finger
Dec. 10 Antone’s benefit show follows serious dog attack injury
COP28: The Elephant in the Room
Why is fossil fuel phaseout not being discussed more seriously?
Liz Phair’s Exile in Guyville Still Reigns, Reimagined, at the Moody Theater
Try “Fuck and Run” as “Make Love and Stick Around”
Day Trips & Beyond: December Events Roundup
Nature news, scenic drive routes, and events all over Texas
An Historic Moment at COP28 As Loss and Damage Fund Is Established to Help Countries Impacted by Climate Change
VIDEO: U.S. pledges $17.5 million to effort
Old Settler’s Music Festival Executive Director Steps Down Amid Property Sale Plans
“This role […] has been particularly challenging in recent years”
National Survey Finds Significant Support for Middle Income Housing, Smaller Lot Sizes
City Council aims to achieve both with HOME amendments
Austin Library Services You Might Have Forgotten About
No shortage of fun at library in December
Eileen
Adaptation of Ottessa Moshfegh’s thriller captures her mood, not her internality
Raging Grace
Gothic-tinged immigration melodrama is neither lurid nor incisive enough
Fallen Leaves
Finland’s master of understated absurdity shakes off retirement
Godzilla Minus One
The king of the monsters returns in a mighty period drama
Silent Night
The action’s too familiar in John Woo’s gimmicky revenge flick
Everyone Will Burn
Spanish faith-based horror commits the sin of predictability
The Disappearance of Shere Hite
Restoring the reputation of the sexologist and researcher
Moontower Just for Laughs Austin Goes Big
Comedy fest adds arena shows from Andrew Schulz, Shane Gillis
Six Decades of The Nutcracker at Ballet Austin
Stephen Mills sprinkles seasonal magic on a beloved Christmas institution
Austin Filmmaker Brings Her Rap Drama Back Home
Katherine Propper finds family in Lost Soulz at Sound Unseen Film + Music Festival
Day Trips: MSU-Burns Fantasy of Lights, Wichita Falls
The MSU-Burns Fantasy of Lights in Wichita Falls delights thousands of children every year and preserves the holiday legacy of a local couple. At the intersection of the Christmas spirit and folk art, this is a unique trail of lights. The nightly display has grown to 46 animated scenes from the original 21 handmade by…
Zero Charisma Celebrates 10th Anniversary at AFS Cinema
Role-playing comedy rolls a 10
Opinion: We Need to Break the Barriers for Texans With Old Records
Maggie Luna, an Austin resident and mom of three, writes about her experience in the Texas prison system and how a rehabilitation center changed her life
Qmmunity: Red Ribbon Revelries
Local Austin health orgs celebrate World AIDS Day 35 with fun and educational events
Austin’s Best Food and Drink Events This Week
Dinner parties, farmer’s markets, beer, wine, and more for the week of November 30, 2023
Deerhoof at Wizard Rodeo and More Crucial Concerts This Week
Looking for the best shows happening in Austin this week? Check out the Chronicle music team’s handpicked “Crucial Concerts” below or in the paper every Thursday. And for our complete listings of upcoming live music events around town, head to Chron Events. Wizard Rodeo 3 The Long Time, Saturday 2 Deerhoof’s sustaining anarchic delight would…
Free Will Astrology
Your weekly horoscope, December 1-7
Review: Jon Dee Graham, Only Dead for a Little While
Crucial new oral history A Curious Mix of People: The Underground Scene of ’90s Austin grids dominant pre-millennial culture: homegrown DIY and punk. Jon Dee Graham and his ilk rioting at Raul’s seeded that upheaval in the late Seventies and Eighties before transitioning to statesmen of song during the Clinton era. Now that DIY digitalism…
Arts Events
Art galleries, theatre, comedy, dance, and more
Review: Feddi Brosevelt, Dope Rhyme Sayer
After a two-year absence, the Culture Shocked Radio creator returns with a solo album full of boom bap and sample-laced rap. Like all recent releases from the Southeast Austin-based MC, this LP is an Audiomack exclusive, which inevitably turns into a flex of its own on “Play 4 Keeps (Freestyle)”: “We ain’t got no videos/…
Community Events
Local events, volunteer opportunities, kids’ activities, and more
Review: Pussy Gillette, Permanent Trash
Pussy Gillette arrived clear-eyed in 2021, issuing a spunky self-titled debut crammed with irreverent garage rock songs – mostly about sex, drugs, and rock & roll, sometimes about the atrocities of man and Christ. Hardened by subsequent touring and two more years in the Texas heat, Nathan Calhoun and Masani Negloria return with the equally…
When She’s Not Touring With Star Musicians, Photographer Pooneh Ghana Settles in Austin
New Radio/East concert series highlights the globe-trotter’s indie origins
In an iLL Manner: How Jamal McKinney Sells Out Rap Shows at Antone’s
Jamal McKinney isn’t one for war stories. As he recounts his personal history on the Cherrywood Coffeehouse patio, after staging 20 hip-hop shows at Antone’s over two years of partnership with the historic blues venue, he seems optimistic and game for anything. Yet one brief anecdote slips out during our conversation that hammers home how…
Ascension Seton Nurses Prepare to Strike Again Amid Supply Shortages
Facing shortages in critical supplies including IV pumps, nurses at Ascension Seton are preparing a one-day strike December 6 after their first historic strike in June. They’ll be joined by nurses at two unionized hospitals in Kansas striking the same day. In Austin, Ascension announced it will again lock nurses out for an extra three…
Council to Vote on HOME Amendments Increasing Housing Stock
Questions and concerns flagged ahead of Dec. 7 meeting
Hundreds of Thousands Denied Medicaid and Food Assistance in Texas
It’s a department of dysfunction, and it isn’t getting better
The Luv Doc: She Goes Even Offer
All anyone remembers is the sad trombone
Far-Right Pro-Natal Conference Will Proceed in Austin as Planned
Line Hotel hosting anti-democracy, pseudoscientific speakers
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
As dogs age, they may switch their sleeping positions and prefer to sleep on their sides since sleeping belly-up can put pressure on their spines. Norah Jones’ song “The Man of the Hour” is about her poodle, Ralph. Dogs love to stick their heads out car windows because their olfactory sense is at least 10,000…
Headlines / Quote of the Week
Cruising Through the City: Despite Cruise pausing service of its autonomous vehicles, Austin’s Downtown Commission has concerns about the growing presence of autonomous cars and the city’s inability to regulate them due to a 2017 state law that limits cities in regulating AVs. The commission says they would like to have access to shared data…
Catch the Holiday Hullaballoo, Win Free Home Slice Pizza for a Year, Check Out the Newest Cambria Hotel, Know That Counter Culture Will Return, and More …
All the news that’s fit to get your taste buds quivering
