Cover Story
Can Gina Hinojosa Flip Texas?
The afternoon we spoke with Gina Hinojosa, Oct. 2, she had just pulled into her campaign office’s parking lot from a four-day trip around East Texas, toting a suitcase in the rain. “We did Nacogdoches, Lufkin,” she later told us. “Corsicana, Crockett,” her assistant piped in. “And we just came from Houston,” Hinojosa finished. About…
News
Chronicle Endorsements for the November 3 Midterm Elections
In the nonpartisan local races – City Council, ACC, and AISD – we’ve spelled out our reasons for our endorsements. In statewide races, we’re going to make this easy: Vote Democrat. Full stop. Even for candidates we declined to endorse in the Democratic primary, we still think they’re going to be better than any Republican on…
The Week’s Biggest News in Brief: Oct. 8-14
Texas Sued Over Voter Registration Foul-up: In mid-September, election officials reported that the Texas Department of Public Safety failed to send voter registration applications to county election sites, resulting in hundreds of thousands of applications that had yet to be processed. Election officials throughout the state have since been working tirelessly to process those applications…
City Leaders, Organizations Rally Against Save Austin Now’s Proposition I
As voters peer at Proposition I on the ballot this November, they may wonder, “Doesn’t the city already conduct efficiency audits?” And the answer is yes, Austin has two audit frameworks. The first is the city auditor’s office, a department churning out regular analyses on waste, fraud, and abuse by city employees and contractors. The…
GenATX Continues Building Its Roadmap for Young Austinites
Between 2019 and 2024, Austin’s youth population dropped by over 17,000 children or 9.3%, according to research published by Generation ATX. The decline raises an important question about the city’s future: What will it take to make Austin a place where families want to stay and children can thrive? “If we want Austin to continue…
Despite Investment, East Austin Still Lacks Adequate Tree Canopy
Though the heat came late to Austin this year, a string of triple-digit days in August and September helped push the yearly total to 49, tied for the 10th-highest year on record. Austin-Travis County EMS calls and emergency department visits for heat-related illness went up as well, with a total of 1,200 as of Oct.…
Running Toward the Fire
Sarah Dille would much rather be a real Austin ISD trustee – with full voting power on the school board and oversight over the district’s governance. “I have always thought about running for the board at some point in my life. It’s always been something that I’ve wanted to do,” she told the Chronicle. But now…
Music
Music Notes
FearDorian Friday 16, Brushy Street Commons With June mixtape Tease, Vol. 1, Atlanta rapper-producer FearDorian possibly hints at his next sonic direction as he employs cloud rap beats and dabbles into drumless production. Chicago-based screamo band Your Arms Are My Cocoon headlines. EsDeeKid Friday 16, Stubb’s Yeat has made wearing balaclavas part of his image,…
Screens
Sense and Sensibility Review: The Marriage Plods
The irony is that, while we Janeites will always welcome another Jane Austen adaptation, we’re liable to find them wanting. How could we not, when the original text is so sublime? And any attempt at adapting Sense and Sensibility to film is further hampered by the simple fact that Ang Lee and Emma Thompson’s 1995…
Musk Review: The Stench of Corruption
What would you think if I said that the world’s most dangerous man lives just outside Austin in a compound surrounded by dozens of women he has impregnated and a cadre of enforcers and fixers? You’re probably thinking of some Jim Jones wannabe with chemical weapons, but as Alex Gibney argues in his new documentary,…
You Can See Everything Review: Looking the Wrong Way
This is not a film about Theranos. It’s barely even a film about Elizabeth Holmes, the convicted fraudster currently jailed in Federal Prison Camp, Bryan and headed next fall to a halfway home just outside of Austin. It is instead a documentary about Nathan Fielder’s relationship with subjectivity. At least, half of You Can See…
Ken Russell’s The Devils Review: The Sacred and the Profane
I: Ecstasy Film enthusiasts around the world have been waiting like zealots anticipating Judgment Day since it was announced that Warner Bros. Clockwork division would be rereleasing The Devils. Not simply that it was a chance to see British iconoclast Ken Russell’s subversive masterpiece, but the full, purposefully obscene and provocative original cut, in all…
Misty Green Review: The Hollywood Dream Dies Again
When a filmmaker is writer, director, and star of their own movie, it looks like an ego trip. But when Chris Rock cast himself as failing Hollywood director Jordan Green in Misty Green, he’s not really putting the focus on himself. Instead, it’s on Rosalind Eleazar (Slow Horses) as Misty Green – no relation –…
Whalefall Review: Rapture of the Not-So-Deep
Whalefall begins with Josh Brolin securing a weighted diving belt to himself and jumping off the back of a boat with no air supply. The immediate response to this is to think, “Well, that’s one way to get out of appearing in this film.” Sadly, even hiding out in Davy Jones’ locker can’t save him…
Food
Austin Coffee Festival Brews Strong Sips and Discussions
Ask anyone with a tote bag: Austin hosts a thriving coffee scene. It’s no wonder the Austin Coffee Festival’s on for its fifth year at the Palmer Events Center, where this weekend they’ll host entertainment, tastings, and panels all about caffeinated creations. Most coffee lovers are also aware it’s not all sunshine and steam wands.…
Anh Em Feeds You Like Family
Sometimes you really want to go on a glamorous date night with your partner or a festive dinner out with the gals. You make the reservation, get all dolled up, maybe even put on lipstick and trade out that sports bra for some underwire, and head to a classy AF, pressed-linens type of restaurant with…
Columns
Day Trips: Texas General Stores
In small-town Texas, the general store or hardware store was the Walmart or Amazon of their day. The stores sold everything from cradles to coffins. Today, entering these general merchandise shops is like stepping back in time. The Windthorst General Store in northeastern Archer County survives as the primary retail outlet for miles around. About…
The Luv Doc: A Similar Situation
Dear Luv Doc, I’m in a similar situation to “A Different Kind of Woke” [“The Luv Doc: Go Get You a D,” Columns, Sept. 11]. I’ve lived with a woman for many decades. About two decades ago, she had an operation that left her with no sexual desire and all dried out. So, we haven’t…
Feedback: October 16, 2026
Just a Few Billion More Dear Editor, I think it is good that city staff have dialogue with the Cicero Institute [“City Meets With Conservative Cicero Institute About New Homelessness Initiative,” News, Oct. 9]. I also agree with David Gray in his comments: “There is no liberty in releasing someone from jail just to have…
Opinion: Medicaid Work Requirements Don’t Create Jobs, They Create Uninsured People
The Trump administration’s Medicaid overhaul has arrived, and it’s built around one idea: an 80-hour-a-month work requirement. Supporters call it a way to root out waste. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services call it “community engagement.” In reality, the new rule is a paperwork machine tied in a bureaucratic bow. The idea is that…
In Pot We Trust
Every time my girl goes out of town for the weekend, I find myself completing an odd set of activities, at a loss for what to do with myself. My most recent solo weekend was a rainy one, so I was particularly restless, and suddenly I was caught up in a series of side quests:…
Standoff Between Austin FC, Supporters’ Groups Over ICE Risks Turning Ugly
Major League Soccer’s most musical matchup took place over the weekend when Nashville SC of “Music City” battled Austin FC in “The Live Music Capital of the World,” appropriately during ACL Fest. For the first time ever, though, the music went missing from Q2 Stadium when supporters’ section band La Murga de Austin staged a…
Qmmunity: A Purrfect Week
Meow, meow, meow: I hope you’re having a purrfect week, Reader. I’ve started this column on a feline note because the Chronicle’s frequent visitor, a fluffy black cat we call Sriracha, came by this morning and let me pet them. (Yeah, I’m still on the woke operating system where I don’t like to use gendered…
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
Since 1917, there have been eight Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) lions used in opening credits. Despite internet rumors, none have killed anyone. By his own admission, Sylvester Stallone “built a castle with thousands of stones made of regrets.” The actual name for a blackhead removal tool is a comedone extractor. If the tool has looped…
Fun + Games
Free Will Astrology
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): One morning soon, I predict you will open your inner eyes as well as your outer eyes and discover that you feel freer than you have in ages. Old specters that once pestered you will seem strangely powerless. Worn-out customs will have loosened their hold, and an ancient obligation will finally…
