News
Months Since New Rules Took Effect, Hemp Businesses Feel the Burn
Back in January, Mary Tello was planning for a big year. Co-owner of South Austin hemp shop Green Haus Wellness, she was considering expanding her business to a second location in town. The opposite happened: Amidst a chaotic year of rule changes and legal battles involving the hemp industry, Tello had to close her brick-and-mortar,…
ACA Health Premiums Set to Increase for Second Consecutive Year
Open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act opens next week, running to Jan. 15 of next year. And rates are expected to rise again in 2027, as insurers have proposed higher premiums, potentially affecting nearly 3.3 million Texans (as of February) enrolled in ACA marketplace plans in 2026, according to the Centers for Medicare &…
Gaze Through the Eyes of the Abolishable Snowman
Around the world, there are tales of a creature that walks like a human but shows none of the traits that define human civilization. Nor, indeed, do they show the pragmatic sensibilities of the beasts of the mountains and forests, who take only as they need. Instead, they are trapped between the two, somehow lesser…
Austin Council Passes Wildfire Plan on Consent Despite Housing, Tree Concerns
Despite concerns over codes and provisions that could conflict with city housing density and tree-cover initiatives, Austin City Council passed an update to the Community Wildfire Protection Plan last Thursday, Oct. 22. The Travis County Commissioners Court also gave the plan its stamp of approval. The plan is now set to kick off in early…
Hinojosa Temporarily Blocked From Access to Abbott, Musk Emails
Back in April of last year, The Texas Newsroom submitted a Public Information Act request for Gov. Greg Abbott’s and his office’s communications with Elon Musk and his Texas-based companies. In return, they got 1,374 pages from the governor’s office, and all but about 200 were redacted or totally blacked out. The emails, flyers, and…
The Week’s Biggest News in Brief: Oct. 22-28
Common Election Kiosk Issues: Bexar County election officials released a statement on Friday, Oct. 23, addressing voters’ concerns regarding voting kiosks “switching” their choices for local, state, and federal races. The county’s Elections Department said that it “is something we are monitoring closely. We are asking voters to confirm their selections before moving on to…
Music
Music Notes
Freakshow on Fruth St. Saturday 31, 29th Street Ballroom This year’s Halloween will be the last to occur on a Saturday until 2037. For those looking to avoid Sixth Street’s sardine-packed sidewalks this weekend, check out this event co-presented by Howdy Gals and Glaze Magazine. The event will have a haunted house, costume contest, and…
Arts + Culture
Out of Bounds Comedy Festival Boasts Big Laughs, Big Feelings
Improvised Broadway musicals, onstage therapy for stand-up comedians, a sketch show centered on Texas Legislature: It’s right there in the name – Out of Bounds is a comedy festival celebrating comedic forms beyond the norms. After a COVID-induced hiatus, Austin’s longest-running comedy fest returned last year under the guidance of new co-producers Ellen Pizarek and…
Duality and Differentiation Tangle The Shared Life of Egan and Lucian
A stone’s throw off the coast of Maine, a pair of redheaded twins are born to idyllic surroundings and eccentric yin and yang parents. In their yellow house on Shep’s Island, life for the McCauleys is serene and full of the raucous energy of growing boys – swimming and kayaking, exploring what washes ashore on…
Screens
The Only Living Pickpocket in New York Review: Eulogy for a Dying Breed
There’s a very simple shot in The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, but it’s one that tells the whole story of the film. On the banks of the East River, the camera pans from the Brooklyn Bridge, across Lower Manhattan, to the gleaming spires and hypermodern architecture of the Financial District. It’s a metaphor…
Food
Ramen Del Barrio Levels Up
I have a confession to make. I never actually got to try Ramen Del Barrio before it relocated. I know. I tried to go once, but they’d already sold out literally while I was on my way to Hana World Market. I’m not super-duper obsessed with ramen anyway (again, I know…), so I shrugged and…
Columns
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
You are 30 times more likely to laugh if you are with someone else than if you are on your own. And you’ll laugh more if you know your companion and like them. Francisco Franco changed Spain’s time zone to align with Nazi Germany. A study published in the journal Sleep found that people who…
Feedback: October 30, 2026
New American Dream Dear Editor, I moved to Texas chasing the promises of cheaper housing options compared to those available in the East Coast suburbs I was leaving. Yet even in the Lone Star State, homeownership – and even affordable rent, for many of my contemporaries – still remains far out of reach. James Talarico…
The Luv Doc: Macaroni
Dear Luv Doc, Longtime reader, first-time advice seeker. Generally speaking, my wife and I have a wonderful marriage. But earlier this year, when we were eating pasta at home, she spontaneously placed a noodle on her eyebrow, which she thought was the funniest thing ever. I laughed, too… but then she did it a few…
Opinion: Trump Administration’s Latest Attack on Immigrants Threatens Austin Families, Economy
The Trump administration’s latest attack on immigrants is an urgent threat to millions of communities across the country. It’s also a dangerous step toward authoritarianism, and state leaders must protect us all in Central Texas. Immigration law requires the Department of Homeland Security to evaluate whether a “green card” applicant will become primarily dependent on…
Mission San Francisco de la Espada, San Antonio
Mission San Francisco de la Espada (Mission Saint Francis of the Sword) is special. Of the four Spanish missions (not including the Alamo) in San Antonio, it is the southernmost, among the smallest, and to my eye, the most beautiful with its three-bell tower and red stone walls. The missions – Concepción, San José, San…
Qmmunity: Halloweekend Trends
Okay, so here are all the trends I’ve observed while writing up the panoply of gay Halloween events. First, and this is true every year, but you literally have SO many options for costume contests. Every event offers a chance to strut your costumed stuff with varying prize money amounts attached – so pick based…
In the World of Competitive Glassblowing, Art Meets Sport
From Survivor to The Traitors to The Great British Bake Off, reality competition shows have captured our collective imagination and given people who don’t care for sports something to root for. What Austin Chronic readers may not know is that Austin has its very own competition game show, and you can watch it live. The…
How to Keep Independent News Spinning in Austin
Dear Chronicle Readers, Although it’s spooky season, we’ve got the end of the year in our sights – specifically, our end-of-year giving campaign, which we’re dubbing 45 RPM: 45 Years of Real Print Media. As The Austin Chronicle’s development + donor coordinator, you’ll be hearing from me a little bit over the next couple of…
Fun + Games
Free Will Astrology
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): This is your high holy season, Scorpio, which also happens to be the time when the veil is thinnest between this world and the other world. Others find this eerie, but you’ve always been at home here. You know how to explore the deepest depths, how to abide with what’s buried…
