Drawing Weird Lines: Gov. Greg Abbott let on just how much power Donald Trump has over his decision-making when the governor asked lawmakers to redraw the state’s congressional maps during the special session, which kicked off last Monday. Trump wants to ensure he maintains a Republican majority in Congress and picks up new GOP seats in Texas, so he can easily pass legislation. The governor, along with the majority of Texas’ GOP congressional delegation, was initially hesitant to do so until Trump got on the phone with Abbott and told him to, The Texas Tribune reports.
Obsession with Noncitizen Voters: The Trump administration, in its campaign against alleged noncitizen voting, has made the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ SAVE database free for states to use to check a voter’s citizenship. But experts say the database isn’t totally reliable, even after an overhaul to it, and worry that states may use the database for reasons other than checking voters out, The Texas Tribune reports. And, though Republican officials keep decrying noncitizen voters, the data they point to hasn’t always held up under scrutiny.
Disaster Zone: In the wake of the devastating Independence Day floods, the Texas House and Senate quickly put together special committees on disaster preparedness and flooding. The committees convened for the first time on Wednesday to hear experts’ recommendations towards legislation, to do with connecting local radio stations and establishing notification systems for all future disasters. State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, is bringing a bill to the special session to install a statewide flood early warning system.
New UT Leadership: John Zerwas, the former Texas Republican lawmaker, has been named the sole finalist for the position of University of Texas Systems chancellor. The current interim president of UT-Austin, Jim Davis, was also named the sole finalist for the permanent president position. Davis is replacing Jay Hartzell, who called armed state troopers on his students’ peaceful pro-Palestine protest on campus last year. Per Tribune reporting, faculty were not consulted in selecting candidates for the UT-Austin presidency. Davis will be watched as UT-Austin continues to impose freedom of speech restrictions for faculty and students.
Epstein Bombs Keep Dropping: After the MAGA movement seemingly split apart over whether Trump’s sudden dismissal of the Jeffrey Epstein case was fishy, more news broke this week. The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump drew a naked woman for Epstein with a note about secrets, but Trump claimed it was fake and he never drew pictures anyway. In fact, his drawings have been sold at auction.
Another Bomb: Then The Wall Street Journal reported that Justice Department told Trump in May that his name appeared multiple times among the many people named in the Epstein files. During the same meeting, Department of Justice head Pam Bondi also told the president that the DOJ decided to not release more Epstein documents to protect victims, due to the files including child pornography.
City of Austin Lobbies: Legislature watchers, including Austin’s Intergovernmental Relations Officer Carrie Rogers, are reaching out to bills’ authors with their concerns for local government, the Austin Monitor reports. The city of Austin wants to retain authority when it comes to regulating guns, raising taxes, or securing funding sources. They’re concerned an expenditure cap to downgrade bonds could result in higher rates for taxpayers. The office did successfully push Abbott to sign House Bill 2802 last month, relating to the pension fund for Austin firefighters.
West Austin Rezoning: At West Sixth and Walsh streets, a new developer brought the city Planning Commission a request on July 8 for rezoning, to allow for a mixed-use residential build. They’ll be required to maintain 10-12% of living units at a relatively affordable price – 50-60% of the city’s median family income, to be specific. Several members of the Old West Austin Neighborhood Association spoke at a meeting in favor of the rezoning, hoping for an affordable, multifamily development.
Free Food, Every Month: On the first Wednesday of every month, the North Austin restaurant Korea House serves a free meal to whoever walks in the door. Two years after they started this tradition, the restaurant estimates that they’ve cooked 15,000 free meals for the community, with the staff working unpaid and purely out of goodwill. That goodwill is an expression of owners Pok-Cha Kim and Vivian Newton’s Christian faith, though they say everyone, regardless of religious affiliation, is welcome.
Measles In Our Water: On Monday, Austin Public Health officials confirmed that they had found traces of measles in Austin wastewater. Someone with measles possibly used water while visiting Austin, as no new measles cases have been announced in recent weeks. Nonetheless, doctors will be paying attention, and as KUT reports, everyone who has had two doses of the MMR vaccine should be good to go.
Goodbye, Big Brother: Last month, the city of Austin broke its contract with Flock Safety, a system that automatically reads license plates around the city and allows law enforcement to match plates to offending cars. More maliciously, Austin City Council Member Mike Siegel has previously pointed toward Flock’s collaboration with ICE in deportations. The system also often gets license plates wrong. Now, Kyle advocates are calling for their city to follow Austin in breaking ties with the company.
Black History Through Biking: Starting at the Texas African American History Memorial last Juneteenth, hundreds of people hopped on bikes and rode 8.46 miles through landmarks of Black history in Austin. Talib Abdullahi, who grew up riding his bike through the streets of Houston, has led these bike rides every Juneteenth for five years. It began when Abdullahi felt driven to mobilize his community following George Floyd’s murder, and has become an event for collective movement and education.
Robot Car Boom: Waymo and Uber have expanded even more. Their territory in Austin now hits the north and south edges of the city with self-driving rides, requestable by riders through the regular Uber app. That area covers 90 square miles, most recently including Crestview, Windsor Park, Sunset Valley, and Franklin Park, per CBS Austin. After just four months, Uber has over 100 Waymo vehicles on Austin streets, hitting 100 million miles driven across the country.
Quote of the Week
“I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women.”
– President Donald Trump, who has drawn at least five sketches sold at auction in the last decade
This article appears in July 25 • 2025.