Chaos at the Capitol: After Texas House Democrats returned to Austin Monday, House Speaker Dustin Burrows announced that Dems could only leave the House floor if they received written permission and agreed to round-the-clock law enforcement escorts until the House reconvened Wednesday morning. Fort Worth Rep. Nicole Collier chose to stay in the House chambers for the duration, and was joined by several colleagues Tuesday night, in what Rep. Cassandra Hernandez called a “slumber party for democracy.” The Statesman reported more than 150 protesters were removed from Capitol grounds following reports of a threat issued over social media on Tuesday; demonstrators returned Wednesday to protest Republicans’ redistricting scheme.
Meanwhile, Someone Needs More Exercise: Austin Rep. Sheryl Cole reported that her personal DPS escort threatened in public to arrest her after he lost track of her while she was taking her morning walk in the Mueller neighborhood Tuesday morning.
Also at the Lege: While flood relief continues to not be top priority on Gov. Greg Abbott’s agenda, another round of anti-trans bathroom bills are advancing. As The Texas Tribune reports, SB 8 and HB 52 would “shift how transgender people would be treated in bathrooms, prisons and family violence shelters” and institute penalties for violations.
A Good Time to Show Up for the Queer Community: Austin’s official Pride celebration and loads more LGBTQIA parties are taking place this weekend and throughout the month. Head to Qmmunity to hear all about ’em.
Tax Increase Election Ballot Invalid? Last week, Austin City Council approved a $6.3 billion budget based on a 5-cent tax rate that will be on the ballot in November. By Monday, a lawsuit was filed against Austin’s mayor and City Council by everybody’s favorite attorney Bill Aleshire, claiming that “the approved ballot language … intentionally misleads voters about the permanence of the tax increase and does not describe specifically how the city council will use the … funds.” The suit, by former mayoral candidate Jeffery Bowen, asks that Council reword the language to remedy that. Read more about the budget.
A.G. on the Attack Over Quorum Break Donations: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton asked a judge to imprison Beto O’ Rourke, Democrat and former candidate for governor, for the duration of his lawsuit against O’Rourke’s PAC, Powered by People, for raising more than $1 million for Dems when they walked out of the special session to prevent redistricting, per Texas Tribune reporting. Those donations went toward the Texas Legislative Black Caucus, the Texas House Democratic Caucus, and the Mexican American Legislative Caucus. On Tuesday, a judge temporarily blocked the A.G. from prosecuting the organization.
Ten Commandments in Schools: Oral arguments in the federal lawsuit Rabbi Nathan v. Alamo Heights Independent School District ended Monday, with the ACLU and others aiming to invalidate the Legislature’s recent mandate that the religious text be displayed in every public school classroom. On Wednesday, a Texas federal judge temporarily blocked the law from taking effect in the 11 Texas school districts named in the lawsuit, including AISD. Court watchers anticipate the case will wind up at the U.S. Supreme Court.
Shelter Break-in: A man released dogs from Austin Pets Alive!’s kennels on the night of Aug. 13, leading to several altercations between the animals that injured five and killed one. Many of the escaped dogs have since been relocated and returned safely to the shelter, according to the Statesman. Austin police have since identified a suspect.
School’s Back! Even as the AISD school board mulls which schools to close due to lack of funding, the Texas Education Agency released scores tagging 23 district campuses as “failing,” largely based on the much-maligned state STAAR tests. Nevertheless, classes started this Tuesday at all 116 campuses. UT starts Monday, though most students are already in town. Enjoy the traffic.
Failing Grades: The TEA announced that five school districts are now at risk of having their democratically elected school boards replaced by the state agency – in each case, because a single school had received a failing grade on the TEA scoring matrix for five consecutive years. Meanwhile, Austin ISD got a C overall, but 23 campuses got F ratings, including Dobie, Burnet, and Webb middle schools for the fourth straight year. See all the ratings at txschools.gov.
Infowars Back Up for Sale: Alex Jones, creator of the far-right conspiracy site Infowars, was found guilty in 2022 of claiming on-air that the tragic Sandy Hook shooting was a “hoax.” He still owes victims’ families $1.3 billion in damages. Last week, a Texas district court judge ordered that Infowars’ parent company, Free Speech Systems, be turned over to a state receiver in charge of selling its assets and property to finally begin to pay back those families. No word yet on if satirical news site The Onion will renew its attempts to acquire the company.
Lots of Land, Few New Houses: Housing market data company Zonda recently counted 250,541 future home sites (“single-family vacant developed lots”) in the Austin metro area, up by 12% this year, and by 46% since 2020. About 91% of those are still raw land, according to the Austin Business Journal, and Austin home starts are down 15% this year, with developers skittish about the local market. Of the 30 markets Zonda rated, Austin had the highest supply of home lots by a big margin, earning one of only three “Appropriately Supplied” ratings, because in the real estate world, there’s no such thing as oversupplied.
On the DL: The Texas Department of Public Safety debuted a new design for Texas driver’s licenses on Aug. 18 featuring an updated look and security features, including tamper-resistant materials and a laser-engraved star in the upper right corner to indicate REAL ID compliance. No need to rush to get a replacement: Previously issued cards are still valid until their expiration date.
Fancifying the Sixth Street Parking Experience: Pecan Street Owners Association is partnering with Next Level Parking to pilot the city’s first permitted “valet district” in Downtown’s “Old 6th Street District.” Starting Aug. 22, a valet stand will operate at 500 San Jacinto, with another location expected soon. Rates range from $15 to $45, depending on validation and duration.
Who Wants to Own a Glamping Resort? Jumping on the raffle-for-real-estate trend, the Yurtopian, a 46-acre privately owned retreat in Dripping Springs, is being raffled off via the British platform Raffall. Head to winmyresort.com to learn about the $7 million property and how to snap up $10 raffle tickets.
Quote of the Week
“Why was House Bill 1, the flood relief bill that is the House’s answer to the deadly July 4 flooding that killed over 135 people, not the first order of business of this special session for the Texas House?”
– Texas Rep. Gina Hinojosa
This article appears in August 22 • 2025.