“This summer is not over.“ — Austin Mayor Kirk Watson
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson is encouraging residents to conserve energy as temperatures rise this month, saying the grid conditions are reportedly normal right now, but that could change quickly. (Fox7 Austin)
Meanwhile, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said his office opened an investigation into CenterPoint Energy over its conduct during Hurricane Beryl.
An Austin City Council member is proposing expanding eligibility for participation in the Austin Energy’s free weatherization program for low-income households. (Austin Monitor)
Forecasters are tracking the latest tropical system, Tropical Storm Ernesto, across the central Atlantic Ocean, as it sweeps through the Caribbean. (AccuWeather)
Four units of a condominium community were destroyed after a fire early Tuesday morning in Central Austin.
According to the Austin Fire Department, 28 crew members responded at approximately 1:30 a.m. to Twelve Oaks Condominiums on the 700 block of W. 21 St, not far from the University of Texas at Austin campus. (KVUE-TV)
The Bastrop Police Department is investigating a murder that took place last month. Two individuals have been arrested but police are asking the public for help in the case. (Fox7 Austin)
Violent crime is on a downward trend in major cities across the country, including Austin, according to a new survey. (KVUE-TV)
Crews on Monday began to tear down a Texas church where a gunman killed more than two dozen worshippers in 2017, using heavy machinery to raze the small building even after some families sought to preserve the scene of the deadliest church shooting in U.S. history. (KEYE-TV)
A newly released 911 call is giving fresh insight into the 2023 case involving the death of a man who fell into Lady Bird Lake and drowned near the Rainey Street district. (KXAN-TV)
A Fort Worth police officer at the scene of a fuel spill clean-up on I-35 was hit and killed by a vehicle on the roadway Monday. (CBS Dallas via MSN)
Authorities are urging drivers to be careful near work zones, especially with more freeway construction set to begin in downtown Austin this fall. (Fox7 Austin)
Austin transit users will have two new rapid bus lines available for use in the city.
Meanwhile, CapMetro officials are considering the addition of a Pickup zone in a northeast Austin neighborhood as a means of building out transit access in the community.
A jury was selected on Monday and opening statements in the trial for former Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody and Assistant County Attorney Jason Nassour will begin this morning. (Austin American-Statesman)
More area school districts open for classes today.
Austin ISD will be offering free breakfast and lunch to all students in the 2024-2025 school year. (KEYE-TV)
On the first day of school for tens of thousands of students, Texas legislators talked about school choice, also known as vouchers of education savings accounts.
One Texas legislator is suggesting the Texas Education Agency leaned toward proselytizing when it developed its newly unveiled curriculum for public schools. Lawmakers on Monday questioned Education Commissioner Mike Morath about the presence of Christian stories in the material the agency created for teachers to use in the classroom. (Austin American-Statesman)
The Dallas school district is making a bid for Austin’s teachers. (Axios)
Texas’ average teacher salary is $9,000 less than the national average.
Austin-area teachers are learning how to improve Asian American representation in their lessons. (KUT 90.5)
A Travis County judge has blocked the Texas Education Agency from releasing its ratings of the state’s school districts and campuses for a second year in a row. (KVUE-TV)
Women who say they were denied timely treatment for emergency pregnancy conditions have filed federal complaints against two Texas hospitals. (KUT 90.5)
Thousands of cans of powdered baby formula sold at CVS and H-E-B grocery stores across 12 states are under recall. (KXAN-TV)
A recent report looking into the Texas Lottery Commission found deficiencies in oversight, procedural shortcomings, licensing inefficiencies and state dependency on the agency, but also acknowledged the TLC was “stuck between a rock and a hard place” with its competing goals of generating revenue and regulating the industry.
Over 30 families and dozens of people will be displaced from a mobile home community in Dripping Springs. (KXAN-TV)
More than 70 Texas lawmakers urged the State Fair of Texas board of directors to rescind a ban on guns, a safety measure introduced this year after three were injured in a 2023 shooting at the fair. (Dallas Morning News via MSN)
A man was fatally shot in southeast Texas after he tried to confront people he thought had vandalized his car. (Newsweek via MSN)
Exxon Mobil issued a layoff notice to 59 employees in Texas as part of its workforce reshuffle. The layoff notifications include 39 workers from Las Colinas, an area in the Dallas suburb of Irving. (Reuters via MSN)
The Texas Longhorns continue preseason practice. Freshmen Christian Clark and Jerrick Gibson are gearing up for the start of the 2024 football season. Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian says he’s impressed with his new players.
The Texas Longhorns will be one of the most scrutinized football programs in the nation in 2024. (CBS Sports via MSN)
Texas is ranked 4th, Texas A&M 20th in the Associated Press preseason football poll. For the Longhorns, it’s their highest preseason ranking since 2009. (Houston Chronicle)
The Houston Astros are on a winning streak. They made it six in a row last night with a 6-1 win at Tampa. Framber Valdez pitched 5 2/3 strong innings. (Yahoo! Sports)
Will the Astros be the team to beat as the season winds down?
The Texas Rangers, meanwhile, are headed in the opposite direction. Rob Refsnyder hit a game-winning single with two outs in the 10th inning after pinch-hitter Enmanuel Valdez’s leadoff double tied the score, lifting the Boston Red Sox over the fading Rangers, 5-4. (Yahoo! Sports)
24 hours in San Antonio…
