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The Latest Breaking News from Kirk Watson

Thousands of Austin residents face power outages on the hottest day of the year

Millions of Texans are under excessive heat warnings as cities across the state experience record breaking temperatures.

Latin Times

Everything Is Getting Bigger in Texas

Plus: An interview with Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, Minnesota lawmakers try to save Minneapolis zoning reform from excess environmental review, and the White House's new housing supply action plan.

Reason

Austin Officials Condemn Anti-Palestinian Hate Crime but Remain Divided over Ceasefire Resolution

Mayor Kirk Watson condemned last week’s attack after a pro-Palestine rally, while warning against a ceasefire resolution.

Texas Observer

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After years of losing battles with GOP leaders, some big city Texas mayors strike friendlier tone

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson and incoming Houston Mayor John Whitmire, two veteran Democratic legislators, are trying to repair their cities’ fraught relationships with the state’s GOP leadership.

The Texas Tribune

Texas police officer and suspect killed in a shooting; two other people were found dead

A Texas police officer was killed in a shooting that also left the suspect dead and a second officer wounded in Austin

The Independent UK

Austin will try again to tame its housing affordability crisis with zoning reforms. Can it do it this time?

The city’s decades-long battle to overhaul local rules to allow more, denser housing to be built may be reaching a turning point.

The Texas Tribune

Texas state troopers are routinely stopping motorists of color in Austin, data shows

More than 8 in 10 people charged by state troopers since they began helping Austin police have been people of color. In Southeast Austin, a neighborhood president calls it “outright racial profiling.”

The Texas Tribune

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Gov. Greg Abbott sends more state police to patrol Austin after city leaders call for end to partnership

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson had said that troopers pulling a gun on a 10-year-old prompted the end of the agreement. A video of that encounter shows troopers with guns pointed at the ground, not the child.

The Texas Tribune

Wife-carrying and weighing the mayor - the weird UK traditions baffling Brits

Centuries-old events such as Weighing in the Mayor in High Wycombe and the Jack in the Green festival can be an eye-opener for many

Wales Online

Hurling the silver ball is the top traditional UK event - that Brits have never heard of

Many centuries-old events, such as Weighing in the Mayor in High Wycombe, and the Jack in the Green festival, leave Brits baffled

Daily Mirror

After Title 42’s end, Texas DPS pauses Austin patrols so officers can head to the border

Despite no major influx in border crossings, state troopers will be relocated to border cities. Austin and the Texas Department of Public Safety faced criticism for the racial disparities in state trooper arrests in the capital.

The Texas Tribune

‘He Failed to Signal’: When DPS Traffic Stops Turn Deadly

Shandra Hodge speaks out about her son’s death at the hands of state troopers in 2019.

Texas Observer

State troopers will help Austin with police patrols as the city struggles with an officer shortage

Austin officials view the partnership as a stopgap measure as they try to fill the city’s more than 200 police vacancies.

The Texas Tribune

Celia Israel’s Got ‘Both Feet on the Ground’

What the historic 2023 election for mayor meant for Celia Israel, for Austin, and women in Texas politics.

Texas Observer

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The Texas Tribune

Gov. Greg Abbott starts state task force on street takeovers

During a recent street racing incident, Austin residents faced long 911 wait times. City officials say they need to increase staffing for 911 call takers, but state license and background check requirements make it difficult to fill positions.

The Texas Tribune

Austin’s city manager fired over botched winter storm response

Spencer Cronk, who headed the city since 2018, fell out of favor with council members after communication failures that mirrored problems from the 2021 winter storm.

The Texas Tribune

Austin City Council to vote Wednesday on replacing city manager

Spencer Cronk, city manager since 2018, fell out of favor after the recent ice storm disrupted power for days.

The Texas Tribune

A new winter storm and old problems raise questions about Austin leaders’ response to crises

As newly elected Austin Mayor Kirk Watson and a City Council with an array of fresh faces review their first major crisis, the city’s top officials once again find themselves trying to figure out why the city botched its response to a significant weather event.

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The Texas Tribune

How freezing rain, tree-lined neighborhoods and above-ground power lines prolonged Austin power outages

Tens of thousands of Austin households and businesses went days without electricity after a winter storm wreaked havoc across Texas.

The Independent UK

Generators, spoiled food: Slow power repairs anger Austin

The future of Austin’s top city executive plunged into jeopardy Monday as outrage boiled over power outages that have left thousands of people without electricity in the Texas capital for nearly a week and are likely to drag on for days longer

The Texas Tribune

Austin city manager’s job could be on the line after winter storm response

Austin City Council members will evaluate Spencer Cronk’s employment during their Thursday meeting. Cronk was hired in 2017.

The Texas Tribune

Texas cities debate costly infrastructure investments in age of extreme weather

Experts say local governments should prioritize extreme weather preparedness. Cost can be a deterring factor.

WEKU

Texas ice storm leaves hundreds of thousands without power

About 262,000 people across the state are without power as of early Friday morning. And one major utility service in the state said it did not know when it would be able to restore power.

The Texas Tribune

Texas’ tech capital again fumbles digital communication amid a power crisis

As tens of thousands of households and businesses face a third day in the dark, Austin leaders say they will improve emergency communications. But residents and critics have little patience for bungled warnings.

Ballotpedia

ICYMI: Top stories of the week

As of Thursday, we’ve identified the results of 153 legislative leadership elections:

1 2

People

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Texas Department of Public Safety

the Texas Department of Public Safety

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the University of Houston

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