Austin Signal

E-motorcycles are getting more popular — especially among teens and young adults — and Austin is stepping up enforcement. You might have heard of big rocket companies like SpaceX or even Blue Origin who have moved to Texas over the last few years. But what about Central Texas’ own Firefly Aerospace? We’ll have more on […]

After initially planning to cancel its adult indoor basketball and volleyball leagues, the city now plans to find an outside company to run them. Players worry they could be priced out. Next week, Republicans will gather in Texas for the party’s first-ever midterm convention. What does it mean to be a Texas Republican in 2026? […]

High schoolers in the Austin Independent School District are navigating a new transportation system this year. And some parents say their kids are having to walk long and sometimes dangerous routes. Travis County’s $50 million investment in childcare is expanding access for some — but providers are still struggling. Polling suggests a majority of Texans […]

New state laws take effect today. What to know and what’s changing. An Austinite is back in the country after being deported. Why was the U.S. citizen was deported in the first place, and how often does this happen? Do you know how many sister cities Austin has the world over — or what a […]

Austin’s energy market is regulated. Other Central Texas cities’ markets aren’t. A look at the impacts on public health. This month, 1.5 million Texas high schoolers went back to the classrooms, and a harsh reality is not all of them will graduate. The GED plays an important role in offering people a second chance and […]

The Austin City Council has kicked off a long process focused on creating new rules and requirements for large-scale data centers. Some council members say it’s imperative to get a leg up, before any future construction takes hold. The Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees is at risk of being taken over by state-selected […]

Over the last five years, the Community First Village — which has drawn national attention as a new model to get people off the streets — has drastically increased the number of evictions filed against residents. Paige Plaisance, KUTX’s Artist of the Month for August, melds a killer voice with the sounds of swampytonkin’. The […]

The Austin City Council is considering some regulations around data centers. That includes defining where they might be built, and how they’re categorized by size and demand on resources. There are new rules for students participating in outdoor UIL competitions designed to protect kids from the brutal Texas heat. We’ll tell you what’s changing. Some […]

A father is choosing to self-deport to Mexico with his 5-year-old son after the pair was detained by ICE agents this month in North Austin. He’s making the decision to leave with his son, rather than risk losing custody of him.The Austin City Council changed the way lobbying activities are reported this year, relying on […]

School is back in session on the UT Austin campus, and it’s far from business as usual for students and staff in a newly consolidated department.Programs with decades of history on the 40 Acres — including Mexican American and Latina and women’s, gender and sexuality studies — are no more. The punishing heat only makes […]

A passenger rail link between Austin and San Antonio is now being presented with two very different paths forward. Union Pacific says its freight railroad still doesn’t have capacity to do it — and the other option comes with a price tag exceeding $13 billion. A new city initiative, No Wrong Door, is looking to […]

Austin City Council members are usually limited to two four-year terms, but a few folks have attempted to represent their district for a third time. Now Paige Ellis is vying to do the same. Conservation advocates were in Austin this week, voicing opposition to border construction in the Big Bend region. Former state officeholders and […]

Students and staff in the Austin Independent School District are back in class this week. 10 campuses in the district closed their doors for good over the summer, but one school had to open back up to serve students from a damaged school. We’ll tell you why.We’ve been reporting on and learning more about data […]

The city’s system of 911 call-takers will be moving from the Austin Police Department into a standalone office in an effort to improve response times. The City Council approved the move as part of the city’s $6.6 billion budget — though not everyone agrees on the plan. Austin’s Fire Chief Joel G. Baker is retiring […]

Classes start tomorrow in the Austin Independent School District, fresh off news last week that two of its middle schools registered a fifth failing state accountability rating. That has opened the door to possible state intervention, but some folks are asking that the positive gains Austin schools have made also be considered in the whatever […]

UT Austin wants to change the assigned classes required of future undergraduates. It’s the first such change in more than two decades. The city of Austin is gathering feedback about the possibility of renaming Cesar Chavez Street after the labor leader was accused of sexual assault. How you can make your voice heard. Have you […]

Two struggling Austin middle schools have received a fifth consecutive failing accountability rating from the Texas Education Agency, opening the door to a state takeover of all the schools in the district. Houston ISD, the biggest school district in Texas, has been under state mandate for a few years. How it’s going so far. The […]

The city of Austin is nearing decision time on its upcoming fiscal budget. The first draft called for cuts to public health programs, parks and other services. The City Council has spent weeks shaping the version that’ll soon be approved. Proponents of data centers say they can be a boon to the areas they’re built […]

UT Austin is implementing some new rules for getting around on campus ahead of the new school year, but the changes aren’t impacting every set of wheels. An update on the ongoing negotiations affecting CapMetro bus drivers and transit workers. The Austin school district is facing the looming threat of a state takeover because of […]

Austin ISD classes start next week, and after announcing a change in how students will be shuffled to and from campuses, the district has backtracked on bus hubs for middle schoolers. The proposed development of Dog’s Head in Southeast Austin continues to move forward, despite what some feel is a lack of public input. That’s […]

Gov. Greg Abbott is pitching the idea of eliminating what he calls “city monopolies” on providing electricity, a plan focused in part on Austin Energy. He claims a move like this could lower customer rates, but how has deregulation played out in other parts of the state? “Austinhenge” this weekend is a darn good chance […]

Changes are coming to where people can and cannot ride electric bikes and scooters on the UT Austin campus. An invasive aquatic plant is expressing itself in some local waterways after it was essentially eradicated close to a decade ago. An annual movie festival all about the intersection of film and music is, for the […]

We’ve been learning a lot about the Dog’s Head development over the past months, including the future plans a developer would like to see there; how little neighbors knew about the idea as it picked up steam; and the competing interests curious about the project. How those sides sought support from the city. What are […]

CapMetro’s system of electric-assisted bicycles will soon be back on Austin’s roadways — but it will be returning in phases, starting small. We’ll have the latest on Austin’s Bikeshare and the fire that hindered service. We’re a couple weeks removed from the World Cup, but FIFA, the organization behind the tournament, has remained in the […]

For years now, Austinites have been able to hail a driverless Waymo — but they’ve only been available to call for it through one specific rideshare company. That’ll soon be changing. We’ll have the details. Recent polling is shedding more light on just how tight the margins will be in this fall’s race for the […]

Plans for high-voltage transmission lines have hit a snag after Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and his allies this morning called for a halt to the proposal. The power lines are meant to help meet growing energy demand in West Texas, but the plan faced fierce opposition this week at a public hearing at the state capitol. […]

A ban on Delta-8 products takes effect tomorrow and Austin police say possessing certain products could now be a felony. We’ll explain why the law is changing, what it means for consumers and how local businesses are preparing. One new affordable housing development in East Austin is moving forward with just one parking space. It’s […]

Activists are demanding that Travis County District Attorney José Garza prosecute three Austin police officers who fatally shot a 17-year-old last week. We’ll have more on that. Midland ISD in West Texas announced it would be suing the state over the recapture school finance system also known as Robin Hood. Will Austin ISD follow? Plus, data centers are popping […]

There’s the possibility of a CapMetro strike shutting down virtually all fixed-route bus service in Austin, but how much control does the agency have over negotiations? Texas is banning Delta-8 THC and a broad class of similar cannabis compounds starting Friday. These products have been sold for years in Texas. More about what’s set to take effect. The […]

Extended Interview: UT Austin professor Chaar López, a scholar on border surveillance, was denied tenure without a stated reason, despite positive reviews and recommendations. He talks about what this means for his future, and the chilling effect it has had on faculty across the country. At the core of the conversation, the loss of academic […]

UT Austin professor Chaar López, a scholar on border surveillance, was denied tenure without a stated reason, despite positive reviews and recommendations. What this means for his future, and what experts have to say about his case. Tiny Sounds Collective is supporting independent bands by booking all-ages shows in nontraditional spaces. The idea is built […]

More than 12,000 homes and apartments, along with millions of square feet in office, retail and industrial space, could be coming to a large undeveloped piece of land just north of the Austin airport. We’ll have the latest on the Dog’s Head development. Rainbow crosswalks and Black Artists Matter slogans may have been erased from […]

The Austin Independent School District plans to close another campus, Paredes Middle School, as the district faces the possibility of further state intervention. The Austin City Council has been voting in secret on certain matters related to Austin Energy, and it’s been happening longer than you might think. The revelation is tied back to this summer’s purchase of […]

We now know which Fortune 100 company is behind the Dog’s Head project in East Austin. The venture moved through the Austin City Council with some urgency this year. We’ll have more on the week’s developments. The city is also set to begin construction on a years-long major project in Northeast Austin. We’ll dig into what’s happening […]

A fifth-grade teacher in the Austin district told his students at the start of last school year that he would need to miss a day for an errand. Roberto López Falcón never made it back to those students, spending nearly 300 days in ICE detention before being released. There’s plenty of ways to have some THC in […]

The Texas Hill Country has been impacted by torrential rains and devastating flooding for the second July in a row. Climate scientists have predicted this very thing for many years now. The Austin school district has charged thousands of dollars for public information requests in the past year from parents, policy experts and journalists. Critics of the costs are […]

We’re continuing to monitor the flooding situation in the Texas Hill Country that’s killed at least two people and led to more than 200 rescues. We’ll bring you the latest and hear from a reporter out in Kerrville. Ten Austin ISD schools are shuttered for good as part of the district’s plan to deal with a budget […]

Floodwaters rose overnight in the Texas Hill Country, killing at least one person. We have the latest updates from the scene in Kerr County and speak with Travis County Judge Andy Brown about response operations locally. Central Texans have plenty of questions about data centers and their future in the region. But how much do […]

The onslaught of rain across Central Texas and other swaths of the state this week brings reminders of last summer’s floods. More than 100 people died, including nine people in the Sandy Creek neighborhood, where over 100 homes were damaged or destroyed. More about their community’s resilience in the face of tragedy. Olamaie, one of the […]

Nearly all of CapMetro’s fixed-route bus service could shut down if its workers strike. And 99.5% of workers voted in favor of that strike. Negotiators return to the bargaining table today. The recent national outbreak of cyclospora is raising concerns and questions. Austin Public Health says it’s not a major local concern — yet. A new […]

Austinites gathered over the weekend to mourn Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, the man fatally shot last week by an immigration officer in Houston. We have new details about the June plane crash that killed Austin tech entrepreneur Joshua Baer. An update from the National Transportation Safety Board details how pilots noticed an “unusual vibration” early in the […]

The Taylor City Council was set to consider a citizen-led initiative to temporarily ban data centers, but 15 minutes into its meeting on Thursday night, the city released a statement that state law would not allow the effort. The City of Austin is releasing details on its proposed budget for the next fiscal year as it […]

Data center construction is booming in Texas, and though proponents say the industry stands to bring billions of dollars to the state’s economy, their rapid growth is under scrutiny from all sides of the political spectrum. The Austin Community College Board of Trustees has approved a budget for the 2027 fiscal year that continues free a […]

For Austinites experiencing homelessness in the northern half of the city, accessing food, shelter or even a shower can mean taking the bus to downtown, or even South Austin. But a new center opening this summer will bring those services closer to many folks. A group of activists gathered outside the Travis County Administrative building […]

Two street murals in Austin were paved over last week at the behest of state leaders who’d threatened to pull federal transportation funds if the city didn’t act. How much will it cost? And what street art remains? High prices for beef aren’t being driven by the New World Screwworm — at least, not yet. The […]

School’s out for the summer, but when Austin ISD students return in the fall, they’ll be navigating some big changes in how they get to school. KUT’s education reporter Greta Díaz González Vázquez will help get us up to speed. It’s been one year since deadly floods tore through the Texas Hill Country. Residents of […]

A year after catastrophic flooding in Texas, the Sandy Creek neighborhood in northwest Travis County is still deep in recovery mode. We’ll tell you about a nonprofit that’s lending a hand. How Central Texans are mobilizing to help after Venezuela was rocked by devastating earthquakes. This week in Texas Music History: 1985 Austin punk music festival gets grungy […]

The podcast “After The Flood” is marking one year since deadly flooding ravaged parts of Central Texas and the Hill Country. This area is often called Flash Flood Alley because of how frequently it’s affected by fast, accumulating waters. Today we’ll hear about another deadly flood that happened almost 50 summers ago. Also, evidence-tampering charges […]

The Austin school district is postponing most of its school boundary realignment changes for an additional year. It’s not the first time the district has tried realigning attendance zones, and it’s not the first time the plan has been pushed back. As we approach one year since deadly floods ravaged the Texas Hill Country, the […]

After the firing of KUT and KUTX General Manager Debbie Hiott by UT Austin leadership, listeners and financial supporters of the stations have wondered about the organization’s relationship with the university and whether that relationship should continue going forward. How is the tight battle for the U.S. Senate seat in Texas affecting races down the […]