Jorge Pederson was one of the victims of the shooting on West 6th this month. When my editor asked me to write his remembrance, I did not expect to laugh when speaking with his loved. But our talks were full of laughter. It's the kind of guy he was.
www.kut.org/austin/2026-...
Interesting! Exxon has its physical headquarters in Texas. But it's been incorporated in New Jersey since 1882 and the days Standard Oil.
Company now seeks to shift its legal home to oil-friendly Texas. Says it may "reduce the risk" of future lawsuits.
finance.yahoo.com/news/exxon-e...
Austin officials hope the new rules will thread the needle between local priorities (city police shouldn't do immigration enforcement) and state law (cities cannot tell cops not to call ICE).
www.kut.org/austin/2026-...
BREAKING: Dallas police detain man outside of Ken Paxton campaign event.
Officers pulled what appeared to be ammunition for several types of weapons from a blue sedan that hotel workers said the man had been driving, according to our reporter on the scene. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/03/u...
Sen. John Cornyn's election event at the Downtown Marriott in Austin tonight is not the traditional watch party. It's a press availability. They say they're saving the party for the runoff... We're told he'll be out in a while to take some questions.
For Valentine’s Day, a story about what happens when your loved one is drifting away — and the ways we try to hold on.
(Recommend the “listen” button on this one)
www.kut.org/austin/2026-...
interesting!
Five years ago, all of us in Texas were about to learn how quickly things can fall apart when the power goes out.
www.kut.org/energy-envir...
You can read more about this investigation from the Texas and California newsrooms here. It was great to work with the California team and Mark Betancourt on this.
www.kut.org/politics/202...
On a visit to San Benito late last year, the grounds of the shelter were dotted with lawn toys. But no one was outside. A neighbor said that’s typical. “For the most part,” she said, “you just don’t see them.” 6/
In emails, the president of shelter operator Urban Strategies said the company is “committed to the care and well-being of the children we serve.” ORR said “placement decisions are guided by child welfare best practices.” Both rebuffed requests to talk or to tour the facility. 5/
They say the shelter, in San Benito, Texas is not as well equipped to care for high risk pregnancies as others. The Texas Rio Grande Valley also offers limited specialized obstetric medical care. “I feel like we’re just waiting for something terrible to happen,” a source said. 4/
Critics of the policy to concentrate pregnant minors in this one ORR shelter say it endangers the girls' health in other ways. Typically, ORR tries to place pregnant minors in shelters around the country that are best suited to meet their unique medical needs. Not so here. 3/
Currently ORR must move girls who want an abortion to states where they can get one. But the Trump administration is working to end that rule. When it does, it could leave detainees, many pregnant because of rape, stuck in Texas where there’s a near total abortion ban. 2/
NEW: The Office of Refugee Resettlement has a new policy of concentrating pregnant minors in its custody into one single South Texas shelter. The move comes over the objections of some even within the agency, who say it’s about denying abortion access. 1/
www.kut.org/politics/202...
A divide has been growing in progressive Austin over how aggresively city leaders should resist the ICE surge in Texas. That disagreement erupted into raucous protest at a meeting with the police chief and city council members on Thursday.
www.kut.org/crime-justic...
Update on Austin police’s ICE cooperation:
At a protest outside city hall this week, council members told @mosebuchele.bsky.social they could not guarantee APD officers wouldn’t call ICE on undocumented people they encounter.
APD to release new guidelines soon. kutkutx.studio/austin-signa...
Cleared off and gently opened our Austin Water hook up in case of a worst case scenario in freeze -always try to cut water at the residential valve first in event of burst pipes- city meter was swarming with what I think are Crazy Ants? Probably not great for new smart meters.
There is much more to this story that we get into it in our most recent article. There's also more to come.
Check it out our reporting here:
www.kut.org/crime-justic...
Austin Chief Lisa Davis says APD has heard reports of street kidnappings, to find out after the fact it was ICE doing it.
This changes the way local police would repond, it also raises the potential for a dangerous misunderstanding between ICE and local police...
5/
But that does not seem to explain the whole thing. The Harris County Sheriff, for example, does not have the formal 287(g) partnership with ICE that some others do, but still appears to get informed.
Regardless, the lack of communication is a concerns for some police...
4/
Other local agencies suggested that they stay in close contact, but would not get into specifics.
Part of the reason? Different local police have different relationships with the Trump immigration crackdown.
Some want to keep ICE at arms length, others work enthusiastically with ICE. But...
3/
In Austin, for example, APD is not told if a big sweep is planned, our Travis County Sheriff's Office says they get no heads up either.
But other places are told. The Harris County Sheriff's Office says they are informed of big ICE operations for "situational awareness."
2/
We were looking at some of the ways local and state law enforcement works, and does not work, with ICE and something interesting came up.
The feds appear to alert some local police forces to impending raids, but not others.
1/
www.kut.org/crime-justic...
"John Jones was out of options and low on cash."
So starts this exceptionally well written piece by @England_Weber on the heinous crime that haunted Austin, and brought decades of grief, trauma and wrongful incarceration.
Read it, even if you already know the story.
www.kut.org/crime-justic...
City of Taylor Econ. Development Corp. sold land that was "to be held in trust for future use as parkland" to a data center developer.
Deed restriction is from 1999, not so long ago.
Neighbors outraged. City not commenting. Interesting story from Kailey Hunt!
www.kut.org/energy-envir...
I had the same thought.
Notable comment from head of Austin Resource Recovery in recent city audit.
He says only 65% landfill diversion rate is acheivable "Even with perfect recycling behavior."
City goal is 90 percent.
www.austintexas.gov/sites/defaul...
Austinite Corey Pudhorodsky is about halfway into a 50 hour stay on the Texas state capitol grounds, sharing 50 facts about climate change.
He's doing it for his 50th birthday!
First Monarch I've seen in Austin since early summer.
