1 big scoop: Texas' lukewarm environmental justice effort

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2. Startup Ferry expands EV leasing to Austin

3. 🤠 The Roundup: Wrangling the news

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New jobs to check out

4. Crypto returns to Austin 

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5. 📫 We asked, you answered

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☀️ Today's weather: Sunny and hot, with a high of 97.

The whole week is shaping up as a scorcher, with temps at or around triple digits.

The state power grid operator asked Texans to conserve power over the weekend after six power plants went offline, the latest test of the state's grid resilience.

Today's newsletter is 933 words — a 3.5-minute read.

🍿 Asher is rewatching "Office Space." And, no, he doesn't have a bad case of the Mondays.

😵‍💫 Nicole drove back from North Texas at 6am. Please do not disturb.

Austin

A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting Austin. Written by Nicole Cobler and Asher Price.

Axios Austin

1 big thing: The coming storm of Texas "censorship" lawsuits

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2. Austin housing market remains competitive

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4. Reporting out ATX's good news

5. 🛍 1 secondhand shopping chart to go

☀️ Today's weather: Mostly sunny with a high of 99.

🌸 Sounds like: "Washington, D.C.," by the Magnetic Fields.

Nicole is up in Washington for an Axios retreat while Asher sweats it out down here, keeping watch from the Austin ramparts.

🎧 How It Happened: "Putin's Invasion Part V: The fight for the Donbas" is out this morning with a new documentary episode examining the fight for the Donbas — the eastern borderlands of Ukraine where the most intense fighting is now happening.

This is told through the eyes of a journalist who has been covering the war there and a soldier who has been fighting there, both since 2014.

Today's newsletter is 879 words — a 3.5-minute read.

🧦 Asher's favorite thrift store is Prototype, off South Congress. 

They love his dog and they have a great section of kids' clothes from the 1970s and 1980s. 

👗 Nicole loves shopping at Buffalo Exchange on Guadalupe, where she's found secondhand dresses from great brands, hardly-worn workout clothes and an incredible pair of purple heels.

1 big thing: Power plants face summer test

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2. Lifeguard shortage delays pool openings

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Look who's hiring

4. 💉 Texas sees 30k vaccine-preventable deaths

5. Your favorite Austin snacks

Situational awareness: Austin officials are advising travelers to arrive at least 2.5 hours before boarding time for their domestic flights out of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

"As our forecasted record-breaking summer starts, we continue to experience airline counter and TSA delays," airport officials tweeted Tuesday.

Today's newsletter is 938 words — a 3.5-minute read.

🦌 Asher likes the venison peppered jerky from Hudson Meat Market, on South Congress. 

✈️ Nicole is headed to Washington, D.C.!

1 big thing: Austin's average airport wait is sub-30 minutes

2.  The wooing of a wide receiver

Jordan Addison prepares to catch a football.

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Fresh openings from the job board

4. Your weekend lineup

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5. "Field of Light" installation to shine at Wildflower Center

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6. 📸 1 abortion rights photo to go

Students protesting the potential overturning of Roe v Wade outside an Austin middle school

☀️ Today's weather: Mostly cloudy, then sunny with a high of 95. This weekend, make sure to apply sunblock early and often.

😱 Sounds like: "Friday the 13th" scary music.

🗓 Situational awareness: Former President Trump is in town tomorrow, part of his "American Freedom Tour."

The all-day event at the Austin Convention Center will feature Donald Trump Jr., former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other conservative political figures.

It's Trump's first visit to Austin since 2019, when he toured an Apple plant with CEO Tim Cook.

Today's newsletter is 918 words — a 3.5-minute read.

⚽️ Asher is looking forward to playing soccer at Zilker tomorrow — but is also wondering if he's going to melt into a puddle.

Meanwhile, he regrets that in yesterday's newsletter he referred to his wife's old high school teacher as Jim Ferguson —  it's actually Jim Furgeson. Mr. Furgeson, please don't dock any points from Rebecca's next exam because of his mistake.

🚙 Nicole is heading straight to Fort Worth after work to eat at Joe T. Garcia's with her parents.

Have a great weekend, y'all! See you back here on Monday.

1 big thing: Baby formula shortage worsens

2. The top Texas baby names of 2021

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4. Salon shooting latest anti-Asian hate crime

5. Bite club: Ng'ombe edition

6. Austin's top travel-ready snack

☀️ Today's weather: Sunny, with a high of 97. 

🎧 Sounds un-like: "Singin' in the Rain."

Today's newsletter is 913 words — a 3.5-minute read.

🐣 Asher considers himself an excellent selector of baby names and is happy to chime in if you don't want to consult yet another book.

🏃‍♀️ Nicole is headed to Morning Jo's.

❤️ Enjoy our newsletters? Show your support by becoming an Axios Austin founding member today.

Austin public pools that closed during the offseason will open later than normal this summer because of a lifeguard shortage — and some could remain shuttered indefinitely.

Why it matters: Swimming pools are a critical redoubt from the heat. 

It's only May and we've already seen record-breaking temps.

Flashback: City officials have been warning for months about how a tight labor market and the pandemic combined for a lifeguard shortage.

In March, the city limited hours at Barton Springs Pool, its crown jewel.

The pool remains shut down on Mondays and Wednesdays — in addition to its traditional closure on Thursdays — except for 5-8am. 

Now, some neighborhood pools that normally open in May won't do so until June 6 — assuming Austin recruits and hires enough lifeguards.

By the numbers: Austin has a little over 200 lifeguards ready to work — and 500 applicants so far, aquatics division manager Jodi Jay told Axios.

"To open our system fully we need 750 lifeguards."

Yes, but: "The obstacle every year around this time is getting over the end of school. We just had prom this weekend, and kiddos are finishing their semester. We're certain we will have an uptick," Jay said.

If they can get to 400 lifeguards, they can start opening some neighborhood pools, prioritizing those that offer swim lessons and swim team practices.

The impact: The city is short about 200 lifeguards from what they normally have at this point in mid-May.

If the shortage persists, Jay said, "you might see open pools not fully open."

At Bartholomew Pool, for example, in northeast Austin, "we may not have enough lifeguards to open slides and the activity pool," she said. 

Between the lines: The city is competing in a brutal labor market for workers.

Pay ranges from $16 to $19 per hour, and bonuses for the summer can reach $1,250.

Zoom out: For similar reasons, cities across the country are also facing lifeguard shortages.

The bottom line: Summer will feel a lot hotter without more lifeguards perched above Austin pools.

Lifeguard shortage delays Austin pool openings

Austin pools that normally open in May won't do so until till June — if the city gets enough lifeguards.

Lifeguard trainees jump into water to practice rescues during a lifeguard class at a pool in Austin. 

Lifeguard trainees jumped into Big Stacy Pool to practice their rescues during a lifeguard class Tuesday evening. Photo: Asher Price/Axios 

Austin public pools that closed during the offseason will open later than normal this summer because of a lifeguard shortage — and some could remain shuttered indefinitely.Why it matters: Swimming pools are a critical redoubt from the heat.

News

Things to Do

Craving something different, we recently tried The Kibanda, a new Kenyan eatery operating out of GhostLine Kitchens, which is basically a stylish commissary deluxe off East Ben White Boulevard in Southeast Austin.

There's no table service at GhostLine — instead you order at a window, or online, and your food is presented at a pick-up window. 

There are plenty of shaded picnic tables for dining.

Unexpected — and happy — marriages of flavors abound at The Kibanda. We ordered:

The rolex — a delicious Kenyan omelet stuffed with beef and cabbage, and rolled in a flaky chapati;

Smoked sausage topped with a fresh tomato and onion relish known as kachumbari; 

And, the winner, ng'ombe — a tender beef stew, served with sukuma wiki — bright-tasting collard greens.

After the meal we caught up with Eva Bundi, the cook and proprietor, who grew up in central Kenya.

Back home, a kibanda is "basically a semi-permanent place where middle class and working class go to grab a good meal that is not expensive," she said — and that's the idea behind GhostLine. "It's good food without the frills of a fine-dining restaurant."

She moved to Austin toward the end of 2020, amid the tumult of the pandemic, after stints in Seattle and South Carolina. 

"I toured Austin and fell in love with it and went back to South Carolina and moved here within a month."

The bottom line: "I realized there's no Kenyan restaurant and decided to go for it," she said.

Kenyan eatery in Austin wows

You can't go wrong with ng'ombe — a tender beef stew — and the  sukuma wiki — bright-tasting collard greens — at a new Kenyan eatery.

Food from The Kibanda — ng'ombe, top left, with collard greens and chapati; in foil, the rolex; and smoked sausage, bottom. Photo: Asher Price/Axios

Craving something different, we recently tried <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="The Kibanda" data-vars-click-url="https://direct.chownow.com/order/34115/locations/51291" data-vars-content-id="6d15d27d-c90b-476e-9b83-c391e18a3744" data-vars-headline="Kenyan eatery in Austin wows" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://direct.chownow.com/order/34115/locations/51291" target="_blank">The Kibanda</a>, a new Kenyan eatery operating out of <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="GhostLine Kitchens" data-vars-click-url="https://ghostline.kitchen/" data-vars-content-id="6d15d27d-c90b-476e-9b83-c391e18a3744" data-vars-headline="Kenyan eatery in Austin wows" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://ghostline.kitchen/" target="_blank">GhostLine Kitchens</a>, which is basically a stylish commissary deluxe off East Ben White Boulevard in Southeast Austin.<ul><li>There&#x27;s no table service at GhostLine — instead you order at a window, or online, and your food is presented at a pick-up window. </li></ul>

Food and Drink

Business

We recently asked Axios readers for Austin snacks that travel well. 

What you're saying: You guys had a lot of great suggestions... 

Nathan M. asks, "How well would Fredericksburg peaches travel to D.C.?" 

Jimmy wrote: "It has got to be pecan pie."

That reminds us of the great pecan vs. pumpkin pie throwdown y'all haggled over last November.

"I think pecans are the right pick," says Aaron D. "The kind of thing LBJ would bring."

True story — well, we're pretty sure it's true: LBJ used to fly Blue Bell up to the White House. (Robert Caro: Can you confirm that for us?)

Aaron continues: "If you want to level up, make up some Sweet and Spicy Pecans from this Stephan Pyles recipe (originally in 'New Tastes from Texas')."

Teal P. suggested the pralines from Matt's El Rancho.

Jesse S. recommends the churro strips from Austin-based Siete and the pulled-pork-and-gruyere or spinach-and-feta kolaches from Kerlins BBQ.

We're not entirely sure how well those kolaches will travel …

Ian O. endorses the churro almonds from H-E-B. 

Kandice S. recommends Tiff's Treats, macarons from La Pâtisserie and El Milagro tortilla chips. 

"What says Austin more than vegan cheese?" writes Sandra K., in a plug for delicious, decadent and homegrown Rebel Cheese.

She also suggested TexaFrance Hill Country Peach Chutney and … Tito's vodka.

Some of you recommended the longhorn-shaped chocolates at Lammes. 

And, of course, several of you suggested picking something up from your favorite travel stop, Buc-ee's. 

Your favorite Austin snacks

One reader asked: "How well would Fredericksburg peaches travel to DC?"

El Milagro chips for sale at Wheatsville Co-op

El Milagro chips for sale at Wheatsville Food Co-op. Photo: Asher Price/Axios

We recently asked Axios readers for Austin snacks that travel well. What you&#x27;re saying: You guys had a lot of great suggestions...

One year after announcing an environmental justice initiative, the state agency leading the charge has no apparent budget for the effort and has suppressed virtually any mention of the term on its website, per an Axios investigation.

Why it matters: The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has long regulated polluters with a light touch — and members of low-income communities bordering the state's industrial sites have historically had little sway at the agency.

Catch up quick: The environmental justice movement was started by individuals, primarily Black and Latino people, who sought to address the inequity of protections in their communities.

Flashback: The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality announced last April that it launched an initiative "aimed at better understanding the environmental justice concerns of Texans to help ensure that everyone enjoys the same protection from environmental and public health hazards and has equal access to the services and decision-making processes that provide for a safe place to live and work."

Yes, but: Axios asked how many personnel had been assigned to the initiative and what funds had been budgeted for it — as well as the program's goals, a list of accomplishments and an interview with the agency clerk in charge.

What they're saying: The state agency declined to make the agency clerk available for an interview.

"TCEQ has committed and continues to commit considerable time and resources to these efforts," agency spokesperson Stella Wieser told Axios via email. 

TCEQ is "evaluating budget needs" for the work, including how much to ask for from state lawmakers, Wieser said.

Zoom in: Word of the environmental justice effort peeped out in an agency blog a year ago — shortly after the state environmental agency pledged to federal authorities to improve its outreach as a way to stave off a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency investigation into alleged civil rights violations.

Texas environmental groups complained to the EPA in 2019 that the TCEQ wasn't requiring public notices in any language other than English. 

The complaint also observed the lack of interpretation services at state public meetings even when the agency was aware of the high likelihood that people who spoke languages other than English would be present — and be affected by the permit matter at hand.

The state agency's actions were generally spelled out in its pledges to the EPA.  

Pollution permit applicants will now be required to include a plain language summary and certain public notices must be translated into one other language.

Wieser also said the agency clerk has hired a full-time translator.

Meanwhile: Despite its plain-language efforts, the agency has opted to use the term "Title VI work" — referring to a portion of the federal Civil Rights Act that bars discrimination in any program that receives federal money — instead of "environmental justice."

"The term environmental justice means different things to different people and there is no federal or Texas law governing environmental justice," Wieser explained.

Between the lines: The three commissioners overseeing the agency are appointees of Gov. Greg Abbott, who vowed to fight President Biden's environmental agenda.

For years, state lawmakers have resisted calls to take matters of environmental justice into account when permitting polluters. 

Context: "The agency has always taken the position that the way it processes permits and looks at protectiveness is by looking at the fence line ... and that analysis is blind as to who is on the other side of the fence," Austin energy industry lawyer Whit Swift said on the Bracewell Environmental Law Monitor podcast last August. 

"That has kind of been the agency's answer when environmental justice issues have been raised in permit proceedings."

Zoom out: This January, the chief of the U.S. EPA announced steps to address environmental justice issues in Texas, such as expanding air monitoring programs and ramping up unannounced inspections of polluting facilities.

The bottom line: Any so-called environmental justice initiative by the Texas environmental agency is window-dressing, says Neil Carman, clean air director of the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club. 

The environmental justice initiative appears to be "a kind of fluff," he told Axios. "They've tried to show they're doing something, but they're not doing much."

Dallas

Dallas Alerts

A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting Dallas. Written by Michael Mooney and Tasha Tsiperas.

Axios Dallas

Axios Dallas Thought Bubble

Why Texas' enviro agency avoids the term "environmental justice"

The Texas environmental agency has long regulated polluters with a light touch.

One year after announcing an environmental justice initiative, the state agency leading the charge has no apparent budget for the effort and has suppressed virtually any mention of the term on its website, per an Axios investigation.Why it matters: The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="long regulated" data-vars-click-url="http://www.tpj.org/2009/01/austin-american-statesman-do-businesses.html" data-vars-content-id="cb04a9db-c900-4cd8-834c-8cef7bba92af" data-vars-headline="Why Texas&#x27; enviro agency avoids the term &quot;environmental justice&quot;" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="http://www.tpj.org/2009/01/austin-american-statesman-do-businesses.html" target="_blank">long regulated</a> polluters <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="with a light touch" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/austin/2022/04/26/air-quality-regulation-texas" data-vars-content-id="cb04a9db-c900-4cd8-834c-8cef7bba92af" data-vars-headline="Why Texas&#x27; enviro agency avoids the term &quot;environmental justice&quot;" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/austin/2022/04/26/air-quality-regulation-texas" target="_self">with a light touch</a> — and members of low-income communities bordering the state&#x27;s industrial sites have historically <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="had little sway" data-vars-click-url="https://theintercept.com/2017/08/13/exxon-mobil-is-still-pumping-toxins-into-black-community-in-texas-17-years-after-civil-rights-complaint/" data-vars-content-id="cb04a9db-c900-4cd8-834c-8cef7bba92af" data-vars-headline="Why Texas&#x27; enviro agency avoids the term &quot;environmental justice&quot;" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://theintercept.com/2017/08/13/exxon-mobil-is-still-pumping-toxins-into-black-community-in-texas-17-years-after-civil-rights-complaint/" target="_blank">had little sway</a> at the agency.

Politics

Two award-winning former Austin television journalists have recently started a new venture, aiming to share positive stories in these embattled times.

Driving the news: Judy Maggio, the beloved former anchor of KVUE, and Leslie Rhode, whose career spans Washington, D.C., Texas and Arkansas, have launched ATX Good News.

Details: Recent segments, posted on Facebook and Instagram, include:

The story of a 19-year-old Austinite studying in Berlin — and making hundreds of tacos for Ukrainian refugees.

How you can get a voucher for queso at Kerbey Lane Café if you donate blood.

A collaboration between the Home Depot Foundation and Meals on Wheels to build 20 homes in East Austin.

What they're saying: "We are all craving this type of news," Rhode told Axios. "We've been living through a health crisis if not a humanitarian crisis."

"It's almost like we're trying to cultivate compassion," Maggio said, "and remind people that even in a difficult time, at their core most human beings are kind. That rarely turns up in your social media feed."

Launched in January, ATX Good News has more than 2,000 followers on Facebook. 

Between the lines: Maggio told Axios that despite retiring from broadcast journalism twice — from KVUE and KLRU — "I missed storytelling in a huge way. That's what feeds my soul."

Rhode and Maggio said ATX Good News is not currently a money-making venture — "it's purely a passion project," Maggio says — but the team is examining revenue-generating possibilities.

The bottom line: "Despite the barrage of bad news, the world is a great place and people want to help one another," Maggio says.

New local venture reports Austin's good news

"It's almost like we're trying to cultivate compassion," former Austin TV anchor Judy Maggio said.

Judy Maggio and Leslie Rhode have launched ATX Good News. Photo courtesy Maggio/Rhode

Two award-winning former Austin television journalists have recently started a new venture, aiming to share positive stories in these embattled times.Driving the news: Judy Maggio, the beloved former anchor of KVUE, and Leslie Rhode, whose career spans Washington, D.C., Texas and Arkansas, have launched <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="ATX Good News" data-vars-click-url="https://www.facebook.com/atxgoodnewsnow/" data-vars-content-id="d13d0e3a-9937-493f-be59-fbf3a16111b0" data-vars-headline="New local venture reports Austin&#x27;s good news" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.facebook.com/atxgoodnewsnow/" target="_blank">ATX Good News</a>.

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New local venture reports Austin's good news

Lifeguard shortage delays Austin pool openings

Your favorite Austin snacks

Kenyan eatery in Austin wows

Why Texas' enviro agency avoids the term "environmental justice"

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🔥 Hot Austin housing

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Scoop: Environmental effort sputters

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