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

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Six new murals added to South Congress

The permanent installations are on display now.

News

Austin loves electrolyte powders, but doctors say they don't work

Doctors say drinking electrolyte supplements instead of plain water is a waste of money.

Business

Complaints mount as robotaxis roll through Austin streets

There are 125 autonomous vehicles on Austin's streets.

How Austin leaders are grappling with the heat

The city has launched cooling centers, misting areas and cool pavement technology.

Climate

Texas leads the nation in book ban attempts, per report

There were 93 attempts to restrict access to 2,349 book titles last year.

Education

Texas saw the most attempts to restrict or ban books of any state in the country in 2022, according to a new report from the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="American Library Association" data-vars-click-url="https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/by-the-numbers" data-vars-content-id="6d780c6e-06da-4ee6-a54c-b9cfb4cf8194" data-vars-headline="Texas leads the nation in book ban attempts, per report" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/by-the-numbers" target="_blank">American Library Association</a>.Driving the news: There were 93 attempts to restrict access to 2,349 book titles in Texas last year.

Illustration of a stack of books with barbed wire wrapped around them. 

Texas politics in "Red, White & Royal Blue"

In the new movie, the fate of the White House sits with Texas.

Politics

Texas politics now plays an unexpectedly major role in a popular romantic comedy.What&#x27;s happening: &quot;<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Red, White &amp; Royal Blue" data-vars-click-url="https://www.amazon.com/White-Royal-Blue-Nicholas-Galitzine/dp/B0BYST2QY1" data-vars-content-id="523cfad8-04c8-44b5-a03e-8529de8d7408" data-vars-headline="Texas politics in &quot;Red, White &amp; Royal Blue&quot;" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.amazon.com/White-Royal-Blue-Nicholas-Galitzine/dp/B0BYST2QY1" target="_blank">Red, White &amp; Royal Blue</a>&quot; is a new Amazon Prime film, based on a novel with the same title, about a budding romance between the son of the U.S. president and an English prince.

Illustration of a remote control with an Axios button.

Travis County has the highest rate of fentanyl overdoses in Texas

The DEA called fentanyl the "single deadliest drug threat our nation has ever encountered."

Health

Preliminary state data for fentanyl-related deaths show Travis County with Texas&#x27; highest rate so far in 2023: about 5.04 per 100,000 people.<ul><li>In 2022, Travis County also had the state&#x27;s highest rate at 14.45.</li></ul>

Illustration of skull-shaped pills coming out of a prescription bottle.

Austin City Council eyes legal options over new state law

It's "the most important pending legal issue we have," one councilman said.

The Austin City Council met privately with city lawyers yesterday to discuss the future of a slew of local ordinances undone by the Legislature, including rest break mandates for workers.<ul><li>A new state law dismantling many local regulations takes effect Sept. 1.</li></ul>

Legal costs in Texas book ban fight continue to rise

Axios has obtained invoice information for the outside counsel hired by a rural Texas county to defend its book ban.

The cost of protecting a book ban <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="continues to tick up in rural Llano County" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/austin/2023/04/11/llano-county-texas-considers-closing-libraries" data-vars-content-id="113c719d-957d-413c-8c1c-e8bfd98f7422" data-vars-headline="Legal costs in Texas book ban fight continue to rise" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/austin/2023/04/11/llano-county-texas-considers-closing-libraries" target="_self">continues to tick up in rural Llano County</a>, northwest of Austin, per records obtained by Axios.Catch up quick: A group of residents in Llano County sued county officials in April 2022 over what the residents described in legal briefs as a violation of First Amendment rights after the officials removed books from libraries.

Illustration of Supreme Court columns, with one replaced with a stack of quarters.

Poll: Texans not confident in grid reliability

Just 33% of Texans approve of the work the Texas Legislature is doing.

Texans aren&#x27;t too impressed by lawmakers&#x27; work in the Capitol this year, according to a new poll from the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas.By the numbers: The poll, which was conducted from June 2-11 and <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="released today," data-vars-click-url="https://texaspolitics.utexas.edu/blog/new-university-texastexas-politics-project-poll-finds-little-confidence-legislature%E2%80%99s-efforts" data-vars-content-id="9082a611-80a9-4739-a54c-64856c434541" data-vars-headline="Poll: Texans not confident in grid reliability" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://texaspolitics.utexas.edu/blog/new-university-texastexas-politics-project-poll-finds-little-confidence-legislature%E2%80%99s-efforts" target="_blank">released today,</a> found that just 33% of voters approve of the work the Texas Legislature is doing. Among the poll results:

Illustration of the Texas State Capitol with lines radiating from it.

How city BLM art and changing politics intertwine

Americans have a less favorable view of the Black Lives Matter movement — and some 2020 street signs have been paved over.

Many Black Lives Matter murals painted about three years ago on city streets have faded or vanished altogether.Why it matters: <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Cities across" data-vars-click-url="https://mayor.dc.gov/release/mayor-bowser-announces-completion-permanent-installation-black-lives-matter-plaza" data-vars-content-id="a1c0c076-b787-4465-8edd-f457af7e0b46" data-vars-headline="How city BLM art and changing politics intertwine" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://mayor.dc.gov/release/mayor-bowser-announces-completion-permanent-installation-black-lives-matter-plaza" target="_blank">Cities across</a> <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="the country" data-vars-click-url="https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/black-lives-matter-mural-painted-on-san-francisco-street/2308590/" data-vars-content-id="a1c0c076-b787-4465-8edd-f457af7e0b46" data-vars-headline="How city BLM art and changing politics intertwine" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/black-lives-matter-mural-painted-on-san-francisco-street/2308590/" target="_blank">the country</a>, including Austin, rushed to put up art following the 2020 murder of George Floyd to show support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

The Texas Legislature: What passed and what didn't

Here's what happened to some consequential bills we wrote about during the session.

It&#x27;s an old saw that the Texas legislative process is meant to kill bills, not pass them.The big picture: With the regular legislative session <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="finally over" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/dallas/2023/05/30/texas-legislature-session-ends-with-last-minute-deals" data-vars-content-id="dc481e84-d4ca-4c47-ad7c-02ad6fa89b87" data-vars-headline="The Texas Legislature: What passed and what didn&#x27;t" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/dallas/2023/05/30/texas-legislature-session-ends-with-last-minute-deals" target="_self">finally over</a>, we thought we&#x27;d circle back to consequential bills we wrote about over the past few months to see which passed — and which didn&#x27;t.

Ken Paxton's fate heads to Texas Senate

GOP senators have been mum on Paxton, citing their juror status.

The political fate of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="impeached by the Texas House" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/05/27/texas-ag-ken-paxton-impeached" data-vars-content-id="217a74a0-a93b-4fe4-ac86-8ed18d02badd" data-vars-headline="Ken Paxton&#x27;s fate heads to Texas Senate" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/05/27/texas-ag-ken-paxton-impeached" target="_self">impeached by the Texas House</a> over the weekend, is now in the hands of some of his conservative ideological allies in the Senate.The big picture: The fight among Republicans over Paxton&#x27;s future will consume state politics at least until the Senate holds a trial to determine whether he should be convicted on numerous charges of abusing his office for personal gain.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton testifying in front of a mic.

Tenure on the ropes in Texas

Texas lawmakers are poised to dismantle a hallmark of academic job protection.

Texas lawmakers are poised to dismantle tenure, a hallmark of academic job protection.Driving the news: The Texas House on Monday gave initial approval <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="to a version" data-vars-click-url="https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/88R/billtext/pdf/SB00018H.pdf#navpanes=0" data-vars-content-id="ed1dbd3e-df60-4a46-b9bd-1360de6ed706" data-vars-headline="Tenure on the ropes in Texas" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/88R/billtext/pdf/SB00018H.pdf#navpanes=0" target="_blank">to a version</a> of Senate Bill 18 that would let tenure continue — but would allow politically appointed overseers to fire faculty for reasons including &quot;professional incompetence&quot; or &quot;conduct involving moral turpitude.&quot;

Politics 🇺🇸