Woo-hoo, it's Friday!

🎂 Happy early birthday to our member Margaret Hanks!

📣 Mark your calendars: We're hosting a conversation with some special guests at the Watershed, by West 11th and North Lamar, at 5:30pm Thursday to talk about the election and the future of Texas politics.

• RSVP to this free event here.

💊 Situational awareness: Democratic Attorney General-elect Nathan Johnson told the Texas Tribune he won't sue out-of-state doctors who mail abortion pills to Texas, a departure from outgoing AG Ken Paxton.

Today’s newsletter is 1,043 words — a 4-minute read.

Gov. Elect-Gina Hinojosa signaled yesterday that public education would be a priority for her administration, announcing a transition team that includes an anti-voucher Republican former state lawmaker and a former school board colleague.

Why it matters: The selections offer an early glimpse of how Hinojosa, a four-term Democratic state legislator from Austin, hopes to govern.

• Democrats won a majority of the Texas House but not the Senate.

Driving the news: Hinojosa unveiled the first members of her transition team during a press conference at the University of Texas' LBJ School, where she confirmed that her team is interviewing candidates to replace Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath.

• Hinojosa pledged during her campaign to fire Morath, who was appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott in 2015 and oversees the Texas Education Agency, including the state's school accountability system and interventions in struggling districts.

Friction point: Hinojosa's choice for education commissioner would need confirmation from the Republican-controlled Senate, and some Republicans have reportedly discussed efforts to limit the powers of the incoming governor and lieutenant governor.

• Asked about those efforts yesterday, Hinojosa urged lawmakers to respect the election results.
• "The people of Texas have spoken," she told reporters.
• "They want change, and I would hope that elected leaders from both parties don't get in the way of the progress we can make together to deliver for working people."

Zoom in: Her initial transition team includes leaders with Austin ties.

• Tamala Barksdale served alongside Hinojosa on Austin ISD's school board more than a decade ago.
• Labor leader Ryan Pollock is the Austin-based executive director of the Texas Building and Construction Trades Council.

The intrigue: Former state Rep. Ernest Bailes, a Republican who represented parts of East Texas, is also part of the team.

• Bailes opposed Gov. Greg Abbott's school voucher proposal in 2023 and later lost his Republican primary the next year to an Abbott-backed challenger.

What's next: Hinojosa said additional transition team appointments will be announced later as she prepares to take office in January.

Read the rest

Austin FC plays its last game of 2026 tomorrow, but the season ended a long time ago.

Why it matters: After being eliminated from playoff contention last month, Austin FC has been featuring younger players with an eye to the next campaign.

• After some October blowouts, fans are also looking ahead.

Catch up quick: Former two-time MLS coach of the year Jim Curtin was hired in June to take the helm, but he doesn't start until December.

State of play: The Verde and Black are guaranteed to finish second to last in the Western Conference — the team's worst-ever finish in six seasons.

• Perhaps the lone bright spot: 18-year-old Ervin Torres, a midfielder from Laredo who worked his way up from Austin FC Academy to become a regular starter.

State of play: The roster has been cleared of a few expensive players, so expect sporting director Khaled El-Ahmad to sign newcomers in the offseason.

The latest: This week, the team acquired Finnish midfielder Eze Onuoha, who turns 18 next month.

Between the lines: Team owners opened their wallets for several forwards in the last couple of years, but none of them panned out as hoped.

• Going into Saturday's match against Portland, the Verde and Black are tied for the third fewest goals scored in MLS this season.

What we're watching: Whether ownership says goodbye to high-dollar players who haven't met their potential to make way for a true overhaul.

🛻 Tesla will cease production of the Cybertruck next year at its Austin gigafactory amid slow sales. (TechCrunch)

📓 The State Board of Education, whose members determine school curricula and approve textbooks, has flipped to Democratic hands, per unofficial results. (Texas Tribune)

🏗️ Foundations have been poured and framing is underway for Urth Caffé on East Cesar Chavez. (Historic Landmark Commission briefing document)

• Construction had been halted in March after a developer demolished nearly all of a 19th century East Austin building at the former Cenote site.

🚧 Bungalows at the intersection of West Sixth Street and Oakland Avenue (just east of West Lynn Street) have been rezoned to allow more restaurant and retail development. (The Austin Business Journal 🔒)

Now, time for some very important news.

Luna is Austin's most popular dog and cat name, per new data from pet-care services company Rover.

Yes, but: Some quirkier choices are gaining ground.

🐾 What's trending: Miller was our fastest-rising dog name, jumping 1,028% from last year.

• Kimchi and Pancake were the fastest-growing cat names, soaring 632%.

Zoom in: Austin touchstones are showing up in our pet names — Willie and Nelson are trending as names. Moody, Rainey, Dell, Oracle and Stubbs all made the list.

Caveat: These trends reflect pets in Rover's database, not all pets in Austin.

The bottom line: Call for Luna in a dog park and several confused canines might come running.

Life has been newsy lately, and now's the time to show your smarts.

Take our weekly news quiz — just click that link — to see if you can clear our news hurdles.

• All questions are drawn from our newsletters this week.

📬 Reply to this email or write us at [email protected] with a screenshot of your perfect score for a chance at a shoutout next week!

We're rounding out this busy election week with a bonus contest.

• What's a good caption for this photo? Funny answers only, please.

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Thanks to Bob Gee for editing this newsletter.

🍂 Asher is just now realizing that there are indeed a lot of leaves that need raking.

😊 Nicole is wishing her sweetie a happy birthday.