Preservation Austin hosts its 2026 Homes Tour this weekend, with a rich variety of architectural styles in neighborhoods across town on display.

Why it matters: It's the best chance to peek into Austin's most beautiful homes.

What's happening: This year's tour for the first time includes a home in the Montopolis neighborhood and one from the 1970s.

• Other highlights include a Travis Heights folk Victorian home from the late 1890s, a midcentury modern residence on Caswell Avenue and a 1928 European period revival residence just north of the University of Texas campus that has housed professors and deans.

What they're saying: "I feel like we should do what we can to preserve the good parts of Austin," Lori Plicque, a third-generation Austin native and the owner of a home on Crestway Drive that's included in the tour, tells Axios.

• The 1970 split-level contemporary ranch-style home was built by members of the Dacy family, originally Lebanese immigrants who ran a shoe store on Congress Avenue in the 1920s.
• Plicque tells Axios the home has special meaning for her as a Black woman because the shoe store was known for allowing Black customers to try on apparel while other stores along Congress Avenue did not.
• "They were a family with integrity that did the right thing," she says.

Between the lines: Proceeds support Preservation Austin's advocacy efforts and educational programming.

• The nonprofit has recently been pushing for some sort of accountability for developers who knocked down much of the old Cenote cafe building on East Cesar Chavez Street.
• The group has also been helping East Austin homeowners find ways to preserve their homes.

📍 If you go: Ten homes are on the tour — five each day.

• Until noon today, tickets are available online, starting at $40 per person. After noon today and day-of tickets are $55 and will be available for purchase in person at any of the homes on the tour.
• A ticket covers both days of the tour.

The bottom line: "The tour embodies all these threads of Austin that we really need to hold onto amid the city's rapid change," Lindsey Derrington, Preservation Austin's executive director, tells Axios.

The Spurs — who now play a couple home games in Austin each season — are back in the playoffs, opening their first-round series Sunday against the No. 7 seed Portland Trail Blazers at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio.

Why it matters: It's San Antonio's first postseason appearance since 2019.

State of play: The Spurs secured the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference and have home-court advantage in the best-of-seven series.

The big picture: This is the playoffs debut for Victor Wembanyama after a dominant season.

• He averaged 25 points, 11.5 rebounds and 3.1 blocks. The Spurs outscored opponents by 17 points per 100 possessions with Wembanyama on the floor, per the NBA.

Between the lines: It also marks the Spurs' first playoffs since the mid-1990s without Gregg Popovich on the sideline, putting first-year head coach Mitch Johnson in the spotlight.

• Spurs players Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, Julian Champagnie and Carter Bryant are also making their playoffs debut.

Threat level: Portland counters with breakout forward Deni Avdija, who posted career-best numbers this season.

The intrigue: The series also marks the return of Tiago Splitter — a fan favorite from the Spurs' 2014 championship team — to San Antonio, this time as the Blazers' acting head coach.

💭 Our (wishful) thought bubble: We hope one of these days the Spurs host a playoff game at the Moody Center.

What's next: Game 1 tips off at 8pm Sunday on NBC/Peacock.

💰 Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to withhold $2.5 million in public safety grants if Austin officials don't rescind new limits on cooperation with ICE. (Austin Current)

🏢 Elon Musk's xAI is reportedly subleasing all of Athenahealth's 112,000-square-foot space at downtown Austin's Seaholm Power Plant. (Austin Business Journal 🔒)

🌉 Austin needs nearly $84 million to repair aging bridges across the city, according to a new city memo. (CBS Austin)

🏫 Austin Community College bought a $131 million facility to anchor a new campus in southeast Travis County. (Austin American-Statesman)

You know the drill. Answer correctly these three questions and you might get a shoutout in our Monday newsletter — something most people just dream about.

• Just hit reply to this email.

1. Which U.S. Supreme Court justice gave a talk at the University of Texas this week?
2. Name the U.S. Senate candidate whose campaign raised more than $25 million the first quarter of this year.
3. Which former University of Texas basketball player was selected in the WNBA draft on Monday? (Hint: She played point guard. And she was awesome.)

Spring brings one of the best times to spot an otherworldly glow in the night sky.

Now is prime time in the Northern Hemisphere to see the zodiacal light — or "false dusk" — about an hour after sunset on the western horizon.

• The phenomenon is caused by sunlight reflecting off a vast cloud of dust spread through our solar system, according to EarthSky.
• Scientists had long thought the dust comes from comets and asteroid collisions — but newer research suggests some of it may come from Mars, per NASA.

Pro tip: It's easiest to see on a clear night with little moonlight, so a good opportunity is coming up with the new moon tonight.

• Head to a dark area away from Austin lights if you can. (This light pollution map offers a good guide of dark spots — the Hill Country, natch.)
• Watch for a faint triangular glow that's whitish, not pink like twilight.

The bottom line: It's not just that corner behind your bathroom door — the entire universe is dusty.