The Zilker Metropolitan Park Vision Plan has been shelved indefinitely, Austin Mayor Kirk Watson announced in an email to constituents Monday.

Driving the news: Shortly after three City Council members on Monday came out in opposition to the $200 million plan, Watson said it would be removed from the council's Aug. 31 agenda.

• In a joint statement, Council Members Paige Ellis (District 8), Ryan Alter (District 5) and Zo Qadri (District 9) said elements of the vision plan "seem to be flash points of irreconcilable differences."

What they're saying: "We know that the Zilker Park Vision Plan proposes many improvements that have community consensus, such as additional green space, shade trees, erosion control, and bathrooms," the Council members wrote in a statement Monday.

• "... We know the challenges Zilker Park is facing will not go away on their own, but we do not see a path forward for the Zilker Vision Plan and therefore cannot support it."

The big picture: The plan, developed by the planning agency Design Workshop under the guidance of the Austin Parks and Recreation Department, was meant to be a blueprint for the future development of the park.

• It proposed up to three parking garages in the park, along with other prospective amenities like an amphitheater, a new playground, a picnic area on the north side of the park, more bathrooms and bike paths and a possible land bridge over Barton Springs Road.

Between the lines: A vocal group of neighbors and grassroots environmental groups have lobbied city officials for months to reject the plan, and instead support the alternative Zilker rewilding plan, which calls for more trails, woodlands and water features.

• Watson has expressed his own concerns with the vision plan, and said Monday "we could all benefit from a little time and perspective."

👀 Check out who's hiring on our Job Board.

1. Data Analytics Director at NXP.
2. Project Manager at IDR.
3. Director, Learning & Development at Q2.

Want more opportunities? Check out our Job Board.

Hiring? Use code FIRST50 for $50 off your first job post.

Suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is trying to minimize the articles of impeachment against him before his state Senate trial begins next month.

Why it matters: Paxton faces 20 articles of impeachment. The trial will decide whether he should be permanently removed from office.

The latest: Paxton's defense team has filed over two dozen motions since early July, including several motions this month to reduce the charges against him.

• Court filings from July 31 ask for 19 of the 20 articles of impeachment to be dismissed, saying voters' decision to re-elect Paxton in November 2022 despite misconduct allegations "should be the end of the matter."
• His defense team, citing the Texas Government Code, has also argued that he can't be removed from office based on alleged misconduct that occurred before his current term, which started in January.
• Motions filed over the weekend divide the articles into multiple requests for dismissal, including the one article that wasn't included in the July 31 filing.

Between the lines: Both sides are currently under a wide-ranging gag order that restricts public commentary but allows them to recite information from public records "without comment."

• The Texas Tribune reports that Paxton's legal team appears to be leaning on that provision to rally support for Paxton by issuing news releases for new court filings and appearing on a Dallas radio station last week to read passages from filings made on his behalf.

What's next

Austin police will stop using "less lethal shotguns" amid new concerns about how they used the munitions on a 15-year-old unarmed girl suspected of no crime. (Austin American-Statesman)

⚡️ Texas' grid operator, ERCOT, extended its weather watch through Friday over higher temperatures and increased electrical demand. Grid conditions remain normal, officials say. (KWTX)

🚔 A suspect is in custody after a police officer was shot in southeast Austin late Sunday and taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. (KXAN)

🍗 Texas Monthly named Austin-based Briscuits, KG BBQ, Mum Foods Smokehouse and Delicatessen and Lockhart's newly opened Barbs B Q among the top 25 "new and improved" barbecue joints in the state. (Texas Monthly)

🐦 Nicole here. On Saturday evening, I went to the final Purple Martin Party of the year, an annual tradition hosted by Travis Audubon.

What's happening: On summer nights in the La Frontera shopping center parking lot, you'll find a flock of birders seated in lawn chairs, with binoculars looped around their necks.

• They spend each evening waiting for tens of thousands of purple martins to put on a show as they "swirl" into their roosting site for the night.

The big picture: Purple martins — large swallows identified by their indigo feathers and long, tapered wings — spend the summer in the Austin area before they travel to South America for winter.

• This year, the birds are summering near an abandoned Bed Bath and Beyond and Old Navy in Round Rock.

Details: My friends and I arrived around 8pm and spread blankets across the hot asphalt. We promptly bought matching hats.

• By 8:30pm, we spotted the first purple martins trickling in after a long day of work, catching insects in triple-digit temps.
• The birds arrived by the thousands, circling the parking lot and effortlessly formed tornado-like patterns overhead. We oohed and aahed and giggled when someone in the parking lot shouted "Swirl!"
• I thought about how nice it is to be a girl in a parking lot in Round Rock, with six friends in matching bird hats.

🥹 I'll admit it. The birds made me cry.

📍 If you go: The Purple Martin Parties may be over, but you still have time to enjoy the birds.

• Most purple martins leave the state by the end of September, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife.
• Bring lawn chairs, water and binoculars if you have them.

Yes, but: We all got pooped on. Now I understand why some onlookers held umbrellas over their heads.