🟪 Austin City Council takes up Data Centers Today and Thursday

🟪 Paige Ellis will not run for third term after petition falls short of needed signatures (KVUE)

🟪 What to know about state takeovers as Texas wrestles with the future of Austin public schools (Texas Tribune)

🟪 Violent crime has dropped in Austin since 2024, but much slower than other Texas cities (KXAN)

🟪 BG Podcast Ep. 271: Preparing Cities for Air Taxis and eVTOLs with Austin Assistant City Manager Mike Rogers

🟪 Ken Paxton unveils anti-data-center plan as GOP voter anger mounts in Texas (Washington Post)

🟪 Court allows Trump to pursue mail voting limits, for now (New York Times)

READ ON!

Austin City Council is preparing to take its first formal step toward establishing a new regulatory framework for data centers, as the rapid growth of artificial intelligence infrastructure pushes the issue higher on the policy agenda across Central Texas.

Council is scheduled to receive a staff briefing during its Tuesday, Aug. 25 work session before considering Item 61 at its regular meeting Thursday, Aug. 27.

The proposed resolution would initiate amendments to Austin's Land Development Code and other city regulations to create specific land uses, development standards, approval processes and operating requirements for data centers… 🟪 (READ MORE)

Electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, commonly known as eVTOLs or air taxis, are moving from concept toward deployment.

Recorded on March 18, 2026, Episode 271 of The BG Podcast features our conversation with Austin Assistant City Manager Mike Rogers on a question cities increasingly need to answer: How do you prepare for a new transportation system before it arrives?

The conversation followed the March announcement that Texas had been selected for the Federal Aviation Administration’s new eVTOL Integration Pilot Program, creating an early opportunity to examine what deployment could mean for local governments.

Also, at an August 18 hearing, the Texas House Select Committee on General Aviation examined many of the same questions, including airport readiness, charging infrastructure, siting, zoning, land use, and community integration..

Listen on:

🗓️ Events we’re watching:

🏛️ Today @9AM - Austin Council Work Session // Agenda + Livestream

🏛️ City Staff Memo RE Data Centers (8.19.2026): The purpose of this memorandum is to provide recommendations to the Mayor and City Council in response to the Managing Large-Load Data Centers post on the City Council Message Board on May 15, 2026.

🏛️ Per Mayor Watson’s Office: On August 25, Austin City Council will hold a Work Session focused on data centers. On August 27, Council will have discussion and possible action related to data centers.

✅ Paige Ellis will not run for third term after petition falls short of needed signatures (KVUE)

Austin City Council Member Paige Ellis will not run for a third term to her District 8 seat after her petition to secure a place on the ballot fell short of the needed signatures.

The Austin City Council has a two-term limit and Ellis is currently serving her second term, but the city has a provision that allows council members to run for a third term if at least 5% of voters in her district sign a petition approving of her reelection campaign.

In a media release on Monday night, Ellis said her campaign had verified its petition against two voter files before submission, and internal counts showed “a healthy cushion” above the 3,044 signatures required.

“Tonight, we have been informed by the City Clerk's office that the petition fell 62 signatures short,” Ellis said. “We respect the Clerk's process and accept the result, and we'll continue to communicate with the Clerk in the coming days to understand the specifics of that gap.”

Ellis thanked volunteers and supporters who gave to the signature collection drive.

"This means my time in public service will end in January, but I couldn't be prouder of what we've built together,” she said. “On behalf of me and my entire team, it has been an honor to serve the people of Southwest Austin, and I look forward to continuing to connect with this city in new capacities, whatever those may be."… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ What to know about state takeovers as Texas wrestles with the future of Austin public schools (Texas Tribune)

district in jeopardy of severe state sanctions.

Now, Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath will decide what intervention looks like for the school district of nearly 70,000 students. Morath must either close the struggling schools or replace the locally elected school trustees and superintendent with leaders of his choosing.

The state is leading the country in its use of such takeovers. While this kind of intervention has historically been a last-resort measure, Texas leaders have used it in recent years as a tool they say will improve student learning. In many cases, it is carried out amid protest from parents.

Since 2023, seven districts — including Fort Worth and Houston — have had Morath replace their leaders… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Violent crime has dropped in Austin since 2024, but much slower than other Texas cities (KXAN)

Reported violent crime dropped in Austin in the first half of this year compared to the same time last year, but not as sharply as other cities across Texas, according to preliminary data from the Major Cities Chiefs Association.

The association tracks four categories in violent crime — homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault — using reports of cases sent to the association from 67 police departments around the country.

Austin’s mid-year numbers have continued to fall in the last two years, down to 1,992 total cases in 2026 from 2,172 cases in 2025 and 2,243 cases in 2024, largely driven by a decline in aggravated assaults, despite that category making up the bulk of cases reported this year… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ For Republicans, Dallas convention is both rally and rescue mission (Reuters)

President Donald Trump's Republican Party is increasingly viewing its first-of-a-kind midterm convention in Dallas next month as crucial to regaining momentum at a time when opinion polls show voter frustration over the economy and the Iran war, according to party officials, donors and ?convention planners. When Republicans announced the convention earlier this year, some strategists dismissed it as a distraction as campaigns entered the final stretch.

They questioned the need for a national gathering with no ?official party business. Now, after months of negative headlines tied to the war and rising living costs, party officials see the September 9-10 gathering as their best opportunity to rally voters behind Trump's agenda as Democrats mount a serious challenge to Republican control of both houses of Congress in the November 3 election. Some Republicans, however, remain skeptical it can meaningfully shift voter sentiment.

The party officials said the event offers a platform to refocus voters on Trump's tax cuts, immigration policies and other achievements. Organizers plan to spotlight Americans they ?say have benefited from those policies while portraying the Democratic Party as increasingly dominated by socialist ideas and activists, according to a source familiar with the planning. The party plans to put Trump at the ?center of the convention, a tactic some strategists warn could backfire by drawing attention to a president with a low approval rating who has repeatedly urged Americans to ?endure the economic costs of the Iran war.

Republican National Committee spokesperson Natalie Baldassarre said the convention would rally voters behind Trump's agenda, including efforts to lower drug prices, cut taxes and secure the southern border with Mexico. "President ?Trump turns out voters like no other candidate, and this convention will provide the momentum needed to expand our majorities in November," Baldassarre said in a statement. It remains unclear which congressional candidates will speak ?during the two-day event. Advisers to three campaigns in competitive districts told Reuters they had yet to be informed whether their candidates would be offered speaking slots. Reuters contacted representatives for Republican candidates in 37 competitive U.S. House races and eight closely contested U.S. Senate races to ask whether they planned to attend the convention and deliver a speech… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Ken Paxton unveils anti-data-center plan as GOP voter anger mounts in Texas (Washington Post)

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton released a “data center plan” Monday that included proposing federal legislation to block their use of Chinese technology and holding centers criminally liable if they power AI chatbots that “undermine children’s safety.”

“Texans deserve a fighter to lead and represent them as we address the growing presence of data centers in Texas and stop their negative impact on our neighborhoods,” Paxton said in a statement that avoided calling for a moratorium on the massive projects that have become increasingly unpopular among rural conservatives.

“This plan will ensure that happens while putting Texas first, protecting our culture and land, and safeguarding our families and communities,” Paxton said. “My plan will also work to ensure that data centers are not utilized to power Al platforms that endanger our children.”

Paxton — a controversial MAGA populist who won his primary runoff despite national Republicans spending millions of dollars to support incumbent Sen. John Cornyn — is locked in a competitive race with Democratic state Rep. James Talarico. Many polls show them tied; Cook Political Report rated the race a toss-up last week.

Talarico, who has called for tighter regulations on data centers but not a moratorium, responded to Paxton’s plan Monday by noting, “Paxton has taken nearly half a million dollars from the data center industry, voted to flood Texas with data centers by giving them billions in tax handouts, and has refused to use his power as attorney general to respond to Texans’ requests to block data center development in their communities.”… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Court allows Trump to pursue mail voting limits, for now (New York Times)

A divided Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Trump administration to move forward with plans to restrict mail-in voting before the midterm elections.

In an emergency opinion, the justices said President Trump could proceed with implementing an executive order he had signed, which directed the U.S. Postal Service to help decide which voters should receive mail-in ballots. Under the executive order, the Department of Homeland Security will also create lists of U.S. citizens that the administration believes could be used to monitor voter rolls for noncitizens.

The decision means the administration can move ahead with planning for restricting the use of mail ballots even as a lower court continues to weigh the legality of Mr. Trump’s executive order. But with a little more than two months until Election Day — and considerably less time before early voting begins in many states — it remains unclear whether the White House’s rules will be in effect for a midterm election in which control of both chambers is at stake. Additional legal action is a near certainty with the plan’s fate not yet final… 🟪 (READ MORE)

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