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October 21, 2025

✅ Today's BG Reads include:

🟪 Early voting has started for the Nov. 4 election. Here's what to know for the Austin area. (KUT)

🟪 Austin voters weigh Proposition Q, city tax rate election measure (Community Impact)

🟪 SB 840 Informational Session - Today @1PM (City of Austin)

🟪 City of Austin launches homeless encampment surge Monday (KXAN)

🟪 CapMetro approves sweeping plan to reshape Austin's public transit network (KUT)

🟪 Austin to host new PGA Tour event starting in 2026 (KXAN)

🟪  State Fair of Texas sees decrease of nearly 400K in total attendance (Houston Chronicle)

🟪 UT Austin professor dismissed from administrative duties for 'ideological differences' (KUT)

🟪 Universities give cold shoulder to Trump compact offer (The Hill)

🟪 Nearly 3 weeks in, White House and GOP remain aligned on shutdown (Politico)

READ ON!

[CITY OF AUSTIN]

🏛️ SB 840 Informational Session - Today @1PM

• As of September 2025, Senate Bill 840 (SB 840) is now in effect, allowing mixed-use and multifamily residential development in any commercial zone or within any commercial use building in Austin.

• To help clarify how this new law is being applied and what it means for local development, we are hosting an informational session on how SB 840 fits into the development process.

• Register for this session today on Zoom.  

🏛️ City Manager Executives and Advisors Staff Visual Chart

🏛️ City of Austin Org Chart (as of July 2025)

💰 2026 City of Austin Bond - Public Input

ℹ️ 2025 Essential Resources for Navigating the City of Austin

[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]

✅ Early voting has started for the Nov. 4 election. Here's what to know for the Austin area. (KUT)

Voters across the Austin area will decide on funding for city services, some mayoral and city council races, and — along with the rest of the state — changes to the Texas Constitution.

Here's what you need to know about when, where and how to vote.

Austinites will get to vote on Proposition Q, a proposed tax rate increase funding a variety of city programs that has faced controversy and a lawsuit in the months leading up to the election.

Voters will also get to weigh in on 17 constitutional amendments that cover property taxes, bail, water infrastructure, dementia research funding and more. Here's our guide to the proposed amendments and how they would affect the state.

KUT has put together voter guides for Travis and Williamson counties with more detailed information and links to sample ballots:

• Travis County voter guide

• Williamson County voter guide

🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Austin voters weigh Proposition Q, city tax rate election measure (Community Impact)

Early voting is now underway, and Austinites can weigh in on the city's Proposition Q, a ballot measure to approve a 20% tax rate increase, ahead of the Nov. 4 election.

Under state law, Texas cities can only increase their tax revenue from the same properties by 3.5% year over year without seeking voter approval. Austin City Council passed a $6.34 billion fiscal year 2025-26 budget backed by a higher tax rate that goes beyond that limit, requiring a local tax rate election, or TRE.

If voters support Proposition Q, Austin's budget and tax rate of $0.574017 per $100 of property value will stand. If it's rejected, the council will have to finalize a reduced budget with the lower tax rate of $0.524017 per $100 valuation—the highest allowed under the voter-approval cap—and will have discretion over which spending items to cut "as it determines necessary." Either way, the rate will rise from last year's $0.4776 per $100 valuation… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ City of Austin launches homeless encampment surge Monday (KXAN)

d to last for roughly three weeks, according to a memo from Director of Austin Homeless Strategies and Operations David Gray.

According to another memo obtained by KXAN regarding results from the first day of that surge, the city cleaned up 46 encampments and visited 29 more for outreach Monday.

“Most people agreed to leave voluntarily, and staff connected several people to shelter and/or additional services. One person received life-saving CPR from an APD team. Two arrests were made: one for criminal trespass and resisting arrest, and one for a drug-related charge,” that memo said.

Gray said the city is doing this now to get people out of risky spaces ahead of the fall and winter, which can have more severe and dangerous weather conditions. The city is also concerned about heightened fire danger right now… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ CapMetro approves sweeping plan to reshape Austin's public transit network (KUT)

Capital Metro's board of directors voted Monday to overhaul nearly every bus and rail line in the region as part of a decade-long blueprint known as Transit Plan 2035. It's the biggest shuffling of the transit system since a controversial 2018 change known as "Cap Remap." But it won't happen overnight, and not everyone is on board.

Transit Plan 2035 is meant to deliver on delayed Project Connect promises and prepare the system for a light-rail line scheduled to open in 2033.

Over the next decade, CapMetro will shrink its bus network from 61 to 55 routes and run those remaining lines more frequently and later into the night while adding more east-west connections.

"What excites me the most and what quite frankly I'm most proud of is that we've found a way to improve our services without having more money," CEO Dottie Watkins told the board before the vote. "This plan demonstrates fiscal responsibility while still expanding opportunity."… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Austin to host new PGA Tour event starting in 2026 (KXAN)

The PGA Tour is returning to Austin in 2026 for a new fall tournament called the Good Good Championship. The tournament is set for Nov. 9-Nov. 15, 2026, at Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa’s Fazio Canyons Course, according to Monday’s press release.

This will be Austin’s first PGA event in three years after the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play was removed from the schedule following the 2023 tournament.

Good Good, which is the tournament title sponsor, is a popular golf influencer and media company. The release said Good Good and the PGA Tour have a multi-year agreement.

“The PGA TOUR is proud to return to the great City of Austin for the first time since 2023 for the Good Good Championship, an exciting new event as part of the FedExCup Fall,” said Tyler Dennis, PGA TOUR Chief Competitions Officer. “We are pleased to partner with Good Good Golf and Omni Hotels & Resorts on this unique event as the PGA TOUR further connects and engages with our game’s younger fans.”… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ UT Austin professor dismissed from administrative duties for 'ideological differences' (KUT)

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott confirmed Sunday that UT Austin professor Art Markman has been dismissed from his administrative role as senior vice provost for academic affairs because of “ideological differences.”

Markman shared the news of his dismissal in a social media post Wednesday. He has worked for UT Austin for 27 years as a psychology professor and had been part of UT Austin's provost's office since 2021. He is also the co-host of the Two Guys on Your Head podcast which airs on KUT News.

Gov. Abbott said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that "Texas is targeting professors who are more focused on pushing leftist ideologies rather than preparing students to lead our nation."

The move comes after Texas State professor Tom Alter was fired for talking at an online socialist conference. Texas A&M professor Melissa McCoul's employment was also terminated earlier this year after a video of her discussing gender identities with a student went viral… 🟪 (READ MORE)

[TEXAS/US NEWS]

✅ Texas State Technical College looks to voters to fund upgrades for old buildings and tools (Texas Tribune)

If voters approve Proposition 1, the state would take $850 million out of the general revenue fund and put it into the Texas Institution Infrastructure Fund. The comptroller’s office would funnel some of those dollars into a new Workforce Education Fund for the technical college to access… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Texas school districts scramble to train teachers on AI use (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

In Texas and across the country, a growing number of teachers and students say they use AI tools in the classroom, new research suggests — but in many districts, training and guidance hasn’t kept up. In a national survey released last month, a majority of Texas teachers said they used AI tools in math instruction at least a few times during the 2024-25 school year. But more than one in five teachers said their districts hadn’t provided professional development on how to use those tools. But as AI becomes a more common feature of everyday life, North Texas school leaders are figuring out how to incorporate those tools into classrooms without watering down instruction or jeopardizing student privacy.

“We owe our students, and we owe the professionals that work in our system the opportunities to be exposed to and learn to use these tools well and responsibly,” said Steve Simpson, director of technology integration and innovation for the Arlington Independent School District. According to the RAND Corporation’s 2025 American Mathematics Educator Survey, 52% of Texas teachers said they had used AI tools at least once for math instruction during the 2024-25 school year. Of those who said they used those tools, the largest share said they used them only sporadically, less than once per quarter.

Nationwide, the majority of teachers still say they never use AI in the classroom. But that majority is shrinking quickly, according to the RAND survey. The percentage of teachers who said they’d never used AI in math instruction shrank from 82% during the 2023-24 school year to 56% last year. But both in Texas and nationwide, more than 20% of teachers said they hadn’t received training to help them use the education technology tools their districts had provided them with… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ State Fair of Texas sees decrease of nearly 400K in total attendance (Houston Chronicle)

The State Fair of Texas wrapped up this weekend, and social media comments about lighter crowds than usual were reflected in the in the final attendance number, Around 2 million people attended the event this year, according to a news release. This comes after the State Fair of Texas reported 2,385,855 people attended the event in 2024. An exact count was not reported, but this could be the least attended State Fair since 2018 when 2,049,118 people attended. Since the 2020 cancelation of the fair due to COVID-19, the lowest official attendance has been 2,202,689 in 2021.

The State Fair opened Sept. 26 this year before having its final day Sunday. The Dallas Morning News reported on the online discussion about low attendance this year earlier this month, writing that people involved with the fair said the beginning of the festival is always the slowest. “The fair is not empty,” State Fair spokesperson Karissa Condoianis said, according to the Dallas Morning News.

“There are plenty of people here. People are coming to the fair. So I would say don’t always believe what you see.” A few days after the story ran, about 193,000 people attended the fair on the Saturday of the Red River Rivalry game between Texas and Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl. That was the first time since 2018 under 200,000 people attended the fair on game day… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Nearly 3 weeks in, White House and GOP remain aligned on shutdown (Politico)

The White House feels as confident about the shutdown on day 19 as it was on day one– in part because congressional Republicans have, for the most part, remained largely in line. “There’s no discussions at all at the rank-and-file level, and what is there even for Republicans to be skittish about?” said a Senate GOP aide granted anonymity to discuss the dynamics between the White House and Congress.

Even as 89 percent of Americans surveyed said they believe the shutdown is at least a “minor problem,” and 54 percent say it is a “major problem,” both parties are held responsible, giving neither party a reason to cave. “The House did its job,” Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.” “We passed the clean resolution. The continuing resolution, we keep the lights on, keep the government working for the people. … Democrats have voted 11 times, except for three Democrats in the Senate, voted 11 times to shut down the government.”

The confidence and cohesion from Republicans on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue – and a similar confidence among Democrats – augurs no quick end to what is approaching one of the longest shutdowns in history. Republicans are pushing a continuing resolution, which would open the government at current budget levels. Democrats want a deal to extend health care subsidies due to expire at the end of the year before agreeing to provide the votes needed in the Senate to reopen the government. “The longer the shutdown goes on, the more the Democrats’ position deteriorates in public polling,” a White House official, granted anonymity to discuss the president’s position, said in a statement.

“The Administration has been consistent from day one: keep the government open with the same proposal Democrats supported just 6 months ago and 13 times under the Biden Administration. We won’t negotiate on policy while the American people are held hostage. Our position has not changed … nor will it.” And that’s just fine with congressional Republicans… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Trump claims ‘unquestioned power’ to deploy troops to San Francisco under Insurrection Act (San Francisco Chronicle)

President Donald Trump said he has “unquestioned power” to deploy the National Guard and reaffirmed that San Francisco will be the next city to face federal intervention. In an interview that aired Sunday on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” Trump floated invoking the Insurrection Act — a centuries-old law that allows presidents to deploy troops on U.S. soil.

“Don’t forget I can use the Insurrection Act,” he said. “Fifty percent of the presidents almost have used that. And that’s unquestioned power. I choose not to, but I’m met constantly by fake politicians, politicians that think that they — you know, it’s not a part of the radical left movement to have safety. … These cities have to be safe.” Only about one-fourth of presidents have invoked the act.

Trump told host Maria Bartiromo that San Francisco is “next,” setting up another potential showdown with Democratic leaders over presidential authority and local control. “The difference is, I think they want us in San Francisco,” he said. “San Francisco was truly one of the great cities of the world. And then, 15 years ago, it went wrong. It went woke.” Trump has already deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles, Memphis, Chicago and Washington, D.C. After a trial in federal court, a judge ruled that the Los Angeles deployment violated the law because troops acted as police, a violation of the Posse Comitatus Act. Federal judges have also blocked his attempt to send troops to Portland, Ore. Gov. Gavin Newsom was quick to fire back on Sunday. Fact check: Nobody wants you here,” he wrote on X. “

You will ruin one of America’s greatest cities.” Trump’s comments came amid a separate legal battle over his administration’s attempt to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago. A federal judge temporarily blocked that move, ruling there was no evidence of a “danger of rebellion.” The White House has appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that the decision “impinges on the president’s authority.”… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Universities give cold shoulder to Trump compact offer (The Hill)

President Trump’s college compact offer has fallen flat.

As of Monday’s deadline to get back to the administration, at least six prominent universities have publicly rejected the deal, which offers favorable federal funding status in exchange for institutional changes, while none have accepted it. The general theme of the rejections has centered on the schools’ beliefs the demands violated academic freedoms and their values. 

Experts say they don’t expect any universities to take the deal, though they are doubtful this will be the last pressure attempt from Trump, who has repeatedly targeted the finances and standing of colleges that defy him. 

“I think they did underestimate the resistance that they would get and the willingness of institutions across the country to stand together in support of our core values,” said Lynn Pasquerella, president of the American Association of Colleges and Universities. 

So far, most of the original nine universities that were offered the compact have rejected it: the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Brown University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California, the University of Virginia (UVA), the University of Arizona and Dartmouth College.

Vanderbilt University Chancellor Daniel Diermeier said his school has provided feedback on the deal without officially saying yes or no.

“Last Friday, Vanderbilt participated in a discussion with members of the administration and other university leaders about shaping a productive process for providing such comments. We expect to share our input with the administration through that process,” the statement reads.

The University of Texas at Austin has not yet issued a public response. It is possible UT could try to walk the line of agreeing to some of the deal’s principles without actually signing on… 🟪 (READ MORE)

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