Headlines / Quote of the Week
Fri., March 5, 2021
Gambling With Our Lives: Beginning next Wednesday, March 10, Texas will lift its statewide mask mandate and other COVID-19 restrictions, per Gov. Greg Abbott's new executive order, GA-34, announced this week. Read more.
Battle of the Ballot Language: The Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered Austin City Council to modify the ballot language for the Proposition B measure to recriminalize homeslessness, one of many props voters will decide on in the May 1 special election. Allies of the group behind Prop B, Save Austin Now, sued the city to force Austin to adopt SAN's petition language, but the state Supreme Court rejected the group's request. Read more.
Did Someone Say Election? Voters will decide the fate of public camping, Austin's form of government, and ranked-choice voting in city elections, among other propositions come May 1. Find our ballot breakdown here, and follow election coverage at austinchronicle.com/election.
Remember the Ritz: Austin's homegrown dine-in movie theatre chain Alamo Drafthouse has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The nationwide chain has agreed to sell substantially all of its assets to a group of lenders and investors, which includes Drafthouse founder Tim League. Operations will continue as normal, although three theatres will shutter permanently, including the Ritz location Downtown. More online.
Austin Police Department will not release the video of the Jan. 5 fatal police shooting of Alexander Gonzales until next month, which falls outside of APD's 60-day release policy; APD cited the city's recent "weather-related closures" as reason for the delay. Video capturing the Jan. 4 non-fatal police shooting of Dylan Polinski will still be released this Friday (March 5).
The Emails of Texas: Emails sent by University of Texas at Austin alumni and donors to UT-Austin President Jay Hartzell reveal dozens of people threatened to stop financially supporting the school if university leadership didn't take a stronger stance supporting "The Eyes of Texas," according to The Texas Tribune. Students have petitioned for months for UT to do away with the song because of its racist roots.
Something in the Water: Dog owners are urged to keep their pets from playing in the lake or near the shoreline in the Hudson Bend area of Lake Travis after water samples tested positive for toxic blue-green algae, which can be fatal to dogs.
The Bills Are Coming: Friday, March 12, is the filing deadline for bills in the 87th Texas Legislature. Find legislation, livestreams, and more at capitol.texas.gov.
Quote of the Week
"Thanks bro but we ain't gonna do it till it's safe"
– @mohawkaustin in a March 2 tweet, in response to Gov. Greg Abbott’s reckless decision to lift Texas’ mask mandate, among other science-based COVID-19 restrictions
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