The lesson we're sending to kids is really unmistakable: driving is the primary, preferred way of getting around. Walking, biking, and playing exist in the margins.

Photo of I35 being dismantled over the hike and bike trail near Town Lake

It’s fleeting but what a beautiful sight seeing a part of the interstate infrastructure coming down.

Just 11 more lanes to go on I35, TxDOT!

Will dems issue dept of war “rebate checks” after stopping the war in the midterms?
Works out to $64 per person so far. Greater efficiencies possible by further scaling down arms purchases.

At least a delay on demo buys time to put a spotlight on the builder and maybe help nudge them towards a duplex/triplex

Landmarking seems like a step too far since we don’t want housing encased in amber. The problem is more bulldozing two affordable units and replacing with a single villa style home that seems wrong.

Maybe we add a fee when spec builders do this kind of conversion?

It hurt when I saw this duplex demolished on Monroe. Maybe there’s a way to catalog this type of housing and notify residents to register opposition when they come up for demolition.

services.austintexas.gov/edims/docume...

If only Travis Heights would push back like Brooklyn Heights

Parker for mayor

We traded this for the drop-off line and for the life of me I will never understand why

UT San Antonio researchers tackle the issue of urban heat islands with AI The research project is focused on how to cool off people’s homes as efficiently as possible.

“The perfect analogy to this is cooking barbacoa. You heat up stones and you dig the hole and put the stuff in, and then the barbacoa gets cooked overnight with just the heating of the stones. … The same thing is happening to our city."

Historically natural gas was seen as a byproduct of oil extraction, and vented into the air or flared. It’s still a major issue.

An export market means new processing, connections, and pipeline infrastructure. Gas is so abundant that production will likely continue outrunning a rise in exports.

Why some parents are ditching minivans for cargo bikes Many parents are now are forgoing minivans for greener alternatives: cargo bikes. They have been around for decades, but the advent of the electric bike motor has made them much more popular.

Pretty cool to hear a story on NPR this morning about the rise of cargo bikes among parents.

Well worth a listen!

www.npr.org/2025/10/18/n...

Austin, TX. The lands of the lizards.

It’s past time AISD and Del Valle ISD evaluate merging or at least marking a clearer boundary.

We’re seeing a lot of backlash to school closures in Austin since they form the heartbeat of every neighborhood.

But when the school zoning for east Riverside/Oltorf is a patchwork like this, how do those schools establish themselves in a neighborhood in the first place?

Time for Austin ISD to withhold the almost $1B in annual education recapture funds sent to the state

If anyone is wondering why the Texas Eagle is often late, this Goliath slowly moseyed through Dallas’ Union Station for at least 15 minutes.

Freight is an essential way to move goods, but I sure wish we could had more passing track along freight lines shared by passenger rail.

Embarrassing. It’s a sign of the times we endure.

A guide to local station ownership in Austin.

Nexstar: NBC KXAN-TV, MyNetworkTV KBVO-CD, and operates KNVA (The CW). They’re taking over Tegna, which owns KVUE (ABC).

Sinclair: KEYE-TV (CBS). Fox Television Stations owns KTBC-TV (Fox).

KLRU Austin PBS: locally owned by old hippies and millennials

The fascists have no idea how much will be lost if we lose the state’s competitive research universities. They really think the growth of the last 25 years came from a low franchise tax and handing out homestead exemptions every few years.

I’d be curious what percentage of the car fleet could be cut entirely in favor of e-bikes.

Texas is truly a wonderland for small lizards

amtrak’s marketing team gets it

Man this reminds me, I need to find a good Italian cookie joint

"Big Beautiful Bill" House GOP Tax Plan: Preliminary Details and Analysis Our preliminary analysis finds the tax provisions increase long-run GDP by 0.8 percent and reduce federal tax revenue by $4.0 trillion from 2025 through 2034 on a conventional basis before added inter...

The auto financing interest deduction is flying under the radar in the budget reconciliation bill.

That’s a big subsidy incentivizing inflated car loans.

taxfoundation.org/research/all...

Today I’m live from Klyde Warren park as the Austin City Council is poised to vote on caps of our own over 35.

Biggest difference I can tell is that Klyde Warren has some parallel parking to slow street traffic.

All Austin municipal courses use reclaimed water

I can’t attest to Houston but I’ve found Dallas is excellent

Glad I’m not the only one