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TOP NEWS
“Texas trial lawyer: ‘No jury in America will hold Camp Mystic responsible’,” Texas Lawbook’s Mark Curriden -- “Nationally prominent Texas plaintiff’s trial lawyer Mikal Watts, who has successfully sued some of the biggest companies in the world for wrongful death and personal injuries, is taking on his first defense client: Camp Mystic and its owners [ [link removed] ].
Watts said Monday that he is officially representing pro bono the Eastland family and the Christian girls summer camp that they have operated for decades in any potential litigation resulting from the July flooding tragedy that caused more than 115 deaths, including 27 children at Camp Mystic in Kerr County.
“I’ve spent three months conducting a thorough investigation, and I believe that facts matter,” Watts told The Texas Lawbook in an exclusive interview.
“This was a flood of biblical proportions. This was preventable only one way — by deploying Texas tax money into modern river flood surge warning devices instead of the 70-year-old technology being used in Texas.
“The sirens never went off. The warnings never came,” said Watts, who also owns property along the Guadalupe River about 12 miles from Camp Mystic.
“We, as a state, failed those families. Those girls never had a chance. There is no jury in America that will hold Camp Mystic responsible,” he said.
Watts said that no lawsuits have been filed so far naming Camp Mystic or the Eastlands as defendants. A lawsuit has been filed by the family of Jayda Floyd against the HTR TX Hill Country, an RV and camping resort along the Guadalupe River.
Floyd was with her fiancé, Odessa police Officer Bailey Martin, celebrating the Fourth of July in their RV. Both Floyd and Martin died in the flood that swept them away along with their RV.
“I would be lying if I said that I did not see financial opportunity by possibly representing the victims’ families in this tragedy,” Watts told The Lawbook. “But all the finger pointing in the world is never going to change what happened or who is responsible.”
Watts, a prominent donor to Democratic candidates and causes, praised the Republican-led Texas legislature for the passage of multiple laws that he agrees were first steps in requiring improved warning systems in flood-prone areas.
“The families have a right to demand to know what happened,” Watts said. “So we are inviting any families to tour the grounds at Camp Mystic, and we will show them the evidence, show them the facts.”” DMN [ [link removed] ] ($)
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“Austin housing market posts strongest sales growth of 2025 in September,” Austin American-Statesman’s Travis Webb -- “The housing market in Central Texas scored the strongest sales growth of the year in September with home sales up, prices slightly down and growing inventory all pointing to a market gradually shifting toward favoring buyers.
Once again [ [link removed] ], the city of Austin [ [link removed] ] stood out from the rest of the metro area with sales that jumped nearly 17%.
The city’s pace eclipsed that across the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro area, which saw sales increase a healthy 6.7% from September 2024 to 2,416, according to a new report from Unlock MLS [ [link removed] ]. The median sales price slipped 1.8% to $420,000.
“What we’re seeing in the market now is a healthy level of stability,” said Vaike O’Grady, a research advisor at Unlock MLS. “Homes may be taking a bit longer to sell, but they’re still selling, and buyers are meeting sellers where they are. This consistency shows that the market is functioning as it should — steady, sustainable and well-positioned heading into the end of the year.”
Months of inventory — the time it would take to sell all homes on the market at the current pace — increased to 5.7 months in September from 5.1 months in August, edging closer to the six-month mark that signals a market balanced between buyers and sellers. Pending sales increased 0.3% and the number of active listings grew 10% to 13,665, giving buyers more choices.
Austin continued to lead the regional housing market in both sales growth and inventory levels, though. The number of sales in the city jumped 16.6%, surpassing Travis County’s 9.5% rise and the more modest gains in surrounding counties. Pending sales rose 7.7%. As sales increased, the median price of homes sold declined 6% to $550,000, a larger decline than the metro-wide 1.8% drop. Total sales volume in Austin increased 14% to $610 million.
Travis County saw a 9.5% increase in closed sales with the median price down 3.6% to $485,000, while active listings rose 8.1%, pending sales grew 6.4%, and inventory edged up to 6.1 months.
Other area counties had varied results. Williamson County experienced a 5.9% rise in closed sales with active listings up 18.8% and the median price down 2.8% to $406,700. Pending sales declined 4.3%, and inventory increased to 5.5 months. Hays County recorded a 3.7% increase in closed sales to 392 homes, while new listings fell 15.6%. The median price decreased 2.6% to $360,000, and inventory stood at 4.6 months.
Bastrop County was an exception, with closed sales dropping 15.3%, but total sales volume rising 25.7% to nearly $49 million. Active listings increased 13.6%, and pending sales rose 11.8%. Caldwell County also split from regional trends, with closed sales falling 31.4% to just 35 homes, but the median sales price rising 7.2% to $303,790. Active listings rose 13.5%, while pending sales were up 1.8%. Months of inventory increased to 5.2.
The rental market across Central Texas slowed, with closed leases region-wide falling 6.9% to 1,951 in September. New lease listings increased 9.3%, while total dollar volume of leases decreased 3.4%. Median rent stayed flat at $2,200. In Austin, closed leases declined 12.5% to 949, but median rent increased 6.2% to $2,495, with rental inventory at 2.7 months.
Recent reports have shown a slow but steady shift toward a buyer’s market [ [link removed] ] in Central Texas, with rising inventory and more balanced prices giving buyers more leverage after several years of rapid price growth. The latest data suggests the market is continuing to settle into a more sustainable pace.
“As we wrap up the third quarter, the market is mirroring typical seasonality trends, pointing to a sign of continued adjustment and balance. Buyer enthusiasm has picked up slightly as we saw the first interest rate cut in nine months, and steady pricing from sellers continues to support that confidence,” O’Grady said in a statement.” AAS [ [link removed] ] ($)
2025
“Special election for Tarrant County Senate seat creates unique dynamic,” Dallas Morning News’ Phil Jankowski -- “Voters in Tarrant County’s Texas Senate District 9 will have the chance to pick a new state senator in a special election on Nov. 4.
The election — sometimes called a “jungle primary” — is nontraditional in that all candidates who file to run for the seat will appear on November’s ballot, regardless of party affiliation. It has drawn two Republican candidates and one Democrat.
The winner would need to earn the votes of a majority of voters in the northern Tarrant County district to win the seat that former Sen. Kelly Hancock held until the North Richland Hills Republican resigned to become acting state comptroller.
The GOP candidates are John Huffman and Leigh Wambsganss, while Democratic candidate Taylor Rehmet is hoping to pull off an upset in a district that favored Republicans by about 20 percentage points in the last two election cycles.
They’re vying for a district that includes more than half of Fort Worth’s residents, the entirety of Keller, North Richland Hills and Southlake, as well as small slices of Arlington and Euless. About 46% of Tarrant County residents reside in the district. The off-year election is expected to have low turnout.
The campaign has broadly been defined by the two Republicans arguing with each other, creating optimism on the left that Democrats will pick off a seat that has been held by a Republican since 1991.
“Given that these two very prominent people are spending a lot of money taking each other down, I think that it makes Taylor’s chances very realistic,” Tarrant County Democratic Party Chair Allison Campolo said in an interview. “And if not an outright win for him, which would obviously be our preferred outcome, then at least him advancing to the runoff.”
A candidate must amass a majority of voters to win. If none can do so in the Nov. 4 election, it will head to a runoff in December between the top two vote-getters. Early voting begins Oct. 20.
Both Campolo and Republican Jeremy Bradford, a political consultant and former executive director of the Tarrant County Republican Party, said that the election appears destined for a runoff. However, they differed on whether a Democratic candidate would advance that far.
“There are certainly Democrats in the district,” Bradford said, “but I think it’s enough Republican district that it comes down to a runoff between Leigh (Wambsganss) and Huffman.”
The presumptive front-runner in the race is Wambganss, a Southlake resident who works as a vice president of the Grapevine-based wireless company Patriot Mobile. The wireless company is heavily involved in politics, pitching itself as a conservative-aligned company that donates portions of its revenue to conservative causes, such as preserving bans on abortion and fighting gun control.
Wambganss, a former broadcast journalist, has also led the company’s political action committee. Her efforts drew national attention in 2022 after the organization’s financial backing led to its preferred candidates taking over the majority in four North Texas school districts.
Wambsganss has garnered endorsements from leading Republicans, including President Donald Trump, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.
State Rep. Nate Schatzline, R-Fort Worth, initially raised his hand to run for the Senate district, but bowed out [ [link removed] ] shortly after Wambsganss announced her candidacy.
“That she can just get a sitting state House member out of a race with a word, that’s very telling,” Campolo said.
In an interview with The Dallas Morning News, Wambsganss, 58, said Schatzline and she agreed she should be the Senate candidate, while he would seek reelection to his House seat.
“We literally prayed about it the night before the final decision was made,” Wambganss said. “I mean, what a great guy to say, ‘Yeah, I need to stay over here, and you need to do this.’ I would have never filed against him. I would have never split the vote.”
Huffman, her Republican rival in the race, is a Southlake real estate developer who has tried to distinguish himself from Wambsganss by focusing his messaging on his experience as an elected official. Huffman served on the Southlake City Council, including three years as mayor.
“My experience as a mayor, my experience as a city councilman, has prepared me to step in and do the job day one for a couple of reasons,” Huffman said in a phone interview. “First of all, the voters don’t have to worry about what I’m going to do in office, because they can see what I’ve done.”
Huffman said his record indicates a commitment to cutting property taxes. While he was mayor, the city’s property tax rate fell more than 20%.
Huffman, 42, has also accused Wambganss of being against school choice — shorthand for using tax money for costs related to private schools. Enacting such legislation was the centerpiece of Gov. Greg Abbott’s agenda, and earlier this year, the Legislature delivered a school choice package that will divert billions of public dollars to private schools in the coming years.
He pointed to a March 2025 letter [ [link removed] ] from the Grayson County Republicans to the Legislature opposing a school choice proposal due to fears that the injection of taxpayer money into private schools would lead to government regulation.
Wambsganss said she signed on to the letter chiefly over concerns that public money would be distributed to undocumented immigrant children to pay for private school education. She said she worked with Schatzline to add a provision to the bill that banned any money going to undocumented immigrants and supports the package Abbott signed into law this year.” DMN [ [link removed] ] ($)
“The “Inherent Tension” Between Taxes and Affordability – Plus a Look at Campaign Contributions in the Prop Q Election,” The Austin Independent’s Daryl Slusher -- “As the election on a City property tax increase (Prop Q) nears, opponents are beginning to hammer the point that the increase will affect the “affordability of Austin” — particularly for residents already on the verge of not being able to afford to live within the City limits. Let’s take a look at some points that a particularly cogent and well-informed person put together on that issue.
For instance there’s this: “We can’t ignore that collecting taxes, rates, and fees—even for important items—impacts Austin’s affordability.” That’s about as clear and straightforward statement as you’re going to find, although I personally have never accepted using impact as a verb in that manner.
Then there are forays into specific numbers:
“Over the past ten years, the typical Austin homeowners tax bill has grown over two-thirds, from $4,950 to $8,301, an increase of over $3,350 or 67.7%. Last year alone, the typical homeowner’s combined property tax bill rose by almost $1,000, or 13.4%.”
A key word there is “combined,” by which the writer means the combined tax rates of all governmental entities that have the authority to charge property taxes in Travis County. The author next drives home that point by giving the total increases last fiscal year, by taxing jurisdiction: “In the last fiscal year, Austin raised the typical ratepayer and taxpayer’s bill by $361.92 a year. Travis County raised taxes on the typical taxpayer by $203.00, and AISD raised taxes by $515 a year. Central Health raised taxes by $43, and ACC raised taxes $29.” (There are parts of the City limits that are in Williamson and Hays Counties. Also, some City of Austin residents are not within the boundaries of the Austin Independent School District. For people in these categories, their tax rates would be somewhat different.)
The same writer continues, “Some of Travis County and AISD’s increases were voter approved. But they add up— jurisdiction on top of jurisdiction and year after year. They impact the cost of living.”
Now we’re going to quote at length:
“Increased taxes and rates impact Austin’s affordability for all who pay them, but some arguably get hit harder than others.
About half of Austin’s people are renters who can’t claim homestead, senior, or disability property tax exemptions. Those exemptions are for homeowners. Landlords, who also don’t get those exemptions for rental property, most likely just pass increased taxes and rates through to the renters.”
The writer continues, “Someone is ‘rent burdened’ or ‘cost burdened’ if the household spends more than 30% of its income on housing costs, including rent and utilities. When a household spends more than 50%, it’s considered severely rent burdened.
Last December, Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies said that over half of renters living in the Austin area were cost burdened.
That’s up about 4 percent from 2022. Those Harvard folks also found that low- and middle-income renters are now spending a larger share of their income on housing. In 2019, around 64% of people earning $30,000 to $75,000 were cost burdened. That number grew to 77% in 2024.
According to our city demographer, ‘about 1 in 5 Black and Hispanic households have extreme housing cost burden.’ This is likely at least part of the explanation for why Austin is losing Hispanic and African American population as a percentage of total population.”
Wow, that is really hard hitting and has some solid figures. I really appreciate that, but I better talk to someone from the pro-tax side and get their views on the affordability issue.
Oh, wait a minute. I think I made a mistake. That statement and those numbers didn’t come from someone urging Austinites to vote no in the upcoming (property) tax rate election. No, all that was from Mayor Kirk Watson in a late July 2025 “Watson Wire,” the email newsletter that the mayor sends to constituents and anyone else who signs up to get it.
My bad.
Decision Making Amidst the “Inherent Tension“
This particular Watson Wire, titled “The Budget, Taxes & Affordability,” came out shortly before Watson and the Council were scheduled to vote on the budget and potentially call for a tax rate election. Watson was evidently trying to walk the tightrope of acknowledging that higher property taxes affect the cost of living i.e. affordability for Austinites while at the same time hinting that he and the Council might ultimately decide on a tax increase beyond what City Manager T.C. Broadnax recommended in his proposed budget.
Watson reports (as we quoted him last week [ [link removed] ]) that under Broadnax’s proposed budget “the typical city ratepayer and taxpayer will pay an additional $268.23 a year.” Broadnax’s proposed budget maxed out how much a City is allowed, under state law, to raise taxes in a single year without an election, 3.5%.
Watson and the Council ultimately approved the maximum level of property tax increase proposed by Broadnax, then added a tax rate election for an additional five cents per $100 valuation. In his Watson Wire post, the Mayor wrote “If Austin has a TRE, every 1 cent increase in the tax rate will increase the typical taxpayer’s bill by another $40.26 per year.”
According to Watson’s figures, Broadnax’s budget increased property taxes by $268.23 a year. Then the tax rate election proposed by Watson and the Council will add $201.30 ($40.26 x 5).
So the total property tax increase on the “typical taxpayer” will be $469.53 if the tax rate election is approved; $268.23 if voters turn Prop Q down.
Watson also added in his Watson Wire statement, “Each cent also will generate around $21.6 million to fund services.”
This was all to illustrate the tough choices that the Council faced. As the mayor explained, “There’s an inherent tension between collecting the public’s money to pay for our needs and adding to our affordability challenges. We have to be balanced, disciplined, and stable in this difficult process. We don’t want to inappropriately contribute to the problem we say we’re trying to solve.”
Watson in the end decided in favor of the tax rate election. He originally proposed a three cent per $100 valuation increase while a few Council Members were proposing a seven cent increase. Watson and the Council ultimately decided to go to voters with a five cent per $100 valuation increase.
Voters who are still undecided, or who perhaps haven’t studied the issue yet, will have to wrestle with what Watson describes so well: “inherent tension between collecting the public’s money to pay for our needs and adding to our affordability challenges.” I know that some folks out there think Watson cynically put out all these numbers to make people think he is empathetic to their situation. Perhaps, but I’m going to just go with it’s a good thing that he put all those numbers together and released them publicly.
Whatever the case Watson appears to have made peace with the “inherent tension” that he agonizes over in his Watson Wire post. He is listed as an endorser of the Love Austin So Much campaign (the PAC leading the effort to pass Prop Q). Watson not only decided to support the tax rate election, but his PAC was one of the first donors to Love Austin So Much; and one of the biggest. That was the KPW PAC which features his initials and lists Watson as the treasurer [ [link removed] ] in state records. The KPW PAC contributed $20,000 to Love Austin So Much on September 5, 2025.
The KPW PAC is a left over from Watson’s days as a state senator. He did not report receiving any contributions in his October 6 report [ [link removed] ] filed with the Texas Ethics Commission. His PAC, however, is not hurting. He reported having $955,541.30 on hand.
The contribution from the KPW PAC is the leading example of a rather odd twist in this election. That is the Mayor and some Council Members — or their PACs and campaigns — contributing to a campaign that seeks to persuade voters they represent to raise property taxes. The “Vanessa Fuentes Campaign,” as in the campaign fund of Mayor Pro Tem Vanessa Fuentes, contributed $4,000 to Love Austin So Much PAC. And, Council Member Chito Vela contributed $1,000 as an individual.
Love City Contracts So Much?
Those numbers come from Love Austin So Much’s October 6 contributor and expense report [ [link removed] ], filed with the City Clerk. The group’s treasurer is former Council Member Leslie Pool. Many of their contributions, specifically the most sizable ones, come from a lineup of groups who would almost certainly benefit financially from the tax increase. These groups can be divided into three categories: labor PACs; affordable housing groups and corporations; and groups and corporations providing services related to homelessness. (Note to readers wanting to do more research: At times I had difficulty with the links to the individual reports. If that occurs they can all be found under this link [ [link removed] ]. Then scroll down to the section headlined “Reports Filed by Committees 30th Day Before Election.“)
The City has stated that the biggest [ [link removed] ] allocation of funds from the Prop Q property tax increase would go to services for the homeless and services to prevent homelessness. Organizations or corporations that provide homelessness services likewise were the biggest contributors to the Love Austin So Much campaign; contributing at least $40,000. (These were listed in a section of the contributor and expense report titled “Monetary Contribution from Corporation or Labor Organization.” Also, Love Austin So Much goes by that name on their website and on campaign materials. Their contributor and expense report to the City lists their name as simply “Love Austin PAC.”)
For instance ECHO (Ending Community Homelessness Coalition Inc.) contributed $25,000; on September 4 the same day that Mayor Watson’s PAC ponied up $20,000. According to City online financial records [ [link removed] ] on December 1, 2024, ECHO began work on a $939,100 contract for “ARPA Capacity Building.” ARPA stands for the American Rescue Plan Act, a Joe Biden administration COVID relief bill passed in March 2021. The City Council approved the funds on October 24, 2024. The backup for that agenda says that the contract is intended “to support the ECHO Grassroots Homeless Service Provider Capacity Building Cohort,” a cohort which “aims to empower grassroots organizations to enhance their capacity to serve unhoused populations more effectively,” with the focus being “to support Black-led grassroots organizations.”
President Donald Trump cut the remaining funds for three ARPA grants to Austin in March 2025. It is not clear if what remains of ECHO funding was to come from the ARPA contracts cut by Trump. Thus, it is unclear if the remainder of the funding for ECHO is among funding that would be restored by Prop Q. As reported last week, the Austin Independent submitted questions to City financial and communications staff on September 30 which asked what cuts Trump has made that affected the City budget and which of those cuts would be restored by Prop Q. City officials ignored those questions and have still not replied.
In any case City online records report that 75% of the funds for this contract, or $704,325, have already been “expended.”
This is far from the first City contract with ECHO. City financial records report that the contract was “Awarded Non-Competitively,” with “No Solicitation.”
Watson, Fuentes and Vela all contributed to the Love Austin So Much Campaign; respectively through a PAC, their campaign and individually. The Watson photo reads “I’m putting affordability first.”
I realize that ending homelessness is a noble cause. And, ECHO may well do good work on that cause. Also, some might argue that there is nothing wrong with contributing to a cause you believe in, even if fighting for that cause is the way you earn your living. Nonetheless, as a journalist I feel obligated to report it when a group contributes $25,000 to a campaign focused on persuading voters to increase property taxes, when that group would likely receive a considerable portion of the proceeds. The same is true for the items that follow.
The Other Ones Foundation, Inc. — another local service provider in the homelessness field — contributed $10,000 to the Love Austin So Much PAC. They are one of four vendors on a $16 million contract [ [link removed] ] for “homeless encampment cleanup.”
Likewise the Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center on Menchaca just south of Ben White Blvd, whose services are currently the subject of a very controversial potential move to Oltorf and IH 35 — contributed $5,000 to Love Austin So Much. A recent Austin American-Statesman story [ [link removed] ] reported that “the city has provided about $3.8 million in grants to support Sunrise’s services in recent years.” A link [ [link removed] ] to City documents in that story sets the overall figure at $4.6 million.
Groups and corporations involved in the City’s affordable housing efforts also contributed significantly to Love Austin So Much. For instance Foundation Communities gave two contributions, totaling $25,000. Foundation Communities has built several successful affordable housing projects in Austin. But many of those were done with considerable City of Austin help.
Other organizations and corporations involved in providing affordable housing contributed as well. They included SGI Ventures Inc. which gave $5,000 and Capital A Housing, Inc. and the Austin Housing Coalition who each contributed $1,000 to Love Austin So Much.
Once again these organizations do important work, and, in chores like encampment cleanup, work that almost no one else wants to do. Still, they are organizations contributing to a campaign from which their organization will likely receive considerable City funds, if the Prop Q campaign is successful.
On the labor front AFSCME (American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees), which represents many City employees contributed $25,000 and the Austin Travis Co. EMS Employee PAC “pledged” $25,000. It is particularly difficult to fault the EMS group, whose employees — many would agree — are overworked, underpaid and performing a critical service. Nonetheless they would likely benefit directly from Prop Q so the contribution is worth noting.
Funding of the Opposition
There are two groups who appear to be carrying the load in opposing Prop Q. Plus there are a number of people organizing opposition on social media.
The most active group in opposing Prop 2 is Save Austin Now. Save Austin Now (SAN) touts itself as a bipartisan group, but many Democrats — especially “progressives” like those leading the Prop Q campaign — see Save Austin Now as definitely all Republicans. The group has been involved in local politics since the 2019 Council lifted the camping ban. SAN led a successful petition drive and subsequent election that reinstated the camping ban in 2021. After that they tried to require two police officers per 1,000 residents. They successfully petitioned to get that on the ballot, but voters turned it down.
The setup of SAN features a Republican and a Democrat as co-leaders. The Republican co-chair is Matt Mackowiak, who served as Travis County Republican Party chair for a number of years; and sometimes appears in national media.
Traditionally the lead Democrat in Save Austin Now is scorned by City Hall progressives as a fake Democrat. That was the case with Cleo Petricek, who served in the role until shortly before the 2024 election. She took a lot of online abuse as well as public insults. Steven Brown, who is perhaps best known for opposing the HOME initiative from a neighborhood and working class perspective, took her place. He doesn’t appear to have received quite the level of scorn that Petricek endured, but it’s still early in his tenure.
Given the nature of the group, one might except their coffers to be overflowing with large contributions from rich Republicans. This doesn’t appear to necessarily be the case. For one thing donors are not identified by party, but also there are many small donors.
The biggest contributor to Save Austin Now in this reporting period is local attorney Adam Loewy who gave $10,000. Loewy has said online that he is funding billboards. So presumably they will be through SAN. Other top contributors [ [link removed] ] were Neil Webber who gave SAN $10,000; Suzanne Harris who contributed $5,203.23; Susan Ogden who gave $1,500 and “builder” Clark Wilson who gave two donations of $1,000 each. There was a smattering of $500 and $250 donations, and other three figure amounts. The majority of contributions to Save Austin Now though were for $100 or less, many for considerably less.
In fact Save Austin trounced Love Austin So Much in a political fundraising metric that Democrats love to tout. That is the average dollar amount per contributor. The lower the average contribution amount the more grass roots and closer to the people the candidate or campaign is thought to be.
According to my calculations Save Austin Now had 496 donors who contributed a total of $63,506 during the reporting period. That’s an average contribution of $128.
By contrast, Love Austin So Much had 23 contributors (one of them a pledge) who gave a total of $127,870. That’s an average contribution of $5,559; 43 times that of Save Austin Now.
There is another group that is poised to enter the battle against the tax hike. That is a PAC called Restore Leadership ATX. They filed a contributor and expense report [ [link removed] ] in the 30 days before an election category. Their treasurer is Ellen Wood who filmed a video expressing her opposition to Prop Q. The video has been reposted a number of times.
This PAC reported $49,000 in contributions. Their biggest contributor was ATX Servicing which gave $25,000. A corporation listed as “D&S Ferdman Rev Tr” gave $5,000. Among individual contributors Rex Gore led with a $10,000 donation. Former Travis County Commissioner Gerald Daugherty, a Republican, gave $1,500. Former Travis County Auditor Susan Spataro contributed $2,500. Ellen Wood gave $1,000.
This is more the type of arrangement that Democrats tend to imagine when they envision Republican PACs, although on a much smaller scale. Still, Restore Leadership ATX had a lower average contribution than Love Austin So Much; $4,900 per contribution to Love Austin So Much’s $5,559.
Love Austin So Much Goes After “Dark Money”
Meanwhile, Love Austin So Much went after the big game. On Friday October 10 KXAN reported [ [link removed] ] that Love Austin So Much “filed a complaint with the Texas Ethics Commission against the person or people responsible for a website that discourages Austinites from voting ‘yes’ on Proposition Q.”
Grace Reader of KXAN quoted Love Austin So Much campaign manager Joe Cascino regarding the complaint, “They are proudly using dark money to fund their mission to make cuts to core city services such as fire, EMS, parks, pools, and libraries. But Austinites are much smarter than the mystery figure behind this illegal, deceptive website thinks.”
Reader and KXAN then solved the mystery:
“On X Thursday night, a man named Nate McGuire said the website belonged to him. McGuire also responded to an email from KXAN at an address listed on the website. ‘Find it confusing how they could file a complaint about me and not figure out who I was: I haven’t been hiding,’ McGuire told KXAN. He said something similar on social media, tagging Cascino.”
KXAN said McGuire then sarcastically referred to “dark money” in a thread on X. KXAN added,“In that thread, McGuire attaches what appear to be receipts from his domain registration, costing roughly $12, and the host site he’s using, which is free. He told KXAN he was not behind the yard signs.”
McGuire also told KXAN, ‘“I am a private citizen, and I paid for the website out of my own pocket and will comply with any filings required.”
Love Austin So Much has since dropped the ethics complaint. Campaign Manager Joe Cascino confirmed that to the Austin Independent by email: “Yes, we dropped the complaint in its current form. We are pleased that he identified himself and want to give him the opportunity to file any necessary reports, as he indicated he would with KXAN.”
That’s all for now. Early voting starts on October 20. Stay tuned.” Austin Independent [ [link removed] ]
» RELATED: I strongly recommend all of our readers to become PAID subscriber of The Austin Independent. You can do so here [ [link removed] ].
2026
“Cornyn heads into fall with big cash advantage over GOP primary challengers Paxton, Hunt,” Texas Tribune’s Gabby Birenbaum -- “Audio recording is automated for accessibility. Humans wrote and edited the story. See our AI policy [ [link removed] ], and give us feedback [ [link removed] ].
Sen. John Cornyn has nearly double the war chest of Attorney General Ken Paxton in Texas’ Senate GOP primary after the third fundraising quarter of the year — though in the latest flare-up between the two, neither can agree on which funds count.
Cornyn’s campaign reported a $3.36 million haul from July through September between his official campaign account and his two joint fundraising committees, vehicles that allow candidates to raise money alongside other candidates or organizations and split the profits. Through these committees, Cornyn’s official campaign account raises money alongside supportive PACs and groups like the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
About one-quarter of Cornyn’s fundraising — $910,000 — went directly to his campaign account, with the remaining $2.45 million going to his joint fundraising committees. A portion of that money is ineligible to be transferred to the senior senator’s campaign account because it came from donors who had already given the maximum amount to Cornyn’s campaign allowed by federal contribution limits.
Still, the excess funds could be used to benefit Cornyn’s campaign under a recent strategy — pioneered [ [link removed] ] by Senate GOP leadership’s campaign arm — of using joint fundraising committees to buy television ads at discounted rates typically reserved for individual candidates. The loophole allows committees to run campaign ads on behalf of allied candidates as long as the ads are presented as fundraising pleas, effectively allowing Cornyn’s joint committees to pay for TV ads promoting his candidacy, using money ineligible to be transferred to his campaign account.
Paxton, meanwhile, raised $1.3 million during the third quarter, outpacing Cornyn’s direct six-figure haul. The attorney general accused Cornyn of lying about his fundraising by counting the entire joint fundraising total toward his overall amount.
“Cornyn’s campaign continues to either be really bad at math or really obsessed with trying to deceive Texans,” Paxton said in a statement.
Still, Cornyn had a decisive advantage in the size of his official campaign war chest, reporting about $6 million on hand to Paxton’s $3.2 million. He also outspent Paxton during the third quarter, even without factoring in the more than $660,000 spent by his joint fundraising committees.
“Senator Cornyn is soaring in all available public polling after Ken Paxton’s summer from Hell,” Andy Hemming, Cornyn’s campaign manager, said in a statement. “We are grateful for the generous support of so many patriotic Texans and Americans who strongly believe President Trump needs John Cornyn fighting for their agenda in the U.S. Senate.”
Paxton said his campaign “continues to be powered by grassroots supporters and a growing movement across the state ready for change,” pointing to the more than 13,600 people who donated last quarter.
“I’m continuing to raise historic sums for a primary challenge to a sitting Senator because John Cornyn is a historically bad incumbent, plain and simple,” Paxton said in a statement. “No matter how many tens of millions he spends to deceive voters, Texans won’t forget his failed record, his efforts to stop President Trump’s border wall, and his betrayal of our 2nd Amendment rights.”
Rep. Wesley Hunt, a Houston Republican who launched his Senate bid [ [link removed] ] last week, raised about $366,000 during the latest quarter, all of which came before he entered the primary fray. He spent some $1.87 million during the three-month period, leaving him with just over $1.5 million in his campaign account.
Hunt’s joint fundraising committee raised an additional $377,000.
Both Cornyn and Paxton’s fundraising totals fell behind what they raised in the second quarter — which began close to their respective launch dates. The Cornyn campaign raised $3.9 million in the second quarter, though only $2.7 million went directly to his campaign between hard dollars and transfers. Paxton raised $2.9 million in the second quarter.
Before his launch, Paxton told Punchbowl News [ [link removed] ] he would need to raise $20 million — between his campaign account and supportive PACs — to defeat Cornyn. Thus far, his campaign has raised $4.2 million, while Lone Star Liberty PAC, a super PAC supporting him, had raised about $1.9 million through the end of June. Fundraising typically picks up as the election date approaches, giving Paxton more time, though he would need to raise larger sums of money in the next two quarters to meet his stated goal.
Cornyn, Hunt and Paxton are competing in a contentious Republican primary, with a Dec. 8 filing deadline rapidly approaching and the March 3 primary less than five months out. Cornyn and Hunt allies have been flooding the airwaves with positive messages about their preferred candidates and — in the case of pro-Cornyn groups — attacks on Paxton. But the Paxton campaign has yet to make any significant ad buys.
The two Democrats competing in the Senate primary far outpaced their Republican counterparts. State Rep. James Talarico raised $6.2 million in the first three weeks of his campaign, with his launch coming at the tailend of the quarter, while former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred brought in $4.1 million over the full three months.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, who has not announced a bid but whose name has been floated for Senate, outraised both Paxton and Hunt as well, with a $2.7 million haul this quarter.”“ Texas Tribune [ [link removed] ]
“Texas Democrat Gina Hinojosa enters race for governor,” AP’s Sean Murphy -- “Texas Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa entered the race for governor Wednesday, criticizing Republican Gov. Greg Abbott as beholden to big donors in an uphill bid to become the first Democrat to hold the office since 1995.
Hinojosa, who represents Austin, joins a race that has been without big-name challengers and overshadowed in Texas by a competitive U.S. Senate contest [ [link removed] ]. She was a fierce critic of a $1 billion private school voucher program [ [link removed] ] in Texas and joined Democrats’ walkout [ [link removed] ] this summer that temporarily delayed the passage of redrawn U.S. House maps sought by President Donald Trump.
Abbott, who is seeking a record fourth term, has won each of his last three races by double-digits and his campaign is sitting on more than $80 million, underscoring the tall task facing any challenger.
“Our fight right now is against the billionaires and the corporations who are driving up prices, closing our neighborhood schools and cheating Texans out of basic health care. That’s who Greg Abbott works for,” she said in a video announcing her candidacy. “I’m running for governor to work for you.”
Hinojosa was set to kick off her campaign with an event in her hometown of Brownsville along the U.S.-Mexico border, where Republicans have been making fast inroads with Hispanic voters [ [link removed] ].
Abbott’s campaign manager, Kim Snyder, criticized Hinojosa as being out of step with most Texans.
“Time and again, Gina Hinojosa chooses woke, extreme ideologies over the safety and security of Texas families,” Snyder said in a statement. “Texans deserve a governor who will continue to secure the border, fight for safer communities and uphold family values — not someone who supports failed, radical policies that hurt hardworking Texans.”
Other Democrats in the race include Andrew White, who is the son of former Texas Gov. Mark White and is running again after narrowly losing the Democratic primary in 2018.” AP [ [link removed] ]
STATE GOVERNMENT
“USDA slaps down Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller over New World Screwworm,” Texas Tribune’s Kate McGee — “Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller is trading barbs with the Trump Administration over its response to a parasitic pest that continues to make its way north in Mexico, and could potentially threaten the state’s $15 billion cattle industry if it crosses the border.
This week, in an interview with a Nashville television network that focuses on rural issues, Miller expressed frustration that the U.S. Department of Agriculture was not using a synthetic bait that he has promoted to combat the New World Screwworm, a fly that infects warm-blooded animals and recently has been spotted less than 100 miles from the border.
“I still haven’t gotten buy-in from the USDA to do a fly bait,” Miller told RFD-TV. “If we put out the fly bait, we can wipe out the screwworm in Mexico in 90 days, but for some reason, they’re very reluctant to do that.”
On Tuesday, the USDA responded accusing the elected agriculture commissioner of “blatantly disregarding tried and true [New World Screwworm] offensive strategies in favor of clickbait publicity stunts.”
In the statement, which was first reported by RFD-TV and provided to The Texas Tribune by the USDA, a spokesperson said the agency deployed and tested Miller’s “infamous traps” and they were found to be “ineffective.”
“In one month, USDA’s traps in Panama caught thousands of New World Screwworm flies – Commissioner Miller’s traps caught ONE single NWS fly,” the spokesperson said. “When presented with the results of his traps underperforming, Commissioner Miller indicated USDA staff should ‘paint them black’ to which USDA declined.”
“USDA looks forward to working with any and all partners who seek to find REAL solutions to defeat the NWS,” the spokesperson added.
In response to the USDA, Miller issued a statement saying he appreciated the agency’s “historic effort” to fight the New World Screwworm.
“We’re all on the same team here, and I look forward to continuing our partnership to stop this threat in its tracks,” he said.
Since August, Miller has been pushing for state and federal agencies to use a synthetic bait he called TDA Swormlure, which he said was created by his Biosecurity team.
“This new attractant, named TDA Swormlure, marks a serious upgrade in our efforts to protect Texas livestock from the threat of the New World Screwworm,” said Miller in an August press release. “[E]arly feedback has been encouraging, and the traps are expected to outperform anything else available.”
On Monday, Miller told RFD-TV he was frustrated that the USDA wasn’t using the fly bait.
“They tell me that it’s environmentally unsound because it will kill the good flies,” Miller said. “Good flies, is that like a good fire ant? I don’t know what a good fly is. I don’t know if they’re afraid to kill house flies or stable flies, but I’m ready to kill the screwworm fly.”
The USDA has announced a variety of methods to try and stop the fly from entering the United States and infecting cattle. In June, Secretary Brooke Rollins announced a plan [ [link removed] ] to combat the threat of the parasitic insect that includes investing $8.5 million to build a sterile fly dispersal facility at Moore Air Base in Edinburg. In August, USDA announced a $750 million facility [ [link removed] ] in Edinburg that will produce about 300 million sterile screwworm flies per week.
By mating with sterile female flies, the intent is to produce non-viable eggs so that the population will eventually die out.
Miller, who was once reportedly in contention for Rollins’ job leading the U.S. department, has issued multiple public statements and press releases about the state’s efforts to combat New World Screwworm, stating that the Texas Department of Agriculture is the “tip of the spear” in partnering to combat the fly.
In June, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the Texas Animal Health Commission and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to establish a Texas New World Screwworm Response Team to help coordinate and share information on efforts to stop the spread of the parasite.
“The mission for the Response Team is clear: to lead Texas’ prevention and response efforts and ensure that Texas remains informed, prepared, and aligned to prevent the re-emergence of this destructive parasite,” Abbott wrote in a letter to the agency heads in June.
Immediately after RFD-TV published USDA’s statements, Texas agriculture groups, including the Texas Farm Bureau and Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, signaled on social media their support for the federal agency over Miller.
“The proven way to eradicate screwworm is through sterile fly production, not traps & bait,” wrote the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association on X. “TSCRA stands with the Trump Administration, @SecRollins [ [link removed] ] and USDA. We cannot afford distractions from unproven methods.”” Texas Tribune [ [link removed] ]
“Texans could begin applying for school vouchers in February,” Texas Tribune’s Jaden Edison — “Texas families wanting to participate in the state’s upcoming school voucher program could apply as soon as February, while the application process for private schools hoping to join is set to launch before the end of the year.
Those details were revealed in the state’s $52 million contract with New York-based finance and technology company Odyssey, which Texas’ chief financial officer recently hired [ [link removed] ] to help design and manage the voucher program. The Texas Tribune and ProPublica reviewed the contract after filing an open records request following Odyssey’s appointment.
Odyssey agreed to a “project work plan” that sets a tentative date of Dec. 2, 2025, for schools to register to become one of the options where families can spend funds awarded by the state. The agreement also set Feb. 4, 2026, as the date when it will start receiving parent applications; that window would remain open until mid-March. The company will design those processes, as well as the system parents will use to shop for educational products and pay tuition.
The state could end up paying Odyssey up to $52 million for its services over the next four years — $26 million for the first two and an additional $26 million for another two if the contract gets renewed. Texas law [ [link removed] ] allows the state to pay Odyssey up to 5% of the program’s $1 billion in funding, or $50 million, each year. That number could skyrocket over the next five years, when legislative budget experts predict [ [link removed] ] the program’s funding to reach nearly $5 billion.
Texas’ voucher program will allow families to apply for thousands of dollars in public taxpayer dollars to fund their children’s private or home-school education. The comptroller’s office, which oversees finances for all of the state government, is responsible for oversight of the program.
According to the documents obtained by the Tribune and ProPublica, the bidding process for Texas’ voucher program came down to three finalists: Odyssey, ClassWallet [ [link removed] ] and Student First Technologies [ [link removed] ]. ClassWallet and Student First Technologies offered their services to the state at a price tag of $79 million and $93 million, respectively. State law allows the comptroller to select up to five organizations to help manage the program, but it chose to only hire Odyssey.
The company’s website says Odyssey was created to assist states in creating education savings accounts, a type of voucher program [ [link removed] ]. Its work has not come without scrutiny, including an audit in Idaho that identified [ [link removed] ] up to $180,000 in ineligible, taxpayer-funded purchases that the company had to pay back.
A contest founded by the Yass family awarded $500,000 [ [link removed] ] to Odyssey in 2023. Jeff Yass, a Pennsylvania billionaire investor, donated a state record $6 million [ [link removed] ] to Gov. Greg Abbott’s campaign last year during his effort to unseat the Texas Republicans who helped derail an earlier voucher proposal from becoming law. After winning the half-million-dollar award, Joseph Connor, Odyssey’s founder and CEO, applauded [ [link removed] ] the Yasses for starting “an incredible movement to push for school choice and education freedom nationwide.” Odyssey has also hired three subcontractors — Steel Digital Studios [ [link removed] ], Vianovo [ [link removed] ] and Outschool [ [link removed] ] — to help Texas spread awareness about the program. That campaign is expected to launch at the end of the month.” Texas Tribune [ [link removed] ]
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
“Austin officer on restricted duty in connection to 6th Street incident,” KVUE’s Morgan McGrath — “Court documents have revealed more information about an incident involving an Austin police officer who allegedly struck a person on Sixth Street on Friday night. [ [link removed] ]
According to documents obtained by KVUE from the District Court of Travis County, Austin Police Department (APD) officer Leger has been named in connection to the incident that has since gained social media attention.
The documents state that Leger was working in Downtown Austin when he heard a radio call reporting a “physical altercation” outside the Voodoo Room, a nightclub at 419 E. Sixth St. Leger and Officer Garcia responded to the scene, where two men were reportedly fighting.
Once there, Leger attempted to break up the fight when he was struck in the back of the head, according to the documents. He then “executed a controlled takedown maneuver” on one of the men, who allegedly resisted. The documents reveal Leger struck the man in the face several times in response.
A crowd reportedly formed around the officers and people began throwing objects and pushing and kicking, documents state.
The man accused of attacking Leger was identified as 19-year-old Johnny Acuña-Jacobo. He was arrested on a charge of assault on a peace officer, a second-degree felony, and booked into the Travis County Jail on a $10,000 bond.
Meanwhile, the officer involved in the incident has since been placed on restricted duty and was removed from patrol.
APD Chief Lisa Davis said the department plans to review camera footage, and that an investigation is currently underway.
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis and Mayor Kirk Watson issued statements about the incident
Davis released an updated statement on Monday:
“I understand that our community is seeking more information regarding the incident that occurred on Sixth Street, where an individual was struck by an officer during a crowd control incident. I want to assure our community that I take these matters very seriously and remain fully committed to ensuring a thorough, transparent, and timely investigation. The officer involved has been removed from patrol and placed on restricted duty pending the outcome of the investigation. Like in any case, due process must be followed, which includes a comprehensive review of all camera footage, interviews with the officer, witnesses, and others who were present, followed by a hearing.
“APD’s investigation has identified more body worn camera, and we are investigating another use of force incident. The same process will be followed-review of camera footage, interview officers, witnesses and others present. This incident is still an ongoing investigation until a thorough review has been completed.
“I do want to stress; both incidents are being reviewed in their entirety. As these investigations move forward, we will continue to share updates with our community. I encourage anyone who may have additional information related to either incident to contact the APD Special Investigations Unit (512) 974-6840.
“Our community’s trust is built through transparency, accountability, and open communication, and that remains my commitment throughout this process.”
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson also shared a statement:
“I have seen the video of an Austin Police Officer on 6th Street last night. The action is inexcusable and indefensible. There is no room in APD for such violent behavior or for someone who claims to be a public servant and acts that way.
“I know that Chief Davis will take appropriate action, including action that leads to termination.
“Again, there is no room for such offensive, ridiculous action.”
Austin Police Association responds
Austin Police Association President Michael Bullock said he was disappointed in the mayor’s response and cautioned others to wait for a full investigation to take place before rushing to judgement.
“[The mayor] has injected politics into all of this instead of just allowing an unbiased review to happen, and that’s all that needs,” said Bullock. “We’re not saying what the outcome should be one way or the other; we’re just saying it needs to be an unbiased review.”
Bullock said he saw the videos that have been shared online and argues there are only snippets being shown. KVUE asked whether he believes excessive force could be seen in the video, and he said the use of force applies to different situations.
“It’s not a bright line that exists because every situation is different, and that’s the challenge of policing is that each use of force is going to be different ... and [where] that line is may move,” said Bullock.
KVUE also reached out to the Travis County District Attorney’s Office to follow up on Acuña-Jacobo’s case, but the DA’s office had no comment at this time.” KVUE [ [link removed] ]
“Dallas police exceed council-set recruiting goal, adding 330 to their ranks since October,” Dallas Morning News’ Chase Rogers — “Dallas police officials said Tuesday the department had surpassed its recruiting goal set by City Council members earlier this year, hiring more than 300 recruits since last October.
Deputy Chief Jordan Colunga told members of the city’s Public Safety Committee — the body of City Council members overseeing police, fire and emergency management operations — the department hired 330 recruits and officers between October and the end of September. The committee roundly celebrated the milestone, calling it a sign the department’s stepped-up marketing and hiring strategies are beginning to pay off.
Their praise came against the backdrop of a police and fire pension funding crisis [ [link removed] ] and two charter amendments [ [link removed] ] — Propositions S and U — approved by voters last year that changed how city government operates.
Proposition U requires the city to hire a police force of up to 4,000 officers — the department said it had 3,280 officers and recruits as of Sept. 30 — and move half of any new revenue year over year to the pension system and public safety initiatives. It also mandates that starting pay and benefits be among the most competitive in North Texas.
Proposition S requires the city to waive its governmental immunity and allows any resident to file a lawsuit alleging the municipal government isn’t complying with the charter, local ordinances or state law.
Dallas HERO, the nonprofit that backed the amendments, has said it may sue to compel the city to meet the requirements, threatening to do so in March for the city not taking “immediate action” to comply with all of the requirements of Proposition U. Damien LeVeck, the nonprofit’s executive director, declined to comment on the city exceeding the council-set hiring goal when reached Tuesday.
In February, after debate over the figure, the City Council voted 12-2 to set the 300 hiring goal through the end of September. Council members Cara Mendelsohn and Jesse Moreno, the Public Safety Committee’s chair and vice chair, respectively, voted against the measure and argued for a goal of 400 — a figure then-interim Chief Michael Igo and Dallas’ largest police association worried would have strained the department.
Mendelsohn represents District 12, which spans Far North Dallas, and Moreno represents District 2, which includes Deep Ellum, Old East Dallas and parts of downtown.
The department adopted several measures to bolster recruiting, including eliminating its college credit requirement to widen the applicant pool, raising starting salaries, holding off-site applicant testing events like the one held at the State Fair of Texas earlier this month and offering tiered referral bonuses that reward officers for recruits who remain with the department over time.
From October 2024 through September, the department processed more than 1,200 police applicants, Colunga told the committee. The department reported that the top three draws were the city’s website with 22%, officer referrals with 19% and social media with 19%.
The fiscal year saw an increase in the number of applicants from referrals, which Colunga attributed to the tiered referral bonuses available to current officers. “That’s never been above 10%. So DPD officers are actually putting the word out, ‘Hey, come hire with us,’” the deputy chief said.
The six recruit classes since November 2024 have brought in between 38 and 76 recruits each. The class of 76, which started on Sept. 24, is the second-largest in the department’s history.
Mendelsohn praised those results, commending former Dallas police Chief Eddie García and current Chief Daniel Comeaux for making what she called “fundamental” changes to how the department markets itself and draws applicants.
City Council member Adam Bazaldua, who represents District 7, said he saw the hiring totals as proof the department’s current salary offerings and state of the pension system have not deterred recruiting efforts.
“These numbers you have brought,” Bazaldua told police officials during the meeting, “have really cut to the bottom of the fact that when we’re strategic and intentional, we’ll see results.”
Attrition for the past fiscal year fell to 176 officers, marking the lowest figure in the past five years, according to materials presented to council members. That’s a decrease from 192 officers lost in fiscal year 2023-24 and the over 230 officers lost in previous cycles.
Retirements accounted for the largest share of departures for the last fiscal year at 63, followed by resignations for “personal reasons” at 37 and transfers to other public safety agencies at 19.” DMN [ [link removed] ] ($)
“Houston council punts vote on $16M ‘super hub” for unhoused after outrage from facility neighbors,” Houston Chronicle’s Abby Church — “Houston officials punted their vote on Wednesday to spend $16 million on a “super hub” for up to 225 members of the city’s unhoused population, [ [link removed] ] following an outcry from residents around the site concerned about the lack of community input.
Council was set to vote to buy a property east of downtown, but the item was pulled from the council agenda. It’s unclear when the item will be placed back on a future council agenda for a decision.
The development was pitched as a part of Mayor John Whitmire’s “housing first” plan to end street homelessness [ [link removed] ]. The property at 419 Emancipation Ave. used to be home to a shelter for migrant children until it lost funding and its lease expired in August. Before it became a migrant shelter, it was a homeless shelter operated by Star of Hope.
The proposal would create a low-barrier center that welcome anyone who comes through its doors, or whoever is dropped off by local law enforcement. There will be space for between 150 to 225 people, and health care, psychiatric support, substance abuse and housing and diversion services – a combination housing officials say will be a first of its kind for the city.
The Emancipation property is valued at around $6.7 million, according to appraisal district records. The shelter is anticipated to cost $10 million to $14 million a year to operate.
Larry Satterwhite, the mayor’s director of public safety and homeland security, said the location was the one that received the fewest resident concerns when they were weighing properties. Mike Nichols, the city’s housing director, told the Houston Chronicle Tuesday that the property was chosen because the city wouldn’t have to pay a lot to renovate it to make it fully operational.
Facility sparks scrutiny
A Tuesday night community meeting at Settegast Park brought a packed room of angry neighbors to the potential superhub site. Satterwhite and Nichols came to explain how the facility would work and provide clarity to concerned residents, but the meeting ended up being less about answers and more about conundrum and frustration.
City officials at the meeting struggled to answer questions, and residents often yelled and screamed over them to ask more questions.
At one point during the meeting, as people relayed public safety concerns, Satterwhite assured residents that their neighborhood would be among the most controlled because of its proximity to the facility. Everyone immediately groaned.
“Bulls**t!” shouted one resident.
“Forget it,” yelled another.
The issue at hand had multiple prongs – residents, by and large, liked the idea of the facility, but were angry about its location, partly because they felt the city often dumped undesirable projects in their neighborhood. They were also upset about the lack of notification on the project and how they weren’t able to provide feedback, and they were concerned about the price the city was paying for the property.
Officials, meanwhile, argued the facility had to be placed at “ground zero” of the problem to help get people off the streets, and they chose the east side of downtown because of its historically large homeless problem.
Nichols disputed the claim that there wasn’t a chance to provide feedback, and said Tuesday residents had opportunities to speak out, particularly during housing department meetings.
The complaints at Settegast also found themselves inside the walls of City Hall Tuesday afternoon hours prior during the council’s public comment session, where numerous residents came to voice their concerns and fears about the facility and its residents.
The facility wouldn’t be the first agency set up to help the city’s unhoused population downtown. The area is also home to homeless nonprofit The Beacon and the sobering center. But even those facilities have sparked concerns, with one resident with quality of life concerns suggesting moving all homeless services away from downtown.
Council Member Twila Carter defended the facility and told one resident the city had to go where the problem was in order to solve it. Houston’s downtown and East End historically have the largest numbers of unhoused individuals in the city.
“This proposal is not a shelter, it’s a navigation center. It’s a compass for people to find their way,” Carter said. “To try to direct people to where they need to be to seek help.”
Whitmire told the same resident she would likely appreciate the outcome from the effort to get people off the streets and get them help. He said there were “disruptors” who were hired to come and spread misinformation about the facility.
The Tuesday evening community meeting was preceded by a news conference by Wayne Dolcefino, a former ABC13 reporter who has his own media company that contracts with residents, law firms and private businesses to look into and expose issues [ [link removed] ], according to its website. Dolcefino said Tuesday he was paid by nearby residents at Stanton Lofts to look into their public safety concerns with the facility, and he stressed the facility could bring the “worst of the worst” of the area’s unsheltered population into the neighborhood.
“They’re the people that are really messed up, and you would not want to walk out your door if you knew some severely mentally ill person was wandering behind the front door. Nobody would again,” Dolcefino said. “Should we put them somewhere? Maybe. I say, buy ‘em a place in River Oaks.”
He continued: “Sure, did some people hire me to help? Yeah, because, you know, I issued a press release, and I have strong opinions about this,” Dolcefino said. “But if that makes me a disrupter, then call me a disrupter.”” Hou Chron [ [link removed] ] ($)
“Spurs arena proposition faces ‘uphill battle,’ UTSA poll shows,” San Antonio Express-News’ Molly Smith — “A majority of Bexar County voters still aren’t sold on the idea of using county tax dollars to help the Spurs build a downtown arena, even as the franchise spends millions of dollars [ [link removed] ] to convince them to back the measure in the Nov. 4 election.
Proposition B would provide up to $311 million for an NBA arena to be built at the former Institute of Texan Cultures site at Hemisfair.
Pro-Spurs arena supporters gather for a news conference outside City Hall in San Antonio on Wednesday morning, Aug. 20, 2025. San Antonio business owners, hospitality workers, and others came together to advocate for the city council to approve the Spurs arena term sheet when they meet on Thursday.
SA new University of Texas at San Antonio Center for Public Opinion Research poll found that 40% of likely voters support Prop B, with 46% against this use of the county’s so-called venue tax.
“It’s fair to say that the effort to secure venue tax funding for a new Spurs arena faces an uphill battle,” said Bryan Gervais, a professor of political science and the research center’s director.
The money would come from raising the county’s so-called venue tax, which can be tapped to build sports or arts facilities. The county would keep its tax on rental cars at 5% and increase its tax on hotel rooms from 1.75% to 2%, bringing in a total of $503 million.
Proposition A would dedicate the remaining $192 million to renovate the Frost Bank Center, Freeman Coliseum and surrounding grounds for the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo to expand its programming year-round — a bid to prevent the county-owned facilities on the East Side from becoming a wasteland if the team leaves for downtown.
About 44% of likely voters support Prop A, with 41% against the measure.
The city and Spurs are looking to build a $1.3 billion, 18,500-seat arena, which would be publicly owned.
The county’s share is the only part of the arena financing plan that requires voters’ approval. City officials have said the deal will fall apart if voters reject the county funding on Nov. 4.
Under the deal, the city would commit up to $489 million in tax revenue and spend around $60 million to acquire the land where the arena would be built. Spurs Sports & Entertainment would kick in $500 million for the arena and cover any cost overruns. It would also give $75 million to the city over the 30-year lease term to spend on “community benefits,” such as pre-K programs, and $30 million for property acquisitions.
The Center for Public Opinion Research surveyed 660 registered Bexar County voters who said they were likely to vote in the Nov. 4 election. The poll was conducted from Oct. 1-3, and its margin of error is plus or minus 3.8%.” SAEN [ [link removed] ] ($)
NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE
> TX TRIB: “The feds are cutting off public money for all Planned Parenthoods, following a playbook that began in Texas“ TX TRIB [ [link removed] ]
> HOU CHRON: “Thousands of Texas voter registrations in limbo as counties process applications“ HOU CHRON [ [link removed] ]
> HOU CHRON: “Exclusive: Texas school voucher program to launch in February, documents show“ HOU CHRON [ [link removed] ]
> HOU CHRON: “Texas troops were sent to Chicago on a lie. Bring them home, Abbott. | Editorial“ HOU CHRON [ [link removed] ]
> HOU CHRON: “Here’s how much each HISD trustee candidate has raised before November elections“ HOU CHRON [ [link removed] ]
> HOU CHRON: “Houston officials consider legal action as Gov. Abbott fights rainbow crosswalk“ HOU CHRON [ [link removed] ]
> COMMUNITY IMPACT: “Public input sought for Smithville’s Resilient Communities Comprehensive Plan“ COMMUNITY IMPACT [ [link removed] ]
> THE TEXAN: “Fort Bend County Commissioners Approve Mid-Decade Precinct Redistricting“ THE TEXAN [ [link removed] ]
> FWST: “Fort Worth mayor asked churches to get more involved, state lawmaker says“ FWST [ [link removed] ]
> DMN: “Is Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson considering resigning from office? Speculation is swirling“ DMN [ [link removed] ]
> THE TEXAN: “Texas Agriculture Commissioner, USDA Scrap Over New World Screwworm Response Strategy“ THE TEXAN [ [link removed] ]
> THE TEXAN: “Ripples: Keeping Texas Transparent“ THE TEXAN [ [link removed] ]
> DMN: “Grapevine basketball coach sentenced to 40 years in prison for producing child pornography“ DMN [ [link removed] ]
> FWST: “Former Grapevine Faith basketball coach gets 40 years in child exploitation case“ FWST [ [link removed] ]
> MRT: “In Dallas, 6,700 women rally for culture war battles after Kirk’s death“ MRT [ [link removed] ]
> SA REPORT: “‘Too expensive for the average person’: Bexar County dives into affordable housing“ SA REPORT [ [link removed] ]
> THE TEXAN: “Texas Sues to Stop Loving County Man’s Free Home Plan, Government ‘Takeover’“ THE TEXAN [ [link removed] ]
> DMN: “A Southlake mother is accused of sex trafficking, shocking a wealthy and gilded suburb“ DMN [ [link removed] ]
> THE TEXAN: “Texas Attorney General Nears Lawsuit Against East Plano Islamic Center Over ‘EPIC City’ Development“ THE TEXAN [ [link removed] ]
> FWST: “Flies and bugs swarmed neglected bodies decomposing in mortuary, Texas cops say“ FWST [ [link removed] ]
> HOU CHRON: “Leaked documents reveal scope of St. Thomas exposure during massive data breach“ HOU CHRON [ [link removed] ]
> DMN: “Are Cowboys’ frustrations aimed at the wrong person after Week 6 stumble at Carolina?“ DMN [ [link removed] ]
> DMN: “Why Jerry Jones, Cowboys could be ready to gamble again as NFL trade deadline nears“ DMN [ [link removed] ]
> DMN: “Texas trial lawyer: ‘No jury in America will hold Camp Mystic responsible’“ DMN [ [link removed] ]
> THE TEXAN: “Houston Methodist Probed on Alleged Organ Transplant Vaccination Discrimination“ THE TEXAN [ [link removed] ]
> FWST: “Woman fell ill and passed out, then 4 dogs in the house killed her, FL cops say“ FWST [ [link removed] ]
> MY RGV: “Crime Archives“ MY RGV [ [link removed] ]
> FWST: “After federal layoffs, Fort Worth families worry about special education rights“ FWST [ [link removed] ]
> KXAN: “Jarrell residents voice concern over plans for proposed data center“ KXAN [ [link removed] ]
> COMMUNITY IMPACT: “Oriental Phoenix Arts blends martial arts, belly dance to promote healing and inclusion“ COMMUNITY IMPACT [ [link removed] ]
> MY RGV: “Version 2 of Starship retired following Flight 11 at Boca Chica Beach“ MY RGV [ [link removed] ]
> TX TRIB: “Harrison vs. higher ed: How one lawmaker is weaponizing social media to eradicate LGBTQ+ curriculum“ TX TRIB [ [link removed] ]
> DMN: “Constitutional amendments top November ballot in Texas. Here’s what they all mean“ DMN [ [link removed] ]
> HOU CHRON: “Obama slams Abbott’s Texas Guard deployment, noting past GOP criticism“ HOU CHRON [ [link removed] ]
> HOU CHRON: “Conroe ‘mass gathering’ ordinance draws concern from public“ HOU CHRON [ [link removed] ]
> COMMUNITY IMPACT: “A new vision: Harris County restructures 2018 bond projects and funding“ COMMUNITY IMPACT [ [link removed] ]
> COMMUNITY IMPACT: “Jersey Village voters to decide on $21.6M city campus bond“ COMMUNITY IMPACT [ [link removed] ]
> MRT: “Texas camp owners want more flexibility in meeting safety, licensing requirements after drownings“ MRT [ [link removed] ]
> THE TEXAN: “Texas House and Senate Create July 4 Flood Disaster Investigation Committees“ THE TEXAN [ [link removed] ]
> TPR: “Gov. Abbott orders ‘political ideologies’ removed from Texas roadways“ TPR [ [link removed] ]
> THE TEXAN: “Abbott Directs TxDOT to Ensure Localities Remove ‘Political Ideologies’ From Road Decorations“ THE TEXAN [ [link removed] ]
> DMN: “Do Texans in Congress get paid during a government shutdown?“ DMN [ [link removed] ]
> SAEN: “Obama slams Abbott’s Texas Guard deployment, noting past GOP criticism“ SAEN [ [link removed] ]
> SAEN: “Far fewer Americans support political violence than recent polls suggest“ SAEN [ [link removed] ]
> EP TIMES: “Photos of Camp East Montana, controversial ICE facility in El Paso“ EP TIMES [ [link removed] ]
> EP TIMES: “ICE’s Camp East Montana immigrant detention facility expands, new photos show“ EP TIMES [ [link removed] ]
> EP TIMES: “‘What has happened to our heart?’: Bishop Seitz calls for care of poor, migrants in address“ EP TIMES [ [link removed] ]
> SAEN: “Most key municipalities in Kosovo are headed to runoffs, local election results show“ SAEN [ [link removed] ]
> TPR: “Right-wing influencers promote National Guard troop deployment to Portland“ TPR [ [link removed] ]
> THE TEXAN: “DOJ Official, Gun Groups Clash Over Claim That Pam Bondi Sought Membership Lists in Lawsuit“ THE TEXAN [ [link removed] ]
> HOU CHRON: “Pit bulls attack and kill owner, Galveston County Sheriff’s Office say“ HOU CHRON [ [link removed] ]
> THE TEXAN: “Competing Evidence and Unlikely Allies: The Robert Roberson Saga Reviewed“ THE TEXAN [ [link removed] ]
> HOU CHRON: “Late night walk near a bayou? I’d think twice.“ HOU CHRON [ [link removed] ]
> MRT: “After big win, Texas QB Arch Manning shrugs off critics with a smile and notes freedom of speech“ MRT [ [link removed] ]
> MRT: “Texas seeing an increase in kindergarteners who don’t meet state requirements for measles shots“ MRT [ [link removed] ]
> COMMUNITY IMPACT: “Bastrop County Collaborative for Housing and Health seeks public feedback“ COMMUNITY IMPACT [ [link removed] ]
> MRT: “Nation’s only enriched uranium supplier at work in Permian Basin“ MRT [ [link removed] ]
> HOU CHRON: “Astros roster analysis: Second base. Questions of defense and Jose Altuve“ HOU CHRON [ [link removed] ]
EXTRA POINTS
Recent Texas sports scores:
Sat
> NCAAF: #5 Texas A&M 34, Florida 17
> NCAAF: #9 Texas Tech 42, Kansas 17
> NCAAF: Texas 23, #6 Oklahoma 6
> NCAAF: #24 USF 63, UNT 36
> NCAAF: Houston 39, Oklahoma St. 17
> NCAAF: SMU 34, Stanford 10
> NCAAF: Kansas St. 41, TCU 28
> NCAAF: UTSA 61, Rice 13
> NCAAF: Troy 48, Texas St. 41
** NCAAF: Bye teams: Baylor
> NHL: Dallas 5, Colorado 4 (OT)
> MLS: LA Galaxy 2, Dallas 1
Sun
> NFL: Carolina 30, Dallas 27
> MLS: Austin 1, LA FC 0
** NFL: Bye teams: Houston
Mon
None.
Tues
> NHL: Dallas 5, Minnesota 2

Tonight’s Texas sports schedule:
None.
Tonight’s Texas sports schedule:
> 7pm: Vancouver at Dallas (ESPN+)
---
TEXAS SPORTS HEADLINES / LINKS:
TEXAS A&M FOOTBALL: “Florida faces tough test against undefeated No. 5 Texas A&M after snapping losing streak” AP [ [link removed] ]
DALLAS COWBOYS: “Why Jerry Jones, Cowboys could be ready to gamble again as NFL trade deadline nears” DMN [ [link removed] ] ($)
DALLAS MAVERICKS: “Dallas Mavericks give coach Jason Kidd another multiyear contract extension” AP [ [link removed] ]
HOUSTON ROCKETS: “Rockets have new star in Durant as Southwest Division adds a phenom in Flagg to go with Wembanyama” AP [ [link removed] ]
DALLAS STARS: “Stars 3-0 in coach Glen Gulutzan’s return after 5-2 win over Wild in home opener” AP [ [link removed] ]
TEXAS RANGERS: “Rangers free agency: Will Texas build on its talented group of right-handed pitchers?” DMN [ [link removed] ] ($)
SMU VOLLEYBALL: “Meet Natalia Newsome, the SMU volleyball player with a higher vertical than Cooper Flagg” DMN [ [link removed] ] ($)

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