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- ATX PULSE 2/9-11/26 (free) (sponsored by Kelsey Easton, COMPASS): Judge Sides with COA in Denying Petition to Halt Convention Center Expansion // Project Connect Lawsuit Heard Before Texas Supreme Court // Cedar Fever is Back // COA and TxDOT Reach Updated Road Maintenance Deal
ATX PULSE 2/9-11/26 (free) (sponsored by Kelsey Easton, COMPASS): Judge Sides with COA in Denying Petition to Halt Convention Center Expansion // Project Connect Lawsuit Heard Before Texas Supreme Court // Cedar Fever is Back // COA and TxDOT Reach Updated Road Maintenance Deal
Everything you NEED TO KNOW about Austin.
Matt Mackowiak
February 12, 2026
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WEATHER
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TOP NEWS
"Judge sides with city in Austin Convention Center expansion lawsuit" via Spectrum News – A lawsuit questioning Austin city officials’ decision to move forward with the expansion of the downtown convention center has reached a resolution after a judge sided with the city.
The Austin United PAC filed a lawsuit against the city in December 2025 claiming that the city clerk unlawfully rejected their petition that would have prompted a vote on the expansion of the Austin Convention Center.
Mayor Kirk Watson’s office sent the following statement to Spectrum News regarding the ruling:
“This is a good win for Austinites. Our City Clerk handled this matter professionally and I appreciate that professionalism. Plus, the expansion of our convention center is important to our city’s future. It serves as a focal point of our important and thriving tourism industry. I’m pleased that we are looking at a bright future.”
Despite the outcome, Natalie Crowe, an organizer with the Austin United PAC, said the organization isn’t giving up.
“While we are disappointed with the court's decision, we're not giving up the fight! Our legal team is reviewing all possible options for next steps, and we're in a strategic planning phase for the campaign's future. The convention center project is a $5 Billion mistake the city can't afford. Austinites deserve a group that fights to preserve their economic and cultural interests, and we will keep working towards that goal,” Crowe said in a statement sent to Spectrum News.
"Austin’s long-delayed light rail is back in court. Will it clear the way or stall?" Austin American-Statesman's Alex Driggars – The Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday heard oral arguments in a case that could determine whether Austin’s long-delayed light-rail project can move forward.
The underlying dispute centers on the funding mechanism for the more than $7 billion project, which Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and other plaintiffs argue is unconstitutional.
The case stems from two lawsuits filed in 2023 that were later consolidated. The first was brought by a group of residents that included business owners, current and former elected officials and social justice advocates who argued that the light-rail project has been scaled back so significantly that it no longer reflects what Austin voters approved.
Voters overwhelmingly endorsed the light-rail plan in 2020 as part of Project Connect. Early proposals envisioned as many as 28 miles of track across the city. Local officials later reduced the plan to fewer than 10 miles.
"Spate of Austin lake deaths is ‘consistent’ with other cities as cops temper ‘serial killer’ theories" via The Independent – Over the past few years, dozens of bodies have been recovered from in or around Austin’s Lady Bird Lake, fueling fears of a serial killer across Texas’ capital city.
The deaths have sparked a slew of theories online, but police have maintained that there is no such serial killer – and that Austin is no different from other cities when it comes to drownings.
“The unfortunate deaths… are consistent with a population this size and a body of water that runs right down the middle of (the city),” Sgt. Nathan Sexton told KXAN.
But a recent “Beneath the Surface” Catalyst investigation by KXAN suggests the comparison between cities is not so straightforward.
The news outlet’s review of autopsy reports and law enforcement records identified at least 30 drowning deaths, many involving intoxication, in Lady Bird Lake over the past decade.
"Police remove dog from Downtown Austin apartment in suspected animal cruelty case" via KVUE – Austin police have removed a dog from an apartment after videos on social media appear to show a man hurting the animal.
According to the Austin Police Department, officers responded to the SEVEN Apartments on West Seventh Street around 4 p.m. Sunday after receiving tips from the public about possible animal abuse happening on a balcony.
The APD Animal Cruelty Unit reviewed the videos and decided to remove the dog, Boone, for his safety. Boone was taken to Austin Animal Services for evaluation while an investigation is underway.
The dog has been checked by a veterinarian and is "in generally good health," police said. Staff are working on helping him feel safe.
Austin police say a suspect has been found and the investigation remains active.
(KVUE)
"Cedar fever is happening in Central Texas but what does that mean?" Austin American-Statesman's Mary Wasson – Cedar fever is happening in Austin but what does that mean?
So far this year — setting aside the January freezes — our weather has been dominated by breezy, dry cold fronts, each one stirring up cedar, aka Ashe juniper, pollen as it sweeps through.
We are in the middle of cedar fever season: The time of year when pollen from trees scientifically known as Juniperus ashei, fills the air, invades our sinuses and triggers allergy symptoms for many across Central Texas.
This isn’t surprising because the Edwards Plateau, or the Texas Hill Country, is home to 24 million acres of Ashe juniper trees, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. They’re spread across a broad swath of Texas, from the Red River to the Rio Grande, including the Hill Country west of Interstate 35, where junipers grow alongside live oaks.
