ATX Pulse 7/6-8/26 (free): New Homeless Navigation Center Coming to N. Austin // 3 Homicides After July 4th // City Hall Facing $26M Budget Deficit // First Month of Homeless Encampment Cleanups: 35 sheltered, 334 tons of Debris Cleared

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MONDAY, JULY 6, 2026 - WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2026

Compiled by Matt Mackowiak

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WEATHER

Today: H: 99° / L: 75°. Mostly sunny.

Thursday: H: 99° / L: 76°. Sunny and hazy.

Friday: H: 96° / L: 76°. Partly cloudy. 10% chance of rain.

TOP NEWS

"A new homeless navigation center is coming to North Austin" via KUT – For people experiencing homelessness in North Austin, accessing food, shelter or a shower can mean taking the bus to downtown or South Austin. A new navigation center set to open this summer aims to bring those services to the city's north side.

The project is led by local nonprofit We Can Now. Antony Jackson, the organization's CEO, still can't believe this was possible.

“It's a true testament to the power of God, if you ask me," Jackson said. "To be able to get a piece of real estate in the city that you grew up in and were homeless in, and be able to provide services to people in that same circumstance. Like, what?”

Jackson started We Can Now after spending much of his youth in and out of shelters and living in his car. (KUT)

"Why is it so hot at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport?" via AAS – Folks heading outside to celebrate the Fourth of July this weekend might want to hydrate and wear light clothing as a heat dome settles over Central Texas. Passengers flying out of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport might want to do the same as it heats up in the Barbara Jordan Terminal.

As tens of thousands of travelers flock to the airport each day during the holiday weekend, travelers have noticed parts of the terminal can get a bit stuffy during the daytime.

“We are aware that the middle section of the Barbara Jordan Terminal has felt warmer than usual, and we understand it’s been uncomfortable for both travelers and our staff,” airport spokeswoman Samantha Rojas said in an email.

The reason is a matter of simple meteorology, she said, adding that the airport is doing what it can to cool the terminal. (AAS)

"Austin airport: 13 projects underway, from parking to terminal upgrades" via AAS – When COVID-19 decimated air travel six years ago, Sam Haynes and the rest of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport’s leadership thought the lull would give them some runway to expand the airport for a demand surge in the distant future.

The airport had just opened nine gates on the east end of the Barbara Jordan Terminal, raising its capacity from 11 million to 15 million passengers per year. Projections showed traffic wouldn’t drastically exceed that number until late in the decade — plenty of time to implement the expansion projects in the airport master plan it adopted in 2019.

But explosive population growth in Central Texas during the pandemic fueled an aviation surge that surprised even the most adept prognosticators.

“Early on in the pandemic, we did not estimate that we would return to pre-pandemic travel volumes until about 2023,” Haynes said. “Then something completely unexpected and projection-defying happened, and that is that 2022 became our busiest year ever.” (AAS)

"UT Austin professor developing low-tech flood alarm after deadly 2025 Hill Country floods" via KEYE — A year after floods killed over 130 people in Central Texas, including 27 campers and counselors at Camp Mystic, a University of Texas at Austin hydrology professor is developing a simple outdoor flood alarm designed to give residents a last line of defense.

Daniella Rempe, an associate professor at the UT Jackson School of Geosciences, began designing the device after the July 4, 2025, floods, working with longtime collaborators David Dralle, a research hydrologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, and Jesse Hahm, an associate professor at Simon Fraser University. Rempe said she spent childhood summers at a Texas Hill Country sleepaway camp and wanted to help prevent similar tragedies from happening again, in Texas or elsewhere.

The device, similar to high-water alarms used in septic systems, pairs a water-level sensor with an alarm and warning light. Unlike indoor flood detectors, it's built to withstand outdoor conditions and doesn't rely on the internet or a phone app, which Rempe said makes it more reliable in an emergency.

"We're trying to fill an important gap in flood safety: a last line of defense device," Rempe said. "Even in communities like mine that are fortunate to have emergency warning texts and sirens, a device like this can save lives." (KEYE)

THE BLOTTER

"Three killed in separate Austin-area shootings after Fourth of July" via AAS –- Three people were killed and another person was injured in two separate Austin-area homicide investigations that began late Fourth of July night and continued into Sunday morning.

The first shooting was reported around 11:48 p.m. in the parking lot of Michelobos at 900 E. Braker Lane, where Austin police said officers found two injured men. Both were taken to a hospital. One died shortly before 12:30 a.m., and the other was listed in stable condition, according to police. A person of interest was detained as part of the investigation, police said.

Hours later, Travis County sheriff's deputies were called to a shooting at 9705 Reservoir Court, where two people were killed after an altercation in a nightclub parking lot, according to the Travis County Sheriff's Office.

Kristen Dark, a sheriff's office spokesperson, said deputies responded just before 4 a.m. after a 911 caller reported shots fired. Multiple shots were fired after an altercation outside the establishment, where Dark said close to 400 people were either inside the business or in the parking lot at the time. (AAS)

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