'Democrats price Democrats out of Austin?' State HQ moves to Dallas

Hum along. You know the theme song!

The venerable Adam Cahn pontificated yesterday, "Democrats price Democrats out of Austin? LOL."

Whether it's sky-high rent for businesses suites or so the Democratic state chairman has a quicker commute to the office, TDP is moving to Dallas. The Hayride has more on this rumored relocation, which we reprint below.

Maybe they took the nickname "Big D" a little too seriously.

If Texas Democrats fleeing to Chicago over the summer were one thing, pulling up stakes and leaving the state capital is certainly another. After a hard slog of a legislative year for Democrats in the Lone Star State, the Texas Democratic Party's state exeuctive committee looked at their chances in 2026 and decided to move from Austin to Dallas.

Proposed Austin, Travis County tax hikes could cost residents $1,200 extra per year

If you live in Austin and Travis County, your taxes may go up by around $1,200 next year.

The City of Austin's biennial budget, approved today by the City Council, raised the budget by just under a billion dollars ($5.5B to $6.3B) for 2025-26, meanwhile Travis County Commissioners are mulling a $2B budget and an estimated 9.12% tax hike.

If these numbers seem high it's because they are. According to City Council member Marc Duchen, the proposed tax rate election will ask voters to decide on a tax increase of "almost 19%, the biggest hike in 35 years."

How to directly help Travis County flood victims

Aerial view of Sandy Creek (X.com)

The July Fourth flooding event was tragic. That much has been the focus of national news over the weekend and into this week, with now over 100 deaths reported throughout Central Texas. Nothing more about that needs to be repeated here but here is a quick summary, followed by some ways to help.

• The majority of the deaths were along the Guadalupe River in Kerr County and, where numerous campers were evacuated, several died, and a few are still unaccounted for. 14 inches of rainfall on average hit the river basin.
  
  
• The San Gabriel River (including north and south forks) was also hard hit with around 16 inches of rain and the brunt of the infrastructure damage in Georgetown, where a pedestrian bridge was taken out and nearby apartments evacuated. A boil water notice is in effect for areas north of Georgetown.
  
  
• Cow Creek on the Burnet-Travis county line near Lago Vista was also devastated, with many trailer homes taken out and the only bridge between Lago and Marble Falls completely taken out.
  
  
• The heaviest rainfall of the flooding event was along the area known as Sandy Creek, just west of Leander in far northwestern Travis County. Numerous homes were emaciated, with about as many missing person reports in the wake of the flood. At least one teenager is dead, a student from Tom Glen High School in Leander. The only road into a portion of the Sandy Creek Ranches neighborhood is gone, as rescue workers are using kayaks to deliver relief supplies to homes and properties -- some of which are without utilities at the moment.

Lake Travis Dems to polling place voters: Pay no attention to our candidates on the loudspeaker!

Visit any polling place during voting hours in Texas and you'll pass distance markers, legal postings, and the watchful gaze of poll watchers and election staff. If you happen to step on the wrong eggshell then get ready to hear all about it.

That is, if you're not a member of a local Democrat club in a town just west of Austin. Then, according to various complaints, you can get away with not only violating the distance limit but outright mocking the regulations from a loudspeaker in an open-door rally for candidates. You can even illegally campaign for candidates on ballots just feet away, or be one of the candidates yourself. Neither the election judge, or the county sheriff, or even the media will apparently step in to warn you.

“We’re obviously, like, 40 feet away from a polling place? And there's an investigative reporter from the Texas Tribune here. [laughter] ... So that's all I'm gonna to say about that," said Jonathan Bove, a Democrat-endorsed candidate for Lake Travis Independent School District Board of Trustees, Place 4, according to a recording of the meeting (see below). Bove is opposing John Severance, a Republican-backed candidate for Place 4 on the local school board.

May 2025 Conservative Voter Guide - Travis County

Early voting is April 22-29 with Local Election Day being Saturday, May 3, 2025.

Turnout has been under 10,000 in Travis County for the first election since the mother of all elections in fall 2024. The good news there is that this is one of those elections in which the winners will be those who turn out the most of their supporters to the polls.

The bad news is that not everyone in the county will have a ballot, so voter confusion is a factor in the May 2025 Local Elections. Have no fear: The Tracker has you covered! First, find out if you're eligible for a ballot this time at www.VoteTravis.com and generate a sample ballot.

Secondly, see below for a complete list of recommendations. While we did our best to include all races, not all will have recommendations. Actually, most won't because of lack of local input, or the fact that most are non-controversial. But look for the bold print where we think a conservative vote is needed.

'Widest bridge in Texas' to be built in South Austin?

We're taking a closer look at this situation, but thought we'd go ahead and share this email we received soliciting opposing comments on what appears to be plans for a humongous bridge south of Town Lake -- perhaps the widest in Texas. 

As you know, I [Dean Van Landuyt] am a bridge engineer with more than 40 years of design experience.  The ATP (Austin Transportation Partnership) is planning to build the WIDEST bridge in the State of Texas along Riverside Drive.  There is nothing light about the light rail bridge they have in mind.  They’re budgeting for a cheap, heavy highway structure.  The ATP has done a bait-and-switch since the bond vote and now wants to move the tracks from the street level up to a new 1-mile-long highway-type bridge.  At the junction of the South Congress and Riverside lines, the structure balloons from 35’ to approximately 150' wide.  For scale, the current widest bridge in the state is on I-10 in Houston and is 140' wide.

Ironically, at a time when TxDOT is tearing down the twin I35 elevated bridges and depressing the mainlanes downtown to improve the appearance and quality of life in the city, ATP is trying to slip in this monstrosity.  They have not been forthcoming about how massive this is.  They have only shown a few pretty renderings of people ambling next to zippy light rail stations.

I was able to track down some minimal engineering plans and expose what they are really up to.  And wouldn’t you know, a huge bridge is the preferred solution of the developers who recently bought the old American-Statesman and TxDOT buildings on the NE corner of Congress and Riverside Drive.  ...

If you would like to keep the south shore of Lady Bird Lake from turning into a blighted area, I ask that you copy and attach the attached Word file [via Google Docs] and send it to input@atptx.org.

Austin kids' museum staff: give us DEI training!

UPDATE: The Thinkery responded with a statement, not mentioning the DEI demand specifically.

Parents, children, and other visitors were taken aback today when encountering a picket line in front of a popular kids' venue in Austin due to a strike at least partially fueled by DEI.

Formerly the Austin Children's Museum, The Thinkery is funded through a combination of philanthropic gifts, ticket sales ($18/head), and local government funds, such as the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department.

According to a note being distributed by a group of Thinkery employees and "floor staff," there were numerous safety concerns with the building and a lack of emergency training. A Reddit thread indicated that at least five employees were recently terminated, which may have sparked the dissent. The letter named a lead staff member, demanding her termination.

Among the other items was a rather politically charged demand: