More than 20 years ago, Judge Lora Livingston returned from an American Bar Association conference and bought an easel. Set near the elevators at the Heman Marion Sweatt Courthouse, it displayed daily court dockets, helping visitors quickly find the courtroom they needed.

Only the top decision-makers at the University of Texas at Austin know exactly what comes next for radio stations KUT and KUTX. The abrupt firing earlier this month of longtime general manager Debbie Hiott has raised questions and concerns across the community.

The City of Austin has spent millions of dollars over the past six years to hire outside attorneys to handle lawsuits involving police violence, labor fights, and land disputes, records obtained by the Austin Free Press show. Austin Free Press examined records from October 2019 through April 2026.

The Trump administration – in a re-prioritization of programs –had cut the LGBTQ+ community out of healthcare coverage for certain issues and eliminated $125 million in unspent grant dollars from LGBTQ+ health research.

When Austin unveiled its $1.1 million city logo last year, the curvaceous green and blue “A” was widely lampooned. In a parody, the conservative Save Austin Now PAC repurposed that “A” to promote its petition drive to force the city to obtain regular independent audits. Check at austinfreepress.org

For roughly two decades, the Austin City Limits Festival Market has offered concertgoers a chance to take home something more uniquely Austin than a band T-shirt or commemorative poster. This year, confusion abounds in the local art economy.

As Juneteenth approaches, descendants of the Freedom Colony of Littig are honoring their ancestors while working to preserve the community's legacy. Read the full story here: austinfreepress.org/still-here/

The Austin City Council approved 110 rezoning cases in 2025, but two recent East Austin defeats have prompted questions about whether the city’s pro-development consensus is starting to fracture. Read full story here: austinfreepress.org/comfort-zone/

As Austin celebrates the opening of The Confluence, advocates and park leaders debate who benefits most from the city's biggest park investments. Read the full story here: austinfreepress.org/park-politics/

Austin has extended funding for a behavioral health program serving unhoused residents with mental illness and substance use disorders, but with hundreds still on the waitlist, providers say the need for care continues to outpace available resources. Read here: austinfreepress.org/beyond-shelt...

District 5 Council Member Ryan Alter defends Austin Energy’s controversial peaker plant purchase, arguing that emissions safeguards and continued investment in renewables will limit its environmental impact. Read the full story here: austinfreepress.org/ryan-alter-b...

Austin has renamed an East Austin wildlife preserve after late artist and activist Daniel Llanes, honoring decades of work to protect the Colorado River, advance environmental justice, and preserve community spaces. Read the full story here: austinfreepress.org/between-eart...

Records show Austin Transit Partnership scrubbed references to diversity, environmental justice and climate change as it pursued federal rail funding under Trump. Read the full story here: austinfreepress.org/dei-is-doa/

Austin City Council District 5 candidate David Weinberg says residents deserve greater transparency and a stronger commitment to clean energy following the city's recent decision to pursue new gas-fired power plants. Read full story here: austinfreepress.org/ryan-alter/

As Austin moves forward with a $1 billion natural gas peaker project, the city is keeping council members' votes secret — a decision open government advocates say undermines transparency and accountability. Read the full story here: austinfreepress.org/dark-energy/

"I lost my father almost five years ago." That personal experience inspired one Austin journalist to share the story of Camp Brave Heart, where children navigating loss come together to heal, connect, and realize they're not alone. Read the full story here: austinfreepress.org/camp-brave-h...

As Austin Transit Partnership pushes ahead with rail construction plans, unresolved legal questions and an elusive federal funding commitment continue to cast a shadow over Project Connect. Read the full story here: austinfreepress.org/golden-spike/

Austin transgender musicians and drag performers are turning to community fundraising to help cover the soaring costs of gender-affirming care as access becomes increasingly uncertain in Texas and across the country. Read the full story here: austinfreepress.org/trans-format...

Williamson County has quietly become one of Texas’ fastest-growing data center hubs, with 30 facilities either operating or planned as AI demand fuels a development boom. Read full story here: austinfreepress.org/data-boom/

Pease Park Conservancy will host a community gathering June 24 to honor Malin’s Fountain as investigators continue searching for the cause of the fire that destroyed the iconic troll sculpture. Read full story here: austinfreepress.org/honoring-mal...

Austin Animal Services Director Monica Dangler discusses overcrowding, reopening intake, boosting adoptions, and rebuilding public trust in the city shelter. Read full story here: austinfreepress.org/leading-chan...

Northwest Austin residents organized to clear cedar brush and dead vegetation as wildfire experts warn that the region faces growing fire risks. Read the full story here: austinfreepress.org/bushwhacking/

Austin leaders launched an effort to preserve affordable apartments as older communities disappeared. Read full story here: austinfreepress.org/ticking-clock/

The Austin City Council on Thursday passed three resolutions aimed at blunting harmful health and environmental impacts of Austin Energy’s implementation of new natural gas peaking power units, also called “peakers.” Read the full story here: austinfreepress.org/powering-con...

The historic Barton Springs Bridge has been named one of Preservation Texas’ 2026 Most Endangered Places, fueling renewed attention on the proposed demolition of the century-old crossing in Zilker Park. Read full story here: austinfreepress.org/lifespan/

Two species of “regulars,” broadly speaking, are found at Barton Springs pool. Water Slappers tend to cleave to rationalism and get their laps in come hell or high water. Read the full story here: austinfreepress.org/rule-of-capt...

Legal and public information experts are questioning the legality – and appropriateness – of last week’s behind-closed doors vote by the Austin City Council to purchase additional natural gas “peaker power plants.” Read the full story here: austinfreepress.org/piqued-inter...

The release of nearly 8,000 public comments on the MoPac South expansion offers the clearest picture yet of how Central Texans view the controversial project — and underscores what’s at stake in the ongoing legal fight over transparency. Read here: austinfreepress.org/public-access/

Kori DelaPeña’s six-year-old daughter drowned in a pool. Michelle Bannon’s teenage son died in a sailing accident.  Read the full story here: austinfreepress.org/safe-in-the-...

Arson probed: Iconic Pease Park troll destroyed Charred remains were all that remained of an iconic public troll sculpture in Austin’s historic Pease Park on Thursday morning. Read the full story here:

A fast-tracked proposal to annex more than 2,600 acres along the Colorado River under a 45-year development agreement heads to the Austin City Council today.  Read Full Story Here: austinfreepress.org/dog-gone/

This #RFADay, we are excited to welcome the newest member of our newsroom, Destini Ambus,a @reportforamerica.bsky.social corps member covering the Housing, Growth and Equity beat for Austin Free Press! Destini brings daily reporting experience and a commitment to community-centered journalism.

Black and Jewish leaders united last week at North Austin’s Galaxy Theater to watch and discuss Ilana Trachtman’s documentary, “Ain’t No Back to a Merry Go Round.”  Read the full story here: austinfreepress.org/carousel/

After hearing a presentation from Austin Energy, the Austin Electric Utility Commission voted 8-3 earlier this month to recommend adding new natural gas-powered peaking units, or “peakers,” to the city’s energy mix — a decision that heads to the Austin City Council for a final vote Thursday.

In the summer of 2024, the Taylor City Council quietly inked a deal to approve a new data center. That decision put Taylor on a growing list of Texas communities hosting data centers. Currently, there are at least 300 data centers in the state. Read here: austinfreepress.org/minority-rep...

Black businesses, event curators, chefs, artists, and historical leaders are not only vital to the culture that makes Austin a top destination city, they feed the state economy. Read the full story here: austinfreepress.org/philanthropi...

In the wake of major cuts to federal food programs, the City of Austin and area nonprofits have joined forces to help prevent Austin’s youngest and neediest from going hungry. Read full story here: austinfreepress.org/it-takes-a-v...

On a hot afternoon, I joined a group of fellow Huston-Tillotson students to visit one of the city’s most vital resources for those living without homes: the ARCH, or Austin Resource Center for the Homeless.  Read full story here: austinfreepress.org/the-arch/

Is it possible to keep the lights on during peak demand and care for the planet and public health at the same time? Read full story here: austinfreepress.org/on-demand/

Code blue: Central Health documents reveal mixed views of its CEO's performance Despite strong performance metrics, Central Health’s CEO faced a potential firing as board members raised concerns about governance and oversight. Read story here: austinfreepress.org/code-blue/

Austin’s city manager is one of the highest paid metro managers in Texas, earning nearly a half-million dollars a year, according to public records analyzed by Austin Free Press using the newly launched Government Accountability Project database. Read the story: austinfreepress.org/mind-the-gap/

The Austin City Council continued its near lock-step approval of rezoning requests in 2025, according to a new analysis of voting patterns that updates Austin Free Press’ 2024 report. Read the full story here: austinfreepress.org/rubber-stamp/

“Does anyone actually know what a cervix is?” comedian Ivy Le asked, recalling her first pap smear. “Okay, but seriously — is it a muscle? An organ?” Read the full story here: austinfreepress.org/laughing-pas...

Austin summers have gotten hotter. As temperatures rise, advocates say institutional racism is intensifying the risks faced by unsheltered residents,leaving Black and brown people disproportionately exposed to extreme heat and with fewer options for shelter. Story: austinfreepress.org/unequal-heat/

Public comments on plans to widen Austin’s MoPac Expressway should not be publicly released, according to the local highway entity promoting that road expansion. Read the full story here: austinfreepress.org/overdriving-...

The developer of a proposed hotel and conference center near Circuit of the Americas would receive payments from the city nearly comparable to the amount it would owe under the city’s hotel tax, under a package of incentives being considered at Austin City Hall.

For many, the approach of summer means little more than vacation time. But for others, Austin’s increasingly hot summers represent something different: a deadly crisis, figures show. Read full story here: austinfreepress.org/too-hot/

After months of neighborhood pushback, Austin City Council voted to approve a high-rise redevelopment project on a UT-area block. Read the full story here: austinfreepress.org/tower-tradeo...

Scorching Reality: Cooling centers feel out of reach for Austin’s unhoused Read the full story here: austinfreepress.org/scorching-re...

During her third pregnancy, Dominique Adeniyi, suffered stomach pains that didn’t feel normal. As the pain grew she repeatedly asked her doctors for help. They said it was probably just a stomach bug. Read full story here: austinfreepress.org/mother-love/