Austin's Bikeshare service has been shut down since a May 23 fire inside a battery charging room at a CapMetro facility on Ben White. The same day, a Bikeshare bike caught fire on South Congress. The role of batteries is being investigated in both. www.kut.org/transportati...

NEW: TxDOT denies Austin request to keep certain street art including: • Black Artists Matter mural on 11th • Pride crosswalk at 4th and Colorado • TEXAS mural on Guadalupe • "River" crosswalk on Lake Austin Boulevard • Traffic circle art at East 22nd and Salina www.kut.org/transportati...

Lady Bird Lake under I-35 has been narrowed to a 75-foot-wide passage until about 2033. The Austin Rowing Club says "keep out" buoys don't make clear where to go. The club requested more lighting and signs. TxDOT says they have no plans to add those. www.kut.org/transportati...

When will Delta-8 gummies be banned in Texas now that SCOTX reversed a 2021 temporary injunction that had allowed for their sale? I asked the Department of State Health Services. The response I got 45 minutes ago was they're still reviewing the ruling.

"What is he thinking?!" Mayor Kirk Watson texted a staffer as ATP pursued a $32 million office lease at 100 Congress Ave. AT KUT Fest, CM Paige Ellis agreed the plan was "tone-deaf," but said the dispute showed Project Connect oversight is working. www.kut.org/transportati...

BREAKING: Smokable hemp can stay on store shelves across Texas after Travis County judge grants temporary injunction that also freezes sharply higher licensing and registration fees. www.kut.org/business/202...

A not widely reported detail in the lawsuit by Texas hemp companies: Texas medical marijuana company Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation filed a brief siding with the state. kut.org/business/202...

Texas hemp stores will have to stop selling smokable forms of cannabis Friday at 5 p.m. unless a judge issues a temporary injunction. Today is the LAST DAY of that hearing. I'm in the media room at the Travis County Civil & Family Courts Facility with a clean audio feed. 🧵

Texas hemp stores have less than 48 hours left before they have to stop selling flower, extract and smokable forms of cannabis. That's unless a Travis County judge issues a temporary injunction. Day two of the hearing was today. Last day is tomorrow. www.kut.org/business/202...

Here's five hours of audio from DAY ONE of the Texas hemp hearing yesterday. The hemp industry is seeking a temporary injunction that would, among other things, allow for the sale of smokable cannabis products while their lawsuit plays out in court. youtu.be/DGvQYnioRo8

I'm at Travis County district court for DAY TWO of a hearing over the new Texas hemp regulations. I'll be posting more updates below from the "media room" at Travis County Civil and Family Courts Facility. I have a clean audio feed but can't see the courtroom.

I'm at Travis County district court for a hearing over the new Texas hemp regulations. Hemp businesses are asking for a temporary injunction to keep blocking parts of the rules while their lawsuit plays out. I'll be posting some updates below.

Smokable hemp products can be legally sold in Texas at least through May 1. A temporary restraining order had been set to expire Friday. It's now extended. A hearing on a temporary injunction of new state rules is now set for April 28-30. Background: www.kut.org/business/202...

Smokable hemp products can be sold again in Texas for now. A Travis County judge today granted a temporary restraining order against some of the new hemp regulations that took effect March 31. The order leaves in place sharply higher annual fees for businesses. www.kut.org/business/202...

Texas hemp businesses hope a Travis County judge issues a temporary restraining order allowing smokable cannabis to be sold as soon as this weekend. The hearing is on Friday. More about the lawsuit: www.kut.org/business/202...

Wish we had something like this at ABIA www.youtube.com/live/_-Qg5jD...

The Texas ban on smokable hemp takes effect today. Can consumers still buy online from out-of-state? State regulators say no. Cannabis attorneys say yes, but acknowledge it's a legal gray area. www.kut.org/business/202...

The Texas Newsroom has obtained videos of an immigration operation last summer in East Austin. It involved the arrests of five workers near a construction site. We wondered what the tapes said about how state police and ICE work together in Texas. 1/ www.kut.org/crime-justic...

The long TSA lines at Austin's airport are being seized upon by both Republicans and Democrats as proof of why the other side should compromise in the government shutdown. Both sides also say ABIA's lines are not being caused by the government shutdown. www.kut.org/transportati...

Buda approves new H-E-B location north of Main Street (on former landfill site) that will include drive thru BBQ and garden center. Story by KUT’s Leigh Walden: www.kut.org/community/20...

Patrick Rose says he will resign as chair of Austin's Airport Advisory Commission at 6 p.m. today. Rose said he has other civic duties that will take up his time. This is an unpaid, volunteer position. Members are appointed by City Council. Rose was appointed by Mayor Watson.

Starting May 21, Canadian carrier Porter Airlines will fly nonstop from Austin to Toronto. Right now, only Air Canada covers that route. This is Porter's first time in Texas. Porter claims to operate "one of the world’s most environmentally-sustainable aircraft fleet."

Texas is banning the sale and manufacture of smokable cannabis effective March 31. The rules have now been adopted by DSHS. The annual fee for hemp stores will go from $150 to $5,000. The annual fee for hemp manufacturers will go from $250 to $10,000. www.kut.org/business/202...

Emails obtained by KUT News show TxDOT and a nonprofit managing the Butler Trail spent months trying to steer $25 million for a new Lady Bird Lake Boardwalk around city government and the city council. There was one problem: state rules didn't allow it. www.kut.org/transportati...

TxDOT is warning Austin's City Council: approve the deal for a $25 million boardwalk on Lady Bird Lake or the money disappears. Almost three years after the boardwalk was announced, construction hasn't even started. Internal emails obtained by KUT News help explain why. www.kut.org/transportati...

MAJOR I-35 CLOSURE THIS WEEKEND: The northbound mainlanes of I-35 will be closed from Slaughter Lane to Ben White Boulevard — four miles — on Friday night and Saturday night, lasting from about 11 p.m. till 9 or 10 a.m. This is for construction work on the new elevated lanes.

As of 8:25 a.m., no wait to vote and a smooth process at this polling location at 8601 South 1st Street in Austin.

Tickets for speeding and distracted driving have more than doubled in Austin since 2024, according to city data. KUT’s Luz Moreno Lozano reports APD is putting more emphasis on traffic enforcement. www.kut.org/austin/2026-...

Austin removed three federally approved experimental crosswalks this week after the FHWA terminated a safety study. The FHWA said the colorful crosswalks posed "safety concerns." We obtained the city's report to Washington showing results were mixed. www.kut.org/transportati...

NEW: Austin-Bergstrom International Airport says it had 21,666,852 departing and arriving passengers last year, the third-highest total on record.

Smokable cannabis remains legal in Texas for now. Today, a spokesperson with the Department of State Health Services said they received hundreds of public comments on the proposed rule, and they’re still reviewing them. Background: www.kut.org/politics/202...

MAJOR I-35 RAMP CLOSURE: Starting Sunday, the northbound I-35 exit at Riverside Drive and the northbound Holly Street entrance ramp and exit will permanently close. Detour: Woodland exit. In early February, the northbound I-35 entrance ramp at Cesar Chavez will reopen.

A new flyover ramp opens Saturday connecting the northbound MoPac toll lane with the new toll lanes on northbound U.S 183. CTRMA says the southbound toll lanes on 183 North should open in late-February or early-March, weather permitting.

CapMetro confirms ALL its buses now have Tap-to-Pay. Feb. 1 is the date they’ll “officially launch” the new service and start promoting/marketing it. But you can pay with your phone or credit card now and get daily fare capping. www.kut.org/transportati...

Reminder you can get a live look at Austin road conditions using the city's traffic cam map. data.mobility.austin.gov/traffic-came...

Austin police say they received reports of 67 car crashes from noon yesterday to 9 a.m. this morning.

NEW: CapMetro will have delayed start Monday with limited service beginning at noon, Mayor Watson says. - First trains will leave Lakeline at 12:22 pm and downtown Austin at 12:29 - Access trips start at noon - All Pickup zones will run except Lago Vista - No Bikeshare

At ABIA, one of two runways is closed (West runway 18R/36L) so they can focus snow removal on a single runway. They use trucks retrofitted with plows. ABIA deputy chief Sam Haynes confirms 115 departing flight cancelations and 87 arriving flight cancellations.

More than 200 cancelations today at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, according to FlightAware. www.flightaware.com/live/cancell...

Mayor Kirk Watson confirms the man found dead at a Shell station at I-35 and 38 1/2 Street died from exposure to the cold. www.kut.org/energy-envir...

NEW: CapMetro will have delayed start Monday with limited service beginning at noon, Mayor Watson says. - First trains will leave Lakeline at 12:22 pm and downtown Austin at 12:29 - Access trips start at noon - All Pickup zones will run except Lago Vista - No Bikeshare

BREAKING: AISD is canceling school Monday, along with many other area school districts and colleges including UT-Austin.

Austin-area roads are being pre-treated with a chemical that melts ice ahead of the cold front expected to roll in tonight. You can watch a winter weather preparedness news conference happening now in this post by KUT's Andrew Weber: www.kut.org/energy-envir...

The Woodland Avenue vehicle crossing at I-35 in Austin is closed forever. One sidewalk remains open underneath I-35 at Woodland. But eventually pedestrians will also have to detour more than a mile to get to the other side of the highway. www.kut.org/transportati...

BREAKING: Austin’s light-rail plan gets environmental clearance from the Trump administration’s FTA. www.kut.org/transportati...

Texas is set to ban smokable cannabis as soon as Jan. 25. www.kut.org/politics/202...

BREAKING: Mayor Watson reveals ABIA will add "32 new gates" under new long-term lease agreements with major carriers. I asked an airport staffer, "Will these all be in the new Concourse B?" They said more details will come in a press release after this news conference.

For revamping Austin's Sixth Street, city staff are recommending.....Door Number Three. Door Number Three (aka Alternative 3) proposes the biggest sidewalks and nixes any bike/scooter lanes. speakupaustin.org/sixthstreet#...

CapMetro says tap-to-pay is coming in early 2026, according to a memo to the board. That's about a year late. CapMetro had originally said tap-to-pay would launch in March of this year. Getting secure payment processing set up took longer than expected.

Which parks decks over I-35 should the city commit to paying for? The price for all 14+ acres exceeds $300 million. TxDOT says they only need a ballpark estimate from staff by May. City staff say they can't give an estimate without a council vote. www.kut.org/transportati...