AISD Employees Detained by ICE: This past week, a handful of AISD employees were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to reporting from the Austin American-Statesman. The employees include a teacher, a bus driver, and cafeteria workers from Hart, Pickle, and Perez elementaries, McCallum High School, and the Nelson Bus Base. AISD Superintendent Matias Segura says that the district is unaware of its employees’ statuses. “Here it’s just black. It’s just nothing – nothing at all. I don’t even know if they’re in the country,” Segura said to the Statesman. Currently, all of the employees are still receiving their paychecks, but Segura said that the district’s policy will likely change before the end of the year to factor in the longstanding detentions.
Mayor Kirk Watson at Thursday’s Council meeting Credit: atxn.tv
Major Budget Cuts Following Prop Q’s Defeat: After the Prop Q proposal to raise property taxes in an attempt to give more funding to homelessness solutions, EMS, EMCOT, and other social services failed at the ballot box, losing 63-37%, the city cut $95 million from its annual budget this past Thursday. Had Prop Q passed, $110 million would have been on hand, which was included in the approved budget back in August. Now, the city is making cuts in the areas where Prop Q would have lent a helping hand. EMS, the parks and fire departments, and the municipal court all have taken large hits due to Prop Q’s failure and the approval of the recently designed budget. The newly passed budget is also set to wipe out a $40 million transfer to Austin’s emergency reserve fund. Read more in Brant Bingamon’s report.
Save Austin Now Petition: Following Prop Q’s flop, the Republican group Save Austin Now, which was heavily against the proposition, is now working toward crafting a petition that would enforce a regular city budget audit that would distinguish “multi-year cost savings.” With a goal of 25,000 signatures by February 1, the group is hopeful to get the measure on the May 2026 ballot. It would require the city to evaluate “external and performance-based affordability and efficiency” every five years, as well as any year leading up to tax rate votes.
Battle of the Concert Venue: The proposed 5,000-seat outdoor concert venue on Fitzhugh Road will no longer be built on that property, according to the Stop Fitzhugh Concert Venue Coalition. After three years of protests from neighbors and activists over the venue’s potential environmental impact on the Barton Creek watershed, Blizexas LLC, the California-based developer of the venue, has entered into a contract to sell the land to Fitzhugh Ridge LLC, an entity of Austin nonprofit the Shield-Ayres Foundation. The advocacy group’s announcement says that Fitzhugh Ridge LLC plans on protecting the Barton Creek watershed.
With the rise of whooping cough, Austin Public Health advises vaccinations Credit: Getty Images
Whooping Cough on the Rise: Austin Public Health announced on Friday, Nov. 21, an increase of whooping cough cases within Travis County, stating that there has been a significant elevation in cases in comparison to past years, with over half of the confirmed cases associated with children. The illness affects an individual’s lungs and is incredibly contagious, spread through coughing. What initially begins as an average cold ultimately spirals into a contagious cough that can last up to three weeks. The disease can be prevented through proper vaccination, health officials say.
TSU Upholds Firing of Tom Alter: On Thursday, Nov. 20, Texas State University Board of Regents unanimously voted to uphold the termination of former history professor Dr. Tom Alter, who was fired for comments he made about the U.S. government during a virtual conference in September. After he was dismissed by the university president, Kelly Damphousse, without due process on Sept. 10, Alter was reinstated shortly after when a Hays County judge issued a restraining order against the university. Now, a couple of months after thousands have backed Alter, stating that the university is violating his First Amendment rights, he and his legal team plan to proceed with a lawsuit against Texas State University and Damphousse.
GOP Map Back (for Now): After a three-judge panel in El Paso ruled Tuesday, Nov. 18, that Texas cannot implement the new congressional map that was redrawn by Texas GOP members during the legislative session, Justice Samuel Alito temporarily restored the proposed map. Alito’s decision comes after Greg Abbott and the state urged the Supreme Court to restore the redistricting plan through an emergency appeal that was filed Friday, Nov. 21. If the map is instated, it is expected to result in five flipped seats for the Republicans in the 2026 midterms, and would make the route to retaking the majority increasingly difficult for Democrats. Abbott said that the court’s decision to refuse the map came “far too late in the day,” stating that eliminating the plan would upend the upcoming election. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey V. Brown, who ruled against the new congressional map, stating that the state racially gerrymandered it, wrote that “constitutional right to participate in free and fair elections is not outweighed by minor inconveniences to the State’s election administrators and to candidates nor by any residual voter confusion.” The clock is ticking for the Supreme Court to weigh in: Candidates for congressional races must file by end of day Monday, Dec. 8.
José Garza Drops Austin Officer’s Murder Charges: Over six years after Austin Police Officer Karl Krycia shot and killed Mauris DeSilva, Travis County District Attorney José Garza decided to drop the officer’s murder and deadly conduct cases. The decision comes less than a week after Travis County Judge Karen Sage declared a hung jury in the Daniel Sanchez case where he fatally shot Rajan Moonesinghe in November 2022, and just a few months after Garza dropped charges against officer Christopher Taylor for killing Michael Ramos in 2020, less than a year after he was indicted for the DeSilva murder alongside Krycia. Taylor was sentenced to two years in prison for deadly conduct in correlation with the DeSilva murder, but remains out of custody while he appeals the ruling. Garza negotiated an agreement that requires Krycia to switch his role as an officer to a police academy instructor.
ACLU and Travis County Settle Lawsuit: A year and a half after the ACLU of Texas and partners filed a class action lawsuit against Travis County over the right to counsel at first appearance, the parties have come to a settlement agreement. Previously, Travis County was not required to provide individuals with legal counsel prior to their first court appearance. On Tuesday, Nov. 18, the Travis County Commissioners Court voted unanimously to change that, now requiring the county to provide legal counsel before individuals step inside a courtroom for the first time. Alfredo Reyes Jr., organizer at VOCAL-TX, said that the decision will have a lasting impact on the homeless community, speaking from his own experiences. “Providing an attorney at first appearance is a huge step in the right direction and means fewer unhoused people will have to go through what I did when I got arrested,” he said.
TAB’s Glenn Hamer Accused of Sexual Assault: On Monday, Nov. 24, an unidentified woman and her attorney, Tony Buzbee, filed a lawsuit accusing Glenn Hamer, president and CEO of the Texas Association of Business, the Texas state chamber that works to provide a fair business climate, of sexually harassing and assaulting her before using business tactics to retaliate against the woman when she rejected his advances, and now seeks $10 million in damages, according to The Texas Tribune. TAB Board of Directors Chair Bill Jones announced that the organization has placed Hamer on administrative leave “while it conducts a full internal investigation.”
Georgia Republican Rep. Resigns: Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene announced that she was resigning from office on Friday, Nov. 21. Unlike many Republicans who hide cowardly behind Trump’s cloak, Greene has expressed her concerns with some of Trump’s decisions and policies in the past, which has led to heavy criticism from the president. Greene – a former MAGA diehard with a fondness for conspiracy theories who claimed the 2020 election was stolen – says that she has faced “never-ending personal attacks, death threats, lawfare, ridiculous slander and lies,” since Trump stripped the former congresswoman of his endorsement. Rejoicing in her resignation, Trump said, “I think it’s great news for the country.”
National Guard Leaves D.C.: On Thursday, Nov. 20, U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb ordered an end to the ongoing deployment of National Guard troops in Washington, D.C. In August, Trump signed off on an executive order, stating there was enough crime within the country’s capital to deploy over 2,300 National Guard troops within a month. Cobb says that the administration’s military implementation has illegally intruded on the authority of local law enforcement. The capital is not the only location where Trump has sent the National Guard, as they have been deployed in Los Angeles. He has ongoing efforts to deploy troops in Chicago and Portland, Ore., also citing crime and “lawlessness” as his reasoning for the efforts.
From Infomercials to In Office?: Offer Vince Shlomi, the “ShamWow” towel infomercial spokesperson, is taking on new endeavors. Known as the star of the early 2000s commercials, Shlomi is now running for Congress, looking to take the seat held by Republican Rep. John Carter, according to NBC News. Shlomi will have his work cut out for him, as the 84-year-old Republican announced that he is running for reelection in the already crowded field after having served in Congress for over two decades. Shlomi says that he hopes to “destroy wokeism” within Congress, with his overall goal being to “make America happy.”
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“I’m going to be honest… I didn’t see this coming but the threats that come with being on the opposite side of Trump ARE REAL!”
Texas Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett in an X post in response to Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s resignation announcement
Credit: crockett.house.gov
This article appears in November 28 • 2025.
A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.