Free Speech Win (for Now): A district court issued a preliminary injunction Tuesday, preventing the UT System from enforcing the Campus Protection Act, which limits free expression at public universities. Under the law, the university is no longer a “traditional public forum,” meaning only UT students, faculty, and staff can participate in expressive activity on campus – but not between the hours of 10pm and 8am. Days after the law took effect, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression filed a lawsuit against the UT system, arguing the law “infringes a staggering amount of protected speech.” UT cannot enforce the law while the case makes its way through the courts.
State Rep. Gina Hinojosa Credit: fb.com/GinaforTexas
Hinojosa Announces Run for Governor: Former Austin ISD school board president and current state House Rep. Gina Hinojosa announced on Wednesday that she’s challenging Gov. Greg Abbott for his seat as governor, running on the priorities to make Texas more affordable, health care accessible, and our public school system better supported. Over 30 of her fellow state representatives and seven federal representatives have already endorsed her campaign, including Rep. Lloyd Doggett. “I’m running to put Texas families first, fight for our kids, and hold the powerful accountable. Texans deserve a governor who will work for them, not the billionaire class,” Hinojosa said in a Oct. 15 press release. She joins already-announced Dem gubernatorial candidates Andrew White, son of former governor Mark White, and farmer and retired firefighter Bobby Cole. Bay City Councilman Ben Flores left the race, endorsed Hinojosa, and announced his candidacy for Texas land commissioner instead.
The Right Side of the Bed: Over the past five years, the number of beds and units available to homeless people in Austin has increased by 108%, according to the 2025 ECHO report, a review of the community’s Homelessness Response System. In 2024 alone, 491 new beds became available across short- and long-term housing programs. Made possible by investments from the city, Travis County, and other funding partners, the expanded capacity has increased the number of people served and decreased their move-in times by nearly four months.
How Did AG Paxton Get So Rich? An investigation from The Wall Street Journal reports that Attorney General Ken Paxton became a millionaire by 2018 from investments and from a blind trust with his soon-to-be ex-wife Sen. Angela Paxton. The Journal reviewed documents subpoenaed for the 2023 impeachment trial including tax returns, personal financial statements, bank records of the blind trust, and text messages from the trustee, which updated Paxton on a stock buy worth $618,000 – a potential violation of the trust. The Texas Ethics Commission requires public officials to report their investments, but not their total income or net worth.
Credit: City of Austin
Not Zero, But Not Nothing: Vision Zero, the city’s ambitious plan to achieve zero traffic deaths, marked 10 years since its inception with a report that celebrated some wins but also acknowledged “substantial challenges” to achieving its defining goal. Serious road injuries have declined recently, with 2024 recording the fewest since Vision Zero’s adoption, but fatalities on city-owned roads have remained flat, while increasing on state and other agencies’ roadways. Among Texas’ six largest cities, Austin boasts the lowest rate of serious injuries and fatalities.
APD Officer Under Investigation After Viral Video: An Austin police officer caught on video punching a 19-year-old in the face on Sixth Street last Friday has been removed from patrol and placed on restricted duty, reported the Austin American-Statesman. Chief Lisa Davis said two investigations are currently underway: one to determine if the officer committed a crime and another to determine if his actions violated department policy. Mayor Kirk Watson quickly released a statement condemning the officer’s use of force, saying, “There is no room in APD for such violent behavior or for someone who claims to be a public servant and acts that way.” Austin Police Association President Michael Bullock told the Statesman the video may not “tell the whole story” and may be “intentionally used to paint officers in a negative light.” On Tuesday, news broke that the 19-year-old who was punched – who was arrested at the time and later released on bond – has been charged with assault of a peace officer.
The Convention Center construction site in September Credit: Richard Whittaker
Convention Center to a Vote: On Monday, the Austin United PAC delivered a petition to the city clerk’s office with 21,000 signatures – about 1,000 more than the required minimum – in an attempt to force a public vote in May on whether to continue the work on the Austin Convention Center or to pause construction for up to seven years. The signatures will now be verified by the city clerk, which will take at least a month, before the special election can be called. Nonetheless, the old convention center has already been demolished, and construction of the new one is well underway. Austin United PAC argues the money should be spent on Austin’s parks and cultural tourism, while a pause could leave the city with a half-constructed lot.
Central Texas Says No to Flock Cameras: Austin’s neighbors to the south are turning against mass surveillance. Last Thursday, the Lockhart City Council voted 6-1 to reject a contract with Flock Safety, the private surveillance company, to place seven automated license plate reader cameras in the city. On Tuesday, Hays County, home to San Marcos, ended their existing contract with Flock in what is believed to be the first case of such a cancellation. Sam Benavides with the Caldwell/Hays Education Fund and Amy Kamp with Ground Game Texas were instrumental in getting residents to reject the surveillance. “It’s no secret, we are living in a new political reality where even liberals, who have always been scared of the word fascism, are seeing this decline into fascism and authoritarianism,” Benavides said. “Now is not the moment to invest in this tool of mass surveillance that we know has been used by ICE to target immigrants and by cops in Texas to track people seeking abortions.”
Credit: Texas State University
Texas State Upholds Alter Termination: Tom Alter has been fired after all. Texas State University in San Marcos announced on Oct. 13 that Alter, a tenured professor in the school’s history department, had been terminated for remarks he made at an online socialism conference. Alter was first fired after the remarks, suggesting how to build coalitions to win power from the U.S. government, came to light on Sept. 10, but he was briefly reinstated by court order. “My termination is part of a broader political attack being carried out by the authoritarian far-right to crush democracy and democratic institutions in the United States in general and Texas in particular,” Alter said in a statement shared with TSU’s student-run newspaper, The Star. “But the charges leveled against me by the Texas State University administration do not stand up to the facts; I have truth on my side and I look forward to my day in court.”
Guitarland Park to Be Established in South Austin: Local rock legend Van Wilks spoke at the city council chambers last week to lend his approval to the idea of transforming the South Austin property on which he lived and worked for 23 years into a park called Guitarland. Wilks said the proposed park will symbolize “everything Austin stands for: creativity, community, and the love of music.” Council Member Vanessa Fuentes endorsed the idea after it was suggested to her by former County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir. “Transforming this space into Guitarland serves both as a tribute and a promise,” Fuentes said. “It’s a tribute to the musicians who define Austin, and a promise to continue investing in the public spaces that connect us.”
Abbott Orders Crosswalks Cleared: On Oct. 8, Gov. Greg Abbott called for the removal of “political agendas on Texas roadways” and threatened to yank funding from cities and counties refusing to comply; TxDOT is now giving transportation officials 30 days to remove “political messages, artwork, or any non-standard markings” on crosswalks or roadways. Locally, that puts a big target on the Pride crosswalk at Fourth and Colorado streets and the “Black Artists Matter” roadway on 11th Street. (It’s unclear if the same order will be applied to the “TEXAS” spelled out near the UT campus.) The city has already announced they intend to comply; while acknowledging that defiance of the order would “jeopardize hundreds of millions of dollars,” Mayor Kirk Watson called for alternative ways to “demonstrate how Austin’s pride, love, and diversity won’t be suppressed.”
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“The First Amendment does not have a bedtime of 10:00 p.m.”
Senior United States District Judge David Alan Ezra on why he was temporarily blocking UT from enforcing the Campus Protection Act, which curbs free speech
This article appears in October 17 • 2025.
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