New GOP Map Blocked: A three-judge panel in El Paso ruled on Tuesday that Texas cannot use the new congressional map that Texas GOP members redrew and pushed through during the legislative session, and will instead have to use the previous 2021 map. Opponents of the map said the new lines disenfranchise Black and brown voters in Trump’s attempt to flip five congressional seats for Republicans in Texas and bolster the GOP’s majority in the U.S. House. The decision – for now – blocks their ability to do so. “The radical left is once again trying to undermine the will of the people,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement on Nov. 18, stating his intention to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court. “The Big Beautiful Map was entirely legal.” In his own statement, Gov. Greg Abbott pushed back against judges’ conclusion that the redistricted map was racially gerrymandered: “The Legislature redrew our congressional maps to better reflect Texans’ conservative voting preferences – and for no other reason.” 

U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett in 2023 Credit: Jana Birchum

Candidate Moves: Since the GOP’s newly drawn map is now blocked from use in 2026 – barring Supreme Court intervention – and the congressional districts will remain, it means a change of plans for Austin’s two U.S. representatives. Senior congressman Lloyd Doggett, who was set to retire if the GOP map survived the court challenge, announced that instead he’ll be running for reelection to continue representing CD 37. “For all those Republicans, who have tried for so many years in so many ways to assure my defeat by gerrymander, not yet, not so quick,” Rep. Doggett wrote to his constituents in an email. U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, who had been running to represent CD 37 after his own district, CD 35, was gerrymandered, signaled his next move on X: “If this decision stands, I look forward to running for reelection in my current district.”

Petition Shot Down: Last month, the legal advocacy organization Save Our Springs and the Austin United PAC submitted a petition with 20,000 signatures to the city of Austin, which the coalition claimed to have collected and verified, in an attempt to halt the already-ongoing construction of the new convention center and put it to a public vote. The petition argues that the money would be better spent toward Austin’s ecotourism. This week, the city clerk deemed the petition invalid, unable to verify that number of signatures. “Although we are very surprised and disappointed to see the clerk’s conclusion, this isn’t the end for us,” Austin United spokesperson Finn Sonniksen said in a statement to the Austin American-Statesman.

Vote on School Closures: If you’re reading this the day the issue comes out, the AISD Board of Trustees will vote tonight, Thursday, Nov. 20, on the district’s final recommendation to close 10 schools: Becker, Barrington, Sunset Valley, Ridgetop, Dawson, Oak Springs, Winn, and Widén elementaries, and Martin and Bedichek middle schools. Students at six other schools will also be reassigned as wall-to-wall dual language and Montessori programs move to those campuses. The board will also vote to approve 24 turnaround plans and nine targeted improvement plans to the Texas Education Agency for schools underperforming on the STAAR exam.

The transformation of the State Theatre will include an art deco interior design, a rooftop deck, and – pictured in this rendering – a basement speakeasy Credit: Clayton Korte

Paramount & State Theatres to Get Major Makeovers: The Austin Theatre Alliance announced Wednesday a major renovation and restoration campaign for the Paramount and State theatres. With $27 million already raised, the org is seeking an additional $38 million for the project, which will see the 110-year-old Paramount close in June 2026 for 8-9 months for a full restoration, followed by what is being described as “13–16-month transformation” of the 90-year-old State Theatre. Read more online.

Recycled Reads Storefront Winds Down: The Austin Public Library announced the timeline for eventual closure of its Burnet Road storefront. Opened in 2009 to support the city’s Zero Waste Plan by selling retired library and other donated materials to the public, the city decided to eliminate the storefront, citing lease and operational costs far exceeding revenue. Recycled Reads will continue to be open to the public through Jan. 17; then sales of used materials will shift to all Austin Public Library locations starting in February 2026.

Credit: Getty Images

Safety Schmafety: The Statesman reported Tesla’s driverless robotaxis were involved in four crashes in Austin during September; Tesla currently operates about two dozen self-driving cars in town. (Competitor Waymo, which operates more than 100 such vehicles in Austin, reported nine crashes in the same month.) CEO Elon Musk reportedly told investors he predicted human safety monitors would be removed from the autonomous vehicles “in at least large parts of Austin by the end of this year.” 

Ten Commandments Taken Down: On Tuesday, Nov. 18, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction that the Ten Commandments be taken down in classrooms in 14 Texas public school districts by Dec. 1. The decision follows a similar ruling in August for a separate lawsuit that exempted Austin ISD and 10 other school districts from Senate Bill 10’s requirement to hang the Christian text. While the injunctions block the law from being followed in only those school districts,  the organizations behind the lawsuit are urging all Texas school districts not to implement SB 10, arguing that the U.S. Constitution supersedes state law. “I am relieved that as a result of today’s ruling, my children, who are among a small number of Jewish children at their schools, will no longer be continually subjected to religious displays,” plaintiff Lenee Bien-Willner said. 

Abbott Attacks Muslim Groups: On Nov. 18, the governor issued a proclamation designating two groups “terrorist” organizations: the transnational Muslim Brotherhood and Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization. A statement from the office of the Texas Governor announced “this designation authorizes heightened enforcement against both organizations and their affiliates and prohibits them from purchasing or acquiring land in Texas.” CAIR-Texas announced its “legal team is preparing to take appropriate action” following the designation, adding: “We plan to continue exercising our constitutional rights, defending civil rights, and speaking truth to power, whether in defense of free speech, religious freedom and racial equality here in Texas or in defense of human rights abroad.”  

Credit: Getty Images

Turkeys for the Taking: Leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday, Central Texas Food Bank is hosting three mobile pantry sites. No ID or proof of income is required; interested folks can just drive up and have their car loaded with food. The distribution sites are as follows:

Nov. 20, 9-11am: Nelson Field, 7104 Berkman Drive, Austin

Nov. 22, 9-11am: Waco ISD Stadium, 1401 S. New Road, Waco

Nov. 24, 9-10:30am: Delco Center, 4601 Pecan Brook Drive, Austin

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 Map.”

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey V. Brown in a Nov. 18 ruling striking down the GOP’s redistricted map

Credit: www.txs.uscourts.gov

This article appears in November 21 • 2025.

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