Local news and fun, every day 6am.
Featured
austonia newsletter
Most viewed

The Texas AFT union launched a campus-level COVID-19 tracking tool on Thursday as public schools work through their reopening plans.
The Texas American Federation of Teachers launched an online tracking tool on Thursday that allows teachers and others to report COVID-19 cases and unsafe working conditions on public school campuses.
The union—which represents more than 65,000 teachers, support personnel and other employees—developed the tool after learning that state officials planned to report only district-wide data.
"We're really unsure how the state is going to deliver their data," Texas AFT President Zeph Capo said during a virtual press conference on Thursday.
The Texas Education Agency and the Department of State Health Services issued a joint statement on Aug. 20, in which the agencies said they were finalizing a COVID-19 data tracking system for public schools based on district reports. They did not provide additional information.
The Texas AFT tracking tool aims to give teachers, parents and others a chance to report and search for campus-level COVID reporting.
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said the tracker is "first in class" work that arrives at a critical time. "We have to be the ones that make sure there is transparency," she said.
The tracker, which can be found at www.stopthespreadtx.school, allows users to share information about reported COVID cases, unsafe working conditions and personal accounts. It is not currently reporting any COVID cases in the Austin area.
The Texas AFT union created a tracking tool through which teachers, parents and others can report school-level COVID information.(Texas Public Schools COVID-19 Tracker)
Submissions are anonymous, but the tracker will link any reported cases to "evidence," such as a news story or an email from the school principal, that confirms the information. Users are encouraged to share these documents when making their submissions.
The union expects reports to be published on the tracking tool within around three hours of submission and will be able to unpublish or not publish reports about which its staff has concerns.
Education Austin, a union that represents Austin ISD teachers and staff, has advocated for virtual learning through at least November. The district began its school year on Tuesday, but students won't begin the transition back to in-person learning until Oct. 6, according to the current plan.
- Everything we know about COVID-19 in Austin right now - austonia ›
- Texas will start posting coronavirus case data from public schools ... ›
- Everything we know about COVID-19 in Austin right now - austonia ›
- Everything we know about COVID-19 in Austin right now - austonia ›
- Everything we know about COVID-19 in Austin right now ›
- Everything we know about COVID-19 in Austin right now - austonia ›
- Austin millennials lead recent labor union drives - austonia ›
Popular
(Tesla)
Giga Texas, the massive Tesla factory in southeast Travis County is getting even bigger.
The company filed with the city of Austin this week to expand its headquarters with a new 500,000-square-foot building. The permit application notes “GA 2 and 3 expansion,” which indicates the company will make two general assembly lines in the building.
More details about the plans for the building are unclear. The gigafactory has been focused on Model Y production since it opened in April, but the company is also aiming for Cybertruck production to kick off in mid-2023.
While there is room for expansion on the 3.3 square miles of land Tesla has, this move comes after CEO Elon Musk’s recent comments about the state of the economy and its impact on Tesla.
In a May interview with Tesla Owners Silicon Valley, Musk said the gigafactories in Berlin and Austin are “gigantic money furnaces” and said Giga Texas had manufactured only a small number of cars.
And in June, Musk sent a company wide email saying Tesla will be reducing salaried headcount by 10%, then later tweeted salaried headcount should be fairly flat.
- Grand opening of Giga Texas faces push back from the community ... ›
- Giga Texas may start production of Model Y's this week - austonia ›
- Tesla hosts Cyber Rodeo grand opening party for Giga Texas ... ›
- Musk: Recently opened Giga Texas is a gigantic money furnace ... ›
- Elon Musk is spotted driving a Cybertruck through Giga Texas ... ›
- PHOTOS: Peek inside the Tesla Gigafactory producing Model Ys in ... ›
- Cyber Rodeo: what we know about the Giga Texas opening party ... ›
- Excitement over Giga Texas grand opening continues at Tesla Con ›
- Tesla's mileage range on new Model Y lowers - austonia ›
(Dullnig Ranch Sales)
You’ll have to leave city limits if you’re looking for a proper ranch property like 417 Acres Shipp Lake Ranch, aptly named for its acreage. The property comes built out with three farmhouses, one of which has bedrooms and two bathrooms and two of which have two bedrooms and one bathroom. The nearly untouched property, which surrounds the 100-plus-acre Shipp Lake, has remained in the same family since the early 1900s and gives you picturesque views for the making of a dream home. In fact, the previous owners ran a water ski camp on the property.
Sitting waterside on Lake Austin, this home gives you the unique opportunity to own a piece of the lush Hill Country with views of Mount Bonnell. The 2,750-square foot, three-bedroom, four-bathroom house allows you to integrate indoor and outdoor life with large windows opening to an outdoor living area. The crown jewel is the .76-acre parcel of land that tapers off to your own lakeside resort, featuring an covered outdoor kitchen, fire pit, stone boat house to store your water sports supplies and veranda sitting at the mouth of the water, perfect for an entertainer.
Got dreams of becoming a real Texas rancher? 7814 Brown Cemetery Rd. is the perfect place to start with 40 rolling acres of land and its very own swimming hole. Just east of Austin in Manor, the modest-on-the-outside home clocks at 4,412 square feet with five bedrooms and five-and-a-half bathrooms, but there are an additional two living structures on the property. The horseshoe-shaped pond sits in the heart of the property and comes equipped with a water slide, diving board and a fishing dock.