AUSTIN, Texas — Beginning in the spring of 2025, Delta Air Lines will launch five new nonstop routes from Austin, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport announced Monday.

The first service from the capital of Texas will be to Panama City starting on March 9. Flights to Indianapolis and Memphis will launch on May 7, while trips to San Francisco and Tampa will begin June 8. 

“Delta’s decision to expand its service in Austin is a testament to our city’s thriving economy and vibrant community,” said T.C. Broadnax, Austin city manager. “These five new flights will not only enhance connectivity for our residents and businesses but also contribute to Austin’s reputation as a premiere destination for travel and commerce. We are thrilled to welcome Delta’s continued investment in Austin.”

The flights will run once a day, every day of the week. This expansion positions Delta to have the second-largest market share at the Central Texas airport based on daily departing flights.

The Delta Connection carrier SkyWest’s fleet of Embraer 175s will serve the Panama City, Indianapolis and Memphis routes, while the San Francisco and Tampa routes will be on Delta’s Airbus A220-300 aircraft.

“We’re incredibly excited to join Delta in celebrating these new routes,” said Ghizlane Badawi, AUS CEO. “Delta has been making significant investments to connect Austin and Central Texas with more choices, greater convenience, and enhanced connectivity. They’re a valued airport and community partner and we look forward to supporting their continued growth at AUS.”

American Airlines previously served the Indianapolis, Memphis and Tampa routes before it cut more than 30 routes from Austin over the past year. Now, with the new nonstop additions, Delta will be the only airline offering direct service to Memphis.

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport has been a hot spot for passenger traffic recently. Between January and July this year, Delta flew more than 1.8 million passengers to and from the capital city, a 23.5% increase from last year. 

“Delta is continuing to build its presence in Austin with new routes to more business and leisure destinations across the U.S.” said Joe Esposito, Delta’s S.V.P. – Network Planning. “With 55 peak-day departures planned for Summer 2025, Delta is reaffirming its commitment to Austin, giving our customers even more opportunities to connect to our global network.”

AUSTIN, Texas — Austin is now the first city in Texas to require apartments and other multi-family complexes to provide composting to its residents.

The move is part of an effort by the city to reach a zero-waste goal by 2040.

It may just start as trash, though the end product is anything but.

“We started in 2009 out of my front yard with a half-ton Nissan pickup truck. Just a vague idea, a lot of naive optimism,” Break It Down owner Jeff Payne said. “What are we what are we doing with that food waste? How much value are recreating with it?”

Break It Down provides recycling and composting services to close to 1000 customers, mainly businesses like restaurants, and turns it into compost or fertilizer instead.

“We’re moving somewhere around 20 tons a day,” Payne said. “And to be honest, that’s kind of the tip of the iceberg.”

Payne says left alone, all that garbage becomes a big contributor to climate change.

“Food waste, when it goes into a landfill, doesn’t break down so well,” Payne said. “It’s going to tend to generate methane, which is a greenhouse gas.”

That’s why the city of Austin is now requiring multi-family complexes like apartments to provide composting services as of October 1st.

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“We can take those to composting facilities, where they are turned into nutrient-rich compost, which then can be redirected back into our communities.” Paul Bestgen with Austin Resource Recovery said.

Bestgen says composting is nothing new since it’s already offered for single-family homes and required for restaurants. But he says currently, the city is only at 40-percent landfill diversion of its 90-percent goal by 2040.

“… and so we need to be able to find different ways to get that number to move up,” Bestgen said.

Complexes which also include nursing homes and condos will have a year to comply.

“Our goal is to answer their questions, and help them overcome any obstacles that they are facing so that they can add this collection service for their residents,” Bestgen said.

But he recognizes it’ll also be a culture shift for residents too.

“You can start small,” Bestgen said. “You can start by just composting, maybe your apple cores or a banana peel.”

Payne says composting is just one small step for the home, with a big impact on the planet.

“I really only need to take the trash out once a week, and that keeps it simple,” Payne said. “And my trash can never stinks, so that’s nice.”

For a guide on what you can and can’t compost, the city has created a website here.

Everything is bigger in Texas — even the tacos. Searching for a new taco spot, I stumbled upon an Austin staple. It was the sign they had out front that enticed me to walk in.

Casa Moreno’s is home to the suicide burrito. Now what exactly is a suicide burrito … naturally my curiosity took over, so I made my way into Casa Moreno’s to find out.

I walked in and was immediately seated. The restaurant was quiet and empty for a Wednesday morning.

I looked over the menu and realized that Casa Moreno’s didn’t serve your simple tacos but super-sized ones. Every taco is made with a 12-inch homemade flour tortilla.

Since they are “home of the suicide burrito,” it only made sense for me to order the suicide taco. The suicide taco is burrito-sized and filled with bacon, egg, potatoes, beans, and cheese for $6.99.

Casa Moreno’s also serves carne guisada, barbacoa, fajitas, al pastor, migas, machacado and picadillo super-sized tacos.

I decided that one super-sized taco wasn’t enough, so I ordered the al pastor taco as well for $4.99.

Let’s just say that Casa Moreno’s deserves a round of applause. The tortillas undoubtedly are the best I have had in Austin.

The suicide taco was massive. Large potato chunks fell out of the taco with every bite. The cheese was perfectly melted on the eggs and bacon, making for an award-winning breakfast taco.

The al pastor taco was delicious, although I will say they could have added more meat to it since the tortilla is so big.

Casa Moreno’s is located at 5001 E. Ben White Blvd. in Austin, Texas.

Casa Moreno’s is open Monday through Friday from 6 a.m.-2 p.m., Saturday from 7 a.m.-1 p.m. and is closed on Sunday. They also have a lunch buffet Monday through Friday from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and happy hour Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Items I want to try on my next visit:

• Richard’s Plate – breakfast sausage grilled with potatoes, pico, yellow corn, topped with two eggs
• Machacado Taco – barbacoa mixed with eggs and pico
• Chori Queso Fries – french fries topped with chili con queso and chorizo