With the 89th Texas Legislature set to convene on January 14, political activity in Austin is beginning to increase. A variety of Senate and House Committees met earlier this week and more and more members of the legislature are showing up in Austin supper clubs and restaurants. In the midst of this climate is what appears to be a very active race for the Speaker of the House. Speaker Dade Phelan, fresh from a primary runoff win, is returning to the Texas House and he wants his old job as Speaker back. The primary contest was launched against him by his own party leadership as retribution for the House’s impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton.
In a continued display of Republican internecine warfare, five Republicans have filed to run against Phelan for the Speaker position. Republican candidates to date are:
Dade Phelan (R) Beaumont Current Speaker Member Since 2013
Tom Oliverson (R) Cypress Member since 2017 Chair Insurance
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Shelby Slawson (R) Granbury Member since 2021
David Cook (R) Mansfield Member since 2021
James Frank (R) Wichita Falls Member since 2013 Chair Human Services Committee
John Smithee (R) Amarillo Member since 1985 Not currently in leadership (best known as longtime chair of Insurance Committee)
One Democrat has filed but her chances do not look good.
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Ana-Maria Ramos (D) Dallas Member since 2019
To make matters worse, a not-so-secret meeting was held earlier today with roughly 25 or so Republicans showing up for an Austin area meeting focused on coalescing behind a challenger to Speaker Phelan. Whether the intention was to support an existing challenger or a new challenger is not known at this time.
Phelan’s office released the following lengthy statement in response to the meeting:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASESeptember 20, 2024 CONTACT:press@texansfordade.com
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Statement from Speaker Dade Phelan
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Speaker of the House Dade Phelan today issued the following statement:”Today’s gathering is little more than an orchestrated scheme to generate headlines and fuel social media clicks, driving our caucus headlong into unnecessary chaos. A very small handful of self-anointed instigators put on this gathering, refusing to invite the majority of the current Republican caucus, misleading members to get them in the room, and permitting unauthorized proxy voting for those not in attendance in order to artificially inflate their numbers. The organizers of this distraction have completely and deliberately shortcut established caucus rules to generate an outcome benefitting nobody but themselves. Not only are their actions disappointing and unacceptable, they are futile, as I proudly have the clear majority votes needed to be the Speaker today, and will have the clear majority support needed to become Speaker again come January. “Our chamber is unique because it remains one of the few deliberative legislative bodies in the world where every member stands on equal footing. In the Texas House, there are no shortcuts. We don’t manufacture outcomes—we earn them. Success is achieved by doing the hard work, winning the support of the majority, and following the framework that has guided us for generations. That is exactly what I will do to retain the Speakership in 2025, and I am grateful to have the support and trust from the majority of my House colleagues. “Now is the time to end the sideshows, unify our caucus—and with session fast approaching—refocus on what matters most: crafting smart policy and delivering solutions for the people of Texas. For those members I have heard from who feel their trust was broken today, and that this scheme has caused great, irreversible damage to our once strong caucus, my door remains open to each and every one of you.”I invite every member of the Texas House, including those pursuing the Speaker’s gavel, to join me in setting aside our differences and working hand-in-hand to advance our common goals. There is room at the table for everyone willing to participate in a productive and collaborative discussion about improving our Legislature and our state, and I’m confident that by working together with the Governor and our counterparts in the Texas Senate, we will uphold the integrity of this chamber and deliver meaningful results for the people of Texas.”
A former long-time state representative remarked in a phone conversation that, “There will be people who purport to know what is happening during this race but no one ever really seems to know.” As an established Austin lobbyist that has worked the Capitol since the 1980s said “This is a very fluid situation.”
The meeting was allegedly orchestrated by the far right wing of the Republican party as almost all of those in attendance were the same ones who signed a letter opposing Democratic Chairs in the Texas House.
Rumor around the Capitol is that some members are being threatened with primary opponents should they support Phelan. The quandary they are in with such a threat is that Phelan may stifle their legislation next session if they support one of his challengers.
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Such intra party infighting has become all too common in state legislatures across the nation as they begin to mimic the U.S. Congress with purity tests and interpersonal vituperativeness. Of course, the real losers are the taxpayers that these lawmakers represent.
After more than a decade at 2015 E. Riverside Drive (following the original Red River-era venue closing in 2011), Emo’s current Riverside space will be taken over by AEG Presents when the lease ends later this year. The Los Angeles, CA-based company will assume operations in January 2027 and plans to reopen the building under a new name in early 2027 following upgrades, renovations and a full rebrand.
AEG are also opening a new 4,000-cap venue nearby next spring as part of the River Park mixed-use development in southeast Austin.
C3 Presents, who reopened Emo’s at the Riverside location, say this isn’t the end of Emo’s — they’re working on a new home and plan to move the venue back to downtown Austin, with more updates to come.
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AEG Presents Vice President Robin Phillips shared the following:
There’s like no weirdness or any bad blood or anything. It just, you know, new lease and they’ll [Emo’s] go do something great. They have been important to the Austin music scene, so I have a lot of respect for them.
But I don’t think the Austin music scene or legacy is limited to one name. I know people will remember the original Emo’s and this Emo’s as, you know, both great venues… And I don’t think Austin’s music scene is just a name, it’s the artists, in my opinion.
A C3 spokesperson added:
Emo’s has a long history in Austin and we’ve been working behind the scenes for some time on a new home for this venue. After we wrap up at this venue in December, we will focus our efforts on our new location.
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Emo’s gave the following statement to Austin local news KXAN:
We’re grateful for all of the fans and artists who’ve shaped Emo’s to what it is today: a community of like-minded people who love live music. We have a vision for our future and will be moving into a new building downtown that celebrates our punk rock roots with the new amenities that fans are looking for from a venue. We’ll continue to share updates on the next chapter for Emo’s on social media.
AUSTIN, Texas – State and federal agriculture officials said highly pathogenic avian flu has been found in a herd of dairy cows in Texas.
What we know:
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Officials said the H5N1 virus was confirmed with laboratory tests in late May after cows at an unspecified farm became sick and milk production dropped. The dairy has since been quarantined and an investigation is underway.
This is the first case of avian flu in a Texas dairy herd this year, officials said.
What they’re saying:
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“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is confident that pasteurization is effective at inactivating H5N1, and that the commercial, pasteurized milk supply is safe,” officials at the Texas Animal Health Commission said in a statement.
A dairy cow is seen at a farm on June 1, 2026. (Tim Evans/Bloomberg / Getty Images)
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Dig deeper:
H5N1 has a high rate of severe disease and death in animals that become infected.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the risk to the general public from avian flu is low. Some sporadic human infections have been reported around the world since 1997. There have been no known cases of person-to-person spreading of avian flu.
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The Source: Information in this story came from the Texas Animal Health Commission, the USDA, the FDA and the CDC.
AUSTIN, Texas — Self-driving cars have become a common sight on Austin streets, but a new Texas law is adding tougher requirements for the companies behind the wheelless vehicles.
Senate Bill 2807 imposes stricter rules on autonomous vehicle companies operating in the state, including state authorization, emergency response plans for law enforcement, and a public portal where residents can verify operators and file safety complaints.
The changes come as Austin continues to track incidents involving autonomous vehicles. The city’s autonomous vehicle dashboard shows 75 incidents in 2026, including a collision, eight near misses, and seven incidents of ignoring police direction.
Attorney Drew Gibbs, a partner at Slingshot Law, said one crash involved a Waymo vehicle.
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“There was a T-bone collision. A pretty serious T-bone collision where a Waymo just crashed into the side of my client’s vehicle,” Gibbs said.
ALSO| Waymo files voluntary software recall over flooded-lane risks on high-speed roads
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One of the incidents of ignoring police direction happened during the mass shooting on West Sixth Street back in March, when three people died, and 15 others were injured.
Austin Police Association President Michael Bullock said autonomous vehicles can struggle in unusual situations.
“It didn’t impede on anything in the moment, but it’s not necessarily uncommon where these vehicles don’t quite know how to deal with these one-off scenarios,” Bullock said.
The new law requires autonomous vehicle companies to be authorized by the state, to provide an emergency response plan for law enforcement, and to participate in a public-facing portal that allows the public to verify operators and submit safety complaints.
Kara Kockelman, a professor of transportation and engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, welcomed the added oversight.
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“I’m glad that the state is taking this a bit more seriously now,” she said. “It’s important not to just let others slip in without kind of meeting those basic minimums.”
Bullock said the emergency planning requirement may not make a major difference in fast-moving situations. Asked how impactful it is to have a fully laid out emergency response plan, Bullock said, “These plans are great, but it takes time to work through all of those versus the immediacy of having someone behind the wheel.”
The four autonomous vehicle companies operating in Austin — Waymo, Zoox, AV-Ride, and Tesla — are all state-authorized.
The Texas DMV said an autonomous vehicle company can lose its authorization to operate in Texas if the agency deems the vehicles are operating in a way that endangers public safety.
Waymo was contacted for comment, but had not responded.
