Lawmakers are back at the Texas State Capitol in Downtown Austin to kick off the 89th legislative session.

Now open

Lightspeed Restoration of Austin

The family-owned business serves the Austin, Buda, Driftwood, Kyle and Manchaca areas with water damage restoration, fire restoration, disaster recovery and air duct cleaning. Owner Jonathan Friedman and his family decided to open Lightspeed Restoration of Austin after Texas’ winter storm in 2021.

Coming soon

F45 Training

The training gym will open a new location on South Lamar Boulevard in April. F45 Training studios offer 45-minute functional workouts focusing on cardio, resistance, a cardio-resistance hybrid and recovery. The new studio will also include F45 Recovery, which features cold plunges, infrared saunas and compressions.

Relocations

Austin’s longest-running live music radio program will relocate to a new home for its 14th season. After 13 years at Guero’s Taco Bar on South Congress Avenue, the show will begin broadcasting from Half Step on Rainey Street at the end of January.

In the news

End of an Ear

Local record store End of an Ear is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Owners Dan Plunkett and Blake Carlisle first opened in 2005 off South First Street before moving to its current location in 2016. The store offers vinyl records, CDs and DVDs. In-store performances have included artists such as Band of Horses, Voxtrot, Alex G and Mitski.

Closings

Couch Potatoes

The Austin-based furniture store will close its south location at the end of January. According to a message posted on the business website, the closure is a “strategic decision to adapt to the evolving retail landscape in Austin.” Couch Potatoes’ other stores in north and Central Austin will remain open.

Zoe Tong

The Barton Springs Road restaurant closed in late December. Zoé Tong’s owners, chefs Simone Tong and Matthew Hyland, announced the Dec. 31 closure in an email to customers and through social media posts.

Sí Baby-Q

The Asian barbecue truck on Zoé Tong’s patio run by Simone Tong and Terry Black’s BBQ alum Jonathan Lagos had its last day of service at Barton Springs Road in December. According to a social media post, Sí Baby-Q actively searching for a new spot.

Confituras Little Kitchen

The baked goods and locally-made jam business closed its brick-and-mortar location in December, according to a social media post. Customers can find Confituras at the Barton Creek Farmers’ Market on Saturdays.

The Beer Plant

The vegan restaurant closed in the Tarrytown neighborhood in late December. The business owners thanked their customers and staff in a message posted to their website. Opened in 2016, The Beer Plant served plant-based brunch and dinner, beer, wine and cocktails.

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Workers outside the state capital in Austin continue to renovate and restore the historic building. The state government inside is also a work in progress.

Statewide forces will collide in Austin this week when the legislative session begins. Tuesday, lawmakers get sworn in and begin their work.

Governor Greg Abbott went on a campaign rampage last year, defeating roughly a dozen members of his own party who stopped his efforts at education reform. The fallout from that is still playing out.

“Look, I think the struggle between the governor and the legislature over his school voucher proposal is one of the big storylines that we’re going to be watching, of course,” said Scott Braddock, editor of the capitol newsletter, the Quorum Report.

Other issues rising to the top for state lawmakers this year are emerging technologies, water infrastructure, and property tax reform. But first, the Texas House must choose a leader.

That struggle is turning into a brawl between a bipartisan coalition led by Lubbock Republican Dustin Burrows and the Republican caucuses former Mansfield Mayor David Cook. Over the past year, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick and Attorney General Ken Paxton have put their muscle behind Cook in the feud.

“As far as my experience, it is worse than it’s ever been. And I’ve been talking to veterans of the legislative process going back to the 70s and the 60s before that. And none of them have ever seen anything like this where we’re this close to the legislative session, the race for speaker isn’t settled up,” said Braddock.

The Texas Constitution decentralizes power throughout state government, creating a lot of fiefdoms. If you have big personalities in those fiefdoms, it’s common for them to clash.

“It’s set up that way on purpose. You know, this building, the Texas Capitol is a legislation killing building,” said Braddock, “It’s a killing field for legislation on purpose. The idea being that not all ideas are good ideas. In fact, most ideas are bad ideas and that only the best ideas should make it through this rigorous process.”

In press conferences around the state, Texas Democrats say their priority is defense – to stop changes to laws supporting public schools and diversify efforts.

“We do need your voices. We cannot do this without you,” said Rep. Rhetta Bowers, D- Rowlett, told a group of supporters Sunday night. “We have to make sure that we kill bad bills.”

Monday afternoon, the state comptroller announced lawmakers will have nearly $24 billion in a budget surplus. Having money won’t be a problem; deciding how to spend it will.