AUSTIN, Texas — Rep. Shelby Slawson, R-Stephenville, is the second member to challenge Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, to lead the chamber.

In a letter to House Republicans, she said she’s grown disappointed in the mismanagement of Phelan and his inner circle. Slawson joins state Rep. Tom Oliverson, R-Cypress, who was the first to announce a challenge to Phelan.  

Phelan narrowly survived a runoff challenge from the GOP’s hard right this week. But more than a dozen incumbents lost to hard-right challengers.  

Last month 23 state representatives and GOP candidates signed what they called a “Contract With Texas.” The document includes a list of conservative reforms they’d like to see in the House, including no Democrats serving as committee chairs.  

Other House Republicans have signed the document since its inception, but seven of the original signees won their primary runoff Tuesday. Twenty will be on November’s ballot during the general election and less than half have Democratic opponents.

Some political experts expect the hardline conservative influence to be a strong force when the legislative session begins in January, estimating Republicans will only have 10 votes they can ignore and still have a majority. 

“It also means that a handful of Republicans can hold the body hostage because Democrats are not going to support far-right policies and there aren’t going to be enough Republicans if there’s enough very conservative Republicans saying no for the Republican Party to actually pass anything. They’ll have a majority on paper, but not in reality,” said Brian Smith, a professor of political sciences at St. Edward’s University.  

Many of these hardline conservatives also want to see Rep. Dade Phelan removed from his position as House speaker. If a majority of House Republicans can’t agree on leadership, experts don’t expect many bills to be successful.

Shows within the Yellowstone universe aren’t just bring quality TV to viewers. The productions themselves are also bringing millions of dollars to the cities they shoot in.

The second season of 1923, the spinoff program on Paramount+ featuring the legendary Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren, is set to shoot in Austin this summer. It’s expected that the show will be shooting on location from July through September.

That’s exciting for many different reasons. First, that means more episodes of the Yellowstone prequel series are coming sooner rather than later. Talk about great news for fans of the show, who have probably been left waiting for basically anything Yellowstone related to come out amid the lengthy delays of the main show’s fifth and final season.

And secondly, with 1923 leaving Montana for Texas (they also filmed parts of Season 1 in Africa and Malta), and shooting on site in Austin, Texas, for an extended period of time, the production is going to bring in a lot of money to the city of Austin. How much, you might be asking? Well, the Austin American-Statesman ran the numbers and gave this projection:

“The production of season two of the Paramount+ show ‘1923’ will pump more than $51 million into Austin’s economy from wages, hotel stays and other local services, the city of Austin estimates.”

The first season of the western drama was shot in Montana. But now, Austin, Texas is getting into the mix, and the city will benefit substantially because of it. The city of Austin will be providing small incentives to King Street Productions Inc. (the production company running the show) to hire local workers, which in turn rolls into a “0.5% return on the total of local wages paid by the production company.”

Jeremy Martin, the President and CEO of the Austin Chamber of Commerce, was thrilled that the incentive was approved and that 1923 filming in Austin could open the door for other future productions in the thriving Texas city:

“We’re excited by the prospect of adding to our creative and film industries. We strongly support projects that qualify for the City’s Economic Development Policy and provide a positive return to taxpayers.”

So it seems that there is good news all around. Austin, Texas gets an economy boost from the popular show, and the rest of us get to see the 1923 storyline continue.

That’s basically the textbook definition of a win-win scenario, isn’t it?

As Austin’s real estate market has exploded in recent years, the city’s toniest neighborhoods have kept their edge at the top of the market. 

The top signed contracts last week centered on the Barton Creek and Tarrytown neighborhoods, according to the Eklund Gomes Austin Luxury Report, which tracks signed contracts that last asked above $2 million.

The report found 15 new signed contracts. While sale prices are not public record in Texas, the deals last asked a combined $43.7 million, an average of $643 per square foot. The homes spent an average of 58 days on the market.

At the top of the list was 4609 Mirador Drive, which last asked $6.7 million, or $788 per square foot. The five bedroom home spans 8,500 square feet on two acres of land in Barton Creek. Dara Allen of @properties Christie’s International Real Estate had the listing. When the home was listed in April, the owner asked just under $7 million. It last sold in 2018, asking $4.6 million. 

The second-highest asking price for signed contracts came at 1409 The High Road, a newly built home overlooking the Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve in West Lake Hills. The home last asked almost $5 million. 

With five bedrooms, five bathrooms and two half bathrooms, it spans 6,950 square feet and sits on just over half an acre. It also includes 1,400 square feet of outdoor living space. Todd Burgener of Douglas Elliman had the listing. 

Rounding out the top three is an outlier: 1600 Rio Grande Street is a historic mansion near the Capitol Building in downtown Austin. It is one of several large, picturesque homes that has served more recently as an office space. 

The property, also known as the Ruggles-Smith House, last asked just under $3 million. It hit the market in November, offering a Victorian-style mansion with a wraparound porch and a walk-out balcony on the second floor. 

Built in 1896, the house spans 3,370 square feet on a quarter of an acre. The listing mentions the property’s current commercial use but adds that it could switch back to a residence or a bed and breakfast. Jeff and Tish Darey of JBGoodwin had the listing.