TRAVIS COUNTY

A woman convicted in 2016 of murdering her husband during a road rage incident provided false payroll information over a seven-year period in order to avoid more than $9 million in payments, Texas Department of Insurance officials confirmed Thursday.

Homeowners in hot housing markets got a nasty surprise when their appraisals arrived this spring. Here’s what happened when some tried to get reductions.

Austin Public Health (APH) confirmed six monkeypox cases and seven presumptive cases on Wednesday.

Monkeypox, a virus that causes rashes and skin lesions, is considered community spread in Austin, which has 6 confirmed cases in Travis County.

The couple seeks between $250,000 and $5 million in damages.

The property owner was arrested last year after a different couple discovered a recording device pointed at the bed, according to reports.

NPR's A Martínez talks to José Garza, district attorney for Travis County, about the state of abortion access in Texas, and why he vowed to not prosecute those who seek, provide or support abortions.

Institutional speculators purchased just 35% of Bexar County properties in 2020.

Daniel Alexander was enslaved when he founded a farm before the Civil War. 175 years later, his family is fighting to keep it intact as Texas plans to expand U.S. Highway 183.

A San Antonio man who pleaded guilty to setting fire to a political party office in Austin will spend six years in prison for the crime.

A suspect was charged in the murder of a man whose body was found by deputies last month, according to the Hay’s County Sheriff’s Office.

No, sorry, we can't blame the Californians. Here's more than you ever wanted to know about your home’s skyrocketing appraisal.

Casar won the Democratic primary for Texas’ 35th Congressional District in a landslide victory last month and is expected to win the general election in November.

Months after the problems became apparent, migrants are still being kept in prison in violation of state laws under Gov. Greg Abbott’s border security crackdown.

One of Texas’ most creepy crawlies is the redheaded centipede.

The ruling comes in response to a lawsuit filed against Governor Greg Abbott over an order he enacted that treats gender-transitioning procedures as child abuse.

Texas' S.B.1 is a newly implemented sweeping election integrity law passed by the Republican-majority state legislature and signed by Gov. Abbott.

Abbott’s move is the latest in a long clash between Texas Republicans and Austin-area officials over policing — and comes as the push for reform in the Texas capital enters a more complex and uncertain chapter.

Indictments released Tuesday accuse 19 officers of using deadly weapons to injure 11 demonstrators during protests against racial injustice and police violence two years ago.

AUSTIN (AP) — Two of the 19 Austin police officers indicted for their actions during 2020 protests over racial injustice were involved in cases that the city paid millions of dollars to settle, accord[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

Defense attorneys for eight of 19 indicted APD officers say they were following orders when they used force against 2020 protesters. So far, there are 14 lawsuits against the city for injuries suffered during those confrontations.

Justin Berry is among 19 Austin law enforcement officers indicted and accused of using excessive force on anti-police brutality protesters in 2020.

Casar has impressive progressive endorsements, from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders. But he also is tied to some of Austin’s most progressive policies, which have attracted powerful enemies and turned off some moderate Democrats.

A Pflugerville woman who disappeared late last month was likely killed by her boyfriend, who is currently on the run, according to the Travis County Sheriff’s Office.

Update:

With less than a month left to vote by mail in the March primary election, hundreds of applications for mail-in ballots are being rejected as both Texas voters and local election officials decipher new ID requirements enacted by Republican lawmakers.

Last week, the Travis County district attorney’s office gave Paxton four days to turn over communications requested by the state’s largest newspapers or face a lawsuit.

A legal defense group is asking Travis County courts to throw out the arrests of hundreds of migrants swept up in the governor’s border initiative. The case is expected to draw in the Texas attorney general and address whether Gov. Greg Abbott’s plan is unconstitutional.

The Republican attorney general has four days to provide communications or face a lawsuit, multiple Texas news outlets first reported.

The Travis County district attorney, a Democrat, says the Republican attorney general has four days to provide communications, multiple Texas news outlets first reported.

A Travis County judge Thursday tossed out the trespassing charge of an Ecuadorian man who said he came to the United States seeking asylum. His lawyers argued that the governor’s directive to arrest migrants on state charges unconstitutionally usurps federal immigration law.

Texas Republicans last year enacted new identification requirements for voting by mail as part of sweeping legislation that further restricted the state’s voting process and narrowed local control of elections.

It’s unclear whether the local mandate, which requires businesses to post signs outlining their safety guidelines, is in conflict with Gov. Greg Abbott’s previous pandemic orders.

San Antonio hits peak in new single-day COVID-19 cases

The State Commission on Judicial Conduct had admonished Eckhardt in 2020 for her actions as Travis County judge.

The study by scientists from the University of Texas at El Paso looked at white-tailed deer in Travis County. Their conclusions matched research confirming COVID in deer populations in Illinois, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania. Watts and fellow researchers studied blood samples from 54 hunter-harvested deer in Travis County during the first two months of 2021. The COVID risk to hunters who harvest deer in Texas is regarded as low. The research paper on the Travis County deer herd was published in the journal “Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases.”

The pool remains closed to swimming after the deep freeze of winter 2021 destabilized the limestone overhang.

A search is underway after a 76-year-old man disappeared in Bastrop County, according to the Travis County Sheriff’s Office.

Sgt. Joe Escribano of the Travis County Constable’s Office Precinct #3 Clean Air Task Force conducted an eTAG, or temporary tag, course recently at Texas State Technical College’s campus in Harlingen.

The effort to charge Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir came at a time when many Texas Republicans questioned the integrity of last year’s election despite there being no evidence of widespread voter fraud.

Developers won't be able to touch land surrounding the popular water hole.

The Austin Democrat, who has served in Congress since 1995, currently represents the 35th District, which stretches down to San Antonio. He will run in the newly created 37th District located in Travis County.

In the suit, Phillips alleged that White and Houston wanted the case back in local jurisdiction to get a more lenient plea deal. Phillips believes his firing was because he reported his belief of wrongdoing in these four incidents to DA White. While details of the specific case are not provided in the lawsuit, Phillips filed to dismiss the case. Asked why he believed Phillips had filed the suit, White said, “He’s not a happy person,” and declined to comment further on the allegations. Three of the counties named as defendants in the suit have filed to request the venue be moved to district court in the local counties.

The Molotov cocktail was accompanied by a political note.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — An arson investigation was underway after a man wearing an American flag bandanna threw a Molotov cocktail into the headquarters of the county Democratic Party in Austin.

No one was injured.

For years community leaders drew a portrait of a luminous economic future for the Rio Grande Valley as one of the fastest-growing regions in Texas.

School districts made a “sufficient showing” that the ban is “unlawful ... violates the Texas Constitution and would cause irreparable harm,” the judge ruled.

For years community leaders drew a portrait of a luminous economic future for the Rio Grande Valley as one of the fastest-growing regions in Texas.

The Travis County Sheriff’s Office is investigating after a newborn child was found dead in a shallow grave near a creek south of Austin.

A letter from the Texas comptroller shows state support for the Samsung semiconductor facility, which has filed applications for tax limitation agreements locally in Travis and Williamson Counties.

Other school districts can require face coverings while cases across Texas are sorted out. [Opinion]

A Travis County District Judge Tuesday heard more testimony and arguments over several Rio Grande Valley school districts who sued Gov. The court heard several hours of testimony on masks from representatives from Hidalgo County and other parties related to the suit on Monday. Judge Catherine Mauzy, who heard the testimony and arguments, said she was set to hear testimony on two related TROs tomorrow. Representing Valley school districts, O’Hanlon, Demerath & Castillo attorney David Campbell argued the governor was overstepping his bounds with the mask fight. “Because that is the only thing the school districts are trying to do in this case,” he said.

The Brownsville Independent School District's policy of requiring face masks in classrooms remained in effect Monday after a hearing in Travis County over Gov. Greg Abbott's attempt to block mask mandates by the state's two largest school districts and several from the Rio Grande Valley including Brownsville.

Greg Abbott over the authority to mandate masks at a local level. An order issued by Hidalgo County Health Authority Dr. Ivan Melendez issued just before the start of the school year also mandates masks, unless districts vote to opt out of it. The court also heard from representatives from Hidalgo County’s largest school district, among them Edinburg CISD Board President Mike Farias, who said there’s been little local opposition to the district’s mask mandate. “As a matter of fact, on our first day of opening school our superintendent received a total of four phone calls, with expressing them not agreeing with the mask mandates. “The mask mandate for La Joya ISD is critical because we need to make sure that we keep students in school, and we believe that the mask mandate can help us (do) that,” she said.

With the U.S. Food and Drug administration’s full approval of the Pfizer vaccine, Texas is in uncharted territory when it comes to COVID-19 vaccinations.

The judge reasoned that Governor Abbott did not have the enforcement authority to ban mask mandates "against Texas independent school districts."

The Texas Supreme Court denied a motion for relief filed on behalf of Gov. Greg Abbott, thus allowing a temporary restraining order against his mask mandate ban to stand.

Back-and-forth legal rulings have left some school districts with the choice of flouting Abbott and mandating masks — or waiting for the dust to settle.

In San Antonio, EMS was unavailable for 26 minutes on August 11.

In the face of skyrocketing hospitalizations, the heads of cities, counties and school districts have grown desperate for ways to contain the virus.

House Democrats who refuse to show up for the Legislature could soon be detained by law enforcement and brought back to the state Capitol, after the Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday voided a state district judge's temporary restraining order barring their arrest.

House Democrats who refuse to show up for the Legislature could soon be detained by law enforcement and brought back to the state Capitol, after...

Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dade Phelan from “detaining, confining or otherwise restricting” the free movement of House Democrats within the state or issuing any warrants ordering their confinement. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of 19 House Democrats by attorneys Sam Bassett, Jeremy Monthy and Megan Rue. It is the second lawsuit filed by House Democrats in an attempt to avoid arrest if they returned to Texas. The other was filed by attorney Craig Washington in federal court in Austin on behalf of 22 House Democrats. White is not named as a defendant in the case in state court.

In an alert sent via text, city authorities wrote "the Covid-19 situation in Austin is dire."

In an alert sent via text, city authorities wrote "the Covid-19 situation in Austin is dire."

Here’s what to do if you lose your COVID-19 vaccine card.

Austin's public health department said the region is experiencing the lowest staffed ICU bed capacity since the beginning of the pandemic.

Officials in Dallas, Harris and Travis counties want residents to take stronger precautions as the delta variant drives an increase in coronavirus infections across Texas.

Samsung is hoping to finalize a performance agreement by mid-August, which would include information about how the potential facility would affect property taxes.

The sisters from Texas say the sexual abuse began when they were 15 years old, according to a lawsuit they announced with their attorneys at a news conference Monday.

The city’s return to Stage 3 risk-based guidelines marks the first time a major Texas city has reversed direction in the trend toward normalcy. But others are also reporting surges in cases.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — State officials on Tuesday added 59 deaths to the toll wrought by the Feb. 14 cold wave and the ensuing collapse of the Texas electric power grid.

State officials have added 59 deaths to the toll wrought by the February cold wave and the ensuing collapse of the Texas electric power grid.

Army Sgt. Daniel Perry shot and killed Foster, who was legally armed, after an altercation during a protest against police brutality last summer, police said. Perry argues it was in self defense.

Travis County settlement comes after a Newsy joint investigation showed official rape clearance numbers didn't actually reflect arrests, prosecutions.

A former Texas sheriff’s deputy has been indicted on capital murder charges in the April shooting of his ex-wife, teenage stepdaughter and the stepdaughter's boyfriend.

AUSTIN (AP) — Prosecutors are dropping criminal charges against two juveniles after police identified a different gunman in a mass shooting in downtown Austin that killed a tourist and wounded more th[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Prosecutors are dropping criminal charges against two juveniles after police identified a different gunman in a mass shooting in downtown Austin that killed a tourist and wounded more than a dozen others, authorities said Tuesday.

Read the latest business and community news from the Central Texas area.

Williamson County ranked as one of the top counties in Texas and the top county in Central Texas when measuring length and quality of life. Travis County ranked next in the grouping.

Due to falling rocks, Travis County Parks officials will not be allowing swimming at Hamilton Pool Preserve for the foreseeable future.

Officials in Travis and Harris counties — both early adopters of pandemic restrictions — rolled some back Tuesday in an effort to allow vaccinated residents to return to pre-pandemic living.

A person drowned after falling off of a raft in the Colorado River in East Austin on Sunday, according to Travis County EMS officials.

The Texas Department of Public Safety and Travis County District Attorney’s Office said Thursday “that there is not enough evidence to support” an allegation that a lobbyist used a date rape drug on a Capitol staffer and that “no crime occurred in this instance.”

Hamilton Pool Preserve has reopened reservations through May after being closed for most of 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

A former deputy for the Travis County Sheriff’s Office who is accused of fatally shooting three people in Austin has been arrested after an hours-long manhunt, according to police.

Police in Texas say a former sheriff’s deputy accused of killing his wife, teenager daughter and another man in a weekend shooting has been booked on a capital murder charge.

Read the most popular business and community news from the past week from Central Texas.

An Austin court on Thursday dismissed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s appeal challenging Travis County and Austin’s New Years holiday curfew, months after it ended — in a perhaps symbolic win for local officials.

Officials say a former Texas sheriff has been charged for the second time with evidence tampering in an investigation into the death in custody of a Black man that was filmed by a police reality TV series.

San Antonio residents, we have some important information for you. The last day to register to vote for the May 1 election is Thursday, April 1, according to a news release from the City of San Antonio. Early voting sites include the Bexar County Elections Office along with 37 other locations. To view a complete list of sites and hours of voting, please visit sanntonio.gov. For voter registration information or to request an application for a mail ballot, place call the Bexar County Voter Registration Office at (210) 335-8683 or visit bexar.org.

After a back-and-forth battle over masks, Austin and Travis County ended up on top. On Friday, a Travis County judge declined to block Austin and Travis County's order requiring employees and customers to wear a face mask in businesses, according to a tweet from Travis County Judge Andy Brown. RELATED: Austin mayor responds to Texas AG's threat with 'Office' GIF and statementTexas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Travis County officials after enforcing a public health face mask order not long after Gov. In short, public health mandates are allowed under a different state law, which leaves the face mask mandate in place. However, for now, if you're in Travis County, mask up.

Paxton sued the local officials for refusing to end the mandate after Gov. District Judge Lora Livingston has yet to issue a final ruling on the merits of the case, meaning Austin and Travis officials may later be told to comply with state officials. Ad“I've been doing everything that I can to protect the health and safety of people in Travis County,” Brown said in an interview. However, this was not the case in Travis County where officials said they would continue to require public mask use. Therefore, masks remained required in Travis County in the meantime.

Austin and Travis County officials can continue enforcing their mask mandates after a district judge delayed action on the Texas attorney general’s request to immediately stop the mandates. That means city and county officials can continue to require masks until at least March 26, when District Judge Lora Livingston will hold a trial. "I told Travis County and the City of Austin to comply with state mask law. Travis County Judge Andy Brown counts the two-week delay as a win. The pandemic has especially impacted Texans of color — including in El Paso where Paxton previously blocked a county judge from ordering non-essential businesses to shut down.

Austin Mayor Steve Adler said the public health face mask order that requires all Travis County residents to wear them will remain in effect for the next two weeks. The order stays after a U.S. District Court judge refused to grant the State of Texas an emergency, a temporary injunction on Friday. Greg Abbott's new order, which doesn't force Texans to wear a face mask starting Wednesday. However, the second threat isn't stopping the Austin officials. Adler said they will continue to support their health officials on the face mask matter.

AUSTIN, Texas – Acting on his threat, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Austin and Travis County officials on Thursday over their decision to continue requiring mask-wearing in public. “Judge Brown and I will fight to defend and enforce our local health officials’ rules for as long as possible using all the power and tools available to us," Adler said in a statement. State officials reported that 4,053 new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases Thursday raised the Texas pandemic total past the 2.7 million level to 2,704,344. Of those, the Texas Department of State Health Services estimated that 121,882 cases were active Thursday and 4,406 hospitalizations Wednesday, the latest data available. AdThe state reported 231 new COVID-19 fatalities in Texas on Thursday, taking the state's pandemic death toll past 45,000 to 45,106.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing Travis County and Austin officials in an effort to force them to rescind their local mask orders, he announced Thursday. "I told Travis County & The City of Austin to comply with state mask law," Paxton tweeted. There have been more than 2,200 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Travis County in the past two weeks. Brown said the authority to impose the local mask mandate comes from the county health authority, not from Brown’s emergency powers. Paxton’s office successfully defeated an effort by Travis and Austin officials to restrict in-person dining at restaurants around New Year’s.

A COVID-19 safety sign in Austin on June 24, 2020. Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas TribuneTexas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing Travis County and Austin officials in an effort to force them to rescind their local mask orders, he announced Thursday. "I told Travis County & The City of Austin to comply with state mask law," Paxton tweeted. There have been more than 2,200 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Travis County in the past two weeks. Travis County Judge Andy Brown, who presides over the county government, said the authority to impose the local mask mandate comes from the county health authority, not from Brown’s emergency powers. Paxton’s office successfully defeated an effort by Travis and Austin officials to restrict in-person dining at restaurants around New Year’s.