Headlines / Quote of the Week

Oilcan Harry's, the beloved longtime gay bar in the Warehouse District, could be demolished (or saved) by a new high-rise on Fourth Street. Oilcan and the developer, Hanover Co., have a tentative deal that would maintain the club's historic warehouse facade while changing the interior and adding a high-rise on top. The agreement would keep Oilcan at its current location for at least 25 years. Complete preservation of 211 W. Fourth is on the agenda for the Landmark Commission's May 4 meeting. (Photo by John Anderson)

Keeping the Lights On: The typical Austin Energy customer will see about a $16 per-month increase in their electric bill if Austin Energy's proposal to raise the base rate sticks. The power provider submitted the proposal Monday, April 18, because the entity needs a $48 million (or 7.6%) base revenue increase, based on the cost of providing electric service to the community in fiscal year 2021 (and Winter Storm Uri was not the cause).

InfoWars Goes Bust: Several of Alex Jones' business entities, including InfoWars, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy April 17, as Jones waits to see how much he has to pay Sandy Hook Elementary School families who sued him for repeatedly claiming the 2012 massacre of their children was a hoax. Attorneys for Sandy Hook families accuse Jones of trying to hide millions in assets.

Ukrainians Can Stay: The Department of Homeland Security announced Tuesday, April 19, that it would expand Temporary Protected Status for Ukrainians in the U.S. An early March order from the Biden administration blocked deportation of any Ukrainian who entered the country prior to March 1. U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, led 64 members of Congress in writing to Biden to ask for an extension in that cutoff date. The new effective date is April 11.

Declaring War on the Border: State Rep. Matt Krause, R-Tyler, suggested to Attorney General Ken Paxton March 28 that Texas can go to war with migrants crossing the border. The letter from the Texas House General Investigating Committee, which Krause chairs, asks Paxton whether the federal government has failed "to uphold its obligations to protect our state from invasion ... and whether Texas has the sovereign power to defend itself from such invasion."

Speaking of War on the Border: Gov. Greg Abbott and Arizona's Doug Ducey led 24 other Republican governors (that's all but two) in banding together for the new American Governors' Border Strike Force, a multistate partnership "designed to disrupt and dismantle the transnational criminal organizations taking advantage of the chaos Joe Biden has created," according to the announcement April 19.

Super Group Alert: Austin nonprofits Bike Austin, Walk Austin, and Vision Zero ATX announced a merger to form a new transportation-focused organization April 19. Safe Streets Austin's mission is to build a movement to transform Austin's streets, bikeways, and trails so they are safe, vibrant, and equitable.

Massive Money Move: In one of the largest acquisitions of a Central Texas company ever, a New York investment firm announced Tuesday, April 19, that it will buy American Campus Communities, an Austin-based student housing company, for $12.8 billion.

Photo by Hughes2948 / CC BY-SA 4.0

Quote of the Week

"Alex Jones is just delaying the inevitable: a public trial in which he will be held accountable."

– Attorney Christopher Mattei, representing Sandy Hook families who won their defamation suits against Jones by default. Trials to determine the damages are set to begin in August.