Good Morning! On this day in 1840, Comanche warriors under Buffalo Hump rode into Victoria without warning and drove off more than 1,500 horses. Two days later, they burned the port town of Linnville to the ground.
Down below in Et Cetera, you’ll find an item about a national outlet naming the Top Notch drive-in in Austin as the tastiest local fast-food spot in Texas. Our Poll asks whether you’ve ever been there, but our burning question is: What’s your pick for the tastiest local fast-food joint in the Lone Star State? Hit reply to set us straight!
Some debates polarize a family faster than almost anything else, and this is one of them. Do adult children owe their aging parents care, or is it entirely a choice? Some Americans say kids have a responsibility to step up. But in 29 states, it’s more than a moral question. The law can actually force you to pay, and one son learned that the hard way when a court handed him his mother’s $93,000 nursing home bill. So where does obligation end and choice begin? Today on The Flyover Podcast, Ayla breaks down both sides of the fight. Tune in here!
What if coal could be transformed into cleaner fuels instead of being burned? Later today, keep an eye out for a message from our partner, Frontieras, about its technology and today’s investment deadline.
Gov. Greg Abbott proposed Tuesday allowing San Antonio customers of the city-owned CPS Energy to buy power from competing retail providers.
The plan covers Austin Energy, too, and would take effect only if lawmakers pass it when they convene in January 2027. Abbott said San Antonio residential bills would fall about 13% and commercial bills nearly 22%.
It would also restrict utility revenue to electric service. CPS Energy pays San Antonio 14% of its profits in lieu of property taxes, and more than 100,000 of its customers live outside the city.
“This is taxation through electricity prices without representation, and it must come to an end,” Abbott said.
CPS Energy said it keeps Texas’ lowest combined electric and gas residential rates and returns earnings to customers, not investors. Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said deregulation would take years and cost more than $1 billion, paid by customers.
North Texas Residents Pack Meetings
Residents packed three North Texas meeting rooms Tuesday night over a data center, a mosque expansion, and polling-place cuts.
Westlake’s Planning and Zoning Commission approved the site plan for an 87-acre data center campus on Highway 377 after nearly four hours of testimony over noise and water use. Commissioners added sound-wall and tree-screening conditions as some in the crowd shouted “shame.”
Developer Jeff Parsons said the campus sits as far from homes as possible. Keller resident Ben Buckwalter asked why neighbors learned of it so late.
In McKinney, the City Council voted 7-0 to let the Islamic Association build a three-building campus on Virginia Parkway after more than 100 speakers weighed in.
Tarrant County commissioners tabled a plan to cut Election Day polling sites from 316 to 176 after speakers warned of longer lines during a contentious meeting. Judge Tim O’Hare had several attendees removed and called the figure “too low.”
Waymo Opens Driverless Service in Dallas
Waymo opened its driverless ride-hailing service to all riders in Dallas on Tuesday, ending the waitlist that had been in place since February.
Anyone can download the app and hail a car inside the service area, which includes South Dallas, the Bishop Arts District, Highland Park, and University Park. Nearly 150,000 people rode during the invitation-only phase.
Airport trips aren’t available yet. Waymo is still testing at Dallas Love Field and plans to begin testing on area freeways, the last step before opening those routes to riders.
Meanwhile, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has cleared Amazon’s Zoox to charge for rides in cars built without steering wheels and has proposed allowing robotaxis without brake pedals.
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➤ Houston: A small law firm is set to receive a $150 million federal contract to represent thousands of unaccompanied migrant children in immigration proceedings. Burke Law Group has 26 employees whose practice areas include commercial litigation and white-collar defense. (More)
➤ San Antonio: Commissioners unanimously approved moving full medical screenings to the front of jail intake at the Bexar County Jail, shortly after arrival, instead of five or six hours in. More than 90 people have died in the jail since 2020, and 44% died within a week of booking. (See Details)
➤ New Summerfield: Fire tore through the soil-mixing building at Altman Plants Tuesday evening, causing millions of dollars in damage at the nursery, which employs about 375 people. No one was hurt. Operations manager Jon Valentine called the building the “heartbeat” of the operation and a near-total loss. (See Details)
➤ Kerr County: Commissioner Rich Paces asked President Trump to approve Gov. Greg Abbott’s July 17 major disaster declaration request for roughly 30 counties hit by the July floods. Texas estimates response costs at $489.7 million. (More)
➤ Killeen: The city council voted 6-1 to approve an 85-foot cell tower on First Assembly of God property on East Trimmier Road, to be disguised as a tree. All 12 neighbors who answered city notices opposed it, citing property values. (More)
➤ Corpus Christi: The University of Texas sued Staples Street Meat Market and owner Michael Meehan on July 29, claiming the shop’s longhorn logo and orange color scheme mimic university trademarks. UT wants the logo off signs, menus, and ads, plus damages. (See Details)
➤ Dilley: A 16-year-old Churchill High School student and her father were released from the Dilley ICE facility, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, said Tuesday. Emely Suaza Chambo was detained on July 12. Her father was detained when he came to pick her up. (More)
➤ Dallas: Sgt. Daylon Grandberry drew a 15-day suspension after allegedly taking a female subordinate’s phone, opening her hidden photo folder, and texting two intimate images to himself. He says it was an accident and isn’t appealing. (More)
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➤ Five Texasschools made the first preseason coaches football poll: Texas (No. 4), Texas A&M (No. 8), Texas Tech (No. 12), SMU (No. 20), and Houston (No. 24). (More)
➤ Baylor football’s Yakiri Walker has been hired as a football analyst after a court denied his request to play this season. The Memphis transfer had been expected to start at center, but will now be a coach. (More)
➤ Meanwhile, Baylor offensive lineman Isaiah Robinson medically retired this week due to knee injuries dating back to high school—another hit to the Bears’ offensive line. (More)
➤ Dallas Cowboys tight end Princeton Fant will miss this season after tearing his ACL and partially tearing his MCL during a training camp practice in Oxnard. (More)
➤ Texas A&M cut the ribbon Wednesday on the first building of its $1.5 billion downtown Fort Worth campus, an eight-story, 228,000-square-foot home for its law, engineering, business, health sciences, and aviation research schools. Crews broke ground on a second research building the same day. (See Details)
➤ Xcel Energy is proposing 11 natural gas, solar, and wind projects in Texas and New Mexico totaling nearly 4,000 megawatts, with sites in the Panhandle and near Plainview. Planning director Justin Smiley said they should be in service by 2030 and aren’t intended to meet data center demand. (More)
➤ CHRISTUS Health opened an 8,500-square-foot emergency center on Loop 281 in Longview on Tuesday with seven exam rooms, three triage spaces, imaging, and onsite lab services. It sits next to a CHRISTUS walk-in primary clinic. (See Details)
➤ Greensleeves Nursery in Pflugerville trucked in water and filled buckets by hand through March and April after the city’s Stage 3 restrictions shut off its irrigation during peak sales season. Owner William Glenn said sales dropped, and ordered inventory went unsold. (Read Story)
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➤ Top Notch, the 1971 Austin drive-in that backdropped Matthew McConaughey’s “alright, alright, alright” scene in Dazed and Confused, was named the tastiest local fast-food spot in Texas by FinanceBuzz. General manager Jarett Austin says 60% to 70% of the menu hasn’t changed since the restaurant opened. (See Details)
➤ Ten shelter dogs from Irving Animal Services watched the Rangers host the San Francisco Giants from the stands at Globe Life Field on Tuesday, with complimentary tickets and ballpark food included. All 10 are up for adoption through Clear the Shelters. (More)
➤ A McLennan Community College professor is one of five finalists for the Texas Country Music Association’s Keyboard and Pianist of the Year award. Shane Hall found out when Billie Jo, the Texas country artist he backs, texted him a screenshot highlighting his name. (More)
➤ El Paso Community College hosts its third Tejano New Stages on Aug. 7-8 at the Forum Theater on the Transmountain campus. Eight theatre students will read original scripts with no sets and no costumes. Admission is free. (See Details)
➤ The Odessa Fire Department is taking applications for its citizens academy, open to anyone 18 and older. Fire investigator Lorenzo Rivas said the revamped program now puts applicants in boots for hands-on work rather than mostly lectures. (More)
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The following stories are featured exclusively on The Flyover Podcast—a daily show that gives you the most important headlines in under 15 minutes. Clicking the links will take you directly to these stories:
➤ Do you think adult children owe their aging parents care? Tune in to hear both sides of the debate.(Hear Debate)
➤ German authorities scrambled a bomb disposal robot after an explosive-laden drone was found beside a Ukrainian cargo plane. (Hear Episode)
➤ Investigators are searching for answers after a famous influencer was shot and killed in public while livestreaming. (Listen Now)
Have you ever been to the Top Notch drive-in in Austin?
Abbott Pushes CPS Energy Competition
