Austin City Council candidates raised nearly $730,000 and spent over $965,000 combined in 2026, with more than half a million dollars still available for the final week of their campaigns.

The details: Local political action committees favoring certain candidates and ballot measures spent roughly $1.2 million this year. Political spending largely centered around bond measures and Proposition I, a charter proposal backed by Save Austin Now to require recurring audits of city spending.

Campaign activity across the five council districts included:

• District 1: Six candidates drew more than $258,000 and spent over $223,000, led by Amber K. Goodwin

• District 3: Five candidates drew over $112,000 and spent more than $93,000, led by incumbent council member José Velásquez

• District 5: This race generated the most spending activity, with council member Ryan Alter and challenger David Weinberg leading fundraising and spending

• District 8: Selena Xie out-raised and outspent opponent Jeffery Bowen

• District 9: Incumbent council member Zo Qadri widely outspent his challengers

The Texas Education Agency is reviewing a complaint about how signatures were gathered for petitions to close Burnet and Webb middle schools, the agency told Community Impact on Oct. 26. The petitions aim to keep the state from taking over Austin ISD.

What we know: The Webb Middle School PTA alleges outside individuals pressured some families to sign, according to a complaint it posted on Facebook. Superintendent Matias Segura said in an Oct. 19 letter that initial counts reached the 50% threshold at both schools. No signature totals have been released.

TEA did not say whether the review could affect AISD’s Dec. 1 deadline to submit validated petitions. If the petitions are valid, the commissioner is required to order the closures, but TEA’s rule allows the addition of other interventions.

What’s next: AISD will verify signatures after the Oct. 30 enrollment count. A Burnet and Webb family engagement plan starts in early November, Segura said.

Austinites can now fly directly to Anchorage, Alaska. The new nonstop destination from Alaska Airlines will begin service from Austin to Anchorage on June 12 and will operate once weekly on Saturdays through Aug. 7.

The details: This is the latest domestic expansion for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, announced on Oct. 27. The new destination is also the only nonstop connection between Central Texas and the state of Alaska.

Zooming in: Anchorage is Alaska’s largest city and a gateway to the Kenai Peninsula, offering travelers access to Alaska’s state and national parks, outdoor adventures and Denali, according to a news release.

Travis County was named as an affected party in a preliminary hearing before the State Office of Administrative Hearings on Oct. 27, regarding a contested wastewater permit for the White Rocks mixed-use development near Bee Cave.

The overview: The preliminary contested case hearing for the wastewater permit began on Oct. 27 before the State Office of Administrative Hearings.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality initially granted contested case hearings to Save Our Springs Alliance, The Nature Conservancy and some nearby homeowners on July 15 in response to the opposition.

Yet others in opposition, including Travis County, were also named as affected parties at the preliminary hearing by the administrative law judge.

What’s next: The hearing process will now enter mediation, a confidential alternative to a traditional hearing in which a neutral third party will help all parties in resolving the dispute.

More than 4.5 million Texans cast ballots in the first seven days of early voting in the Nov. 3 election, state data shows.

The overview: From Oct. 19-25, 23.8% of Texas' 19 million registered voters had voted in-person or by mail, according to voter turnout data submitted by counties and reported by the secretary of state. This is slightly below early voting turnout at the same point in 2018 and several percentage points above turnout in 2022.

Some context: Turnout this fall follows voter enthusiasm during the March primary election, when more Texans voted early than in recent primaries. In total, about 4.5 million people—or one-fourth of voters registered at the time—cast ballots in Texas' March election, setting a primary turnout record.

At the polls: Registered voters can visit any polling place in their county through Oct. 30, the last day of early voting. Election Day is Nov. 3. Texans can read Q&As with dozens of candidates, find local polling sites and print a custom sample ballot at communityimpact.com/voter-guide.