Good Morning, Central Austin!

Top Story
Waterloo Greenway Conservancy launches lush downtown habitat for locals and wildlife

Waterloo Greenway Conservancy will unveil new trail systems on June 6 as part of the Waterloo Greenway project. The Confluence, Phase 2 of the project, features a half-mile stretch of trails along Waller Creek between Fourth Street and Lady Bird Lake, according to a news release. 

The Confluence showcases a design meant to bring wildlife, green spaces and a place for community gathering to the center of downtown, said John Rigdon, Waterloo Greenway Conservancy’s chief planning and design officer. 

Why it matters: The new trail also showcases over 1,600 trees, 200,000 plants and 200 different native species that were planted as part of the project. For context, Rigdon said, Waterloo Park features 90,000 plants and 5,000 trees. 

The grand opening: Waterloo Greenway Conservancy will welcome the public to The Confluence for the first time on June 6, debuting its new environment.

  • Opens June 6
  • Downtown Austin
 
Latest News
Austin raises senior, disabled homeowner property tax exemption by $12K

Austin officials once again increased the city's property tax break for senior and disabled homeowners.

The details: Homestead exemptions allow property owners to lower the share of their primary residence's value that can be taxed by local entities. Texas school districts are now required to offer a set base exemption of $140,000, while other jurisdictions like cities can set a percentage based on a home's appraised value.

Homeowners who are 65 and older or have a disability can see their tax bills decreased further. School districts are now required to provide an additional $60,000 exemption to senior and disabled homeowners, and other jurisdictions can set their own exemption levels.

Continuing a trend from recent years, City Council voted unanimously in May to increase Austin's senior and disabled homestead exemption by more than 6%. The change will effectively maintain tax relief for those homeowners from last year.

 

Ascension Seton uses a new surgical approach to improve precision, outcomes

SPONSORED CONTENT
 

Your Weekend To-Do List

Check out these weekend events across the metro area.

Fish Fry Dinner & Silent Auction

Old Town Street Festival

June 5, 5-8 p.m.
Georgetown

June 6
Leander

More info

More info

 

FREE Community Clothing Swap

2026 Round Rock Pride Festival

June 6, 1-3 p.m.
Austin

June 6, 2-7 p.m.
Round Rock

More info

More info

 
To submit your own event, click here.

CI Texas
ERCOT forecasts record electric demand this summer amid data center boom; says grid will hold up

Texans are on track to use more electricity this summer than ever before, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas announced during a board meeting this week.

The details: ERCOT, which operates the power grid for the majority of Texas, is forecasting high temperatures and moderate rainfall this summer. Coupled with the proliferation of data centers and other large projects, demand on the grid could surpass 92 gigawatts, officials estimated June 2.

This would break ERCOT’s current demand record of 85.5 gigawatts, which was set during an August 2023 heat wave.

What it means: However, ERCOT officials said a grid emergency or blackout is unlikely this summer. State officials have said this is due to:

  • The addition of nearly 11 gigawatts of power capacity to the grid in the last few months
  • The agency's ability to require large facilities to reduce their energy use in tight times

Zooming in: There is a 0.09% chance of a grid emergency this June and a 0.21% chance of an emergency in July, ERCOT found in recent reports.

 

Your local team

Elle Bent
Editor

Krista Box
General Manager

Email [email protected] for story ideas, tips or questions.

Keep Reading

(512) 989-6808

TERMS OF SERVICE | PRIVACY POLICY

© 2005-2025 Community Impact Newspaper Co. All rights reserved.