Austin City Council pushed back a decision on rezoning the former Rosedale School site to Sept. 24, marking the third delay since May.

What's happening: Austin ISD officials agreed to sell the closed campus as the district works to close a budget shortfall, but it hinges on the city approving a rezoning to high-density multifamily and on AISD winning a lawsuit against more than 100 Rosedale-area homeowners over a 1938 deed restriction.

Council was set to vote on the zoning change, which would clear the way for a 435-unit, six-story apartment complex.

What they're saying: Neighbors, organized as Play Fair With Rosedale, argue the project is too dense for the surrounding single-family streets and have proposed a smaller "missing middle" alternative instead.

District 7 Council Member Mike Siegel has said he'd rather wait on the rezoning to avoid wasting city resources on a project a court could still block.

Council is now scheduled to vote Sept. 24, and because a valid petition was filed, the rezoning will need a supermajority to pass.

Four candidates are running to represent Austin's City Council District 5 this year.

The details: South Austin voters have a choice between incumbent council member Ryan Alter and challengers Liz Brink, David Weinberg and Farrah Abraham in the November 2026 election. Alter is currently serving his first four-year term at City Hall after winning one of several 2022 council runoff races.

Keep in mind: Early voting runs from Oct. 19-30, and Election Day is Nov. 3.

Michelin-starred chefs Phillip Frankland Lee and Margarita Kallas-Lee opened Big Slick, a 22-seat boutique steakhouse on East 6th Street, Aug. 29, with sights set on making it Texas' first two-Michelin-star restaurant.

Meet the chefs: The husband-and-wife team is behind several other Austin restaurants, including Pasta Bar and Sushi by Scratch Restaurants, both also Michelin-starred, per the release.

"Big Slick is built around the things we love about classic dining—great ingredients, live fire, tableside service and a sense of occasion—but with the freedom and personality of an à la carte restaurant," Frankland Lee said in the release.

What's on the menu: The restaurant's live-fire cooking centers on a wood-burning hearth visible from the dining room, with beef sourced exclusively from Lobel's of New York. Big Slick is the only restaurant in the country to receive Lobel's beef, according to the release.

Signature dishes include gulf prawns meunière, tartare of dry-aged filet mignon, duck breast, rack of lamb and changing wild-game preparations.

Travis County commissioners moved forward an estimated $2.3 billion budget for fiscal year 2027 on Sept. 10, boosting funding for public defense, housing and diversion programs while voting to consolidate the county's Axon Enterprise contracts under one department.

By the numbers: Indigent defense funding rose across multiple lines, including a doubled $3 million reserve earmark for outside counsel and $1.5 million added directly to the Public Defender's Office for attorney pay.

The budget also sets a new county living wage of $23.71 an hour. Commissioners also voted to consolidate the county's Axon Enterprise contracts into a single $6,832,000 technology department budget.

What officials are saying: The county's technology executive, Maurice McCreary Jr., defended the Axon contract as essential to transparency and evidence-sharing with defense attorneys. Commissioner Brigid Shea backed continued investment in body and vehicle cameras.

Advocates with the Coalition for Budget Accountability had rallied outside the markup, arguing new Axon spending should be matched with public defense funding instead.

Commissioners are scheduled to take a final budget vote Sept. 29.

Check out some trending stories from the Austin area Sept. 7-10.

1. Pflugerville's Springhill Restaurant to close in October

2. $82M Hwy. 79 widening prepares for next step in Round Rock

3. Scheels, sandwiches and soccer: 13 Cedar Park-area business updates to know this September

4. Snarf's Sandwiches planned for Georgetown

5. Sandy’s Southern Spice closes in Bastrop after owner’s death

6. Austin reports on new homeless encampment management program's early results