The Todd and Oz Show

Texas Attorney General candidate Mayes Middleton joins the show, the Austin City Council will vote today on annexing a four square-mile piece of land in east Austin for new infrastructure and Austin cyclists gathered this week for the "Ride of Silence", an annual event hosted by the Austin Ghost Bike Project to honor the lives of people who have been hurt or killed on local roadways while calling for improvements to cyclist safety.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President Trump has endorsed current Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over incumbent U.S. Senator John Cornyn in the Republican primary for Cornyn's seat, the city of Austin has purchased 50 acres of park land in south Austin and a decline in public school enrollment is predicted to be bigger than expected, Texas could lose 100,000 students by the year 2030.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Three people and two suspects are dead after a shooting at a mosque in San Diego yesterday morning, the owner of Central Texas Gun Works, Michael Cargill, has told reporters the gun used in the weekend shooting spree involving three teens in south Austin was stolen from his store and a new Texas Senate poll shows both Republican candidates John Cornyn and Ken Paxton are deadlocked against Democrat candidate James Talarico.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Three teens have been arrested in connection to a shooting spree in south Austin over the weekend, the Austin City Council is discussing scaling back the I-35 cap and stitch project and parents in the Pflugerville school district are upset after district leaders voted to close four elementary schools to address an 11$ million deficit.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Interrogations between the US and Cuba intensify as Cuba's oil shortage worsens, Caldwell county is calling for state intervention to regulate the development of data centers in Texas, and amidst school under-enrollment, Pflugerville ISD is closing four elementary schools.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Governor Greg Abbott has expanded his latest crime reduction initiative as he originally rolled out the Texas repeat offender task force in Houston in October, and now he's expanding it to include Dallas-Fort Worth, San Antonio, and here in Austin, and Austin renters may have more bargaining power than they’ve had in years, as hundreds of apartment complexes across the city offer incentives like free rent amid a wave of new development after a recent report from Apartments.com shows roughly 700 apartment properties in Austin are currently offering rent concessions to attract tenants, and about 38-percent of those properties are advertising one month free, while another 25-percent are offering two months free.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former Austin councilman Greg Casar held a press conference yesterday to demand the release of 18-year-old Luis Fernando Cabrera -- an illegal alien who attended northeast early college high school before being detained recently by ICE agents, five people have been arrested for allegedly robbing a teenager at gunpoint in Leander as the victim says a white suv approached him carrying the four other teens and one adult who began harassing him before pulling out a gun, an officer eventually chased two of the alleged robbers on foot, and during the pursuit, a drone was following and caught the moment one of the teens threw a backpack into a backyard. Officers later recovered two guns, one of which was stolen, also, Uhland has a new Mayor after recently, Mayor Lacee Duke resigned following a felony arrest back in December and Guadalupe Garza will take over after being appointed last night by the city council.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former Austin city councilman Greg Casar will be in Austin today to demand the release of a northeast early college high school student who was detained by ice recently after being pulled over for an expired registration, state health officials have temporarily waived the hard-wired internet requirement for summer camps and an appeals court has reinstated an injunction stopping the ban on stores from selling smokable hemp.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President Trump is threatening Iran again after U-S forces carried out strikes on military facilities in retaliation for an attack in the Strait of Hormuz, Austin ISD is updating how it plans to deal with a $181 million budget deficit, including increasing class sized in second through fifth grade and reducing planning time for teachers and the CDC is tracking two cruise passengers in Texas who may have been exposed to the hantavirus.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The central Texas regional mobility authority is proposing a big expansion of mopac from downtown to Slaughter lane, which would add two new toll lanes in an effort to alleviate the major congestion through the corridor, but critics aren't satisfied, after last night's meeting of Austin's environmental commission where multiple people showed up to slam the proposal over environmental concerns, Caldwell county could soon see a major boom in data center development that has some residents worried about changes to their communities, and Governor Abbott is threatening to pull state funding from Grand Prairie over an event at a waterpark as Epic Waters plans to host a private event to celebrate the Muslim holiday of EID on June first that will require a modest dress code and Governor Abbott says that could result in the loss of half a million dollar for the city, which owns the water park, he also says what the park did is religious discrimination.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Activists are slamming the homeless strategy office's latest plan to clear out homeless camps around Austin after homeless strategy officer David Gray says they have created an updated process with a goal of reducing health and safety risks while also connecting homeless people with services including increased camp cleanings by some members of the Austin police department would establish six dedicated teams operating monday through friday with three teams that would be responsible for camps in parks, greenbelts, and residential areas and one team would focus on transportation corridors, and The Austin school district has released a summary of proposed budget cuts as the district works to close a $181-million deficit as district leaders say they have identified $73.8-million in central office reductions, which includes eliminating vacancies such as the deputy superintendent of business and operations and a proposed one-thousand-unit housing complex with pre-approved office space in southwest Austin is moving forward in the rezoning process.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sexual assault victim services provided by the safe alliance in austin are set to end in june because of a lack of funding after CEO Pierre Baristain says there is currently no plan for victims once the services are terminated, but that safe alliance could continue helping if it raises $1.5-million-dollars as he tells CBS Austin they've lost about $5.6-million in funding, Texas prisons are under attack, and it's coming from the skies as prison system leaders are tracking a spike in the number of cases where drones are flying contraband into the arms of inmates and the comptroller's office has issued 53-thousand more school choice vouchers to Texas students as part of the education freedom accounts program.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Austin City Council will consider a settlement with an Austin couple who had their home damaged by Austin police and Department of Public Safety S.W.A.T. officers after initially claiming immunity and spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on legal representation, Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza has hired defense attorneys ahead of an upcoming misconduct hearing and a Travis County judge has issued a temporary injunction pausing a new Texas rule banning smokable hempSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Austin Board of Realtors is out with a new report claiming the city of Austin's H.OM.E. initiative is working at reducing housing costs, Camp Mystic has decided to pull their application for an operating license and will not open this summer after days of contentious public hearings and the city of Austin has released its long-term financial forecast, which could lead to a modest surplus in 2031.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The city of Austin is preparing to ramp up homeless encampment sweeps in the coming weeks as a proposal outlines targeted cleanups across the city, but it’s already drawing criticism from activists who say the approach risks doing more harm than good like Eli Cortez with the group "Vocal TX" tells KVUE the police department is causing a lot of fear among the homeless community, which makes it difficult to get them help, Austin's first responders are taking their concerns about self-driving vehicles to city leaders after the 6th Street mass shooting early last month, an ambulance was blocked from getting to the scene by a self-driving Waymo vehicle that was stuck in the middle of the roadway, and Texas lieutenant governor Dan Patrick reiterated his call for state health officials to block the license of Camp Mystic following a two-day legislative hearing in which investigators, families of flood victims, and the camp's operators took hours of questions from lawmakers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

State lawmakers and the camp leaders are debating at the state capitol over whether Camp Mystic should be allowed to reopen its Cypress Lake campus this summer, Camp Mystic director Edward Eastland was the first to address the house and senate committees about what led to the tragic deaths of the 27 girls in the flood and investigators concluded the camp leaders failed to follow national weather service warnings, and didn't have a camper evacuation plan and now they want to reopen the Cypress Lake campus on May 30th, Austin school district officials continue to try to figure out how to bridge a massive budget gap as this school year, the district expects to wrap up with a $49-million-dollar deficit, and it's expected to grow to $181-million-dollars by next school year, also get ready to hit the ballot box again as we are now less than one month away from a primary runoff in Texas which is the biggest race is for senate, pitting the incumbent John Cornyn against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

State lawmakers got a breakdown from their independent investigator as to what went wrong at camp mystic, causing the flood deaths of 25 campers and two counselors as members of the state house and senate flood investigation committees heard a minute by minute breakdown of the failures of camp leadership including not heeding national weather service warnings ahead of the July 4th floods, or having a coherent camper evacuation plan, the Austin city council has advanced a new incentive deal for a $985-million-dollar resort project at Circuit of the Americas that's expected to generate billions of dollars in the local economy as Rida development is planning a 1000-room hotel with a golf course and 170-thousand-square-foot conference center on the western portion of the COTA project in Del Valle, and Melania Trump and the administration have called for the firing of Jimmy Kimmel from his late night host spot on ABC after a joke of ill-taste was directed at the First Lady.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The City of Austin is considering another property tax rate hike to make up for a $26 million budget deficit, the Austin Police Department has agreed to rework their general orders to avoid millions in state funding cuts and the Austin ISD will pause additional school closures at it moves toward gathering community feedback on district boundaries. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has extended the deadline for the city of Austin to change its police department's policies on cooperating with federal immigration agent, A U.S. Supreme Court appeal is in the works by the families who originally filed a lawsuit against the State of Texas for requiring the Ten Commandments be posted in every public school classroom and special guest & former Texas GOP Chairman James Dickey joins the show to discuss the booming data center industry in Texas.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Texas is running out of water, and you won't believe the price tag to fix it, as a new report shows that cities across Texas will need to spend 174-billion dollars over the next 50 years to avert a water crisis. Perry Fowler, who heads the Texas water infrastructure network, says that's a huge jump from the previous price tag, the environment was the main focus of a town hall event yesterday where dozens of people turned up to learn more about the proposed expansion of Mopac from Cesar Chavez to Slaughter lane, critics of the plan, including some high school students, tell CBS Austin they don't believe the mobility authority has done enough studies on what impact the mopac project could have on the environment while CTRMA's environmental study shows that the project would have "no significant impact" to water, wildlife, and nearby areas like lady bird lake, and the hunt continues for a group of smash-and-grab thieves who hit the Marc Robinson jewelry store at the Round Rock outlet mall on Tuesday after video shows eight masked people enter the store, attack an employee with pepper spray, and then smash display cases filled with high-end jewelry and rolex watches.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new research center combining medical and technological research is getting a head-start from Michael and Susan Dell as they say the goal of the new investment is to bring together medicine, science, and computing on a single campus designed for the artificial intelligence era, the 5th circuit court concluded the Texas law does not violate the establishment clause or the free exercise clause of the first amendment, going on to say, Senate Bill 10 requires no religious exercise or observance and Students are not taught to adopt them, nor are teachers commanded to convert students to Christianity, and an Austin firefighter battling stage 4 ovarian and endometrial cancer has won a legal battle against the city of Austin over worker compensation after she worked for AFD for nearly 20 years, she was diagnosed with cancer in May of last year and believes it was caused by her job.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Congress has passed the mystic alerts act named after Camp Mystic where 25 campers and two counselors were killed in the horrific July fourth flooding, requiring the FFC to encourage mobile service providers to adopt satellite technology to reach those that don't have cell service, girl scouts in central Texas can now earn a new patch designed to help them recognize and protect themselves from online predators, following the launch of a first-of-its-kind online safety curriculum unveiled this week in Austin, and an Austin woman is telling her story after chasing a strange man out of her house in the middle of the night Shayla Worley tells KXAN she was in her home on Nueces street when she realized she was not alone as Worley says she confronted the guy with a gun, once the man was gone, she says she called 9-1-1, because the crime was no longer in progress, she was told to call 3-1-1 instead, and to eventually file a report online.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Planned peace talks with Iran are now in jeopardy after the U.S. seized an Iran-marked cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz, Austin's Community Police Review Commission appears to be split on whether the city should expand public reporting on police interactions with federal immigration agents and the latest poll shows Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton gaining momentum over Senator John Cornyn in the GOP Senate primary runoff. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Travis County judge has reissued a temporary injunction blocking camp Mystic from reopening its Guadalupe River grounds anytime soon after a 3 day hearing where judge Maya Guerra Gamble decided to keep the injunction and restraining order in place over camp mystic that she issued back in March, Senator John Cornyn joins the show to discuss his position in the Texas state primaries coming this summer, and a new report out by the transportation and public works department shows two large bridges and 20 smaller bridges are in need of repair across the city over the next five years as city staff says more than $90-million-dollars will need to be spent on bridge replacement and repair.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Changes are coming in the hill country to address last year's historic flooding with a nearly-one-million-dollar contract funding eight outdoor warning sirens along the Guadalupe river in Kerr county as county commissioner Tom Jones says the move marks the most concrete step yet toward a flood warning system that state leaders demanded after last year's deadly flood, the Hays county sheriff's office is leading the investigation into what's described as a "potentially serious pattern of bullying" that could include violations of the law as a video obtained by investigators, where players can reportedly be seen taunting another disabled student, and in at least one instance, one player is reportedly seen in the locker room simulating a sex act on the disabled student while other players watched and laughed and some city leaders are reacting after attorney general Ken Paxton raised concerns that the Austin police department's new policy on handling ice warrants may be in violation of state law.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is opening up an investigation into the city of Austin following changes that were made to the Austin police department's policy on immigration enforcement looking into whether the city has violated senate bill 4, which allows local cooperation with ice agents, and bans local policies from interfering with federal immigration operations.More details are surfacing in the case of ten Lehman high school baseball players who have been suspended over allegations of bullying as law enforcement has reportedly obtained at least two videos of separate incidents across several weeks that indicate a pattern of behavior, players are allegedly seen slapping the student, hitting him with a belt and imitating a sex act and athletic apparel retailer Lululemon is the latest target of Texas attorney general Ken Paxton, who believes they're using toxic 'forever chemicals' in their activewear.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President Trump has revealed negotiations with Iran in Pakistan have broken down after Iran's demand for a nuclear weapon was denied, a south Austin gun store owner is defending two of his employees who were involved in a shooting outside a nightclub on East Seventh Street Friday night and the City of Austin has approved $5 million for CapMetro bus route #2 which will cover things like overtime for bus drivers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The City of Austin has fired multiple high-ranking I.T. employees after learning that they were working for the City of Dallas at the same time, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis says she expects to have an update from the FBI on the mass shooting on Sixth Street and ERCOT is set to begin using artificial intelligence to track data points and find patterns that could warn of an outage as well as track weather and make recommendations about power generation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new poll found that 65-percent of Americans don't want a data center in their community, and a big part of that is the noise as University of Houston professor Ed Hirs says these facilities need huge air conditioners and water pumps to keep the computers cool , The Austin School District has canceled its planned job fair for this week on the heels of news that its projected budget deficit had ballooned to around $180-million-dollars for next year and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick says the in-fighting between Senate candidates Paxton and Cornyn needs to be resolved or they'll both usher in a new blue era of politics for Texas.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Reaction is mixed around Central Texas to President Trump's handling of the situation in Iran. Trump now says he's open to a two-week pause in fighting if Iran allows ships to move freely through the Strait of Hormuz, Tesla has smashed through the benchmarks that were set forth when the company entered into an incentive agreement with Travis county in 2020. Even so, the Travis county commissioners court this week has decided to only give Tesla a portion of the incentives that it has earned, and yet another homeless camp is causing big problems for people who live in the Southwood neighborhood of South Austin, many people are speaking out about multiple homeless camps that continue to pop back up even after they've been cleared out.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Texas Board of Education will debate the latest changes to the k-12 social studies curriculum with some critics saying it over celebrates Christianity while Texas highways have become the national hub for testing big rigs that are piloted by computers and sensors, and Governor Greg Abbott is facing some online backlash after sharing a photo online appearing to show the aftermath of the rescue of an American pilot rescued in Iran. Abbott reposted the image, saying, "this is so awesome!" but the image is actually Ai generated.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President Trump has issued a new deadline of Tuesday evening for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, threatening to strike power plants and bridges if the waterway remains unlocked, new data shows that over 274,000 students have applied for Texas' new taxpayer funded school choice program as the initial deadline closed and The City of Austin is getting set to move ahead with plans to change the name of Cesar Chavez Street. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Four Del Valle High School students are accused of kidnapping and torturing a classmate, the Austin City Council has approved the Downtown Core Transportation Plan that initiates the conversion of several one-way streets to two-way and construction is underway on an affordable housing project for Austin ISD teachers and staff.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Texas has become a national leader for data centers, warehouses full of computers, needed for ai research, use a ton of electricity and here in Texas, it's cheap, according to Williamson county state senator Charles Schwertner, The Austin school district continues to struggle with enrollment with enrollment numbers plunge by more than 3000 students this year and two years after causing a bus crash that killed a 5-year-old Hays school district student and another driver, and less than a year behind bars, Jerry Hernandez will soon be up for parole.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A recently built drift track in the Hutto area is raising noise concerns among nearby residents who say they lived in the area long before the track was constructed, City of Austin officials immediately began talking about renaming Cesar Chavez Street. While some councilmembers like Vanessa Fuentes would like to see it renamed after another activist -- Dolores Huerta -- there's a new push to name the street after a local police officer who died in the line of duty and the Travis County District Attorney is pushing back on claims that he held secret meetings with the City of Austin and withheld evidence in a case involving an Austin police officer connected to the 2020 riots. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President Trump has threatened to "obliterate" Iran's energy infrastructure if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened. Recent strikes have hit an oil refinery in Israel and a US air base in Saudi Arabia, injuring service members, after a 44-day wait during a partial Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown, TSA officers have finally begun receiving retroactive paychecks and the Austin ISD has sent a letter to families this week informing them that Blackshear Elementary school will be closing for good.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Austin City Council has approved a plan to have new digital kiosks installed in busy areas around Austin to provide real-time transit information, wayfinding tools and emergency information, a rift is growing between Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra and Democrat State Rep. Erin Zweiner over high water-use developments such as A.I. date centers and many Austinites gathered over the weekend at the "No Kings Protest" to rally against Trump administration policies.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In a rare overnight session, the Senate unanimously moved to fund much of the Department of Homeland Security, but immigration enforcement components like ICE remain unfunded, Trump delayed potential U.S. strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure for another 10 days while warning Tehran to "get serious" in negotiations "before it is too late" and Austin has approved a Homeless Strategies and Operations Strategic Plan for 2025-2027 as well as the purchase of a new property for Austin Resource Recovery. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Austin city leaders hosted the first of a series of discussions over Austin's budget for the next fiscal year, giving the public a chance to voice what they want prioritized, Taylor residents held a press conference to formally push back on a proposed data center ahead of a planned city council meeting regarding the project and a 25 year-old man in Bastrop has been arrested after he began shooting at cars near a Home Depot.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some Austin city leaders are raising concerns about funding the next phase of the proposed I-35 cap and stitch project, Zoox has announced its self-driving taxes will begin service in Austin this week and the Texas Commission on Licensing and Regulation has approved a new rule that will require people to prove that they are in the country legally in order to operate certain businesses.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A mistrial has been declared on the first day of jury selection in the deadly conduct case against Army Sergeant Daniel Perry, transportation officials are hoping to move forward with a proposed expansion of the Mopac expressway as Austinites prepare to weigh in on the project this week and the Capitol Metro Police Department is weighing in on safety on its bus routes in the wake of multiple violent incidents.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jury selection will begin today in the misdemeanor deadly conduct case against Army sergeant Daniel Perry, who was pardoned in 2024 after a jury convicted him in 2023 of the murder of a protester on July 25, 2020, support is growing to rid the city of Austin of all tributes to Julio Cesar Chavez in the wake of allegations of sexual assault that reportedly happened decades ago and SpaceX and Tesla will build two advanced chip factories at a sprawling facility in Austin -- one to power cars and humanoid robots, and another designed for artificial intelligence data centers in space.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Austin Police will leave a "public safety zone" in place on Sixth Street as they expect SXSW attendants to remain in the city for a few more days, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told reporters that his goals in the war against Iran will ultimately create the conditions for a civilian uprising, The Treasury Department is taking over some federal student loans as part of the Trump administrations plan to dismantle the Education Department.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The City of Austin has launched a new redesign of its website that cost over a million dollars, a major investigation by The New York Times has revealed allegations that the late labor icon Cesar Chavez sexually abused and raped women and girls and top national security and intelligence officials testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee regarding the war with Iran.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Allies reject Trump's calls for help securing the Strait of Hormuz as oil continues to flow but with rising risks and prices, the City of Pflugerville has found another break in a pipeline that carries water from the Colorado River to Lake Pflugerville, making it the fifth break discovered for the troubled pipeline and A federal judge in Houston has extended the Texas school choice voucher application process to March 31st.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Attorney Doug O'Connell, who represents an Austin Police officer indicted in relation to the 2020 summer protests in Austin, joins the show to discuss alleged misconduct by Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza and O'Connell's motion to dismiss the case, U.S. Representative Greg Casar crashed U.S. Senator John Cornyn's press conference at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and the Austin City Council next week will consider a change to the land development code that would bring more commercial businesses to residential areas.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Trump administration is preparing to announce that several countries have agreed to form a naval coalition to escort commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, The Department of Energy will begin to pull oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help reduce prices that have risen due to Operation Epic Fury and Austin city councilmembers are calling for immigration enforcement agents to no longer be allowed to wear masks while conducting operations.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

AI is quickly becoming one of the most influential technologies of our time as more and more people turn to the tech to help them in everyday life. Jewish houses of worship in Central Texas are on heightened alert following an attack at a synagogue in Michigan yesterday. The application process for school choice vouchers in Texas is nearly complete, with the portal closing on the 17th.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Austin Independent School District leaders are facing backlash for confusing messaging regarding multiple school closures, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is pressuring Collin County to reject plans for the planned Muslim community Epic City and Iran has allegedly launched its first major cyberattack of the war against a U.S. company, reportedly targeting a medical technology groupSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Three children have been confirmed dead at the scene of an apartment fire in southeast Austin, Stage 3 water restrictions continue in Pflugerville after there was a break in a thirty inch pipeline that supplies Lake Pflugerville and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton finds himself with an early lead in the polls in his Senate runoff against incumbent Senator John Cornyn.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President Trump is issuing new threats to Iran over the possible blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, two men have been charged with federal terrorism offenses after throwing "ignited devices" near the residence of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the Austin Police Department is increasing security measures ahead of SXSW following a deadly shooting earlier this month. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.