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The city of Austin is being sued by a group of Travis County property owners after reversing course on an agreement that would have released nearly 170 properties from the city’s jurisdiction. Sean Hemmersmeier from the Austin Business Journal tells us more.
We’re approaching one year since the devastating Fourth of July floods that claimed the lives of more than 100 Central Texans. A new podcast, “After the Flood,” takes a deeper look at the disaster’s lasting impact.
Looking for your next great read? The Field Guide to Austin Summer Reading Bingo Challenge is happening now, and we’ve got a couple of book recommendations to help fill your card.
Plus: Tattoo shops across Austin are finding it increasingly difficult to keep their doors open.
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The full transcript of this episode of Austin Signal is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles or captions on some podcast apps.
Miles Bloxson [00:00:08] The city of Austin is being sued by a group of Travis County property owners after reversing course on an agreement that would have released nearly 170 properties from the city’s jurisdiction. We’ll hear more on that. And we’re approaching one year since the devastating 4th of July floods that claimed the lives of more than 100 Central Texans. A new podcast after the flood takes a deeper look at the disaster’s lasting impact.
KUT Announcer: Laurie Gallardo [00:00:32] The Austin Signal is a production of KUT News, hosted by Miles Bloxen.
Miles Bloxson [00:00:37] Looking for your next great read? The Fill Guide to Austin’s Summer Reading Bingo Challenge is happening right now and we’ve got a couple of book recommendations to help fill your card. Plus, tattoo shops across Austin are finding it increasingly difficult to keep their doors open. That’s coming up today on Austin Signal. Hi Austin, it’s Tuesday, June 23rd, 2026. I’m Miles Blox and this is Austin Signal. Thank you so much for being here with us. The City of Austin is being sued by a group of property owners in Travis County who say the City wrongfully backed out of letting them de-annex from Austin’s extraterritorial jurisdiction. The plaintiffs filed the suit in federal court earlier this month. They say the city promised to release the roughly 170 properties from the TJ. Designation only to come back and say the releases were invalid. Here to explain is Shawn Hemmesmeyer, staff writer at Austin Business Journal. Shawn, welcome to Austin Signal.
Sean Hemmersmeier [00:01:47] Thanks for having me on.
Miles Bloxson [00:01:49] Before we get into this legal saga, can you explain what exactly an extraterritorial jurisdiction is?
Sean Hemmersmeier [00:01:55] Yeah, an ETJ is essentially a territory that is outside of the city limits of any particular city in Texas, and they’re ideally used for expansion territory for cities. And while a property might be in a city’s ETJ, it doesn’t have to pay city taxes, and it doesn t get city services, but it does face extra regulations from cities because The idea is ETJs will eventually become part of cities. So basically it’s an area that could eventually become a part of a city in Texas.
Miles Bloxson [00:02:32] Okay and what about like the legal saga that’s going on right now because there’s people that are not happy.
Sean Hemmersmeier [00:02:38] Yeah, yeah. So I reported on a lawsuit over the city of Austin being sued from basically the plaintiffs in the lawsuit accused the city, of doing a flip-flop on releasing about 170 properties in kind of Western Travis County from the city’s ETJ. And the lawsuit basically says that the city said these 170 properties were released from Austin’s ETj. But due to a exception in Texas state law around military sites that those releases were improper. And then the city said those past releases for those 170 properties were void. And so now those 170 property are back in Austin’s ETJ and face additional regulations from the city of Austin on like what can be developed and what can happen on those 170 properties.
Miles Bloxson [00:03:32] All right. And at the core of this back and forth, there’s a little known military installation called the Bee Caves Armory. What is this facility and what does it have to do with Austin’s move to say, actually, you aren’t released from the ETJ.
Sean Hemmersmeier [00:03:47] Yeah, the Bee Caves Armory is basically used as a site for the 71st Troop Command in like the Texas National Guard. And the exception in the state law around ETJ releases, it says that a property within five miles of a military site can’t be released from any city’s ETJ. So, basically, the existence of the Bee Cave’s armory prevents a lot of properties. In western travis county from being released from austin’s etj And the b caves armory is a very little known military site. It doesn’t really do much. It. Doesn’t take up a lot of land and the Attorney that I spoke to representing the plaintiffs of this lawsuit said that most people in that area Really didn’t know about the b. Caves armory until you know the past year or two
Miles Bloxson [00:04:40] And is it a distance thing, like how close these properties actually are to this base or this, you know, B caves armory?
Sean Hemmersmeier [00:04:47] Yeah, a property within five miles of the Bee Caves Armory, or really any other military site, are prevented from leaving any city’s ETJ, or in this case, Austin’s ETj.
Miles Bloxson [00:05:00] Okay, so let’s rewind back. What kicked off this saga? You report it may have something to do with the billboards?
Sean Hemmersmeier [00:05:08] Yeah, yeah, so I first heard about this issue from a group of citizens who were concerned about a company called Media Choice placing billboards up on B Caves Road. And under Austin’s ETGA regulations, these citizens said that those billboards weren’t allowed to go up because B Cave Road is a scenic roadway and billboards aren’t allowed under Austin’s ETGA regulations. And so they tried to get the cities of Austin’s attention and the city of Austin did issue a code violation for one of the billboards that did get put up. And basically after that code violation came up, the company behind these billboards, Media Choice, they took steps to try and get that property with the billboard released from Austin’s ETJ and then the citizens around that were concerned about these billboards. They found out about the Bee Caves Armory. They brought up that to the city of Austin. And then after that was brought up to the City, the City sent out those letters saying those ETSGA releases to the 170 properties were void.
Miles Bloxson [00:06:20] Yeah. Speaking of the city of Austin, what have they had to say about this whole thing? Like the fact that they invalidated these releases.
Sean Hemmersmeier [00:06:30] Um, yeah, they really haven’t told me much, uh, other than that they will, you know, respond to the lawsuit in the proper manner. And, um, at this point, I would say that they probably just want to kind of keep these properties in their ETJ because from their interpretation of state law that, you know these properties aren’t able to be released from its ETJ. So we’ll see what happens as this case evolves. Um, and as you know, the lawsuit proceeds through the court system. But at this point, the city of Austin hasn’t said much, but I’d imagine that they want to keep these 170 properties in their ETJ.
Miles Bloxson [00:07:10] Sean, what do you think comes next?
Sean Hemmersmeier [00:07:13] Um, you know, we’ll really see. I think it comes down to basically how important that military site is and what, and really how important the bee caves armory is. I think once, you have the law that was created to dictate how these ETJ releases was going. I don’t think they really envisioned this happening. And I don’t think the military site exception was really meant for the beecaves armory. So. I guess it really remains to be seen on what happens next, but I think this was just kind of like an unintended consequence of how this law was passed, but you know, I’d imagine that these 170 property owners will, for the most part, would still want to be released from the ETJ because then they would have to only follow Travis County regulations, which allow for kind of a lot more to happen, looser standards and all that, So, yeah, it’ll be interesting to see how it goes.
Miles Bloxson [00:08:09] We’ve been speaking with Sean Himmersmeyer. He’s a staff writer for Austin Business Journal. Sean, thanks so much for coming in.
Sean Hemmersmeier [00:08:16] Yeah, no thank you.
Miles Bloxson [00:08:24] We’re approaching one year since the devastating 4th of July floods that claimed the lives of more than 100 Central Texans. At Camp Mystic alone, 25 young girls, two counselors, and the camp’s owner lost their lives. As families continue to seek answers and questions about accountability remain, the Texas newsroom in collaboration with Frontline PBS is taking a deeper look at the disaster and its aftermath. The new podcast, After the Flood, premieres tomorrow. Joining us is Dominic Anthony Walsh, senior reporter from Houston Public Media. Dominic, thanks so much for joining us on Austin Signal.
Dominic Anthony Walsh [00:09:03] Hey, thanks for having me.
Miles Bloxson [00:09:04] Of course, so this project has been a long time in the making, right? But who’s all working on this podcast?
Dominic Anthony Walsh [00:09:12] Well, the entire Texas newsroom, which is pretty much all the big NPR stations in Texas, Houston Public Media, of course, KUT in Austin, KERA in North Texas, and Texas Public Radio in San Antonio. So, right after the flood, Houston Public media sent me over, and I know over at KUT, Cately Hunt was covering the Sandy Creek community over near Austin, and TPR of course also had folks over, and over the next couple of weeks. Public radio reporters from across the state were headed to the area. And in the years since, you know, we’ve kept coming back to Kerr County and with KUT and Kaylee Hunt to Sandy Creek. And so, yeah, big team of reporters reporting over a very long period of time.
Miles Bloxson [00:10:01] Seems like you have an all-star team there for this podcast. What did you all set out to do with this podcast when you first originally started the concept and you thought about it and you were like, okay, we’re putting this together.
Dominic Anthony Walsh [00:10:13] I mean, the idea was to really follow that year-long arc, you know, not just the immediate aftermath and, you know people grappling with the destruction, but also the slow recovery process for folks who lost loved ones, the grief that they’re going through. And in the case of the camp mystic parent that we talked to, Matthew Childress, the father of a counselor, Chloe, who died in the flood. Also, this arc from grief through advocacy and pushing for new camp safety laws, both here in Texas and beyond. So, you know, there are all these arcs that different people kind of followed right after the flood. And what we wanted to do is really, you know, see where they landed and where they are about a year later. And, of course, you know, we also asked some accountability questions. Is Kerr County actually more prepared for another flood? With the camp safety laws? Are camps actually complying and does this actually make meaningful change for camp safety? And so both the arc of people, but also these accountability questions, those are kind of the main prongs that we’re really pushing for with this podcast.
Miles Bloxson [00:11:28] Nice. And I know there’s a lot of hard work going into this. What were some of the challenging aspects of putting this together?
Dominic Anthony Walsh [00:11:36] Well, I would say one of the big challenges we’ve had is no one in the Kerr County government will actually talk to us. So, you know, we’ve been able to chat with a local official in one of the towns, Ingram, and he is a central voice to our final episode, talking about one of the few local changes that were made to try to prepare for a flood in the future at the local municipal ordinance level. You know, in terms of getting folks from Kerr County or even the city of Kerrville on the record, we haven’t had much much luck beyond, you know statements from the city of Kerrrville. And then when it comes to Kerr county, really nobody is talking, even responding to multiple messages and requests for answers to a list of questions that we have. So that’s been one of the big challenges, I would say is kind of the inability to really get an in with Kerr County.
Miles Bloxson [00:12:35] Why do you think that is?
Dominic Anthony Walsh [00:12:38] Well, you know, it’s hard to say. I don’t know exactly what’s going on behind the scenes in terms of why they’re not engaging with news media. In the immediate aftermath of the flood, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Letha was available at news conferences, but Kerr county judge Rob Kelly was notably absent. And so the first time that we really heard meaningful answers to accountability questions, were in state legislative hearings in the months after the flood. And since then, we’ve tried to get in touch. We’ve sent multiple inquiries and they’ve gone largely unanswered. So from a reporting perspective, it is tough, but of course we still do the story even if those in power aren’t participating.
Miles Bloxson [00:13:30] Absolutely. Tell us about this first episode that drops tomorrow.
Dominic Anthony Walsh [00:13:35] Yeah, so with the first episode, we’re really focused on the day of the flood. So this is where we meet Matthew Childress, the father of Chloe, that Camp Mystic counselor, and kind of just follow his first day of realizing that his daughter is unaccounted for and making the long drive from Houston with his wife Wendy over to Kerr County. And then of course we also meet locals and visitors to Kerr County who recount, you know, they were actually on the ground as the flood was happening. They recount that early morning chaos and some of the tragedy that they saw with their own eyes. So that’s really what episode one is all about. It’s called The Day of.
Miles Bloxson [00:14:20] And this tragedy was all over the news. What do you hope people get out of listening to the podcast versus just hearing about it on the news?
Dominic Anthony Walsh [00:14:31] Yeah, so I think when it comes to it being on the news, you know, of course it was a national news story, but a lot of the national outlets leave after a couple of weeks, and now we’re coming up on the one-year anniversary, so there will probably be one- year anniversary stories from some of the National outlets. But I think one of the things that’s unique about the way the Texas newsroom is approaching this is we’ve actually been there throughout the course of the year, talking to folks, visiting. And so I think kind of that hyper local reporting that then zooms out to kind of the system level, looking at what’s going on with the state government and the response, I think it’s a unique and very personal and intimate way to tell this story.
Miles Bloxson [00:15:16] Well, thanks for telling this story. We’ve been speaking with Dominic Anthony Wash, senior reporter at Houston Public Media. Dominic, thanks so much for talking with us.
Dominic Anthony Walsh [00:15:26] Thanks for having me.
Miles Bloxson [00:15:27] And now for a check-in with some headlines. State lawmakers are meeting at the Capitol today to hear concerns about data centers. The Texas House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources is currently taking public comment on data centers and their water and electricity usage. We’ll have an update for you on that hearing once it wraps up over at kut.org. And one of the suspects allegedly involved in a shooting spree last month across Austin is now facing a terrorism charge. 17-Year-old Christian Mondragon faces 20 separate charges and cannot post bail, according to public records. Two other juveniles were arrested in connection with the spree. They have not been named and it’s unclear whether they also face terrorism charges. Barton Springs is open once again after being closed for more than a week. The pool reopened early this morning after shutting down last week when heavy rains cause the facility to flood. Washing trash and debris into the pool. Meanwhile, Deep Eddy Pool is closed all week for repairs. You’re listening to Austin Signal. We’ll be right back.
Leigh Walden [00:16:37] You’re listening to Austin Signal. My name is Lee Walden, and I’m the Hayes County reporter here at KUT. The Field Guide to Austin Summer Reading Bingo Challenge is underway. And if you need a few book recommendations to get you started, here are two of my favorite reads from the last year. Calling Gets Promoted and Dooms the World is a fun and hilarious book by author Mark Waddell. It will have even the most cynical nihilist rooting for mankind. It’s easy for me to worry about being a little evil these days, but reading this book was a bomb against that feeling for so many reasons. It is a great distraction, but the main character is actually doing evil but funny things, and it still makes a brilliant for human empathy. If you’ve been looking for a queer… Dark-humored, easy summer read, this is it. The next book on my list is Gulp, Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach. As someone who fundamentally believes that the human body is a horror, it’s telling that I loved a book all about the digestive tract so much to have read it twice. Roach is one of the funniest non-fiction writers I’ve read. Gulp is the book for you if you find yourself wondering about things like, are there different kinds of saliva? And could human beings survive on kibble? Though, I would not recommend reading this book while you eat. You can find more about the KUT field guide to Austin, summer reading bingo challenge, like how to get your own bingo card in today’s podcast notes and at KUT.org. I’m Lee Walden and this is Austin Signal.
Miles Bloxson [00:18:28] Tattoo artists in the Austin area say a lack of affordability, rapid development, and the economic fallout from the pandemic are hitting them hard. For KUT’s art beat, Joe Ament spoke with local tattooers who are struggling to stay open. Rise and shine!
Jill Ament [00:18:45] Shine tattoos sits off a quiet back road in Kyle, not far from the bluffs of the Blanco River. The shock is in a mostly undeveloped area of Hays County. The building is surrounded by prairies, ranchland, and gravel paths lined with native Texas wildflowers and plants. Inside Rise and Shine, it’s calm and cozy. Drawings and paintings done by the owners, Brandon Smith and Becca Bosma Smith, cover the walls. It doesn’t feel like a tattoo shop, maybe more like an art studio. That is, until you hear the sound of the tattoo machine. Brandon is finishing up a large arm piece on a regular client. He specializes in American traditional and Japanese style tattooing, but his work is also inspired by the states flora and fauna.
Brandon Smith [00:19:34] A lot of the work I do out here is based on my experience as a trail builder and a Hays County master naturalist. You know, I’ve applied those skills, you know, just to the grounds around us. You know a lot of that to me is slow art and is the same as tattooing. You know it just takes time to see these, you know lay these lines down and watch things kind of grow in around it and watch it fill in.
Jill Ament [00:19:58] Brandon and Becca are married. They were tattooing together at a shop in downtown San Marcos for more than a decade before opening their own studio.
Becca Bosma Smith [00:20:06] I just wanted something closer to nature and something calmer and a place where people could feel relaxed while they’re getting tattooed and I think we found that. I hope that we can keep it.
Jill Ament [00:20:26] Rise and Shine is in a small part of southwest Kyle currently untouched by development, but that will be changing soon. Sprawling residential communities and commercial developments nearby are growing fast. Soon, Hays County will be expanding the roads in the area to accommodate increased traffic. A new road will be built right in front of the four acres of land Rise and shine it’s on.
Becca Bosma Smith [00:20:50] And so it’s going to go through this beautiful farmland and rip up stuff and put a bunch of concrete where concrete doesn’t need to be with the river right there.
Jill Ament [00:21:01] Becca says their landlord is considering selling the spot to escape the construction. She says they’re worried about what could change with new management. Highway construction in the Austin area has displaced other tattoo artists too. In 2024, True Blue Tattoo on Airport Boulevard closed due to the I-35 expansion project. In recent months, other well-known shops like Moon Tattoo in Northeast Austin and Rock of Ages on South Lamar announced their closures. Moon Studio just celebrated its 10-year anniversary, but then its rent went up. Amanda Ray was a tattoo artist there.
Amanda Ray [00:21:38] I think in order for tattooists to survive, like everyone kind of needs to increase their rates so that it becomes like an accepted.
Jill Ament [00:21:46] Ray says tattooers across the country are still struggling with the economic fallout of COVID-19. She says the cost of certain supplies like gloves increased significantly during the pandemic and haven’t gone down a whole lot. Inflation has also increased the cost for tattoo machines and ink. The pandemic forced at least one tattoo shop in Austin to close. Scott Ellis started tattooing in Austin in the mid 90s. In 2006, he opened his own shop on the east side called Triple Crown.
Scott Ellis [00:22:15] There’s almost nothing about tattooing that I don’t love except maybe like mopping the floor or something like that
Jill Ament [00:22:22] Trained in the 90s by a carny biker he calls Notorious Ed, Ellis has become a who’s who in American traditional and Japanese style tattooing. He’s particularly well known in the Austin scene for his elaborate back pieces. Ellis says things were going well for Triple Crown up until around the pandemic.
Scott Ellis [00:22:41] Yeah, I mean, I never really fancied myself much of a businessman. I mean I’m an artist and I focus more on that, but in my opinion, the shop was greatly successful for a long time.
Jill Ament [00:22:55] Not long before the 2020 lockdowns, Ellis and his family moved to Prague, where his wife is from. They wanted to continue to run the shop in Austin while living abroad. They also wanted to open a studio there.
Scott Ellis [00:23:07] It got like it got harder and harder especially through COVID to come back often enough to really take care of the place properly. The year after COVID tattooing got really hard for a lot of people especially in the U.S.
Jill Ament [00:23:20] The Austin location stayed open until 2024, but ultimately Ellis couldn’t weather the economic impact of the pandemic.
Scott Ellis [00:23:27] It kind of came down to, there wasn’t really a choice, essentially. You know, it was kind of like, we have to, we have to go ahead and do this.
Jill Ament [00:23:35] Ellis and his family stayed in Prague and opened a Triple Crown there. He says it’s much more affordable to run a business and to live in the Czech Republic. Tattooing in Austin, Ellis says, is really popular, but the city has become oversaturated with tattoo shops that can make it harder for businesses to stand out and for clients to decide where to go.
Scott Ellis [00:23:55] I remember, even in the 90s, the thing that a lot of musicians said was, you know, Austin’s a great town for music if you’re a music fan. If you’re musician, it’s super f***ing hard because there’s a thousand bands in every neighborhood and yeah, there’s lot of clubs, there are a lot opportunities, but you’re a little fish in a small pond always, you now, and in some ways, tattooing is I don’t like that as well.
Jill Ament [00:24:25] Back at Rise and Shine and Kyle, Becca and Brandon announced last month they have to leave their current location. For now, they’ll be guest tattooing at their old shop Classic Tattoo in downtown San Marcos. They hope they can lease a small apartment space for their shop in that city. For KUT’s Artbeat, I’m Jill Aiment in Austin.
Miles Bloxson [00:24:46] And that’s it for us today on Austin Signal. Thanks for joining us and we’ll talk to you tomorrow. Thank you.
This transcript was transcribed by AI, and lightly edited by a human. Accuracy may vary. This text may be revised in the future.
