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.
The Austin Signal is a production
of KUT News, hosted by
Miles Bloxen.
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.
Thanks for having me on.
Before we get into this legal saga,
can you explain what exactly an
extraterritorial jurisdiction
is?
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.
Okay and what about like the legal
saga that's going on right now
because there's people that are not
happy.
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.
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.
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
And is it a distance thing, like how
close these properties actually are
to this base or this, you know,
B caves armory?
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.
Okay, so let's rewind back.
What kicked off this saga?
You report it may have something to
do with the billboards?
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.
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.
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.
Sean, what do you think comes next?
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.
We've been speaking with Sean
Himmersmeyer.
He's a staff writer for Austin
Business Journal.
Sean, thanks so much for coming in.
Yeah, no thank you.
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.
Hey, thanks for having me.
Of course, so this project has
been a long time in the making,
right? But who's all working on this
podcast?
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
Why do you think that is?
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.
Absolutely.
Tell us about this first episode
that drops tomorrow.
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.
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?
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.
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.
Thanks for having me.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I think in order for tattooists
to survive, like everyone kind of
needs to increase their rates so
that it becomes like an accepted.
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.
There's almost nothing about
tattooing that I don't love except
maybe like mopping the floor or
something like that
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Austin location stayed open
until 2024, but ultimately
Ellis couldn't weather the economic
impact of the pandemic.
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.
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.
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.
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.
And that's it for us today on Austin
Signal. Thanks for joining us and
we'll talk to you tomorrow.
Thank you.