Jerry Quijano | KUT

A record of 30 new COVID-19 hospital admissions was reported in the Austin area Sunday evening. The seven-day moving average of new admissions increased to 20.6. 

A record 29 people were admitted to the hospital in the Austin area for COVID-19 on Friday, bumping up the seven-day average for new hospital admissions to 17.

After three straight days of triple-digit spikes in the number of new coronavirus cases, officials in Austin say the growing number of hospitalizations is the more concerning upward trend.

The recent spike in new confirmed COVID-19 cases is not related to the string of protests against police brutality across the city in the last two weeks, Austin Public Health's top doctor said.

There have been 500 new cases of coronavirus in the Austin area in the past eight days, Austin Public Health officials said Wednesday.

Janet Pichette, APH chief epidemiologist, said the source of that spike can be attributed to businesses reopening and capacity expansions, coupled with recent holidays.

An agreement to buy the Block 21 development in downtown Austin – home to ACL Live at the Moody Theater and the W Hotel – is off due to the economic impact caused by the coronavirus pandemic. 

Nashville-based Ryman Hospitality Properties Inc. made the deal in December to buy Block 21 from Stratus Properties Inc. for $275 million.

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La ciudad de Austin está proporcionando $1.2 millones en ayuda de emergencia por única vez para el alquiler de los residentes afectados por la pandemia del coronavirus.

The City of Austin is providing $1.2 million in one-time emergency rental assistance to residents affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Relief of Emergency Needs for Tenants, or RENT, program will distribute the payments through a lottery system. Residents in need of assistance can apply on the Housing Authority of the City of Austin's website from May 4 at 9 a.m. through 11:59 p.m. May 6. 

More than 500 of the 1,800 people who’ve signed up for Austin Public Health’s testing enrollment form met the criteria needed to warrant a COVID-19 test.

The City of Austin and Travis County are partnering to form a task force focused on reopening the local economy. The Opening Central Texas for Business Task Force will be spearheaded by the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce. 

KUT Weekend brings you some of our favorite stories from the KUT newsroom. Updated Fridays.

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KUT Weekend brings you some of our favorite stories from the KUT newsroom. Updated Fridays.

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Tower Girl, the peregrine falcon who’s made the UT tower home for a few years, has laid three eggs in her nest as of Sunday.

KUT Weekend brings you some of our favorite stories from the KUT newsroom. Updated Fridays.

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Some Capital Metro bus drivers wore black makeup or a black sticker under their eyes Wednesday in a symbolic "Black Eye" protest of drawn-out labor negotiations between their union and a Cap Metro contractor.

Low-level drug possession arrests are ineffective and harmful to people who need community-based help, rather than jail time, a new report concludes.

The City of Austin is preparing for the first census to be conducted, at least partially, online. The every-10-year-count is used to allocate federal funds to states and determines how many seats a state gets in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Austin Library Commission is looking into eliminating overdue fees for all materials in the city’s public library system.

Residents with unwanted firearms and ammunition can turn them over to the Austin Police Department on Tuesday during the first of a series of no-questions-asked gun surrender programs.

“First and foremost, marijuana was not decriminalized,” Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said at a news conference Friday, a day after the City Council voted not to spend money on testing suspected marijuana except in high-priority felonies.

The Austin City Council wants to get the word out that it’s illegal to dump scooters in bodies of water around town. In a resolution passed Thursday, members also directed staff to look into conducting a study on the effects of scooters polluting the city’s waterways.

Today is Hi, How Are You Day in Austin. The day was inspired by the late artist and musician Daniel Johnston to raise awareness of mental health issues. Johnston painted the iconic "Hi, How Are You" mural on 21st Street and Guadalupe. Today would have been his 59th birthday.

KUT Weekend brings you some of our favorite stories from the KUT newsroom. Updated Fridays.

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The Christmas light displays on a small strip of 37th Street just off Guadalupe are anything but normal. If you’re heading out this year, you’ll likely find a volcano exploding with electric light in one front yard. You’ll also run into Baby Yoda, a pole-dancing Santa and at least a few aliens.

The Austin Transportation Department is recommending a 15-cent per-trip fee for every ride on a shared dockless scooter, bicycle or moped to help pay for staff to regulate and monitor them.

Austin City Council wants the city manager to dig into the rules that determine where people can and cannot walk down the street with an open container of beer.

ECHO, the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition, says the addition of 200-300 short-term motel units would substantially impact the community of Austinites living without shelter. In a memo sent Tuesday to the mayor and City Council, city staff said they agree.