Friday, June 6, 2025

Weekend weather: Hot and sunny ☀️
Saturday: High of 98° and Low of 77°
Sunday: High of 99° and Low of 77°

Happy Friday! If you feel like things are starting to look extra smoggy this weekend, it won't be your imagination. A dust plume traveling from the Sahara is expected to arrive right about now. On top of that, smoke from agricultural fires in Mexico may also be on the way.

A reminder: Starting Monday, you'll get this newsletter in your inbox at around 6:30 p.m. We're making this change so the news can (mostly!) stop breaking before we put these emails together, and we can get you the biggest stories at the end of every day. Keep an eye out!

~ Andy

Hazed and confused? That smog you're noticing over Austin is dust from the Sahara

Cars move along East Riverside Drive as hazy skies descend from West Texas dust in March. Hazy skies are expected this weekend. Michael Minasi/KUT News

By Mose Buchele

Starting Friday, dust that has traveled all the way from North Africa will begin obscuring the skies in Central Texas.

The annual phenomenon, known as a Saharan dust plume, can decrease visibility and worsen air quality.

"Every summer, starting around early June, we'll see storms in the Saharan Desert kick up dust and bring that dust across the Atlantic,” Anton Cox, air quality program manager at the Capital Area Council of Governments, said.

The dust travels from Africa on powerful trade winds between 1 to 3 miles above the surface of the earth, often reaching deep into Texas.

It can also be dangerous, especially for people with lung conditions or otherwise compromised health.

Parts of Texas may also see lower air quality due to smoke coming from Mexico and Central America.

Austin food trucks no longer have to move trailers for health and safety inspections

By Luz Moreno-Lozano

Desnudo Coffee's East Austin location serves hundreds of cups of coffee each day. But once a year the truck has to shut down for its annual health safety inspection.

Closing for even a day can cost the business thousands of dollars as it has to prepare and move the trailer, and that doesn't include how much it loses in profits.

That process is changing this month. Food truck owners in Austin will be able to get their trucks inspected on-site making it easier to continue operations and get the inspection and permits they need.

The new health safety inspection program comes more than a year after the Austin City Council promised to improve the inspection process for mobile business owners.

The city’s current program requires the owners to move the trailer to a city facility in North Austin, which they said can be complicated and costly.

Sponsored by Austin Energy

Commercial properties can now empower community solar

The Palmer Events Center, across the river from downtown, features solar panels on its roof.

The Solar Standard Offer program is Austin Energy’s innovative approach for increasing local solar adoption. This program, developed by Austin Energy staff, is the first of its kind in the industry. Designed with stakeholder input, this program promotes the development of Austin Energy’s Community Solar projects on commercial customer-owned rooftops and parking lots, creating benefits for customers, solar developers, and property owners.

The Solar Standard Offer Benefits:

Opens a new local solar market
Provides transparency to solar developers
Creates more choices and opportunities for our customers
Accelerates our progress toward carbon-free energy generation

For businesses looking to demonstrate environmental leadership and gain a strategic edge, the Solar Standard Offer presents a win-win. Learn more at AustinEnergy.com/SolarStandardOffer.

The latest

🏛️ The Supreme Court has given the DOGE team launched by Elon Musk unfettered access to information collected by the Social Security Administration. That data includes Social Security numbers, medical and mental health records, and family court information. (NPR)

🚲 Austin’s new parking code enforcement went into effect June 1 following a three-month public education period. According to the city, warnings for parking code violations that began March 1 have switched to enforceable fines. (KXAN)

🛬 Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man the Trump administration wrongfully deported to El Salvador, is back in the U.S. — facing smuggling charges. (NPR)

🧈 What are TikTok influencers rubbing on their faces? Take the NPR news quiz to test your knowledge. P.S. Is anyone else annoyed that the photos in the quiz are so misleading? Just me? OK. (I got 10/11 right — an all-time high.) (NPR)

🦊 Good vibes 🦊

It's fox kit season in the Austin area — and that means you may see more young foxes playing around neighborhoods, backyards and city streets as they stretch their legs and explore their big, new world.

Pups are born in April or May and will open their eyes after about 10 days, Texas Parks and Wildlife says. After about four weeks, they'll venture out of their den.

Watch this video, taken by Elizabeth Danner, for tips on what to do if you find yourself with a fox family in your backyard.

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Hazed and confused? That smog you're noticing over Austin is dust from the Sahara

Austin food trucks no longer have to move trailers for health and safety inspections

Commercial properties can now empower community solar

The latest

🦊 Good vibes 🦊

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