Accelerate Texas

On sale now, in print with Amazon, Austin-based author @seobrien with Startup Ecosystems 📕 amazon.com/dp/B0GSJ3VX4R

Early frontrunner for best new publication of 2026, the Current, is now on X : @_AustinCurrent A must follow for Austinites

@AlecStapp hey @seobrien

In Texas yesterday, solar provided >50% of the power to the grid for much of the day. If solar is such a bad energy source, why is Texas investing so much in it? They have the most competitive electricity marketplace in the country, and solar is winning more and more.

Building leaders for the global stage Over 275 Texas A&M University System students pursue military service following graduation through ROTC commission each year – turning their potential into global security.

Traces of Texas reader Jaclyn Joseph graciously shared this terrific photo of her grandmother, Mary Louise Stebbins, who was the Cabbage Queen in Weslaco in the 30s. Mary's dress is made entirely of cabbage. She was 16 when this was taken and later said that, by the end of the day and parade, she was rather "aromatic." I can believe that. Thank you, Jaclyn. Really great.

I have an ask of all of you. During last year's floods in Kerrville, my colleague Aaron Parsley and his family were swept away by rushing waters while still in their home. Sadly, his nephew perished. Miraculously, the rest survived. Aaron wrote a reflection of the experience in the hours after, and it became one of the most-read stories @TexasMonthly has ever published, and went on to win a Pulitzer last week. He recently completed a podcast in which he interviews other flood survivors and reflects on their experiences. It will premiere on May 26th. Please listen to the trailer and subscribe. It'll help extend the reach of these important stories on the day it publishes. Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whe… Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/3iGFYRPIm…

Austin Texas - Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin is looking in Williamson County, northeast of Austin, for land to build a 1.3 million-square-foot manufacturing and research complex. The project would create more than 2,000 jobs near Hutto, Texas. bizjournals.com/austin/news/20…

If you grew up in Dallas, this one is going to stop you cold. Baby Doe’s Matchless Mine. Sitting on the highest point in Dallas — right on Harry Hines behind that famous waterfall billboard — overlooking I-35 and downtown. You walked through an entrance built like a real mineshaft, past rusting mining equipment and narrow gauge rail cars, into a dimly lit dining room that felt like you’d descended into the earth. It was unlike anything else in Texas. From 1976 until it closed in 2005, generations of Dallas families celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, prom nights, and special occasions in that old mine on Goat Hill. Then it was demolished. And just like that — it was gone. Some places you don’t realize you’ll miss until they’re already gone. 🤠🪨

Details and Registration: Texas Venture Gala & Forum, May 26th: luma.com/texasventurega…

Houston Startups: Why the Bayou City Is One of America’s Most Consequential Startup Regions seobrien.com/houston-startu…

#SemiconductorNews: A Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund grant has been extended to @TAMU for an expansion of their Cyclotron Institute in College Station, which provides high-energy heavy-ion particle testing. More here: bit.ly/4dvDFpX

Everyone who cares about climate should understand this. Texas, with no pro-climate policies, has blown passed California in clean energy. In large part because Texas has less red tape and makes it easier to build.

Literally right where the Brazos Valley Station is… 45 Minutes from Houston via HSR. Build the Texas Shinkansen, Elon.

Every Texan should try to visit old missions during their travels across the state, beyond the perennial field trip to the always-remembered Alamo. texasmonthly.com/travel/forgott…

Texas families, farmers & ranchers — the AI data center boom is squeezing our water, power, land & wallets hard. As of April 2026: - 87 operating data centers (4,807 MW) - 145 planned/under construction (+75,474 MW) - Total pipeline: Over 400 projects — Texas on track to be the world’s #1 data center state by 2030. The real cost to everyday Texans: 1. Power: ERCOT says demand could quadruple by 2032 → higher bills for families. 2. Water: 25–49 billion gallons used last year → up to 161 billion by 2030 from aquifers & rivers farms need. 3. Land: Thousands of acres of prime farmland & ranchland paved over. 4. Jobs: Big construction spikes now, but most giant campuses run with just 30–200 permanent roles (many flown-in specialists). Part 1 of a quick series. Next: the biggest projects and what they’re really taking from rural Texas. Worth the trade-off? Or time for guardrails? Drop your take below.

San Marcos Startups Sit on Top of Texas’s Biggest Problem seobrien.com/san-marcos-sta…

Oh, yes, Virginia ... San Antonio is 308 years old today --- sort of. On May 1, 1718, a Spanish expedition led by Martín de Alarcón formally established the settlement that evolved into San Antonio when, on that date, he founded Mission San Antonio de Valero—better known today as The Alamo— on the banks of the San Antonio River, along with a nearby presidio, San Antonio de Béxar. Of course, that first mission didn't really stick. Within about a year, flooding and unstable conditions forced the mission to move to a second site nearby. That, too, proved less than ideal. By 1724, the mission was relocated again—this time to the spot where it would remain permanently, the location we now know as the Alamo in downtown San Antonio. So happy 308th birthday, San Antonio! You don't look a day over 300. 😀 Shown here: the @OfficialAlamo circa 1890.