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Two-thirds of University of Texas faculty, graduate students and others who have asked to opt of out of in-person teaching this semester because of the coronavirus have won accommodations, per documents Axios received through an open records request.

State of play: University officials told faculty they could try for in-person teaching waivers amid widespread fury over Gov. Greg Abbott's orders barring mask mandates.

Masks were few and far between at the first weekend of Austin City Limits Music Festival, despite organizers' best efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Driving the news: But attendees may notice changes during the second weekend, an Austin Public Health official told Axios on Monday.

• Austin environmental health officers were onsite during the festival and "identified additional opportunities for mask-zone education and enforcement for weekend 2," an agency spokesperson said in an email.
• Those modifications could mean additional signage and announcements at stages and other crowded areas, Austin Public Health explained.

Asher recently happened upon the delicious Caribbean-Latino food at Nyam Sunshine, a truck stationed in the charming grounds of Ani’s Day and Night in southeast Austin.

Picture colorfully painted picnic tables beneath strings of Christmas lights with planters of elephant ear and bamboo.

Even as more employers across the nation are listing COVID-19 vaccinations as an application requirement, Texas job postings are relatively mum, an Axios analysis of Indeed data has found.

Zoom in: The latest Indeed data shows that, on average, less than 1% — 0.7% to be precise — of Texas job postings sought only vaccinated employees over the week ending on Sept. 24.

Making his third bid for statewide office, Mike Collier tells Axios he's running for lieutenant governor, jumping into the Democratic primary for a seat that's been held by Republicans for more than two decades.

State of play: It comes as no shock that Collier's throwing his hat in the ring. In 2018, the Houston-area accountant lost by fewer than 5 percentage points to Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is now seeking his third term. Since then, he's been a vocal critic of Patrick and launched an exploratory committee in April that he called more of a “confirmatory" committee.

Kids born today in Central Texas will live longer than most of their fellow Texans, per an Axios analysis of life expectancy data.

• Travis, Hays and Williamson counties rank in the top 10 of Texas’ 254 counties for average life expectancy, according to 2021 data from the University of Wisconsin's Population Health Center.

Austin will soon chip in on challenges to Texas' restrictive new abortion law.

Driving the news: Austin City Council members approved a resolution Thursday that directs city staff "to investigate and pursue appropriate legal action" in support of ongoing lawsuits challenging Senate Bill 8.

If you want a say on police presence in Austin, register to vote by Monday. That's the deadline to get on the rolls for the Nov. 2 election.

Why it matters: Proposition A would put more cops on the street, at a cost.

• If approved by voters, the city would be required to have at least two officers for every 1,000 people — it's now at about 1.7.
• City finance officials say the measure could cost $271.5 million to $598.8 million over five years.