Local COVID hospitalization average seems to be settling into a high plateau, while researchers at UT predict - with many caveats - an eventual decline. Also at UT, a survey of students on their confidence in University safety measures pessimistic. Austin Public Health begins handing out HEB gift cards as a vaccination incentive. Texas Attorney General's attempt to persuade the Texas Supreme Court to intervene in favor of Governor Greg Abbott's masking mandate ban fails - for now. The TEA revises itself, now requiring school districts to issue notification of positive cases. Both Hays and Eanes ISD's see continued waffling on their declared masking rules. The Texas House of Representatives achieves quorum after a six-week walkout by Democrats fails with the return of three Houston-area lawmakers. The Austin City Limits Music Festival announces a requirement for negative tests (or vaccination) for attendance this year, and also reveals their 2021 schedule. The pace of home sales in Austin slows slightly, for the first time in over a year. And congrats to Empowering A Billion Women, who have been declared the 28th fastest-growing company in the U.S. over the last four years - and top of the list for Austin.
