The Rolling Stones reschedule their pandemic-upended Austin date and tickets are on sale now. Local doctors call the incoming COVID wave - in the presence of widely-available vaccines - "astonishing and disheartening" and encourage the hesitant to reconsider, as they now make up 99% of all COVID deaths since February. Any modification of behavior will be up to individual Texans to adopt - Governor Greg Abbott has nixed the idea of any future masking orders. Two City-run COVID testing sites are re-opening. The University of Texas joins arch-rival OU in considering a jump from the Big 12 to the SEC - allegedly. The Rodney Reed appeal hearing sees explosive testimony challenging the relationship between Reed and murder victim Stacey Stites and the timeline of the crime itself. Austin is to join Miami as an initial test market for driverless Lyft cars. Capitol Metro is considering plans to dig a tunnel beneath Lady Bird Lake. Austin drops from #6 to #7 in an annual ranking of North American tech cities. And Leon Bridges is also coming to town, at Stubb's on September 12.
