About
AI driven, human validated, and independent
Lago Vista Watchdog is an independent news site for the people who pay for Lago Vista local government. We report what the City Council, the city's boards, and the Lago Vista ISD school board decide, who voted how, and what it costs. We also read the agendas of the Travis County Commissioners Court, the Travis Central Appraisal District board, the LCRA board, the boards of the fire and EMS districts, and the boards of the utility districts. It is published by Eucalypt Studio LLC, doing business as Lago Vista Watchdog.
What AI does and what people do
AI helps us keep up with hundreds of hours of meetings. It reads transcripts and agenda packets, finds the motions and votes, and writes a first draft. AI models from different companies check each other.
People decide what gets published. Before a story runs, a person checks every claim against the public record it cites and signs off. That person is named on the story next to the Validated badge.
It will not be perfect. AI makes mistakes, and so do people. We would rather tell you that up front and fix errors quickly than pretend they cannot happen.
Our rules
- Every fact links to a public record you can open yourself, such as meeting video at the exact minute, an agenda packet, or a released document.
- Quotes are word for word from the record.
- We report votes and their effect on taxpayers. We do not guess at anyone's motives.
- We do not publish claims we cannot trace to a public record.
- We protect the people who bring us information. We never name a confidential source.
- When we rate officials, we will publish the method first, link every scored vote, and give officials a chance to respond.
Where our information comes from
- City of Lago Vista meeting video archive
- City agendas, packets, and minutes
- Lago Vista Independent School District: board meeting videos
- Lago Vista Independent School District: agendas and minutes
- Lago Vista Independent School District: budgets and tax rates
- The agendas and records of the other public bodies on Who we watch
- Public information requests under the Texas Public Information Act, with the released records posted alongside the story
Tips and records
Many stories start with a resident who noticed something. Email your tip or the records you got from a local government to tips@lagovistawatchdog.com. We protect your identity. How to send a tip explains what helps and what happens next.
Corrections
If we got something wrong, tell us. Include the story, the sentence, and a link to the record that shows the error. We review every request, correct the story, and note what changed and when.
Email corrections@lagovistawatchdog.com.
Independence
We are not part of the City of Lago Vista or any other public body we cover, and none of them reviews our stories before they run.
Readers pay for the site. Every story is free, and members pay to keep it that way. Paying buys no say in what we cover. Read about membership.