Cellphone Ban Passes In Austin

Don't use your cellphone while driving (or biking) in Austin; new ban passed

City of Austin considers banning all cellphone use while driving.

If you're in Austin next year, you'd better not use your cellphone while driving.

On Thursday afternoon, Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell and City Council members unanimously passed a distracted driving ordinance, banning the use of cellphones and other electronic devices while driving a vehicle or riding a bicycle.

The new ordinance allows motorists and cyclists to use devices while at a complete stop. There are other exceptions, too.

This ordinance adds restrictions to an existing ordinance that bans texting while driving and includes activities associated with cellphones and handheld devices, such as taking calls, browsing the Internet and playing games.

The revised ordinance also applies to cyclists and motorists. Leffingwell stressed that cyclists will be subject to the same laws if they share the road with motorized vehicles.

On July 28, a city-commissioned group released several recommendations to the City of Austin regarding the use of phones while driving. Initial recommendations included banning cellphone use even while the vehicle was stopped in traffic or at a stoplight. The new ordinance allows motorists and cyclists to use devices while at a complete stop.

Other exceptions include using cellphones in a hands-free mode of operation, using a navigation system that is affixed to the vehicle or using a phone to report a crime or emergency.

The ordinance will take effect on January 1, 2015.

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big business

Houston food giant Sysco will acquire Restaurant Depot for $29 billion

Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images

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Sysco, the nation's largest food distributor, will acquire supplier Restaurant Depot in a deal worth more than $29 billion.

The acquisition would create a closer link between Sysco and its customers that right now turn to Restaurant Depot for supplies needed quickly in an industry segment known as “cash-and-carry wholesale.”

Sysco, based in Houston, serves more than 700,000 restaurants, hospitals, schools and hotels, supplying them with everything from butter and eggs to napkins. Those goods are typically acquired ahead of time based on how much traffic that restaurants typically see.

Restaurant Depot offers memberships to mom-and-pop restaurants and other businesses, giving them access to warehouses stocked with supplies for when they run short of what they've purchased from suppliers like Sysco.

It is a fast growing and high-margin segment that will likely mean thousands of restaurants will rely increasingly on Sysco for day-to-day needs.

Restaurant Depot shareholders will receive $21.6 billion in cash and 91.5 million Sysco shares. Based on Sysco’s closing share price of $81.80 as of March 27, 2026, the deal has an enterprise value of about $29.1 billion.

Restaurant Depot was founded in Brooklyn in 1976. The family run business then known as Jetro Restaurant Depot, has become the nation's largest cash-and-carry wholesaler.

The boards of both companies have approved the acquisition, but it would still need regulatory approval.

Shares of Sysco Corp. tumbled 13% Monday to $71.26, an initial decline some industry analysts expected given the cost of the deal.