Austin news

• Almost two years since devastating flood, one family is welcomed home

  22-04-2017 23:47 via kxan.com
  
  SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) – Almost two years after a historic flood destroyed hundreds of homes in central Texas, one family is finally able to return home.
  “It’s a blessing, I can’t describe the feeling. There’s just no place like home,” said San Marcos Resident Brenda Polanco.
  Polanco lives in a neighborhood just east of I-35 in San Marcos. She says everything in her home was destroyed during the Memorial Day flood in 2015.
  “There was 18 inches that got
  
  Read more

• Trials in Waco biker shootout delayed due to federal case

  22-04-2017 23:41 via kxan.com
  
  WACO, Texas (AP) — Officials say upcoming trials related to the 2015 Central Texas gunfight involving rival motorcycle gangs that left nine people dead, 20 others hurt have effectively been put on hold due to a separate federal case involving one of the gangs.
  The Waco Tribune-Herald reports state District Judge Matt Johnson on Friday delayed the first trial related to the deadly shootout at the Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco. The trial was set for June 5.
  The delay came after San Antonio f
  
  Read more

• Thousands rally in downtown Austin in support of science

  22-04-2017 22:30 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Thousands of people participated in Austin’s March for Science at the Texas Capitol to show support for science and research Saturday afternoon. Demonstrators filled the Capitol’s south lawn, carrying signs and starting the day with “science teach-ins.”
  Austin joined cities around the world where activists marched to defend science from attacks and reduced federal funding.
  “It is what keeps us alive and going every day,” participant Simon
  
  Read more

• State of Texas: In-Depth – A doctor’s view on health care

  22-04-2017 22:07 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – As the health care debate heats up again in Washington, one of the most powerful Democrats came to Austin and signaled willingness to make a deal. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi toured the new Dell Seton Teaching Hospital with Congressman Lloyd Doggett. She told reporters that Democrats would fight a GOP proposal to give states waivers to rules that require health insurance to cover a list of essential benefits, like prescription drugs, maternity care, and mental health
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• State of Texas: A doctor’s view on health care

  22-04-2017 22:07 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – As the health care debate heats up again in Washington, one of the most powerful Democrats came to Austin and signaled willingness to make a deal. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi toured the new Dell Seton Teaching Hospital with Congressman Lloyd Doggett. She told reporters that Democrats would fight a GOP proposal to give states waivers to rules that require health insurance to cover a list of essential benefits, like prescription drugs, maternity care, and mental health
  
  Read more

• Blacksmiths spark attraction at Austin Forging Competition

  22-04-2017 21:02 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Blacksmiths across the nation grabbed their best hammers and headed to Austin for the second annual Austin Forging Competition.
  On Saturday, Austin Metal Authority and Mobile Loaves & Fishes welcomed the people of Austin to watch blacksmiths compete for best creative metalwork.
  The event was held at the Community First! Village, a community that offers affordable housing for the disabled and chronically ill in Central Texas. Those who attended had the chance to take tou
  
  Read more

• Austin firefighter honored for saving woman’s life on highway

  22-04-2017 20:17 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — An Austin Firefighter is being honored for his courageous commitment to saving a woman’s life last year.
  Firefighter Demetrius Countouriotis will receive the 100 Club of Central Texas’ Firefighter of the Year award Saturday night. He will be recognized for saving the life of a woman who was threatening to jump from a highway overpass in October.
  Countouriotis has been a member of the Austin Fire Department for over 5 years and is also the head of the A
  
  Read more

• Annual Congenital Heart Walk raises funds to fight CHD

  22-04-2017 19:35 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — About 40,000 children will be born with a heart defect which can lead to health problems and make it hard to carry out daily activities or exercise.
  A group in central Texas is trying to bring awareness of congenital heart disease and with the annual Congenital Heart Walk. The walk is a national fundraising event that benefits the Congenital Heart Association and the Children’s Heart Foundation.
  Lauren Bednarz and Dana Henning were in the studio with Brittany Gla
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• American tries to learn from United’s mistakes in incident on DFW-bound flight

  22-04-2017 18:27 via kxan.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Another day, another cellphone video of a conflict on an airplane.
  American Airlines said it grounded a flight attendant who got into a verbal confrontation with a passenger on a Friday flight from San Francisco to Dallas-Fort Worth.
  Spokeswoman Leslie Scott says the airline is looking into whether the male flight attendant violently took away a stroller from the female passenger just before she boarded a Friday flight from San Francisco to Dallas. He has been removed from
  
  Read more

• American flight attendant to angry passenger: ‘Hit me’

  22-04-2017 18:27 via kxan.com
  
  HOUSTON (AP) — American Airlines says it has grounded a flight attendant who got into a verbal confrontation with a passenger after the flight attendant took a baby stroller away from another passenger.
  Spokeswoman Leslie Scott says the airline is looking into whether the male flight attendant violently took away the stroller from the female passenger just before she boarded a Friday flight from San Francisco to Dallas. He has been removed from duty in the meantime.
  A video taken by a pass
  
  Read more

• How to prepare for the Cap10K

  22-04-2017 18:07 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The annual Capitol 10K race is less then 24 hours away and if you’re participating, there’s still time to prepare.
  Dr. Dominic Ricci with Baylor Scott and White-Round Rock was in the studio with Brittany Glas to talk about the preparation process for the Sunday morning race.
  
  Read more

• Burglary arrests made after Williamson County vehicle pursuit

  22-04-2017 16:53 via kxan.com
  
  WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office arrested 3 suspects accused of being involved in a string of burglaries in the county Thursday afternoon.
  On April 20 at around 2:45 p.m. deputies with the sheriff’s office, along with multiple agencies, were dispatched to a vehicle pursuit that began in Jarrell. According to the sheriff’s office, a witness identified a vehicle believed to be involved in several recent burglaries.
  When Precinct 3 Con
  
  Read more

• Lawsuit claims teen’s shooting was the result of ‘Hunger Games’-like weekend

  22-04-2017 05:01 via kxan.com
  
  BURNET COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — A lawsuit describes a group of ninth graders’ weekend visit to a Burnet County ranch last year, ending in the shooting of one of the 14-year-olds, as a combination of “Lord of the Flies” and “The Hunger Games.”
  Melissa Bradley and Allen David Bradley are suing William Bryan Farney, of Georgetown, and his minor son for damages as a result of alleged negligent conduct. The plaintiffs are seeking more than $1 million.
  Farney inv
  
  Read more

• Proposed law would tackle ‘Texa-fornia’ wine marketed as from Texas

  22-04-2017 04:19 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (NEXSTAR) — On Monday, Texas lawmakers will take up a bill that would require a wine marketed as “Texas wine” to be made with 100 percent Texas grapes, rather than 75 percent under current law.
  State Representative Jason Isaac, R-Dripping Springs, says his legislation, House Bill 1514, is about authenticity.
  “There are some large wineries in the state of Texas that use blending of other grapes from out of state, because those grapes are less expensive,” Isaac
  
  Read more

• Gearing up for lawsuit over Golden-Cheeked warbler’s endangered status

  22-04-2017 04:06 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas Public Policy Foundation intends to continue their plans to sue the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife to remove the Golden-Cheeked warbler from the endangered species list.
  As an organization focused on personal liberties and property rights, TPPF feels strongly that the warbler has put a substantial financial burden on landowners and developers in Central Texas. The warbler, which has been the subject of much debate, breeds exclusively in Central Texas.
  R
  
  Read more

• More tech on vehicles could make you pay more for car insurance

  22-04-2017 02:32 via kxan.com
  
  SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) – Auto insurance rates in Central Texas continue to climb. Insurance agents say there are two reasons behind the increase: more technology on vehicles and growing communities.
  “Back when you would have a little tap in the bumper, you would replace the bumper and the average claim was $1,500,” said Insurance Agency of San Marcos Owner Connie Fite. “Now if you get hit in the backside and you have backup sensors and you have cameras and everything, y
  
  Read more

• As Sunset Valley searches for a new police chief, mayor talks growth

  22-04-2017 02:00 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Sunset Valley Chief of Police Sean Ford is hanging up his uniform and retiring after 25 years in law enforcement. Friday was his last day.
  Chief Ford has been with the department since 2008 and in the past nine years, the tiny enclave of Sunset Valley, located smack dab in the middle of southwest Austin, has changed dramatically.
  While he may retire his badge, the chief has been known to fight crime even while out of uniform. Last year, while on vacation in New Yor
  
  Read more

• Chatting with ‘Silicon Valley’ stars Zach Woods and Martin Starr

  22-04-2017 00:55 via kxan.com
  
  Check out Joe Barlow’s Facebook Page for a deleted scene with Zach Woods and Martin Starr.
  
  Read more

• Weird Homes Tour

  22-04-2017 00:50 via kxan.com
  
  Click here for more on the Weird Homes Tour.
  Connect with Joe Barlow on Twitter or Facebook.
  
  Read more

• Mexican-American lawmakers calling on legislature to redraw district maps

  22-04-2017 00:46 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A federal court says Texas lawmakers once again drew districts to favor white people at the expense of minorities, making them illegal under the Voting Rights Act. Now lawmakers who call to change the maps are getting no action.  A panel of judges said Republican lawmakers drew their 2011 district maps to favor white people on purpose.
  “The Republican leadership has intentionally discriminated against minorities. And that should bother everybody,” said 
  
  Read more

• Semi and dump truck sandwich car in I-35 crash, snarling traffic

  22-04-2017 00:27 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A crash involving a sedan and two large commercial trucks on Interstate 35 is making Friday afternoon rush hour traffic even worse.
  Austin police say the crash happened right before 4 p.m. on the northbound lanes of I-35 near William Cannon. A witness tells KXAN the sedan was sandwiched in between a dump truck and an 18-wheeler.
  Austin-Travis County EMS says they transported six patients with non-life threatening injuries.
  Traffic cameras show the traffic along the northbou
  
  Read more

• Man killed after rear-ending Burnet school bus near Bertram

  22-04-2017 00:03 via kxan.com
  
  BURNET COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — A Burnet CISD school bus was rear-ended by a car Friday afternoon on State Highway 29.
  The crash happened near County Road 264, just southeast of the town of Bertram. The victim, identified as 34-year-old Kevin Matthew Selvera, was driving a 4-door Toyota Camry when he crashed into the back of the bus heading eastbound as it slowed to turn onto the county road.
  The driver and 12 students on board the bus were uninjured. Troopers say they do not know why h
  
  Read more

Follow @Austin_News_US on Twitter!