Austin news

• Swim company employee hid camera in locker room, took pictures, owners say

  15-08-2017 23:57 via kxan.com
  CEDAR PARK, Texas (KXAN) — A former employee at a Central Texas swim training company is facing a federal investigation for allegedly using a hidden camera to take pictures of people in a locker room, according to an email sent to parents Monday.
  “We take great pride in the trust that families place in us, and we work very hard to ensure that trust is earned each and every day,” Mike and Tracy Koleber, the owners of Nitro Swimming, said in the email. “Unfortunately, a for
  
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• Swim company employee hid camera in locker room, owners say

  15-08-2017 23:57 via kxan.com
  CEDAR PARK, Texas (KXAN) — A former employee at a Central Texas swim training company is facing a federal investigation for allegedly using a hidden camera to take pictures of people in a locker room, according to an email sent to parents Monday.
  “We take great pride in the trust that families place in us, and we work very hard to ensure that trust is earned each and every day,” Mike and Tracy Koleber, the owners of Nitro Swimming, said in the email. “Unfortunately, a for
  
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• Longtime shelter dogs in Williamson County looking for homes

  15-08-2017 23:35 via kxan.com
  GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) — Sitting in kennels is a normal part of the day for dogs at the Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter; it’s become their home.
  “It’s one thing to hold a dog for a long time, it’s another thing to do it well,” explains Misty Valenta with the Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter.
  Valenta says the shelter has special volunteers that spend extra time with their “longtime lovables,” dogs that have been at the shelter f
  
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• ‘I feel like I was raped’; woman sues deputies over roadside strip search

  15-08-2017 23:20 via kxan.com
  HOUSTON (KPRC) — A woman suing the Harris County Sheriff’s Office over a roadside strip search says newly-released dash cam video will prove her case.
  The dash cam video was recorded two years ago, but Charnesia Corley said she still feels the pain of what happened that night.
  In June of 2015 Harris County deputies pulled her over for running a red light, but when the officer approached her car he said he smelled marijuana, according to Corley.
  Corley was handcuffed as a female offic
  
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• $185M in road, parks improvements will go before Travis County voters

  15-08-2017 22:56 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Two bond initiatives totaling $185 million for transportation and parks projects will go before Travis County voters in just three months.
  County commissioners voted Tuesday to place the initiatives on the Nov. 7, 2017 ballot.
  The transportation and road safety bond package, valued at $93.4 million, will include projects mainly in the eastern half of the county. The largest of which will be building a new 2-lane road with bike lanes and sidewalks from State Highway 130 to A
  
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• Sealed documents may come up in Tuesday’s Greg Kelley hearing

  15-08-2017 22:50 via kxan.com
  GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) — A hearing is scheduled at 4 p.m. Tuesday in Williamson County in the Greg Kelley case, although it’s not immediately clear what could come of the proceedings.
  Kelley’s attorney, Keith Hampton, tells KXAN News the hearing will go over narrow legal issues, possibly including the discussion of sealed affidavits for Patricia Cummings, Kelley’s attorney at the time of his initial trial and ultimate conviction.
  Kelley, 22, was originally convicted and
  
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• Greg Kelley’s former attorney at center of Tuesday’s hearing

  15-08-2017 22:50 via kxan.com
  GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) — A less than an hour-long hearing in the Greg Kelley case Tuesday resulted in the unsealing of court documents.
  Kelley’s attorney, Keith Hampton, tells KXAN News the 4 p.m. hearing went over narrow legal issues, possibly including the discussion of sealed affidavits for Patricia Cummings, Kelley’s attorney at the time of his initial trial and ultimate conviction.
  Kelley, 22, was originally convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison for the sexual as
  
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• The Latest: Trump blames ‘both sides’ for Charlottesville

  15-08-2017 22:42 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Trump and the Charlottesville, Virginia violence (all times EDT):
  4:15 p.m.
  President Donald Trump says the groups protesting against white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, were “also very violent.”
  Trump is calling those protesters the “alt-left.” He says there is “blame on both sides” after the deadly violence over the weekend.
  After his initial statement on the Charlottesville violence, Trump was cri
  
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• The Latest: Paul Ryan tweets ‘white supremacy is repulsive’

  15-08-2017 22:42 via kxan.com
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Trump and the Charlottesville, Virginia violence (all times EDT):
  6:30 p.m.
  House Speaker Paul Ryan is the first Republican leader to comment on President Donald Trump’s remarks Tuesday, declaring in a tweet that “white supremacy is repulsive.”
  The Wisconsin Republican has sought to keep the GOP caucus on Capitol Hill focused on legislative priorities. His Twitter account is full of messages about the need to overhaul the U.S. tax
  
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• Daughter of woman killed in church bus crash speaks out about drugged driving

  15-08-2017 21:47 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — AAA of Texas and local leaders gathered in Austin Tuesday to discuss ways to tackle the growing issue of drugged driving as many states around the country legalize marijuana for medicinal or recreational use.
  Jessica Melott lost her mother in the Uvalde church bus crash that killed 13 people. Investigators say Jack Young, 20, of Leakey, Texas, was driving along Highway 83 near Garner State Park on March 29 when he struck the bus carrying 14 people.
  “Anytime
  
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• Williamson County sheriff confronts phone scammer

  15-08-2017 20:20 via kxan.com
  WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — A phone scammer posing as a deputy called one of the people most qualified to call his bluff: Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody.
  Chody posted a video of the exchange to Twitter where he talks to someone who claimed to be “Deputy Marshall” calling about a fake warrant for Chody’s arrest.
  “Mr. Chody, do you work for law enforcement?” the would-be scammer asks.
  “Yes, I do,” Chody replies.
  “I thought you did
  
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• TEA ratings show Austin ISD schools improving

  15-08-2017 19:08 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN/AP) — School administrators can sometimes dread the yearly reports from the Texas Education Agency because they name which schools met state education standards and which ones didn’t. The new reports released Tuesday show year-to-year improvement for the Austin Independent School District, with only four schools that are listed under “need improvement.”
  Those schools are Burnet Middle School, Martin Middle School, Mendez Middle School and Govalle Elementary S
  
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• Two pit bulls save young children from venomous copperhead snake

  15-08-2017 19:05 via kxan.com
  BRANDON, Fla. (WFLA) – Being a hero is often about being in the right place at the right time. It is about knowing when to act, what to do and how to save the day without hesitation.
  It was a very familiar moment outside of the family’s Brandon, Fla., home. The grandchildren were playing in the garden, blissfully unaware that a predator was lurking nearby. Just ask one grandmother whose grandchildren, 4-year-old Zayden and 1-year-old Mallory, are alive because her two beloved ca
  
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• Two die, one injured in rollover crash near Fredericksburg

  15-08-2017 18:54 via kxan.com
  FREDERICKSBURG, Texas (KXAN) — Two women died and one man was seriously injured in a rollover crash Friday three miles west of Fredericksburg.
  The Dodge truck was traveling west on Farm to Market 2093 when the driver lost control, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. All three people inside the truck were ejected; authorities say they were not wearing seat belts.
  Skyla Belyeu Salinas, 22, and Hallie Page Collier, 18, both died at the scene. Richard Cody Smith, 21, was taken
  
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• Texas Senate advances scaled-back school finance plan

  15-08-2017 18:46 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas Senate has advanced a once-sweeping school finance plan, but only after scaling it back so much that it will only offer about $500 million in extra funding for some school districts statewide and teacher retirement.
  The House passed its original, far more ambitious $1.8 billion bill during the regular and special legislative sessions.
  The Senate has repeatedly rejected that plan, which the chamber’s leader, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, called a “Ponzi sc
  
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• Austin police searching for driver who hit, killed man lying in alleyway

  15-08-2017 18:12 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Authorities have determined a man whose body was found in an alley along South Congress Avenue on Monday, Aug. 7 was run over.
  Austin police say 31-year-old Juan Tziquin-Guarcha’s body was found around 12:35 a.m. near South Congress Avenue and West Alpine Road. Initial information indicates a dark, unidentified SUV entered the alleyway from a rear parking lot and struck Tziquin-Guarcha, who was lying down in the alley.
  The driver left the scene and headed so
  
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• Motorcyclist killed in south Austin crash identified

  15-08-2017 17:51 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin police have identified a motorcyclist who died after he collided with a minivan on Aug. 6.
  The crash happened around 12:33 a.m. at South Lamar Boulevard and Montclaire Street in south Austin. Austin police say the motorcyclist, identified as Adam Webb, 34, was traveling southbound on S. Lamar Boulevard when he slammed into a minivan whose driver failed to yield to the motorcyclist.
  Webb was taken to the hospital where he died.
  Anyone with information regarding this i
  
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• Sheriff: 7 San Antonio deputies suspended following ‘hazing ritual’

  15-08-2017 16:59 via kxan.com
  SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The Bexar County sheriff has suspended seven deputies after a video surfaced showing them participating in a “hazing ritual” that involved the 4-year-old daughter of one of the deputies.
  Sheriff Javier Salazar said Monday six of the deputies hazed the seventh one using handcuffs, shackles and a Taser.
  At one point the child participated in the hazing, but it’s not clear how.
  Salazar says the incident occurred during a party Friday at the home of one of
  
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• Stunt driver dies while filming ‘Deadpool 2’ in Vancouver

  15-08-2017 15:40 via kxan.com
  VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — “Deadpool 2” star Ryan Reynolds is mourning the death of a motorcycle stunt driver killed during production Monday.
  Reynolds released a statement on Twitter a few hours after the accident near the waterfront in downtown Vancouver.
  “Today, we tragically lost a member of our crew while filming Deadpool,” the actor wrote. “We’re heartbroken, shocked and devastated … but recognize nothing can compare to the grief and
  
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• SLOW DOWN: Austin Transportation Dept. to test school zone signals

  15-08-2017 15:08 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — In preparation for the school year ahead, the Austin Transportation Department will be testing school zone signals so drivers can be on the lookout for students and parents crossing streets.
  There are 576 school zone signals within Austin’s seven school districts. ATD will test them all in the mornings and afternoons this Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Expect to slow down during regular school commute hours, from 6:45-8 a.m. and 2:30-4:30 p.m.
  The signals aren’
  
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• Korean leaders, US open door to diplomacy in nuclear crisis

  15-08-2017 14:40 via kxan.com
  SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea’s military on Tuesday presented leader Kim Jong Un with plans to launch missiles into waters near Guam and “wring the windpipes of the Yankees,” even as both Koreas and the United States signaled their willingness to avert a deepening crisis, with each suggesting a path toward negotiations.
  The tentative interest in diplomacy follows unusually combative threats between President Donald Trump and North Korea amid worries Pyongyang is n
  
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• Both Korean leaders, US signal turn to diplomacy amid crisis

  15-08-2017 14:40 via kxan.com
  SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea’s military on Tuesday presented leader Kim Jong Un with plans to launch missiles into waters near Guam and “wring the windpipes of the Yankees,” even as both Koreas and the United States signaled their willingness to avert a deepening crisis, with each suggesting a path toward negotiations.
  The tentative interest in diplomacy follows unusually combative threats between President Donald Trump and North Korea amid worries that Pyongyang
  
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• Marbridge Special Olympians train with gold medalist

  15-08-2017 13:32 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Training with an Olympic gold medalist isn’t something folks at Marbridge ever thought they’d do. That all changed Monday.
  Marbridge is a living community for people with intellectual disabilities.
  University of Texas graduate and six-time Olympic medalist Brendan Hansen met with swimmers from the Marbridge Foundation’s Special Olympics team. They got a chance to train in an Olympic-sized pool for the first time ahead of next month’s Special Olympics
  
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• Mom of student injured in Charlottesville wants daughter back in Texas

  15-08-2017 13:24 via kxan.com
  HOUSTON (AP) — The mother of a University of Virginia student injured when a car rammed through counter-protesters at a white nationalist rally says she hopes her daughter can return to Houston for medical treatment and recovery.
  Ericka Chaves said Monday that her 20-year-old daughter, Natalie Romero, suffered a skull fracture and other injuries Saturday in Charlottesville, which is home to the university.
  Chaves says it’s “really hard” for her daughter to talk but says s
  
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• Smoking materials to blame in north Austin apartment fire

  15-08-2017 12:37 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) —  Six people are displaced after a two-alarm fire at a north Austin apartment complex Tuesday morning.
  “Once again, improperly discarded smoking material has caused significant damage, this time at 3625 Duval Road,” a spokesman for the Austin Fire Department tweeted.
  The call to the San Marin Apartments came in at 5:17 a.m. The fire was knocked down around 5:43 a.m., according to an AFD tweet. No one was hurt.
  Two apartments were damaged by fire, with 1
  
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• 8 displaced in north Austin apartment fire

  15-08-2017 12:37 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) —  Eight people are displaced after a two-alarm fire at a north Austin apartment complex.
  The call to 3625 Duval Road came in at 5:17 a.m., according to Austin police. The San Marin apartment complex’s website lists its address as 3625 Duval Road.
  Austin Fire Department reports two apartments were damaged by fire, while one received water damage. No one was hurt.
  APD confirms they responded to help evacuate residents.
   3625 Duval Rd. Fire has been Knocked down
  
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• New sidewalks make it easier to walk, bike to school

  15-08-2017 12:26 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — When students head back to school in just a few days, they might find a safer route to get there. Over the summer city crews have been busy building sidewalks in an effort to get students and parents to walk or bike safely.
  In all, six elementary schools will see changes. Those include Blazier, Gullet, Harris, Wooten, Padron and Langford.
  At Gullet Elementary a new sidewalk was constructed on Bullard Drive between Great Northern Boulevard and Treadwell Boulevard. At Blazier
  
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• New sidewalks hope to make big difference for school commute

  15-08-2017 12:26 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — When students head back to school in just a few days, they might find a safer route to get there. Over the summer city crews have been busy building sidewalks in an effort to get students and parents to walk or bike safely.
  In all, six elementary schools will see changes. Those include Blazier, Gullet, Harris, Wooten, Padron and Langford.
  At Gullet Elementary a new sidewalk was constructed on Bullard Drive between Great Northern Boulevard and Treadwell Boulevard. At Blazier
  
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• Family returns home to find blood splatter after pet dog attacks intruder

  15-08-2017 05:34 via kxan.com
  CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — A Chesterfield family recently opened their door to find a scene from a horror film. There was blood covering the walls and floors of their home.
  The family said there have been several break-ins recently in the Ashbrooke neighborhood where they live. The family came home Thursday night to find they too had been the victim of a break in. They say thanks to a family pet, the would-be robber got away with nothing. In fact, he was lucky to get away with his l
  
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• School’s VIP lunch line pass plan riles parents

  15-08-2017 05:27 via kxan.com
  LAKELAND, Fla. (WFLA) – Parents in Lakeland are upset over a PTSA sponsorship form they received to start the school year.
  The form asked for sponsors for certain dollar amounts, with the money going to help the school.
  Parents were concerned about the $100 sponsorship amount, which offers people who pay that amount their last name or business logo on their website, as well as PTSA events and front of the lunch line pass.
  “Polk County has a very high rate of food insecurity when it c
  
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• Woman stabbed in east Austin tried to leave scene on bus

  15-08-2017 05:25 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A woman was stabbed in east Austin Monday night, in the same place and almost the same time as a stabbing last Friday.
  Austin-Travis County EMS took the woman to Dell Seton Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries, after she initially tried to board a bus to leave the scene.
  Officers showed up and took her off the bus. Medics were called to the 2700 block of East Seventh Street, near Pleasant Valley Road, at 8:52 p.m.
  A man in his 30s was seriously wounded by a sta
  
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• New Annie Purl Elementary holds grand opening in Georgetown

  15-08-2017 05:10 via kxan.com
  GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) — A new Georgetown school replacing its 50-year-old predecessor had its grand opening Monday.
  Annie Purl Elementary School’s new building was built in the parking lot of the old building. Glass walls line part of the building, as students and teachers get excited for “maker spaces.”
  They are rooms teachers can take their students to with a lot of fun tools to solve problems.
  Denisse Baldwin, the school’s principal, says, “Our maker spa
  
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• Thousands petitioning to change the name of Robert E. Lee Road

  15-08-2017 04:57 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — In Austin, an online group is petitioning to have the name of Robert E. Lee Road changed after the White Nationalist rally in Virginia turned deadly on Saturday.
  Over the weekend, Robert E. Lee street signs were vandalized with red spray paint at four intersections in the south Austin neighborhood. The city says it will cost about $700 and take a couple of weeks to replace the signs.
  Now, thousands of people have signed the change.org petition to rename Robert E. Lee Road.
  
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• Austin ISD rolling out new way for bus riders to cross the street

  15-08-2017 04:33 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — School bus riders in the Austin Independent School District will be learning an entirely new way to cross the street.
  Monday, Transportation Director Kris Hafezizadeh said the district no longer wants children to step off the bus and walk in front of it to get to the other side of the street.
  “Take 10 giant steps back to be away from the bus,” said Hafezizadeh demonstrating the change. “It’s better for the students to wait as the bus pulls away so th
  
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• ‘Ambassadogs’ bring comfort, happiness to local hospitals

  15-08-2017 03:09 via kxan.com
  KYLE, Texas (KXAN) – Every week a group of animal lovers from Central Texas work on a schedule to plan where and when they will be visiting a local hospital or nursing home. But those in the group aren’t going alone, they are always visiting with a four-legged companion.
  The group is part of Canines Who Care, an organization created by the PAWS shelter in Kyle. There are four handlers, each with a trained therapy dog they adopted from the shelter.
  “We’re glad to see you,
  
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• Let Your Child Find Their Inner Chef

  15-08-2017 02:49 via kxan.com
  For more information go to https://kidchefkitchen.com/.
  
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• VIDEO: Protesters pull down Confederate statue at N.C. courthouse

  15-08-2017 02:44 via kxan.com
  DURHAM, N.C. (WNCN) – A crowd of protesters gathered outside the old Durham County courthouse on Main Street Monday evening in opposition to a Confederate monument in front of the government building.
  Around 7:10 p.m. a woman using a ladder climbed the statue of a soldier and attached a rope around the statue. Moments later, the crowd pulled on the rope and the statue fell. One man quickly ran up and spat on the statue and several others began kicking it.
  It’s not clear where law enf
  
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• Professor: City a target for hate groups due to ‘Keep Austin Weird’ diversity

  15-08-2017 02:33 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Groups with some of the same racist ideology as the demonstrators in Charlottesville, Virginia are active in the Austin area. Local experts say the city is attractive to those spreading messages of hate.
  According to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s hate map, four hate groups have operations in the Austin area. Those include The Daily Stormer, a Neo-Nazi group, Power of Prophecy, a general hate group, Nation of Islam, a Black Separatist group and the Southern Nationa
  
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• Snap Kitchen lays off dozens of employees in Austin

  15-08-2017 01:58 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Snap Kitchen is laying off a total of 65 employees at two of its Austin locations as it focuses on opening a centralized kitchen in the Dallas area to cater to all of its shops.
  According to an Aug. 1 letter to the Texas Workforce Commission as part of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN), Snap Kitchen indicated it was also laying off another 101 employees in the Houston-area. The company says all impacted employees were given 60 days notice.
  Snap Kitche
  
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• Hays County constable preparing to catch school zone speeders

  15-08-2017 01:57 via kxan.com
  WIMBERLEY, Texas (KXAN) — The first day of school is just around the corner for students. Teachers are gathering lesson plans, parents are buying school supplies and law enforcement officers are preparing for speeders.
  In Wimberley, the Hays County constable for Precinct 3 says speeding and other traffic concerns have been a problem for years. Constable Ray Helm says his department has taken on the task of trying to eliminate some of that headache.
  “We have to put one officer at Scud
  
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• Human remains found by bicyclists in east Austin identified

  15-08-2017 00:37 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The human remains found in two different areas of east Austin in the past two weeks have been identified as 68-year-old Robert “Bobby” Sepeda.
  Austin police are asking anyone who knows where Sepeda was before his death, or have information, to call the homicide tip line at 512-477-3588 or Crime Stoppers at 512-472-TIPS.
  Several bicyclists found a leg and foot along the bike trail near Johnny Morris Road and Daffan Lane on July 31. With the help of a cadaver
  
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• Charter school advocates hope school finance deal includes facility funding

  15-08-2017 00:30 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Time is running out for Texas lawmakers to reform school financing. The House and Senate both passed a version of House Bill 21 and a committee is working to hammer out a compromise before the special session ends Wednesday. One of the major sticking points is the Senate has $60 million for charter school buildings, the House does not.
  NYOS Charter school has 1,000 students from Pre-K through 12th grade. They go to school all year round and have to walk in between four buil
  
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• ‘Bathroom bill’ battle intensifies with clock ticking on special session

  15-08-2017 00:14 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (NEXSTAR) — The Texas Privacy Act, also known as the bathroom bill, is all but dead in the Texas legislature, but it continues to preoccupy advocates on both side of the debate with just days left in the special session.
  Senate Bill 3 and its House counterpart, House Bill 46, would require Texans to use facilities that correspond with their birth sex, as listed on their birth certificate, rather than their gender identity.
  SB 3 passed the Senate, but HB 46 stalled in the lower chamb
  
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