Austin news

• Capital Metro will change or eliminate fewer routes

  01-11-2017 23:53 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Plans are moving forward on a list of proposed changes to Capital Metro bus routes, as part of the Connections 2025 plan.
  The final public input meeting wrapped up Wednesday afternoon. At the next board meeting, members will review the final proposal and vote on it.
  Plans announced in September included changes to more than half of the city’s 82 bus routes next summer. The plan also included getting rid of 17 bus routes.
  Now after a series of meetings, Capital Metro p
  
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• VIDEO: Alleged drunk driver slams into parked trucks in East Texas

  01-11-2017 22:47 via kxan.com
  LUFKIN, Texas (KETK) — Surveillance cameras capture an alleged drunk Lufkin man smashing into parked vehicles Tuesday outside a local shop.
  Lufkin Police arrested McTavish Raymond, 45, of Lufkin, after he left the scene of a crash minutes before slamming his SUV into two trucks outside A&B Body Shop on North Raguet Street.
  The suspect admitted to smoking PCP before getting behind the wheel, according to police.
  The driver in the first crash was taken to a local hospital with minor inju
  
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• New Bastrop County fire station to improve service in the area

  01-11-2017 22:17 via kxan.com
  BASTROP COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — With wildfires an ever-present threat in Bastrop County, the people living in the area now have more fire protection with the creation of a new fire station along State Highway 95, in between the cities of Bastrop and Elgin.
  “From the 2011 Bastrop Complex Fire, very few good things came, but this is one of them,” said Bastrop County Judge Paul Pape at a dedication ceremony for Bastrop County ESD No. 2’s Fire Station No. 4.
  After the 2011 wil
  
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• Company gives non-smokers 6 extra days off to make up for smoke breaks

  01-11-2017 21:55 via kxan.com
  TOKYO (WFLA) — A Japanese company is giving its non-smoking employees extra paid time off as compensation for their co-workers’ cigarette breaks, according to The Telegraph.
  Tokyo-based marketing firm Piala Inc. is giving the non-smoking staff six extra days off after they complained they were working more than staff who took cigarette breaks.
  Before the change, resentment among the non-smokers grew because their office is on the 29th floor and the smoking section is in the
  
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• Papa John’s blames kneeling NFL players on slumping sales

  01-11-2017 21:42 via kxan.com
  LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WCMH) — The owner of pizza chain Papa Johns is blaming kneeling players in the NFL for lackluster sales.
  According to CNBC, John Schnatter, founder and CEO of Papa John’s, said the league not resolving the issue of players kneeling during the national anthem, have hurt his company and its sales.
  “The NFL has been a long and valued partner over the years but we are certainly disappointed that NFL and its leadership did not resolve the ongoing situation
  
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• Girl adopted from India and found dead in Texas drain buried

  01-11-2017 21:03 via kxan.com
  RICHARDSON, Texas (AP) — A 3-year-old girl who was adopted from India and who was found dead in a suburban Dallas storm drain last month has been laid to rest.
  The family of Sherin Mathews issued a statement saying she was buried Tuesday as part of a private ceremony.
  An attorney for Sherin’s mother, Sini Mathews, wasn’t available Wednesday to comment.
  The toddler’s father, Wesley Mathews, is jailed on a charge of injuring a child.
  Authorities say he initially told invest
  
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• Gov. Abbott will return to Washington to ask for needed Harvey funding

  01-11-2017 20:47 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says he will return to Washington D.C. on Nov. 13 as the state continues to seek funding from the White House and Congress for a rebuilding package.
  Abbott, on a press conference call with reporters Wednesday, discussed the meetings he had with leaders in the nation’s capital Tuesday over a $61 billion Texas Gulf Coast rebuilding package. He brought a 300-page document outlining the different programs that need funding to Director of Office of M
  
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• KKK costume angers bar patrons in North Dakota

  01-11-2017 19:43 via kxan.com
  HORACE, N.D. (KVLY) — A man in a Ku Klux Klan Halloween costume was seen in bars in North Dakota over the weekend.
  Ashley Goulet was at the Wild Rice Bar in Horace when the man walked in. She says it crossed the line and should not be tolerated, even on Halloween.
  “Pretty ashamed of him if he is a member of our community,” said Goulet. “It’s not something to be proud of, no one is better than anyone else.” She thinks the bar should have kicked him out.
  Wild Ri
  
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• Dodgers, Astros push their wonderful World Series to Game 7

  01-11-2017 19:34 via kxan.com
  LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kenley Jansen blew a 94 mph pitch past Carlos Beltran to wrap up a six-out save Tuesday night, and Dodger Stadium roared with equal elements excitement and anticipation.
  This World Series is just too good to go anything less than seven games.
  The Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros will play for a championship in Chavez Ravine on Wednesday night, wrapping up two outstanding seasons in Game 7 — the biggest stage in North American team sports. Two 100-win teams wi
  
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• VonTrey Clark’s defense given another year to prepare for capital murder trial

  01-11-2017 19:30 via kxan.com
  BASTROP, Texas (KXAN) — The defense team for the former Austin police officer charged with capital murder in the death of a woman he said was the mother of his unborn child is fighting for more time before trial.
  Attorneys for Vontrey Jamal Clark filed a motion for continuance asking for a one year delay in the trial and in a hearing Wednesday afternoon, Judge Carson Campbell granted it.
  An order filed earlier this month indicated a timeline showing jury selection would begin on Feb. 6, 20
  
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• VonTrey Clark’s defense files motion for continuance in capital murder trial

  01-11-2017 19:30 via kxan.com
  BASTROP, Texas (KXAN) — The defense team for the former Austin police officer charged with capital murder in the death of a woman he said was the mother of his unborn child is fighting for more time before trial.
  Attorneys for Vontrey Jamal Clark filed a motion for continuance in the trial, set to be heard in Bastrop County. That motion will likely be taken up in open court and Clark is expected to appear in person Wednesday afternoon for the hearing.
  At this time, not much is known a
  
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• Zilker Holiday Tree lights go up

  01-11-2017 19:13 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Zilker moonlight tower was transformed Wednesday morning into the Zilker Holiday Tree.
  Austin Energy crews strung 3,159 red, yellow, green and blue lights onto the 155-foot tower. Last year the moonlight tower itself was renovated with energy-efficient LED light bulbs.
  The tree lighting ceremony will take place Nov. 26 at 6 p.m. It will be on display from then until Dec. 31, with the lights turning on from 6 p.m. until midnight.
  The 53rd annual Trail of Lights kicks off
  
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• Motorcyclist died after allegedly running a red light

  01-11-2017 18:49 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) —  A motorcylist died Sunday following a collision in east Austin.
  Starlite Stewart, 29, died after hitting a Toyota Corolla at the intersection of E. 7th Street and Comal Street around 6:14 p.m. According to police, the Toyota was traveling south on Comal Street when the driver turned left onto 7th Street. That driver had a green light, but Stewart reportedly did not and ran through a red light and hit the Toyota.
  He was taken to the hospital but died soon after arrivin
  
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• Texas needs $61B from federal government for Harvey recovery

  01-11-2017 18:37 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas needs $61-plus billion in federal funding just to rebuild public infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Harvey, as well as to cover projects to prevent future flooding.
  John Sharp, Texas’ Harvey recovery “czar,” announced Tuesday that the figure was based on surveys of local officials and future U.S. Army Corps of Engineer proposals after the storm caused $180 billion in damages statewide.
  Sixty percent would go for flood control, 33 percent to buy
  
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• Austin considers requiring private companies to provide paid sick leave

  01-11-2017 18:35 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Austin City Council is looking for feedback on the possibility of a city-wide paid sick leave policy for employees in the private sector. Almost 4 out of 10 workers in Austin do not work at a company where paid sick leave is required.
  The city states paid sick time can “have a positive effect on individuals and the public health of Austinites.” According to the resolution, 33 cities and eight states across the country have paid sick policies in place.
  T
  
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• Police identify man hit, killed on South Lamar Boulevard

  01-11-2017 18:01 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin police have identified the man who was struck and killed while trying to cross South Lamar Boulevard Friday night. 
  Police say Jasper Bailey, 34, was standing in the center turn lane of South Lamar Boulevard near Westland Drive, in the vicinity of the Broken Spoke, around 9 p.m. when he was hit by a driver who was going southbound in the center turn lane. The pedestrian was dressed in all black clothes, police say.
  Bailey then was hit by a second driver who
  
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• Fourth threat in one week at Texas State’s LBJ Student Center

  01-11-2017 16:59 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas State University is investigating the third threat in two days against the LBJ Student Center.
  In a tweet sent before 10:50 a.m. Wednesday, the university in San Marcos said the student center is being evacuated for a bomb threat, but other university activities are continuing as normal. By 11:10 a.m., university police issued an “all clear” for the building.
  On Tuesday, the university received two other threats. That morning, it said a threat was made aga
  
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• Almost 4,000 children are waiting for adoption in Travis County

  01-11-2017 16:38 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Nearly 4,000 children are waiting to be adopted in Texas, a statistic advocates are highlighting in November for National Adoption Month.
  About 30 children spent the night in a Child Protective Services office in Travis County because they didn’t have a place to go. Travis County Judge Darlene Byrne said many children are waiting up to two years to find a place with a family, and that the need for foster families is always present. As of Wednesday in Austin, 119 child
  
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• DIY holiday: Starbucks releases a color-it-in-yourself cup

  01-11-2017 15:54 via kxan.com
  NEW YORK (AP) — It’ll be a (mostly) white Christmas cup for Starbucks this year. The coffee chain’s latest holiday design lets customers color it in themselves.
  The cups — which are typically red-themed — were available Wednesday. Cup sleeves to go with them are red.
  A plainer red cup from 2015 spurred an outcry from critics upset that it lacked snowflakes, reindeer or specific symbols of Christmas. Even President Donald Trump, who was a candidate at the time, sugge
  
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• Pyeongchang gets Olympic flame ahead of 100-day relay

  01-11-2017 15:39 via kxan.com
  ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The Olympic flame was handed to organizers of the 2018 Pyeongchang Games on Tuesday, and it will now head off on a 100-day journey across South Korea before the opening ceremony on Feb. 9.
  Pyeongchang organizing committee president Lee Hee-beom said the games would be an Olympics of “peace and harmony,” despite tension between the host and its reclusive nuclear-armed neighbor North Korea.
  Dressed as a high priestess, actress Katerina Lehou led the 90-minut
  
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• PHOTOS: Kids show off their cute Halloween costumes

  01-11-2017 15:15 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — From the scary to the adorable, children in Central Texas picked some unique costumes for Halloween.
  Thousands of children went trick-or-treating Tuesday, despite some rain during peak times (the boy who dressed as Georgie from “IT” was perfectly prepared).
  Let us know which one you think is the most creative in the comments. Kids show off their cute Halloween costumes Sawyer, 11-months, dressed as Golden Girl Sophia Pertrillo for Halloween 2017 (Courtesy Kelli
  
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• Walmart hopes to make stores livelier with holiday parties

  01-11-2017 14:31 via kxan.com
  NEW YORK (AP) — As more shoppers shift online, Walmart hopes to make its stores more fun this holiday season.
  The nation’s largest retailer will have parties for customers at its stores for the first time, around the themes of toys, entertainment and curated gifts. It’s increasing the number of product demonstrations and will expand the role of employees who last year helped find customers the shortest register lines. This year, they’ll assist customers in the toys and el
  
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• Walmart hopes to make stores livelier for the holidays

  01-11-2017 14:31 via kxan.com
  NEW YORK (AP) — As more shoppers shift online, Walmart hopes to make its stores more fun this holiday season.
  The nation’s largest retailer will have parties for customers at its stores for the first time, around the themes of toys, entertainment and curated gifts. It’s increasing the number of product demonstrations and will expand the role of employees who last year helped find customers the shortest register lines. This year, they’ll assist customers in the toys and el
  
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• Bears get a special treat: Halloween pumpkins

  01-11-2017 14:01 via kxan.com
  ST. LOUIS (KXAN/KSDK) — Most trick-or-treaters look at the pumpkins and eat the candy, but one zoo in Missouri has some residents who eat their pumpkins like candy.
  Two grizzly bears at the St. Louis zoo celebrated their first Halloween there with pumpkins filled with other favorite treats. The bears ripped apart the carved gourds to get to the good stuff and then ate the pumpkins, too. Each were carved with their names — Huck and Finley.
  The zoo’s polar bear also got a special
  
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• $500,000 settlement for Utah nurse after rough arrest caught on video

  01-11-2017 13:28 via kxan.com
  SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah nurse who was arrested for refusing to let a police officer draw blood from an unconscious patient settled Tuesday with Salt Lake City and the university that runs the hospital for $500,000.
  Nurse Alex Wubbels and her lawyer, Karra Porter, announced the move nearly two months after they released police body-camera video showing Detective Jeff Payne handcuffing Wubbels. The footage drew widespread attention online amid the national debate about police use of for
  
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• WWI dog tags returned to Texas family after almost 100 years

  01-11-2017 12:55 via kxan.com
  ABILENE, Texas (KRBC) — A soldier’s dog tag from World War I has been returned to his family in Texas after nearly 100 years.
  John Millican, an avid history buff, was very close to his Great Uncle Willie Tubb, who served in WWI. Millican now shares his uncle’s war stories on his blog to honor him.
  In September, a man living in France saw Millican’s blog and contacted him. The man, Willem Schmidt, told Millican he had found his great uncle’s dog tag while digging in
  
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• Even if Travis Co. bond passes, some projects might not happen

  01-11-2017 12:28 via kxan.com
  BEE CAVE, Texas (KXAN) – Generally, when a bond package is presented, voters expect all proposed projects will happen if the bond is passed. Commissioner Gerald Daugherty says that may not be the case with Travis County’s $185 bond up for a vote this November.
  The bond package is split into two parts. Part A covers projects areas such as roads, bridges, infrastructure and drainage. Part B covers parks projects. Parts A and B will be voted on separately and either can pass or fail wit
  
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• Dogs and cats approved to stay in jail with Travis County inmates

  01-11-2017 11:46 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Cats and dogs will be allowed to stay in jail with inmates under an agreement Travis County commissioners approved this week.
  Commissioners on Tuesday gave their blessing to the expansion of a program that’s been running the last year at the Travis County Correctional Complex that allows inmates there to train dogs a day at a time and earn a certificate for their work.
  Now kittens and puppies from the Austin Animal Center will be able to stay for weeks at a time
  
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• Big premium increases expected for health insurance this year

  01-11-2017 11:34 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — November is the start of open enrollment, whether it’s for health insurance through an employer or the Affordable Care Act. It’s the time when changes can be made to a health care policy before the new policy starts in January. However, there are big changes this year for those who get their insurance through the Affordable Care Act.
  According to the National Conference of State Legislators, annual premiums for plans on the marketplace are expected to jump by 25
  
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• Big premium increases expected during open enrollment

  01-11-2017 11:34 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — November is the start of open enrollment, whether it’s for health insurance through an employer or the Affordable Care Act. It’s the time when changes can be made to a health care policy before the new policy starts in January. However, there are big changes this year for those who get their insurance through the Affordable Care Act.
  According to the National Conference of State Legislators, annual premiums for plans on the marketplace are expected to jump by 25
  
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• Police: Truck attack suspect ‘did this in the name of ISIS’

  01-11-2017 11:15 via kxan.com
  NEW YORK (AP) — The Uzbek immigrant accused of using a truck to mow people down along a bike path, killing eight, did it in the name of the Islamic State group, police said Wednesday.
  Investigators, meanwhile, were at the hospital bedside of 29-year-old Sayfullo Saipov, working to extract information about the attack Tuesday afternoon near the World Trade Center memorial that also left 12 people injured, a law enforcement official said.
  The official, who was not authorized to discuss the i
  
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• NYC truck attack: Investigators scour driver’s background

  01-11-2017 11:15 via kxan.com
  NEW YORK (AP) — Investigators worked through the night to determine what led a truck driver to plow down people on a riverfront bike path near the World Trade Center, brandishing air guns and yelling “God is great” in Arabic as his deadly route of terror ended with a crash, authorities said.
  Eight people were killed and 11 seriously injured in a Halloween afternoon attack that the mayor called “a particularly cowardly act of terror.” The driver — identified by
  
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• Recent incidents fuel UT student concerns about West Campus safety

  01-11-2017 05:34 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Following several recent incidents off campus, UT students tell KXAN their concerns about safety in the area are escalating.
  On Tuesday morning, Austin police confirmed that two men were arrested in West Campus at 24th and Rio Grande streets after they got involved in a physical disturbance. Police couldn’t yet confirm the nature of the disturbance, but UT Austin police confirmed they assisted with the call as well.
  Last week, a student was punched outside of the 26 W
  
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• The Latest: Dodgers rally against Verlander, force Game 7

  01-11-2017 04:57 via kxan.com
  LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Latest on Game 6 of the World Series between the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers (all times local):
  8:43 p.m.
  Chris Taylor, Corey Seager and the Los Angeles Dodgers sent this twist-and-turn World Series to Game 7, rallying against Justin Verlander to beat the Houston Astros 3-1 Tuesday night.
  A comeback win in Game 6 on Halloween night gave fans at Dodger Stadium and beyond a true treat: A year after the Cubs beat Cleveland in a Game 7 thriller, the baseball s
  
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• Trial begins of man accused of killing transgender woman

  01-11-2017 04:32 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The trial of JonCasey Rowell, the man accused of killing a transgender woman in January 2016, has started in Austin.
  Rowell is charged with murder in the Jan. 22 death of Monica Loera, 43. Police spoke about what they saw in the moments after getting to a home in the 300 block of East Powell Lane, near Interstate 35 and East Anderson Lane in north Austin.
  JonCasey Rowell at his murder trial on Oct. 31, 2017. (KXAN Photo)Police said Loera gave Rowell directions to her home b
  
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• Trial begins for man accused of killing transgender woman

  01-11-2017 04:32 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The trial of JonCasey Rowell, the man accused of killing a transgender woman in January 2016, has started in Austin.
  Rowell is charged with murder in the Jan. 22, 2016 death of Monica Loera, 43. Police spoke about what they saw in the moments after getting to a home in the 300 block of East Powell Lane, near Interstate 35 and East Anderson Lane in north Austin.
  JonCasey Rowell at his murder trial on Oct. 31, 2017. (KXAN Photo)Police said Loera gave Rowell directions to her
  
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• Pedestrian killed in east Austin hit-and-run

  01-11-2017 03:10 via kxan.com
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A man in his 30s has died after a vehicle hit him in east Austin and then drove away, police said.
  Austin-Travis County EMS was called to the 90 block of Chicon Street, near Willow Street, at 8:39 p.m. Tuesday.
  The Austin Police Department says the driver did not stay at the scene. Police say the suspect vehicle took off southbound on Chicon and is a 10-15 year-old model extended cab pickup, possibly blue in color.
  An officer says the vehicle may have collision damage.
  Driv
  
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