Austin news

• Scottie Scheffler's walk-off chip sends former Longhorn to Match Play semis

  26-03-2022 22:47 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Former Texas Longhorns golfer Scottie Scheffler can move to No. 1 in the world after advancing to the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play semifinals.It's clear over the last two years of match play competition, Scheffler is comfortable at Austin Country Club. EXPLAINED: Format for WGC-Dell Technologies Match PlayScheffler captured the essence of match-play golf, winning his quarterfinal round over Seamus Power Saturday afternoon by draining a chip at 16. You can watch the shot
  
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• Austin City Limits posts farewell to Foo Fighters' Taylor Hawkins after death

  26-03-2022 20:26 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- As the music industry and fans reel from the news that Taylor Hawkins, drummer for the Hall of Fame rock band Foo Fighters, has passed away at just 50 years old, Austin City Limits is remembering their time with the rock star."Like everyone else who cares about music, we’re reeling from the news of his sudden death yesterday," a post on the ACL website said.
  Hawkins has taped at ACL twice, once in 2008 and once in 2014, according to the post which noted that Hawkins had a
  
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• 'The whole second floor is gone': Tornado cleanup continues in Elgin

  26-03-2022 20:25 via kxan.com
  
  ELGIN, Texas (KXAN) — Volunteers met in Elgin Saturday to continue cleanup efforts after one of Monday evening's tornadoes left a trail of damage in the town.
  "To see our businesses and our community members step up for those in need, it just makes me proud," said Amber Gagliano, who organized the group online. "I just took it upon myself to start making posts for volunteer opportunities and whatnot," Gagliano said.
  The group is helping families like the Hicks, whose roof was completely to
  
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• Travis County seeing small brush fires amid high fire danger weekend

  26-03-2022 20:13 via kxan.com
  
  TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) -- Travis County Fire Rescue says they've seen several brush fires already Saturday as Central Texas prepares for a weekend of high fire danger.
  TCFR tweeted that there were brush fires along highway 130 and 71 and FM 973. All of those are under control and crews are mopping up, they said.Why is it so smoky in Austin?Very low humidity combined with gusty winds today have prompted a Red Flag Warning for the entire viewing area through 8pm. Outdoor burning will create a
  
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• Police dog finds $10.5 million worth of cocaine hidden in produce truck

  26-03-2022 19:40 via kxan.com
  
  LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – A police dog working with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department alerted officers to $10.5 million worth of cocaine hidden in a truckload of produce, the department said Friday.Police initially stopped the truck for erratic driving at 2:30 a.m. on Friday morning.
  "The nervous driver had a story that didn't add up," the department wrote in a Facebook post.Las Vegas Metro called in K9 Officer Nuggetz, who alerted officers to the presence of drugs. A search uncovered
  
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• Ryan Blaney recovers from spin to put Ford on pole at COTA

  26-03-2022 18:45 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Ryan Blaney recovered from a spin in practice to win the pole for Sunday's race at Circuit of the Americas.
  Blaney spun in Saturday morning practice and contact with the wall left a scratch on the back of the No. 12 Ford. Team Penske had him ready to go when qualifying began and Blaney advanced into the final round, where his lap of 92.759 mph earned him the eighth pole of his career.
  “I wouldn’t have thought we’d sit on the pole after I hit the fence
  
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• Utah bans transgender athletes in girls sports despite veto

  26-03-2022 17:41 via kxan.com
  
  SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — GOP lawmakers in Utah pushed through a ban on transgender youth athletes playing on girls teams Friday, overriding a veto and joining 11 other states with similar laws amid a nationwide culture war.
  A veto letter from Gov. Spencer Cox drew national attention with a poignant argument that such laws target vulnerable transgender kids already at high suicide risk.
  Business leaders also sounded the alarm that the ban could have a multimillion-dollar economic impact on Uta
  
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• Small fire started at Austin senior living facility after 'unattended cooking'

  26-03-2022 16:09 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Austin Fire Department says a fire is out and one person is being looked at for smoke inhalation after a small fire at the Westminster Manor Apartments. That's a senior living facility, according to their website.
  The fire department said that fire was caused by unattended cooking in a tweet.Austin Fire responded to 4100 Jackson Ave for a cooking fire (KXAN photo/Grace Reader)No firefighters were injured, according to AFD. Fire crews were clearing around 10 a.m. Saturday.
  Th
  
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• Saturday is your last chance to visit the Austin Rodeo

  26-03-2022 14:24 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- If you were hoping to go to the Austin Rodeo this year, Saturday is your last chance. The final day of the 2022 rodeo is here.
  There are a number of events throughout the day Saturday including dancing, mutton bustin', the ProRodeo finals and a concert by Kevin Fowler. You can find Saturday's schedule here.
  The Travis County fairgrounds open at 10 a.m. for events throughout the day. The ProRodeo finals start at 7 p.m. and Kevin Fowler will take the stage after its conclusion.
  Ti
  
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• GoFundMe for Texas teen caught in red truck during tornado surpasses $30k goal

  26-03-2022 13:48 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The $30,000 GoFundMe goal set by a tornado survivor's school nurse has been passed by more than $6,000 as of Saturday morning.
  Riley Leon said he was driving home from a job interview Monday at Whataburger when his red truck was picked up by a tornado, thrown around a few times and spit out upright. In a now-viral video of the event, the truck can be seen landing on all four tires before speeding away. PREVIOUS: School nurse starts GoFundMe for teen caught in red truck
  
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• Hays County takes steps toward centralized animal shelter

  26-03-2022 13:43 via kxan.com
  
  SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) — Hays County commissioners on Tuesday approved taking steps toward creating a centralized animal shelter for the county.
  That's according to the office of County Judge Ruben Becerra, who's been working on the project for years.
  According to the office, the pandemic "exacerbated the proper handling of pets that were being dropped off" at the only shelter located in San Marcos. This made it "almost impossible" to humanely care for them.San Marcos animal advocates pl
  
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• Texas marches to Elite 8 behind Allen-Taylor

  26-03-2022 06:38 via kxan.com
  
  SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Texas freshman guard Rori Harmon had four fouls, but coach Vic Schaefer knew he had to put her back in for the closing minutes of the Longhorns’ Sweet 16 contest against Ohio State.She sank a jumper in the paint and two free throws that proved to be the margin of victory in Texas’ 66-63 victory on Friday night, sending the Longhorns to the Elite Eight for the second year in a row.“The shot she made to put us up three was as big as there is,” Sc
  
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• Family remembers loved ones involved in north Austin murder-suicide

  26-03-2022 04:13 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The family of two people involved in a murder-suicide in north Austin are remembering them and making a plea to others to check in with your loved ones.Carrie Rodriguez, 41, and Moises Pita-Rodriguez, 36, were pronounced dead just before 5 p.m. Monday. Austin Police said it happened in the 1000 block of Bodgers Drive. Officers said they entered the home and found two people with “obvious trauma” in a bedroom. Previous Coverage: Man, woman dead after murder-suici
  
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• Austin restaurants rebound despite staffing shortages, inflation

  26-03-2022 03:45 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — As the weather warms up, Austin’s restaurants are rebounding.At Bar Peached, general manager Patrick Courson said seats are filling up fast."Every Friday and Saturday it’s nonstop action," he said. “Tonight alone, we've got close to 14 separate large parties that all wanted to come in."This is quite a contrast from this time two years ago, as many local businesses were hit hard by the pandemic."Restaurants have been on an incredible rollercoaster,” T
  
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• Austin Water recommends more staffing, software upgrades after citywide boil notice

  26-03-2022 02:24 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A recent city memo outlines a proposed plan to either present Austin Water customers with a bill credit for the February boil water notice or instead use funds to increase staffing at the utility's facilities in hopes of preventing another citywide boil notice.
  Resigned AW Director Greg Meszaros sent the memo Tuesday to mayor and council members.Austin Water director resigns, 3 employees on administrative leave after boil noticeIn it, he said the one-time bill credits would
  
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• Austin Water crews repairing leak after 100K-gallon wastewater spill

  26-03-2022 02:19 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — More than 100,000 gallons of wastewater spilled into a tributary of a southeast Austin creek Friday afternoon due to a leaking wastewater main, according to Austin Water (AW). People with private wells in the area should boil their water.
  The utility said the wastewater overflow is near 2704 Catalina Drive, which is close to Linder Elementary and Mabel Davis District Park. The area is in the collection system of the South Austin Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant.
  The spil
  
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• Hutto names Jeff Yarbrough as new police chief

  26-03-2022 01:04 via kxan.com
  
  HUTTO, Texas (KXAN) — The City of Hutto has named Jeff Yarbrough as its new police chief.
  The city announced the hire Friday afternoon. Yarbrough comes to Hutto from the Round Rock Independent School District, where he served as chief of police.
  Hutto Mayor Mike Snyder said Yarbrough's extensive experience made him the top candidate.
  “The opportunity is there for Hutto Police to grow alongside the community we serve, and with that to stay one of the safest cities in the State of Texa
  
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• Drivers from Buda company take the track for NASCAR series at COTA

  26-03-2022 01:01 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Drivers in the Camping World Truck Series are taking the track at Circuit of the Americas as NASCAR makes it return to Austin.
  Among them are racers with Niece Equipment, a company based in Buda.NASCAR returns to COTA for the second year this weekend"Before you're there the weekend could go any way. You could either win, or you could crash lap one, turn one. So, once you get in the truck and you start racing all that stuff goes away, because you're in it now," said Kris Wri
  
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• Workforce Commission to give out billions to help child care providers recover from pandemic

  26-03-2022 00:13 via kxan.com
  
  TEXAS (Nexstar) — More than $3 billion in federal funding will soon go to thousands of child care providers across the state. As of this week, the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) said it will begin contacting daycares and other childcare providers to apply for the 2022 Child Care Relief Fund. The fund was created to help childcare providers recover from the pandemic and allow Texas families to access quality care.
  “Recovery of the childcare sector continues to be a critical top
  
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