Austin news

• Report: Travis, Williamson counties rank high in rate of corporate home buyers

  07-06-2022 23:43 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Travis County and Williamson County rank high in the rate of corporate-bought homes above the national average, according to a May study from the National Association of Realtors. Nationwide, about 15% of single-family home purchases last year were from institutional buyers, the study said. Institutional buyers include companies, corporations or limited liability companies.
  Ashley Jackson, the Austin Board of Realtors president-elect, said institutional buyers are
  
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• Ukraine invasion partly to blame for Austin ice cream shop closing

  07-06-2022 23:33 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The cascading economic effects from the Russian invasion of Ukraine are partially to blame for the closure of a local vegan ice cream shop, the owner told customers on social media.
  Amelia Raley said she made the decision to close Sweet Ritual in north Austin after more than 10 years in business for a number of reasons, including that she had difficulty recently getting two key ingredients from Ukraine.
  "Due to a combination of ingredient shortages (two of our ingredients a
  
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• Slight cool down before an even bigger warm up

  07-06-2022 23:30 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin experienced record heat for two consecutive days on Tuesday with a high at Camp Mabry of 103°, beating the previous record of 100° set in 2011. Austin-Bergstrom International Airport also set a record, reaching 100° (previous record: 98° set most recently in 2018). This was Camp Mabry's third triple-digit heat day so far this year.Today won't be quite AS hot as the last few with temperatures about one or two degrees lower than Monday & Tuesday's h
  
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• Slight cool down before a bigger warm up

  07-06-2022 23:30 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin experienced record heat for two consecutive days on Tuesday with a high at Camp Mabry of 103°, beating the previous record of 100° set in 2011. Austin-Bergstrom International Airport also set a record, reaching 100° (previous record: 98° set most recently in 2018). This was Camp Mabry's third triple-digit heat day so far this year.Today won't be quite AS hot as the last few with temperatures about one or two degrees lower than Monday & Tuesday's h
  
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• Record breaking heat continues with even hotter weather into the weekend

  07-06-2022 23:30 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin experienced record heat for the second consecutive day Tuesday with a high at Camp Mabry of 103°, beating the previous record of 100° set in 2011. Austin-Bergstrom International Airport also set a record, reaching 100° (previous record: 98° set most recently in 2018). This was Camp Mabry's third triple-digit heat day so far this year.High temperatures over the next week should handily be Austin's hottest second week of June on record, with records dat
  
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• Forecasting hottest temperatures since August 2020 this weekend

  07-06-2022 23:30 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Camp Mabry tied the record high for June 6 Monday afternoon set in 2011, topping out at a searing 103°. High temperatures over the next week should handily be Austin's hottest second week of June on record, with records dating back to 1897.As mid-level heat ridging continues and soil dries further, temperatures are expected to remain at or above 100° for the foreseeable future with record highs in jeopardy every day for the next week at Camp Mabry.Highs next few day
  
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• Forecasting Austin's hottest temperatures since August 2020 this weekend

  07-06-2022 23:30 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin experienced record heat for the second consecutive day Tuesday with a high at Camp Mabry of 102°, beating the previous record of 100° set in 2011. Austin-Bergstrom International Airport also set a record, reaching 100° (previous record: 98° set most recently in 2018). This was Camp Mabry's third triple-digit heat day so far this year.High temperatures over the next week should handily be Austin's hottest second week of June on record, with records dat
  
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• Travis County reveals top 10 list of delinquent taxpayers

  07-06-2022 23:16 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — More than $67 million in unpaid taxes are still owed to the Travis County Tax Office from 2021.The office released the top 10 list of delinquent taxpayers. In total, $2.5 million in property taxes are owed across the 10 companies featured, which included Bird Inc, one of the companies with an electric scooter program in Austin. The Travis County Tax Office confirmed Bird paid their taxes earlier this afternoon.The companies at the top of the list, which are predominantly co
  
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• Monkeypox case reported in Texas, patient traveled internationally

  07-06-2022 23:00 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A monkeypox case has been reported in Dallas County, the local health and human services department reported Tuesday. That patient, who lives in Dallas, had traveled internationally within the last month, the department said in a release.
  Public health officials say they've already identified people who made close contact with the infected person and will also be working with the airline to contact people "on board a flight from Mexico to Dallas" who may have been near the perso
  
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• Crews working on structure and grass fire in Cedar Park

  07-06-2022 22:45 via kxan.com
  
  CEDAR PARK, Texas (KXAN) -- The Cedar Park Fire Department said it's working a grass and structure fire near the intersection of Toro Grande Boulevard and Whitestone Boulevard.
  They asked people to avoid the area, if possible, and expect delays in the area.
  According to Google Maps, the businesses near the intersection include an emergency room and animal hospital and pet resort. The fire department did not say where the fire started or what structure was on fire.
  A video sent to KXAN of the fir
  
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• SWAT team near South 1st Street, APD briefing planned

  07-06-2022 22:25 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A SWAT team is responding to an area in south Austin, and Austin Police want people to avoid the area.A tweet by APD at 3 p.m. said the SWAT team is in the 8100 block of Beaconcrest Drive. That's near Williams Elementary School about three blocks east of South First Street and west of Interstate 35.A public information officer will give a briefing a 3:45 p.m. to provide more information on the situation, APD said.We have a photographer headed to the scene and will update th
  
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• SWAT sent to south Austin home after 'false report'

  07-06-2022 22:25 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Police and a SWAT team responded to what ended up being what APD is calling "a false report" of a shooting Tuesday at a south Austin home.APD said in a briefing that SWAT responded because the caller said there was someone with a gun in the home and that someone could have been shot. Once officers arrived at the home on Beaconcreast Drive, they couldn't find anyone at the home.
  "Nothing could be heard or seen at that time," APD officer Dimitri Hobbs said when asked i
  
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• Front Porch, Tumbleweed, Knock Knock: How Austin Pets Alive! names its pups

  07-06-2022 22:21 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — From Grasshopper to Hummus to Taylor Snift, you might notice that adoptable dogs and cats at Austin Pets Alive! have some creative—and sometimes weird—names.
  Katie Mellon, APA's dog intake coordinator, has the job of naming each dog who comes into the nonprofit. A list is kept with name ideas that is updated whenever a staff member or volunteer finds inspiration.
  Sometimes puppy litters are themed to keep track of each group. For example, one group of previous d
  
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• Travis County declares 'gun violence awareness month,' prepares for summit

  07-06-2022 22:18 via kxan.com
  
  TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) -- Travis County commissioners unanimously voted to declare this month 'gun violence awareness month."
  The vote comes one day before a county gun violence summit is scheduled and a couple of weeks after 19 students and two teachers were shot and killed three hours from the Texas capital in Uvalde, Texas.
  "Travis County is not immune from the national gun violence trend," Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez said.
  To highlight the dangers of gun violence even aga
  
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• Kyle Rittenhouse says he's going to Blinn College after Texas A&M said he's not enrolled there

  07-06-2022 21:55 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (Texas Tribune) — Days after he told a conservative podcast that he was going to Texas A&M University, Kyle Rittenhouse corrected himself on Twitter to say that he is planning to attend Blinn College, a two-year public college, this year.His announcement comes one day after a Texas A&M spokesperson told The Texas Tribune on Sunday that Rittenhouse had not in fact been accepted at the Tier One research university for this summer or fall, despite his claims about his plans to
  
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• McConaughey on Texas school shooting: We need gun laws that make it harder for the 'bad guys'

  07-06-2022 21:45 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Uvalde native Matthew McConaughey met with President Biden and other lawmakers in Washington Tuesday urging them "to speak with each other" and make legislative changes following the Texas school shooting that left 19 students and two teachers dead.McConaughey met with the families of many of the victims of the shooting, he said. The popular actor shared some of their stories during a news briefing Tuesday including the story of one young victim who wore green high-top converse
  
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• 'We will see fires': Travis County fire marshal compares this week's conditions to early 2011

  07-06-2022 20:11 via kxan.com
  
  TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) -- It's dry enough in Travis County right now that the county's chief fire marshal, Tony Callaway, compared fire danger at the beginning of this summer to that of 2011. That was the year both the Steiner Ranch and Bastrop County fires collectively ripped through hundreds of people's homes.Drought conditions have already deteriorated significantly since January across Texas, and if we see a hotter, drier than normal summer, conditions will only get worse."It appears th
  
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• Matthew McConaughey on Capitol Hill to talk gun legislation

  07-06-2022 19:41 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Actor Matthew McConaughey is making his rounds in Washington D.C. to talk with lawmakers about gun legislation.
  The Uvalde native and Austin resident visited Capitol Hill Tuesday to press lawmakers on gun measures following the Robb Elementary School that killed 19 children in his hometown.McConaughey penned an op-ed Monday in the Austin American-Statesman calling for responsible gun ownership.“I believe that responsible, law-abiding Americans have a Second Amendment
  
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• Man accused of sexual assault at east Austin hotel

  07-06-2022 18:53 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A man was arrested and charged with aggravated sexual assault and robbery after police say he attacked a woman inside her east Austin hotel room June 2, according to an arrest affidavit.The woman, who was from out of town and attending a seminar here, answered a knock at her door, thinking it was housekeeping. A man entered the room and "immediately" attacked the woman, the affidavit said. Police later identified the suspect as Charles Edward Allen, 36. Austin Water install
  
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• City Council considers metal detectors on 6th Street

  07-06-2022 18:53 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The next action item in Council Member Kathie Tovo's Safer Sixth Street Initiative includes adding the proposed additional 13 HALO cameras downtown and calls for the purchase of metal detectors.The Safer Sixth Street initiative was launched in response to the June 2021 mass shooting. Updates will be discussed at Thursday's City Council meeting. APD chief discusses need for more HALO cameras on 6th StreetAccording to a draft of the resolution, these would be hand-held detector wa
  
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• Austin City Council considers metal detectors on 6th Street

  07-06-2022 18:53 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The next action item in Austin City Council Member Kathie Tovo's Safer Sixth Street Initiative includes adding 13 HALO cameras downtown and calls for the purchase of metal detectors.The Safer Sixth Street initiative was launched in response to the June 2021 mass shooting. Updates will be discussed at Thursday's meeting. APD chief discusses need for more HALO cameras on 6th StreetAccording to a draft of the resolution, these would be handheld detector wands for certain businesses
  
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• Social media app Uvalde shooter used updates its safety policies

  07-06-2022 18:36 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The social media platform Yubo is updating its safety policies after KXAN and other media outlets reported about the Uvalde school shooter's interactions there.Nineteen children and two teachers were killed at Robb Elementary May 24. A Yubo user who said he interacted with Salvador Ramos on the platform for a year told KXAN he frequently made threats about shooting others.Yubo is a French app that launched in 2015 and lets people livestream with up to 10 friends. It opened
  
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• TDCJ suspending inmate transport for review after Texas inmate escape

  07-06-2022 17:18 via kxan.com
  
  (KXAN) — The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is reviewing its inmate transportation procedures after a capital murder inmate escaped from a bus on May 12 and stayed out of reach of authorities for more than three weeks.The search for Gonzalo Lopez ended when he was shot and killed after a shootout June 2 in Atascosa County, south of San Antonio. Law enforcement believe Lopez killed five people, a grandfather and his four grandsons, earlier that day at a home in Leon County while
  
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• Inflation driving up food prices at the grocery store — how much everything costs

  07-06-2022 15:34 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — People are paying more for the food they buy at the grocery store as prices continue to rise.According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the consumer price index for all urban consumers increased 8.3% year-over-year ending in April 2022. Over that period, prices for food at home increased 10.8%, the largest 12-month percentage increase since November 1980. Has inflation finally peaked?Prices for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs increased 14.3% from April 2021 to Apr
  
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• Southeast Austin fire spreads to home

  07-06-2022 15:09 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A fire in southeast Austin is under control after a shed caught fire and moved to a home Tuesday morning, the Austin Fire Department said.Firefighters responded to the fire around 7:45 a.m. at the corner of Ponca Street and Thrasher Lane, according to AFD.Photo: Austin Fire InfoPhoto: Austin Fire InfoAFD said it doesn't appear the homeowners are at the home. No other nearby homes are being evacuated.This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
  
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• 5 planets enter alignment this month — when you can see them in Austin

  07-06-2022 14:17 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Early risers pay attention. Starting June 10, you'll be able to see five planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter & Saturn) aligned in the night sky. Not only will you be able to see all five planets at once, but you'll be able to see them in order.The ideal time to see the planetary alignment is just before dawn. Mercury won't come into view until around June 10. The ideal time day to see all four planets in alignment will be June 24. That morning, the moon will join the
  
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• Beto O'Rourke pledges Texas Medical Board reforms if elected, after KXAN investigations

  07-06-2022 14:00 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- In a direct response to a series of KXAN investigations, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke is pledging, if elected, to increase patient safety statewide by transforming the Texas Medical Board."That's what stands out to me, from what I've learned from your reporting, is just this pay-to-play system that we knew existed in Texas," O'Rourke said during a virtual interview May 13. "I didn't know how bad it was at the TMB. But, it's something that we've got to change.
  
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• 5th state lawmaker calls for Texas Medical Board reform to stop dangerous doctors

  07-06-2022 14:00 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A fifth state lawmaker is now looking at legislation next session in response to a series of KXAN investigations into the Texas Medical Board. Our "Still Practicing" series revealed the state agency has allowed physicians it deemed a "threat to public safety" to keep treating patients while keeping dozens of out-of-state disciplinary records secret.
  "Well, my first reaction is, 'thank you,'" State Sen. Bob Hall (R-Edgewood) said during an interview on May 4. "Thank you for
  
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• Austin Water installing smart meters, customers wanting to opt out will have to pay extra

  07-06-2022 13:40 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — When Patricia Dabbert learned Austin Water would upgrade her analog water meter to a "smart meter" she had some questions."We were concerned about having access online because of hacking, someone being able to control from outside Austin water, even," Dabbert said. Austin entered new water restrictions. Here’s how other cities are limiting useAustin Water plans to replace 250,000 analog water meters with smart meters. Water officials said this infrastructure overhaul
  
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• APD: Man steals ambulance in Austin, drives it to Round Rock

  07-06-2022 13:05 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A man is in the Travis County jail facing two felony counts after police say he stole and drove an ambulance from Austin to Round Rock Thursday morning.
  According to the arrest affidavit, Ezra Neal, 32, stole the ambulance June 2 at St. David's Hospital on 32nd Street. Austin-Travis County EMS tracked where the ambulance was and reported it to the police. Suspect in cyclist’s murder dropped off at New Jersey airport, US Marshals sayAttorney information for Neal wasn't
  
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• South Austin facility to provide daily care for older adults with dementia

  07-06-2022 12:43 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A local senior citizen center will break ground Tuesday morning in a part of Austin where it says older adults and family caregivers need better access.
  AGE of Central Texas is planning to build a facility on Alice Mae Lane between Slaughter and Taft Lanes. That is just west of Southpark Meadows.
  The AGE of Central Texas' new location is scheduled to be finished by the summer of 2023.
  AGE says it will provide a non-residential adult day health center for older adults living
  
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• Education conference to introduce PAX Good Behavior Game to Central Texans

  07-06-2022 12:27 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A state conference happening this week aims to help Texas teachers and others train their students to make better decisions later in life.
  The Texas PAX Summit is Tuesday and Wednesday in Austin. Education Service Center Region 13 hosts the free, virtual conference. Region 13 covers the Austin metro area and the Hill Country.
  You will learn about the PAX Good Behavior Game which is a program of strategies teachers can use throughout the day to help their students focus and
  
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• Texas tops Oklahoma State twice to advance to WCWS championship series

  07-06-2022 06:56 via kxan.com
  
  OKLAHOMA CITY (KXAN) — Texas Longhorns head softball coach Mike White called his squad, "the most dangerous squad in the country," after Sunday night's win over Arizona.After the Longhorns beat No. 7 Oklahoma State 5-0 and 6-5 Monday to advance to the Women's College World Series championship series for the first time in school history, he might be right.Down 5-0 and hitless going into the fourth inning of the second game, Texas' comeback was aided by a fence-scrapping home run and two cri
  
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• Murdered Uvalde child's father wants to see change

  07-06-2022 05:13 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN)-- "Whenever she was born, I knew that my life wasn't about me anymore, it was about her," said Alfred Garza III.
  He lost his only child, 10-year-old Amerie Jo Garza, in the Uvalde school shooting about two weeks ago.Background: Some families of injured kids didn’t know their condition in aftermathKXAN initially spoke with Garza the night of the tragedy — when he still didn't know if his little girl was alive.
  Garza said the hardest part of grieving, since then, has been
  
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• APD looking for suspect, victim in south Austin aggravated assault case

  07-06-2022 05:07 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Police needs the public's help finding a suspect and a victim in connection with an aggravated assault May 28 in south Austin.APD said a woman ran into an apartment complex office in the 12200 block of Heatherly Drive and begged two others to lock the door behind her. The woman was bleeding from her head and said her boyfriend was "coming after her."Soon after that, a man went to the door and started pounding on it, making threats, and then showing a gun — poin
  
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• Georgetown baseball eyeing history at state tournament

  07-06-2022 03:56 via kxan.com
  
  For the third time in school history, the Georgetown Eagles baseball team is heading to the state tournament. Behind a walk off win the regional finals, the Eagles are set for the state semifinals this Thursday.Georgetown will be the de facto home team for the state semifinals which are hosted at Dell Diamond in Round Rock. The Eagles know it will be an intense environment when they take on Frisco Wakeland at 7:00 p.m. Thursday evening."I think they're more than capable of handling that," said G
  
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• Where Texas has gaps in children's mental health care access

  07-06-2022 02:38 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (Nexstar) — In the legislative year following a 2018 mass school shooting in Santa Fe, Texas, state lawmakers created a multi-million dollar program designed to identify distressed students and get them the mental health care they need.State lawmakers poured $100 million into 13 health-related universities to form the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium (TCMHCC) in 2019. It was created to “address gaps in mental health care for children and adolescents in Texas."Social m
  
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• AARP warns Texans of high electric bills this summer; offers tips on avoiding disconnection

  07-06-2022 00:05 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Triple-digit temperatures are expected to continue this week in Central Texas, and demand on our power grid could break previous June records each day through Friday.Right now, projected supply should meet demand without any tight grid conditions, meaning no conservation alerts or rolling blackouts.How this early summer heat wave could compare to previous recordsBut, local outages are still possible.
  Over the weekend, several thousand Oncor customers reported outages in Rou
  
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