Austin news

• Historic home of civil rights advocate burns down in Taylor

  10-07-2022 22:47 via kxan.com
  
  TAYLOR, Texas (KXAN) — A historic landmark in Taylor burned down early Sunday morning, the city announced.
  The Taylor Fire Department responded to a call about a structure fire at 3:32 a.m., and when they arrived "the building was engulfed in flames," per the city. Several fire crews responded to the fire, but the home burned to the ground.
  An investigation is ongoing. The Taylor Police Department is considering the fire "suspicious," though the State Fire Marshal did not find that acceler
  
  Read more

• Which Texas city made Uber's most expensive rides list?

  10-07-2022 21:40 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — As Austin soars in popularity, so, too are its Uber ride prices.Texas' capital city ranked seventh in NetCredit's list of most expensive U.S. cities for Uber costs with an average cost in Austin of $23.92. NetCredit based its findings on 6.2-mile trips using Uber's calculator, analyzing every world capital along with both the U.S. and U.K.'s 30 biggest cities. NetCredit also analyzed rides based on times for service, including rush hour, workdays and weekends.In the United
  
  Read more

• ERCOT breaks another power record, tracker shows

  10-07-2022 19:17 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — In the midst of a record-breaking weekend for heat, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas set another power record, according to their online tracker. It's the second time this week that ERCOT has set a new record in July and for all-time power usage. CHECK THE FORECAST: Intense heat this weekend into early next weekERCOT officials confirmed Friday that it hit a new all-time peak record and a July peak record, with 78,204 megawatts, breaking the previous unofficial all-
  
  Read more

• Abbott says he will 'look into' Austin's record-high police budget

  10-07-2022 15:30 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas Governor Greg Abbott posted a tweet Saturday evening stating that he will "look into" the funding of Austin Police Department to see if it violates a 2021 law, which penalizes Texas cities if they are found to have reduced their law enforcement budget.The City of Austin approved a record $443 million for APD in its 2021-2022 budget, the fourth largest in the state after Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. Austin City Council approves $4.5 billion budget, record police fu
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Long waitlists in Central Texas: Families scramble to find child care

  10-07-2022 15:00 via kxan.com
  
  CEDAR CREEK, Texas (KXAN) — Jenn Schmidt sits in front of her double monitors at home as she works remotely.Nearby she's got an infant activity play mat, rocker and a few toys on hand for twins she's fostering."I'm trying to work and get my eight hours a day in with managing bottle feeding and nap time with the babies," said Schmidt as one of the twins played and kept cooing nearby.Since April, she's been looking for some help and trying to get the almost 4-month-old twins into a chil
  
  Read more

• State of Texas: Report raises questions about whether officers missed chance to stop Uvalde gunman

  10-07-2022 13:00 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Earlier this week, the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center (ALERRT) of San Marcos released its initial report on the May 24 mass shooting, which details the events leading up to when the 18-year-old gunman was killed.
  The Texas Department of Public Safety previously provided a timeline of the events at Robb Elementary. ALERRT's report also outlines a detailed timeline of events, before giving its assessment of the physical site of the school building
  
  Read more

• Air conditioner use in full swing this summer

  10-07-2022 05:20 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — With triple-digit temperatures in Central Texas, almost everyone is regularly running their air conditioners.This has kept AC repairman Tim Hostetter quite busy. On average, the owner of TemperaturePro Austin is receiving around 20-30 calls for fixes each day."Demand this year is higher than we've seen it almost ever,” Hostetter said. “We've had some hot summers but it is off the charts right now."According to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, this week
  
  Read more

• APD investigating northeast Austin homicide Saturday night

  10-07-2022 05:14 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Austin Police Department is investigating a homicide in northeast Austin.
  It happened in the 1400 block of Blakeney Lane, which is near East Yager Lane.
  APD said it will provide a briefing with more information.
  KXAN is sending a crew to the scene. Check back for updates.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Austin FC continues road domination; handles Atlanta United

  10-07-2022 03:05 via kxan.com
  
  In their longest road trip of the season, Austin FC passed every test in front of them with flying colors. The Verde and Black closed out a three match swing away from Q2 with a 3-0 victory at Atlanta United.Felipe Martins got the scoring started with a header in the ninth minute. The ball was sent in by Ethan Finlay and perfectly placed for the running Martins.Not long after that assist, Finlay notched a goal of his own off an Atlanta United miscue. The veteran scored in the second straight mat
  
  Read more

• NOAA joins worldwide ocean floor mapping effort

  10-07-2022 02:05 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Just a few weeks ago, NOAA decided to formally join Seabed 2030, an initiative launched in 2017 with the goal of having the entire ocean floor mapped by 2030. The initiative's full name is the Nippon Foundation-General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans Seabed 2030 Project.While it may seem irrelevant to us all here on land, discovering the nature of the ocean floor is crucial. Whether it is about the movement tracts of pollution or the sustainability of a given ecosystem, the
  
  Read more

• Grass fires threatened Georgetown homes, now contained

  10-07-2022 01:13 via kxan.com
  
  GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) -- Multiple grass fires that briefly threatened homes are now contained, a public information officer with the Georgetown Police Department said.
  The fire spanned 28 acres near SH 195 and Chi Chi Drive.The police department was evacuating residents before the fire was contained, GPD said. A city spokesperson said several fences burned, but that there was no damage to homes or injuries. Residents have now returned to their homes.
  The fire cause has not been determined yet
  
  Read more

• Grass fires threaten Georgetown homes, now contained

  10-07-2022 01:13 via kxan.com
  
  GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) -- Multiple grass fires that briefly threatened homes are now contained, a public information officer with the Georgetown Police Department said. It happened near SH 195 and Chi Chi Drive.The police department was evacuating residents before the fire was contained, that spokesperson said. Fire crews appear to now be knocking down a few "hot spots," they reported.According to the PEC outage map, there are two outages impacting more than 2,000 people roughly in that area.
  
  Read more

• Georgetown grass fire contained after threatening homes

  10-07-2022 01:13 via kxan.com
  
  GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) -- A large grass fire in Georgetown that briefly threatened homes are now contained, according to the city.
  The fire spanned 28 acres near SH 195 and Chi Chi Drive.The police department was evacuating residents before the fire was contained, a city spokesperson said. Several fences burned, but that there was no damage to homes or injuries. Residents have now returned to their homes.
  A large grass fire in Georgetown that briefly threatened homes are now contained, accordi
  
  Read more

• Georgetown fire contained after threatening homes

  10-07-2022 01:13 via kxan.com
  
  GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) — A 37-acre fire in Georgetown, which threatened 10 houses, is believed to have been started by "discarded smoking material," the Georgetown Fire Department said Saturday.
  The fire happened Saturday afternoon along SH 195 and Chi Chi Drive near the Berry Creek North neighborhood.Before the fire was contained, several residences were evacuated, a city spokesperson said.
  No homes were damaged by the fire, and no injuries were reported. Damages included fences at thre
  
  Read more

Follow @Austin_News_US on Twitter!