Austin news

• Austin expected to make shade improvements to city parks ahead of Summer 2023

  24-12-2022 23:05 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The City of Austin Parks and Recreation (PARD) released a memorandum Monday, which showed many city parks were in need of more shade ahead of the hot, summer months.The memo was in response to the Park System Shade Structure Analysis ordinance. The ordinance was issued for the city to prioritize infrastructure to provide necessary shade, including planting trees for community activity spaces, such as playscapes, splash pads, basketball courts and skating spaces.St. John Poc
  
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• Austin Fire responds to over 500 weather calls in one day; EMS responds to two CO incidents

  24-12-2022 20:12 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Austin Fire Department said it responded to 823 emergency calls in the last 24 hours, an AFD tweet said Saturday afternoon. Those included over 500 freezing weather-related calls.
  The department typically responds to 275 calls, on average, in a 24-hour shift. Friday's calls were a nearly 200% increase than typical.RELATED: What are the most common holiday-time fires and injuries?Austin firefighters responded mostly to fire alarm activation and broker water pipes calls,
  
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• Just before takeoff at AUS, group of medical professionals save man's life

  24-12-2022 18:45 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A group of doctors and nurses from Albuquerque saved someone's life as a plane was bound for takeoff from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.According to Albuquerque news station KOB, six medical professionals were able to perform CPR and save the life of a man who had a heart attack before a Southwest Airlines flight from AUS left for the New Mexico city after Thanksgiving. These are the new flights coming to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in 2023Dr. Mark Epste
  
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• After underestimating power demand, ERCOT gets federal permission to exceed air quality limits

  24-12-2022 18:10 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (Texas Tribune) — The U.S. Department of Energy has cleared the way for Texas power plants to pollute more than is usually allowed, such as by burning dirtier fuel oil instead of natural gas, to keep the electricity on through Christmas morning.The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates the state’s main power grid, asked for permission to exceed normal federal air quality restrictions after underestimating the demand for power during this week’s
  
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• Georgetown company faces more than $250K in fines after June trench collapse killed two workers

  24-12-2022 16:04 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — After two workers died in a trench collapse at a Jarrell construction site in June, the U.S. Department of Labor found that the Georgetown company in charge of the site "willfully violated federal law."Federal investigators with the Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found WBW Construction LLC, "failed to have a trench protective system in place and did not provide an exit point within 25 feet inside a trench." OSHA also said it issued four "se
  
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• Another hard freeze tonight ahead of a Christmas thaw

  24-12-2022 14:15 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The worst is behind us! Morning lows dropped into the teens for many areas, but we expect it won't be as cold tonight.
  We'll wrap up the afternoon with sunshine and highs in the low 40s. January weather forecast: How La Nina impacts the start of 2023Tonight will be clear and cold with temperatures dropping below freezing by mid-evening for most areas.The National Weather Service is continuing the Hard Freeze Warning through Christmas morning at 10 thanks to tonight's well below
  
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• Afternoon highs above freezing today

  24-12-2022 14:15 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The National Weather Service is continuing a Hard Freeze Warning through Christmas morning at 10:00. This warning continues even though highs will get above freezing today.Continuing the Hard Freeze Warning today Tips on how to prepare for the Arctic freezeSeveral of our reporting stations will have spent 48 hours ... and more ... below freezing since this Arctic air arrived Thursday. Most highs today will be in the upper half of the 30s.Sub-freezing temperatures return overnigh
  
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• What are the most common holiday-time fires and injuries?

  24-12-2022 14:10 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Firefighters and medics are always at the ready. But they spoke with KXAN about some specific fires and injuries that are more common this time of year."Our houses are full of family, full of friends - and full of decorations too," said Kassidy Buth, Public Information Officer for Travis County Emergency Services District 12 in Manor. “Candles are very popular this time of year. And it’s so easy to put a candle next to decorations that can catch on fire very easily."
  
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• Tamale trouble? How inflation, staffing is impacting a holiday tradition

  24-12-2022 14:00 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN)— Is there trouble this tamale season?Not quite. But there may be a greater demand with fewer hands on deck to get them made.Delicious Tamales, a San Antonio-based family-run business is working double time to make sure they keep a season tradition alive. It has a location in Austin, too.
  Tucked inside a small San Antonio shop, tamales are patted, rolled and packed to perfection at Delicious Tamales.
  Workers at Delicious Tamales (KXAN Photo/Jala Washington)Preparing tamales at
  
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• Some H-E-B customers experience long lines from card machine issues

  24-12-2022 05:04 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) - The holiday season means long lines as grocery shoppers try to snag last minute items. But some H-E-B customers were left waiting longer than usual.Lines and lines filled this Mueller H-E-B ahead of the holiday weekend. Customers were left waiting to pay for their purchases because of issues with payment machines.Some customers said HEB employees offered them water and cookies as they waited for card machine issues to be resolved.
  Some took to Facebook warning about others experi
  
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• Kendra Scott on her company, community and what's next

  24-12-2022 04:34 via kxan.com
  
  Here at KXAN we cover issues and people in an in-depth way, including connecting on a deeper level with Central Texas’ celebrities making differences in our community. In this latest story of KXAN anchor Britt Moreno's continuing series of in depth conversations with some of Austin’s biggest names and influencers, she sits down with Kendra Scott.Kendra Scott at a Kendra Cares event at Dell Children's Medical Center in AustinAUSTIN (KXAN) — While Kendra Scott has called Austin's
  
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• 2 displaced after fire in northwest Austin apartment complex

  24-12-2022 03:39 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Two people were displaced after reports of a fire in a northwest Austin apartment complex, according to a tweet from the Austin Fire Department.Just after 7 p.m. Friday, fire crews responded to the 8200 block of Neely Drive for a fire that required a second alarm. The tweet said fire was visibly showing from the roof on the third floor of the building.Then, at approximately 7:40 p.m., AFD said the fire was knocked down, and crews were working hard to put it out.Just after 8 p.m.
  
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• Texas man calls for 'real holocaust,' gets arrested by FBI 

  24-12-2022 03:00 via kxan.com
  
  LUBBOCK, Texas -- A Texas man was arrested by the FBI in Lubbock County on Tuesday, according to jail records. Court documents accused Francis Federick Goltz, 51, of making posts on right-wing websites threatening to injure political officials and their children.
  Court documents stated that Goltz is a Canadian citizen who is in the United States as a lawful permanent resident. Man arrested on murder charge, woman’s body found in Lubbock CountyAccording to court documents, Goltz had an acco
  
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• Chris Beard's fiancée said he didn't strangle her, doesn't 'refute' that he acted in self-defense

  24-12-2022 01:20 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN/AP) — In a statement to the Associated Press, the fiancée of Texas men's basketball coach Chris Beard said he didn't strangle her and never wanted to press charges against him.Through her attorney, Randi Trew made her first public comments Friday since the Dec. 12 incident in which Beard was arrested and later charged with felony family violence after he allegedly strangled her following an argument. Beard was suspended from coaching by university officials without pay
  
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• Judge orders paternity test for Cowboys owner Jerry Jones

  24-12-2022 00:50 via kxan.com
  
  DALLAS (AP) — A judge has ordered Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to take a paternity test as part of a legal dispute with a 26-year-old woman who claims the billionaire is her biological father.A Texas judge issued the order for genetic testing Thursday in a paternity case brought by Alexandra Davis, who previously alleged in a separate lawsuit she was conceived from a relationship Jones had with her mother in the mid-1990s.Attorneys for Jones did not immediately respond to requests for
  
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• Austin nonprofit travels to several homelessness encampments to ensure safety during extreme weather

  24-12-2022 00:22 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN)-- Antony Jackson, CEO of Austin nonprofit We Can Now, traveled around to several homelessness community camps Friday to make sure everyone was staying safe during the extreme weather.Jackson said his team battled the frigid temperatures to deliver items, such as weighted blankets, food, hot cocoa and more.
  "In these critical weather conditions, there are people who care in the community," Jackson said. "We are in it together. Our brothers and sisters out want to be."The nonprofit o
  
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• Austin nonprofit travels to several homeless encampments to ensure safety during extreme weather

  24-12-2022 00:22 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN)-- Antony Jackson, CEO of Austin nonprofit We Can Now, traveled around to several homeless community camps Friday to make sure everyone was staying safe during the extreme weather.Jackson said his team battled the frigid temperatures to deliver items, such as weighted blankets, food, hot cocoa and more.
  "In these critical weather conditions, there are people who care in the community," Jackson said. "We are in it together. Our brothers and sisters out want to be."The nonprofit organ
  
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• Frozen or broken pipes? Here's what to do

  24-12-2022 00:14 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- In freezing cold conditions like Central Texans are experiencing this week, there's a risk of water pipes in homes freezing. And if that happens, there's a risk of them bursting.
  Frozen pipes kept plumbers and firefighters busy Friday.
  One homeowner in Dripping Springs said he prepped his pipes the same way he did during the 2021 winter storm. While he didn't have any issues last year, he did this week.What to do about frozen pipes and how to turn off the water if they burstCrew
  
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