Austin news

• City of New Braunfels provides reminders for tubers ahead of Memorial Day Weekend

  18-05-2023 23:35 via kxan.com
  
  NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas (KXAN) — With the unofficial start of summer just weeks away, the City of New Braunfels wants tubers to stay safe and avoid littering as they float the river this summer.Mayor Rusty Brockman said the busy tourist season is likely to attract thousands of visitors in the next 4-6 months. This adds to the city's economy which has seen continued growth in population and tourism.“We enjoy and have been enjoying 5% to 9% growth over the last 10 to 15 years. Many of the
  
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• Why Hispanic, Black kids are more likely to have severe asthma than white children

  18-05-2023 23:19 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – A new study led by a Dell Medical School researcher found that children who participated in a program that allowed them to move into neighborhoods with lower levels of poverty and better access to public resources, like schools and public parks, saw their asthma symptoms markedly improve. In the US, Black and Hispanic children are much more likely than white children to have severe asthma episodes.Hispanic children are 40% more likely to die from asthma than their non-
  
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• June forecast: Will the wet weather continue?

  18-05-2023 23:03 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Coming off a wetter than normal April and a wetter May (so far) we're looking ahead to what is usually the third wettest month of the year.Our wet and severe weather season in Central Texas, which began in March, usually continues through at least the first half of June until we transition to the hotter and drier weather of the summer months.The Climate Prediction Center released its initial forecast for June and it leans a little warmer than normal with near average rainfall.Ju
  
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• Austin seeking $25M to fund bike, pedestrian improvements

  18-05-2023 20:58 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The City of Austin's Transportation and Public Works Department will submit a grant to seek $25 million in funding from the Texas Department of Transportation to support mobility upgrades, including those near schools.
  The funds are available through TxDOT's 2023 Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside Program and support projects "to fill in small- to medium-sized sidewalk, bikeway, and shared-use path gaps, remove Americans with Disability Act barriers, and make Safe Routes to S
  
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• Downtown Austin Alliance makes official recommendation for light rail in Austin

  18-05-2023 20:44 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Next week we will learn which light rail plan the Austin Transit Partnership thinks is best for the future of Austin light rail.
  Throughout six weeks of a community engagement process, ATP heard from more than 8,000 people through 90 in-person and virtual events.This week, the Downtown Austin Alliance shared its first choice for Austin Light Rail options of the five ATP presented to the public. Project Connect debuts 5 scaled down light rail optionsDAA says after the release of
  
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• Austin City Council shows support for increasing community mental health training

  18-05-2023 20:42 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – Amid the growing prevalence of mental health conditions, exacerbated by the pandemic, the Austin City Council approved Thursday its support of an initiative to increase the number of community members able to respond to mental health incidents.Mental health issues have been increasing worldwide, per the World Health Organization. Further, around one in five adolescents have a mental health condition, and suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15-29-year-olds. MO
  
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• $1M+ in safety upgrades coming to 2 Austin intersections

  18-05-2023 20:29 via kxan.com
  
  Editor’s Note: The video above shows KXAN News Today’s top headlines for May 18, 2023.AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Nearly $1 million in safety improvements are slated to come to an intersection along FM 969, following action by the Austin City Council Thursday.Council approved a nearly $942,000 contractual agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation for safety and mobility upgrades planned at FM 969 (Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard) and Regency Drive.The planned improvements includ
  
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• Postal police, who used to combat mail theft, have had limited power for years

  18-05-2023 20:24 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The United States Postal Service has upped security measures as mail theft continues to spike across the country.Such measures include fortifying blue collection boxes, new locks, more secure verification for address changes and new authority to intercept packages with counterfeit postage.Frank Albergo, the head of the Postal Police Officers Association, thinks a better fix the rise in both mail theft and attacks against mail carriers - is restoring patrolling power to postal po
  
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• Austin lowering speed limits on North Lamar Boulevard

  18-05-2023 19:33 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Drivers along a stretch of North Lamar Boulevard will be asked to drive slower after people in the area asked the Texas Department of Transportation to change the speed limit.
  Austin City Council voted Thursday to approve modifications to speed limits between Parmer Lane and Braker Lane on North Lamar. Right now, the speed limit is 50 miles per hour unless in a school zone.
  After the change Thursday, the speed limit will be dropped to 45 miles per hour between Parmer Lane and Oa
  
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• Extreme heat in Austin is shortening our 'mosquito season'

  18-05-2023 19:01 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — With recent heavy rain and warming spring temperatures over the past week, there has been a noticeable jump in the amount of mosquito activity in and around Central Texas. How to keep mosquitoes away: Tips from Texans, pest control expertsBut a new analysis from our partners over at Climate Central show some surprising results for Central Texas. The duration of our 'mosquito season' here in Austin, Texas is (on average) actually shortening, not increasing.What's to blame fo
  
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• Austin City Council: 'Safe Place' program, south Austin development move forward

  18-05-2023 14:43 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- There are more than 80 items on this week's Austin City Council agenda. Here's some of what we're watching.
  'Safe Place' program expansion: ApprovedCouncil Member José Velásquez introduced a resolution that would enroll all city recreation centers and public libraries in the Austin Police Department's 'Safe Place' program and require training of staff at those locations. Austin City Council voted to approve the program expansion Thursday morning.The 'Safe Plac
  
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• Climate change not part of LCRA water plan. KXAN investigation may change that

  18-05-2023 14:00 via kxan.com
  
  Investigative Summary:
  Central Texas residents trust that when they turn on their faucets, they will have water, even as our population booms and climate change alters weather patterns. KXAN found the Lower Colorado River Authority, which manages the water supply for more than one million residents, is only planning based on the worst drought in our history — not on more severe droughts that the State Climatologist expects in the future. But during our months-long investigation, the LCRA
  
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• How to prepare your home for Texas summer heat

  18-05-2023 13:46 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — We’ve all experienced it, the weather warming up as the summer starts.As we inch closer to the triple-digit temperatures that Texas is known for, energy experts believe now is the time to prepare your home for the heat ahead.Victor Fredlund is a manager at Abacus Air Conditioning.“This spring, it's been up and down on temperatures,” he said. “When it kicks off, as everybody who's lived in Central Texas knows, it's going to get hot and it's going to s
  
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• Austin airport expects busy summer 2023

  18-05-2023 12:19 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – After hosting a record 21 million passengers in 2022, Austin Bergstrom International Airport said Wednesday it would likely set records for busiest month and busiest summer travel season in 2023.AUS said airlines have increased route frequencies, added new destinations, and are using larger aircraft, resulting in 4%, 6% and 7% more airline seats for sale this May, June and July respectively, compared to summer 2022.
  This summer, AUS will regularly see upwards of 30,000 depa
  
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• APD searching for suspects in deadly southeast Austin robbery

  18-05-2023 04:29 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Austin Police Department is seeking the public's help with identifying suspects wanted in a deadly southeast Austin robbery that occurred earlier this week, according to an APD news release.At approximately 2:49 p.m. Monday, officers received a report regarding a shooting in the 7700 block of Springfield Drive, the release said. The caller told police there was a man shot inside a vehicle.On-scene officers found the driver of the vehicle, Brian Serrano, 19, with apparent gun
  
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• Pre-K teacher in Austin arrested on charges of possession of child pornography

  18-05-2023 01:30 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A Pre-K teacher at Wayside Schools in Austin was arrested Monday night on charges of possession of child pornography, according to Travis County records.Records showed that 33-year-old Irving Perez was arrested by the Texas Department of Public Safety.KXAN reached out to Wayside Schools for comment. The school confirmed the arrest of the teacher and said the arrest was made offsite.“Parents in this classroom were personally notified [Wednesday,]” the school said
  
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• Youth patient speaks about loss of Dell Children's Adolescent Medicine doctors as hospital group remains silent

  18-05-2023 00:36 via kxan.com
  
  Disclaimer: The patient's name has been withheld for her privacy.AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Ascension Seton, the hospital network that runs Dell Children's Adolescent Health clinic, announced last week that all of the clinic's doctors "departed," amidst an investigation by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton into whether "gender transitioning care" was provided there.The shutdown of service at the clinic has impacted the healthcare of adolescents (10 to 19-year-olds), including R, a 19-year-old woman who re
  
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