Austin news

• Austin elementary school begins renovations to improve security

  20-03-2024 23:44 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Despite some security concerns, a local elementary school began renovations. The campus said it was seeking to move away from its open-concept design.The Austin Independent School District built Oak Hill Elementary in 1974, and now, with the approval of the 2022 bond, the campus said it would improve security while enhancing the learning environment.“The 2022 Bond Program includes renovations to Oak Hill Elementary School's open-concept floor plan that will improve se
  
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• Restaurants with a perfect health inspection score in January 2024

  20-03-2024 23:38 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Public Health inspected 706 Travis County locations (restaurants, grocery stores, school cafeterias, etc.) in January, according to the agency's public data portal.This number is down from last year's 732 locations. Likewise, the number of locations with perfect scores is down by a much larger percentage, with only 36 locations in 2024 compared to 62 in 2023. Here are the local restaurants that got a perfect health inspection score in December 2023In January, these r
  
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• Austin sinkhole causes flat tires, traffic delays for some drivers

  20-03-2024 23:03 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A sinkhole in southeast Austin is causing major headaches for some drivers. A sewer line break on Tuesday caused the plunging hole, according to Austin Water.
  Several lanes at Montopolis Drive and Ponca Street are still closed while they deal with the hole.
  The City of Austin's Transportation and Public Works Department said staff in the Mobility Management Center are monitoring traffic signal timing and traffic flow at this location.
  Austin Water said repairs will likely b
  
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• Austin ISD to get new motorcycle police unit

  20-03-2024 22:51 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — During an event Wednesday, the Austin ISD Police Department announced the creation of its new motorcycle unit.AISD Police said the motorcycle division would be mainly used for elementary schools starting with 35 officers.“Our team of Austin ISD police officers are responsible for supporting more than 73,000 students and 113 of our campuses,” the district said.AISD police announce new unit expansion (KXAN photo/Frank Martinez)AISD police announce new unit expansi
  
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• Georgetown PD: Woman abducted, sexually assaulted overnight; investigation underway

  20-03-2024 22:35 via kxan.com
  
  GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) — The Georgetown Police Department said it was investigating an incident where a woman was abducted and sexually assaulted overnight Tuesday into Wednesday.According to police, the incident occurred between 12:30 a.m. and 1:30 a.m., and the initial abduction occurred in the 100 block of West Valley near North Main Street. Police said the victim was then taken to an unidentified location and sexually assaulted.Police said the victim was a 36-year-old woman and Georg
  
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• UT workers rally demanding $10K across-the-board pay raise

  20-03-2024 22:01 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Some workers at the University of Texas participated in a rally Wednesday afternoon demanding higher pay.The workers were members of the Texas State Employees Union (TSEU) and held the rally wanting a $10,000 raise for every campus worker.According to rally organizers, thousands of signatures were collected and will be presented to UT President Jay Hartzell.The union said the last time UT workers received an across-the-board pay raise was more than twenty years ago in 2001.
  
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• Texas football's 2025 SEC schedule released; Longhorns to host three conference games

  20-03-2024 21:31 via kxan.com
  
  Editor's Note: Check out Texas football's 2024 schedule in the video player above.AUSTIN (KXAN) — You can get ahead on planning for the 2025 college football season. The Texas Longhorns' SEC schedule for their second campaign in the conference was released on Wednesday.1st SEC Schedule for Texas releasedThe 2025 schedule will be fairly similar to the 2024 schedule. Texas will play the same teams just with the sites flipped to ensure equal home and away games for the two seasons.
  In 20
  
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• Author of book pulled from Lake Travis ISD elementary schools speaks out, as district considers removing two more books

  20-03-2024 21:20 via kxan.com
  
  TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — The Lake Travis ISD board of trustees will take up complaints filed against two books in the district's libraries during a Wednesday night meeting, according to a LTISD spokesperson.The two books are novels "The Hater" and "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl," both written by author Jesse Andrews. According to the spokesperson, the books have been in LTISD since 2016 and 2017, respectively.The district declined to release information about why the complaints had b
  
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• Memo details potential timeline of AUS ramp control program

  20-03-2024 21:08 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A recent memo detailed the potential timeline for when the new ramp control program could be implemented. The memo was sent by Ghizlane Badawi, the Interim Director for the Austin Airport's Department of Aviation.The goal of the program was to increase safety at Austin Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) by containing the spots where planes board and de-board, but airport officials said it still needs a little more time to complete. The previous goal was to have the ramp contr
  
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• Texas, US present arguments before Fifth Circuit on Senate Bill 4

  20-03-2024 21:05 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Texas’ strict immigration law, referred to as Senate Bill 4, remains on hold, pending a decision from the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.The Supreme Court permitted the law criminalizing illegal entry to take effect on Tuesday afternoon.That decision did not consider whether the law was constitutional, but instead sent the case back to the appeals court. Late Tuesday night, the appeals court issued an order allowing a lower court’s previous block to stan
  
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• Texas immigration law back in appeals court after legal back-and-forth

  20-03-2024 21:05 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Texas’ controversial immigration enforcement law, also known as Senate Bill 4, remains on hold, pending another decision from the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.The U.S. Supreme Court permitted the law criminalizing illegal entry to take effect on Tuesday afternoon.That decision did not consider whether the law was constitutional, but instead sent the case back to the appeals court. Late Tuesday night, the appeals court issued an order allowing a lower court&r
  
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• Fredericksburg named top family-friendly travel destination in the US

  20-03-2024 20:54 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A popular Texas Hill Country town was named the top family-friendly travel destination in the United States.
  Fredericksburg beat out places like Napa, California, Breckenridge, Colorado, and Virginia Beach, Virginia, for the No. 1 spot, on a recent list from Yelp.
  Yelp highlighted some family-friendly activities that Fredericksburg offers, including exploring the town's German roots at the Pioneer Museum, seeing the wildflowers at Wildseed Farms and hiking Enchanted Rock ne
  
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• Austin Fire responds to large generator explosion

  20-03-2024 20:40 via kxan.com
  
  Editor's note: The above video shows KXAN News' top morning headlines from Wednesday, March 20, 2024.TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Crews with the Austin Fire Department responded to southeastern Travis County Wednesday afternoon for reports of a large generator explosion.AFD said the incident occurred in the 2900 block of South Farm-to-Market 973.Fire crews were on the scene and extinguishing large amounts of fire on a vehicle-mounted generator, according to AFD.Officials urged drivers to
  
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• Austin PBS digitizing all 50 seasons of ACL Live to celebrate 50th anniversary

  20-03-2024 20:21 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin PBS announced Wednesday it's starting the process of digitizing all 50 seasons of Austin City Limits as part of a yearlong celebration of the show's 50th anniversary. Over 250,000 photos will also be preserved in the process.
  The preservation project is being done through a partnership between Austin PBS and Google Fiber, which is part of a beta test through GFiber Labs, allowing Austin PBS to upgrade to 20 Gig internet. A release about the project said it would have
  
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• Ken Paxton sues 2 more adult websites over age verification law

  20-03-2024 20:16 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Two more adult websites are facing lawsuits from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office over accusations they're not following the state's age verification law, the latest effort to legally go after internet porn providers.
  The Office of the Attorney General filed two civil lawsuits Tuesday afternoon in Travis County against the respective companies that own the websites xHamster and Chaturbate. Paxton said they're not doing enough to stop those younger than 18 from loo
  
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• Austin neighbors connect through City's Living Streets program

  20-03-2024 19:58 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — A neighborhood in north Austin is one of the first to experience the City of Austin's Living Streets program.The Living Streets program launched in 2021 as a low-cost initiative created to make neighborhood streets around Austin safer for families to walk, bike and connect with their neighbors.To qualify for the program, a street must meet certain criteria, like an incomplete sidewalk and the need for safe recreational space. The program also requires 60% of neighbors to ag
  
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• 18-wheeler, train collide in Hutto Wednesday morning; No injuries reported

  20-03-2024 18:13 via kxan.com
  
  Editor's note: The above video shows KXAN News' top morning headlines from Wednesday, March 20, 2024.HUTTO, Texas (KXAN) — The Hutto Police Department responded Wednesday morning after a train hit an 18-wheeler. Police said no injuries were reported.
  18-wheeler, train collide in Hutto Wednesday morning (Hutto Police Department photo) 18-wheeler, train collide in Hutto Wednesday morning (Hutto Police Department photo) 18-wheeler, train collide in Hutto Wednesday morning (Hutto Police Depart
  
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• ERCOT working to avoid disruption of solar eclipse 2024 on solar power

  20-03-2024 18:11 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) discussed potential plans for the upcoming solar eclipse in April at a March 7 meeting of the Reliability and Operations Subcommittee (ROS). Total solar eclipse events taking place in Austin, Central TexasDuring the meeting, two ERCOT employees presented "resource forecasting and analysis" to the subcommittee. Their report said that the eclipse will be over Texas from 12:10 p.m. to 3:10 p.m., and will reduce solar energy pro
  
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• New emails show how Lago Vista ISD failed to background 'private coach'

  20-03-2024 17:57 via kxan.com
  
  Editor's note: The above video shows KXAN News' top morning headlines from Wednesday, March 20, 2024.LAGO VISTA, Texas (KXAN) — Two days before the Lago Vista School Board meeting on Feb. 26, 2024, trustees discussed what they would say to frustrated parents about a “private coach” who had been allowed to interact with high school runners without being properly vetted by the school district.KXAN investigators obtained these emails through an open records request to the district
  
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• $360 billion: New report reveals the seen and unseen costs of Alzheimer's disease

  20-03-2024 17:41 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A new report sheds light on the prevalence, impact and cost of Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia -- not only on people living with it but also on their caregivers.
  According to the Facts and Figures report released Wednesday by the Alzheimer's Association, the cost of caring for people living with these diseases is projected to reach $360 billion in 2024, which is a $15 billion increase from the year prior. However, that statistic does not include unpaid care provi
  
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• APD says it's 'aware' of court order putting SB 4 on hold, officers will not enforce law

  20-03-2024 16:12 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Austin Police Department said it is aware of a late Tuesday night court decision that put a Texas law known as Senate Bill 4 on hold once again after a legal back-and-forth on whether the law could be enforced.
  The Associated Press reported a federal appeals court late Tuesday issued an order that again prevents Texas from arresting migrants suspected of entering the U.S. illegally, hours after the Supreme Court allowed the strict new immigration law to take effect. Court or
  
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• Megan Thee Stallion bringing 'Hot Girl Summer Tour' to Austin

  20-03-2024 16:07 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Calling all Hotties! Fans of Megan Thee Stallion will have a chance to see the rapper perform in Austin on her first headlining world tour.
  The Houston-born artist will make a stop on her "Hot Girl Summer Tour" at the Moody Center in downtown Austin on June 13. It's part of a three-city swing across Texas, including stops in Dallas on June 11 and her hometown on June 14.Jennifer Lopez to play Austin’s Moody Center this summerThe Moody Center posted on X that tickets f
  
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• Are missed compost pickups on the rise in Austin?

  20-03-2024 14:46 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) – Omar Lozano isn’t against composting, but he hasn’t bothered putting the compost bin on the curb outside his Blackland neighborhood home lately.“I put the green bins out before, and they have not been picked up,” Lozano said. “I don’t put them out anymore.”Lozano, who spoke to KXAN from the front steps of his house on Roger’s Avenue, is not alone.Several residents living in or near Blackland, which is sandwiched between Manor
  
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• LIVE: Inside the Investigations: Texas do-not-hire registries

  20-03-2024 14:32 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Each week the in-depth reporting from the KXAN Investigates team will get a spotlight on KXAN Live.A conversation will happen Wednesday morning with investigative reporter Kelly Wiley and KXAN Live anchor Will DuPree to break down one of this week’s top stories. People can watch the live stream in this story or on the KXAN News Facebook page starting at about 9 a.m.Inside the Investigations: Lack of medical examiner in Williamson CountyThe story they’r
  
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• Inside the Investigations: Texas do-not-hire registries

  20-03-2024 14:32 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) — Each week the in-depth reporting from the KXAN Investigates team will get a spotlight on KXAN Live.A conversation will happen Wednesday morning with investigative reporter Kelly Wiley and KXAN Live anchor Will DuPree to break down one of this week’s top stories. People can watch the live stream in this story or on the KXAN News Facebook page starting at about 9 a.m.Inside the Investigations: Lack of medical examiner in Williamson CountyThe story they’r
  
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• Texas' authority to arrest migrants divides asylum-seekers, community

  20-03-2024 12:25 via kxan.com
  
  EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Standing across the street from a migrant shelter in South El Paso, two South American asylum-seekers expressed mixed feelings on Texas’ new authority to question and detain migrants.“The best thing to do is wait for their appointments so they can come in legally,” said Antonio, a Venezuelan migrant released from U.S. immigration custody after passing a credible fear interview that he scheduled on the CBP One app. “I waited for my ap
  
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• Police investigating overnight homicide at east Austin apartment complex

  20-03-2024 11:51 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin Police are investigating the city's 12th homicide of the year after a man was found dead at an apartment complex in east Austin late Tuesday night.
  Police said they responded to a 911 call at the Fort Branch at Truman's Landing Apartments on Techni Center Drive around 11:20 p.m. Tuesday, where they found a man in his 40s with trauma to his body.
  Police did not specify what the man's injuries were, but they said he died at the scene.
  APD does not yet have suspect informati
  
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• AI helps diagnose Central Texas patient with rare form of diabetes

  20-03-2024 10:00 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Cooper Myers is a member of the AI generation. After the 24-year-old moved to Austin to pursue a job in tech, he discovered that not only could artificial intelligence help him at work but it could save his life."I've been using (AI in) my day to day. Every time I have a question or something doesn't quite make sense, I asked ChatGPT," Myers said. This time the thing that didn't make sense was his health.In 2020, Cooper was diagnosed with Type-1 diabetes. Around two million Amer
  
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• Court order puts Texas law allowing police to arrest migrants who cross illegally back on hold

  20-03-2024 05:34 via kxan.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) – A federal appeals court late Tuesday issued an order that again prevents Texas from arresting migrants suspected of entering the U.S. illegally, hours after the Supreme Court allowed the strict new immigration law to take effect.The decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals comes weeks after a panel on the same court cleared the way for Texas to enforce the law by putting a pause on a lower judge’s injunction.But by a 2-1 order, a panel of the appeals court
  
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• 6th Street homelessness pilot program helps nearly 200 people in first month

  20-03-2024 01:45 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A pilot program that launched last month has connected 180 people living on the streets downtown with homeless shelters and services.As part of the plan, Urban Alchemy employees walk up and down Sixth Street – and some adjacent streets – during the daytime hours from Monday through Friday, connecting with people experiencing homelessness in the area."Build trust and relationships, understand their needs," Bill Brice, with the Downtown Austin Alliance, said.
  The goal,
  
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• They counted primary ballots by hand. Now a Texas county Republican party says they found errors.

  20-03-2024 00:39 via kxan.com
  
  This article was originally published by Votebeat, a nonprofit news organization covering local election administration and voting access.FREDERICKSBURG (Votebeat) — An hour after Gillespie County Republican Party Chairman Bruce Campbell declared the hand-counted primary election results completely accurate and certified them as final, he found another discrepancy.“It’s my mistake for not catching that,” he said, sitting in front of his laptop inside the Gillespie Co
  
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• 'Winning war on woke higher education,' Anti-DEI efforts continue, some minority students struggle

  20-03-2024 00:18 via kxan.com
  
  AUSTIN (KXAN)— "Winning the war on woke in higher education." That's the title of a panel on Tuesday that a conservative nonprofit, the Texas Public Policy foundation is hosting during its summit.Speakers are set to weigh in on what they call a success ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs on public campuses in Texas, plus what comes next to maintain this. Senate Bill 17 went into effect in January 2024, allowing the end of DEI.
  This comes as some minority University of Texas stu
  
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• Georgetown water may be discolored for 'brief periods' in April, May

  20-03-2024 00:06 via kxan.com
  
  GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) — Georgetown water customers may see green or brown tint or may notice chlorine odors in their water in April due to water system maintenance.The Georgetown Water Utility said maintenance will begin on April 17 and last through May 17, the City said in a news release Tuesday.Customers may see those changes in their water on April 18 or April 19. The water will be safe to drink for people, pets and plants, the City said.The city uses chloramines for disinfection of
  
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