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Austin City Council to vote on Project Connect rail line proposal Thursday

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:57 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin City Council is nearing its summer holiday deadline. Here is some of what KXAN is watching during Thursday's council meeting. Project Connect Austin City Council will vote on whether it wants to advance the Austin Transit Partnership's pick for the first Project Connect rail line. Mayor Kirk Watson and several council members have indicated they are pleased with the group's first steps and will vote to move it forward. Austin leaders react to Project Connect light rail recommendation “This option best reflects the needs and values of the Austin community and lays the best foundation for future expansions and extensions in all three directions,” Greg Canally, executive director of ATP, said. “We heard support from community and advocacy groups for this option as it provides critical connections for people, and we are proud to listen to and take into account that feedback.”You can see the plan here. Airport settlement On the agenda for Thursday, approving a...

Driver arrested on DWI charge after hitting off-duty officer, APD says

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:57 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Austin Police said a driver was arrested on a DWI charge after hitting an off-duty officer on U.S. 290 Wednesday night. According to police, the crash happened on the east-bound lanes of the highway in southwest Austin near Monterey Oaks Boulevard just before 9:20 p.m. Police said the officer was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The officer, who was providing security for TxDOT crews, works for an agency outside of Travis County, according to APD.

City council could expand mobile pantry services in east Austin

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:57 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin city council will decide on a contract that will support a mobile food pantry service in the Eastern Crescent during Thursday's council meeting. The Central Texas Food Bank (CTFB) offers the service to central Texas counties and has been receiving funding from the city for the past two years to support its efforts. A city Public Health department spokesperson said the contract up for discussion during the council meeting would allow the food bank to expand its service in Austin's Eastern Crescent. Documents attached to the agenda item show the contract would last a year and cost $180,000. A spokesperson for council member Vanessa Fuentes said the district 2 member is in support of the contract and believes the increased help for the program will go toward combating the food insecurity issue in southeast and east Austin. Food insecurity issue in AustinThe city reported in 2022 that 16% of the population were facing food insecurity, which is two points higher t...

Stephen F. Austin State University is becoming part of the UT system. Will it change its name?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:57 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation that abolishes Stephen F. Austin State University and effectively creates a new school within the University of Texas System. But that does not necessarily mean the university in Nacogdoches will get a new name, mascot or colors.“When we were in the evaluative process, a lot of our constituents really wanted to know if we would be able to retain our identity in the form of our name, colors, mascots and traditions,” said Graham Garner, a university spokesperson. “[The University of Texas System] has worked really well with us to help us preserve the things that are important to us, and also to improve the things that we want to improve with their help.”The SFA Board of Regents voted in November 2022 to accept the University of Texas system’s offer for affiliation. The decision was approved in an 8-1 vote with one member opposing, concerned that affiliating would lead to a name change, per KETK reporting.“We don't expect that. ...

Williamson County launches fraud alert program

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:57 GMT

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) – The Williamson County Clerk's Office announced Wednesday it was offering property owners a free way to protect themselves from fraud. According to the clerk's office, the Property Fraud Alert program is a notification service that alerts subscribers if a document with their name on it is submitted to the County Clerk Recording Office. Once property owners sign up for the free alert, they can choose the method of contact that best works for them and will be notified when a document with their name has been filed, according to announcement from the clerk's office.Subscribers can then go online to see the document or documents that were filed or call the Williamson County Clerk’s Office at (512) 943-1515 for that information.The county clerk did warn people with a common name may receive an alert that pertains to another individual with the same name and can contact the County Clerk’s Office to check on the status of the alert.According to the FBI...

VOTE: Help us choose the best KXAN viewer photo of May 2023

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:57 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Here at KXAN, we get hundreds of photos sent to us each month by viewers just like you.We want to showcase some of the best pictures we receive, so we narrowed them down to our 10 favorites for the month.Help us choose the best viewer photo of May 2023. Look through the 10 pictures below, then vote for your favorite. The winning photo will move on to represent May in the best viewer photos of the year competition once 2023 is said and done.If you’d like to submit a photo for June's competition, email it to [email protected]. Be on the lookout as KXAN may contact you to send a permission form so we can use your photo on air and online. All submissions for June's competition must be photos taken in June 2023.Here are the options for May, in no particular order.Bubbly SkiesBurnet, May 5. Courtesy Travis Pickford.Mammatus clouds over Burnet on May 5, 2023. (Courtesy Travis Pickford)Pink Skies AboveWells Branch, May 13. Courtesy Dave DeVore.Sunset over Wells Branch o...

This one thing could prevent El Niño forming

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:57 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- El Niño may be just weeks or days from beginning, but it's not completely guaranteed to develop this year... yet.Meteorologist Nick Bannin spoke to Tom DiLiberto, Climate Scientist at NOAAs Office of Communications, about what has to happen for El Niño to officially begin, and what would stop it from happening.Meteorologist Nick Bannin: Tom, we're all talking El Niño now. It seems all but certain that we'll be having an El Niño here as we head through the summer into fall and winter, but there's still the chance that we won't. What would have to happen to prevent El Niño this year?Tom DiLiberto, Climate Scientist at NOAA: So El Niño is not just a discussion about ocean temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, you have to have the atmosphere jump on board with it. It's what we call it a coupled system. Basically, it's a dance between the ocean and the atmosphere. So even if the ocean is above average, if the atmosphere doesn't want to dance, you don't have an El Niño. And ...

Portion of 694 closed after fatal wrong-way crash in Oakdale

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:57 GMT

A portion of Interstate 694 in Oakdale is closed after a wrong-way crash early Thursday that killed a driver and sent a juvenile to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.The driver of a Toyota Corolla was traveling south in the northbound left lane of I-694 and crashed head-on into the Pontiac Vibe traveling north at 2:24 a.m., according to the Minnesota State Patrol. The Pontiac Vibe spun out and hit a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van in the northbound right lane.The Pontiac’s driver was ejected from his vehicle and the juvenile passenger was taken to the hospital with critical injuries. The driver of the Sprinter van was taken to Regions Hospital with minor injuries.Additional information wasn’t available from the State Patrol Thursday morning.I-694 west is closed at exit 57, which is 10th Street North in Oakdale. Keep updated about the road closure at the Minnesota Department of Transportation at 511mn.org.Related ArticlesCrime & Public Safety | Judge o...

Traffic stop leads to drug arrest in Glens Falls

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:57 GMT

GLENS FALLS, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A Glens Falls woman was arrested on Wednesday after being pulled over and possessing a "significant quantity" of drugs, according to the Warren County Sheriff's Office. Maria Dulisse, 25, faces multiple charges. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! On Wednesday, around 5:23 p.m., deputies with the Warren County Sheriff's Office pulled over a car on Oakland Avenue in Glens Falls for multiple traffic violations. Deputies say they gathered evidence of criminal activity and searched the car and occupants.During the search, deputies say they found Dulisse had a "significant quantity" of methamphetamine and cocaine. Other drugs were allegedly discovered that were sent to the New York State Police Forensic Laboratory for further testing. Hussain sentenced in fatal limousine crash trial Charges:Second-degree criminal possession of a controlled substanceThird-degree criminal possession of a controlled sub...

Glendale, Missouri commission recommends car wash to Board of Aldermen

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:57 GMT

GLENDALE, Mo. - A dealership in Glendale is one step closer to building a car wash, despite opposition from locals.FOX 2's partners at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that a commission of city planners recommended the board of aldermen approves the plan Victim in fatal St. Louis Kitchen shooting identified It would allow Glendale Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Dealership on Manchester Road to build a car wash about 100 feet from neighboring homes. About 200 locals signed a letter saying the car wash would cause noise disturbances and hurt property values.The commission recommended that the aldermen limit the car wash's hours of operation and bar the facility from using loudspeakers. Aldermen could discuss the issue later this month.