Local News

X Games a step closer to Austin

Newsroom — Thu, 23 May 2013 20:47:00 GMT

The ESPN X Games are a step closer to making Austin their home for three summers, starting next year. They would be held at Circuit of The Americas.

Councilman Bill Spelman says there's a tightrope to be walked as they welcome new people to Austin. "If this is incremental spending from visitors outside the city of Austin spending it inside the city of Austin, I'm happy with that," he said.

The mayor points to Austin having passed Indianapolis and Jacksonville in population, and the growing pains this city is still experiencing.

Teen drowns in Inks Lake

Newsroom — Thu, 23 May 2013 19:53:00 GMT

An 18-year-old man is dead while swimming at Inks Lake. According to a news release from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department:

A volunteer dive team from Lake Buchanan recovered the body of an 18-year-old Kingsland man who is believed to have drowned in Inks Lake earlier today.

The body of Johnny Mosley was found in about seven feet of water about 12:30 p.m. today, according to Inks Lake State Park Superintendent Terry Rodgers.

Justice of the Peace Calvin Boyd of Burnet County was on the scene and will rule on the cause of death following further investigation.

According to Rodgers, Mosley was part of a church group picnicking at the park. About 11 a.m. he and a friend went into the water from the day use area of the park and began swimming toward the park store, a distance of about 100 yards across the water. Before they reached the other side, Mosly experienced some sort of difficulty and went beneath the water. His friend tried to pull him back up, but was unable to save him.

A state park volunteer host went into the water on a kayak, saw the incident had occurred in fairly deep water, and returned to shore to summon additional help. Park staff responded, along with the dive team and an ambulance.

CAN 'dashboard' report minorities paid less, jailed more in Austin

Newsroom — Thu, 23 May 2013 17:41:00 GMT

The Community Action Network that keeps track of the socio-economic indicators for the minority groups says minorities still struggle in Austin.

Board member Ashton Cumberbatch says African Americans are jailed more often and paid less than whites.

The report shows the median annual salary for Whites in Austin is almost 100 thousand dollars while African Americans earn a median 40 thousand dollar salary. According to the report, Hispanics earn a median salary of 38 thousand.

Here's the full report:

http://www.cancommunitydashboard.org/files/CANCommunityDashboard2013.pdf

City Council votes to postpone Austin Energy plans

Newsroom — Thu, 23 May 2013 17:13:00 GMT

There have been months of debate between city leaders and heated public hearings about creating an independent board to run Austin Energy. But today city council passes a vote that tables the topic indefinitely.

City council unanimously votes in the early part of today’s meeting to postpone talks about an independent board and no date is given for when they might take the issue up again. Mayor Lee Leffingwell thinks a sub-committee is a better venue for the talks.

Leffingwell says "It's a more informal setting, where committe members would actually have the chance to work this out among themselves instead of ongoing public hearings" Setting up that committee is on the agenda at today’s meeting.

Austin City Council approves funds for more crime fighting cameras

Newsroom — Thu, 23 May 2013 17:45:00 GMT

The Austin City Council approves funding for ten more crime fighting camera's. 31 High Activity Location Cams are currently installed in several areas all over Austin. Police Chief Art Acevedo says the camera's have been instrumental in reducing crime.

$ 750 thousand in grant money will be spent over four years and will include the hardware, software and monitoring fees. The first camera's were installed in 2010.

Stalemate about budget between Texas House and Senate may be over

Newsroom — Thu, 23 May 2013 09:48:00 GMT

Two of the three bills needed for the State Budget sailed through the Capitol last night. It appears the stalemate between the House and Senate is finally over.

The Senate took the first step voting to tap a third of the State's savings account the Rainy Day Fund. Senate Finance Chair Tommy Williams sponsored the bill. The House followed suit with the second leg agreeing on a constitutional amendment from the Senate. That's State Representative Donna Howard. The third leg is passing the Formal budget bill verbally agreed on last Friday.

Central Texas cities among the nation's fastest growing

Newsroom — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:30:00 GMT

New estimates show Texas has eight of the nation's 15 fastest-growing cities.

Estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau show San Marcos in Central Texas led the way with a nearly 5 percent population boom between July 2011 and July 2012. That's the highest rate among U.S. cities with at least 50,000 people.

Of the 10 big U.S. cities with the largest gains, half are in Texas: Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Dallas and Fort Worth. Only New York added more people than Houston, which now has a population of nearly 2.2 million after adding more than 34,500 people.

Midland, Conroe, just north of Houston, and the Austin suburbs of Cedar Park and Georgetown also are among the fastest-growing in the country.

Plan authorizing Texas teachers to become 'marshals' advancing at the Capitol

Newsroom — Thu, 23 May 2013 09:58:00 GMT

Schools could train teachers to exchange fire with potential attackers under a plan advancing in the Texas Capitol.

The Senate approved a bill that would authorize one armed marshal for every 400 students. It has already passed the House over the objection of the state teachers association. The measure would require school districts and open-enrollment charter schools to reimburse their marshals for gun training. Teachers who serve as marshals would have to keep their guns locked within "immediate reach." Advocates have described the proposal as a solution for smaller districts that cannot afford a campus police force. It was written by Republican Rep. Jason Villalba of Dallas.

96 foot condo project at South Lamar and Riverside needs council approval

Newsroom — Thu, 23 May 2013 09:50:00 GMT

A high rise condo project slated to be built near Lady Bird Lake will get the attention of the city council today.

They're being asked to approve a project dubbed 211 South Lamar. It's 96 foot high residential tower tall. The project needs a waiver from the council because of rules that limit buildings to be no taller than 60 thousand square feet. The project will be nine stories and include a ground level retail space along with 175 luxury condos at the corner of West Riverside and Lamar. The project is seeing opposition from neighbors over the height. City officials are divided on how much 'affordable housing' money will be owed to the city, some say the developers will owe 1.2 million dollars.

Central Texas storm shelter company seeing a spike in business

Newsroom — Thu, 23 May 2013 09:57:00 GMT

Recent tragedies in North Texas and Oklahoma have led to a spike in business for one Central Texas company.

Paula Cockrum with Jarrell Storm Shelters says they've been installing one or two a week, but now, she says it's gotten outrageous. She says the shelters are manufactured in Oklahoma and the demand has definitely increased.

Cockrum says the company has installations booked through the third week in July. In addition to cities in North and West Texas, she says they do quite a bit of business here in Central Texas. Her family started the business in 1998, following the devastating tornado that hit Jarrell in 1997.