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Austin's Project Connect clears state opposition... for now

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:58 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A bill that aimed to derail Project Connect, Austin's massive transportation plan, was killed in the regular session. But lobbyists and attorneys behind the “No Blank Checks” bill believe legal challenges are still likely in the future. "I feel confident that we're going to celebrate that Austin gets the light rail that its people want," Mayor Kirk Watson said Tuesday. But Watson also said legal challenges were likely to be part of the project's future. HB 3899 aimed “to ensure local government corporations in Texas follow the same rules as cities and counties when issuing debt backed by property taxes," a release said. Under the bill, any local government corporation created through a tax rate increase election would be required to abide by the same rules cities and counties do when issuing debt. In the case of the Austin Transit Partnership — the organization created to oversee Project Connect — HB 3899 would apply to any debt they issue in the future for the...

Isolated evening showers, then a drier stretch of weather

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:58 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Following a few isolated evening showers on Tuesday, temperatures rise to the warmest levels in a week with dry weather expected on Wednesday and Thursday.A ridge of high pressure coming in from the west leads to the pleasant, hot weather midweek. BLOG: Summer forecast released: When do 100º days begin We are tracking the next storm system moving our way Friday into the coming weekend, bringing the return of scattered afternoon and evening thunderstorms. Some storms may contain heavy rain for those who see them this weekend, with 0.75" to 1" of rain possible. INVESTIGATION: LCRA didn't plan for climate change until KXAN investigation FIRST WARNING WEATHER: Stay up to date with your Central Texas forecast, sign up for our weather newsletter at kxan.com/newsletters Stay up-to-date with the First Warning Weather teamFollow the KXAN First Warning Weather team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.You can also follow our meteorologists' individual accounts for livestrea...

What should I do if I'm caught in a bee swarm attack?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:58 GMT

Editor's Note: The video above is KXAN's coverage from May 29 of the bee swarm.AUSTIN (KXAN) -- On Memorial Day, Austin-Travis County EMS responded to reports of a bee swarm attack near a Travis County park which left seven people injured. It happened during peak swarming season in Texas, which typically runs from late March through June. Swarming season occurs when honeybees' hives are overcrowded, leading to the need for a new colony, according to PCI Pest Control. RELATED: 7 people treated after ‘bee swarm attack’ near south Austin park But what do you do if you're caught in a swarm attack? Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service stressed the importance of trying to outrun the swarm.That same sentiment was echoed by Juliana Rangel, an associate professor of apiculture at Texas A&M University. Bee colonies can live and build hives in cavities in places like a tree or a building, or they can set up a clustered colony as a swarm.Typically, she said swarms are more gentle beca...

Rep. Angie Craig to undergo surgery Thursday for broken ankle; will miss debt ceiling votes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:58 GMT

Democratic U.S. Rep. Angie Craig is scheduled to undergo surgery Thursday to repair a broken ankle she suffered while doing yard work at her Minnesota home earlier this week, her office said in a news release.Craig tripped and fell Monday evening and was diagnosed at a local hospital with a bimalleolar fracture and a dislocated ankle, according to the news release.“Rep. Craig and Cheryl are grateful to the Prior Lake Police and Fire Departments who responded to the incident, and Rep. Craig looks forward to getting back to work for the people of the Second District as soon as possible,” the news release said.The injury means Craig, who was advised not to fly by her doctor, will miss upcoming votes on an agreement to raise the federal debt ceiling reached by a bipartisan group of negotiators after several weeks of discussions.Related ArticlesPolitics | Report of ‘poop rain’ in Burnsville prompts U.S. Rep. Angie Craig to request investigation

David French: The right is wrong about masculinity

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:58 GMT

There is a certain irony in discussions of masculinity. The group that is most convinced of a crisis of masculinity, the American right, is also busy emasculating itself before our eyes. It correctly perceives that young men are facing an identity crisis, yet it is modeling precisely the wrong response.The release of Missouri senator Josh Hawley’s new book on manhood is the latest peg for a national conversation about men, but the necessity of such a conversation has been apparent for some time. If there’s anything that’s well established in American social science, it’s that men are falling behind women in higher education, suffer disproportionately from drug overdoses and are far more likely to commit suicide.Indeed, the very definition of “masculinity” is up for grabs. In 2019, the American Psychological Association published guidelines that took direct aim at what it called “traditional masculinity — marked by stoicism, competitiveness, dominance and aggression” — declaring it t...

Justin Fox: Flight of affluent taxpayers catches up with New York

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:58 GMT

New York has been losing people to other states for a while. But something new happened during the pandemic: The people who left had higher incomes than those who stayed behind — much higher.The 2020-21 numbers here were released in late April by the Internal Revenue Service. They sort taxpayers by whether and where they moved between filing their taxes in 2020 and filing them in 2021; the adjusted gross incomes are for the 2020 tax year. It has been two years since May 17, 2021 — that year’s belated income tax filing deadline — and a lot has changed. But New York has continued to lose population, and if the trend depicted above were to continue, even in less extreme form, it would be disastrous for the finances of a state that relies on income taxes paid by those making $200,000 or more a year for almost half its revenue. (That is, before the pandemic in 2019, personal income taxes accounted for 65% of state revenue, and those making $200,000 or more paid 71...

Kaiser Permanente donates up to $10 million to stabilize Denver Health, says hospital “needs our help now”

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:58 GMT

Denver Health will receive up to $10 million from Kaiser Permanente to help financially stabilize the city’s safety-net hospital, and a campaign is on to get other Colorado health systems to match some of that donation.The initial grant, announced Tuesday, includes $5 million that Denver Health can use any way it deems necessary. The other $5 million from the managed care network is available as matching funds, if the hospital can raise that much from other donors.Denver Health lost $32 million in 2022, though it’s expected to break even this year, CEO Donna Lynne said. A hospital needs about a 4% profit margin to cover expenses like improving its buildings, she said.There’s no deadline to raise the money, though Lynne said she hopes the hospital can claim Kaiser’s match this year.Mike Ramseier, president of Kaiser Permanente in Colorado, said other health systems also would do well to help shore up Denver Health, which sees a disproportionate share of uninsured pa...

Jury finds Castle Rock man guilty in $1.5 million theft from charities

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:58 GMT

A Denver jury on Friday found a Castle Rock man guilty of stealing more than $1 million from two charities that he worked for as treasurer, court records show.Bill Schwartz, 45, was convicted of two counts of felony theft after a week-long jury trial in Denver District Court. A single count of money laundering was dismissed by the judge, court records show.Schwartz faces between eight and 24 years in prison on the most serious felony conviction and between four and 12 years in prison on the lesser theft charge. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 18.Schwartz stole money from the Order of Quetzalcoatl, a nonprofit organization that exists to raise money for Shriners Hospitals for Children, a system of nonprofit hospitals associated with The Shrine, a fraternity made up of masons, according to a lawsuit the Order filed against Schwartz. The indictment didn’t identify the second charity.Schwartz used $90,000 of the Order’s money to pay his personal credit card bills, among oth...

Move Disney World to Colorado if Nuggets beat the Heat, Polis proposes to DeSantis

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:58 GMT

On the verge of the NBA finals, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has proposed a “friendly wager” with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, with a happy Disney ending should the Denver Nuggets beat the Miami Heat.The championship matchup starts on Thursday and Polis suggests that the Walt Disney World Resort pull up stakes from the Sunshine State and land in colorful Colorado should the Nuggets beat the Heat.In the wager, posted at 1:50 p.m. Tuesday on Twitter, Polis refers to Colorado as “the ACTUAL happiest place on earth to do business, have fun, and be free!”Related ArticlesColorado News | Kiz vs. Singer: What’s biggest challenge Miami Heat present Nuggets in NBA Finals? Colorado News | Nuggets 2023 championship odds: What sportsbooks think Denver’s chances are against Miami Heat in NBA Finals Colorado News | Where to eat and drink near Ball Arena for a Denver Nuggets game Colorado News | Denver Nuggets...

Feastbox barbecue chain takes over former Burger King in Five Points

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:58 GMT

An urgent care owner’s back-up plan will soon host a barbecue restaurant.Darius Kerman, owner of the local AFC Urgent Care chain, has leased the shuttered Burger King property he bought in Five Points last year to a Utah-based barbecue chain.Feastbox offers various styles of barbecue, including Texas, Hawaiian and Korean, as well as topping-laden hot dogs, sandwiches and loaded fries.Kerman paid $1.8 million for the former fast food building at 3200 N. Downing St. last summer. He said it was meant to be a “plan B” option when his plans to open an AFC location across the street, at 3177 Downing St., hit a roadblock.But AFC will be able to open at Kerman’s original desired location. He said he decided the 2,037-square-foot restaurant building would be a great coffee shop, but when deals with two coffee chains took too long, he opened his search up to restaurants and Feastbox jumped on the deal. “I can’t wait for that intersection to get lively,” Kerman said. “That will have a great im...