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Williamson County Deputies Association says it's understaffed by 400 officers

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:48:06 GMT

GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) — The Williamson County Deputies Association accused county commissioners of inaction that's led to understaffing in the Williamson County Sheriff's Office. The WCDA also said the WCSO does not have adequate manpower to keep up with the rapidly growing population.Deputy Charles Duvall, president of the WCDA, addressed a small crowd on the steps of the historic county courthouse, flanked by Sheriff Mike Gleason, WCSO detectives and other WCDA affiliates.Duvall said national data from the FBI found county agencies reported an average of 2.8 officers per 1,000 inhabitants. He said Williamson County right now has .78 deputies per 1,000 residents, highlighting a large disparity between WCSO's ranks and the national average."We need an additional 445 new deputies to meet the national average number of deputies. To be clear, there is only one opening on patrol and that opening is about to be filled," Duvall said.Duvall said the WCDA is now considering asking for G...

Austin officials, Nixta Taqueria working on 'path forward' amid permitting issues

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:48:06 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- City of Austin officials said they are working on a "path forward" for Nixta Taqueria amid permitting issues identified at the restaurant, according to a city memo released Monday.KXAN reached out to Nixta Taqueria and business owners said they hoped to be able to give more clarity on the process once they know more.City leaders said in the memo there are "life safety and permitting challenges" at the restaurant, located at 2512 E. 12th St. On Aug. 16, an Austin Energy high heat alarm was triggered due to an electric meter overheating at the restaurant, per the memo. The building is divvied up into two suites, using two meters."The AE technician found burned wires on the business owners' side of the meter and determined that the business was using too much amperage," the memo read in part. "This presents a severe risk of fire or explosion and a threat to public safety. Therefore, AE disabled one of the meters and left a Notice of Electrical Hazard with the business ...

How many citations has Austin Water issued since Stage 2 restrictions began?

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:48:06 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Since Austin Water upped its watering restrictions two weeks ago, the city's water utility has issued nine water violation citations. The nine citations were given to five commercial customers and four residential customers, Austin Water said Tuesday. PREVIOUS: Austin moving to Stage 2 drought restrictions Austin Water said it has received 1,076 watering violation reports via 311 since the Stage 2 restrictions went into effect Aug. 15. The water utility has also mailed 621 "Report of Violation" postcards to customers and issued 443 warnings. LIST: What are the current water restrictions in your city? Austin Water said enforcement staff members have spent 105 hours patrolling. What are the penalties for violating watering rules? According to Austin Water, violations can be issued for watering on the wrong day, watering at the wrong time, causing runoff greater than 50 feet and for misaligned and broken heads. INVESTIGATION: Austin pipes leaked enough drinking...

Man charged in 2022 Austin murder deemed incompetent to stand trial

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:48:06 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A man arrested last year on a murder charge after being accused of killing his grandmother has been found incompetent to stand trial.Kenneth Charles Owens Jr. was arrested and charged after his grandmother's death at a southeast Austin home. Following his incompetency ruling, Owens has been ordered to be committed to a mental health or residential care facility for observation for up to 120 days. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Man charged, accused of killing grandmother at southeast Austin home The homicide took place on July 22, 2022 in the 4800 block of Turnstone Drive. Austin Police said Yong Dennerly, 78, was pronounced dead at the scene just before 11 p.m. that evening.

Want to buy a commercial building? Taproot seeks community investors for home of Can Can Wonderland, Hour Car

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:48:06 GMT

On St. Paul’s Prior Avenue, the Prior Works building spans more than 481,000 square feet of commercial space, and it’s drawn some 46 tenants as diverse as the Can Can Wonderland mini-golf, a video arcade and bar, the car-sharing nonprofit HourCar, the high school mentoring program College Possible, Theater Mu and BlackStack Brewing.What is the former American Can manufacturing building missing? A new owner. And that could include you, at least in part.The “You Gotta Have Heart” mini-golf hole is a nod to the history of the Can Can Wonderland building and its days of tin can production. Designed by Eric Fetrow, fabricated by Matt Carlyle, with the Tin Man fabricated by Dale Lewis. (Photo courtesy of Jennifer Pennington)With Orton, a Santa Barbara, Calif.-based development firm, looking to sell the 1960s-era Prior Works building after a decade of ownership, the Creative Enterprise Zone, a community-based nonprofit in the St. Anthony Park neighborhood, hopes to ...

Paul Krugman: The paranoid style in American plutocrats

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:48:06 GMT

Recently Dr. Peter Hotez, a leading vaccine scientist and a frequent target of anti-vaxxer harassment, expressed some puzzlement in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. He noted that many of those taunting him were also “big time into bitcoin or cryptocurrency” and declared that “I can’t quite connect the dots on that one.”OK, I can help with that. Also, welcome to my world.If you regularly follow debates about public policy, especially those involving wealthy tech bros, it’s obvious that there’s a strong correlation among the three Cs: climate denial, COVID-19 vaccine denial and cryptocurrency cultism.I’ve written about some of these things before, in the context of Silicon Valley’s enthusiasm for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. But in the light of Hotez’s puzzlement — and also the rise of Vivek Ramaswamy, another crank, who won’t get the GOP nomination but could conceivably become Donald Trump’s running mate — I want to say more about what these various forms of crankdom have in common a...

Jamelle Bouie: The forgotten radicalism of the March on Washington

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:48:06 GMT

As remembered and commemorated by most Americans, the 1963 March on Washington — its 60th anniversary fell on Monday — represents the essence of the Civil Rights Movement, defined in our national mythology as a colorblind demand for neutrality and fairness in the face of discrimination, embodied in Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream that his “four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”Less well remembered, in our collective memory at least, is the fact that both the march and King’s speech were organized around much more than opposition to anti-Black discrimination. It was officially known as the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, with a far more expansive vision for society than formal equality under the law. The march wasn’t a demand for a more inclusive arrangement under the umbrella of postwar American liberalism, as it might seem today. It was a demand for something more —...

Defense casts doubt in St. Paul triple murder trial as witnesses testify masked shooter had dreadlocks

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:48:06 GMT

Written closing arguments are due this week in the court trial of a man who stands accused of shooting to death three people and wounding two others in a duplex on St. Paul’s East Side nearly one year ago.Antonio Wright’s trial began Aug. 22 before Ramsey County District Judge Kelly Olmstead, who will decide the case on the issues of guilt and whether facts would support an aggravated sentence. Wright, 42, of Minneapolis, waived his right to a jury trial.Antonio Dupree Wright (Courtesy of the Minnesota Department of Corrections)Prosecutors say Wright was the masked intruder who repeatedly fired a Glock handgun at the victims during a violent rampage Sept. 4 at 951 Case Ave. in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood. Killed were Angelica Gonzales, 33, Cory Freeman, 42, and Maisha Spaulding, 44.The state and defense rested their cases on Monday, when Wright also waived his right to testify. Wright’s decision came after Olmstead ruled that his testimony could include questioning by the pr...

Twins’ Byron Buxton will play center field for the Saints on Wednesday

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:48:06 GMT

Byron Buxton, a Platinum Glove outfielder who hasn’t played defense in more than a year, is scheduled to play center field for the St. Paul Saints on Wednesday, the start of a rehab assignment as he returns from a right hamstring injury.On Tuesday afternoon, Buxton, Alex Kirilloff and Nick Gordon took live batting practice against right-hander Jorge Alcala, who hasn’t pitched since May 14 — a clean mop-up inning in a 16-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs — because of a forearm extensor muscle strain.“I’m just happy to face batters again and I felt really good,” Alcala said through an interpreter.Next for Alcala is another live BP session later this week in St. Paul.Kirilloff is penciled in to be the Saints’ designated hitter in a 7:07 p.m. start against Columbus at CHS Field on Wednesday. Baldelli said he likely will play first base on Thursday before having a day off.The plan for Buxton, on the IL since Aug. 4, is to have him play in center on Wednesday and take Thursday off.“It’s goi...

Loons likely to be without Bongi Hlongwane for ‘important’ game against last-place Colorado

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:48:06 GMT

Minnesota United will likely remain without leading scorer Bongi Hlongwane for Wednesday’s match against the Colorado Rapids at Allianz Field.Hlongwane, who has 15 goals in all competitions in 2023, did not train with the Loons in Blaine on Tuesday and is expected to miss his second consecutive game. After hurting his knee during the 2-0 win over New York City on Aug. 20, Hlongwane sat out the 1-1 draw with Seattle on Sunday.“Will we rush him back?” manager Adrian Heath said. “Probably not.”Heath was initially hopeful Hlongwane, who does not have structural damage in his knee, could return to play against Seattle or Colorado. The new goal might be for the South African to return for a game at San Jose late Saturday night or New England at home on Sept. 9.But it looks like Emanuel Reynoso (ankle) will remain in the starting XI on Wednesday after swelling in the joint set in before the NYCFC match. The Argentine played against New York and the Sounders, but tweaked his ankle in the fi...