Congressional investigators are questioning a half-dozen lawmakers for possibly misspending government funds meant to pay for overseas travel. The investigation follows a Wall Street Journal article back in March in which Texas Congressman Solomon Ortiz was mentioned as being a possible violator. The travel inquiry is the latest in a string of ethics investigations in the House that could hurt ...read more
In an attempt to ensure that public school districts aren't disguising high school dropouts, the Texas Education Agency is conducting an audit of students who withdrew under the auspice of home schooling. We're talking almost 23 thousand students. TEA officials wouldn't reveal details of the audit - other than to say that the state is contacting a random sampling of families to validate that they ...read more
As you read this, you may have just finished sitting in line to drop off the kids at school. But you probably weren't in as long a line as some parents in Austin's Colony. They've been waiting up to an hour most days: Alex Stedman was one of the 100 or so parents that were at the school last night to press local and state officials to improve the traffic flow at FM 969 and Hunter’s Bend. The ...read more
City leaders and state lawmakers are working on a plan to improve State Highway 71 at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport so it can handle more traffic. The idea is to turn a stretch of SH 71 at FM 972 into a “super street.” The changes will re-route left turn lanes so that they don't slow down traffic. They'll also improve traffic lights. The design would eliminate left turn traffic coming ...read more
It won't be long before construction starts on Austin's Formula ONe race track. Above ground, 140,000 race fans are expected to watch Formula One cars zoom around a 3.4 mile track at 200 miles per hour. Underground, two pipelines, including one that's been controversial for some time: Tavo Hellmund, the F1 organizer, talks with KXAN about the pipelines, which include the Longhorn Pipeline, the ...read more
Good news for taxpayers in Williamson County now that Commissioners have voted not raise the property tax rate. Even better news is the fact that more than half of the county's homeowners will pay lower taxes because of the decline in property values. ...read more
Williamson County Attorney Jana Duty, talking about efforts by county officials to put more monitoring in the pipeline between employees and the Internet. The Williamson County Employees Association is pressing for information on how the decision was made, and Duty believes she will be the first of several department heads to try to opt-out of the system. ...read more
As you heard live here on 98-9 the Big talker last night, combat operations in Iraq are over. But what does it mean for Fort Hood? Lieutenant General Bob Cone of Fort Hood, who is serving in Iraq, spoke with members of the media from Baghdad yesterday, saying the new role is training-related: All U.S. soldiers are supposed to be out of Iraq by December 2011. ...read more
September is a busy month for the I-35 segment committees. You're invited to attend planning workshops and give your input on proposed I-35 improvement projects. In Round Rock the forum is slated for September 20th. It's the 21st in New Braunfels, September 22nd in Austin and on the 23rd in Manor. ...read more
In the celebrity sighting category, Jesse James and tattoo artist Kat Von D apparently spent a romantic weekend together in Austin. The Miami Ink reality star flew into Austin Friday night and the pair was seen openly "holding hands while walking down the main street sidewalk of Fredricksburg. ...read more
Note to church workers in Temple, a burglary suspect may have taken checks, financial documents, and other important paperwork from your church. Local police say if your house of worship was burglarized, then take time to make an accounting. 36 year old John Daniel Penn of Temple has been arrested. The arrest is part of a month-long investigation into over 20 church burglaries in the Temple area. ...read more
Austin Police are looking for the man who robbed a Chase Bank in Northwest Austin last night. Only one other customer was in the Chase branch at U-S 183 and McNeil when the robbery happened about 5:30pm. Police say the man is white, about 5'8" and 150 pounds. He has dark hair with red streaks and was wearing a blue sweater and jeans. No one was hurt. ...read more
Slower for the next few days, but faster after that, TxDOT officials say about a project now underway on MoPac. They are adding a third lane between 5th Street and Enfield, which is an area known to bottleneck. They're restriping the road -- all they can do right now, says the agency's John Hurt: Space for the lane will be made by reducing the number of lanes flowing on and off MoPac. ...read more
Texas will apply for about $830 million in education aid from Washington even though officials are expecting a legal fight over the money. Gov. Rick Perry has said that to comply with a provision in the bill that put stiffer requirements on Texas would be a violation of the state constitution. But Perry Chief of Staff Ray Sullivan told the American-Statesman that they'll look for ways around the ...read more
The effort to increase the amount of time passenger trains can be on central Austin railroads by moving freight traffic to other corridors is continuing. The American-Statesman reports there's now $8.7-million going to study environmental impacts and other preliminary design services for moving Union Pacific's freight off tracks in central Austin, thus opening the area up for more passenger rail. ...read more