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As Texas’ dead suspect loophole closes, bill author predicts future fight

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:54:54 GMT

Editor's Note: The above video shows KXAN's top headlines for Sept. 1. Watch Josh Hinkle's investigation tonight at 10 on KXAN.AUSTIN (KXAN) – Texas police no longer have discretion to withhold records when someone dies in their custody. A new law took effect Friday, closing the state’s dead suspect loophole – an “unintended consequence” of an exception to the Public Information Act initially meant to protect the privacy of suspects who never go through the court process.Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, filed legislation each session since 2017 to end the loophole, which KXAN investigators revealed has been used widely by police across the state for years to keep certain details about deaths – including audio and video – secret. In the most recent regular session, the measure received renewed, bipartisan support following the deadly mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde. EXPLORE 'DENIED' SERIES: KXAN investigates the impact of the 'dead suspect loophole' While it faced a late-...

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

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:54:54 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 August 2023. Look through the 10 pictures below, then vote for your favorite. The winning photo will move on to represent August in the Best Viewer Photos of the Year competition once 2023 is said and done.If you’d like to submit a photo for September'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 must be taken in September 2023.Here are the options for August, in no particular order.Lunar ReflectionAustin, Aug. 3.The moon and the Austin skyline reflect in Lady Bird Lake on Aug. 3, 2023, as seen from Lou Neff Point. (KXAN Viewer Photo)End of the DayBrady, Aug. 2. Courtesy Mark Foster.Sunset in...

Police identify driver killed in North Lamar crash

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:54:54 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Austin Police on Thursday identified the driver who died after a crash on August 20 in Central Austin. Police said Frederick Terrell Waits, 67, died after a single-vehicle crash on North Lamar Boulevard between Justin Lane and Airport Boulevard. Police responded to the crash at 5:33 p.m. on Aug. 20 and said Waits was taken to the hospital where he died on Aug. 26, according to Austin Police. APD said the crash is being investigated as Austin's 61st fatal crash of 2023, resulting in 64 fatalities for the year.Anyone with information should contact APD's Vehicular Homicide unit at 512-974-8111 or submit an anonymous tip via the Capital Area Crime Stoppers Program.

Crews responding to I-70 WB car fire, lanes closed

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:54:54 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Crews are responding to a crash that left a car in flames on Interstate 70 Friday morning. The crash took place on I-70 westbound, near Airflight. White smoke can be seen at the location as crews are still putting out the flames. Jennings mayor warns councilman to resign or quit day job All lanes are blocked except the far right lane. Drivers are urged to take an alternate route. No injuries have been reported. FOX 2 will update this story with more information as it becomes available.

Man hospitalized after being struck by car in St. Louis City

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:54:54 GMT

ST. LOUIS - A person was struck on North Grand Boulevard, just north of Natural Bridge. Police: DWI, hit-and-run suspect caught by his own Tesla cameras They were taken to a nearby hospital. The vehicle was towed.

Truck crashes into light pole in St. Louis City, driver injured

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:54:54 GMT

ST. LOUIS - A truck crashed into a light pole on north Broadway and Campbell Avenue.The driver had to be rescued from the crushed vehicle. We are working to learn more about their condition. Jennings mayor warns councilman to resign or quit day job FOX 2 will update this story with more information as it becomes available.

Adams County’s first shelter for displaced, homeless youth to open in Thornton

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:54:54 GMT

THORNTON — Colorado’s sixth-largest city will soon provide troubled youth a much-needed respite from the trials of the streets with a new 10-bed shelter for homeless and displaced teens — Adams County’s first.“When a child is on the streets, they are more likely to commit a crime or become a victim,” Brian Mason, district attorney for the 17th Judicial District, said Thursday. “It’s devastating to me to see a young person that if we had helped them in their time of need would never have gotten involved with the criminal justice system.”Mason spoke to reporters in the building on Lipan Street in Thornton that used to be home to Arapahoe House, a drug and alcohol abuse facility that closed six years ago. It was purchased by Community Reach Center, a behavioral health services organization, in 2018 for $3.6 million.Community Reach Center will manage the shelter, which is expected to open in the next few months and serve youth ages 1...

Denver issues first $999 fine to an apartment landlord without residential rental license

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:54:54 GMT

Denver hit an apartment landlord with its first $999 fine for operating an unlicensed residential rental property on Thursday.The multi-unit apartment complex at 3401 N Williams St. in the Cole neighborhood could face further repercussions: additional fines of $999 daily if it continues operating without a license. Denver Department of Excise and Licenses spokesperson Eric Escudero declined to comment on whether the city will opt to go that route.“We’re sad to see that we had to issue a fine like this,” Escudero said.Jonathan Schwartz, the San Francisco resident who received the fine, couldn’t be reached for comment.On the apartment’s listing online, the building is tied to Acute Property Management. This business is affiliated with Shell Company LLC, which operated under the name Acute Living and had its real estate company license suspended in 2019 by the Colorado Real Estate Commission. The reasons include failure to account for security and other de...

Federal bill proposes investing $50M a year in outdoor recreation

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:54:54 GMT

In western Colorado, where much of the prosperity has come from below the surface in the forms of mining and oil and gas, businesswoman Sarah Shrader sees the land as an increasingly vital part of the area’s economic strength.Outdoor recreation on the region’s vast public lands has been key to diversifying rural communities’ economies, said Shrader, owner and co-founder of Bonsai Design in Grand Junction. The business designs and develops aerial adventure parks in Colorado and across the country.“We’ve had a history in this community, like other communities in the West and the South, of dependence on extraction,” Shrader said. “As we transition away from that dependency, what has brought people to communities like ours are the incredible natural assets that we have.”Mesa County, where Grand Junction is located, is roughly 75% public lands where people hunt, fish, ski, climb, go four-wheeling and raft the rivers, Shrader said. Outdoor recreat...

3,000 Kaiser Permanente employees in Colorado voting to authorize strike if no contract deal in September

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:54:54 GMT

Roughly 3,000 technicians and support workers at Kaiser Permanente Colorado are voting this week to authorize a possible strike if their union fails to reach a deal with management by the end of the month.The members of Service Employees International Union Local 105 are voting through Friday afternoon to decide whether to authorize their bargaining committee to call a strike for up to two weeks. The existing contract expires Sept. 30.The union represents nearly half of Kaiser Permanente’s 6,800 employees in Colorado, and includes front office workers, licensed practical nurses and people who work in billing and customer service at the health care provider’s Colorado facilities, as well as technicians in the laboratory, pharmacy and other areas.A vote to authorize a strike doesn’t guarantee that one will happen. The union’s bargaining committee and the health system could reach a deal before the contract expires, and even if they don’t, the bargaining c...