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Austinites voted for more affordable housing. Where did your money go?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:03:00 GMT

Investigative Summary: Over the past five years, voters have given the green the light to the City of Austin to use $600 million for affordable housing. The money you approved in 2018 is largely out the door, so what did the city do with it? And how will they use the money you voted for last year? KXAN investigates as experts say while that money will help, it is billions short of getting the city to its affordable housing goals. Watch Part 1 tonight on KXAN and Part 2 tomorrow AUSTIN (KXAN) — Neither Rebecca nor Edward Henderson II were thrilled to serve as "wingman" during their friends' first date, but as the matching last names indicate, the date quickly turned into a double. The rest was history. The Henderson girls inside their unit at the Lauren Creek Apartments. Their family is one that qualified for affordable housing at the Foundation Communities location on North Lamar (KXAN photo/Grace Reader) The pair now has three daughters, who love going to the park, w...

Will traditional barbecue go extinct because of 'woolly mammoth' meatballs?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:03:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) - The future of meat has arrived and it is coming from the distant past. This March, a meatball made from "woolly mammoth" meat was placed on display in the Netherlands. The meatball, created by Australian-based Vow Food, was created to start a conversation about the future of meat."We made the woolly mammoth meatball, not as a food, but really as a way to start a conversation," said CEO and Co-Founder of Vow Food, George Peppou.This "cultured" or lab-grown meat is part of a larger trend in the meat industry towards sustainable meat products that don't contribute to climate change. According to the United Nations, 14.5% of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions are created by livestock farming. "It's about reducing the growth of animal industries, as opposed to trying to displace everything that already exists," Peppou said. Mushroom invasion in Central Texas, ‘definitely not just a food fad’ "I think fixing the system that we have currently in place is probably a bet...

Williamson County cooperation agreement follows South Korea trip

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:03:00 GMT

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) – Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell will sign a mutual cooperation agreement between Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency or KOTRA and Williamson County at the Grand Opening of the KOTRA Global Partnering Center in Austin on Thursday, the county announced Tuesday. The county said the agreement was approved by the Williamson County Commissioners Court on Tuesday. According to the announcement, Williamson County is the first county in the United States to approve such an agreement. The signing will follow a visit a delegation from Williamson County made to South Korea last week. According to the county, the delegation toured Samsung’s fabrication plant in Pyeongtaek City. The county announcement said that plant is largest microchip manufacturing plant in the world, and the Samsung plant currently under construction in Taylor is the largest economic development project in the United States with foreign investment.Williamson County Judge Bill G...

Georgetown water customers following new conservation rules as of April 26

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:03:00 GMT

GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) – The City of Georgetown said Wednesday a new ordinance went into effect for Georgetown water customers.While the city will allow hand-watering any day of the week, the city says residential customers using automatic irrigation systems, soaker hoses, drip and hose-end sprinklers must use the following timetable: Automatic Irrigation Systems, Soaker Hoses, Drip and Hose-End Sprinklers Last digit of property street address Allowed watering day(s) Allowed watering hours   1 Tuesday Midnight-7 a.m.,  7 p.m.-Midnight 2 or 6 Wednesday Midnight-7 a.m.,  7 p.m.-Midnight 0 Thursday Midnight-7 a.m.,  7 p.m.-Midnight 5 or 9 Friday Midnight-7 a.m.,  7 p.m.-Midnight 4 or 8 Saturday Midnight-7 a.m.,  7 p.m.-Midnight 3 or 7 Sunday Midnight-7 a.m.,  7 p.m.-Midnight    Monday None New DCP 2 Watering Schedule (Courtesy: The City of Georgetown) DCP= Drought Contingency PhaseAcc...

Juvenile arrested in Malta stabbing

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:03:00 GMT

MALTA, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Following an investigation, a 16-year-old was arrested and charged in a stabbing that happened Sunday in Malta. The Saratoga County Sheriff's Office said the victim was a 17-year-old treated at Albany Medical Center. Deputies say the victim is expected to survive. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Preliminary investigation determined that the suspect stabbed the victim in the neck and fled the scene. Deputies say a further investigation found the juvenile intentionally caused serious physical injury using a deadly weapon. Deputies say the victim and suspect knew each other.Charges:First-degree assaultSecond-degree assault ACSO: Albany man attempted to steal homeowner’s car Deputies say the unnamed juvenile was arraigned in the Saratoga County Youth Court and released to the supervision of the Department of Probation.

Opinion: Faux outrage over Lauren Boebert’s school visit deserves derision

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:03:00 GMT

Anyone who reads my columns knows I’m no fan of Congresswoman Lauren Boebert. Thanks to her penchant for inanity this writer never wants for grist.This time, however, she was not in the wrong and her detractors’ faux outrage merits derision. Their righteous gasping over a routine school visit is so wildly overwrought that either the town pharmacy is out of Xanax or their pretensions mask rank opportunism.Such self-righteous, self-seeking hyperventilation fuels ugly partisan division, like we need more of that, and will ultimately lead to fewer opportunities for students to interact with lawmakers. Also, if they wanted to generate sympathy for the congresswoman amongst the generally unsympathetic, they nailed it.A year ago, a high school civics class in Dolores, a town so far in the middle of nowhere this Colorado native had to look it up, said they wanted to meet their representative to Congress. Boebert’s office was not able to schedule the school visit until March of this year. Th...

Popular cottage bakery and plant shop opening in Wheat Ridge in May

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:03:00 GMT

Lindsey Judd is happy to have her home back. Not long after she and husband Matt Dulin bought their first Denver residence in 2020, Dulin gutted it and turned it into GetRight’s, an at-home bakery operation — known as a cottage bakery — and a plant shop.Now, three years later, the pair are opening their first brick-and-mortar space, located at 6985 W. 38th Ave. in Wheat Ridge, on Friday, May 19. And they can finally call their house a home.“I’m ready to check this one off our list,” Dulin said.GetRight’s wants to offer more breakfast items, like bagels, in the new shop. (Provided by GetRight’s)For Dulin, an Arizona native who grew up in Thornton, the pandemic came at a perfect time. He’d been working in the restaurant industry for 19 years, with his last stint at Uncle Ramen in Washington Park. But the high-pace environment was slowly crippling his passion for the business.“You get to a certain point where you’re just managing, and you’re kind of ...

Portable campfire startup walks away from “Shark Tank” deal

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:03:00 GMT

Three weeks ago, millions of television viewers watched Denver’s Joshua Thurmond reach a deal with investor Lori Greiner on the hit show “Shark Tank.”On Monday, however, the founder of the portable campfire company LavaBox told BusinessDen he’d decided that day — nearly a year after the episode was filmed — not to sign the deal.“I did want it to work out, but it’s difficult to give up 12.5 percent of your company that you built … we’re not in dire straits on cash so it was really about her leadership and mentorship,” said Thurmond, 47.LavaBox was born three years ago when, joking with friends on a rafting trip during peak forest fire season, Thurmond got the idea to create a portable, safe campfire. He went home, and within a week created seven versions using a military-style ammo box. He made a website, launched LavaBox and sold 40 within two weeks. “It was kind of crazy proofing, like this is gonna work, this thing has legs,” Thurmond said. The company now offers three...

Two Boulder homes list above $6 million

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:03:00 GMT

When Spyder Active Sports founder David Jacobs decided to sell his 8,700-square-foot Boulder mansion in 2015, he listed it for $7.25 million. Five months later, he pulled it off the market.He tried again in 2016 for $7.15 but removed the listing three months later.Jacobs and his wife, Jean Conway, listed the four-bedroom, six-bath home on Lee Hill Drive again in February with a $15 million price tag.If the Lee Hill Drive home sells for $15 million, it will shatter a record set in January when the $13 million sale of a Boulder estate became the county’s most expensive.Hoeffler plans to market the mansion in publications like Financial Times and The Wall Street Journal.Jacobs, who built the home after selling Spyder to a New York-based private equity firm for $100 million, said he had two requirements for architect John Mink.He wanted a primary suite on the main floor and to look at his race cars while eating dinner.“I wanted to be able to turn on the lights and see the cars in the sh...

New Denver weed lounge aims to reinvent nightlife with tableside bong service

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:03:00 GMT

When Denverite Arend Richard looks at the local and national landscape for cannabis lounges, he sees a homogenous smattering of spaces designed for men. That’s why when Richard opens his own hospitality establishment this fall, the aesthetic and amenities will be specifically curated to attract women and gay individuals, as well as the canna-curious looking for a comfortable environment where they can try some of Colorado’s locally grown herb.Cirrus Social Club, opening at 3200 E. Colfax Ave., combines Richard’s experiences teaching people to smoke weed on YouTube under the moniker The Gay Stoner and working in high-end restaurants. And the way he describes it, the 420-friendly lounge is posed to be unlike anything else in Denver with lavish decor, custom furniture and florals, and a pink Steinway & Sons player piano to help set the ambiance.Arend Richard is founder of Cirrus Social Club, a lavish new weed smoking lounge coming to Denver in fall 2023. (Provided by Coryn Ne...