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US congressman urges FAA to address safety issues at Austin airport

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:57:57 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) --- It's been busy at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport lately.On Sunday, officials said in a social media post that more than 35,000 people are expected to depart from AUS on Monday. It could mark a top-five, record-breaking day at the airport. RELATED COVERAGE: Austin airport braces for record-breaking travel post-ACL Along with those travel numbers increasing, concerns for safety are on the rise as well. Letter to the FAA On Monday, U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, urged Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) acting Administrator Polly Trottenberg to address low air traffic controller staffing levels at AUS.In the press release, Doggett specifically called on the FAA to: Increase both the number and training of air traffic controllersAdvance the ranking of AUS to a level 10 terminal facilityExpand airspace levels surrounding AUS'Near misses' In the letter, Rep. Doggett referenced a number of incidents between aircraft at AUS.He listed the follo...

How many scooter crashes did ATCEMS respond to last fiscal year?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:57:57 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Throughout fiscal year 2022-23, Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services assisted 169 patients involved in electric scooter and micro-mobility crashes. While only representing a minute threshold of ATCEMS' total FY23 patients, officials are cautioning better safety practices from those riding scooters around town.Between July 1 and Sept. 30, ATCEMS responded to 48 cases related to micro-mobility cases — marking just 0.16% of the 29,423 patients seen by ATCEMS during that same time period. On Monday, ATCEMS Division Chief Kevin Parker told the City of Austin's public safety committee head and face injuries were the most prevalent ones treated, and most of them were consistent with people not wearing protective gear. RELATED: Austin trauma surgeon says 95% of traumatic scooter injuries involve alcohol "We're very supportive of wearing helmets, wearing any type of protective equipment," Parker told the committee. Among the 169 patients seen in FY23, 132 of them...

Big dreams of a community hub, but the future of the St. Paul Sears site is up in the air after back-to-back sales

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:57:57 GMT

A sports and digital arts-focused charter school that would come complete with an adjoining community sports complex. A wellness center. A “3D theme park” geared toward entrepreneurs. A hotel and parking ramp. And an international designation as the cornerstone of a “World Cultural Heritage” corridor.All of that could, in theory, take root on St. Paul’s Rice Street, alongside food courts, a mix of housing and other new additions to the shuttered Sears department store near the Minnesota State Capitol building.The future preservation and redevelopment of the Sears building remains uncertain following back-to-back property sales this spring, but new owners are advertising ambitious and wide-ranging plans hand-in-hand with local partners from the Twin Cities Chinese and Southeast Asian community.They are the latest concepts in a decade-long progression that has seen the 17-acre site reimagined every few years for a varying mix of office, retail and residen...

Repeat felon sentenced to 10 years for robbery charge

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:57:57 GMT

BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A repeated felon was sentenced to serve ten years in state prison after pleading guilty to second-degree robbery. Jose A. Colon, 54, admitted to punching a man in Saratoga Springs and forcibly stealing his wallet in May. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! The victim was taken to Saratoga Hospital and released following treatment. Police were able to quickly identify Colon and return the stolen property to the victim. Colon was also sentenced to serve two and a half years of post-release supervision.

Cell boosters installed in Colonie-- but are they on?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:57:57 GMT

COLONIE, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A number of Verizon small cell nodes have been installed throughout Colonie to improve service. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! In July 2022, a local law was passed in Colonie to make it easier for cell carriers to apply for permits to install small cell nodes that can boost service. This was part of an effort by officials to address "dead zones" throughout the town.“That one corridor in the southern part of the town along Route 9," said Colonie Town Supervisor Peter Crummey, "17,000 cars pass through a half-mile area a day according to DOT."By November, Verizon submitted 9 applications to install them throughout many of the dead zones in Colonie. Several had been approved. However, Crummey said it took a while for Verizon to get to work.“They took no action on any one of them, all the permits expired, and subsequently, Verizon did renew their applications for the same cell nodes," Crummey said, "and ...

Female frogs fake death to avoid unwanted male attention, study shows

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:57:57 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — "Ghosting" is a common tactic for getting out of an unwanted relationship among humans. But among frogs, according to a recent study, females fake their own deaths to ward off the mating advances of aggressive males. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! Research published on October 11 in the journal Royal Society Open Science showed that female frogs escape males by rotating their bodies, releasing calls, and faking their deaths. "During these mating events, several males cling to a female, which are mostly unable to get rid of the unwanted males," the study's authors wrote.The stage five clingers can inadvertently kill a female frog if she can't get rid of them. That's why faking death—also known as tonic immobility—is likely a stress response to an immediate threat. It's mainly interpreted as a defensive strategy against predators, the study noted. Taylor Swift’s ‘The Eras Tour’ dances to No. 1 at the box o...

Taylor Swift’s ‘The Eras Tour’ dances to No. 1 at the box office, eyeing 'Joker' film record

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:57:57 GMT

HOLLYWOOD (AP) — Movie theaters turned into concert venues this weekend as Swifties brought their dance moves and friendship bracelets to multiplexes nationwide. The unparalleled enthusiasm helped propel “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” to a massive, first-place debut between $95 million and $97 million in North America, AMC Theatres said Sunday. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! It’s easily the biggest opening for a concert film of all time and, not accounting for inflation, has made more than the $73 million “Justin Bieber: Never Say Never” earned in 2011. In today’s dollars, that would be around $102 million. And if it comes in on the higher end of projections when totals are released Monday, it could be the biggest October opening ever. The one to beat is “Joker,” which launched to $96.2 million in 2019.A unique experiment in distribution, premium pricing, star power, and loose movie theater etiquette—more dancing and shouting t...

Former prosecuting attorney’s son charged in trunk-or-treat shooting

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:57:57 GMT

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – The son of former St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch has been charged with Sunday’s shooting at a trunk-or-treat event at a Kirkwood school.Matthew McCulloch, 39, was charged Monday with four counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child (first offense - no sexual contact), five counts of armed criminal action, one count of first-degree terrorist threat, and one count of unlawful use of a weapon.The shooting happened just before 5 p.m. Sunday at North Kirkwood Middle School. Tillman Elementary School organized the event, but due to construction projects, the trunk-or-treat was moved to North Kirkwood’s school parking lot in the 11200 block of Manchester Road.In a letter sent to parents from the school district, a man began behaving erratically and causing a disturbance. When other parents confronted the man, he pulled out a gun and started shooting into the air. Other parents tackled the armed man and detained him until police arr...

St. Louis Arch goes dark through November for New LED lights

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:57:57 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- The Arch will be dark starting tonight through November, 17, 2023. The National Park Service is installing a new lighting system to reduce the overall energy needed to light the monument by 60%.The new LED lights will replace the 26 static Xeon skylights installed in 2018. They only use 1200 watts per unit compared to the 7000 watts required by the current lighting system.There are benefits besides power efficiency with the new lighting system. It is more accurate in controlling focus and color temperature. This will make the monument brighter at night and reduce stray light for migratory birds in the night sky. Shots fired at Kirkwood school’s trunk-or-treat event The money to install the new system is coming from the Gateway Arch Foundation. They are a nonprofit conservancy and the official philanthropic partner of Gateway Arch National Park and its surrounding areas in Downtown St. Louis.The lights were off in September to protect birds migrating south for the wint...

Coffee shop hosts 'banned book' display

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:57:57 GMT

ST. LOUIS - A midtown coffee shop gave book lovers a chance to read books that have been restricted by schools in the state of Missouri.'Blueprint Coffee' teamed with 'Left Bank Books Foundation' at the High Low building on Washington Avenue. They gave readers a few hours to browse the banned books. The 'American Library Association' says 273 books have been banned for any number of issues relating to race, gender, or sexuality. It ranks Missouri third in the nation for the number of banned books. Shots fired at Kirkwood school’s trunk-or-treat event Left Bank Books General Manager Daniell King says, "What's ironic is that, generally speaking, a book getting banned does make more people interested in it because they're curious about why, and so our goal is to make sure we have as many of those to provide for folks as possible, or order them. We believe very much in the freedom to read."Also at the event, visitors could write postcards to their legislatures to l...