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Articles Posted by bgill

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  • Wedding bells ringing at Taco Bell offering cheap nuptial option

    02/15/2017 7:24:23 AM PST · by bgill · 11 replies
    kxan ^ | Feb. 15, 2017 | Claire Ricke
    A cheaper option to tie the knot, the Taco Bell wedding costs $600. Alongside the Crunchwrap Supremes and burritos, couples can order a wedding off of the menu. The money includes: •Taco Bell garter •Bow tie •Wedding bouquet made of sauce packets •Just Married T-Shirts •Taco Bell brand champagne flutes The newlywed’s first meal will be a twelve-pack of tacos and a Cinnabon delights cake. It starts this summer.
  • Oroville Dam Spillway Emergency: Number of People Ordered to Evacuate Rises to Nearly 200,000 (CA)

    02/13/2017 5:52:03 AM PST · by bgill · 48 replies
    weather.com ^ | Feb. 12, 2017 | AP
    Nearly 200,000 people remained under evacuation orders Monday as California authorities try to fix erosion of the emergency spillway at the nation's tallest dam that could unleash uncontrolled flood waters if it fails. About 150 miles northeast of San Francisco, Lake Oroville - one of California's largest man-made lakes - had water levels so high that an emergency spillway was used Saturday for the first time in almost 50 years. The evacuation was ordered Sunday afternoon after engineers spotted a hole on the concrete lip of the secondary spillway for the 770-foot-tall Oroville Dam and told authorities that it could...
  • Texas senator looks to scrap funds that lure business to Texas

    02/06/2017 8:17:10 AM PST · by bgill · 14 replies
    kxan ^ | Feb. 5, 2017 | Phil Prazan
    The Texas Enterprise Fund and Texas Major Events Trust Fund have both been around since 2003. The Enterprise Fund has given out more than $600 million to companies bringing jobs and business to the state. The Major Events Trust Fund has paid out more than $275 million. As a grassroots activist, Sen. Konni Burton, R-Colleyville, railed against ‘corporate welfare.’ Now she wants to scrap the taxpayer funds used to lure business to Texas. “All we’re doing is taking more money from the taxpayer and giving it to private industry,” Sen. Burton said.
  • First refugees arrive in Oregon since Trump's travel ban, family welcomed at airport

    02/06/2017 8:09:58 AM PST · by bgill · 51 replies
    keyetv ^ | Feb 6, 2017 | KATU
    A crowd gathered in PDX on Sunday evening to welcome the first refugee family to arrive in Oregon since President Donald Trump’s executive order banning travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries. The Iraqi family of five - a couple and their three children, ages ten, five, and three - arrived at the Portland International Airport...Tonight, Catholic Charities was overjoyed to welcome our first refugee family since the Executive Order suspending refugee admissions was blocked by US Judge James Robart.
  • Wall goes up around America at miniature world in Germany

    02/05/2017 10:31:28 AM PST · by bgill · 41 replies
    keyetv ^ | Feb. 5, 2017 | AP
    A wall has appeared around the United States — at a popular miniature world attraction in the German city of Hamburg. Operators of the Miniatur Wunderland erected the wall complete with barbed wire this week, separating the U.S. display from the rest of the world...Co-founder Gerrit Braun said Thursday the idea for the wall arose after staff discussed whether the U.S. display needed changing to reflect "current developments."
  • Data: Find Texas teachers accused of impropriety with a student

    02/05/2017 7:39:31 AM PST · by bgill · 11 replies
    Austin American-Statesman ^ | Feb. 5, 2017 | Cody Winchester
    From January 2010 through December 2016, 686 teachers in Texas permanently lost their teaching licenses following allegations of impropriety with a student, according to data from the Texas Education Agency. The American-Statesman requested from the TEA the names of teachers who surrendered their teaching licenses or whose licenses were revoked after being investigated by the TEA for engaging in an improper relationship with a student. The newspaper then analyzed thousands of records included in government databases and media reports to determine the names of teachers who were charged and ran criminal background checks on those teachers through the Texas Department...
  • An hour from Austin, Trump’s first two weeks are cause for celebration

    02/05/2017 7:19:41 AM PST · by bgill · 21 replies
    Austin American-Statesman ^ | Feb. 4, 2017 | Johnathon Tilove
    From Day 1, Donald Trump’s presidency has roiled Austin. But on a gorgeous February day barely an hour northwest of the Texas capital in bucolic Burnet County, habitués of the Blue Bonnet Cafe were savoring the first two weeks of the Trump presidency like a slice of the timeless eatery’s best-selling coconut cream pie. “Love him,” said Dan Ross, who lives in Cottonwood Shores and is a police officer in Horseshoe Bay. “Think he’s doing great” “I see the confidence,” said Ross, 59, who was having breakfast with his wife, Sharon Ross, 57. “Everybody I talk to, they are more...
  • Texas film incentive program at risk of being abolished

    02/04/2017 2:37:45 PM PST · by bgill · 10 replies
    kxan ^ | Feb. 3, 2017 | Amanda Brandeis
    Austin film production crews, vendors and small business owners are coming together to fight for a state program they rely on. The Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program (TMIIIP) was designed to entice big productions to do business in Texas, creating local jobs and spurring the economy. It’s used to attract television, video game and film productions to the state. In 2013, the program got a big boost from the legislature, over $90 million, the largest dollar amount since the program was created in 2005... We reached out to all three lawmakers and received a response from Sen. Burton. While...
  • HEB adds K-9 units to parking lot patrols (San Antonio, TX)

    02/04/2017 2:21:20 PM PST · by bgill · 15 replies
    CBS ^ | Feb. 3, 2017 | Camilla Rambaldi|
    In an effort to keep families safe, HEB (grocery store) is adding K-9 units to some of its parking lot patrols. The K-9 units have already been added to seven locations across the city. Step by step, officers with their K-9 can be seen making rounds and greeting customers. “They are here almost all the time every time we come shopping,” says Lori Garza, a customer. Over the last three months SAPD calls for service show two reports of car burglaries, several threats and disturbances at the HEB at the Alon, on Northwest Military.
  • Answers Demanded, as Dozens Flee Arlington (TX) School from Mysterious Sickness

    02/04/2017 10:43:35 AM PST · by bgill · 51 replies
    Jack on the Web ^ | Feb. 3, 2017 | unknown
    A mysterious sickness is causing a growing crisis at a North Arlington junior high school. The principal has been replaced; however, as many as 60 teachers and an untold number of students have reported a similar sickness while at the school. Teachers and students from Nichols Junior High have all reported a similar sickness, including dizziness, nausea and difficulty concentrating. It is reported that many teachers have passed out during class. According to sources, some are refusing to return to work, while others request immediate transfers. Some teachers have even begun to hold classes outside, for the safety of the...
  • Uber buying plane fare for drivers stranded by Trump ban

    02/04/2017 8:46:05 AM PST · by bgill · 46 replies
    KXAN ^ | Feb. 4, 2017 | AP
    Uber CEO Travis Kalanick says his company is buying plane tickets for stranded drivers now that a federal judge has put a hold on President Donald Trump’s ban on travel to the United States by people from seven Muslim-majority countries. Kalanick tweeted Friday night that the head of litigation for the San Francisco-based ride-hailing company is “buying a whole bunch of airline tickets ASAP!”
  • Officials launch site to raise funds for Travis (County, TX) after grant funds cut

    02/04/2017 8:35:28 AM PST · by bgill · 39 replies
    Austin American-Statesman ^ | Feb. 3, 2017 | Taylor Goldenstein
    After Gov. Greg Abbott yanked $1.5 million in state grant funding to Travis County over its new sanctuary policy, state Rep. Eddie Rodriguez on Friday announced a new initiative to raise money from the private sector to make up for the loss. The initiative, called Travis County #StrongerTogether, will allow people to donate tax-deductible funds to the county in an effort to keep afloat the formerly grant-funded programs, such as a special veteran’s court and drug diversion program, through the Austin Community Foundation.
  • Man freed early from life sentence by Obama back in jail (TX)

    02/04/2017 8:30:18 AM PST · by bgill · 31 replies
    MySanAntonio ^ | Feb. 3, 2017 | Guillermo Contreras
    A San Antonio man who was freed from life in prison by President Barack Obama is back behind bars after allegedly crashing his vehicle into another motorist and undercover police cars while fleeing from a drug deal Thursday. Robert M. Gill, 68, whose life sentence for cocaine and heroin distribution conspiracy was commuted by Obama and expired in 2015, was profiled last year in the Express-News about his readjustment to life on the outside...He again faces a potential sentence with a mandatory minimum, five years, and could get up to 40.
  • Malia Obama parties into the early morning in NYC

    02/04/2017 7:00:20 AM PST · by bgill · 57 replies
    Page Six ^ | Feb. 3, 2017 | Emily Smith
    Malia Obama is making the most of her time living in Manhattan after exiting the White House. The former first daughter attended a starry HBO “Girls” premiere, then went dancing into the early hours of the morning...We were told that “Secret Service agents were all over the place” at the party, but they managed to blend into the crowd of more than 600 guests...Later, between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m., Malia rolled into Lower East Side club and bar Happy Ending...They stayed for about an hour until around 3 a.m...was photographed arriving later that morning for work.
  • Texas Mayor Announces That She Is Transgender

    02/01/2017 3:48:24 PM PST · by bgill · 72 replies
    NYT ^ | Feb. 1, 2017 | Christine Hauserfeb
    Ms. Herbst said that she had the support of her family. Her wife grew up in New Hope, and the couple have lived in the town with their two daughters since 1999. “It is gender identity, not sexual preference that applies to me,” the mayor wrote. “I love my wife, and she loves me. We have no intention of change. My daughters have been adamant supporters of me and are proud to tell people their father is transgender.”
  • West Texas family finds rattlesnake slithering up toilet

    02/01/2017 3:33:32 PM PST · by bgill · 97 replies
    kxan ^ | Feb. 1, 2017 | KTAB/KRBC
    A Jones County family experienced a nightmare come true when a rattlesnake slithered up inside their toilet last week. Big Country Snake Removal says the family contacted them after finding the adult snake in their toilet. When officials arrived on scene, the company investigated the property and found 24 rattlesnakes total in the family’s storm cellar and under the house. Five were babies and the rest were adults.
  • Arlington (TX) rep placed under state protection after filing bill to ban abortions

    01/30/2017 3:35:55 PM PST · by bgill · 9 replies
    Star-Telegram ^ | Jan. 30, 2017 | PATRICK SVITEK
    State Rep. Tony Tinderholt, R-Arlington, has been placed under the protection of the Texas Department of Public Safety after receiving death threats following his filing of a bill to criminalize abortion in Texas. "Representative Tinderholt and his family have received multiple death threats leading to his family being placed under DPS protection on multiple occasions," Micah Cavanaugh, Tinderholt's chief of staff, said in a statement Monday. "Specifics to the threats cannot be discussed due to an ongoing investigation, and we do not intend to speak on behalf of law enforcement." The threats began after Tinderholt filed his Abolition of Abortion...
  • Abbott expands threat to cut funding to Travis County (TX) over ICE policy

    01/29/2017 11:00:23 AM PST · by bgill · 8 replies
    Austin American-Statesman ^ | Jan. 27, 2017 | Elizabeth Findell
    Abbott previously said he is preparing to deny Travis County $1.8 million in grants administered through his office, in response to new Sheriff Sally Hernandez’s policy of honoring only some requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain undocumented immigrants booked into the jail. But in a memo from state Budget Director Steven Albright, Abbott’s office asked all state agencies to account for all funds — including federal funds — administered to Travis County. Last year, Travis County received $10 million in federal grants, many of them passed through state agencies, plus $4.8 million from the state.
  • Mayor Adler: Immigrants should feel welcome and safe (Austin, TX)

    01/29/2017 9:39:41 AM PST · by bgill · 43 replies
    keyetv ^ | Jan. 28, 2017 | Jordan Bontke|
    Near the end of his over hour-long speech, Adler went off script for a moment to remind those in the city his stance on immigrants coming to Austin. “In this community, they should feel welcome and safe,” said Adler. Prior to that, he said last year Austin accepted 600 refugees from Iran, Syria and Afghanistan; most of them women and children. He anticipated another over 600 refugees in the city this year, and said almost one in four Austinites weren’t born in the U.S.
  • Anonymous donor spends $13,250 to pay lunch debts for 148 students (Iowa)

    01/29/2017 9:17:49 AM PST · by bgill · 27 replies
    kvue ^ | Jan. 28, 2017 | im Norvell
    An anonymous donor has paid off lunch debts for 148 Johnston elementary school students whose accounts were in the red by $10 or more. The donation, totaling $13,250, was made Jan. 9. It benefited students in kindergarten through fifth grade in all five Johnston elementary schools, said Laura Sprague, director of communications. The Johnston Partnership also runs a program called Friday Friends that provides a packet of food for students to eat over the weekend. Each backpack costs around $8.15 per week and the program relies on donations.