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Texas Senate attempts to add school voucher-like program to teacher pay bill

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:20:25 GMT

Austin (KXAN) -- One of the last viable bills in the Texas legislature that would increase teacher pay now has a provision that would create a school voucher program.The Senate Committee on Public Education is hearing testimony on the bill Monday morning.Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, over the weekend, filed a committee substitute of the bill that would add a school voucher-like program that would allow parents to re-direct up to $8,000 to private school tuition.The Texas legislature has yet to pass a bill that would address the growing shortage of teachers in Texas public schools. Austin ISD plans to pull millions from reserve funds to give educators 7% raise House Bill 100 initially increased the per-pupil allotment for public schools – and through that provision – would require school districts to use a certain amount of those funds to increase teacher pay.The bill, in its current form, would also increase the minimum salary schedule for teachers and provide school districts...

Texas gas prices average just above $3 ahead of Memorial Day 2023 travels

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:20:25 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – As Austin Metro drivers count down to the Memorial Day weekend holiday, the price of gasoline continues to remain steady, according to AAA.The average price of a gallon of regular gas in Austin-San Marcos was $3.08 on Sunday. That is four cents lower than Sunday, May 14 and 25 cents lower than April 21. AAA said the average price had fallen $1.22 since May 21, 2022. The average price in Texas was $3.07 a gallon. On May 18, AAA ranked Texas No. 2 in the nation behind Mississippi when it came to least expensive gas markets.On May 15, AAA projected a 7% increase in Memorial day weekend travel over 2022 with 42.3 million Americans travelling 50 miles or more from home.“This is expected to be the third busiest Memorial Day weekend since 2000, when AAA started tracking holiday travel,” said Paula Twidale, Senior Vice President of AAA Travel in the May 15 release.AAA said Memorial Day road trips are up 6% over last year. 37.1 million Americans will drive to their desti...

Trial for Elgin man accused of killing man, restraining woman in 2022 begins Monday

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:20:25 GMT

LEE COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) – The murder trial for an Elgin man connected to a 2022 death begins Monday, according to Lee County court officials. Investigators believe Timothy Bradshaw, then 43, shot and killed another man and restrained a woman against her will in February 2022. Bradshaw is on trial on the murder charge, as well as kidnapping and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to Lee County. PREVIOUS: Elgin man accused of killing man, restraining woman against her will The Lee County Sheriff’s Office said at the time it got a report of a possible shooting and kidnapping on Deerwood Drive in Elgin. Deputies arrived to find David Maxwell, 43, dead. He had been shot and killed inside his truck, the sheriff’s office said.A woman, then 27, whose identity wasn’t released at the time, had also been assaulted and unlawfully restrained, according to the sheriff’s office 2022 release.Bradshaw was arrested in connection with both incidents, the sheriff’s office said in 2022.

St. Paul City Council to host Summit Avenue bike trail hearing on Wednesday

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:20:25 GMT

The St. Paul City Council will host a public hearing at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday on a resolution to support a proposed regional bikeway that would travel along nearly five miles of Summit Avenue, a popular parkway-like corridor that traverses multiple historic districts and the governor’s residence.The prospect of an elevated bike trail protected by curb or parking has drawn strong feeling up and down the mansion-lined corridor and beyond. Opponents have pointed to the possibility of heavy tree loss, parking loss and a change in the historic character of the avenue, the longest residential stretch of Victorian mansions in the nation.City officials have sought to convince residents that a badly-needed street reconstruction will impact trees either way, and adding bike amenities won’t make considerable difference. They’ve said an all-ages bike trail will invite new users, help calm traffic and create a better environment for pedestrians, while reducing transportation-base...

Report finds Hamline University violated professor’s academic freedom in Islamic art controversy

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:20:25 GMT

Hamline University’s response to a Muslim student’s art class complaint last fall violated the professor’s academic freedom, according to a new report by the American Association of University Professors.The faculty membership organization visited the St. Paul private school campus in February and interviewed numerous school administrators, faculty and others following widespread news coverage about the use of ancient art depicting the Prophet Muhammad.Aware that some Muslims take offense to visual depictions of the Prophet, adjunct professor Erika Lopez Prater warned students about the content on her world art class syllabus and again before showing the art during an online lesson in October.Still, a student who viewed the art complained to Hamline administrators, who went on to criticize Lopez Prater’s decision in multiple statements and withdrew an offer to have her teach again in the spring.“The committee can only speculate about the reason for the decision not to reappoint Prof...

Military dad surprises children with reunion at school

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:20:25 GMT

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Sgt. William Rhodes surprised his four children, triplets in kindergarten and a third-grader, at Bradt Primary School. “I used to look at their baby pictures every day starting from the day they were born up until the most current picture and when I did have opportunities," Rhodes said. "I would talk to them but it feels so great to be home.”Their mother, Carmelissa, starring as a mystery reader for students during the assembly before the big moment, introducing students to the hero in her family.  Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! “I feel amazing, it’s so good to have him home," Rhodes said. "The past 9 months has been ridiculous for all of us so it’s a nice breath, a nice relief that he’s back.” “It’s as of late I’ve had a family to come home to," Rhodes said. "I’d say the first time when Jaymon was born, the first two weeks of training I went away I realized how much more difficult it is to be...

VSP: Vermonter threatens to behead campers with axe

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:20:25 GMT

KILLINGTON, Vt. (NEWS10) -- A Mendon, Vermont, man was arrested on Saturday after threatening to behead people at a campsite with an axe, according to Vermont State Police. Ralph Schneider, 61, faces four counts of aggravated assault and four counts of criminal threatening. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Police say an investigation found Schneider was armed with a deadly weapon and threatened to use it against four others, giving them reasonable fear of death or serious injury. Police say Schneider also hit a car with the axe.Schnieder was put in custody and taken to the Rutland Barracks for processing. A judicial official was contacted and conditions of release were issued, along with Schneider being lodged at Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility.He is held on $5,000 bail.

Free movies, music and yoga returning to downtown Albany

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:20:25 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Downtown Albany Business Improvement District (BID) has announced the return of State Street Yoga, Bites Camera Action, and Tunesday. These free outdoor series' will take place throughout the summer in downtown Albany. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! "We couldn't be more excited to once again kick off these popular, free event series in downtown Albany," said Georgette Steffens, Executive Director of the Downtown Albany BID. "We love seeing residents, families, workers, and visitors from all over the region come out and discover even more reasons to spend time in Albany's Central Social District. All members of the community are invited to enjoy and benefit from the recreational opportunities, socializing, and memorable experiences these events provide."The free movie series Bites Camera Action will be at the SUNY Plaza at State Street and Broadway with the movies premiering at dusk around 8:30....

Opinion: The crisis on the Southern border is an issue of humanity

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:20:25 GMT

“Where are all the migrants?” we asked as we toured Juárez, Anapra, El Paso and Sunland Park on May 10 and 11.Our first stop was the Sacred Heart church on Oregon Street in El Paso where there were far fewer people on the streets than when I had last visited on April 28.Then we crossed into Juárez to the site of the deadly fire that killed 40 migrants on March 27 where we spoke to a 16 year old girl named Ana who had made the arduous journey from Venezuela with her father and her younger sister,  Fatima, age 12. They left Venezuela eight months ago, crossed the very dangerous Darien Gap, traveled with a small group instead of hiring a “coyote” because that would have been too expensive. They had spent two months in the Mexican government’s Kiki Romero shelter in Juárez, a former gymnasium converted to shelter up to 200 people but said it was so horrible that they decided to live on the street in a tent. Their hope is for an asylum hearing soon and they certainly deserve it.We then t...

The UK and Angola: Who’s advising who?

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:20:25 GMT

Delegates at the United Nations were astonished at the end of last year when Angola proffered economic guidance to the UK.Indeed, impoverished Angola advising the formidable UK, ranked the fifth or sixth largest economy globally depending on the measurement, appeared quite audacious. Observers were left bewildered, questioning whether this indicated the state of Rishi Sunak's nation or exhibited overconfidence on Angola's part.Nonetheless, Angola recommended the UK adopt an urgent poverty alleviation strategy and implement new measures to shield its citizens from the escalating cost-of-living crisis. As per the World Bank, this suggestion came from a country where roughly one-third of the populace lives in poverty (earning below $2.15 per day). In Angola, unemployment is rising, and the nation grapples with its soaring household bills.It is uncommon for an African, southern nation to suggest economic policy changes to a global northern state. Critics of the Conservative government, ...