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Squirrels, other animals responsible for hundreds of Austin power outages a year

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 11:18:34 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin Energy says there are hundreds of animal-related power outages in the city throughout the year. The biggest culprit of these outages are squirrels. The most recent of these outages happened last week in north Austin near Parmer Lane. Austin Energy officials said almost 4,000 people were impacted when a squirrel came into contact with equipment on a transformer pole. "Any animal can cause a power outage when one part of the animal is touching a power line and another part is touching another piece of equipment such as the power pole," Matt Mitchell, a spokesperson with Austin Energy, explained. "The power will move through the animal to the pole in what is called a phase-to-ground power surge, and a power outage occurs."Snakes, birds, rats, and other rodents continuously cause outages throughout the year. A Pedernales Electric Cooperative spokesperson said animals cause 10% of unplanned outages every year in its service area. Austin Energy says snake caused...

Mozart's Christmas lights photo contest announces first place prize and more

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 11:18:34 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The holiday spirit is continuing with Mozart's "All About Texas Christmas Lights" photo contest. The annual contest is back with prizes for first, second and third place, as well as 15 standouts and the audience choice award. First place will receive an iPad Pro, second place will receive a $250 Mozart's gift card and third place will receive a $100 Mozart's gift card. All 15 standouts will be awarded a $25 Mozart's gift card. The audience choice award will be determined by which photo gets the most likes on the "All About Texas Christmas Lights" Facebook page. The winner will receive an iPad mini. LIST: Central Texas festive light displays this holiday season Photos of holiday lights from all across Texas are allowed, including Austin's Trail of Lights, Longhorn Lights, Peppermint Parkway and more. The photo contest is open to anyone in Texas and welcomes all ages. A list of rules can be found here. All photos must be submitted here by Tuesday, December 19 at mi...

TxDOT meets those impacted by 35 Central project

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 11:18:34 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – The Texas Department of Transportation met Monday with members of the business community who would be impacted by the overhaul and expansion planned for Interstate 35 in Austin. The community meeting was with commercial tenants, property owners and those who own land along the I-35 Capital Express Central project corridor. RELATED: Austin’s I-35 expansion clears final hurdle before construction start Project detailsThe I-35 Central project is an eight-mile project track running from U.S. Hwy. 290 East to SH 71 and Ben White Boulevard.Project components include the addition of two non-tolled high-occupancy vehicle managed lanes in each direction along I-35, the removal of the upper decks and lowering of the I-35 main lanes between Airport Boulevard and Lady Bird Lake, as well as between Riverside Drive and Oltorf Street.Project designs also call for “boulevard-style segments” running through downtown, in addition to pedestrian and cyclist path improvements.The firs...

NYSP: Truck carrying natural gas crashes off I-88

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 11:18:34 GMT

DUANESBURG, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A box truck carrying multiple cylinders of compressed natural gas went off the roadway around 2:52 a.m. on Tuesday, leading to a hazmat response on I-88. New York State Police say the driver has been hospitalized with serious injuries, and there are no home or business evacuations at this time. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! Check out NEWS10's traffic tracker. You can plan your route and see traffic delays in real-time!Police say an investigation found a commercial box truck went off the road and traveled down a steep ravine. The driver was removed from the car and taken to Albany Medical Center.I-88 has been closed in both directions at this time out of an abundance of caution until the hazardous material is secured and removed. NEWS10 confirmed with state police there are no evacuations in the area at this time.

Hochul responds to I-88 crash in Schenectady County

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 11:18:34 GMT

SCHENECTADY COUNTY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Governor Kathy Hochul has responded to a possible natural gas leak occurring in Schenectady County. The leak is tied to a crash that happened around 3 a.m. Tuesday morning on I-88 eastbound near exits 24 and 25. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! “Earlier this morning, I was briefed on the truck accident on I-88 in Schenectady County, and State personnel have been closely involved with the response efforts to protect the health and safety of New Yorkers," said Governor Kathy Hochul. "While details are still emerging, this accident may lead to a leak of natural gas, so an evacuation of the area is currently underway out of an abundance of caution. I have directed all relevant state agencies, including the Division of Homeland Security Services, Department of Transportation, and Department of Environmental Conservation, to participate in the emergency response efforts and we will continue to upda...

Stranahan’s whiskey returns to mountain-town roots with new taproom

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 11:18:34 GMT

Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey is taking it back to the beginning.The whiskey maker, which was founded in 2004 and has often been billed as the first new distillery to open in Colorado since Prohibition, plans to debut a new tasting room, Stranahan’s Whiskey Lodge, sometime this winter in Aspen, according to the company.This “marks our first outpost beyond our Denver distillery and tasting room, and it is being designed to be the ideal environment for fans, already made and new, to experience our award-winning American single malt whiskies – and to say thank you to those who helped start it all,” the company, which is now owned by beverage giant Proximo Spirits, added.Stranahan’s was co-founded by longtime Aspen resident, millionaire, physicist and entrepreneur George Stranahan and former volunteer Aspen firefighter Jess Graber. The story goes that Graber was part of a team that responded to a fire at Stranahan’s barn, and that the two got to know each other af...

“Time Shelter,” by Georgi Gospodinov, and more short book reviews from readers

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 11:18:34 GMT

Editor’s note: The opinions of the smart, well-read women in my Denver book club mean a lot, and often determine what the rest of us choose to pile onto our bedside tables. Sure, you could read advertising blurbs on Amazon, but wouldn’t you be more likely to believe a neighbor with no skin in the game over a corporation being fed words by publishers? So in this series, we are sharing these mini-reviews with you. Have any to offer? Email [email protected].“Time Shelter,” by Georgi Gospodinov, translated by Angela Rodel (Liveright, 2023)“Time Shelter,” by Georgi Gospodinov, translated by Angela Rodel (Liveright, 2023)Winner of the 2023 International Booker Prize. The protagonist Gaustine creates a “clinic for the past” for Alzheimer’s patients, with different parts of the facility replicating different decades exactly, down to the smallest detail. The theory: Patients will find peace and calm in some time period of their past. Surprisingly, heal...

133-year-old Indigenous arts supplies store in Lakewood keeps artistic traditions alive for all

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 11:18:34 GMT

Cecelia Bull Bear has been making quillwork art for as long as she can remember.“I learned from my grandmother, Ethel Black Crow, and my aunt, Rose Spotted Eagle, when I was real young,” the 76-year-old Denver-based Oglala Lakota artist said. “I’ve been doing it all my life.”Quillwork is an art form that uses porcupine quills to embroider clothing and make jewelry, and it is one of the oldest artistic traditions practiced by Indigenous North Americans, mostly in the northern plains of what is now the U.S. and across Canada.To Bull Bear, who is from the Medicine Root District of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, quillwork products are as precious as gemstones.“Quillwork is like wearing diamonds,” Bull Bear said. “Quillwork is sacred. It was here before the beadwork people do now.”Bull Bear is one of many artists who patronize and sell their art at the reopened Orr’s Trading Post, a Native arts supply store that has long been an important community hub for Indigenous people....

This Denver institution makes 18,000 tamales per day — by hand

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 11:18:34 GMT

Editor’s note: This is part of The Know’s series, Staff Favorites. Each week, we offer our opinions on the best that Colorado has to offer for dining, shopping, entertainment, outdoor activities and more. (We’ll also let you in on some hidden gems).Walking into Tamales by La Casita’s small space, it’s easy to miss how much work is going on behind the swinging kitchen doors.That’s where seven women work tirelessly, making 18,000 tamales from scratch every day between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m., and then steaming them in custom-designed steamers. The restaurant, which has been serving some of Denver’s (and my personal) favorite tamales for nearly 50 years, sources its corn husks directly from Mexico and uses 900 pounds of pork and 40 pounds of cheese daily to make its signature dish.Rosa Dias fills a bowl with red chile and pork to make tamales by hand at Tamales by La Casita on November 28, 2023 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)Paul Sandoval, a Co...

Denver City Council corrects Fair Elections Fund “rounding error” to save city over $4 million

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 11:18:34 GMT

The Denver City Council on Monday unanimously approved a handful of tweaks to the voter-approved Fair Elections Fund, including a change that will save the city an estimated $4.4 million over four years.That doesn’t mean there will be less to go around when candidates next line up to run for City Council, mayor and other municipal offices in 2027 and possibly qualify for public financing to fuel their campaigns.Before Monday, the city’s annual financial obligation to the Fair Elections Fund was poised to ratchet up almost 75% next year to $5 per resident. Now the city’s annual contribution to the fund is expected to rise from $2.88 per Denverite per year to $3.45 in 2025, corresponding with the rate of inflation in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood metro area. It will be adjusted again in 2029.That increase should funnel around $400,000 more into the pot each year than the current annual contribution of $2.1 million, according to the Denver Clerk and Recorder’s Off...