ATX PULSE 9/30/24: New Renderings of Cap-and-Stitch Project Released // Dead Body Pulled from Lady Bird Lake // Groundbreaking Held for Expansion of Ascension Seton Williamson Hospital // Texas Down to #2

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2024

Compiled by Matt Mackowiak

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TODAY’S WEATHER

H: 96° / L: 67°. Warm temperatures into October. Latest forecast from Fox 7 Austin’s Leslie London here.

TOP NEWS

“New renderings for I-35 cap-and-stitch project revealed,” KVUE’s Adam Bennett — “On Saturday, Austinites got the chance to see updated renderings of the proposed “cap-and-stitch” project on Interstate 35.

That would build decks over lanes that TxDOT plans to lower as part of its nearly $5 billion project to expand 8 miles of freeway through Central Austin.

The city unveiled the new renderings on Saturday during its Our Future 35 Open House at Canopy Austin in southeast Austin.

The updated designs factor in feedback from roughly 1,800 people surveyed over the summer.

“Positive feedback so far,” said Michelle Marx, transportation officer for the city of Austin and the Our Future 35 program manager.

The survey found the top amenities on Austinites’ wish lists were recreational lawn space, food vending, event space and public art.

“Folks in our community are really excited about the opportunity to effectively re-nature some of this I-35 corridor,” said Marx.

The project could create up to 30 acres of new public space in Central Austin between Lady Bird Lake and Airport Boulevard.

TxDOT will build the foundation of the decks as it expands I-35, while the city will build what’s on top.

So far, the section between Cesar Chavez and Fourth Street is the only cap to get funding: $105 million from the federal government that requires a $45 million match from the city.

Marx expects the first cap will be finished by 2032.” KVUE

“UT Austin begins demolition at Steve Hicks School of Social Work site to make way for football training facility,” KVUE’s Melia Masumoto — “The University of Texas at Austin has begun demolition at the site of the Steve Hicks School of Social Work – but not everyone is happy about UT's plans for the site.

In spring 2023, UT announced it would be replacing the existing School of Social Work building with a football training facility that itself will eventually replace "The Bubble" at Denius Fields. The university said at the time that the new practice facility will likely include a 100-yard outdoor field and a 100-yard indoor field.

Now UT has confirmed that it has received a demolition permit from the Texas Historical Commission with approval for its plan to commemorate the history of the School of Social Work's building. Demolition has begun at the site and will continue for the next several months.

Operations for the School of Social Work moved to Walter Webb Hall at the end of the spring 2024 semester and will stay there for approximately four years until the school moves into the current McCombs School of Business building. At that time, McCombs will move into its new building, Mulva Hall, located where the Dobie Center Garage was previously. Mulva Hall is expected to open around August 2028.” KVUE

THE BLOTTER

“APD investigating after body found in Downtown Austin Sunday,” KVUE’s Jeff Bell — “The Austin Police Department is investigating after a man was found dead in Downtown Austin on Sunday.

At around 4:20 p.m., APD said a body was located near the intersection of Nueces Street and West Cesar Chavez Street.

In a media briefing, police said that witnesses in the area saw the man acting erratically shortly before his body turned up.

Medical examiners are working to determine an official cause of death.

No other information is available at this time.” KVUE

“Motorcyclist killed in North Austin crash,” KVUE’s Morgan McGrath — “One person is dead after a two-vehicle crash Sunday night in North Austin.

According to the Austin Police Department (APD), a motorcycle and a truck collided around 9 p.m. by Burnet Road and Richcreek Road. 

Officers said the motorcycle driver was transported to a hospital, where he later died. 

Meanwhile, APD stated the truck driver remained on scene and did not face any charges. 

The road was temporarily closed late Sunday night into early Monday morning, but has since reopened. 

There is no additional information available at this time.” KVUE

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

“First responders celebrate grand reopening of AFD, EMS station in southeast Austin,” KVUE’s Andrew McKibbin — "As Austin changes to meet growth, the city is modernizing public safety facilities.

The city celebrated the grand reopening of Fire Station 22 and EMS Station 12 on Saturday.

It’s located on East Riverside Drive near Pleasant Valley Road and serves the residents of southeast Austin.

The Austin-Travis County EMS chief said that's one of the busiest parts of town. He said the station was due for a big renovation.

"This station was more than 50 years old with all sorts of infrastructure issues that we needed to deal with," said Chief Robert Luckritz. "And so we tore this entire station down, started from the ground up, and now we have this wonderful, state-of-the-art 15,000-square-foot facility that our Austin-Travis County medics and our awesome firefighters will be able to use for decades to come."

Similar renovation projects are happening at five other EMS stations across the city. They should wrap later this year.” KVUE

“Travis County and partners to launch jail diversion program with ribbon cutting,” CBS Austin’s Andrew Freeman — "In its ongoing effort to expanding mental health services, Travis County is partnering with other groups like the city of Austin, Central Health and Integral Care to launch a new pilot program designed to divert those in crisis from jail.

Integral Care's Therapeutic Diversion Pilot Program will take a three-pronged approach to mental health crises in the county. One of those prongs is a new facility, where Thursday those partners will cut the ribbon on a 90-day therapeutic respite center with 25 beds.

"Our jails are crowded, and they're crowded with a population that needs more health care than is available in jail." Travis County Commissioner for Precinct 3, Ann Howard, said.

Howard says with a jail liaison, a medical crisis outreach team and a strong partnership with the city of Austin, Integral Care and Central Health, there's always been a strong commitment to mental health. But now everyone is ready for the next step.

"I think it's a critical step as we move towards this commitment of jail diversion." Howard said.

Thursday all of these partners will come together to cut the ribbon on a new 90-day therapeutic respite center, which will provide around-the-clock psychiatric emergency services to those experiencing mental health crises.

"We are in meetings every week, working very hard together to maximize the use of public funding." Howard said.

The pilot program will also bolster observation and medical capabilities at the existing Psychiatric Emergency Services center on Airport Boulevard, making it a 24/7 operation, and streamline the response of partner agencies when it comes to responding to mental health crises and connecting those individuals with the right services.” CBS Austin

BUSINESS NEWS

“When will Ascension Seton Williamson hospital in Round Rock finish its expansion project?” Austin American-Statesman’s Nicole Villalpando — “Ascension Seton Williamson Medical Center is about to almost double in size.

On Thursday, community leaders and hospital staff broke ground on a six-story, 216,000-square-foot second tower being added to the existing Round Rock hospital.

That will provide an additional 160 beds to the 181-bed hospital. It will be a "copy and paste" of the existing tower with a glass common area connecting the two towers.

The $230 million project is expected to be completed by spring 2026. Ascension Seton had announced the project a year ago.

The growth of the hospital is really a reflection of the growth of Williamson County, said Ascension Seton Williamson President Andrew Gnann. "We're just responding to that growing population," he said.

The hospital is serving more than 50,000 patients annually and sees 50,000 emergency room visits by patients from 14 counties.

Originally opened in 2008, Ascension Seton Williamson expects this expansion to last 10 years, Gnann said, and to address some of the areas where the hospital has been stretched, including general medical surgical beds and beds where continual heart monitoring can be done. The new tower's second floor will initially be left as a shell, with the idea of eventually expanding the intensive care unit, which is on the second floor of the existing tower.

The new tower will also have two new operating rooms, an additional MRI, a new catheterization lab and an expanded emergency area. The hospital already has a Dell Children's-staffed emergency room for pediatrics.

An additional 34,000-square-foot medical building will be built for outpatient services, including wound care, cardiac rehabilitation and pediatric physical therapy.” AAS ($)

SPORTS

TEXAS FOOTBALL: Golden: “How Texas football team’s good outweighed the bad and ugly in SEC debut,” Austin American-Statesman’s Cedric Golden — “Film study for the Texas football team isn't a gunfight.

It just sounds that way.

On Sundays, coach Steve Sarkisian, his assistants and players meet in the cavernous film room at Moncrief-Neuhaus and review the previous day's game via video. The players take it all in: the positive, negative and everything in between.

Sarkisian calls it the good, the bad and the ugly, a nice homage to Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach for us old heads. Of course, the media isn’t invited to these team meetings, but I would pay good money to be a fly on the wall when Sark cues up the projector to review what happened in Texas’ most uneven performance of 2024.

“There’s going to be lot for me to show,” he said Saturday night. “There will probably be an extended good, bad and ugly.”

The 35-13 win over 38-point underdog Mississippi State will work all day long and twice on Saturday for Texas’ most complete team in more than a decade. But the first SEC game in program history was easily the bumpiest ride of the first half of the season, though not one of the 101,388 assembled at Royal-Memorial Stadium believed the Horns were ever in any danger.

In case you don’t want to wait until Sarkisian’s Monday morning presser to see what went down in G, B and U, allow your friendly neighborhood sports columnist to take a stab at it. Film study is fun, but one should never pass up an opportunity to pay homage to a Western classic with football playing the background.” AAS ($)

TEXAS FOOTBALL: “Despite win in SEC opener, Texas falls to No. 2 in latest AP Top 25,” KXAN’s Billy Gates — “Behind the strength of a 41-34 win over Georgia, the Alabama Crimson Tide jumped the Texas Longhorns for No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 college football rankings.

Alabama rose three spots to claim the top ranking with Texas settling in at No. 2. Alabama received 40 first-place votes and 1,549 points overall while the Longhorns received 19 first-place votes and 1,525 points. In the USA Today coaches poll, Texas rose to the top spot and Alabama was right behind in second.

The Longhorns took a while to get it going against Mississippi State in a 35-13 win to open Southeastern Conference play Saturday while the Crimson Tide built a 30-7 lead over Georgia before the Bulldogs mounted a furious comeback effort. Alabama hung on for dear life and needed an interception in the end zone with less than a minute remaining to seal the victory at home.” KXAN

AUSTIN FC: “Austin FC om life support after 2-2 real Salt Lake draw,” Austin Chronicle’s Eric Goodman — “Austin FC came back from a 0-2 deficit to salvage a 2-2 draw against Real Salt Lake at Q2 Stadium Saturday night to successfully delay its playoff elimination by at least another four days.

Jáder Obrian and Guilherme Biro both found the back of the net in the final 10 minutes of normal time to rescue a point for the Verde and Black, who scored multiple goals in a match for the first time in over a month.

The first half was highlighted by an outstanding defensive recovery by Julio Cascante, who executed a goal-saving slide tackle against Diego Luna (the RSL midfielder, not the actor) after Luna had gotten behind goalkeeper Brad Stuver on a breakaway.

Austin had an excellent chance to take a 1-0 lead off a corner kick right at the end of the half, but Sebastián Driussi couldn’t direct the final shot on target.

Early on in the second half, RSL took advantage of a sloppy defensive play by Biro, who whiffed on an attempted clearing header only to see the ball fall right over his head to MVP candidate Cristian Arango. Arango’s shot drew a strong save from Stuver, but the ensuing rebound diverted straight to RSL’s Matt Crooks, who redirected it over the goal line for the 1-0 lead.

RSL’s second goal came from the penalty spot thanks to VAR, which spotted a handball against ATX midfielder Owen Wolff in the Salt Lake penalty box. Diogo Gonçalves sent Stuver the wrong way and converted the penalty kick for a 2-0 lead.

With Austin pushing numbers forward into the RSL penalty box, the hosts pulled the first goal back in the 81st minute when Obrian took a Jon Gallagher first time and placed his shot perfectly inside the goalpost for his team-leading seventh goal of the season.

Then, in the 89th minute, Driussi played a gorgeous pass toward Biro, making a run into the box. The Brazilian took one touch, then lifted a precise finish over goalkeeper Zac MacMath to tie the match.

Biro came within a foot of winning the match for Austin in stoppage time, missing on a wide-open shot that just went wide of the far post.

Though it almost certainly delayed the inevitable as far as making the playoffs, the draw – coupled with another draw between the Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps later Saturday night – means that Austin will travel to Portland Wednesday with a chance to extend its season, mathematically speaking, until at least next weekend.

Austin would have to win all three of its remaining games, while either Portland or Minnesota United would need to lose all of its final three, for Austin to tie either team in points (the tiebreakers don’t favor Austin either).” Austin Chronicle

TEXAS VOLLEYBALL: “No. 8 Texas tops LSU to start SEC schedule 2-0,” KXAN’s Billy Gates — “No. 8 Texas picked up another Southeastern Conference win on the road, sweeping Louisiana State on Sunday at the Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge.

Set scores were 25-20, 25-20, 25-15.

Madisen Skinner led a balanced attack for the Longhorns with 10 kills while Marianna Singletary notched eight. Jenna Wenaas and Reagan Rutherford each had seven and Ayden Ames smacked six. Devin Kahahawai had four block assists and Singletary had three.

Averi Carlson had 17 set assists while Ella Swindle had 16 and Emma Halter notched eight digs.” KXAN

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: “Texas high school football scores for Friday, Sept. 27,” KXAN’s Billy Gates — “Lake Travis took care of Bowie in a big District 26-6A matchup 44-6 Friday at Burger Stadium.

Bastrop topped McCallum 39-32 while Cedar Park ran over Killeen Chaparral 44-12 and Buda Johnson picked up a 49-19 win over San Marcos.

Wimberley beat Geronimo Navarro 47-21 and Weiss won big over Hendrickson 63-20. Vandegrift won 38-7 over Vista Ridge and Rouse edged Lake Belton 28-20.

A&M Consolidated 56, Anderson 28

Austin High 23, Del Valle 6

Austin TSD 58, Founders Classical 44

Bastrop 39, McCallum 32

Blanco 40, SA Memorial 14

Buda Johnson 49, San Marcos 19

Burnet 23, Gatesville 17

Cedar Park 44, Killeen Chaparral 12

Cedar Ridge 21, Round Rock 20

College Station 66, Kyle Lehman 0

East View 46, Glenn 42

El Campo 56, Giddings 7

Elgin 38, Pflugerville 35

Falls City 47, LASA 7

Ganado 84, Flatonia 3

Granger 43, Bartlett 23

Groesbeck 32, Rockdale 21

Fredericksburg 23, Uvalde 13

Jarrell 35, Smithville 14

La Grange 34, Navasota 30

La Vernia 34, Marble Falls 14

Lake Travis 44, Bowie 6

LBJ 32, SA Cornerstone 21

Leander 38, Georgetown 35

Llano 37, Comfort 23

Lockhart 56, Cedar Creek 0

Mason 54, Christoval 13

Northeast 61, Austin Achieve 0

Prairie Lea 47, Round Rock Christian 24

Rouse 28, Lake Belton 20

Regents 42, Bullard Brook Hill 21

SA Antonian 35, St. Michael’s 16

SA St. Mary’s 67, St. Stephen’s 33

San Marcos Baptist Academy 44, Veritas 14

Schulenburg 49, Kenedy 0

Shiner 56, Luling 7

Thrall 62, Johnson City 28

Tyler Grace 42, Brentwood Christian 35

Vandegrift 38, Vista Ridge 7

Weiss 63, Hendrickson 20

Wimberley 47, Geronimo Navarro 21

Yoakum 36, Hyde Park 22” KXAN

QUICK LINKS

~ Texas can no longer investigate alleged cases of vote harvesting, federal judge says - KXAN Austin

~ Kris Kristofferson, legendary singer and Texas native, dies at 88 - Austin American-Statesman

~ Judge extends order blocking TEA's release of A-F scores - Austin American-Statesman

~ City Council adopts new rules around allowing residents to speak at meetings - Austin Monitor

~ Q&A: Hear from Williamson County's attorney candidates - Community Impact

~ Tiger Lilly event venue launching soon in former Estelle's space in downtown Austin - Community Impact

~ Texas mom who lost son ‘not backing down’ in fight for fentanyl education - KXAN Austin

~ Preservation of Palm Park’s history and culture still a priority for residents - Austin Monitor

~ Florence ISD cancels school Monday due to water issues - KXAN Austin

~ Family desperate for answers after UT graduate student, wife go missing in Mexico - KXAN Austin

~ Eanes ISD implements new communication, community engagement tools - Community Impact

~ Sushi, smoothies and saunas: 12 business updates for far Northwest Austin - Community Impact

~ Delayed CapMetro Rapid routes to launch next year with slower service and diesel buses - Austin Monitor

~ City taps Rally Austin for funds to buy historic cultural spaces - Austin Monitor

AUSTIN CULTURE

~ DINING / NIGHTLIFE: ”Downtown Austin gets a new American restaurant and terrace cocktail bar” CBS Austin

COOL JOB ALERT

~ Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management: City of Austin. Salary: $5,223/month. Info / apply here.