ATX PULSE 9/17/24 (sponsored by No Scrubs): 1,000+ Fentanyl Pills Seized in Round Rock // UT Moves to Top 5% // Council Considers Keeping Marshalling Yard Open Indefinitely // CapMetro Proposes Lowest Budget in 3 Years

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2024

Compiled by Matt Mackowiak

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TODAY’S WEATHER

H: 97° / L: 75°. Still feels like summer. Latest forecast from Fox 7 Austin’s Zack Shields here.

TOP NEWS

“Overdose investigation leads to drug bust, 1,000+ fentanyl pills,” KXAN’s Brianna Hollis — “An investigation into a Round Rock overdose led to a drug bust in Austin where Williamson County Sheriff’s Office investigators found 1,060 suspected fentanyl pills, other narcotics and a stolen gun, the agency said in a press release Monday.

“The distribution of fentanyl and other dangerous substances will not be tolerated in
Williamson County. We will use every resource at our disposal to identify, arrest, and
bring to justice those responsible for endangering our community,” Sheriff Mike
Gleason said in a statement.

Photos of what the authorities seized are below.

The bust happened at a home on West Parmer Lane near the intersection of Lakeline Boulevard. Kelley Reeves Stadium, a gas station, apartment complex and several small restaurants were in the area. The sheriff’s office did not identify an exact address where they initiated the search warrant that led to the bust, nor did the press release on the incident mention any arrests. KXAN reached out to the sheriff’s office for more details and will update this story as that information becomes available.

Below is a list of items Williamson County’s Organized Crime Unit seized.

• 1060 suspected fentanyl pills (1116.1g)

• 4575 suspected methamphetamine pills (1100.55g)

• 213.9g suspected promethazine

• 31g suspected psilocybin mushrooms

• 46.27 oz. suspected THC

• 19 pounds of suspected marijuana

• Stolen shotgun

• $13,700 in cash

• Cellphones

• Scales and baggies

Anyone with information on this case can contact the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office tip line at 512 943-1170 or via email at [email protected].” KXAN

“UT-Austin tightens automatic admission threshold to 5% of Texas’ top high schoolers,” Texas Tribune’s Sneha Dey — “High school students in Texas will need to be in the top 5% of their graduating class to gain automatic admission to the University of Texas at Austin to enroll in the fall of 2026, a harder threshold to meet than the current 6%.

State law requires Texas public universities to provide automatic admission to Texas high schoolers who were in the top 10% of their graduating class. The Texas Legislature adjusted the rules for UT-Austin in 2009 to leave space for the university to accept other students, such as out-of-state students and student athletes.

The top-ranked university has since been allowed to cap its automatic admittees to 75% of each freshman class. The remaining 25% is admitted through a holistic process that considers factors such as grade point average, extracurriculars and personal essays.

The university can adjust the threshold for automatic admission every year to hit that balance. UT-Austin last lowered its automatic admission threshold from 7% to 6% in 2017, when a then-record of 51,000 applicants sought to join the university.

The most recent change in the automatic admission rate is because UT-Austin continues to see the number of applicants grow, President Jay Hartzell told the university’s Faculty Council on Monday. The university received a new record of 73,000 applications this year.

UT-Austin did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Austin American-Statesman first reported the change to the automatic admission rate.” Texas Tribune

THE BLOTTER

“Austin Fire Department tackles early morning blaze near Decker Lake in East Austin,” via CBS Austin — “Austin Fire Department has successfully extinguished a structure fire early Tuesday morning near Decker Lake, in the 9700 block of Colfax Drive.

Crews are continuing multiple searches for reported occupants in the home, but no injuries have been reported. Investigators are en route to the scene.

According to fire officials on X (formerly Twitter), it started in a pre-fabricated home.

Austin Fire Department tackles early morning blaze near Decker Lake in East Austin

The fire had also exposed several nearby buildings.

While one additional home was affected, fire officials have confirmed that the situation is under control.” CBS Austin

“Man killed in North Austin officer-involved shooting identified,” via Fox 7 Austin — “The Austin Police Department (APD) identified the man killed in an officer-involved shooting in North Austin last week.

Police said 59-year-old Franklin Miller was killed during the Sept. 10, shooting.

Austin police said on Sept. 10, around 10:59 p.m., officers responded to a hot shot call at 1724 West Anderson Lane. The 911 caller said a man, later identified as 59-year-old Miller, was attempting to break into their business and was pulling on the doors.

The caller said they saw Miller holding a rock, and it also looked like he had a gun in his waistband.

When officers arrived, they made contact with Miller. Officers saw Miller put his hand near the gun on his waistband, and asked him to put his hands up. But he did not listen to the officers, police said.

Officers continued talking with Miller and tried to de-escalate the situation. Police said he continued not to listen to commands.” Fox 7 Austin

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

“Marshalling Yard homeless shelter may stay open indefinitely,” KXAN’s Grace Reader — “The city of Austin’s emergency homeless shelter at the Marshalling Yard — a warehouse-like building near the airport originally intended to serve as extra space for the Convention Center — may stay open until the city can figure out an alternative space, according to Austin Mayor Kirk Watson.

A resolution on next week’s city council agenda directs City Manager T.C. Broadnax to “identify funding to keep the Marshalling Yard Emergency Shelter (Marshalling Yard) open to serve individuals experiencing homelessness until an alternative emergency shelter is identified and operational.”

The resolution was brought forward by Watson and already has the support of Mayor Pro Tem Leslie Pool and Council Members José ”Chito” Vela, Ryan Alter and Zohaib ”Zo” Qadri.

The Marshalling Yard was originally intended to be used as an emergency homeless shelter for only a year — from July 2023 to July 2024. The contract with Family Endeavors to run the shelter was for just north of $9 million. Austin City Council then approved an eight month extension for $500,000. That extension would end in March 2025.

“On any given night, that’s about 270 people and if we were to shut that down prematurely what we would be doing is we would be forcing 270-300 people back out on the streets,” Watson said. “Which is not good for them and it’s not good for our city.”

According to council documents, a total of 1,008 people have sheltered at the Marshalling Yard since it opened in August 2023.” KXAN

“APD cracking down on reckless driving in Northwest Austin,” via Fox 7 Austin — “Police are on the lookout for dangerous drivers in Northwest Austin.

As part of a new initiative, APD said they will be focused on parts of Ranch Road 2222 between MoPac and 360.

They will be looking for speeding and aggressive drivers.

APD said the crackdown comes as a result of multiple calls from area residents about reckless driving.“ Fox 7 Austin 

“CapMetro proposes its lowest budget in 3 years, but there’s no plan to slow down on projects,” KVUE’s Melia Masumoto — “Austin’s public transit provider, CapMetro, plans to cut its budget by about 20% for next year.

The decision comes as the agency faces a downturn in sales tax revenue.

CapMetro's proposed budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year is $704.8 million. However, for the last few years, CapMetro's budget has declined. For 2023-24, the board of directors approved a budget of $871 million, and in 2022-23, they approved a $902.8 million budget.

“We’re in good financial position,” said CapMetro Deputy CFO Kevin Conlan during a Sept. 11 board meeting. “I’m very optimistic for next year, but we remain very guarded as well, with a downturn in sales tax.”

In this proposed budget, they are expecting a sales tax revenue of $402.8 million. Despite a lower budget, CapMetro said it still plans to bring some large projects online.

Their capital improvement budget, at $229.8 million, makes up for the largest of their expenses. The largest chunk of that budget, $149.1 million over five years, will go toward a North Demand Response Facility and their new headquarters build-out.

More improvements include $15 million for CapMetro Pickup, the on-demand ride share shuttle that picks people up right in their neighborhoods, and $2.4 million toward BikeShare operations and expansions. Earlier this year, CapMetro started replacing all of the city bikes with fully electric ones.

The agency also plans to spend about $21 million over the next five years to enhance bus stops.” KVUE

“Georgetown adopts $879M budget, lower tax rate for FY 2024-2025,” Community Impact Austin’s Anna Maness — “Georgetown City Council adopted a $879.15 million budget for fiscal year 2024-25 and property tax rate of $0.3647 per $100 valuation at its Sept. 10 meeting.

The new budget and tax rates will begin Oct. 1, according to a news release. The budget will go through Sept. 20, 2025 according to ClearGov, a government budgeting software the city uses.

The property tax rate is lower than the FY 2023-24 rate of $0.374 per $100 valuation, but due to Georgetown’s growing property values, the average property tax bill will increase by $32 for the year, according to the release.

The FY 2024-25 budget is about $11.39 million more than the originally adopted FY 2023-24 budget, according to ClearGov.

The new tax rate will raise $4.26 million more in revenue compared to last year’s budget, a 7.1% increase.” Community Impact Austin

BUSINESS NEWS

“Cooling trend persists in Austin-area housing market,” Austin American-Statesman’s Shonda Novak — “It has been a familiar refrain in the Central Texas housing market since mid-2022: there's good news for buyers who can afford to purchase a home.

However, the news may not be as great for sellers, some of whom are having to reduce prices as the market continues to cool, housing supply rises and prices ease in the fluctuating interest-rate environment.

That's the takeaway from the Austin Board of Realtors' latest monthly report for August and echoed by local industry experts and real estate agents.

In August, the number of homes for sale in the Austin-Round Rock region jumped by 15.4% compared to a year-ago August. The five-county region extends from Georgetown to San Marcos.

Across the area, 2,591 homes changed hands in August, 10.4% fewer than in August 2023, the board said.

Half of the houses that closed last month sold for more than $439,990, and half went for less, marking a 4.4% decrease in the median sales price, the board said.

Noa Levy, a real estate broker associate in Austin, said in her newsletter to clients this month that higher interest rates "have reduced purchasing power, particularly for first-time buyers, shrinking the pool of eligible buyers and slowing down sales."

"While Austin remains a highly desirable destination for buyers, sales have slowed, price reductions are more frequent, and homes are staying on the market longer. This year we've entered more of a buyer’s market, with lower offers being presented (and accepted!)," Levy wrote.

Although the latest market figures indicate more opportunity for buyers, home prices need to decrease further to significantly impact sales growth across the region, said Clare Knapp, housing economist for the Austin Board of Realtors.

“Buyers currently have more leverage in this market than previous years and it’s important for sellers to price their homes attainably to reflect current market conditions and attract more buyers,” Knapp said in a news release.” AAS ($)

~ “American cuts four more routes out of Austin,” Dallas Morning News’ Alexandra Skores – “American Airlines is scaling back on four more flights at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

The Fort Worth-based air carrier announced in August it would no longer fly five of its nonstop routes out of the Austin airport in October, which includes Las Vegas; Orlando, Fla., and New Orleans, and its seasonal routes to Reno and Palm Springs. Now, it’s cutting flights to Nashville, Tenn., Raleigh/Durham, N.C. and Boston in November and flights to Orange County in January.

“As part of the continuous evaluation of our network, American will reduce service from Austin starting this winter,” an American spokesperson said in an email. “American will continue to offer customers access to our comprehensive global network of more than 350 destinations with one-stop connections. We’re proactively reaching out to impacted customers and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.”

Following the cuts, American is left with three non-hub routes at the airport, Aspen, Cancun and Los Cabos. Austin, once seen as one of the stars of the airline industry, was flooded as airlines sought out the Texas capital with flights to take advantage of the city’s growing population and economic momentum. However, that growth has since slowed.

The number of flights a day departing Austin exploded from 157 in early 2018 to 280 in September 2023, led by growth at Dallas-based Southwest Airlines and Fort Worth-based American grappling for dominance. But each airline has throttled that growth, and the number of flights per day dropped in 2024, according to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium.” DMN ($)

OTHER NEWS

~ “Some Barton Springs Pool repairs have been completed, officials say,” KXAN’s Sam Stark – “A

~ “Did you feel it? Strong 5.1 quake felt near Austin,” KXAN’s Nick Bannin – “One of the strongest earthquakes in Texas history rattled parts of West Texas on Monday evening.

The rare magnitude 5.1 earthquake had an epicenter near Ackerly, Texas, roughly 20 miles north of Midland.

The USGS “Did you feel it?” map showed multiple reports within the Austin Metro of tremor reports.

According to data collected by KXAN Digital Data Reporter Christopher Adams, Texas has only had 7 previous earthquakes measuring 5.0 magnitude or higher. This would be the states eighth.

The strongest earthquake in Texas was in Valentine in 1931 measuring 5.8 magnitude.” KXAN

SPORTS

~ TEXAS FOOTBALL: “Texas coach Steve Sarkisian: Arch Manning’s legs add new ‘twist’ to Longhorn offense,” Austin American-Statesman’s Thomas Jones — “As a head coach, Texas football’s Steve Sarkisian said all the right things while answering a myriad of questions about backup Arch Manning, starter Quinn Ewers and the Longhorns’ quarterback room during his weekly press conference Monday inside Royal-Memorial Stadium.

But as a play-caller, Sarkisian must feel almost like a kid in a toy store. As Manning showed off during a 67-yard touchdown run in Saturday’s win, the 6-foot-4, 225-pound redshirt freshman can scoot down the field, especially for a signal caller his size.

Manning, the top recruit in the nation in 2023, remains a pass-first quarterback with arm talent that has already drawn attention from NFL scouts. But a running threat at quarterback would be a nice, new plaything for Sarkisian to use — assuming Manning gets the start with Ewers dubbed “questionable” by his coach.

“I don't think we're ever going to walk out here and our quarterback's going to carry the ball 10 to 20 times a game,” he said. “That's just not who we are. There's a lot of ways to skin a cat, but that's not the way we like to do it.

“But that doesn't mean we can't utilize it some at critical moments to keep people honest. And so that's kind of how we'll move going forward.”” AAS ($)

QUICK LINKS

~ High cost of child care slammed for draining economy of profits and workers - ABJ

~ Central Austin homes spent more time on market in August compared to last year - Community Impact

~ Big Lots closing 344 stores, including one in Austin - ABJ

~ Pflugerville police searching for 32-year-old woman last seen in Austin Sept. 13 - KXAN Austin

~ Fleet of mobile STEM labs aims to connect kids with employers like Tesla, Samsung - ABJ

~ Man allegedly shot, killed by 13-year-old in Bastrop County - KVUE

~ Missing woman has been found, Pflugerville police say - KVUE

~ Homes, shops may be added to business park off MoPac in North Austin - ABJ

~ St. Elmo Brewing Co. launches new Springdale Road location in East Austin - Community Impact

~ Esports private school NextGen Academy now open in far Northwest Austin - Community Impact

~ CapMetro to introduce new routes, park and rides in East Austin beginning 2025 - Community Impact

~ Development plans for Austin's 'crucial' South Central Waterfront remain on hold - Community Impact

~ Officials to help Bastrop residents register for November elections on Sept. 17 - Community Impact

~ Telling the story of one Austin Chicano artist could highlight the city's history - Austin American-Statesman

~ Watson collects the most endorsements among mayoral candidates - Austin Monitor

AUSTIN CULTURE

~ DINING: ”The best all-you-can-eat restaurants in Austin” Austin Eater

WHAT TO DO TONIGHT

~ LIVE MUSIC: Zolita. 3Ten (downtown, next to Moody Theater). Show 8pm. Tix start at $21 here.

~ LIVE MUSIC: Bright Eyes (listening party). Waterloo Records (downtown, 6th & Lamar). 7pm. Free. Info here.

COOL JOB ALERT

~ Legislative Assistant: Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). Salary: $3,305/month. Info / apply here.