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Grand jury indicts Raul Meza on murder, capital murder connected to woman's 2019 death

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:18 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A grand jury has indicted Raul Meza, Jr., 62, in the 2019 death of his neighbor Gloria Lofton according to the Travis County District Attorney's Office. Online court records show he's being held on $1,000,000 bond. He was arrested by the Austin Police Department in May for capital murder. TIMELINE: What we know of Raul Meza’s criminal history In May, he was also charged with murder in the death of his roommate Jesse Fraga, 80.A grand jury also indicted Meza in that case on charges of murder and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. According to indictment documents for Lofton's case, the grand jury ruled that Meza strangled Lofton "in the course of committing and attempting to commit the offense of aggravated sexual assault."Indictment documents for Fraga's case, the grand jury ruled Meza knowingly caused Fraga's death by cutting, stabbing and strangling him. On May 24, Meza called the APD 311 line and was transferred to the homicide line, police said. Meza told a...

Construction on south I-35 could impact your back-to-school commute

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:18 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Over the last few months, the quiet summer traffic conditions and lack of rain allowed the construction crews working on the I-35 Capital Express South Project to ramp up work between Ben White Blvd and State Highway 45 Southeast.That's where two non-tolled High Occupancy Vehicle, or H-O-V lanes are being built in each direction in South Austin.Construction on I-35 Capital Express South Project near William Cannon DrTxDOT is also reconstructing bridges there, adding pedestrian and bicycle paths, and making additional safety and mobility improvements. PAST COVERAGE: TxDOT breaks ground on I-35 Capital Express South Project If this is where you commute, plan accordingly for your drive to take even more time than it did the last time school was back in session in the spring.And remember that speeding through a construction zone can result in a ticket that's at least $350.With back to school underway adding to the delays, the fine for not following the laws in school ...

ABJ: Austin's future may depend on these farmers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:18 GMT

AUSTIN (Austin Business Journal) -- About 70 miles north of Austin, in a 20-acre agricultural manufacturing site, scores of lettuce seeds are evenly sowed by machines into dirt rows in palettes. Those palettes are then shuttled through a labyrinth of machines and conveyor belts, before coming to rest floating in water in a humid greenhouse.Over the next 20 days, their exposure to sun is varied by a retractable roof and potential contaminants are meticulously measured. When the plants are ready to harvest, the palettes are moved back along conveyor belts into a frigid room, where machines and humans work hand-in-hand to pick them, wash them, package them and send them to grocery stores throughout the South.It's a process that might be the future of farming and it's happening daily at Revol Greens Inc.'s new indoor greenhouse in Temple. ‘World’s largest lettuce greenhouse’ opens in Temple, Texas The company — which has brought its headquarters to Austin and its largest farming facil...

Life Made Simple Boutique in Burnt Hills closing its doors

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:18 GMT

BURNT HILLS, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Life Made Simple Boutique, located at 772 Saratoga Road in Burnt Hills, is closing. Owner Nicole Wilson made the announcement on the boutique's Facebook page on August 3. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! "It’s been an amazing run," said Wilson. "I’ve met the most amazing people and had the pleasure of hand-selecting everything in the boutique. I helped many small-owned USA businesses by selling their amazing products. I’ve had so much support from friends, family, and the community."Wilson attributes the closure to a lack of business and said people are still shopping online. At one point, Life Made Simple also had a location in the Wilton Mall. New eatery opens at former TJ’s Cafe location in Colonie "Please continue to shop at your local stores and eat at the mom-and-pop restaurants," said Wilson. "Not every small business owner has to have a sad ending to their dream. Let’s really support local...

Neighborhood garage sale coming to Whitehall

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:18 GMT

WHITEHALL, N.Y. (NEWS10) - The streets of Whitehall are set to be full of garage sale goods this September. The 2023 Whitehall Neighborhood Garage Sale is setting up tables and getting to selling on Saturday, Sept. 9. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! Organized by the Whitehall Road Neighborhood Connection, the sale invites neighbors across the village to join the movement and sell whatever they have lying around. Streets with sellers include, but may not be limited to:Whitehall RoadNew Scotland AvenueDartmouth StreetEdgecomb StreetRose CourtHolmes CourtS. Main AvenueS. Manning BoulevardHackett BoulevardCrestwood area Whitehall student selected as SADD national president A Facebook post on the Whitehall Road Neighborhood Connection includes comments from many village residents announcing specific addresses where sales will take place.

Emily Manley's path to covering Missouri politics

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:18 GMT

ST. LOUIS – You've seen her cover some of the biggest stories in Missouri. Emily Manley is the Missouri Chief Capital Bureau reporter for Nexstar Media, and her job is to cover state politics. She works for eight stations in different parts of the state, and has been in this role for more than three years.Why did you want to become a journalist?Manly became interested in journalism after first developing an interest in meteorology in the fourth grade. Her fascination with weather led her to watch Dave Murray on FOX 2 in St. Louis and create forecasts using markers on her bedroom mirror."I would pretend that I was pointing to the weather and talking to myself," said Manley. "This continued in the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. I was the weird middle schooler who would make sure I was home in time, so I could watch the CBS Evening News. I loved that people got to tell other people's stories. So then, when I got to high school, it switched a little bit more into sports."She develo...

Denver weather: Partly sunny and warm with possible afternoon rain through weekend

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:18 GMT

Metro Denver residents face partly sunny and warm conditions, with possible light afternoon rain on Friday, a pattern carrying through the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.Any rain, and possible thunderstorms, will hit Denver after 3 p.m., meteorologists said, estimating the likelihood of rain Friday at 20%.The high temperature in Denver on Friday will be 91 degrees, decreasing to 62 degrees at night, forecasters said. On Saturday, the high temperature is expected to be 89 degrees and on Sunday 85 degrees. Meteorologists estimated the chances of rain Sunday afternoon at 30%.Over the weekend, scattered showers and a few thunderstorms developing over the mountains in the early afternoons will spread eastward from the foothills to the high plains east of Denver, weather service forecasters said. Most will produce only light rain. But wind could gust at speeds as fast as 45 miles per hour, forecasters said. On Sunday, a cold front is expected to bring lower temperature...

Laguna Beach looks to muzzle excessive barking

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:18 GMT

"Inconsiderate" dog owners have been put on notice by the city of Laguna Beach, as the City Council on Thursday defined what qualifies as excessive barking and banned "walking" dogs while riding a bicycle or e-bike. To clarify what a nuisance is, the council approved an ordinance that defines excessive barking as either 30 straight minutes or 60 minutes total over a 24-hour period, the Orange County Register reported.The definition of nuisance was nebulous in the past, the council heard from Jim Beres, a Laguna Beach Police Department administrator overseeing animal control, who likened it to "having a speed limit with no defined speed limit."“It was based on how many people were complaining or willing to appear before a hearing officer to testify and provide evidence that a dog, at a certain location, is a nuisance," he said. "That creates a different standard because what constitutes a violation at one location in North Laguna could be different in South Laguna. That’s what some p...

San Francisco-bound United flight’s plunge toward the ocean was caused by pilot error, NTSB says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:18 GMT

By Pete Muntean | CNNA 2022 incident where a United Airlines flight came within 748 feet of crashing into the Pacific Ocean was caused by pilot error, federal investigators say.In a just-published final report, the National Transportation Safety Board pins the cause of United Airlines flight 1722’s dive on “the flight crew’s failure to manage the airplane’s vertical flightpath” after an apparent “miscommunication” between the two pilots over the position of the plane’s wing flaps.The incident took place about one minute after the Boeing 777 departed Hawaii’s Kahului Airport in heavy rain and turbulence on December 18, the NTSB said. The flight with 271 passengers on board continued on to its destination San Francisco without further issue, investigators said.The NTSB said statements from the flight crew revealed confusion over the setting of the 777’s flaps, which are typically extended for takeoff and retracted incrementally during climb out.“When the airplane reached the accelerat...

National security panel reviewing secretive land buys near Bay Area Air Force base

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:18 GMT

By Natasha Bertrand | CNNThe Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States is probing a secretive company that has been buying up land around a key Air Force base in Northern California, sources familiar with the matter and a California lawmaker told CNN.The ongoing review by CFIUS, an interagency panel chaired by the Treasury Department that is tasked with examining the national security implications of foreign investments, has not been previously reported.But it comes as several California congressmen have raised concerns about the hundreds of millions of dollars worth of land bought up in recent years in Solano County, by Flannery Associates, a limited liability company registered in Delaware whose owners are publicly unknown.“They’re right at the fence line with Travis Air Force Base, on three sides of the fence,” Rep. John Garamendi, a California Democrat whose district includes the base, told CNN.Flannery is not required by Delaware law to disclose its owners. Attorneys...