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Austin Energy: Heat to blame for equipment failure, blackouts for thousands

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 12:01:39 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN)-- This heat is "almost unbearable," said Jeanne Rollins. "Feels like the hottest it's ever been," said Rocky Maksoud. "It went zero to 100 real quick," said Sam Lahourcade. That means things like hats for shade, and water bottles. "As we're walking, we're misting ourselves," said Rollins, who moved to Austin from Colorado and said she's still grateful for the heat. But for 8,000 people on Thursday, going inside their homes to escape the heat suddenly wasn't an option anymore, when their power went out. Matt Mitchell with Austin Energy said two blackouts were caused by heat-related equipment failure: A high number of people running their air-conditioning caused wires to heat up more than usual, and that combined with high external temperatures. "At eight o'clock at night or seven o'clock at night when those temperatures are really high, and we've been running current through the through those wires all day... It causes stress on the system," he said. KXAN asked: Isn't y...

Twins fall again to formerly skidding Tigers, 7-1

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 12:01:39 GMT

The Twins vowed to flush a disappointing loss to the skidding Detroit Tigers on Thursday and play better Friday in the second of a four-game series at Target Field.Maybe on Saturday.Javy Baez hit a three-run homer in a five-run third, and six Tigers relievers scattered seven hits and struck out eight in a bullpen game as the Detroit team that had lost 11 of 12 before arriving in the Twin Cities beat the Twins, 7-1, in front of an announced Pride Night crowd of 27,170.The Twins started this series with a 3½-game lead on second-place Cleveland in the American League Central and winners of four of their past five games. But that lead is down to two games pending the Guardians’ late game at Arizona, and the Twins have slipped back to .500 (35-35).Minnesota has held first place in the division since April 11, but since May 1 the Twins are 16-23.After Edouard Julien and Carlos Correa went down swinging to start the Twins’ eighth inning, many in the crowd answered with boos.Joe Ryan (7-4) ...

St. Louis Health Dept. responds to woman's prolonged housing troubles

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 12:01:39 GMT

ST. LOUIS - The St Louis Health Department does an about-face after a recent You Paid For It report on the plight of a north St Louis tenant living in a HUD Apartment, costing taxpayers $1,500 per month.In their previous inspection the health department said there was no insect infestation in Torreese Valentine's apartment. She asked them to come back out at night and check, and the inspector did just that.Elliott Davis talked to Justen Hauser from the Health Department. He says this was an after-hours inspection it was through coordination with the tenant. Triple shooting at North St. Louis gas station one dead, two injured "That is the time that she had identified that the pests were most active, that the second inspection did reveal sufficient evident to document and then move forward with citing the property owner,” said Hauser.Torreese Valentine had this to say, "And I'm right again. I feel like you all told me it was an investigation, but yet I'm still her sleeping with the...

Missouri boating safety, marijuana rules tackled in Water Patrol meeting

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 12:01:39 GMT

ST. CHARLES, Mo. - Just before summer officially kicks off, one man is bringing boaters and the Missouri State Water Patrol together to promote safe boating.Local boater Dan Brown first introduced the event last year to help foster relationships between the people using boats and the ones regulating boating rules.  Triple shooting at North St. Louis gas station one dead, two injured On Friday, at the Saint Louis Yacht Club, around 30 or so boaters met with two agents from the Missouri State Water Patrol. “I hope they come away with that we are all in this together," Brown told FOX 2. "We have several deaths a year on the Mississippi [River], and we are trying to prevent some of that.”The meeting lasted for about an hour. One of the topics Brown figured may be brought up this year is the topic of recreational marijuana since it passed this year.  Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily New...

Ameren uses recycling program to repurpose old power poles

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 12:01:39 GMT

MARYVILLE, Ill. - There are a variety of reasons power poles are taken out of service. In some cases, they simply age out.  “The average life span of a pole is 40 years,” said Brian Bretsch, spokesman for Ameren Illinois.   Storms and vehicle crashes can also lead to power poles being replaced. In the past, Ameren workers would pile the poles and eventually put them in a dumpster.    Triple shooting at North St. Louis gas station one dead, two injured “They used to take chain saws and have to cut them up into pieces,” said Bretsch.   Beginning last year, Ameren partnered with recycler Blackwood Solutions. Ameren continues to remove old poles and pile them in the St. Louis metro. Now, Blackwood Solutions hauls them away and repurposes the poles into fence posts, parking barriers and other products. The recycling program is operational in Missouri and Illinois.  “We really like this program because it allows us to be really good environmental stewards,”...

Skidding Cards lose sixth straight, 6-1 to Mets to open road trip

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 12:01:39 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Tylor Megill won for the first time in almost a month, slumping Daniel Vogelbach homered in his return to the lineup and the New York Mets beat the skidding St. Louis Cardinals 6-1 on Friday night in a series opener between two of baseball’s most disappointing teams.Brett Baty hit a two-run double off Miles Mikolas in a three-run first inning, and Tommy Pham added a pair of two-out RBI singles against his former team as the fourth-place Mets (33-36) won their second straight after losing nine of 10.Willson Contreras homered for the Cardinals (27-43), who have dropped six in a row and 13 of 16. After winning the NL Central last season, St. Louis has the worst record in the National League and is off to its worst start in 45 years.Megill (6-4) allowed four hits in six innings, striking out seven and walking none for his first victory since May 18 against Tampa Bay. He was 0-2 in his previous four outings, including a dreadful performance last Friday in Pittsburgh when ...

Colorado homebuyers struggle with limited inventory, high-interest rates

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 12:01:39 GMT

Despite a double-digit percentage increase in new listings on the market, the continued low inventory and interest rates that hover around 7% hindered potential buyers in May, according to the Colorado Association of Realtors monthly report.While the median prices of statewide and Denver metro area remain below last year’s record highs, limited inventory pushed prices up for the fourth month.“Have you noticed a few less ‘sold’ signs in your neighborhood? If you live in Denver County, you’re not wrong with roughly one-third fewer sales taking place across freestanding homes and condos alike this May,” said Matt Leprino with Remingo.Despite the limited inventory, sellers can’t bank on anything selling and must make necessary improvements before listing their homes.“Sellers, if you’re looking for top dollar, then your home better be priced ‘right on’ and your condition needs to be superior to your competition. Being R...

Officials raising awareness about rising crime in O.C.

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 12:01:39 GMT

Republican and Democratic congressional members are raising awareness of foreign criminals coming into Southern California to commit violent crimes.  Amid news that Chilean criminal gangs have been burglarizing homes in Orange County, officials are concerned about a particular visa program that allows Chilean nationals to come into the United States on 90-day visas without having to provide a criminal background check. O.C. District Attorney Todd Spitzer says the program causes issues in court when someone is arrested and comes before a judge and they are unable to prove a criminal background, if any. If they are released on a lower bail or no bail at all, they usually don’t show up for future hearings. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy held a roundtable discussion in O.C. with law enforcement and lawmakers on Friday to address the rising crime and discuss concerns and potential changes to the visa waiver program. Democratic Congressmen Lou Correa and Mike Levin ...

Viral TikTok rap star Van Van dreams of working with Beyoncé

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 12:01:39 GMT

TikTok star, Savannah McConneaughey, also known as Van Van, quickly rose to social media stardom with her creative rap lyrics and energetic beats. With the help of her parents, the 4-year-old self-made rapper garnered millions of views on TikTok from her freestyle raps about her ABCs and 123s. Van Van, who has more than 200,000 social media followers and over one million TikTok video views, says that she feels “great and happy” to be a TikTok star. “Ever since she was a child, I’ve just been recording her because she just had something about her, like a spark,”  said Van Van’s dad and hype man, Reggie Savannah McConneaughey. “When she was younger, she would just memorize songs so easily and dance to them. Her mom could be singing a song and then stop and Vannah would fill in the words. That’s when she was like one or two years old. She had rhythm when she was younger. I was like, 'Yeah, she’s special.'” Van Van, who credits her inspiration to child star That Girl Lay ...

Crews work to extinguish brush fire burning in Napa County

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 12:01:39 GMT

(KRON) -- A brush fire is burning in Napa County Friday evening, Cal Fire LNU tweeted. The fire was first reported to be 15 acres on the 1100 block of Snell Valley Road in Pope Valley.As of 7:30 p.m., the fire is at 80 acres and is 0% contained, officials said. Cal Fire says crews are making "good progress" on their response to the blaze.(Cal Fire LNU)Eighteen fire engines, two air tankers, two helicopters, two water tenders, three hand crews and four dozers were deployed to the scene. Travelers in the area are advised to use caution and give way to emergency vehicles.Cal Fire first tweeted about the fire at 6:11 p.m., which was initially 15 acres. It has now spread to 80 acres approximately one hour later.No other information was immediately available.KRON On is streaming news live now.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: abso...