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Austin's Family Business Loan Program revamped for modern costs

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin City Council voted Thursday to increase the maximum amount of money local businesses can get through the Family Business Loan program and created a process for approving loans that exceed the maximum amount. When the loan program started in 2012, the maximum amount a local business could get approved for was $1 million. But since costs for commercial real estate and payroll have gone up in the past decade, the city decided to raise the maximum amount to match the current market. Now businesses can get up to $4 million dollars from the program, and if a company needs to go past that, there is a process set in place for the loan review committee to get approval on. Who does it help?The FBLP was set up to help enable local businesses to grow and hire more employees. It's a private-public partnership between the city of Austin, Housing and Urban Development, and private investors. Sheyenne Alvarez, the program manager, said it is for businesses of all sizes. The ...

Texas birds renamed due to links with colonialism, slavery, racism

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

AUSTIN  (KXAN) – Starting in 2024, the American Ornithological Society (AOS), the largest international group of its kind, will begin an initiative to rename some species birds with English names found in the U.S. and Canada.The group said it is taking on the effort to “address past wrongs” in the naming process – for example, excluding Black and Indigenous people when naming birds or honoring historical figures linked to slavery and racism. “There is power in a name, and some English bird names have associations with the past that continue to be exclusionary and harmful today. We need a much more inclusive and engaging scientific process that focuses attention on the unique features and beauty of the birds themselves,” AOS President Colleen Handel said in a press release. “Everyone who loves and cares about birds should be able to enjoy and study them freely—and birds need our help now more than ever,” she continued. AOS said it would change all English bird names, r...

Demonstrators hold rally, silent protest to demand Austin leaders call for ceasefire in Gaza

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Hours before a temporary truce ended in Gaza, pro-Palestine demonstrators gathered outside and then went inside Austin City Hall Thursday to demand Austin City Council members make a formal call for a ceasefire in the fighting between Israel and Hamas. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather at Texas State Capitol Sunday, call for ceasefire in Gaza The Austin for Palestine Coalition, which led the protest, wants council members to pass a resolution that was adopted by the Austin Human Rights Commission on Nov. 6. That resolution called for the council to:express support for de-escalation of the warexpress support for an "explicit ceasefire" demand of release of "civilian hostages abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7"demand resumption of essential supplies including food, water and fuel to civilians in Gaza The coalition wants the council to take up and approve the resolution at the council's Dec. 14 meeting. The group held a rally in front of city hall Thursday morning then...

Minnesota’s Leslie Fhima and the emotional finale of ‘The Golden Bachelor’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

In the emotionally charged finale of “The Golden Bachelor,” 72-year-old retired Indiana restaurateur Gerry Turner proposed to a woman who was not Minneapolis fitness instructor Leslie Fhima. And Fhima was clearly crushed.“You made it sound like you chose me,” she said between sobs. “You led me down a path and then you took a turn and left me there. It’s mindboggling, to be honest, how you can talk to me all night, say you love and then one day — not even a day, 12 hours later – you’d change your mind. I poured my heart out. I fell in love with you.”The episode, which aired Thursday night on ABC, took place at a resort in Costa Rica, after Turner went on overnight dates with 64-year-old Fhima and 70-year-old New Jersey financial services professional Theresa Nist. (At the end of the finale, which was half prerecorded material and half live-in-studio, host Jesse Palmer announced Turner and Nist were going to get married on Jan. 4, with the ceremony broadcast live on ...

St. Louis City winter operations starting today through March 31

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

ST. LOUIS - With winter upon us, the city of St. Louis is launching its winter operations program on Friday to help the homeless find places to stay and get out of the cold.Although it's not snowing, Friday morning's cold rain is certainly a sign of things to come this winter in the area. City officials say if you're in need of shelter this winter, call 211 for a referral to a shelter. However, if you don't have a phone, you can come to the Centenary United Methodist Church on Pine during cold weather to get a referral for a place to stay.Here is a breakdown of the number of city-funded beds for the homeless:City officials say the 744 beds are available year-round. That is a 23% increase over the situation in 2022. There are just over 100 additional overflow beds that are available during inclement weather.AmeriCorps is also providing 40 beds when the temperature drops below 20 degrees. Tow truck operator killed in Illinois served as volunteer firefighter It's known just how dange...

Clayton murder suspect's bond hearing today

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

ST. LOUIS - The man charged with a murder in Clayton two weeks ago has a bond reduction hearing scheduled for Friday.The Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis arrested 18-year-old Trenell Johnson in the death of 41-year-old Joshua Harris. According to court documents, Harris was shot after he confronted Johnson, who was allegedly breaking into cars. Tow truck operator killed in Illinois served as volunteer firefighter Johnson had been out on bond for other car theft charges in St. Louis County. He was arrested after a large manhunt.Johnson faces second-degree murder and armed criminal action charges.

Schnucks Ladue Crossing Hanukkah celebration

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. - Schnucks at Ladue Crossing is celebrating with singing, storytelling, and other activities for kids.Children who stop by will receive Hanukkah gelt - chocolate gold coins. It's happening December 5 from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Schnucks on Ladue Road. Tow truck operator killed in Illinois served as volunteer firefighter Later on FOX 2 News in the Morning at 8, Rabbi Miller and Steve Turner of Schnucks join us to share more about what to expect from this celebration

Former St. Louis Lambert Airport Police Chief Paul Mason dies at age 76

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Former St. Louis Lambert International Airport Police Chief Paul Mason has died.He retired in 2014 after 26 years on the job - 17 as chief. The former military police officer also served as the personal security officer for the late St. Louis Rams owner, Georgia Frontiere. The ‘center’ of Missouri isn’t too far from Jefferson City Visitation for Chief Mason is next Thursday, and the funeral is next Friday. He'll be buried with full military honors at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.Chief Paul Mason was 76 years old.

Comic Katie Bowman isn’t afraid to make crowds squirm

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

Katie Bowman is quick to describe herself as a “neuro-divergent nightmare,” despite bringing laughs to countless audiences in hundreds of stand-up sets in the last decade.“I don’t think it’s a negative thing,” said Bowman, a 36-year-old Denver comedian and visual artist who makes an impression with a bright shock of red hair and oversized glasses. “Some people hate it, but it resonates with people who have ADHD, like me, or cognitive disorders. All the crazies, underdogs, outcasts and losers — bring them to me. I picture the people in the audience as friends at a party, and I want them to feel welcome and heard.”The poster for Katie Bowman’s Dec. 2 album recording. (Provided by Katie Bowman)Bowman and her loopy, bawdy, intensely personal humor, which features practiced jokes and improvised asides, just returned from a national tour where she performed what will become her first stand-up album.Dubbed “Neurodivergent Ni...

A primer on Love Has Won, the Colorado cult featured in HBO’s new docu-series

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:28:32 GMT

“What’s a cult? People not believing what’s mainstream, which is God is a man and you find him in a church that wants money?”That’s a quote from a member of an organization called Love Has Won in a new HBO docu-series, entitled “Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God.” The group is, by most accounts, a cult that grabbed headlines in April 2021 after the mummified remains of its leader, Amy Carlson, known as Mother God, were found in a sleeping bag wrapped in Christmas lights near Crestone, Colorado.But that was hardly the first time Love Has Won ended up in the news. Over the course of a decade-plus, the group gained exposure by spreading its message by live-streaming on platforms such as YouTube and Facebook. In 2020, Love Has Won fled Hawaii under police escort after Carlson’s claims to be the deity Pele sparked outrage among locals.HBO’s docu-series chronicles the life and death of Carlson through interviews with current and former members, footage from the group’s exte...