Austin, TX
ABC13's years of Houston-area squatter stories leads to first steps in Austin to bolster laws
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The sound of construction equipment at a house on the 6300 block of Costa Mesa is music to the ears of long-time neighbor Jethro Cooper.
The southwest Houston house sat empty for years, and a mix of teenagers after school, squatters, and a fire left the home as a community eyesore.
“Thank you for your effort in trying to bring it to their attention,” Cooper told ABC13 on Tuesday, about two weeks after Eyewitness News first noted problems with the house. “Now, since you brought it to their attention, they’re doing something about it.”
SEE MORE: Houston homes taken over by squatters leave owners, neighbors frustrated by legalities
However, Cooper knows one repair project on this house is insufficient to solve the more significant problem of homes in bad shape or occupied by squatters proliferating neighborhoods.
“We need help,” he said, noting that efforts to get the house torn down have gone nowhere, and chasing out drug users and others who may squat in the house offered temporary relief.
State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, promised, “We’re going to put this all together and fix it.”
Bettencourt is leading the Texas Senate’s initiative to improve the state’s squatter laws.
Generally speaking, squatter situations in Texas are considered civil matters, and it is challenging to get squatters out of a home without going through the tedious eviction process. In addition, Texas has strong property rights laws, so demolishing abandoned or dilapidated homes is also a prolonged problem.
Bettencourt said he has seen reports of these issues across the state, including the cases ABC13 highlighted over the past year.
“I’ve seen horror stories about squatting – some of your good work – all across the state. So, we’re bringing everyone in to talk about what we can do to stop squatting,” he said.
On Wednesday, Bettencourt is holding a hearing in Austin with an eye on passing bills next year to make it easier to push out squatters by increasing criminal penalties and giving law enforcement more tools.
“It’s just part of the times, but that doesn’t mean it’s acceptable. It shouldn’t be tolerated. It’s illegal, and we’re going to make it a lot more illegal once we get bills passed in the next legislative session,” he said.
“I think anything to help the person who is the victim is needed,” Riana Sherman, one of the squatting victims ABC13 first profiled in 2023, said. “When our situation happened, we called this person, we called that person for help, and nobody was able to help because the person who was squatting had a lease that was not a real lease.”
Sherman and her family were under contract to buy a house in Houston’s Meyerland area but had to pull out because squatters moved in and stayed.
She said her children were traumatized, and she lost thousands of dollars in the process.
“Am I hopeful? I always try to see the good in situations. I always like to be hopeful,” Sherman said, reacting to the possibility of new laws passing.
The Texas Legislature will convene next January. ABC13 will keep you updated on whether the state’s squatter laws will be refreshed to address the problem plaguing homeowners.
For news updates, follow Miya Shay on Facebook, X and Instagram.
Woman claims trespassers moved into her Meyerland rental home and changed her locks
The Meyerland homeowner reached out to ABC13 extremely frustrated, saying a family of five is refusing to leave her rental home after changing its locks.
Copyright © 2024 KTRK-TV. All Rights Reserved.
Austin, TX
Bradlink’s President: Helen Callier to Speak at the University of Texas Austin Readiness Training Program for HUB’s Graduation
AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Bradlink LLC’s president – Helen Callier will speak at the University of Texas at Austin signature IC2 Institute’s Readiness Training Program (RTP) Graduation for Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUB’s). Helen leads an award-winning SBA small business and industry recognized government contracting firm that provides technical services to various local agencies including Austin Independent School District (AISD).
This training program for HUB’s provides Regional Technical Assistance Resources, reviews government databases to register in and presents information on government contracting. The final session and graduation are designed to motivate the mostly start-up companies to propose and position their firms to win government contracts.
With 20 years of proven industry experience in government contracting, Bradlink is branded as a trailblazer and innovator in providing technical solutions on transit, education and healthcare projects.
Callier says, “It’s truly a privilege to share my firm’s story, insights, and tips on obtaining government contracts with other small businesses. Texas is a great place to start and grow a small business and the sessions the HUB’s have attended place them in a strong position.”
Bradlink’s achievements have been marked by notable projects such as working as a Prime on the 2022 $2.44 billion AISD Bond Program, supporting key projects at Austin Bergstrom Airport, and serving as BIM Lead for the CMAR on the Houston Airport System Hobby International $470 million 7-gate Expansion project.
“We’re excited that our Leader has been invited again to speak during UT Austin’s IC2 Institute’s RTP last session and graduation this year. I believe Helen’s business insights will motivate members of the co-hort to execute their growth plans as there are lots of opportunities in Texas to pursue.” Moruf Jimoh, Technical Manager of Bradlink LLC
Bradlink’s President, Helen Callier, has been a driving force in the company’s success. In 2025, Bradlink received numerous industry awards including from the Greater Houston Business Procurement Forum, Tri-County Regional Black Chamber of Commerce and recognized by the Regional Hispanic Contractors Association. Also, in 2023, her influential expertise earned her a prominent spot on page 49 of the SBA Small Business National Resource Guide, showcasing her as a thought leader in the industry.
About Helen Callier
Helen Callier (AKA), B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Prairie View A&M University and graduate on the Goldmans Sachs 10KSB Program, is President of Bradlink LLC, a Technical Services firm and Founder of PermitUsNow, an industry recognized building permitting and expediting firm headquartered in Texas. Recognized as HBJ’s Women Who Mean Business, SBA Women Business Champion, former State of Texas Commissioner of Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation and serving as an Advisory Board Tri-County Regional Black Chamber of Commerce. Helen is known as a point guard in the business community. She is a regular blogger for SubContractors USA News, a published author, dynamic speaker and a valuable contributor in the business community in Texas.
About Bradlink LLC
Bradlink LLC, with offices in Houston, Austin and Dallas, Texas, is a technical services firm, with over two decades of experience, provides program management, building design, permit expediting, construction oversight, and facilities support services primarily to government agencies. Clients of Bradlink include the Houston Airport System, JACOBS, Atkins Realis’, Hensel Phelps, Austin ISD, EXP US, and USACE.
Media Contact:
Len Cal
2813129981
[email protected]
SOURCE Bradlink LLC
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Children’s Hospital has launched Austin’s first pediatric medical helicopter, expanding critical care transport services for children across Central Texas.
The Kangaroo Crew helicopter can reach distances of up to 120 nautical miles and is equipped with advanced medical technology and staffed by clinicians who provide ICU-level care during transport, according to the hospital system.
“This investment reflects our commitment to bringing the highest level of specialized care closer to families, reducing distance as a barrier when every minute matters,” said Dr. Jeffrey Shilt, president of Austin and Central Texas for Texas Children’s.
Texas Children’s Hospital has launched Austin’s first pediatric medical helicopter, expanding critical care transport services for children across Central Texas. (Photo: Texas Children’s)
ALSO | Alamo Drafthouse shifts to phone ordering, ending pen-and-paper system by mid-February
Texas Children’s is the first pediatric hospital system to operate its own helicopter in Austin. The aircraft serves patients throughout Central Texas and West Texas.
The addition of the Austin helicopter brings Texas Children’s total to two Kangaroo Crew helicopters. The helicopter program launched in February 2025 at Texas Children’s in Houston and has transported hundreds of critically ill patients.
The expansion was funded through donations to Texas Children’s, including contributions from Texas Children’s Ambassadors.
“Through the support of our Ambassadors and other generous donors, we are able to invest in innovations like this helicopter that make an immediate, meaningful difference for families across Central Texas and beyond,” said Ben Renberg, chief development officer of the Office of Philanthropy at Texas Children’s.
A new helicopter will take to the skies over Central Texas on Tuesday. Texas Children’s Hospital has added a helicopter to its Kangaroo Crew intensive care transport team, which previously used only ambulances to bring patients to its Austin facility.
The team will be able to travel 120 nautical miles to pick up a patient. The hospital, which opened almost two years ago, has launched programs that are attracting patients from across Texas and around the country, said Dr. Jeff Shilt, the president of Texas Children’s in Austin. “Having a helicopter for a pediatric hospital is really a differentiator for us.”
The $15 million investment makes Texas Children’s the only hospital — pediatric or adult — in Austin with a dedicated helicopter. The other hospitals use STAR Flight.
The air transport program will expand this summer with a larger helicopter that will seat four in the bay instead of three and fly up to 200 nautical miles. That will take this helicopter beyond Waco, Brownwood, San Antonio and College Station, where this current helicopter can go, to near Dallas, San Angelo, Corpus Christi and Beaumont. Texas Children’s also has a plane that is based in Houston that can carry patients who are much further than 200 nautical miles.
The helicopter also will be used locally when traffic on MoPac Boulevard or Interstate 35 would make an ambulance trip longer than 30 minutes to an hour.
The helicopter’s crew of four pilots, critical care nurses and respiratory therapists is based at the Georgetown Executive Airport, which is seven minutes of flying time to the hospital in North Austin.
Each time the helicopter takes off, a respiratory therapist and a registered nurse travels with it. The medical team has been trained in trauma care and has multiple certifications. They also can bring a patient-specific specialized doctor or nurse practitioner if needed. There is a seat for a guardian to ride with their child.
Inside the helicopter is a miniature intensive care unit with ventilators, monitors and oxygen tanks that can be moved in and out to stabilize a patient in a hospital, during the flight and after landing at the Texas Children’s helipad until the patient is connected to hospital machines.
“We take the ICU to them, stabilizing them and bring them back to a higher level of care,” said Kelley Young, a respiratory therapist with 19 years of critical care team experience working in a helicopter.
The patients are strapped into a sled that is tied down to the helicopter. That sled can be put onto a gurney to take the patient in and out of the helicopter. For smaller patients, such as babies, there are parts that are added to secure them to the sled.
The team is prepared for an emergency, including each having a survival kit on them and an additional one in the helicopter.
“We do a lot of training and a lot of simulations,” said John Samluk, a critical care nurse with the team.
They also can talk to everyone in the helicopter using headsets and call to hospital staff at either end of the journey to relay or receive updates.
Playing catchup to Republicans, Democrats launch ‘largest-ever’ partisan national voter registration campaign
Simple daily habit may help ease depression more than medication, researchers say
Mike Tomlin stepping down as Steelers head coach: reports
Teen hackers recruited through fake job ads
How bits of Apple history can be yours
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Video: ‘It Didn’t Have to Happen This Way:’ U.Va. Faculty Call for Review of Police Response to Protests
Playing catchup to Republicans, Democrats launch ‘largest-ever’ partisan national voter registration campaign
Fact check: Machado can’t ‘share’ her Nobel Peace Prize with Trump
Scott Adams, the controversial cartoonist behind ‘Dilbert,’ dies at 68
Rep Ro Khanna demands prosecution of ICE agent in Minneapolis fatal shooting
Syrian army sends troops to rural Aleppo to stop any SDF attempt to regroup
-
Detroit, MI1 week ago2 hospitalized after shooting on Lodge Freeway in Detroit
-
Technology1 week agoPower bank feature creep is out of control
-
Montana3 days agoService door of Crans-Montana bar where 40 died in fire was locked from inside, owner says
-
Delaware4 days agoMERR responds to dead humpback whale washed up near Bethany Beach
-
Dallas, TX5 days agoAnti-ICE protest outside Dallas City Hall follows deadly shooting in Minneapolis
-
Dallas, TX1 week agoDefensive coordinator candidates who could improve Cowboys’ brutal secondary in 2026
-
Iowa7 days agoPat McAfee praises Audi Crooks, plays hype song for Iowa State star
-
Virginia3 days agoVirginia Tech gains commitment from ACC transfer QB