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Austin, TX

APA! signs agreement to build on property, expand to others

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APA! signs agreement to build on property, expand to others


The City and Austin Pets Alive! have signed an agreement allowing APA! to rebuild on its current property and expand to other properties.

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“What we do is we serve to help the animals that fall through the cracks,” said Dr. Ellen Jefferson, president & CEO of the nonprofit organization.

But they are also dealing with cracks in the concrete.

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“This place needs to come down,” said Dr. Jefferson.

Austin Pets Alive! has been at the 70-year-old Town Lake property since 2011, but before that, it served as the City’s animal shelter before the Austin Animal Center moved to the Levander Loop location.

In 2017, Austin City Council authorized the negotiation of a 25-year agreement with renewal options that would allow APA! to upgrade and build on the current property.

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Fast-forward to August 24, and an agreement was signed.

“The reason it’s taken six years to get to the point where we’re actually signing the agreement is that the property has some really big obstacles associated with it. Right now, the current buildings are built under power lines and over water mains because the buildings are older than the City’s infrastructure,” said Dr. Jefferson. “The power lines are the biggest problem, and we just never were able to reach an agreement with the City of Austin on what to do with them. And our building is so old and falling down that we really needed to just move on.”

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Through partnering with the Austin Animal Center, APA! has been able to help Austin maintain its title as the largest no-kill city in the country.

Last month alone, APA! took in 30 dogs from AAC as part of a pilot boarding agreement due to a distemper outbreak and overcrowding.

“We take in about 12% of their total population every year just naturally,” said Dr. Jefferson. “And then when there are big issues, we work together to try to find a solution.”

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Going forward, APA! will demolish and rebuild on the current property while pursuing other properties. 

“Austin Pets Alive! is looking at other locations for the bulk of our services, and then what we are really excited about being able to do here is to rebuild an adoption center and a foster service center and really make it very public friendly,” said Dr. Jefferson. “Since we know we can no longer keep doing everything that we do here, it’s really important that we are successful in being able to fundraise for multiple properties and for rebuilding here. It is a lot to juggle, and we’re really going to lean on the community for support.”

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Dr. Jefferson said they are currently looking for private, individual donors who are interested in making large donations toward expansion efforts. Interested donors can reach out to APA!’s philanthropy department. 



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Austin, TX

Knicks set to acquire Mikal Bridges in a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, AP sources say

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Knicks set to acquire Mikal Bridges in a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, AP sources say


NEW YORK (AP) — Mikal Bridges is being traded by the Brooklyn Nets to the New York Knicks, where he will join Jalen Brunson and his other former Villanova teammates, two people with knowledge of the details said Tuesday.

The first trade between the New York rivals since 1983 will put Bridges in the lineup alongside Brunson, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo, players who helped the Wildcats win two NCAA championships and were the core of a Knicks lineup that reached the Eastern Conference semifinals last season.

The Knicks will pay big to get him, with ESPN reporting that they are sending Bojan Bogdanovic to the Nets along with four unprotected first-round picks and one protected pick. The deal was confirmed to The Associated Press under condition of anonymity because it is not yet official.

The Nets acquired Bridges from Phoenix in the deal for Kevin Durant in February 2023 and he went on to average 26.1 points the rest of that season in helping Brooklyn reach the playoffs. The swingman scored 19.6 per game in 2023-24 but the Nets slipped to 32-50 and missed the postseason.

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And while his team was struggling, he couldn’t help but notice how much fun his friends were having just a few miles away. The Knicks signed Brunson in the summer of 2022, traded for Hart in the 2022-23 season and then signed DiVincenzo last summer, and reached the second round in both seasons.

The four players helped Villanova win the 2016 NCAA title, and Brunson, Bridges and DiVincenzo were still there when the Wildcats won again in 2018.

They clearly can’t wait to get the band back together.

“This is crazy lol,” Bridges wrote on the social media platform X after the deal was reported.

Hart posted a picture of what appeared to be the four players smiling during a group video call.

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The teams hadn’t made a deal since 1983, when the Nets were still in New Jersey and sent Len Elmore to New York for a future draft pick. This one gives Brooklyn more picks to build through the draft or package in further trades.

The Knicks had picks to move and have been looking to strengthen a team that has been on the rise. They were a game away from their first appearance in the Eastern Conference finals since 2000 last season despite losing a number of key players to injuries before and during the postseason.

Their new addition, on the other hand, doesn’t get hurt.

Bridges was the runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year in 2022 and is currently the NBA’s most durable player, which should quickly make him a favorite of Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau. He has played in all 474 games in his career — and never missed a game in college, either — and led the league in minutes played in both 2021-22 and 2022-23.

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This story has been corrected to reflect that Brunson signed with the Knicks in the summer of 2022, not the Nets.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba



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Austin, TX

‘It’s really helpful’: Central Texas workforce programs receive thousands in state funding

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‘It’s really helpful’: Central Texas workforce programs receive thousands in state funding


AUSTIN (KXAN) — Central Texas nonprofits just got more money to help their efforts increasing our workforce.

Twenty workforce skills training and job placement programs received more than $6.3 million in grant funding, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Monday.

The funding came via the Texas Talent Connection grant program, an initiative designed to aid “innovative education and workforce skills training programs that lead to successful job placement, increased wages, and improved job retention,” per the release.

Two of those programs are in the Austin area: American YouthWorks and Skillpoint Alliance.

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‘Reach out to rural communities’

Skillpoint Alliance received $210,000 from the grant program.

Chief Executive Officer Kevin Brackmeyer said it will help them reach out to rural communities throughout all of the areas they serve.

“We’ve seen a lot of individuals who are coming to our training come from outside of these rural communities. We felt that it was urgent that we start really reaching out to those communities and really helping them get trained.”

Kevin Brackmeyer, Skillpoint Alliance Chief Executive Officer

Brackmeyer said they are setting up pop-up trainings in those rural places. He said the grant will also help expand the times they can train.

  • Skillpoint Alliance
  • Skillpoint Alliance

“Adding more training sites at night as well as during the day with a focus on specific populations,” Brackmeyer said “One being the veterans that we love to serve.”

Skillpoint Alliance Electrical Instructor Matthew Singer is a veteran himself.

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“It’s hard to reach veterans,” Singer said. “Often, large populations are in Killeen and San Antonio. So we try to go to them and provide them an opportunity to transfer from the military into a trade.”

‘Serve more young people’

American YouthWorks is another Austin nonprofit receiving the Texas Talent Connection Grant Program.

“Typically, students are spending half their time in our academic programs, finishing their GED or high school diploma and half of their time in the pre-apprenticeship job training programs,” said YouthBuild Program Director David Clauss.

Clauss said their $350,000 will go towards YouthBuild, a program for young adults who haven’t finished high school.

“Our YouthBuild programs job training is focused around the Austin economy,” Class said. “We provide job training in healthcare, IT, manufacturing and construction in the skilled trades.”

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With this additional support, Clauss said they’re able to support over 120 to 150 young people.

The nonprofit said 80% of YouthBuild grads go on to higher education or a job in the Austin economy.

  • American YouthWorks
  • American YouthWorks

YouthBuild participant Eloy Vasquez is planning for that in his future.

“I actually want to like join trade school after this. A lot of the skills that I’ve learned here will definitely translate into what careers I’m trying to pursue.”

Eloy Vasquez, YouthBuild participant

Collectively, more than $50 million in grants have been awarded through the state’s grant program since 2015.

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Austin, TX

Global aerospace co. Acutronic names Austin its divisional HQ, plans additional investment in area

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Global aerospace co. Acutronic names Austin its divisional HQ, plans additional investment in area


A global aerospace giant that works with nearly every U.S. defense contractor has picked Central Texas for a multifaceted investment that is expected to result in more jobs, another manufacturing hub and workforce development training in the area. This article dives into what the company has planned and why it chose the Austin area for the next phase of its growth.



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