Austin, TX
Austin, Texas, opioid outbreak leaves at least 9 dead, 75 overdoses in 3 days – Washington Examiner
(The Center Square) – Over the last few days, city and county officials are responding to what appears to be “the largest opioid overdose outbreak” in Austin and Travis County, Travis County Judge Andy Brown said at a news conference.
Austin Police Department Assistant Chief Eric Fitzgerald said police officers and emergency personnel reduced an untold number of deaths, saying, “there is a deadly batch of illicit narcotics in our community. Our intent … is to find those persons responsible and hold them accountable.”
Lt. Patrick Eastlick with the APD’s narcotics unit said two persons of interest were detained and one was arrested for felony possession of a firearm. An investigation is ongoing into the source of where the drugs came from. “Anyone found responsible for distributing the suspected fentanyl faces potential charges of murder or manufactured delivery of controlled substance causing death or serious bodily injury,” he said.
Last year, the Texas legislature passed a bill that Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law changing state law to classify fentanyl poisoning as murder, require death certificates to state cause of death related to fentanyl poisonings, expand distribution of Narcan, among other measures.
So far, the APD has filed five charges related to fentanyl overdose deaths, Eastlick said.
Austin-Travis County EMS Assistant Chief Steve White said emergency personnel initially responded to calls in the downtown area Monday morning, which later spread throughout the city. Emergency teams were deployed to quickly distribute Narcan rescue kits.
Within a 24-hour period, they responded to over 51 suspected overdoses with many individuals in cardiac arrest. Four people were first reported dead.
“We have not experienced overdoses of this volume since 2015, when K2 struck our community,” White said, referring to synthetic marijuana. EMS usually gets an average of two to three calls a day, but responded to over 50 calls after the outbreak began, “well over a thousand percent increase.”
In a separate press announcement, Dr. Angela Carr with Travis County EMS said as of 6 pm on Thursday, Austin Travis County EMS had responded to 75 suspected overdoses. So far, more than 400 doses of Narcan have been distributed to affected areas.
Brown said they had to wait until the toxicology reports were completed but they were investigating “eight deaths as suspicious.”
The current death total is nine, according to a county spokesperson. “Preliminary toxicology reports indicated the presence of fentanyl in nine cases, cocaine in eight and methamphetamine in three, the American-Statesman reported.
Brown said emergency personnel saved dozens of lives by administering Narcan, a drug that reverses opioid overdoses if administered quickly enough. Information about where Texans can obtain Narcan can be found here and at Txcope.org.
“Drug overdose deaths continue to be the number one cause of non-accidental deaths in Travis County,” Brown said. In 2022, Travis County commissioners declared the county’s overdose epidemic as a public health crisis.
In March, White spoke at an Austin City Council meeting on public safety saying, “Travis County now has twice as many opiate overdose deaths than any other county in Texas, per capita.” He explained the scope of the “severe increase” in opioid overdoses, saying they averaged roughly 100 a month at the time.
Last year, while the legislature was in session, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers seized half a million lethal doses of fentanyl in Austin, The Center Square reported. They also seized other narcotics, weapons, ammunition, and several stolen vehicles in a bust that was part of a DPS Austin Violent Crimes Task Force operation assisting the APD.
Violent crime and fentanyl overdoses have increased in the state capital since the Austin City Council voted to defund the APD in 2020. Efforts by voters to increase APD funding and reverse the city council’s actions failed in 2021. After losing a significant number of APD’s force, the number of homicides in Austin spiked, APD was no longer able to respond quickly to 911 calls, street takeovers got out of control, a machete crime spree ensued among other violent crimes being reported.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
In response, Gov. Abbott took action, creating task forces and surging additional resources, including directing DPS troopers to provide long-term assistance to APD. He also worked with the Texas legislature to implement measures to prevent municipalities from defunding the police in the future, The Center Square reported.
“Overdose deaths are completely preventable and everyone in Travis County should be aware and prepared to respond to an overdose incident,” Brown said. “Everyone should carry Narcan and know how to respond to an overdose. I carry a dose of it in my computer bag.”
AUSTIN (KXAN) — As flood threats continue across parts of South Central Texas, Austin Pets Alive! has activated emergency response efforts to support animal shelters affected by the inclement weather.
In a social media post, APA! wrote, “We began offering aid last night, working to secure fosters for 10 dogs in the Castroville shelter, an open-air shelter that sits at the bottom of a valley.”
APA! said the situation escalated overnight with additional shelters reporting flooding. One shelter confirmed that floodwaters reached its facility, APA! added.
Communities overwhelmed due to weather include Uvalde, Castroville and Sabinal.
The nonprofit is asking the Austin community to foster, adopt or donate to free up capacity for animals displaced by the disaster. APA! needs to clear out its facilities to assist the animals in need of shelter.
Here are ways you can help:
- Adopt: APA! is offering a “Name Your Own Adoption Fee” on all animals.
- Foster: The shelter is seeking foster homes for a minimum of three weeks.
- Donate: Proceeds will fund vans and response teams setting up a staging and triage center at the heart of the disaster zone, along with an expanded stockpile of preventatives, PPE and additional supplies.
If you would like to donate, click here.
AUSTIN, Texas — With heavy rain expected across parts of Central Texas this week and flooding top of mind, the city of Austin is proposing to put more money toward flood mitigation improvements in next year’s budget.
The proposal would invest in new flood infrastructure, add staff, and help move flood mitigation projects forward, according to city leaders. Austin City Councilmember Ryan Alter said the investments are aimed at keeping the city prepared for future flooding.
Residents who live near waterways say they have seen how quickly conditions can change. David Haderspeck, who lives near Shoal Creek, said the creek “fills up pretty fast” and “gets a lot higher than you’d expect.” He said he has watched the water rise dramatically after rain.
“I’ve seen it come up probably 10 to 15 feet to the ordinary high-water mark,” he said.
This week, parts of Central Texas, including the Hill Country, are expected to get heavy downpours. While Austin is not expecting the same impacts as parts of the Hill Country, leaders said the city is using this year’s budget planning to continue investing in flood safety.
Alter said the city has the expertise to address flooding risks but needs to follow through on projects.
ALSO| Central Texas urged to prepare as heavy rainfall sits in forecast over next two days
“We have the experts. We just have to put the plans into practice, and that’s what we’re doing in this budget,” he said.
Under the budget proposal, the city would provide about $134.5 million for the Drainage Utility Fund, which helps pay for flood mitigation, drainage infrastructure and watershed protection efforts.
Alter said the proposal would shift more of the funding balance toward building new infrastructure.
“What we’re going to do is shift that balance a little bit more to building new infrastructure so that when we do have large flooding events, we’ve got that infrastructure in place to keep people safe,” he said.
The proposal also adds staff and invests in both new and existing flood mitigation projects across the city.
Asked whether the proposed investments would be enough moving forward, Alter said, “I do…I think we’re doing the right thing and just making sure that our residents have the infrastructure to stay safe.”
Alter said heavy rain cannot be prevented, but the city’s goal is to have infrastructure in place to help keep people safe when it happens.
FILE – LinkedIn logos are displayed on an iPhone and computer screen. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas Attorney General’s office has opened an investigation into LinkedIn over allegations that the professional networking platform misleads consumers with advertising and profiting from misleading or fake job listings, otherwise known as “ghost jobs.”
LinkedIn investigation
In this photo illustration a Linkedin logo seen displayed on a mobile phone. (Photo Illustration by Stanislav Kogiku/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
What we know:
Texas announced on Tuesday it has issued a Civil Investigative Demand (CID) seeking documents, data and internal communications related to LinkedIn’s advertising, marketing, job listing verification practices and its Premium subscription services.
The investigation centers on whether LinkedIn violated Texas’ consumer protection laws by promoting paid subscription services while allegedly failing to disclose that some job listings on the platform may not actually be representative of hiring opportunities.
What is a ‘ghost job’?
An image of a woman holding a cell phone in front of a LinkedIn logo displayed on a computer screen. On Tuesday, January 12, 2021, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Dig deeper:
LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft and the world’s largest professional networking platform, with more than 1 billion registered users worldwide.
A “ghost job” generally refers to a position advertised online that either is no longer available or that an employer has no immediate intention of filling. The attorney general’s office cited independent studies estimating that ghost jobs account for between one-fifth and one-third of online job postings.
Texas AG targets Premium Subscription Fees
Photographer: Mark Felix/Bloomberg via Getty Images
What they’re saying:
According to the office of the attorney general, LinkedIn does not independently verify the hiring status of most job listings on its platform. Ken Paxton’s office alleges that the company’s marketing for its Premium subscription services does not disclose that a significant number of postings could be inactive, unfilled or not reflect genuine employment opportunity.
“I will use every resource available to my office to help job-seeking Texans find and secure real employment opportunities,” Paxton said in a statement. “LinkedIn has a duty to provide the services it advertises and ensure that consumers paying for Premium subscriptions are receiving access to legitimate job postings.”
Texas officials said LinkedIn’s Premium Career and Premium Business subscriptions cost about $39.99 and $69.99 per month, respectively, and are marketed to jobseekers looking to improve their employment prospects.
What’s next:
The investigation does not include any formal allegations of wrongdoing, and no lawsuit has been filed.
The Source: Information in this article was provided by the Texas Attorney General’s Office.
-
Alaska1 minute agoICE: Alaska state attorney arrested by immigration officials, held in Tacoma detention center
-
Arizona7 minutes agoArizona Lottery Powerball, The Pick results for July 15, 2026
-
Arkansas13 minutes agoAGFC proposes WMA regulation | Arkansas Democrat Gazette
-
California19 minutes agoBecerra leads Hilton by wide margin in California governor’s race, new poll finds
-
Colorado25 minutes agoSee where the new Colorado Connector train will stop
-
Connecticut31 minutes agoThis Connecticut barbecue restaurant is ‘beloved’ for a reason.
-
Delaware37 minutes agoDelaware oversight commission debates authority to reject utility rate hikes
-
Florida43 minutes agoFlorida preacher buys VT campus to build Christian college | Fox News Video
