Austin, TX

Phase one of Project Connect approved with final light rail design

Published

1 year ago

June 7, 2023

Phase one of Project Connect approved

CapMetro, Austin Transit Partnership, and the City of Austin officially approved phase one of Project Connect. The proposed light rail line will connect several areas throughout central Austin.

AUSTIN, Texas – The new Austin Light Rail final design has been approved.

In a tri-party meeting between CapMetro, Austin Transit Partnership and the City of Austin on Tuesday, phase one of Project Connect was approved, with initial plans for rail service to expand through downtown and central Austin.

The adopted plan follows the updated and shrunken final design, which was announced in late May.

A map details phase one of Project Connect. (Courtesy of Austin Transit Partnership)

Phase one will include an initial line starting at 38th and Guadalupe streets and leading south to Oltorf Street and Congress Avenue. The line will split just south of Lady Bird Lake, with an eastward portion leading to a proposed park-and-ride station at Yellow Jacket Lane and Riverside Drive.

Two priority extensions are planned as well, with one extending eastward to serve Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and a northward extension to Crestview Station. Both planned extensions will depend on available funding.

Project Connect: Taking a look at the final plan

The final plan for the Project Connect light rail system in Austin was announced this week. FOX 7 Austin’s John Krinjak goes one-on-one with Greg Canally, the executive director of the Austin Transit Partnership, to talk about the newly-unveiled route, which is about a third the size of the original plan.

“It’s a system that connects jobs, it connects destinations, and it connects to affordability, and it connects Austin to each other,” said Greg Cannally, executive director at Austin Transit Partnership, in an interview with FOX 7 Austin in May. “It’s a light rail system that Austin’s been talking about for years.”

Voters enthusiastically approved initial plans for Project Connect alongside a $7.1 billion proposed property tax increase to fund the project in 2020, but plans have since changed. Citing high costs, Austin Transit Partnership announced a reduced plan for the light rail system earlier this year after considering five different options in March.

This reduced plan scrapped initial talks of a downtown subway route and decreased the overall length of the original plan by nearly half. Downtown routes, included in the first phase approved Tuesday, will now be above-ground and run adjacent to street traffic.

Costs for the first phase have been estimated by Austin Transit Partnership to total $4.5 to 4.8 billion.

“We will have coverage in all three directions that lay the foundation for future extensions to the North, South, and East,” said Lindsay Wood, executive Vice President at Austin Transit Partnership, in a CapMetro board meeting on Friday.

A map depicts phase one of Project Connect and various BIPOC and low-income communities that it will service. (Courtesy of Austin Transit Partnership)

Rail coverage under the plan will prioritize central and downtown Austin, targeting areas of high population and job density. The plan, according to Austin Transit Partnership, will also serve many BIPOC communities and lower income areas.

Phase one will provide more efficient transit connections between populated areas and centers for commerce, health and education. Wood said. “This will maximize the accessibility and the visibility of the system to create… a system that people will use and want more of.”

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Austin, TX

These 15 Houston K-8 schools rank among Texas' best for 2025

Published

1 hour ago

November 19, 2024

Press Room

These 15 Houston K-8 schools rank among Texas' best for 2025

Several Houston elementary and middle schools are at the top of the class when it comes to educating and preparing the next generation for a successful life and career, according to U.S. News & World Report’s just-released list of 2025 Elementary and Middle Schools Rankings.

One such school – T.H. Rogers School in Houston ISD – is the No. 8 best middle school in Texas for 2025.

U.S. News ranked over 79,000 public schools on the state and district level using data from the U.S. Department of Education. Schools were analyzed based on their students’ proficiencies in mathematics and reading/language arts on state assessments, and tie-breakers were decided based on student-teacher ratios.

Texas’ best middle schools for 2025
Three Houston middle schools achieved spots among the top 10 best Texas middle schools for 2025, according to U.S. News.

T.H. Rogers School has a total enrollment of 1,063 students, with 87 percent of the student population scoring “at or above the proficient level” in mathematics, and 90 percent proficiency in reading. The school has a student-teacher ratio of 17:1, with 62 full-time teachers.

T.H. Rogers School also topped the district-wide list as the No. 1 best middle school in HISD.

Houston Gateway Academy – Coral Campus also ranked among the statewide top 10, coming in at No. 9 with a total enrollment of 914 students. U.S. News says 82 percent of HGA students are proficient in math, and 80 percent are proficient in reading.

“Houston Gateway Academy – Coral Campus did better in math and better in reading in this metric compared with students across the state,” U.S. News said in the school’s profile. “In Texas, 51 percent of students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 41 percent tested at or above that level for math.”

Right behind HGA to round out the top 10 best Texas middle schools is Houston ISD’s Briarmeadow Charter School. This middle school has 600 students, 69 percent of which are proficient in math and 74 percent are proficient reading.

Briarmeadow’s student-teacher ratio is 16:1, which is better than the district-wide student-teacher ratio, and it employs 38 full-time teachers.

U.S. News also ranked Briarmeadow as the second best middle school in Houston ISD.

Six additional Houston-area schools ranked among the top 25 best middle schools in Texas, including:

No. 18 – Cornerstone Academy, Spring Branch ISD
No. 19 – Mandarin Immersion Magnet School, Houston ISD
No. 21 – Smith Middle School, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD
No. 22 – Seven Lakes Junior High, Katy ISD
No. 23 – Houston Gateway Academy
No. 25 – Beckendorff Junior High, Katy ISD

The best elementary schools in Texas
Jesus A. Kawas Elementary school in Laredo was crowned the No. 1 elementary school in Texas for 2025, while two Houston-area schools made it into the top 10.

Tomball ISD’s Creekside Forest Elementary in The Woodlands is the No. 7 best elementary school statewide, boasting 656 students, 42 full-time teachers, and one full-time counselor. Students at this school, which U.S. News designates is situated in a “fringe rural setting,” scored 90 percent efficiency in math and 94 percent efficiency in reading.

Following one spot behind Creekside Forest in the statewide ranking is Sugar Land’s Commonwealth Elementary School in Fort Bend ISD, coming in at No. 8. Commonwealth has a student population of 954 with 55 full-time teachers, and two full-time counselors. The school’s student-teacher ratio is 17:1, and 90 percent of students are proficient in math, and 94 percent in reading.

U.S. News says student success at Commonwealth is significantly higher than the rest of Fort Bend ISD.

“In Fort Bend Independent School District, 59 percent of students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 47 percent tested at or above that level for math,” U.S. News said in Commonwealth’s profile. “Commonwealth Elementary [also] did better in math and better in reading in this metric compared with students across the state.”

Other Houston-area schools that were ranked among the 25 best in Texas are:

No. 13 – Bess Campbell Elementary, Sugar Land, Lamar CISD
No. 20 – West University Elementary, Houston ISD
No. 23 – T.H. Rogers School, Houston ISD
No. 25 – Griffin Elementary, Katy ISD

“The 2025 Best Elementary and Middle Schools rankings offer parents a way to evaluate how schools are providing a high-quality education and preparing students for future success,” said LaMont Jones, Ed.D., the managing editor for Education at U.S. News. “The data empowers families and communities to advocate for their children’s education. Research continues to indicate that how students perform academically at these early grade levels is a big factor in their success in high school and beyond.”

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Austin, TX

Nuclear energy plan aims to improve Texas grid

Published

9 hours ago

November 19, 2024

Press Room

Nuclear energy plan aims to improve Texas grid

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) on Monday released a nuclear energy plan aimed at strengthening the state’s power grid.

What You Need To Know

Gov. Greg Abbott and the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) released a nuclear energy plan outlining the use and benefits of advanced nuclear reactors in Texas

Abbott said that the plan would help strengthen the state power grid and provide more affordable power to Texans

Regions of the state that would be likely candidates for ANR development include Galveston, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, the Houston area and the Permian Basin, among others

Population growth in Texas continues to put immense strain on the state power grid, which has led to historic blackouts during severe weather

The plan is laid out in the Texas Advanced Nuclear Reactor Working Group Report, which Abbott directed PUCT to create last year. The report outlines the use and benefits of advanced nuclear reactors (ANRs) in Texas.

The report lists five main benefits of nuclear power in the state:

Enhancing energy security by providing power for urban centers, ports, oil and gas regions, industrial facilities, data centers and military bases
Improving grid reliability through nuclear power, as opposed to coal, wind and solar power
Economic development and industry opportunities by adding jobs in the state
First-in-nation advantages by being “the first state with an efficient ANR strategy”
Global market potential by establishing the state as the preferred supplier for U.S.-based ANR technology

Abbott said that the nuclear energy plan would also provide more affordable power to Texans.

“Texas is the energy capital of the world, and we are ready to be No. 1 in advanced nuclear power,” Abbott said. “…I thank Public Utility Commissioner Jimmy Glotfelty and the members of the Texas Advanced Nuclear Reactor Working Group for working tirelessly to put Texas on the path to be the global leader in advanced nuclear power. As we build an advanced nuclear industry in our great state, we will ensure Texas remains a leader in energy and strengthen the Texas grid to meet the demands of our growing state.”

According to the report, these Texas regions would be likely candidates for ANR development:

Coastal: Galveston, Port of Corpus Christi Authority, Beaumont, Houston Ship Channel
Rio Grande Valley: Port of Brownsville
Inland: Victoria, government/university lands, industrial complexes, the Houston area, the Permian Basin, non-ERCOT areas, Central Texas, the Metroplex

It also recommends creating a Texas Advanced Nuclear Energy Authority at an existing state agency to “to identify and study obstacles and opportunities and provide recommendations to future Legislatures to ensure Texas is the global leader in advance nuclear energy and technologies.”

Population growth in Texas continues to put immense strain on the state power grid, which has lead to historic blackouts during severe weather. Most notably, the major power crisis in February 2021 caused by the grid’s failure left over 4.5 million homes and businesses without power. Approximately 246 people died, most of them from hypothermia.

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Austin, TX

Seniors Reveal Emotions Behind Last Texas Longhorns Home Game of 2024 Season

Published

17 hours ago

November 19, 2024

Press Room

Seniors Reveal Emotions Behind Last Texas Longhorns Home Game of 2024 Season

The Texas Longhorns 2024 football season is already coming to a close, as the program will take on Kentucky this weekend in what will be its last home game of the regular season before heading to College Station, aside from the potential of hosting a College Football Playoff matchup.

This inevitable milestone has caused the seniors who have spent their entire college careers as Longhorns to reflect on their time spent inside Darrell K. Royal Stadium, as they will be recognized individually on Saturday during the game.

“[I’m] looking forward to celebrating Senior Day,” head coach Steve Sarkisian said during Monday’s media availability. “A lot of these guys have done so much work for us and have been such catalysts for our culture and what we do.”

Senior EDGE Barryn Sorrell mentioned how his emotions surrounding the event have been rooted in the fact that he’s been at Texas since 2021 and how immediately found a home not just within the team itself, but also the fanbase.

“Any opportunity to play is definitely special, but just knowing that this is the last time that I’ll be playing in front of Longhorn Nation at home, just knowing that going into my freshman year, Longhorn Nation took me in with open arms, I just want to obviously leave a good taste in their mouth,” Sorrell said. “I really want to enjoy this experience with my teammates.”

Senior defensive back Jahdae Barron nearly faced his last season in 2023 after being undecided about whether he would return for a fifth year, but said the reality of it all is finally hitting him.

“It was sad last year, but this one really knowing that I actually can’t come back ever again, I’m gonna drop some real gangsta tears out there,” Barron said.

But Barron might be the only one shedding a tear on Saturday, as senior linebacker David Gbenda said he’s going to try his best to keep his feelings in control.

“That’s going to be a lot of emotions running through me. The last game, the last home game. But I gotta stay strong, [I] can’t cry,” Gbenda said.

While many veterans see this end of an era as upsetting, senior offensive lineman Jake Majors has used it to look back on how much enjoyment he’s gotten out of his five seasons with the Longhorns.

“It’s been a blast, I’ve had a lot of fun,” Majors said. “I’ve just had a blessed opportunity to be back here another year and just live out this dream of playing college football at the highest level and being a part of history.”

No matter where the Longhorns are headed in the postseason, Saturday will undoubtedly leave these seniors a chance to show how far they’ve come since they arrived alongside Sarkisian, and will be a rare moment where their toughness will be matched with vulnerability.

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