Austin, TX

When will Austin transit officials \ngive riders what they want? | Letters

Published

2 years ago

April 15, 2024

$When will Austin transit officials \ngive riders what they want? | Letters$

Austin American-Statesman

Kudos for publishing the opinion by Barbara Epstein April 7, “What we need is public transit that actually works.” I believe she speaks for many. Officials could listen. When will they?

Susan Kleinman, Austin

The characteristics of success for a

bus system that’s worth modeling

Re: April 7 commentary, ‘What we need is public transit that actually works, April 7’

Barbara Epstein mentioned frequent service as the key to a successful bus system in Curitiba, Brazil. In addition to frequency, in Curitiba riders pay before boarding, just as on Austin’s Red Line. This allows Curitiba buses to have wide doors which permit rapid entry and exiting. The other key is bus-only lanes for the entire route. These two features allow buses to actually move faster than cars.

This model has been widely adopted, including in Mexico City and Ciudad Juárez.

Felipe Rosales, Austin

Border problems and the blame game grow

as agency marks its centennial anniversary

The Border Patrol will observe its 100-year anniversary this year. It was created due to emigration problems that existed then.

During this period the American people have elected 9 Republican and 8 Democratic presidents, and the emigration problems have escalated while the political blame game continues tearing our country apart.

Ramiro “Ray” Martinez, New Braunfels

No zero-sum game: Our economy is

stronger because of immigration

Immigrants work tirelessly to build this country, performing dangerous and demanding jobs. There’s no clearer indicator than last month’s Baltimore bridge collapse where six fathers, husbands, brothers, and uncles died while (repairing) the infrastructure of our nation. The sacrifices immigrants make for our country each and every day should be celebrated, not criminalized or demonized.

It’s time to cut through the noise and tell the truth about immigration: Our economy and country are stronger because of it. Some leaders would have us think it’s a zero-sum game when our country takes in immigrants, but that’s not true..

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the U.S. economy will grow by an extra $7 trillion over the next ten years thanks to immigrants. Moreover, in 2021 immigrants paid $524.7 billion in taxes. That’s money that fuels our nation’s K-12 schools, Medicaid, and Social Security.

Gisela Reyna, Austin

The U.S. should bill source countries

for the costs of illegal immigration

Source countries for migrants shouldThe governments of Mexico and other mass migration-source countries should be billed by the U.S. government annually for the costs to U.S. taxpayers of coping with their unlawfully-present citizens in our country. If these governments are going to argue against U.S. immigration enforcement in the U.S. Court of Appeals, they should help pay the freight.

Richard J. Douglas, Spring

Trump on abortion? Whichever way

is the most likely to win re-election

Trump’s position on abortion has been as changeable as Texas weather. In 1999, he said on “Meet the Press” that he was “very pro-choice…I hate the concept of abortion.” Over the last 25 years, he’s been all over the map. Should it be up to the states or the federal government? How does the base feel?

In Tina Turner’s song, “What’s Love Got to do With It” there is this line: “What’s love, but a second-hand emotion?”

Most people base their position on their moral values – something Trump lacks. To him, morality is a “second-hand emotion.” His decision depends on which position is most likely to win him reelection.

Carl Lloyd, San Antonio

Texans respect military history. The

Doolittle Raiders deserve our respect.

April 18^th marks the 82^nd anniversary of the Doolittle Raiders attack on Japan. Thirteen Texans were among 80 B-25 bomber airmen who flew off of the USS Hornet. No other state had as many. Texas high school history students are not taught about the mission that took place 132 days after Pearl Harbor.

Texans respect the military. Installations across Texas train service members. Nearly 1.5 million veterans call Texas home. The National Medal of Honor Museum will open in Arlington. National cemeteries in Dallas, El Paso, Kerrville, and Houston provide a final resting place for Texas heroes.

We don’t teach Texas students about the mission that jolted Japan’s military and began America’s comeback in the Pacific. Not including the Doolittle Raiders in our state’s public school history curriculum helps students forget about their heroics.

Alan E. Mesches, Frisco

Clarification

An editorial about free tuition at Austin Community College in Wednesday’s edition should have noted that $6.8 million in state funding nearly doubled ACC net revenue for fiscal year 2023-24.

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Austin, TX

Texas Primary: Breakdown of Texas races

Published

11 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Democrats tried to stop a mid-decade redistricting effort, but were unsuccessful. Now, we are starting to see some of the candidates emerging in those newly drawn districts. FOX 7 Austin’s Rudy Koski gives a full breakdown.

Posted March 3, 2026 10:32pm CST

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Austin, TX

Remembering Jorge Pederson: Minnesota MMA fighter killed in Austin, Texas, shooting

Published

23 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Remembering Jorge Pederson: Minnesota MMA fighter killed in Austin, Texas, shooting

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – A shooting on West Sixth Street in Austin, Texas, early Sunday morning, killed three people and injured more than a dozen others, according to the Austin Police Department. APD confirmed one of the victims was 30-year-old Jorge Pederson, a Minnesota man who worked as an MMA fighter for the Med City Fighting Championships.

“You meet tons of fighters and there are people that stand above the rest that you find you enjoy or find the most amusing,” MCFC Co-Owner Matthew Vogt said. “He was definitely one of them.”

According to Vogt, Pederson was also the owner of a Minnesota business called Metro Movers. Vogt said the MMA competitor touched everyone’s hearts since his first day of fighting professionally in Rochester.

“As soon as we met him when it was the weighing time, we just loved the guy already because he had a great mission or spirit about him,” Vogt said. “He was a funny guy and great fighter.”

Vogt told KTTC when he first saw the news that Pederson was killed, he could not believe what he saw.

“I was looking, like, ‘Wait a minute. Is this one of his shenanigans or did something actually happen there?’” Vogt said, recalling the moment he saw a social media post regarding the shooting in Austin. “I confirmed with a few people and I’m just like, sometimes, some things happen that you don’t even like, you don’t even know how to respond to it because it’s just so out of left field that you don’t immediately have a response to it.”

MCFC confirmed there is an online fundraiser dedicated to supporting Pederson’s family. As of Tuesday afternoon, more than $10,000 has been raised.

“He was someone that always could make anybody laugh,” Vogt said. “Support his family through the fundraiser and take a look at his Instagram especially to see how funny he was.”

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Austin, TX

Here are the major statewide and Austin-area races on the ballot Tuesday

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Here are the major statewide and Austin-area races on the ballot Tuesday

A voter heads into the Ben Hur Shrine polling place in Austin as early voting begins for the March primary elections in Texas, Feb. 17, 2026. Voters can cast their ballots to decide who represents Republicans and Democrats in the November midterm elections.

Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman

A rare mix of competitive races up and down the ballot has voters turning up to the polls in droves ahead of Tuesday’s primary election, which will set match-ups in the high-stakes midterms in November.

Voters will decide if U.S. Sen. John Cornyn gets to keep the seat he’s held for more than two decades and which candidates will likely take a slew of redrawn congressional seats meant to give Republicans an edge. The races could decide control of Congress.