Austin, TX

Winter weather: Central Texas businesses, services affected by possible snow, ice

Published

11 months ago

January 20, 2025

Winter weather: Central Texas businesses, services affected by possible snow, ice

AUSTIN, Texas – Central Texas businesses, organizations and government entities are adjusting their operations due to the arctic blast that’s impacting the region.

The backstory:

A Winter Storm Warning has been issued from 6 p.m. today, Jan. 20, to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 21. This means snow and sleet are possible and could lead to some travel issues overnight.

FOX 7 Austin’s Zack Shields says that all the pieces of the snow puzzle will come together tonight from midnight to sunrise tomorrow. The highest snow totals will stay east of Austin with 1 to 2″ possible.

Many school districts, private and charter schools, and colleges and universities have decided to close their campuses for Tuesday, Jan. 21 with decisions pending for Wednesday.

What businesses are impacted?

H-E-B

The Texas grocery store chain says they are temporarily adjusting store hours for the following stores:

Greater San Antonio area

Boerne, Bulverde, Fredericksburg, all Kerrville stores, and all New Braunfels stores will close at 8 p.m. on Jan. 20 and open at 10 a.m. on Jan. 21.
All other San Antonio area stores will close at 10 p.m. on Jan. 20 and open at 10 a.m. on Jan. 21.
Central Market will close at 10 p.m. on Jan. 20 and open at 10 a.m. on Jan. 21.

Central Texas area

Kyle, Lockhart, Luling, and all San Marcos stores will close at 8 p.m. on Jan. 20 and open at 10 a.m. on Jan. 21.
Wimberley will close at 7 p.m. on Jan. 20 and open at 10 a.m. on Jan. 21.
All other Central Texas area stores will close at regular hours on Jan. 20 and open at 10 a.m. on Jan. 21.
Central Market stores will close at 10 p.m. on Jan. 20 and open at 10 a.m. on Jan. 21.
Stores in Belton, Harker Heights, Gatesville, Killeen, Temple, and Waco area will operate normal business hours.

For more information, click here.

What services are affected?

CapMetro

CapMetro services are suspended after 9 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 20. Riders are advised to take final trips before 9 p.m. Night Owl buses are canceled.

Due to MLK Day, Rail, UT Shuttles and Express are not in service.

CapMetro says that it expects service will also be impacted on Tuesday, Jan. 21 and will share updates here.

Central Health and CommUnityCare

All Central Health and CommUnityCare clinics and offices will be closed Tuesday, Jan. 21.

Central Health and CommUnityCare team members are contacting patients with information about how the weather will impact their appointments. Patients seen by third-party providers will be contacted by those providers.

Central Health Eligibility Services team members are contacting applicants with appointments to reschedule or provide information about how to apply online and over the phone. An announcement on Wednesday closures will be issued Tuesday.

Central TX VA Health Care System

VA outpatient clinics in Austin, Cedar Park, LaGrange and Bryan/College Station will be closed Tuesday, Jan. 21.

Local VA staff are reaching out to patrons affected by the closures to reschedule appointments either via VA Video Connect (VVC), Telehealth, or in-person appointments.

All clinics are expected to reopen on Wednesday. All other facilities and services remain open for normal operating hours.

Integral Care

Integral Care clinics, administrative offices, and other non-essential programs will be closed on Tuesday, Jan. 21. Psychiatric Emergency Services, all other crisis services and all residential services are continuing normal operations.

Anyone in need of urgent help can call 512-472-HELP (4357), then press 1 for English, then 1 for immediate assistance.

YMCA of Greater Austin

All Greater Austin YMCA centers will be closing all facilities on Monday Jan. 21 at 8 p.m. and expects to reopen facilities at noon on Tuesday, Jan. 21.

What government offices are impacted?

City of Austin

All City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department facilities will be closed on Tuesday, January 21, except those being utilized as Warming Centers.

Austin City Manager T.C. Broadnax announced the City will be under modified operations on Tuesday, Jan. 21, requiring critical employees to telework if they are able.

City of Georgetown

City of Georgetown facilities will be closed to the public on Tuesday, Jan. 21, in response to winter weather. Tuesday’s closures include:

Art Center, 816 S. Main St.
Animal Shelter, 110 Walden Drive
City Hall, 808 Martin Luther King, Jr. St.
Council and Courts Buildi,.ng (including Municipal Court), 510 W. Ninth St.
Garey Park, 6450 RM 2243
Georgetown Municipal Complex, 300-1 Industrial Ave.
GoGeo paratransit services
Grace Heritage Center, 817 S. Main St.
Parks and Recreation Administration, 1101 N. College St.
Planning Department, 809 Martin Luther King, Jr. St.
Public Library, 402 W. Eighth St.
Public Safety Operations and Training Center, Police Records and Fire Support Services offices, 3500 D.B. Wood Road
Recreation Center, 1003 N. Austin Ave.
Tennis Center, 400 Serenada Drive
Visitors Center, 103 W. Seventh St.

Board and Commission meetings scheduled for Tuesday have been cancelled. The Georgetown Executive Airport will remain open.

Solid Waste and Recycling Collection

As of 3 p.m. on Monday, Texas Disposal Systems was planning to collect landfill trash or recycling on Tuesday, Jan. 21. If you are on a Tuesday route, please put your carts out by 7 a.m. as per usual. Residents should leave their cart at the curb until it is collected, as TDS may run late or decide to delay routes until the following day. The Transfer Station, 250 W.L. Walden Drive, will remain open on Tuesday.

City of New Braunfels

The City of New Braunfels is making operational changes to city services due to the weather:

Das Rec will close at 6 p.m. Jan. 20
All non-essential City services will delay opening until 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 21st. This includes City Hall and other administrative offices, Municipal Court, the Public Library, the Westside Community Center, Das Rec, the Civic & Convention Center, and the City Municipal Building.
Garbage and Recycling collection will have a delayed start and will resume normal operations when roads are determined to be safe.
The Landa Park Golf Course will be closed through Wednesday, Jan. 22 and will re-open on Thursday, Jan. 23 at noon.
Restrooms, water fountains, and other similar facilities in all city parks are temporarily closed.
The Downtown Advisory Board meeting scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Jan. 21 has been cancelled and will be rescheduled for a later date.

Travis County

Travis County Judge Andy Brown announced Travis County’s non-essential offices, services, and facilities will be closed on Tuesday, Jan. 21.

Essential emergency personnel will continue to report for duty. Travis County employees who have questions about their department can reach out to their immediate supervisor.

The Travis County Commissioners Court voting session scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 21, at 9 a.m. is cancelled.

Williamson County

Williamson County offices will be closed on Tuesday, Jan. 21.

The Source: Information comes from various governments, businesses and organizations

Winter WeatherSevere WeatherBusinessConsumerCapital MetroAustinSan AntonioKyleLockhartSan MarcosLulingWimberleyTransportation

Source link

Click to comment

Austin, TX

Records in Texas AG Ken Paxton’s divorce case are unsealed

Published

11 hours ago

December 20, 2025

Press Room

Records in Texas AG Ken Paxton’s divorce case are unsealed

AUSTIN (The Texas Tribune) — The records in Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s divorce case have been unsealed.

Judge Robert Brotherton, who is presiding over the case, signed an order Friday morning allowing the records to be made public. The decision came after Paxton and his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, announced that they had come to an agreement late Thursday to unseal the documents.

Tyler Bexley, an attorney for a group of media organizations fighting for the records to be released, celebrated the decision as a win for transparency.

“We’re certainly pleased with the result,” Bexley said after the hearing.

The move was an abrupt about-face for the couple, who had fought to keep the records secret. It’s unclear exactly what brought on the change.

The records were released before noon. They show the Paxtons have entered mediation, and their blind trust had doled out $20,000 to each of them to pay for their attorneys. The documents also show that earlier this month, Angela Paxton asked her husband to produce records pertinent to the case. They also show multiple judges recused themselves from the case before it was given to Brotherton, a visiting judge based in Wichita Falls.

The Texas Newsroom previously published copies of several records — including Paxton’s general denial of his wife’s divorce petition — before they were sealed.

The records did not shed more light on the couple’s financial situation, division of assets or the alleged affair that led to the divorce — but additional filings will be made as the case continues. Bexley said the media organizations agreed to redactions only of personal information like Social Security numbers and home addresses.

State Sen. Angela Paxton filed for divorce in July alleging adultery. Soon after, she asked for the court record to be sealed. A previous judge handling the case agreed and put all of the records under seal. Ken Paxton initially supported the decision, filing a court document that accused the press of attempting to unfairly invade his personal life.

Eight media organizations and a nonpartisan nonprofit opposed the sealing. The media group argued Paxton’s divorce records should be public because he is an elected official running for office who has faced repeated allegations of corruption. The attorney general’s finances, which are a subject of the divorce case, have been central to the misconduct allegations against him. While he has been charged with multiple crimes during his decade in statewide office, Paxton has never been convicted.

Paxton is now challenging John Cornyn in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate.

Laura Roach, one of Ken Paxton’s lawyers, said after the Friday hearing that the attorney general had always wanted the record to be unsealed.

“Mr. Paxton has always wanted us to actually unseal it,” she said. “Attorneys get on a path and we think that that’s the right way to go and we were finally able to get everybody on the same page.”

When asked why he initially opposed it so strongly, she added, “that’s just legal stuff. … His attorneys said that.”

Angela Paxton had asked the records be sealed because doing so would “not have an adverse affect on the public health or safety.” Her representatives declined to respond on Friday.

Michael Clauw, the communications director for the nonprofit Campaign for Accountability that also sought the release of the records, said he does not believe Ken Paxton actually wanted them to be made public.

“It’s ridiculous to believe that Ken Paxton ‘always wanted’ his divorce record to be unsealed,” he said. “Only when it became apparent he likely would lose in court did he change his tune.”

Roach said she expects the case to be resolved amicably soon. Neither Ken Paxton nor Angela Paxton appeared at the court.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at www.texastribune.org. The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans – and engages with them – about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.

Source link

Austin, TX

Photo of the Week: Texas K-9 care

Published

24 hours ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

EMS1 Staff comprises experienced writers, editors, and EMS professionals dedicated to delivering trusted, timely, and actionable information and resources for public safety. EMS1 Staff is committed to equipping EMS providers with the knowledge and resources they need to excel in pre-hospital care. With a focus on delivering breaking news, expert advice, and practical tools, our team ensures EMTs and paramedics have access to reliable information that supports their professional growth and enhances patient outcomes.

Interested in expert-driven resources delivered for free directly to your inbox? Subscribe for free to any our our EMS1 newsletters.

You can also connect with us on YouTube, Instagram, X, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Source link

Austin, TX

Australia mass shooting: Brother of Texas rabbi injured in attack speaks at Austin ceremony

Published

1 day ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

Australia mass shooting: Brother of Texas rabbi injured in attack speaks at Austin ceremony

AUSTIN, Texas – In the wake of the Australia attack on Bondi Beach, Jewish community members flocked to join Governor Greg Abbott in the annual Hanukkah tradition, which looked different this year.

The traditional lighting of the menorah at the Capitol is typically held outside. However, with the recent attack, everyone piled into the Governor’s reception room for security reasons.

The backstory:

There was a weight in the air you could almost feel as members of the Jewish community gathered for the annual Texas Capitol Menorah Lighting Ceremony.

The celebration comes only days after two gunmen killed 15 people and injured about 40 others at a Hanukkah event in Sydney, Australia.

“We have enhanced security, making sure celebrations will take place peacefully and respectfully,” said Governor Greg Abbott.

The terror attack hits home for many. One of the victims is a fellow Texan, Rabbi Liebel Lazaroff, who remains in the ICU fighting for his life.

“An attack on Jews anywhere is an attack on us.”

Rabbi Liebel Lazaroff and his father.

Liebel’s siblings drove in from College Station, and his brother, Rabbi Menachem Lazaroff, spoke about his brother’s heroic actions on Bondi Beach.

“[Liebel] saw, close by, an Australian police officer who was injured and critically bleeding,” said Rabbi Menachem Lazaroff. “He ran over to him, took the shirt off his back, and applied a tourniquet and saved the man’s life.”

Liebel was shot twice while trying to save the Australian police officer. All of this unfolded as Liebel’s boss and mentor died right next to him. He was identified as Rabbi Eli Schlanger.

“[Liebel] said, ‘I could’ve saved the rabbi,’” said Rabbi Menachem Lazaroff. “[Liebel] said ‘Rabbi Schlanger has a family, a wife and children. I’m just a young boy. I could have done something, and I wish I would’ve done more.’”

The 20-year-old rabbi has undergone several surgeries and has more ahead of him before he can begin what will be a long road to recovery.

“He’s a good man, and he’s tough, but it definitely made me emotional for sure, and I’m proud of him,” said Rabbi Menachem Lazaroff. “I’m proud of who he is and what he represents.”

During the eight days of Hanukkah, one candle is lit each night until all eight are burning. On Thursday night, the fifth candle was lit, the symbolic transition of there being more light than darkness.

The Lazaroff family is seeking donations to cover Liebel’s medical bills. Here’s a link if you would like to help.

The Source: Information from statements at the Texas Capitol Menorah Lighting Ceremony and previous FOX 7 Austin coverage

AustinWorldMass Shootings

Source link