AISD Charter IDEA Facing Opposition
Emotions ran high at last night’s Austin Independent School District Board meeting. Some teachers and parents passionately told the board they don’t want the district to partner with a charter school.
AISD is considering collaborating with IDEA Public Schools to run in-district charter programs at some struggling East Austin campuses. The board is scheduled to vote on the plan December 12th. KUT's Nathan Bernier was at last night's meeting; you can read or listen to his report here.
Georgetown Puts Dog Adoptions on Hold
The City of Georgetown Animal Shelter has temporarily suspended the adoption of dogs. The city says a significant number of dogs at the shelter have flu-like symptoms and are being quarantined.
“We’ve consulted with our veterinarian and are treating the dogs that are affected,” Jackie Carey, animal services manager, said in a press release. “Suspending adoptions of dogs allows us to monitor them while we take the steps necessary to get them feeling better.”
The city says cat adoptions will continue since the cats were not affected.
LCRA Negotiating Sale of Water & Wastewater Systems
The Lower Colorado River Authority's Board has voted to negotiate the sale of 18 retail water and wastewater systems. 12 of them are in the Hill Country. Corix Infrastructure Inc. is the utility company looking to buy the systems. In a press release, the LCRA explains why it's planning to sell them:
The Board's decision was an important step in LCRA's efforts to sell its retail water and wastewater systems. The Board decided in November 2010 to sell the systems, pointing out that a water utility made up of multiple systems does not leverage LCRA's strengths as a regional supplier of raw water and wholesale power. LCRA purchased and developed the community water systems in the Hill Country and along the Colorado River, mostly in the past 10 to 15 years, and has since invested more than $300 million to improve the systems' infrastructure. In many cases, LCRA purchased the systems to help meet the environmental needs and economic development goals of the local communities. However, despite cutting costs and raising rates, these systems do not cover their costs and are subsidized by more than $3 million a year.
Feast of Sharing Today
The 22nd annual Feast of Sharing event will take place from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Palmer Events Center. H-E-B says it plans to serve more than 13,000 Thanksgiving meals to those in need. Keep in mind no free parking will be available at the Palmer Event Center this year.
Central Texas Gets Early Morning Dousing
It was pouring cats and dogs when I left the door at 4 a.m. YNN's Chief Meteorologist Burton Fitzsimmons said downtown Austin got two-thirds of an inch of rain. Cedar Park got more than an inch.