Lethal Roads: Deaths on Austin roads hit a new high in 2015 with 102 fatalities, and show no sign of slowing down. Two drivers died on Jan. 4 after a reversing truck collided with a motorcycle on Howard Lane.
Mayor Steve Adler said this week that he’s working toward a potential November transportation bond proposition that would focus on improving I-35 and would ideally include participation from other Central Texas governments.
APD officers spent Wednesday at a funeral held in memory of Kristina Ann Thompson, a lieutenant with the Police Technology Unit who died of cancer Jan. 2 at age 46. She’d been with APD since 1992.
Daniel Willis received a new date and change of venue in the trial to decide whether the former Bastrop County Sheriff’s deputy should be found guilty of murder for the shooting and killing of Yvette Smith in Feb. 2014. A judge originally declared a mistrial in Sept. 2015. His case will be heard again in late March in Montgomery County.
Lyft announced a partnership with General Motors Monday that will allow the longtime automaker to adopt the transportation network company’s app in efforts to build autonomous, self-driving cars. The deal, priced around $500 million, is another indication that the TNC market cares little about its driver partners.
HD 49 Update: Austin ISD trustee Gina Hinojosa continues her near-perfect sweep of local endorsements in the Democratic primary to replace retiring incumbent Elliott Naishtat, with the unsurprising addition of the backing of AISD employees union Education Austin.
Stickland on Sex: Tea Party favorite Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford, is under the hammer since primary challenger Scott Fisher linked his ‘no’ votes on key anti-sexual abuse legislation to old online comments denying the existence of marital rape. The accusation raises memories of 2013, when hardline pro-lifers were dubbed pro-rape for their opposition to abortions for rape survivors.
President Barack Obama announced a series of executive actions placing greater emphasis on gun control enforcement, primarily expanding requirements that gun merchants be licensed and perform background checks on potential purchasers.
Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and Attorney General Ken Paxton issued denunciations of the president’s modest gun control measures as “attacks on the Second Amendment.” Patrick said Obama should instead “make it easier … to legally purchase, train, and use their weapons of choice.”
This article appears in January 8 • 2016.