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A nonprofit's solution to loneliness in Central Texas' booming older adult population

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:11 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Walking through the Age of Central Texas in Central Austin during standard working hours, the chances of spotting an older adult wearing a large smile is near certain. The Central Texas-based nonprofit has operated since the 1980s with the goal of making Austin and Central Texas a “great place to age.” And there certainly will not be a lack of people aging in the area over the coming years.  Study: Texas ranks in top 10 for places retirees are moving According to Census data, the older population – adults over 65 – has increased in the U.S. by 1,000% in the last century. Central Texas is the second fastest-growing area for people older than 65 in the U.S. and the fastest-growing region for people aged 50 to 64, according to population statistics.“That's a worldwide phenomenon that is happening. There are more older adults on our planet than there are children. And so services for older adults are becoming even more important,” said Rob Faubion, Chief Comm...

Georgetown ISD to vote to hire new superintendent Monday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:11 GMT

GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) – The Georgetown ISD Board of Trustees are expected to vote Monday to hire Dr. Devin Padavil to be the district's new superintendent. The board named Padavil its lone finalist for the job on July 17. He has been the superintendent at Taylor ISD since 2021. He is expected to begin his new role following the mandatory 21-day waiting period, according to the district's July 17 announcement.“We are excited to welcome Dr. Padavil to Georgetown,” Georgetown ISD Board President Elizabeth McFarland said on July 17. “His extensive experience, exceptional leadership, and commitment to educational excellence make him the ideal candidate to lead GISD into the future. Under his guidance, Georgetown ISD is poised for continued growth, innovation, and success.”Padavil will take over for Dr. Fred Brent, who retired June 30.“I am excited to join Georgetown ISD because of the sense of community and tradition that makes Georgetown a destination district,” Padavil said on ...

Crews work to contain fire northeast of Lampasas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:11 GMT

LAMPASAS, Texas (KXAN) – The Texas A&M Forest Service said Sunday crews were called to help fight a fire burning northeast of the city of Lampasas. WEATHER BLOG: What to grab when evacuating As of 3 a.m. Monday, the Lucy Creek fire's size was 60 acres and 60% contained, according to the Forest Service website. The Forest Service said in a Sunday updated time-stamped 9:50 p.m. that the Lucy Creek fire was 100 acres and 25% contained, and dozers were making "good progress building line through thick juniper vegetation."That update said crews were patrolling and checking for hot spots.

Fringe review: ‘Dearest Mother,’ about famed MN poet, feels uninspired and poorly written

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:11 GMT

Avoid“Dearest Mother” purports to examine “love and control” through poet John Berryman’s correspondence with his mother. Ultimately, Kelly Lamphear-Dash’s dispassionate play fails to offer any substantive insight into Berryman’s relationships or work, let alone illuminate broader themes. Actor Max Sjöberg is a convincing Berryman, but the Pulitzer winner’s letters are read by Berryman’s mother, played by Susan Chambers, who delivers lines with the stilted choppiness of a freshman struggling to recite Shakespeare. As narrator and Berryman’s wife, actress Molly Ryman’s empathetic performance cannot salvage Lamphear-Dash’s stiff, encyclopedic writing. The real Berryman once wrote, “Life, friends, is boring.” Sadly, “Dearest Mother” takes this literally.Presented by Juggling Act Productions at Augsburg Studio; 8:30 p.m. Aug. 7, 7 p.m. Aug. 9 (with ASL interpretation), 10 p.m. Aug. 10, 5:30 p.m. Aug 13Still unsure of what to see? Check out all our Fringe reviews here.The Minnesota Fring...

Fringe review: ‘Float,’ funny and insightful, lets a skilled physical performer shine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:11 GMT

Must seePhysical theater artist Juliana Frick plays the well-written character Myra van Gloov, an overly self-important wellness guru who punctuates sentences with “Blessings!” and can’t recognize her own role in her life’s problems until it’s too late. Frick’s mostly one-woman show (an unnamed narrator comes and goes) is funny and insightful, and she’s a skilled circus clown-style performer who has strong command of the stage when she’s the only one on it. “Float” occasionally becomes unmoored into abstraction, which helps underscore its worthwhile question: What does true groundedness look like? Let this show stick in your brain as you untangle it; it’ll grow on you.Presented by Juliana Frick at Augsburg Mainstage; 7 p.m. Aug. 7 (with audio description available), 10 p.m. Aug. 9, 8:30 p.m. Aug. 11, 1 p.m. Aug. 12Still unsure of what to see? Check out all our Fringe reviews here.The Minnesota Fringe Festival turns 30 this year, presenting 101 hourlong stage acts from Aug. 3-1...

5 things to know this Monday, August 7

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:11 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- It's Monday again, folks. The start of the work week will also bring some unsettled weather, according to Meteorologist, Jill Szwed. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! An Amsterdam woman was arrested on Sunday following a shooting at Veteran’s Park that left one person hospitalized. Meanwhile, State Route 5 near Amsterdam is now open east and westbound after a train derailment closed down the lanes for several days. These stories, and more, are covered in your five things to know this Monday morning. 1. Amsterdam woman arrested in Veteran’s Park shootingAn Amsterdam woman was arrested on Sunday following a shooting at Veteran’s Park that left one person hospitalized. Josefina Baret-Araujo, 36, faces multiple charges.2. Troy Police investigating 4th Street shootingThe Troy Police Department announced they are investigating a shooting that occurred on August 4. One victim sustained a non-life-threatening i...

Man locks himself in bathroom after gas station break-in

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:11 GMT

ST. LOUIS - A bizarre break-in early Mon day morning at a gas station in the Forest Park southeast neighborhood.That's on South Vandeventer Avenue at Gratiot. The manager told FOX 2 that a man broke into the store around 12:30 a.m. and locked himself in the bathroom. Shots fired at Hollywood Casino, woman arrested The manager called police who took the man into custody. They explained that the suspect was having some mental issues.

Opinion: John Echohawk stood up and made the world a better place

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:11 GMT

Young John Echohawk felt no particular call to destiny in the spring of 1967, when he graduated from the University of New Mexico. Even when he won a scholarship under a federal program to fund law school for Native Americans, he didn’t see himself as bearing the collective hopes of the nation’s indigenous people.“I didn’t know exactly what I would end up doing,” he recalls. “Maybe I was going to be a rich lawyer, I don’t know.”That quickly changed, when Echohawk discovered there was a rich body of law in place, dating back to the country’s beginnings, to protect the rights of Native Americans. If he could use the law as a tool to better their lives, Echohawk was all in.“That,” he said, “became my dream.”The American Bar Association is honoring the fruits of that dream, naming Echohawk the winner of this year’s Thurgood Marshall Award, in recognition of a lifetime of work advancing the civil rights, liberties and general well being of indigenous Americans.Through his leadership of t...

Opinion: The Colorado Option is not working

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:11 GMT

The charade that the Colorado Option would supply healthcare savings and benefits for consumers is tumbling down like a house of cards. This always happens with flawed ideas from government bureaucrats when they fail to listen to business and consumer stakeholders, along with ignoring sound fiscal policy. It just never works out as proposed. The “brilliant” idea looks drastically different when it meets consumer reality. This is where we are today with the Colorado Option.The Colorado Option plan was designed by bureaucrats to offer consumers lots of benefits at reduced rates. Insurance carriers were forced by legal mandate to offer the Colorado Option at lower rates than private plans. The ruse of this force was thought to be that it would lower the rates of the private plans. The public option premiums were legislated to decrease by 5% in the first year, 10% in the second, and 15% by year three.The Colorado Option is the state government-backed health insurance plan created by the...

Colorado school vaccination rates drop again, erasing years of progress

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:11 GMT

More than one in 10 Colorado kindergarteners hasn’t had all of their required shots, erasing pre-pandemic gains in getting children immunized.The percentage of Colorado kindergarteners who’d received their vaccinations declined in the previous two school years, but was still slightly higher than it had been in 2018. Now, that progress has been undone, and older children were actually slightly less likely to be vaccinated in fall 2022 than they were four years earlier.Vaccination rates were up slightly for children in preschool and child care, though.About 88% of kindergarteners, 92% of all school-aged children and 96% of those in preschool or day care were up to date on their vaccines during the 2022-2023 school year, state health officials said. Kindergartners showed a 5.2% decrease in compliance, and all school-aged children a 2.2% decrease, over the 2021-2022 school year.Child care centers tend to be strict about vaccine compliance, and consequently have higher rates,...