A man from the Austin area has been arrested and charged with multiple counts of vandalism after allegedly spray-painting swastikas on cars, walls, water towers, and other public and private property in western Travis County over the past 11 months.
The suspect, identified as Paul Zegarra, 41, was taken into custody on Wednesday and faces charges of criminal mischief and graffiti causing pecuniary loss. He was released from the Travis County Jail on a $15,000 bond.
More charges may be added as detectives are actively investigating whether Zegarra is also responsible for painting a swastika on a car last week belonging to state District Judge Jan Soifer.
(Austin American-Statesman)
A suspect is in custody following a murder in San Marcos.
A man was charged with murder in connection to killing a man and then burning his body last month at a homeless encampment.
Austin police are seeking the public’s help in identifying and locating a suspect in an aggravated assault incident at an apartment complex back in October.
The Lake Travis ISD school board has accepted the resignation of Superintendent Paul Norton. 1 This follows a misconduct complaint filed against him in December. The district has stated that the complaint did not involve students or district finances.
Two Del Valle ISD teachers are under investigation for allegedly cheating to get their certification. In December, the Texas Education Agency said more than 100 teachers were suspected of fraud. The TEA has added 60 more teachers to be included in the investigation. (Fox7 News)
To address its $92 million deficit over the next three school years, the Austin Independent School District is exploring a centralized pickup system for students in four of its specialized, application-based programs.
Two incidents from Friday to report from the Austin Fire Department:
In an update from a story from yesterday, two stolen French bulldogs have been reunited with their owners.
APD says since 2021, there have been seven French bulldog robberies.
ZP Better Together LLC, a company specializing in video relay and interpretation services for the deaf and hard of hearing, has been acquired for nearly half a billion dollars. The company relocated its headquarters from California to Austin in 2021. (Austin Business Journal)
No, “The Bear” isn’t filming here in Austin afterall.
The Emmy-winning show was rumored to have been “filming” at The Assembly Hall in Austin on E 7th St.
Signage around the location subtly read “THE BEAR” and “CREW” with arrows pointing to the Assembly Hall parking lot.
Reps from a local production company called The Bear confirmed that they are not affiliated with the FX series The Bear. The company was reportedly filming a commercial at the location. (Chron)
WEATHER
BIG changes come Sunday.
5-DAY FORECAST / AUSTIN, TEXAS
By Thursday, temperatures will struggle to rise above the 40s before a warming trend for next weekend.
As of Friday, Lake Travis was 44% full, 30.90 feet below average. Lake Buchanan was 60% full, 8.65 feet below average. Combined storage was 51%. The surface water temp on Lake Travis at Mansfield Dam was 58 degrees. (CBS Austin)
Texas bluebonnets are in bloom.
Texas lawmakers have proposed maintaining current border security spending, allocating another $6.5 billion over the next two years. This comes as Republican leaders are increasing their support of Trump-era immigration policies, including mass deportations, despite a decrease in illegal border crossings. (Texas Tribune)
Eight undocumented migrants were apprehended and four alleged smugglers were arrested at an El Paso hotel in an apparent smuggling operation.
Data shows there has been a dramatic drop in the number of migrants Illegally entering the country through our southern border since President Trump began his second term.
A federal judge in Austin issued an order Friday temporarily preventing Texas from enforcing even more parts of a 2024 law that regulates how children under 18 can use social media. Attorney General Ken Paxton promptly appealed the decision. (KERA News)
PODCAST: On the latest episode of Texas Public Radio’s “Texas Matters”, solving the state’s water problem.
Gov. Greg Abbott is making water an emergency item. Sarah Schlessinger, the CEO of Texas Water Foundation, explains the Texas water problem and what can be done to secure water supplies to Texas’ future.
Listen here.
Nearly 900 Texas children are waitlisted for a mental health program billed as an alternative to foster care. (Texas Tribune)
SPORTS
COLLEGE BASKETBALL: The 15-8 Texas Longhorns will play in Nashville today as they take on the 16-6 Vanderbilt Commodores at 12 noon. Texas will play inside historic Memorial Gymnasium on Vanderbilt’s campus for the first time since the 1988-89 season. (Texas Longhorns)
No. 15 Missouri hosts10th-ranked Texas A&M today at 3:30 p.m. while the 13th-ranked Red Raiders of Texas Tech play tonight at No. 20 Arizona. (Yahoo! Sports)
NBA: Miles Bridges knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner off a wraparound feed from LaMelo Ball with 1.4 seconds left to lift Charlotte to a 117-116 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night and snap a six-game skid for the Hornets. (Yahoo! Sports)
The Spurs are in Orlando tonight while it’s a Texas-sized battle between the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets in Dallas today at 2:00 p.m. (Yahoo! Sports)
NHL: A seesaw affair that saw a winning goal nullified with 36 seconds remaining in overtime still left the Los Angeles Kings elated by a 5-4 victory in a shootout with the Dallas Stars on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena.
The Stars remain in California as they face San Jose tonight. (Yahoo! Sports)
Dive into the San Marcos River to learn how spearfishing may be our best defense against an introduced aquarium fish.
Also, Visit the state park gateway to Caddo Lake and explore its rich history and swampy mystery. An artificial reef in the Gulf of Mexico improves fish habitat and the sportfishing and tourism economy.
All in the latest episode of PBS’s “Texas Parks & Wildlife”:
