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Travis County approves 12-week paid parental leave for county employees

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:59:05 GMT

TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) -- Effective immediately, eligible employees working for Travis County can take up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave.Travis County commissioners approved the program extension Tuesday. The vote came after commissioners received the first annual report on the county's paid parental leave policy, established in May 2022 under an initial eight-week model.The county's paid parental leave program is available to eligible employees "to bond and care for a child after the birth, adoption, or foster-to-adopt placement," per county documents. Under the initial implementation, the PPL program provided 320 hours, or eight weeks, of paid leave within a 12-month period. A prorated version was made available for part-time, eligible employees, as well.The PPL program was available for use "within the 12 months from the Parental Event date" and was available for one continuous use period, per county documents.From May 3, 2022 through May 31, 2023, 120 county employees u...

Texas Education Agency will delay A-F school ratings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:59:05 GMT

Editor's Note: The video above shows KXAN News Today's top headlines for Sept. 12, 2023AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Texas Education Agency said Tuesday it will delay the release of A-F school ratings for one month. The A-F ratings were set to be released to the public on Sept. 28. "Analysis of that growth data shows that the 2021-22 growth was more anomalous than expected, so setting baselines that partially incorporate data from the 2021-22 school year may not adequately take into account the impact of the pandemic," according to TEA officials. Del Valle ISD joins lawsuit against Texas Education Agency over changes to accountability rating system The decision comes as several school districts, including Pflugerville ISD and Del Valle ISD, are suing Education Commissioner Mike Morath over the changes to how A-F ratings are calculated. The districts are asking a judge to stop the new scores' release temporarily. In the lawsuit, the districts claim the agency did not follow the law in notifying...

Texas DPS given $3.3 million grant to help reduce rape-kit backlog

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:59:05 GMT

Editor's Note: The video above shows KXAN News Today's top headlines for Sept. 12, 2023WASHINGTON, D.C. (KXAN) -- The Texas Department of Public Safety was awarded a grant of over $3 million to help reduce a backlog of untested DNA and rape kits in the state.The funding, which is a total of $3,378,789, comes through the Department of Justice as part of the Capacity Enhancement for Backlog Reduction (CEBR) Program. The funding was authorized by the Debbie Smith Act, which helps provide funding to eligible governmental bodies to address the backlog of DNA evidence.This is an issue Texas has been dealing with for years. The Texas Forensic Science Commission worked in 2016 to streamline rape kits. In 2019, legislation to tackle a backlog of untested rape kits was introduced.Sen. John Cornyn has also fought to mitigate the process. He helped author three different laws in 2018 and 2019. Cornyn announced the grant on Tuesday.“As long as rape kits sit untested, authorities a...

WATCH LIVE: Paxton communicated with lawyer via encrypted messages, witness says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:59:05 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Texas’ Court of Impeachment reconvened Tuesday morning for the second week of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton’s trial, leading off with testimony from Brandon Cammack — the outside counsel Paxton hired to help investigate campaign donor Nate Paul’s claims that are central to the articles of impeachment. Affair and bribery: Witness testimony from day 5 of Paxton's trial Cammack, a Houston attorney, had about five years of experience when he was hired to investigate Paul's claims — which top deputies in Paxton's office had previously looked into and said testified that found to have no merits. Cammack testified Tuesday that he was excited to work for the attoney general's office and after meeting with Paul and his attorney, Michael Wynn, he thought Paul's claims were "serious, if true."Cammack told the jury that he was hired directly by Paxton who told him he would need "some guts to work on a case like this." He testified that the attorney general...

Longtime friend gets 40 years for killing and dismembering St. Paul man

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:59:05 GMT

GRAND MARAIS, Minn. — Ricky Balsimo Jr. and Jacob Colt Johnson were longtime friends.The two attended school together and Johnson was “treated like family” by the Balsimos, staying over at their house and being someone Ricky’s parents could call on when they were worried about their son.Jacob Colt Johnson (Courtesy of the Cook County sheriff’s office)In fact, Rick Balsimo Sr. said, the two men were mere blocks from the family home in St. Paul when Johnson fired at least four shots that killed his friend in a moving car on Father’s Day 2021 — indicating he ignored more-sensible options to resolve an antagonistic situation.“Ricky had big love for Jake,” the father said in the Cook County courtroom. “Jake was one of the last people in the world I thought would do this to my son, or could do this.”The Superior man, who subsequently drove Balsimo’s body several hours north to the Twin Ports and elicited the help of others to dismember and dispose of the remains in Lake ...

DEC to host free fishing clinic in Greene County

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:59:05 GMT

HUNTER, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Department of Environmental Conservation is hosting a free fishing clinic at the North-South Lake Campground in Haines Falls on Saturday, September 16. Fishing licenses are not required, but all other statewide and special regulations remain in effect. Get the latest news, weather, and sports delivered right to your inbox! During the clinic, participants will learn about fish identification, fishing techniques, and how to handle equipment. Participants will then get a chance to cast their fishing lines.Fishing rods, bait, and tackle will be supplied. The DEC encourages experienced anglers to bring their own gear. Children under 16 must be supervised. While the clinic is free, visitors have to pay applicable day-use service charges to enter the facility.The clinic runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information about free fishing clinics in New York, visit https://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/27123.html.

Schenectady County to host free paint recycling event

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:59:05 GMT

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Schenectady County and GreenSheen Paint are hosting a free paint recycling event for residents on September 23 at the SUNY Schenectady West Parking lot. GreenSheen will recycle the paint at their facility in the Rotterdam Industrial Park. Get the latest news, weather, and sports delivered right to your inbox! “Schenectady County has sponsored multiple events this year to make it easier for residents torecycle paint, common household chemicals, and electronics waste, which can have a big impact on our community,” said Anthony Jasenski, Chair of the Schenectady County Legislature. “Thispaint recycling event is one more way we can work together with our residents to divert waste from landfills and help keep our environment cleaner and greener for future generations.”Accepted Materials (only in 5-gallon containers or smaller)Not Accepted Interior and exterior architectural paints: latex, acrylic, water-based, alkyd, oil-based, enamel (including textured c...

Harlem Globetrotters return to St. Louis in January

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:59:05 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- The Harlem Globetrotters will return to the Enterprise Center next year. They bring their signature style to once again take on the Washington Generals on January 6, 2024. There are shows at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.Tickets go on sale starting September 25 at HarlemGlobeTrotters.com.

Missouri AG launches investigation into Liberty Safe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:59:05 GMT

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has launched an investigation into a heavy-duty gun safe manufacturer known as Liberty Safe. Bailey's office is looking to investigate the release of customer safe codes to third parties. According to a report last week from the New York Times, Liberty Safe acknowledged that it voluntarily gave the FBI an access code to a safe "in response to a search warrant for a property." Report: Ladue students died in crash following aborted police chase Though Liberty Safe followed a request from the FBI, Bailey contends the FBI did not have a court order ordering Liberty Safe to provide the safe’s combination. He wants the investigation to determine whether Liberty Safe fully discloses to its customers the terms under which it will allow third parties - like law enforcement agencies - to access a customer's safe. “In an era where the federal government weaponizes our national security apparatus against political opponents, the l...

New study finds best value colleges in Missouri for 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:59:05 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- SmartAsset has recently released its annual Best Value College study for 2023.This is Smart Asset's ninth year putting together this analysis. The list is based on scholarships, starting salary, tuition, living costs and retention rate to determine the "Best Value Colleges" in Missouri. Evergy rate hike could cost KC-area schools millions of dollars According to educationdata.org, Missouri ranks no. 29 out of all states for the most affordable colleges.Here are the top 10 Missouri colleges where students will get the most bang for their buck: 1. Missouri University of Science and Technology:Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla has a tuition of $11,139 with the average scholarships and grants of $10,668. Students who graduate from Missouri S&T earn a median starting salary of $72,600.2. Washington University:It costs $63,000 to attend Washington University in St. Louis. The average amount of aid given to students is $47,000. Graduates' medi...