Community Corner

🌱 Patch AM: Why Waymo’s self-driving cars are alarming Austin school officials

Also, don't miss Monetizing Mobile Home Parks are producing some of the highest cash-on-cash returns on the Austin Patch calendar

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Saturday December 13th Patch AM
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Hey there, Austin! Let's get started with what's happening in and around town. Read on and stay in the loop. ☕️️

In today's newsletter:

  • Why Waymo’s self-driving cars are alarming Austin school officials
  • What’s really changing in Austin’s new firefighter staffing deal?
  • Why global livestock experts gathered in Austin this week

Also on today's calendar: Monetizing Mobile Home Parks are producing some of the highest cash-on-cash returns and 7 more events.

Find out what's happening in Austinfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Today's riddle: What did the boat dock say when it was arrested? 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

Find out what's happening in Austinfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

  • Saturday: Fog in the morning; some sun, with a high of 74 and low of 49 degrees.
  • Sunday: Mostly cloudy; breezy, cooler, temps: high: 56, low: 37.
  • Monday: Sun and some clouds, with a high of 56 and low of 45 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

1. Waymo faces scrutiny over school bus safety violations in Austin (cbsaustin.com) — Austin ISD is tightening its focus on school bus stop safety after more than 7,000 citations this year, including about 20 involving Waymo’s self-driving cars. Following a December incident caught on an Austin ISD bus camera, federal regulators opened a probe and the district asked Waymo to pause operations during student pickup and dropoff, raising urgent questions about how autonomous vehicles share Austin streets with schoolchildren.
   

2. Austin city leaders, firefighters' union could soon reach agreement on new labor contract (kvue.com) — Austin city leaders and the firefighters’ union are close to approving a new labor contract that keeps four-person staffing on fire trucks and protects public input before any station closures. The deal would end the union’s Safer Austin ballot campaign while locking in wage increases, rest periods, and safety-focused staffing rules already budgeted by the city.
   

3. Texas hosts Latin American leaders to combat New World screwworm threat (news4sanantonio.com) — Agriculture leaders from across Latin America just met in Austin to coordinate defenses against the New World screwworm, a pest that threatens livestock, pets and even people. Hosted by Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, the two-day session focused on early detection, cross-border surveillance and joint strategies to keep the parasite from reestablishing along the U.S.–Mexico border.
   

4. University of Austin plans engineering lab next to Elon Musk's The Boring Co. (statesman.com) — A new applied engineering lab for the University of Austin (UATX), whose main campus is in downtown Austin, is rising next to Elon Musk’s Boring Company complex in Bastrop County. The private, tuition-free, STEM-focused university backed by major donors sees the facility as a key expansion, placing Austin students and faculty in the middle of a fast-growing hub of Musk-led companies.
   

5. Texas awards $4.8 million grant for quantum-enabled chip research facility at UT Austin (houstondaily.com) — UT Austin just secured a $4.8 million state grant to build QLab, a quantum-enabled semiconductor metrology facility in Austin that will support local chip and quantum-tech companies. State leaders say the project will strengthen Central Texas’ role as a semiconductor hub and help attract thousands of high-paying advanced manufacturing jobs to the region over time.
   

📸 Around Austin

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🗓 Events Nearby

    Saturday December 13
  • Robert Parker Jr.
    Mozart's Coffee Roasters , 3825 Lake Austin Blvd , Austin
    1:00 pm
  • A Lone Star Holiday: Music, Magic, & Merriment
    McCallum Arts Center , 5600 Sunshine Dr , Austin
    4:00 pm
  • Nutcracker Performances
    Westlake Community Performing Arts Center , 4100 Westbank Dr , Austin
    7:30 pm
    • Sunday December 14
  • Nature Immersion & Mental Health Workshop at Bunny Run Wildlife Preserve
    Nalle Bunny Run Wildlife Preserve , 4615 Bunny Run , Austin
    9:00 am

Have we missed something on our calendar? Add an event yourself! As always, before attending confirm event details to ensure accuracy.

 

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🪧 Patch Classifieds

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💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

  • Associa, Inc. posted a job opening for Housekeeper in Austin. Apply here.
  • TradeJobsWorkforce posted a job opening for Costco Forklift Operator in Austin. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Austin here.

Ok Austin! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: I demand a jury of my piers.
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