🌱 Amazon One Palm-Scanning At Whole Foods + Two Local Fire Incidents

Happy Wednesday, people of North Austin-Pflugerville! Let's get you all caught up on what's happening locally to start today off on an informed note.

First, today's weather:

A t-storm around in the a.m. High: 86 Low: 71.

Here are the top stories in North Austin-Pflugerville today:

1. Soon customers at a Whole Foods Market in Austin "won't need to pull out payment cards at the cash register," as Amazon "will roll out its Amazon One palm-scanning technology to let customers pay with a wave of their hands." After that location, the company will "add six more stores in the region soon after." The system will be optional and will allow customers to "register one or both palms along with a debit or credit card at a store with the scanning tech. Next, people can choose their groceries and then scan a palm to pay at the register." The Amazon One system is now "available in Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go locations in California, Colorado, New York, Texas and Washington, D.C. According to Amazon, "the rollout in Austin will make it the second region where every store has the option of Amazon One, after the Seattle area." For more information visit: (CNET)
2. A man in North Austin was arrested on Sunday, April 17 for causing a "fiery crash around 1 p.m." in the 9200 block of southbound U.S. Route 183. According to Travis County deputies, "a gold minivan was exiting a private drive and attempting to head south on U.S. Route 183 when it struck another vehicle. While crossing over to U.S. Route 183, the gold minivan struck a black passenger vehicle." The crash caused the victim's vehicle to "run off the roadway to the west of the highway" and roll over mid-air as it was launched into the ditch along the side of the highway." It "eventually came to a rest on the driver's side door before catching fire." The driver of the gold minivan identified as Nelson Moran-Mendez drove away, but returned because he became worried about the victims, and "was arrested and charged with failure to stop and render aid." Fortunately, "witnesses at a nearby church were able to pull the female victim out of the fiery vehicle and get her to safety," and she only "suffered a small laceration to her left wrist and burns to both of her forearm areas." For more details visit: (FOX 7 Austin)
3. On Tuesday, April 19, a fire occurred at Churchill Crossing Apartments in Pflugerville, and during that incident, "a man and his dog that were trapped on the third floor were rescued by Travis County first responders." Fire Chief Nick Perkins said, "this apartment building is part of a plan that makes sure there are working smoke and carbon dioxide alarms in homes over 10 years old in the district," Fortunately, there were no casualties but "six units had direct damage and 12 were without power" and the Fire Marshal is presently investigating the cause of the fire. For more details visit: (KXAN.com)

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Today in North Austin-Pflugerville:

• Principal Leader Committee (PLC) at Hendrickson High School. (8 a.m.)
• "We Are Blood" blood drive at Pflugerville Library. Make an appointment online at https://bit.ly/3jSrZRF." (10:30 a.m.)
• Outdoor Storytime for Toddlers and Pre-K in Centennial Plaza. (11 a.m.)
• Afternoon Baby time (ages 12 - 18 months) at local library. (2 p.m.)
• Tween Writing Workshop (ages 9-12) at local library. (5 p.m.)
• Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting at local library. (6 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• "First Pflugerville, TX Municipal Government public meeting for Downtown East on Wednesday, April 27 from 6-8 p.m. at City Hall at 100 E. Main St., Ste. 500." (Facebook)
• "Bring your kids to Pflugerville Parks and Recreation Gilleland Creek Pavilion on Saturday, April 30 from 3-5 p.m. and make the perfect gift for Mom just in time for Mother's Day! Make one-of-a-kind creations that Mom will be sure to love!" (Facebook)
• "The Pflugerville Employment Coalition is hosting the Greater Pflugerville Job Fair on April 30 from 9 a.m.-Noon at Hendrickson High School. Both full-time and part-time positions will be available." (Facebook)

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You're all caught up for today! See you all tomorrow for your next update.

— Gabriela Couvillion

About me: I'm an active mom of two grown sons and lifelong San Antonio resident. I received a BA in Spanish from the University of Texas at San Antonio, and in my free time I immerse myself in creative writing. Thanks for reading Patch, and feel free to reach out if you have any news and happenings you think may appeal to our readers!