Attempted Kidnapping Raises Safety Concerns in West Campus

byCristina Folsom

AUSTIN, Texas — An attempted kidnapping in West Campus is raising safety concerns among the community.  Officers from the Austin Police Department and the University of Texas Police Department responded to an emergency call at the 2700 block of Nueces St. early in the morning of Oct. 30. Investigators said the victim was able to escape. […]

Harm Reduction Services Struggle to Tame Austin’s Accelerating Opioid Overdose Rates

byCorey Smith

With overdose deaths mounting, harm reduction groups are providing overdose reversal medications and other supplies to ensure safer substance use and generally healthier living. But the groups operate in a legal gray area. 
“This work is important for everybody here,” one clinic coordinator said after a day of outreach in his group’s mobile clinic. “Don’t you know we all can go to jail right now? Because everything that we do is illegal, technically. When I was doing the (safe syringe exchange) van, all of that stuff on there was illegal. But guess what? Ain’t never stopped me.”
The group takes its clinic van to several encampments each Tuesday through Friday, providing Narcan nasal spray, an opioid overdose reversal medication, safe smoke kits, needle exchanges, hygiene supplies, wound care kits and Plan B contraception pills.
“Fundamentally, harm reduction is about saving people’s lives and increasing safety around unsafe behaviors,” said one expert.

Amid Global Demand for Oil, Gulf Coast Town Grapples With Plans for Offshore Export Terminal

byKeaton Peters

The seemingly laid-back island town of Surfside Beach has found itself at the forefront of oil industry expansion, as a plan to build the Sea Port Oil Terminal, known as SPOT, has divided the community.
The plan includes building an oil pipeline from Harris County through Brazoria County, across vacant lots in the village of Surfside Beach and connecting to a deepwater port 27 nautical miles offshore. 
The construction project is one of six new permit applications for offshore terminals in the Gulf of Mexico to export oil or natural gas to the global market. The permit for the Sea Port Oil Terminal has received more than 37,000 public comments, and a final decision on permit approval is expected this month from the U.S. Maritime Administration.

Noble 2500 Construction Delays Frustrate Residents

byTaryn Jones

AUSTIN, Texas — Nearly three months after student residents were supposed to move in, apartment complex Noble 2500 announced Wednesday even more delays to its opening. On its website, Noble advertised stylish living to University of Texas students beginning Aug. 18. However, in July, future residents received the first in a series of emails delaying […]

Reporting Texas Newsletter Nov. 3rd, 2022

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Political Action Groups Battle for Texas School Board Power Amid Fights Over Book Bans and Race

byCorey Smith

Battles over removal of LGBTQ-themed books from libraries and the teaching of race in Texas schools are moving to the ballot boxes in hotly contested school board elections. 

Poll Watchers Gearing Up for Midterms With New Texas Election Law in Effect

bySamantha Eisenmenger

Growing political distrust fueled by former President Donald Trump’s unsupported claims of election fraud in 2020 has increased interest in Texans becoming poll watchers this year. The Texas secretary of state office says 4,480 Texans completed a new poll watcher certification training program that launched Feb. 1.

Reporting Texas TV – November 3, 2022

byReporting Texas TV Staff

Journalism students from Moody College at the University of Texas produced their third newscast of the semester on November 3, 2022. This week student journalists report on record-breaking numbers at the Austin airport, a new peer counseling program, and the Longhorns Women’s Basketball Team in pre-season action.

Longhorn SHARE Project Expands Mental Health Services for Students

byCecilia Rodriguez

AUSTIN, Texas — A new program at the University of Texas aims to reach more students by expanding services as the grind of the semester continues.  Longhorn SHARE Project unveiled its new Peer Support Specialist program this August, after several years of planning. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Adrian Lancaster was starting to slowly expand peer […]

No. 3 Texas Women’s Basketball Starts Season on High Note

byEthan Ferguson

AUSTIN, Texas – The Orange-White Scrimmage for the Texas Women’s Basketball team on Oct. 19 gave fans and the public an opportunity to see the new look of the team. The teams also played against an all-male practice squad made up of skilled UT students.  The Longhorns added seven new players to the team this […]

Reporting Texas Newsletter Oct. 27, 2022

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Reporting Texas Newsletter Oct. 13, 2022

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What Travelers Should Expect in the Austin Airport’s Busiest Year

bySloane Wick

AUSTIN, Texas — The Austin-Bergstrom International Airport broke its record for the most passengers in a single day with 43,117 people departing on October 24. The airport has between 20,000 and 30,000 departing travelers on an average day. Despite the heavy traffic, Transportation Security Administration lines never went over a 30-minute wait. Airport spokesperson Elizabeth […]

Reporting Texas TV – October 27, 2022

byReporting Texas TV Staff

Journalism students from Moody College at the University of Texas at Austin produced their second newscast of the semester on October 27, 2022. This week student journalists report on the start of early voting, a charity volleyball tournament, and the world premiere of a play created to accompany an art exhibit.

Small Victories Foundation Volleys For A Cause

byCristina Folsom

AUSTIN, Texas – A local charity raised money on Sunday, Oct. 22 at Moontower Saloon for brain injury survivors to connect with arts experiences through Volley for Victories.  People donated money to participate in a volleyball tournament and bought raffle tickets in hopes of winning prizes while supporting the cause.  Austin resident Sean Kluge said […]

Award-Winning Chef Edgar Rico’s Taqueria Is Giving Back, One Free Meal at a Time

byAna Paola Davila Chalita

Edgar Rico, chef and co-owner of the taqueria, hosts the biggest community fridge in East Austin, a project born of the financial struggles of the COVID pandemic.

“Hundreds of people a day were coming to our door to ask for food,” recalled Rico, a second-generation Mexican chef who recently appeared on Time magazine’s “100 Next 2022” list of influential people. 

In June, Rico won a James Beard Award — the so-called “Oscars of the food world” — as best emerging chef, and his restaurant continues to appear on “best of” lists. That success traces to his love of the culture of his parents’ home country and a desire to inspire and help others through food, both through his restaurant and through the community fridge it stocks. 

UT Students Turn Out for Early Voting

byTaryn Jones

AUSTIN, Texas –  Early voting began Monday, Oct. 24, with University of Texas students braving rainy weather to cast their ballots on campus.  For the next two weeks, the Flawn Academic Center (FAC) and LBJ School of Public Affairs are open as polling locations on campus. Unlike previous years, the Perry-Castañeda Library is no longer […]

Theater-Goers Embrace Latino History and Art

byOihane Ochoa

AUSTIN, Texas – Paintings on display at the Blanton Museum of Art inspired a play, and visitors this month have the opportunity to see it performed in the same space. The exhibition Painted Cloth: Fashion and Ritual in Colonial Latin America includes a collection by Mexican painter Miguel Cabrera titled “Casta.” These artworks show family […]

Inmates’ Families March Alongside Those Wrongly Convicted at Death Penalty Protest

byLaura Miguel

Families of death row prisoners joined opponents of capital punishment for the 23rd annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty at the Texas State Capitol.
“I’m here today, tomorrow and as long as it takes until we end this death penalty,” said Rodrick Reed, brother of Rodney Reed, who has been on Texas’ death row for 24 years. “Not just bring Rodney home, but to abolish the death penalty because it is cruel, inhumane and pure racist.”

Reporting Texas TV – October 20, 2022

byReporting Texas TV Staff

Journalism students from Moody College at the University of Texas at Austin produced their first newscast of the semester on October 20, 2022. This week student journalists report on Longhorn Fiesta, the Field of Light art exhibit, and the Austin Pets Alive! celebration of 11 years as a no-kill city.