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Austin Energy to get $2.86M payout from ERCOT for 2021 winter storm damages: memo

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:13 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Over two years after the deadly February 2021 winter storm, Austin Energy will get a $2.86 million payout from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas for financial damages. Austin Energy interim general manager Stuart Reilly said the money "will directly benefit Austin Energy customers" in a Friday memo to city council and the city manager outlining the settlement.Texas grid operator ERCOT told Austin Energy to reduce output on the Fayette power project on Feb. 14 through early Feb. 15, 2021. The memo said Austin Energy lost money because it could not sell power into ERCOT's market during this time. Austin Energy also needed to buy power on the ERCOT Real-Time Market to cover contractual obligations. Since Austin Energy's output was reduced by ERCOT's demands, ERCOT protocols say the entity could be eligible for a payment if financial harm can be shown. Austin Energy submitted a request for the Feb. 14-15, 2021, activities that complied with ERCOT instructions. ER...

Local electricians donate time and resources to repair homes

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:13 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- Electricians are volunteering their time and donating materials to help low-income families make potentially life-saving repairs. This is going on in St. Louis City and County. Local electricians and electrical contractors will be making improvements and repairs at 17 homes today. This is the 20th year they've collaborated with the non-profit "Rebuilding Together." Since 2003, they've donated more than two million dollars in labor and materials and repaired nearly 600 homes. According to the National Fire Protection Association, there are more than 46 thousand home fires each year caused by electrical hazards.

Make-a-Wish celebrates 40 years of granting wishes with dream trip

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:13 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- Make-a-Wish, Missouri and Kansas, celebrated their 40th anniversary in a big way! It held a wish reveal for 17-year-old Dannah. She lives in Maryland Heights and is fighting sickle cell disease. She's one of three kids in her family who suffer from the disease. The revelation was the news that her wish to go to Hawaii was coming true. It included a Hawaiian-themed party and a Kona shaved ice truck. Since 1983, Make-a-Wish Missouri and Kansas have granted more than 93 wishes to children in the region with critical illnesses. Their office in Ballwin serves all counties in Missouri and Kansas.

Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority hosts inaugural elevate community expo

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:13 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- Alpha-kappa-Alpha sorority is hosting its first Elevate community expo later today. It's happening at Harris-Stowe State University. From noon until three at the Emerson Performance Center. The event offers people a chance to dispose of unwanted electronics and get free paper shredding. There will also be science demos for kids and business vendors.

For lower-income students, Big Tech internships can be hard to get

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:13 GMT

Jalaun Ross, a computer science major at Central Connecticut State University, knew it would be difficult to land an internship at a prominent tech company this summer.He had chosen to attend an affordable local public university, not a top computing school, and he did not know anyone in the industry who could put in a good word for him with tech recruiters.Last summer, while interning at a financial services company, Ross spent several hours every evening preparing for the coding tests that tech firms use to weed out candidates. He ultimately applied to more than 200 internships, he said, but did not receive a single offer from tech firms.“College itself is a huge workload, especially for minorities and people of lower socioeconomic status,” Ross said. “How can people who go to average state schools compete?”Like attending an Ivy League university, obtaining a prestigious internship at a prominent tech company can confer lifelong advantages. Highly coveted software engineering inte...

What good are wearable computers if the data Is wrong?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:13 GMT

Smartwatches from tech companies like Apple and Garmin make it easy to see a number that could reflect how old you are more accurately than your age: the VO2max, the maximum amount of oxygen that your body can use during intense exercise.The higher your VO2max, exercise experts say, the better your cardiovascular fitness and, potentially, the longer your life. In the past, only serious athletes sought a traditional VO2max test, which involved wearing cumbersome sensors while exercising inside a lab, but now anyone can get an estimate by wearing a smartwatch and moving around.Is it good to have access to this kind of information? And how accurate could a wearable be? In the last five months, when I fell down a VO2max rabbit hole, I learned some uncomfortable truths about my health and the limits of smartwatches.First, let me tell you about my fitness journey. In November, while I was out celebrating my birthday, my Apple Watch delivered the most unwanted gift: a notification of a hig...

Bill to provide $17,000 for those opting out of public schools defeated in California senate committee

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:13 GMT

The latest push for education savings accounts – a type of school choice voucher that would give parents money to finance their children’s non-public schooling – was defeated in a 5-2 vote in California’s senate education committee earlier this week.If passed, Senate Bill 292 would have established a fund for students who opt out of attending public schools that is equivalent to the amount the state spends on each student every year — around $17,000 per pupil during the 2022-23 academic year. Families could have used the money for private school tuition or other educational expenses. Leftover funds could be put toward higher education costs once the student graduates from high school.“California’s government run schools are failing too many students,” said the bill’s author, Senator Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) in an emailed statement. “The government focuses more on funding institutions than students, and most parents have no other options.”Similar education savings ac...

49ers’ last-pick Purdy magic has inspired NFL to dig in on this year’s late-round QBs

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:13 GMT

SANTA CLARA — One year ago, Brock Purdy’s phone rang, he retreated into his parents’ bedroom to take the call, then faked out his family by pretending it was just another team looking to sign him if he went undrafted.It was the 49ers calling. They would select him with the 262nd and final pick in the NFL Draft. Nine months later, Purdy directed them to eight straight wins, before his elbow got hurt and they lost the NFC Championship Game in Philadelphia.Purdy’s stunning breakout has a carryover effect on this coming NFL Draft.The 49ers are enamored with Purdy, and they envision him as their long-term starter, as long as his surgically repaired elbow recovers by fall, as expected. (That arm showed nice range of motion Friday night as he acknowledged fans who gave him a standing ovation while attending the San Francisco Giants’ game, seated near home plate with a few 49ers offensive linemen.)Nice to see you, Brock #BayAreaUnite pic.twitter.com/2FDiwHMpw3— SFGiants (@SFGia...

Prep baseball: Bold decision pays off for James Logan – ‘We needed to try something’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:13 GMT

UNION CITY – With the game between James Logan and Washington-Fremont tied during the top of the fifth inning, first place in the Mission Valley Athletic League was still up for grabs. That’s when James Logan’s Aeryk Hernandez made as gutsy a call as a coach could make with two outs and sophomore Jordan Medina on third. “I felt like we needed to try something, so I just said ‘Let’s put this straight steal on and hope that something happens,’” Hernandez said.“I read the signs and I was in complete shock,” Medina recalled thinking before he sprinted home.   “I was wondering, ‘Am I really about to do this?’” Washington’s catcher initially appeared to tag the runner out, but the home plate umpire deemed him to be blocking the plate. That gave James Logan a lead in what would eventually become a 5-2 victory. UNION CITY – James Logan players Jesus Vasquez (3) and Jordan Medina (16) celebrate after the final out. James Logan and Washington-Fremont played...

Mathews: Newsom’s “Campaign for Democracy” should start in California

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:13 GMT

Gov. Gavin Newsom is doing a good thing by launching “Campaign for Democracy” against authoritarian governors who are limiting freedom in Republican states like Alabama and Florida.But what he’s campaigning for is not democracy.If democracy were his mission, he’d be campaigning in California — because our state has a deficit of it.Newsom’s “Campaign for Democracy” — the name he’s given to a series of events in Republican states and to the political action committee paying for them — isn’t just a misnomer. It’s part of an epidemic of leaders who portray whatever they are doing as “democracy,” and their political opponents as a threat to it.To understand the problem, let’s start with a definition: Democracy is everyday people governing themselves.But Newsom’s campaign has little to do with getting together with your neighbors to practice self-government. The governor instead is leading a large national media campaign to confront sins of politicians with whom he disagrees.On the Campai...