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Austin's oldest chicken Esperanza dies after 13 years of coop disputes, celebrity status and family feuds

Esperanza, who may have been Austin's oldest chicken, has passed away. (Edward Gottschalk)
After 13 years of maintaining a brotherly feud, celebrity status and fighting for her spot as the coop's top dog (or chicken), Austin's oldest chicken, Esperanza, died over the weekend.
Esperanza's claim to fame came from the aid of her owners, Edward Gottschalk and Liath Appleton, who started investigating the elderly chicken's unique status after a 13 or 14-year-old chicken from Austin made an appearance on a late-night television show several years ago.
Esperanza as a chick. (Edward Gottschalk)
Esperanza as a grown chicken. (Edward Gottchalk)
At 13, Esperanza lived a full life that ended with her favorite meal, cantaloupe and mealworms, in Austin's Highland neighborhood. Her coop, which was fully enclosed to ward off predators, bordered the couple's bedroom window so she could be fed treats as needed, and she enjoyed bad weather days inside watching TV on Appleton's lap. Gottschalk said Esperanza passed peacefully in her sleep.
Esperanza's coop bordered the couple's window so that she could be fed treats as easily as possible. (Edward Gottschalk)
But her celebrity status didn't come without strife; according to Gottschalk, Esperanza was "not that nice" and had a cantankerous old-lady attitude. Gottschalk said she may have blood on her hands (or claws): some of her companion chickens have died naturally or flown away, but in cutthroat chicken tradition, Esperanza herself has likely killed a sick chicken or two herself in her rise to the top.
Even on her crankiest days, however, Esperanza had the unique power of bringing people together. In an in-family Hatfield vs. McCoy-esque dispute, Gottschalk and his brother, Mark, have been in stiff competition over their claims to fame: for Gottschalk, it's Esperanza, while Mark is a champion pumpkin grower.
But that feud appears to have laid to rest as Mark and many others paid their respects to Esperanza.
"They've been very supportive, actually everyone has," Gottschalk told Austonia.
As Austin's biggest celebrity, over 50 Redditors in the r/Austin subreddit paid their respects to Esperanza in Gottschalk's memorial post.
"I hope you are scratching up delicious grubs in that great coop in the sky," one Redditor wrote.
Esperanza is the daughter of Frita and Frederico. Though her relatives are no longer clucking, she will be remembered by her doting owners Gottschalk and Appleton and the rest of Austin, who will now have to resort to supporting other local celebrities like "that McCoughy guy or whatever his name is," according to one grieving Redditor.
"She lived a nice quiet life the past couple of years," Gottschalk said. "She's pretty sweet with age. It's been nice to have her."
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Popular
(Pexels)
Some of your favorite Instagram filters can’t be used in Texas anymore and Austinites are sounding off on social media.
Meta, Facebook and Instagram’s parent company, announced on Wednesday that certain filters would no longer be available in Texas.
The change is a result of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit against Meta, alleging the company uses facial recognition technology that violates laws in Texas. A release from Meta says it stopped using facial recognition tech in November 2021 and denies Paxton’s allegations.
Some Austinites bemoaned the shift, saying some of their favorite filters were now unavailable.
This was my FAVORITE filter on @instagram and they done removed it cause I’m in Texas ! Like wowwwwww pic.twitter.com/uX60hdIC0Q
— Pinkyy Montana (@inkstar_pinkyy) May 11, 2022
i heard that instagram filters got banned in texas? what the actual fuck y’all better give me my favorite filter back
— lia 🤍 (@liatootrill) May 11, 2022
loved this stupid filter sm i hate texas pic.twitter.com/DXr9mmUc64
— birthday boy jeno 🎂 (@beabtox) May 12, 2022
But more often than not, locals joked about the ban.
Texas women seeing the filter ban on IG pic.twitter.com/yDMcP3Qtsr
— Christian (Anabolic) Flores (@christian_flo24) May 11, 2022
So, the state of Texas has banned filter use on IG? THE END IS NEAR. 😂
— THE FRANCHISE! Франшиза (@NYCFranchise718) May 12, 2022
And some in-between chose to show off some natural beauty.
I live in Texas, but no filter needed. 😉 pic.twitter.com/A6teRgYMKn
— bad and bruja (@starseedmami) May 11, 2022
filter, no filter..texas women still reign supreme.
— 🎍 (@_sixile) May 11, 2022
Finally, some are trying to cash in on the opportunity.
Texas IG users- if you want to filter your picture cashapp me $1.50 $ErvnYng
— Gemini (@ervn_y) May 11, 2022
Meta said it plans to create an opt-in system for both Texas and Illinois residents, who are facing the same issues.
(Austin Energy)
Power demand is forecast to push within 600 megawatts of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas' capacity Friday afternoon as a record month of heat continues.
Demand for the statewide power grid hit over 65,000 Mw at 5 p.m., just under the capacity the grid can handle. ERCOT announced approximately 2,900 Mw of power was lost on Friday due to six power generation facilities tripping offline. At 5 p.m. it said all reserve generation resources available are operating. Texans have been asked to conserve energy.
Inbox: ERCOT says "six power generation facilities tripped offline resulting in the loss of approximately 2,900 MW of electricity. At this time, all reserve generation resources available are operating." Asks Texans to conserve power... pic.twitter.com/g6LxJlHlop
— Forrest Wilder (@Forrest4Trees) May 13, 2022
As the power grid threatens to buckle under the weight of consumers, record-breaking heat continues to push up demand. Austin is currently in the hottest May on record, with temperatures averaging at 82 degrees—eight degrees higher than average—at Austin's Camp Mabry.
And Austin is expected to have another triple-digit onslaught next week, with temperatures peaking at highs of 100 degrees Friday and Saturday. As a result, demand could peak Monday, with forecast demand expected to reach a May record of 70,758 Mw. The previous record was 67,265 in 2018, while ERCOT's all-time high was 74,820 Mw in August 2019.
While ERCOT has not yet seen a heat surge reminiscent of 2021's Winter Storm Uri, power outage woes became all too real for around 3,600 southeast Austinites Saturday as Austin Energy put on a last-resort power pause from around 3:30 to 7:30 p.m.
The outage was a culmination of many factors—from near-100 degree heat to unfortunately-timed maintenance checks and growth in the Bluff Springs area. The result was an overheating circuit that needed relief fast.
"It was related to high usage overloading one circuit at a time when some of our infrastructure was still undergoing maintenance in preparation for the months to come," Austin Energy spokesperson Matt Mitchell told Austonia. "So it was a very unique set of circumstances that we do not see repeating itself."
Mitchell said that all seasonal maintenance is complete and that Austin Energy will open a new power substation in Bluff Springs this June. The organization also said the issue had nothing to do with ERCOT, which released a statement assuring consumers that power was not threatened during that time.
NEW: ERCOT projects there will be sufficient supply of power to meet demand for this week. pic.twitter.com/fPZWHbWyoc
— Lindsey Ragas (@LindseyRagas) May 10, 2022
ERCOT also told Austonia before 5 p.m. that it "projects there will be sufficient generation to meet demand for electricity" on Friday. It then informed the public about the energy loss due to a power trip.
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