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Rodney "Rod" Kelley served with AFD for 20 years. (Austin Fire Dept.)
After the loss of two police officers due to COVID-19 last week, the Austin Fire Department announced its first death today: 20-year firefighter Rodney Kelley.
Kelley died on Sunday after a long battle with COVID. In a tweet, AFD said it was heartbroken over the "loss of our brother."
Heartbroken to share we lost 20-yr AFD member FF Rodney “Rod" Kelley last night after battling #COVID19. Please keep his family, friends, and crew in your thoughts and prayers, and we ask for your respect and kindness as we grieve the loss of our brother. 💔
📷©AFD/C. Wilkinson pic.twitter.com/aUlUJ7hCMY
— Austin Fire Dept (@austinfiredept) August 30, 2021
According to a recent department survey, 78% of firefighters are vaccinated, though many did not respond to the survey. An earlier April report showed that only 60% of uniformed employees had been vaccinated—a much smaller number than the 95% vaccinated civilian staff.
Texas lawmakers passed a bill in May saying if a firefighter died of COVID-19, it would be presumed the virus was contracted due to the nature of their work.
COVID-19 is ravaging through the police department as well—40 officers and seven civilian employees were out of work with the virus as of Friday—leading to an increase in safety protocols to reduce contact.
For now, the Austin Police Department is suspending non-required training and ride-along programs, non-patrol units will telework, lower priority calls will be handled remotely where possible and enforcement of non-hazardous traffic violations will be at the officer's discretion.
APD does not have a reliable count on vaccinated officers, according to Interim Police Chief Joseph Chacon, who said he estimates that around 50-60% of officers have been vaccinated.
Chacon said he is encouraging colleagues to get the vaccine, as well as following guidance on masking, social distancing and driving alone when it's an option.
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Popular
(Tesla)
Giga Texas, the massive Tesla factory in southeast Travis County is getting even bigger.
The company filed with the city of Austin this week to expand its headquarters with a new 500,000-square-foot building. The permit application notes “GA 2 and 3 expansion,” which indicates the company will make two general assembly lines in the building.
More details about the plans for the building are unclear. The gigafactory has been focused on Model Y production since it opened in April, but the company is also aiming for Cybertruck production to kick off in mid-2023.
While there is room for expansion on the 3.3 square miles of land Tesla has, this move comes after CEO Elon Musk’s recent comments about the state of the economy and its impact on Tesla.
In a May interview with Tesla Owners Silicon Valley, Musk said the gigafactories in Berlin and Austin are “gigantic money furnaces” and said Giga Texas had manufactured only a small number of cars.
And in June, Musk sent a company wide email saying Tesla will be reducing salaried headcount by 10%, then later tweeted salaried headcount should be fairly flat.
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(U.S. Marshals)
The Austin woman suspected of killing star cyclist visiting from out of town, Moriah "Mo" Wilson, has now been captured after evading arrest for more than a month.
Kaitlin Marie Armstrong, an Austin yoga instructor, is believed by officials to be the killer of Wilson, who was found with gunshot wounds in a friend's house on May 11. The murder is being investigated as a crime of passion after Wilson met up with Armstrong's ex-boyfriend.
According to the U.S. Marshals, Armstrong was located at a hostel on Santa Teresa Beach in Provincia de Puntarenas, Costa Rica. Officials said she may have been using her sister's name after fleeing Austin on May 14, the day after police questioned her. She was last identified at Newark Liberty International Airport on May 18.
Federal authorities say they plan on returning Armstrong to the U.S., where she'll face charges of murder and unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
Here's a timeline of events since the night of Wilson's murder.
- The night of her death, Wilson met with Armstrong’s ex-boyfriend Colin Strickland, a fellow pro cyclist. According to an affidavit, the pair went swimming, then to dinner, before he dropped Wilson off at her friend's home where she was staying in East Austin at around 8:30 p.m.
- While Wilson and Stickland had previously had a romantic relationship, Stickland said the two were friends. The affidavit says Strickland lied to Armstrong about his whereabouts that evening.
- Video footage shows Armstrong’s Jeep pulled up nearby the home within a minute of Wilson arriving home.
- At around 10 p.m., Wilson's friend called Austin police after finding her in a pool of blood. Wilson had been staying with the friend ahead of the upcoming bike race in nearby Hico, Texas.
- Armstrong was brought in for questioning the day after the murder and released after appearing “very still and guarded” when confronted with video evidence.
- The Lone Star Fugitive Task Force said her black Jeep Cherokee was sold to a South Austin CarMax dealership on May 13 for $12,200.
- She leaves from the Austin airport on May 14.
- Shell casings found on the scene matched a gun belonging to Armstrong.
- Austin police obtained an arrest warrant for Armstrong on May 17.
- She took a flight from Newark Liberty International Airport to San Jose, Costa Rica on May 18 using a fraudulent passport, according to the Marshals.
- On May 25, another warrant was obtained for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
- On June 29, she was captured by the U.S. Marshals