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A body was found at a homeless camp in southeast Austin on the Lady Bird Lake trail as city officials cleared the area Tuesday morning, according to Austin police.
Police responded to a check welfare call at the site off S. Pleasant Valley Road early Tuesday morning and found a body. APD said the death is not believed to be suspicious.
The campsite, which over 30 individuals called home on parkland near Lakeshore at Town Lake Metro Park, was cleared without a housing alternative because "shelter is at capacity," a city spokesperson said.
The site has grown since October, the city said, and was cleared to "ensure appropriate public access" to the area's amenities, including a walking trail encircling Lady Bird Lake.
Austin and its partners have cleared 1,700 homeless people into housing and conducted 602 site cleanups since a citywide homeless camping ban was reinstated in May 2021.
But with weather dipping to near-freezing temperatures Tuesday night, some residents are concerned that the homeless individuals will be unsafe without a shelter alternative.
"There is a sweep taking place and these people have no designated place to go," Antony Jackson, CEO of homelessness service provider "We Can Now," told KXAN. "So, they have to go into the woods."
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Popular
Elon Musk has proposed once again to buy Twitter for $54.20 a share.
The news that Musk is offering to carry on with the $44 billion buyout was first reported by Bloomberg. Now, a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission shows Musk made the proposal in a letter to the tech giant on Monday.
The New York Stock Exchange temporarily halted trading in Twitter stock twice Tuesday, first because of a big price move and the second time for a news event, presumably the announcement of Musk's renewed offer.
While the per share offer price on this latest proposal remains the same as the original offer, it’s unclear if Musk has made other term changes or if Twitter would reject it. According to other reports, a deal could be reached this week.
The stock closed at $52.00/share Tuesday, indicating market uncertainty around the $54.20 offer.
After Musk informed Twitter of plans to terminate the original agreement in July, Twitter sued. A trial has been expected in Delaware Chancery Court on Oct. 17.
With the proposition of a buyout on the table again, it revives the question of whether Musk might move Twitter from San Francisco to Central Texas.
He’s done so with some of his other companies. Tesla’s headquarters in southeast Travis County had its grand opening earlier this year and tunneling business The Boring Company moved to Pflugerville. At least two other Musk companies, SpaceX and Neuralink, have a Central Texas presence without being headquartered here.
Technology journalist Nilay Patel this afternoon voiced concerns that owning Twitter and Tesla together could be problematic for Musk, as his Tesla manufacturing facilities in Germany and China are both in countries that have disputes with Twitter over content moderation and censorship.
Telsa shares fell after the Twitter news became public, before rallying to close up, at $249.44.
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While searching for a place to live, Austin renters will face monthly rates of nearly $3,000, a recent guide from rental marketplace Dwellsy shows.
The median rent in August this year was $2,930, a more than 86% increase since August 2021. That’s $820 more than the nationwide median asking rent in August and puts Austin just below the Bay Area, Boston and New York for large cities with the most expensive asking rent.
“Within this group, Austin, TX stands out for the highest increases in asking rent, which has nearly doubled since this time last year,” the study notes.
Outside of those large cities, however, others are seeing even higher rent spikes. Metro areas that ranked above Austin in one-year increases include those like Kansas City, MO with a 112% change in rent since last August and Tucson, AZ with a 124% change.
The data reflects large apartment communities, single-family homes and 2-6 unit buildings.
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