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Viva Aerobus adds a direct flight from Austin to Mexico City. (Shutterstock)
It just got easier to head to Mexico's grand cities. Viva Aerobus, Mexico's ultra-low-cost airline, is expanding to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, where it will offer its first flights to both Mexico City and Monterrey starting next month.
Currently, there are no active direct flights to either Mexican city, so airline officials said Viva Aerobus is filling the gap as a direct response to customer demand. The flight to Mexico City is seasonal, running from June 20 to Oct. 25, while the Monterrey flight is the newest year-round nonstop destination starting June 19.
Flights to Mexico City can be booked for Tuesdays and Sundays; one-way tickets are on sale now, starting at $89 with taxes. Flights to Monterrey can be booked for Wednesdays and Saturdays; one-way tickets start at $99 with taxes.
"It is wonderful to be able to welcome our partners from Viva Aerobus to Austin, bringing increased travel options to Mexico City and a fantastic new route to Monterrey," said Jacqueline Yaft, chief executive officer for ABIA.
As the travel industry rebounds, airlines are expanding into ABIA, one of the fastest-growing medium-sized airports in the U.S. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that airlines started targeting the Austin airport as a result of the tech migration.
ABIA has more direct flights than ever before as airlines focus on the return of leisure travel and more vaccinated people want to book a vacation. This spring and summer, the Austin airport welcomed new nonstop flights to Hawaii and Aspen as well as a dozen more.
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A second person connected to Saturday morning's Sixth Street mass shooting has been arrested. The Austin Police Department confirmed they arrested a 17-year-old male suspect in Killeen on Monday.
The suspect has been identified as Jeremiah Roshaun Leland James Tabb, who will be charged as an adult with aggravated assault, officials confirmed. He was arrested without incident while enrolled in a summer school class.
Police arrested the first suspect, a 16-year-old male, on Saturday evening. It is still not known what charges the suspect will face and since he is a minor, court records and identity will likely remain confidential.
The shooting occurred in the early morning hours of Saturday, June 12, when two men fired shots into a large crowd on the 400 block of East Sixth Street and injured 13, killing one. Investigators believe there was "some type of disturbance" between the two parties.
A 25-year-old tourist visiting from New York, named Douglas John Kantor, succumbed to his injuries while in the hospital on Sunday afternoon. He leaves behind family and his high-school sweetheart.
The investigation is still ongoing and information can still be reported by calling 911 or the police tip line at 512-472-TIPS.
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(Pexels)
With high temperatures looming over Austin for the next week, The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which controls about 90% of the state's electricity flow, is asking residents to conserve energy usage through Friday, June 18.
ERCOT issued the conservation alert via Tweet on Monday afternoon, saying that a high number of "forced generation outages combined with potential record electric use" during June have created tight grid conditions. Austin Energy echoed the request.
🔊CONSERVATION URGED! @ERCOT_ISO is asking Texans to reduce electric use as much as possible today, 6/14 through Friday, 6/18, due to statewide grid conditions.
ERCOT says a significant number of power generators have forced outages for repairs. (1/2)
— Austin Energy (@austinenergy) June 14, 2021
ERCOT is attributing the "tight grid conditions" to more electric generators than usual being shut down for repairs.
June is going to be hot—temperatures are expected to peak around 96 degrees every day through Friday. It's just the start of the Texas summer season with high temperatures likely not dipping below 90 degrees for the rest of the month.
ERCOT data indicated that energy demand may exceed capacity during peak heat hours. According to ERCOT, approximately 11,000 MW of generation is on forced outages for repairs and today's peak load forecast may exceed 73,000 MW. The previous record for June was 69,100 megawatts in 2018.
One MW typically powers 200 homes on a summer day.
ERCOT shared voluntary guidelines to reduce energy usage:
- Set your thermostat to 78 degrees or higher–every degree of cooling increases your energy use by 6-8%.
- Turn off lights and pool pumps and avoid using large appliances like ovens, washing machines and dryers.
- If you don't need something–turn it off and unplug it if possible.
ERCOT has been under scrutiny since the grid collapsed in February during Winter Storm Uri, leaving millions of Texans in the cold and dark for days. The mass outage prompted a series of changes, including resignations, termination of President and CEO Bill Magness and a state investigation.
ERCOT previously said in May that it expected a relatively mild summer for emergency conditions and said it expects a peak energy demand of 77,144 MW through September.
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Douglas Kantor, the victim who lost his life in the Sixth Street mass shooting, was going to marry his high school sweetheart. (Courtesy of Kantor family)
Family, friends and the community are remembering Douglas John Kantor, the 25-year-old who was killed on Sixth Street after a mass shooting that injured 13 others early Saturday morning.
Kantor, who was visiting from New York and lived in Michigan, died in a hospital just after noon on Sunday after being "shot in the abdomen, just below the rib cage," according to his brother Nick Kantor.
One other victim remains in critical condition. Two suspects have been arrested as police continue to investigate the incident.
"He suffered from the time of the injury until time of death, it was the most gruesome thing," Nick Kantor told KVUE. "It's painful to discuss, but I think the public deserves to know what my brother suffered."
Nick Kantor released a statement to KVUE following his sibling's death, calling the shooting a "senseless tragedy" that "put an end to all his dreams."
According to Nick, Douglas Kantor was "looking forward to marrying his high school sweetheart of 10 years and starting a family." He had recently bought a house after receiving his master's degree in business at Michigan State, where he also completed four years in computer engineering.
🚨UPDATE: The family of Douglas John Kantor has released a statement following the death of the 25-year-old in #Austin: "He was loved by all who knew him." Kantor was shot & killed during a mass shooting event in downtown that injured 13 others: https://t.co/pS9lnAkcuF pic.twitter.com/11fFY5izYb
— John-Carlos Estrada (@Mr_JCE) June 14, 2021
Kantor was employed with Ford Motor Company as a product manager and had also used his computer science skills to develop a website for his family's air conditioning and heating business. Nick Kantor said Douglas was "loved by his family, friends and everyone who met him."
City officials and community members joined Nick Kantor in remembering Douglas Kantor.
Mayor Steve Adler released the following statement regarding Kantor's death:
"The loss suffered by the Kantor family is unimaginable. Doug Kantor leaves behind family, friends, and the future he was building. His senseless death has filled us with enormous grief, and even more resolve to stop this from happening here and across the country. Our hearts go out to all of Doug Kantor's loved ones."
A new Facebook page labeled the Downtown Austin Mass Shooting Survivors has issued a survivors fund for the 13 other victims injured.
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