Buda News

After a string of recent collisions at the corner of RM 967 and Main Street involving passenger vehicles and 18-wheelers, Buda city leaders say there's little they can do to make the intersection safer.

"That whole intersection belongs to the state," said Buda Mayor Bobby Lane. "We can't touch it ... That's such a hard issue for us because we don't have any control over it."

When commercial trucks approach Buda's historic downtown from FM 967, they are prohibited by city ordinance from turning north, and instead must navigate the dangerously narrow right turn onto Main Street. To do so, they make the legally protected turn from the left hand lane.

It was a rude awakening early Wednesday morning for some in Hays County. Witnesses called the Buda Fire Department early this morning for a house fire at 100 Shannons Way , which is near FM 967.

Idgy Vaughn writes and plays twisted Texamericana with all the aplomb and raw magic of an unsocialized farmkid.

Kids under the age of 9 shouldn't drink the water in Kyle.

That's the message that thousands of Kyle utilities customers read why they opened a letter from the city late last month detailing the high levels of fluoride in local water.

Fluoride occurs naturally in all water. Many communities also add fluoride to their water supply, a tactic that's been credited with reducing cavities by about 50 percent since World War II.

The American Dental Association recommends that fluoride levels in drinking water be maintained at about 1.0 parts per million (ppm).

Man killed in four-vehicle wreck Kenneth Sweeney, 19, of Austin died after the pickup he was driving struck at least three other vehicles on FM 812 just east of Texas 130 in southern Travis County on Tuesday, ...

KBDJ, an Austin, Texas-based quarry operation, hosted about 125 fourth graders from a local elementary school on a field trip to its limestone quarry located near Buda, Texas.

Ask Warren Ketteman, president of the Buda Economic Development Corp., how many apartments exist in the city, and his answer comes quickly -- fewer than 10.

TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas Many local fire departments in rural areas -- like Buda and Bastrop -- put a heavy reliance on volunteers to staff their stations and trucks Tougher economic times, however, mean fewer ...

Many local residents will be heading out of town for the Fourth of July, especially since it's the start of a three-day weekend for most.

Buda councilmembers have offered the job of city manager to Jennifer Tubbs, township manager of Watertown Township, a community of 4,100 near Lansing, Michigan.

Councilmembers made the unanimous selection at a specially called meeting this Saturday after interviewing the top four candidates.

Pending contract negotiations, Tubbs could come on staff in Buda on Aug. 15. Her contract with Watertown expires on August 1.

The salary for the position is posted in the low $90,000s.

Tubbs graduated from Michigan State University in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Urban and Regional Planning. She served as Watertown's Director of Planning and Zoning from 1998 - 2000 and as township manager from 2000 - 2008.

Downtown business owners hoping for some first aid for Buda's ailing Main Street walked away disappointed Tuesday night.

Citing budget constraints, Buda councilmembers opted not to apply for the Texas Main Street Program, despite wide support from the crowd in attendance.

Kevin Walker, an Austin-based antiques dealer who has participated in Main Street programs for about 30 years, urged councilmembers to consider making an application.

"I've seen the success Main Street programs can have on the community," Walker said. "It won't happen immediately, but it will happen."

C.J. Peck, 15, like many members of the Buda 4-H who don't live on farms, has to rent barn space from the club to house his animals.

Last summer, Kyle firefighters braved the rushing Blanco River at Five-Mile Dam to undergo swift-water rescue training.

Today, that same rocky stretch of dry river bed is a prime treasure-hunting spot for metal-detector aficionados.

As Central Texas gears up for another scorched-earth summer, declarations of drought have begun to roll out from local water authorities and conservation districts.

This Monday, the Board of Directors of the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District (BS/EACD) declared an Alarm Stage Drought for the Barton Springs segment of the Edwards Aquifer, effective immediately.

Former Pedernales Electric Cooperative (PEC) General Manager Bennie Fuelberg and former Board President Bud Burnett did not appear at this morning's congressional hearing investigating alleged wrong-doings at the nation's largest electric cooperative, despite being subpoenaed.

"They declined to appear voluntarily, and they have evaded federal marshals who tried to serve them with subpoenas," said Congressman Henry Waxman, Chair of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. "The federal marshals believe one of the witnesses is now hiding in a remote New Mexico ranch."

Firefighters in Buda spent most of early Friday battling a blaze. The fire broke out at a double-wide mobile home on Harper Village Road off of Old Black Colony Road.

Images of Jacqui Saburido -- the woman severely burned in a drunk driving crash in 1999 -- are part of a campaign to stop people from drinking and driving.

Official for two different agencies on Monday declared mandatory water restriction for parts of Central Texas.

From art to statues and furniture, the collection features unique pieces worth checking out.

As yet another dry hot summer bears down on central Texas, an official declaration of drought is just a matter of time.

John Dupnik, an Environmental Permit Specialist with the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District (BS/EACD), said the district opted not to declare a drought at the last board meeting but likely will do so at the next meeting on June 26.

"A drought declaration is all but imminent," Dupnik said.

According to data from the U.S. Geological Survey, Barton Springs flow is still slightly above the level that would trigger a drought declaration. But according to the conservation district's own field data, spring flow is already below the threshold.

In his 20 years working in the kitchen at the Hays County Jail, Lupe Flores has seen the cost of food rise and fall. But in the last year, the increases have been alarming.

Now kitchen manager in charge of food purchases and meal planning for the 356-bed prison, Flores can rattle off prices from memory.

In just one year, flour has almost doubled, rising from $9 for a 50 lb bag to about $17, Flores said. Powdered milk has also doubled, with 50-lb bags going from $48 to $100. And this year a case of 30 dozen eggs skyrocketed from $14 to $35.