Latest news with #CynthiaLong
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ronald Reagan Blvd tollway study prompts concerns from Wilco residents
The Brief County commissioners approved resolution Tuesday for CTRMA traffic study of Ronald Reagan Boulevard Williamson County Republican Party issued resolution opposing the study the following day People present at Tuesday's meeting worry about a lack of public input on the study WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas - Williamson County is moving forward with plans to consider building a tollway along Ronald Reagan Boulevard. However, the plans are prompting concerns from residents and opposition from the county's Republican Party. What we know On Tuesday, Williamson County Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution asking the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority to conduct a traffic study of Ronald Reagan Boulevard. If approved, the CTRMA would pay for the construction of the tollway. It would transform Ronald Reagan into eight lanes on a 30-mile stretch. The project is broken into five segments and the county expects it to cost at least half a billion dollars. The project would run from FM 1431 in Cedar Park to I-35 in Georgetown. The CTRMA would also pay for construction and its upkeep, including the existing lanes on Ronald Reagan, which would remain toll-free. Commissioners said they're considering the toll study because of growth. What they're saying "It is time to look for the future and acknowledging the congestion we have now and the increasing congestion we will have and ask them to begin their studies," said Williamson County's Sr. Director of Infrastructure Bob Daigh in commissioners court Tuesday. "Because we need more information and I think this is the next step to figure out what our funding alternatives are, I will move to approve the adoption of the resolution on item number 72," said Commissioner Cynthia Long. Dig deeper The county also recently asked cities in the project's pathway to approve a feasibility study with the CTRMA, which will tell them if a tollway along Ronald Reagan is even possible. Cedar Park City Council gave the county the greenlight, but Leander tabled the conversation until they could get more of their questions answered. The other side The day after the Commissioners Court vote, the Williamson County Republican Party issued its resolution opposing the study. "It is a legislative priority that we want to speak out against these roads," said precinct chair Marcia Strickler Watson. "Yes, we would have a choice not to be on the toll, we can go on the feeder road," added Strickler Watson. "We can take the red lights, we can do the things many are doing on 183-A, but why on earth would we need a whole other one less than a mile away parallel with what we already have?" The resolution cites Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who in 2017 told the state to reduce its reliance on tolls. The resolution also took aim at CTRMA, claiming it has been "plagued with complaints from Texans about 'surprise billing,' poor customer service, and levying unsubstantiated financial penalties, including improperly billing disabled veterans and freezing their ability to renew their vehicle registration." 7 ON YOUR SIDE: Leander man's car registration blocked due to $1,600 of unpaid tolls Read the Williamson County Republican Party's full resolution below: Click to open this PDF in a new window. What they're saying However, the county says it's taking direction from the federal government. "One of the things he emphasized in his policy was that state and local governments need to look at user-pay models," said Long. "We are following instructions from the secretary of transportation." Local perspective Others present at Commissioners Court on Tuesday were worried about a lack of public input on the study. "I think a lot of us just feel like things happen without our input, and when we do give input it doesn't matter," said Angela Wetuski, who was opposed to the county moving forward with the toll road study. "All four commissioners shared that they had a lot of emails about this issue before their meeting, but they still rose their hands and voted yes for it, and so that kind of feels like a slap in the face." During court, one Ronald Reagan driver testified to the traffic she sees regularly and encouraged the county to do the study. "I look at the folks sitting on Ronald Reagan when I get to 2243 at Ronald Reagan, I can look up the hill and see them past Crystal Falls Parkway," said Rachel Arnold. "That is a mile and a half of traffic." What's next Several other speakers asked for a town hall, which was not something commissioners ruled out. There is no funding for the construction right now, and CTRMA will be paying for the study. Commissioners were not available for an interview because of the holiday. The Source Information in this report comes from reporting/interviews by FOX 7 Austin's Williamson County reporter Lauren Rangel, Williamson County and previous reporting.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New space infrastructure coming to Williamson, Burnet counties
WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TEXAS (KXAN) — The Williamson County Commissioners Court has approved the creation of the Central Texas Spaceport Development Corporation (SDC), which would bring more space infrastructure and research to Williamson County and Burnet County. An SDC is a nonprofit entity to develop and manage spaceports. This includes infrastructure for specialized launches and landing facility for space crafts, rockets and satellites. According to the Texas Local Government code, the SDC will be governed by a board of seven directors and would meet at least once every three months. 'It's an exciting time right now, just with what we're seeing with rockets taking off,' said Cynthia Long, the Williamson County Commissioner for Precinct 2. Williamson County currently has space company Firefly Aerospace based in Cedar Park. Firefly Aerospace has built spacecrafts to send satellites and other payloads into space. 'I remember when the movie Apollo 13 came out, and just being fixated by that, because knowing and growing up in that area, it was part of the DNA of that community,' Long said. 'I see that same opportunity that with school kids and others, when they hear about space exploration and rockets taking off and landing again, they will feel that same excitement.' Other places in Texas that have SDCs include Houston, Midland, Cameron County, and El Paso. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Williamson, Burnet County shoot to become next hub for space industry
The Brief Williamson and Burnet County are partnering to launch a nonprofit geared toward developing and supporting businesses in the space industry This comes after Cedar Park's Firefly Aerospace's commercial Blue Ghost Lunar Lander made history WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas - Williamson and Burnet County have their eyes on space. The two are partnering to launch a nonprofit geared toward developing and supporting businesses in the space industry. The backstory This comes after Cedar Park's Firefly Aerospace's commercial Blue Ghost Lunar Lander made history. The company celebrated lift-off in mid-January and landed on the moon in early March to collect data for NASA, intending to send humans back to the moon and, one day, Mars. "This is super exciting for me," said Williamson County Precinct Two Commissioner Cynthia Long. "It is a very synergistic opportunity here to really leverage all the different things going on. There's programs at the University of Texas, Texas State, and others that are looking into these industries, so the possibilities are limitless, and they reach for the stars." Dig deeper Commissioners eagerly approved the creation of the Central Texas Spaceport Development Corporation on Tuesday. "It's amazing that what is on the moon right now was built here in Williamson County and Cedar Park," said Williamson County Commissioner Russ Boles. The nonprofit corporation will provide grants to space companies. "I see this being a terrific way for this exciting industry to be able to continue to grow," said Dan Fermon, the chief operating officer of Firefly Aerospace. "An industry that's looking to grow over a trillion dollars in revenue by the time we get to 2040, and it's on its way." Long hopes the Central Texas Spaceport Development Corporation program will ignite an interest in Central Texas as a headquarters for space exploration. "Think about what we've got already with Firefly here and then just dozens of other companies coming, and that just begins to feed itself, and we're NASA number 2," said Long. What's next Burnet County Commissioners will vote on its bylaws for the partnership at the end of the month. Firefly Aerospace has a testing facility in Briggs. Then, commissioners from both counties will assemble a board of directors. The Source Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Lauren Rangel
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Little to no local oversight at ICE facility in Taylor
TAYLOR, Texas (KXAN) — Whatever lies behind the razor wire and concrete walls of the T. Don Hutto Detention Center has gone unseen by local officials for the last five years. The Williamson County Commissioners Court voted to terminate its agreement with ICE and CoreCivic, the contractor ICE hired to run the facility, back in 2018. That contract officially came to an end in 2019. In that meeting, Precinct 2 Commissioner Cynthia Long said she was voting to terminate to hand the responsibility of complying with the law back to ICE. 'Laws and policies are the federal government's responsibilities, not the county's,' Long said. Source: Downtown Austin federal building used as ICE detention center In the months leading up to that vote, protesters called on the county to bow out of the agreement. The demonstrators made troubling claims about unsafe conditions for the women detainees housed there. In 2017, protesters rallied in support of an asylum seeker who was allegedly sexually abused by a guard inside the center. CoreCivic and ICE signed a new agreement without the county that went into effect in 2020 and runs through 2030. The $264.6 million contract mostly outlines the minimum number of detainees for the facility and the budget for its detainee work program. During the 2018 discussion on whether to terminate the county's involvement with the facility, Precinct 1 Commissioner Terry Cook voiced concerns that if ended, the county would lose its ability to check in on the center and its detainees. A stipulation of the agreement allowed Williamson County Sheriff's deputies to patrol and enter the facility whenever they wanted. Cook noted that such access found suspicious activity in the past. 'They clearly have uncovered problems in the past which did result in a court case against a person,' Cook said. Williamson County confirmed that WCSO deputies have not patrolled or checked in on the center since the contract ended on Jan. 31, 2019. KXAN gave Sheriff Matthew Lindemann the opportunity to speak on camera multiple times this week but he declined. His office gave us a statement that confirmed it has no affiliation with the facility. At this time, the Williamson County Sheriff's Office does not have a formal agreement in place with any particular federal operations related to immigration enforcement. However, as always, we remain committed to public safety and to enforcing all applicable laws in accordance with our mission to serve and protect the community. Williamson County Sheriff's Office The only local agency that has a current tie to the facility is the Taylor Police Department. A spokesperson for the City of Taylor shared a Memorandum of Understanding between TPD and CoreCivic that went into effect on June 1, 2024. However, it only allows TPD to provide backup to the center should a situation call for it. As mentioned, the current agreement between ICE and CoreCivic outlines the center's capacity and its detainee voluntary work program. The document says the center is guaranteed to have a minimum of 461 beds, which is representative of 461 detainees. While it outlined the work program's budget, it does not specify what work is done by the detainees in the program, just that detainees make $1 a day. We asked Williamson County, the City of Taylor, CoreCivic and ICE how many detainees are in the program, what work is being done and how detainees are being compensated. The county and City of Taylor say they don't know what work is being done in the program, and specified that they do not use detainee work. CoreCivic gave us a statement that did not answer those questions but said the program is operating legally. All work programs at our U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) contracted facilities are completely voluntary and operated in full compliance with ICE standards, including federally established minimum wage rates for detainee volunteer labor. Detainees are subject to no disciplinary action whatsoever if they choose not to participate in the work program. We set and deliver the same high standard of care – including three daily meals, access to health care and other everyday living needs – regardless of whether a detainee participates in a voluntary work program. We have worked in close partnership with ICE for more than 30 years and will continue to provide a safe and humane environment to those entrusted to our care. Spokesperson for CoreCivic CoreCivic referred us to ICE for answers about the program. ICE has not responded to our multiple requests at the time of publishing this article. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
