AUSTIN, Texas – From the drunkest city in Texas, to venomous snakes on the loose, here are the top 2017 stories in Austin.
- Live storm blog: Hurricane Harvey: The killer storm left thousands of people without homes and took 77 lives after hitting the Texas coast in August.
- Trader Joe’s recall over listeria: A nationwide recall had many people fearing that their bagged vegetables were contaminated with listeria. The Mann Packing company recalled items from H-E-B, Wal-Mart and Trader Joe’s.
- Venomous snakes released in I-35 rollover: Reptiles were spilled across the roadway after a minivan tire blew out in Bexar County. The van contained 30 snakes, including rattlesnakes and cotton mouths. Only 23 of the snakes were found.
- Texas Senate bill proposes funding changes to teacher’s retirement system: A bill filed in the State Senate put teachers’ retirements at risk. Senate Bill 1751 proposed changing Texas teachers’ current defined-benefit plan into one similar to a 401(k).
- Austin tops list of US cities where everyone wants to live: New data shows that the “Live Music Capital of the World” is the number one popular place to live in the United States. Austin topped the list after seeing a major population boom citywide.
- Study identifies drunkest city in Texas: Austin ranked number one in Texas when it comes to the highest level of binging and excessive drinking. One in five adults are reported to drink excessively in the Austin-Round Rock area.
- Texas woman at center of expletive-filled Trump decal controversy: The Texas woman famed for driving around with an expletive-filled message to President Donald Trump is selling her anti-Trump bumper stickers. Each sticker costs $15 and the money will go to a voter registration drive.
- Texas House oks statewide ride-hailing rules defying Austin: Uber and Lyft returned to Austin after a statewide vote gave the green light to ridesharing companies in Texas. The law requires annual background checks of driver, but not fingerprinting, which was the focus of the debate in Austin.
- Southwest flight heading to Houston diverted after passenger attempts to open door: A flight from Los Angeles to Houston was diverted after a passenger attempted to open the exterior door of the plane mid-flight. The passenger was restrained and removed from the plane for mental health evaluation.
- Four Texas-based businesses among top places to work in 2018: Several Texas-based businesses made a national list of the best placed to work in 2018 for the “Employee’s Choice Awards.” Fort Worth-based Texas Health Resources ranked number 46. Dallas-based Southwest Airlines ranked number 23. San Antonio-based H-E-B ranked number 20. Austin-based Keller Williams ranked the highest in Texas at number 13.