U.S. and Mexican officials will gather around the table Monday to begin talks aimed at heading off Washington’s threat to slap tariffs on Mexican imports. The White House said last week it’ll impose 5{2a63e07d84fe12ceff3a79b3b7d16ceb8565bd2470b26c53e2419132d99be4c6} tariffs on all goods from Mexico unless they stop Central American migrants from traveling to seek asylum in the U.S. Monday, Mexico’s economy minister is scheduled to talk with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
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The Austin City Council will consider a repeal of the Homeless Ordinances during its Thursday council meeting. The focus will be on laws that are designed to restrict where homeless people can sleep, sit, and lie, as well as aggressive panhandling. Mayor Adler says he will not vote to repeal… but, he also says those laws are rarely enforced.
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Texas Governor Greg Abbott has signed a bill into law banning red-light traffic cameras in the nation’s second-largest state. Abbott tweeted Saturday that he signed off on the ban, which takes effect September 1. Critics say red-light cameras are unconstitutional and contribute to traffic accidents. Supporters say they help make streets safer and generate funds for cities and other government entities. Texas cities will be allowed to keep using the cameras until their contracts with vendors expire.
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The Austin school board will take a closer look at its preliminary budget tonight in an effort to figure out how much of the $1.6-billion that’s expected for next year will be put toward salary increases. The average salary in AISD is around $51,500. Newly passed school funding legislation gives teachers $4000 raises, but that does not apply to other employees like bus drivers and cafeteria staff.
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The Social Security Administration has issued a nationwide warning for scammers calling people and making threats or promises of larger returns over the phone. The Administration’s Sheryl Schroeder says if you get a call like that, report it. She says they never make promises over the phone about increasing benefits and never threaten callers.
