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A teenager who admitted being “addicted to speed” behind the wheel had totaled two other cars in the year before he slammed into a minivan at 112 mph (180 kph) in a Seattle suburb, killing the driver and three of the five children she was transporting for a homeschool co-op.After sentencing Chase Daniel Jones last month to more than 17 years in prison, the judge tacked on a novel condition should he drive again: His vehicle must be equipped with a device that prevents accelerating far beyond the speed limit.Virginia this year became the first state to give its judges such a tool to deal with the most dangerous drivers on the road. Washington, D.C., already is using it and similar measures await governors’ signatures in Washington state and Georgia. New York and California also could soon tap the GPS-based technology to help combat a recent national spike in traffic deaths.“It’s a horror no one should have to experience,” said Amy Cohen, who founded the victims’ advocacy group Families for Safe Streets after her 12-year-old son, Sammy Cohen Eckstein, was killed by a speeding driver in front of their New York home more than a decade ago. Turning tragedy into activism Andrea Hudson, 38, the minivan driver who was killed when Jones ran a red light, was building a backyard greenhouse with her husband to help educate several kids who shuttle between homes during the school day, her father, Ted Smith, said.Also killed in the March 2024 crash near Hudson’s home in Renton, Washington, were Boyd “Buster” Brown and Eloise Wilcoxson, both 12, and Matilda Wilcoxson, 13. Hudson’s two children were sitting on the passenger side and survived, but they spent weeks in a hospital.“You always hear of these horrific accidents, and it’s always far away, you don’t know anybody. But all of a sudden, that’s my daughter,” Smith said. “This guy did not swerve or brake. And it was just a missile.”Smith knew Washington state Rep. Mari Leavitt, who reached out to offer condolences and tell him she was sponsoring legislation to mandate intelligent speed assistance devices as a condition for habitual speeders to get back their suspended licenses.Leavitt predicts it will have an even more powerful impact than revoking driving privileges, citing studies showing around three-quarters of people who lose their licenses get behind a wheel anyway.Between 2019 and 2024, the state saw a 200% increase in drivers cited for going at least 50 mph (80 kph) over the speed limit, according to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.“I guess I don’t understand why someone is compelled to want to drive that fast,” Leavitt said. “But if they choose to drive that fast with the speed limiter, they can’t. It’s going to stop them in their tracks.”The measure, which Washington legislators passed last month and Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson is expected to soon sign, is called the BEAM Act, using the first letters of the names of the four victims: Buster, Eloise, Andrea and Matilda.Because Jones, 19, didn’t receive a speeding ticket in his two previous crashes, he likely wouldn’t have been required to use the speed-limiter ahead of the fatal one. And because it could be 2029 before the law takes effect, the judge’s requirement at sentencing only applies to his time on probation after being released from prison, Smith said. Evolution of a safety tool Competing tech companies that joined forces to lobby for ignition interlock requirements for drunken drivers have been working in unison again the last few years to pitch intelligent speed assistance.Brandy Nannini, chief government affairs officer at one manufacturer, Grapevine, Texas-based Smart Start, said fleet vehicles including school buses in the nation’s capital have been trying it out for years.But it took a lot of refinement before the GPS technology could instantly recognize speed limit changes and compel vehicles with the devices installed to adjust accordingly.“We’ve got a lot more satellites in the sky now,” said Ken Denton, a retired police officer who is the chief compliance officer at Cincinnati-based LifeSafer, part of the coalition of companies.When court-mandated, the devices would prevent cars from exceeding speed limits or whatever threshold regulators set. An override button allows speeding in emergencies, but states can decide whether to activate it and authorities would be alerted any time the button is pushed.A more passive version, which beeps to alert drivers when they are going too fast, is required for new cars in the European Union. California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a similar proposal last year, explaining vehicle safety requirements are set by the federal government and he was concerned a patchwork of state laws could stir confusion. Parents take up the cause Before Del. Patrick Hope agreed to sponsor the proposal in the Virginia Legislature, he tried out the device in Nannini’s car, which was calibrated to not go more than 9 mph (14 kph) over the speed limit.“That was my first question: Is it safe?” Hope said.Not only did he come away convinced it was safe, Hope is now pondering whether to install it on the cars of his three children, all of whom are new drivers.For those mandated by a court, the price could be hefty: $4 per day and a $100 installation fee. The fee would be reduced for low-income offenders.Cohen with Families for Safe Streets, which provides support services to the loved ones of crash victims, knows firsthand the kind of impact slowing down speeders can make. A year after her son was struck and killed in front of their New York apartment, another boy was injured in the same spot.By then, the road’s speed limit had been lowered.“That boy lived when he was hit, and mine did not,” she said. “When you are going a few miles slower, there’s more time to stop. And when you hit somebody, it’s much less likely to be deadly.” Jeff McMurray, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
Austin has been on a building boom since it started becoming a tech hub. The Texas city has seen its skyline shift and its fortunes grow. Major tech firms like Apple and Amazon have established key offices, and in the 2010s alone, the city grew 21%, adding 171,000 residents. It now has more than 974,000, the 10th largest in the country. Builders have raced to erect housing for these new arrivals; Austin has seen a boom in market rate apartments in recent yearsso much that it led rents to decrease after years of big jumps. And in recent years, according to a new report, part of that building boom has included affordable housing, including permanent housing for the formerly unhoused, low-cost studio units, and even housing for teachers. Austins affordable housing construction pipeline outpaces all other U.S. cities, according to research from Yardi Matrix, a real estate data source. In 2024, the city delivered 4,605 affordable unitsdefined as properties that agree to limit rents as a condition of a tax credit or subsidy. That’s double the rate in 2023. The research shows Austin will also deliver the most affordable units this year, 3,452more than LAs 2,752, despite the California city having more than four times as many people. And Austin will continue to lead, with the forecast of units in the pipeline through 2027 showing Austin with 9,528, compared to Seattles 6,289. [Chart: Yardi Matrix] We want to ensure that the population that made Austin what Austin is can stay in Austin, said James May, Housing and Community Development Officer for the City of Austin Housing Department. Its also worth mentioning that Austins changing demographics are playing a large role in the housing market. As the city continues to morph from a capital and college town to a tech and healthcare nexus, wealth and median income have risen. A recent city memo noted that the citys housing market had dramatically changed since it laid out its housing plan in the mid 2010smedian home sale price has risen by 58%, and rents went from an average of $1,350 in 2017 to a peak of $1,709 in 2022so Austin needs to recalibrate its strategy and focus more on deeply affordable units. Austin used to be a city of musicians and artists, and now income and rent are far higher than what it was 10 years ago, said Heather Way, a professor at the University of Texas-Austin who specializes in housing law. [Chart: Yardi Matrix] May credited the growth in affordable housing in Austin to three factors. First, was community: Multiple providers including the city, county, housing authority, and private builders have been looking to invest in new housing, with private developers investing in significant new construction using the citys density-bonus program. The second was money. A series of local bonds for affordable housing raised significant funds for new construction, including a 2022 bond for $350 million, which helped fund new affordable units. In addition, the construction of new transit lines included $300 million in anti-displacement funds that also helped pay for new buildings. May said the city recently purchased a 100-acre property formerly owned by the Top Deal electronic company that it plans to use for mixed-income development, which will include affordable housing. And finally, the third pillar was regulatory reform. The city council has passed many initiatives in recent years to increase density and make it easier to build: transit-oriented development rules allowed for higher buildings near bus and train lines, Affordability Unlocked allowed housing development on land zoned for commercial projects, and the HOME Initiative shrunk the required lot size for homes and made it legal to build multiple units on lots zoned for single-family homes. But even with that surge, its still not enough. Despite Austins recent lead, the construction rate still lags well behind whats actually needed to provide sufficient access to affordable housing: tens of thousands of new units would be needed to adequately meet the demand. A record-breaking number of evictions in the surrounding county last year attest to the pressure renters feel making ends meet. And while new supply is definitely a step in the right direction, what isnt being built is deeply affordable housing. Defined as housing that can support those making around 30% of the median income; in 2023, just 63 such units were built, even though thi group makes up 17% of the citys population. Creating enough affordable units, and building more for those with extremely low incomes, will be even more challenging due to the changing landscape for construction. Stubbornly high interest rates will make getting financing more difficult. Tariffs will make materials more expensive. And the Trump administration’s actions against HUD, including threats to withhold funding from sanctuary cities like Austin, might end vital federal support. Its going to be a tough market, we wont see the entire pipeline go all the way through, May said. Austins boost in housing production is a start. But its sadly far from finished.
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E-Commerce
Skywatchers, you’re in for a treat. You’re going to want to look up into the night late Monday, May 5 into the early hours of Tuesday, May 6, to see the debris of Halleys comet as it lights up the sky with a meteor shower called the Eta Aquarids. Here’s everything you need to know about the Eta Aquarids and the chance to see debris from Halley’s comet in 2025. What are Halleys comet and the Eta Aquarids meteor shower, anyway? While Halley’s comet itself only travels around the sun every 75 or so years, each time it returns to the inner solar system, it sprays debris (ice and rock) into space, which results in two meteor showers each year: the Eta Aquarids in May, and the Orionids in October, creating what we know as shooting stars. (Halley’s comet was last seen in 1986, and won’t come around again until 2061.) When comets pass by the sun, the dust they emit eventually creates a dusty trail around their orbits. Then, when Earth passes through these trails, they interact with our atmosphere, creating those dazzling shows of light in the sky. The Eta Aquarids peak early in the month of May, and are known for their speed; they travel at about 40.7 miles per second into Earth’s atmosphere, according to NASA. That’s important, because fast meteors can leave glowing incandescent “trains” of debris, which last for several seconds to minutes. During the peak of the Eta Aquarids, viewers can see up to 50 meteors each hour, depending on visibility. What’s the best time to see the Eta Aquarids meteor shower in 2025? Peak viewing is this Monday night, May 5 into Tuesday morning, May 6 in the predawn hours, according to NASA’s Bill Cooke, who told the AP that visibility will likely be affected by the moon, which will be two-thirds full. The good news: viewing opportunities will last through the month until May 28. You can view the Eta Aquarids in both the northern and southern hemispheres, but the southern hemisphere is preferable. For those of us in the northern hemisphere, viewers can expect to see about 10 meteors an hour, depending on your latitude and conditions that night. Expect to see “Earthgrazers,” which are long meteors “that appear to skim the surface of the Earth at the horizon,” per NASA. NASA viewing tips for the Eta Aquarids meteor shower Our friends at NASA offer these tips: Find a viewing spot away from city or street lights. Lie flat on your back with your feet facing east. You may want to bring a blanket or a lounge chair. Look up, taking in as much of the sky as possible. After about 30 minutes in the dark, your eyes will adapt and you will begin to see meteors. Be patient. The show will last until dawn, so you have plenty of time to catch a glimpse.
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E-Commerce
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