By CASSIE MCKEE, Four Points News

River Place residents are preparing for a jolt on their upcoming water and wastewater bills, as rates are expected to double beginning October 1.

The Austin Water Utility takes over the water and wastewater service from the River Place Municipal Utility District on October 1, as part of the Strategic Partnership Agreement approved by the City and the MUD in 2009. It is one step in the process of the community being annexed by the city of Austin.

The current cost of these services from the city of Austin is more than twice what the MUD charges, according to River Place MUD President Jim Casey.

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By CASSIE MCKEE, Four Points News

Fashion designer Linda Asaf has been a part of the Austin fashion scene for 10 years, working out of her design studio in downtown Austin. Having a passion for promoting the Texas fashion industry, Asaf recently opened her own retail shop known as Design Lab, located in the Oasis, Texas development.

“​Everyone is so excited to have a concept like this in Austin ​,” ​said Linda Asaf ​, who brought together 27 designers under one roof at the Design Lab. Peter Tung Photography 

Beyond Asaf’s own ready-to-wear and swimwear/resort collections, Design Lab currently features over 20 unique Texas-based designers.

“The pool of talented Texas designers has been growing and gaining momentum steadily over the years,” said Asaf.  “I am so proud to bring this community together in one place for the first time and to showcase all their amazing creativity.  It’s a must see for everyone who appreciates original design and supports local talent.”

Design Lab, at 6550 Comanche Trail, Suite 106, celebrated its grand opening on August 14 with all 27 designers there to showcase their unique creations.

“I can’t think of a time in the 15 years that I’ve lived in Austin that so many fashion designers were under one roof at one time,” Asaf said.

Design Lab, at Oasis, Texas, celebrated its grand opening on Thursday with all 27 designers there to showcase their creations. L-R Julie Brown, Daniel Esquivel, Project Runway designer, Ilonka, designer, and Adrienne Yunger, designer. Peter Tung Photography

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Leander ISD Superintendent Bret Champion announced that 638 students earned 684 Advanced Placement Scholar Awards in recognition of their exceptional achievement on the 2014 AP Exams. This is a 14 percent increase from the previous year when 561 students earned 597 distinctions.

“On behalf of LISD, I offer our congratulations to these students for participating in the rigorous AP Program, for fully applying themselves to the demands of the coursework and for excelling on the challenging exams. We are tremendously proud of our AP Scholars,” said Champion.

LISD also reported that 3,280 high school students took 5,537 AP exams in 2014, up from the 2,360 students who took 4,364 tests in 2013. In 2013-14, AP Human Geography was added at the ninth-grade level, which contributed to the district’s 39 percent increase in students testing.

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By SARAH DOOLITTLE, Four Points News

The Heidger family of Steiner Ranch are back home now after spending 403 days traveling the United States in an RV. Ben and Heidi Heidger and their four children, Max, Bowen, Sadie and Mazie, left in June 2013 and returned July 17. In that time they visited all 50 states including Alaska and Hawaii.

The couple was inspired in 2006 by friends who stopped in Austin during their own extended family road trip. The idea immediately captured Ben and Heidi’s imaginations. As much as they wanted to expose their kids to all the country has to offer, they themselves had always wanted to explore the U.S.

The Heidger family of Steiner Ranch just wrapped up a travel adventure of a lifetime. Ben and Heidi and their children Max, Bowen, Mazie and Sadie toured all 50 states in their RV, while working and home-schooling. They also logged more than 1,500 random acts of kindness. Here they are in Key West, Florida.

The trip quickly felt less like a vacation and more like a new way of life. “(Last) summer kind of felt like vacation, and also because we saw a lot of kids at all the RV parks. And then (in the) fall, when it was really just us alone in places and it was getting cooler… then it felt like just hanging out at home.”

That’s not to say it was exactly like home. Max was quick to note that, “It was hard sharing one bathroom.”

Mazie added. “We’d have like four people in there at a time, so they’d be brushing their teeth, or going to the bathroom, or taking a shower.”

“But it makes you realize how much stuff you don’t need,” concluded Heidi.

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By CASSIE MCKEE, Four Points News

Vanessa Mizutowicz was doing laundry and cleaning her upstairs bathroom recently at her Grandview Hills home when she suddenly heard water running on the first floor.

It was the evening of July 27 at around 8:30 p.m., and when she went to investigate, she said that her entire downstairs was flooded and that the water was coming from a first floor bathroom.

She immediately called her plumber, who came to her home at 8119 Tahoe Park Circle, but determined that all her pipes were working fine.

“He checked the sewage pipeline that’s a part of my property and found that it wasn’t clogged,” Mizutowicz said. “Then he looked inside the city’s pipe and he saw it was bubbling and was backed up. The city’s pipeline was actually backed up, not mine. He said because it was city of Austin property, he was not able to replace it or unclog it.”

She then called the city of Austin utility emergency line.

A City of Austin crew digs a hole on Tahoe Park Circle in the Grandview Hills neighborhood on July 31 to repair a clogged sewer pipe. The clogged pipe resulted in one home being flooded.
Courtesy photo

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