KXAN Austin
by: Mayra Monroy
AUSTIN (KXAN) — You may one day notice more bees buzzing around Austin.
City council unanimously voted to designate Austin as a Bee City USA affiliate. The designation means staff members will work to improve bee pollinator habitats and educate the community about the importance of these pollinators.
Bees are responsible for keeping 75% of our major crops growing. They help pollinate most of your favorite foods and plants around the world.
Councilmember Vanessa Fuentes wore “bee ears” showing support for the initiative. Several talked at Thursday’s meeting in favor of expanding bee communities.
Among them was Erika Thompson, an Austin beekeeper with a large following on the social media platform TikTok.
“I’ve watched as more move to Austin … wildlife habitats become fewer … leaves bees struggling to find food and homes. We’ll be able to protect bees and other essential pollinators,” said Thompson.
As a part of Bee City, some changes the city will implement include Austin evaluating its use of pesticides and ways to reduce them, as well as seeing more pollinator-friendly habitats and more milkweed.
You would also see “Bee City USA” street signs around the city.
City Manager Spencer Cronk will update the city council in June on how far he’s gotten in these efforts.
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TOKYO (AP) — The price of oil jumped more than $12 a barrel and shares were sharply lower Monday as the conflict in Ukraine deepened amid mounting calls for harsher sanctions against Russia.
Brent crude oil surged more than 10%, while benchmark U.S. crude was up $10 at more than $125 a barrel.
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — The Russian tanks and missiles besieging Ukraine also are threatening the food supply and livelihoods of people in Europe, Africa and Asia who rely on the vast, fertile farmlands of the Black Sea region — known as the “breadbasket of the world.”
Ukrainian farmers have been forced to neglect their fields as millions flee, fight or try to stay alive. Ports are shut down that send wheat and other food staples worldwide to be made into bread, noodles and animal feed. And there are worries Russia, another agricultural powerhouse, could have its grain exports upended by Western sanctions.
ZAPATA, Texas (Border Report) — At 82 years old, longtime rancher Renato Ramirez knows the South Texas borderlands. And on a recent day as he looked across the Rio Grande to Mexico he fretted.
A group of cattle was grazing on the banks, a stone’s throw from him, and he worried they would cross into the United States.

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