Foti Kallergis' Blog

ON THE WAY TO THE TOP!!!

His name is Joshua. And he's really going places. He's been dancing since he was about 2. He loves R&B Artist Chris Brown.

Joshua may one day be my best friends step son. And I will be his Manager!!!!  I'm calling it right now! This kid is going to be BIG!!! I won't write much more. The video speaks for itself.
Tell me what you think?

ARE WE ALONE?

Since airing my story about UFO sightings in North Austin, I received lots of calls and emails. Almost all those responding to the story say they are also seeing flying objects over Austin.

Since the story aired, our web site has gotten bombarded with traffic. The story has already received more than 13- thousand hits (in a 24 hour period). That's way above average.

Last night, I introduced everyone to Carl. Before the story aired, he called me to say just taped more UFOs. He says he's recorded moving lights in the sky that all of a sudden disappear. He called today to say he recored another sighting.

What do you think? Is this video enough proof for you to believe? Have you seen any UFO's in your area? I want to hear from you! I will respond to your post.

Watch your step!


I never knew how much pooh was left behind by dog owners at Auditorium Shores until today.

A group of kids with Operation Flag the turd marked about 700 piles of Poop. They did this to prove a point that dog owners are failing to pick up after their pooches. After making the grounds, they picked up the turds. Operation Manager Bill Fraser said in all, the group threw away about 100 pounds of poop. That's about the weight of some of our female reporters. ( won't mention them).

Listen, we've all done it. I know I have, but after this story, I think I'm going to think twice before I get the urge to walk away from my dogs crap.

The group wants the City of Austin to up its park police presence at the park and the fine against violators to exceed $300.

What do you think?

Hello everyone.

Tonight, we're talking about paying students to attend tutoring sessions.  It's the latest initiative to improve students' test scores at Eastside Memorial High School at the Johnston Campus.

It's called the Tutorial Incentive Program. It will pay students about $6 an hour to sit down with a tutor after school. These students will be hand selected. The program is geared towards students who have to hold a job in order to help provide for their families. Tutors will get paid about $12 an hour.

Is this a good idea or does it set a bad precedent? Let me know you thoughts. I will be responding LIVE.

LOCAL TRANSIT UNION VOTES TO STRIKE

 (This is a poster that I saw at the Transit Union Headquarters in Southeast Austin.)

Last night, hundreds of union members decided to strike down Captial Metro's final offer and strike.

The vote doesn't mean that bus drivers will leave their jobs anytime soon. It just gives the President of the Union, Jay Wyatt, the authority to call for a strike in the event Captial Metro denies a plan to go back to the drawing board.

Captial Metro has offered union members a 10 percent increase in pay over the next three years along with a $1,000 bonus. Here's the problem. Union members say the bonus is before taxes and the 10 percent raise would be over 2 1/2 years since negotiations have been ongoing. The biggest point of contention is the health benefits package. Union members said yesterday they want lower premiums and co-pays.

There's also been talk that Cap Met bus drivers are among the highest paid in Texas. An article I read claimed some drivers and mechanics can make up to $90,000 a year (with overtime.) The union president said that's completely false. He asked members to raise their hand if they make $90,000 a year. No one did, but everyone in the room laughed. 

One things for sure, if a strike does happen, get ready to walk.

Give me your thoughts.

 

It's always difficult to cover stories like this one.  A teenager and two of his friends were trying to swim across Lake Travis and got hit by a boat. Now, clearly you're never supposed to swim in the middle of the lake where all the boats travel, but in Lake Travis, boats aren't just in the middle of the lake... they're everywhere. This could happen anywhere in the lake.
The teenager who was injured is Stefan Bogdanich,15. His left foot was sliced in half up to his ankle. His right foot was mangled in the boats propellor. He's had 3 surgeries to put his feet back together. 
Stefan was swimming from Lago Vista to Pace Bend Park. He and three of his friends reached a lake marker in the water, and rested up for second. That's when a boat came speeding by. The teenagers dove deep into the water to avoid the boats, but Stefan didn't go deep enough. His feet got caught in the propellor. The boat didn't stop.
The family needs your help in finding the boat. Stefan says the boat is white with a red stripe. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, whose investigating the case, says the boat is a 30-40 foot long cigarette boat. 
A family friend is offering a $1000 reward to information that leads investigators to finding the boat.

Daniel Eveleth lost his gun on Monday. It was found at the bottom of a metal slide at the Metropolitan Park at Slaughter Creek...three hours later.

Austin Police announced today the officer's K-9 may have unlocked his gun holster which caused the loaded glock to slip out while Eveleth sat on the slide.

Eveleth was at the park at the end of his shift to give his K-9 some fresh air and exercise.  The Department also announced today the gun holsters, which strap on to an officer's thigh-- will not be used by officers in the K-9 unit.

One BIG question... how did he not notice his gun dropped and how did he not notice it was missing once he got home and took off his gun holster?  No real explanation from APD.

What do you think????

JAIL BREAK CAUGHT ON CAMERA

On Thursday, 21-year-old Jose Guerra was arrested in Gillespie County on supervised release violation. (He originally served time in Federal jail for smuggling drugs in Del Rio.)

While in handcuffs, deputies say he spit on them, tried to bite them and even head-butted one officer. So, after he was booked in, they placed him in time out... in a restraining chair.

The chair is like nothing else I've ever seen. It has four seat belt type straps. Two that go across your chest, one across your lap and another across your feet.  (all of the The chair also has arm and leg cuffs that are pulled back to you can't move.   I asked the jailer to put me in the chair so I can have a better understanding on how Guerra got out.  If you saw the story... I could barely move.  I don't know how he got out. 

It took only 25 seconds for him to escape. 

If you haven't seen the story... check it out on the homepage or under the news tab.

IT'S A BOY!
...and his name is NOT Nick.

If you've seen the My Big Fat Greek Wedding, then you know Greek people love to name their children Nick. I have at least 4 Nicks in my family.

The newest addition to my family is Vasilis (Va-silly)- after my father. I call him silly Vasili... He's about a month new and he's adorable. He's my brother Kostas' first born.
Kostas says Vasili loves to sleep when people come over. But he's no match for Uncle Foti. I had to wake him up, and he was not happy...until he saw me for the first time.

WHERE WAS SECURITY?

That's the million dollar question still 4 days after the Governor's mansion caught fire early Sunday morning.

DPS troopers are assigned to security detail at the mansion. Up to this point, DPS is keeping its lips sealed saying if they reveal any info, it could compromise future security.

What do you think?

Just before I was about to undergo hair transplant surgery, executive producer Chris Walker gave me a present... a Homer Simpson Chia Pet.

After my surgery, I followed the instructions and planted the seeds. I made a joke that my hair would grow faster than his. I was wrong, kind of.


This is Homer now. The front of his hair NEVER grew in. Having undergone the surgery, I decided to help him out.



I am the surgeon. He's my patient. My mask is on and my scissors are sharp. It's time for the harvest.



Then, the transplant.



It only took about a minute for Homer... It took about 8 hours for me. But the result is pretty good.

BALD ISN'T ALWAYS BEAUTIFUL

Not everyone has a head that's shaped for a clean shave. Before I got my first job in TV, I tried it. And that's when I noticed that the top of my head comes to a weird point.  Luckily, it all grew back before I was hired.

I have to admit, since I've gotten into the news business, I've notice my hair has been falling out at a faster rate. Call it stress or call it genetics. My twin brother Mario is completely bald now. We are 27 years old.

I had the hair transplant surgery because I felt bad about how I looked...not only in the mirror and but on camera. I've become really depressed and obsessed about it. 

So why did I decide to get the surgery done in front of the public? One, because it's hard to hide, but most importantly, I wanted to make men feel like it's okay to be open about being bald.  Men don't like talking about their thinning hairline or bald heads.  They don't like pointing it out.  

I hope we (men and women) can become more open about it.  And if the surgery isn't your calling, then maybe the series can help lead all of us towards acceptance.

Oscar Makes Me Love Trash

HILLARY CLINTON IS REALLY A MINI-MAN

Tonight was my first time at the Austin Music Awards, and I had a blast. I had a chance to talk to the guys from Jolly Garogers. They were dressed as pirates and were so funny.

I also interviewed two guys who were the opening act for Jolly Garogers. They were dressed up like ninja pirates. They performed a live sword fight for all the folks who tunned into our live web cast. What some of you might not have seen... one of the guys punched the other in the throat, then stomach and finally, with out warning, in his package...not once but twice!!!  Ouch. I told him he wasn't going to be able to have kids. I'm not sure if this guy even had balls.  It seemed not to phase him.  WOW.

The big winner tonight was Spoon. And no, we didn't get to spoon with them. I'm not even sure they made it to the awards show. They must have arrived late or something. Anyways, they received 6 awards. Impressive.

If you went to the awards show, share your story with me.  I look forward to reading it.