As we close out 2008, we're taking a moment to briefly revisit some of the articles that we published on Austinist this year. Whether poignant, sad, hilarious, or downright ludicrous, many of these stories probably affected your lives to some extent. Certainly, at the very least, they provided their own commentary on Austin's ongoing transformation.
This doomed project was a direct response to Austin's lack of world-class entertainment infrastructure, and a bold attempt to bridge the gap between a mid-level entertainment industry with huge potential (which Austin is) and a mature industry with world-class production facilities and creative professionals. Meanwhile,
MovieMaker Magazine named Austin the "Number One City to Live, Work and Make Movies," marking the seventh year in a row that Austin has placed in the top three.
Common sense would tell most folks who hire hookers to pay in cash. Not so for an Austin Police Officer and a kid from Williamson County.
In the wake of an all-conference season where he gained more than 1,600 yards, Texas running back Jamaal Charles announced that he was skipping his senior season and entering the 2008 NFL draft.
Paul Carrozza and his team over at RunTex created even more reasons to get out and about in 2008. Over the course of January, the Lake Austin Boulevard RunTex was stripped of its retail shelves--in its place is now a running institution aimed at consulting, training, and creating various fitness programs and seminars for local athletes.
After losing part of his arm in a machinery accident, a 52-year-old employee of Alamo Concrete was able to extricate himself from a conveyor belt and call 911 to save his life.
Her hand-sewn, saliva-marked, grass-stained outfits were reality show ratings gold, but after six episodes former Austinite and University of Texas graduate Elisa Jimenez took the dive on Bravo's
Project Runway.
Andy Langer is Austin's nearly ubiquitous multimedia music journalist. In the past, he's worked for both
The Austin Chronicle and KUT. Now, after twelve years of (also) hosting 101X's "Next Big Thing," Langer migrated to a prime weekday evening spot at KGSR.
Former Austin mayor Gus Garcia struck and killed a pedestrian with his car in an accident on North Lamar Boulevard.
For the third time in two years, community based public radio station KOOP 91.7-FM suffered a studio fire that put a halt to programming.
It didn't take long to figure out that the pearly whites they refer to aren't found in the mouth, but in a curious teenager's "vajajay".
A 25-year-old Tyler man was accused of murdering, mutilating and sautéing his 21-year-old girlfriend. Christopher Lee McCuin told police that God instructed him to kill Jana Shearer.
Councilmemeber Brewster McCracken proposed creation of what he calls the "Austin Parking Enterprise," wherein the city would partner with developers to own parking garages in buildings being developed. According to the proposed policies, the Parking Enterprise "should seek to maximize the availability of public parking" and "may finance more parking spaces than are required for an associated private development.
Tim Finley (owner of most of the block soon to house a new Marriott) reached an agreement with the Perez sisters (owners of Las Manitas) wherein the restaurant would move from its current location into another building owned by the Perez sisters. The buildings housing Las Manitas, Escuelita del Alma and Tesoro's would be torn down to make way for a single 1,000-room Marriott hotel.
City crews worked to clean up a ruptured water line that caused thousands of gallons of an oil and water mix to spill onto Sixth Street and into Waller Creek.
Just as the F.T.C gatheredlast week to revisit new guidelines surrounding green marketing claims, Austin's own EnviroMedia launched the Greenwashing Index (GWI). In a partnership with University of Oregon, consumers can post, review, and assess the credibility of new ads claiming the green word.
After being closed to new subscribers for a period of time, Austin Energy's GreenChoice program extended its green arms for Austinites far and wide. Claiming to be the nation's most successful utility-sponsored green power program, GreenChoice is an opportunity to walk the sustainability talk.
In the ultimate case of retaliation, a father in Arlington was charged with aggravated sexual assault after sodomizing his stepson in revenge for the son sodomizing his 8-year-old stepsister.
For the first time ever, Fangoria brought its Weekend of Horrors event to Austin.
It's not just the new upper deck and fishbowl green room (complete with its own bar and baby grand), it's more than the secret shows, and it's certainly something other than the Beertunie (that's a High Life garnished with an olive): it's the top rated bar in America, and it's our very own Mohawk.
The Asarco smelter in El Paso sat dormant for the last seven years, but lately, there has been a cacophony of voices debating the pros and cons of its return.
City Council considered a proposal that would revise the zoning regulations on East 12th Street along the lines of the recent revisions to the zoning regulations on East 11th Street, which would generally allow for mid-rise construction along 12th Street.
Local production company Action Figure might not be a household name yet, but we bet you know their work. The group, based in (where else) East Austin, has produced shows like "Rollergirls" for A&E, and the Lone Star Grammy nominated show "Downtown" for KLRU/PBS. They're also not too shabby when it comes to dabbling in the music video market: their work for Okkervil River's "Our Life Is Not a Movie (Or Maybe)" made the e-rounds late last year, and this year, a company video they produced found its way into the hearts of local DJ duo Ocelot Mthrfckrs.
Austinist gets in on the Twitter frenzy.
A super swell, baby-faced Harvard drop-out, Zuckerberg is constantly balancing on the edge of controversy, whether it be college hacking, the murky origins of Facebook, or the implementation of new privacy invading features on his fancy website. Yet, for a venture that is barely four years old, Zuckerberg has garnered billion dollar buyout bids, household name status and a probable place in the history books.
After four of their utility cabinets caught fire or exploded--two incidents in suburban Houston, and the most recent explosion on Christmas Day in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin--ATT finally moved to replace the defective batteries, made by now-bankrupt Avestor.
Roy Spence, the Austin advertising legend and co-founder of the GSD&M ad agency, took a more prominent role in the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton.
While high-end luxury transportation may not always be associated with sustainability, a new limo service rolled into town to change all that. Clean Air Limo is Austin's first "eco-luxury private car service."
It seems State Representative Borris Miles might want to get his temper in check after his behavior at a party in Houston landed him in hot water—Miles, 42, was sued for a laundry list of items after witnesses claim he crashed a holiday party, yelled obscenities, brandished a gun and got his snog on with another man's wife.
In an effort to put to rest the debate over whether Austin has an actual gay and lesbian community, eight prominent LGBT organizations today announced the formation of the Pride Coalition.
In keeping with the more artistic nature of our fair city, Austin Film Society boldly bounded into the world of the other with their new bimonthly "Avant Cinema" series.
Two Austin-based companies -- Whole Foods Market and National Instruments -- once again found themselves on
Fortune magazine's list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For this year.
What do you get when you recycle 80,000 pounds of aluminum cans, or approximately 2.7 million cans? Well, evidently $5,000 dollars and a national award for the City Recycling Challenge. Mayor Will Wynn accepted the Cans for Cash prize on behalf of the City of Austin at the U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting. The City of Austin's Solid Waste Services Department also announced a new program that replaced the blue bins with 90-gallon carts that can be filled with all recyclables, including new items like cereal boxes.
Hope in the City, a church in southwest Austin, ran into trouble with the city after attempted to build another parking lot in the adjacent field between the church and Williamson Creek. Officials denied their request because the church is in the Barton Springs Watershed and has used its 15% land cover allowed by the Save Our Springs ordinance; the church responded by suing the city on grounds that their free exercise of religion was being illegally hindered.
Snapshots: Local Music Is Sexy
Radio IST List: Graham Williams
![Austinist's Will Mills Gets Dunked For Charity [Video]](http://austinist.com/assets_c/2009/11/austinist_capture_03-thumb-110x110-456199.jpg)
Austinist's Will Mills Gets Dunked For Charity [Video]
Bibles and Rhymes: An Interview with Why?'s Yoni Wolf
Austinist Panel Part of Latest SXSW Interactive Additions
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