News

A 49-year-old man from Pflugerville has died after contracting the H1N1 flu virus, becoming Travis County's first death from the pandemic. Statewide, Texas has at least 2,802 confirmed cases of H1N1 and 14 total fatalities, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Travis County has 127 confirmed cases as of the last update on June 24th. [News 8 Austin] more ›

• MJ's kids will go to his mom, for now.
• Jubilation as US troops pull out of Iraq.
• One child survives Yemeni plane crash.

Bettysport, the locally-owned women's fitness apparel store, has given up on its Domain store after two years of operation. more ›

The tropical wave captured in the above satellite image is currently hovering over the western Caribbean Sea near Cuba, and if things escalate, it may turn into our first tropical storm for the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season. more ›

The Texas-bound plane that crashed in Arizona on Wednesday was carrying over a dozen pounds of marijuana and a "large amount of cash" in a suitcase, the Statesman reports. The small twin-engine aircraft was being flown by 45-year-old Cedar Park resident David Tuntland from Santa Rosa, California, and had made a landing in Holbook, Arizona for refueling. Though possibly unrelated, Tuntland had also been suffering from severe stomach pains during the flight, and had to lie down while the plane was being refueled. According to authorities from the Arizona Sheriff's Office, the plane was under surveillance by Texas state police. All four passengers, including two other Cedar Park residents, were killed in the crash. more ›

• Iranian Cleric: Protesters at War With God.
• Record heat prompts weather advisories, all-time energy consumption.
• New 'no refusal' DWI legislation for Texas.

After a three week deluge of clutch hitting and come-from-behind victories, the Longhorns came up one win shy of claiming the school’s 7th national title, falling to LSU 11-4 on Wednesday night. Texas was plagued by ragged pitching all evening, and as a result it was Tigers celebrating their 6th national championship. more ›

Monkey pees on a President. (No, really. We can't make this up.) Access to The Google in China is sketchy. This is what happens when you censor. No snarky headline for this "gay exorcism" story; it's disgusting. Two bodies of Flight 447's crew found. So much for voter values, GOP. REALLY, Citibank?! Keepin' it classy, Hal. more ›

• Iran's supreme leader says the country will not yield to protests "at any cost"
• Doctor who treated her own breast cancer at the South Pole back in 1999 dies at 57
• South Carolina governor was in Argentina, not Appalachia

A swearing-in ceremony should be both solemn and fun. The rules are simple: dress up, bring your family, friends and staff, and speak briefly. At City Hall on Monday, two returning council members, Mike Martinez and Sheryl Cole, and two new members, Chris Riley and Bill Spelman, along with the new Mayor, Lee Leffingwell, took the oath of office. Leffingwell moves to the center position of what he called a strong city council. In a short speech, he cautioned that tax revenues continued to decline. Using a metaphor from his days as a pilot, he said, “We will arrive safely at our destination, but there might be some turbulence along the way.” Leffingwell offered no specifics on his budget priorities. The inaugural was also an opportunity for the council to thank outgoing Mayor Will Wynn for his nine years of service. Martinez praised his leadership and cited the welcome extended to Katrina victims as an example. Wynn and outgoing council member Brewster McCracken received sustained applause as they walked off the dais for the last time. more ›

SB 488 would have created a safe zone around special roadway users. Special users included pedestrians, runners, skaters, motorcyclists, cyclists, and more. The bill passed 26-5 in the Senate and passed on the local calendar in the House. It attempted to change current driver behavior (and possibly save lives) by criminalizing the near physical harm of fast-moving vehicles inches from your elbow. Governor Perry has some recent personal experience with pedestrian life on the road; he ran in this year’s Texas Independence Relay, a 203.2 mile race from Gonzalez to Houston. You can view the Governor’s objections here. more ›

• A shocking error in cancer care.
• After seven months, reporter kidnapped by the Taliban manages to escape.
• Supreme Court sides with Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District No. 1 (sort of) in their voting rights case.

Like the publishing industry as a whole, Austin's Rare Magazine has been undergoing a metamorphosis of late, which ostensibly began with the departure of former Publisher and Founder Matt Swinney earlier this year. The magazine's co-owner, Taylor Perkins, who runs local real estate firm 512 Realty and serves as Development Director for Charity Bash, a fledgling philanthropy group, then bought out his business partner's share, becoming sole owner of Rare and assuming the Publisher title. more ›

• California, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Florida and Georgia all report record unemployment numbers for May.
• Iran's top leader warns of protest crackdown.
• No city music department for Austin, just yet.

Cooper, Robertson presented two proposals today for the future development of the Brackenridge Tract. The most controversial point is that both plans include the elimination of Lions Municipal Golf Course. The main difference between the plans is that one also eliminates the Field Lab, while the other merely shrinks it. Both plans keep the West Austin Youth Association, although one plan moves it slightly southward. more ›

The video, above, is a pretty nifty behind-the-scenes look at the AT&T Distribution Center in Ft. Worth, where your future phone was probably packaged for shipment. Ahh, consumerism. more ›

• Boy who vanished in 1955 may have reappeared.
• Preparing for opposition rally in Iran.
• Another downtown attack targets intoxicated club goers.

• Mousavi calls for massive rally in Iran to protest "shameful fraud"
• FDA says some Zicam nasal products can cause permanent loss of smell
• Obama to extend federal employee benefits to same-sex partners

The guy who brought out the APD was none other than the Neighborhood Representative of the City of Austin's Live Music Task Force, a gentleman by the name of Scott Trainer. A TravisCAD listing also confirms that he owns a $650k house that sits on the hill directly above where Shady Grove's music would be projecting—in the recording of the call, the music's loud enough that it can be heard in the background. more ›

It looks like Unplugged at the Grove may be saved from the Zombie Noise Ordinance by Mike Martinez's boomstick an emergency amendment. The plan is that the amendment will keep the Zombie Noise Ordinance at bay until Shady Grove can get their Outdoor Music Permit renewed and get rezoned as a cocktail lounge. more ›

Protests continue in Iran; the Web watches. Breaking: Iran's Guardian Council says it will recount votes. Gay marriage: DC may be next. Obama pitches health care to the AMA. British Airways wants a free ride. Study says swine flu proves we're all connected. Bruce Willis gets remarried, celebrates in interesting ways. more ›

Texas AG Abbott filing against GM bankruptcy. Supreme Court won't take on the border fence case involving Texas counties. Hiring freeze: AISD no longer hiring teachers. Elsa Murano forced to resign as president of A&M? Elgin man arrested after robbing a topless dancer. APD launches web-based crime alerts. more ›

Cooper, Robertson will present two conceptual master plans for the Brackenridge Tract to the U. T. System Board of Regents at around 1pm on Thursday, June 18 in Ashbel Smith Hall 9th Floor, 201 West Seventh Street. more ›

Iranian post-election violence, crackdown EU leading international pushback Obama’s diplomatic dilemma in Iran Technology: “Tianamen + Twitter = Tehran” Analysis: Ahmadinejad to emerge with even stronger hand Power of women in Iran’s election Comic relief: Facebook introduces vanity URLs, Heywood Jablome first in line more ›

When the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department (PARD) Director, Sara Hensley, addressed a concerned crowd on April 20th, she said: “We are not going to cut down any tree until we have fully vetted this out.” Since then, the community, Save Our Springs, the city arborist, and PARD have collected additional data. Don Gardener, an independent arborist, performed a tree assessment and published his report. PARD conducted tree tours for the public. And, on June 2nd, the Parks Department, issued an update, writing that: “Root analysis is being conducted utilizing different methodology on selected trees in order to have a thorough data set on which to base recommendations for tree care.” Now, according to the Austin American Statesman, Hensley “thinks only six to eight trees need to be cut down.” more ›

After we ran the story this morning about the cyclist who was shot with a pellet gun by people in a light blue Prius, one of our readers recognized a hauntingly familiar connection to a similar incident that had happened to his friend around the same time. His friend, Austinite Jason Goodrich, wrote to us directly. more ›

For those of you who've been wondering if you'll be able to see Robbie Knievel's jump in front of the State Capitol without shelling out for ROT passes, Austin360's Matthew Odam has the skinny following his excellent interview with the daredevil himself. more ›

The noise ordinance that rose from the grave to kill live music at Freddie's has claimed another south Austin victim. Sahara Smith was opening for Jimmy LaFave last night at Shady Grove as part of KGSR's Unplugged at the Grove series, when police responding to a noise complaint showed up with a decibel meter to shut it down. The Unplugged at the Grove series had been running for sixteen years. more ›

A cyclist enjoying a ride along Southwest Parkway in May became the victim of an errant drive-by pellet gun shooting, by some people in a light blue Prius. more ›

Austin just got its own chapter of Beer and Blog, a weekly gathering where bloggers can exchange advice, share their work, and twitter about one another in real-time. The meetings take place in a bar (or other establishment where booze is served), and is open to anyone regardless of blogging software of choice or geek savvy. Check the website for the next meet-up time. [Beer and Blog Austin] [Twitter] more ›

Exiled Tibetan Buddhist monk Khen Rinpoche Geshe Kachen Lopzang Tsetan, abbot of the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, is making a tour throughout the United States and will be stopping by Austin this weekend. He'll be at Barton Springs to perform a special blessing of our city's most cherished natural resource, much like the Wudang Taoist priests did back in 2006. The group will gather at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday at the landing below the stairs leading to the front gate. A brief silent meditation will precede the ceremony. All are welcome to join. more ›

• Pandemic! Run!
• The Holocaust Museum shooting yesterday has us wondering, what is wrong with people!?
• Seriously. "The responsible white separatist community condemns this"?

Four construction workers from the 21 Rio project were on scaffolding which partially collapsed this afternoon. Two of the men fell about eleven stories to their deaths, with a third dying later in the hospital. The fourth man sustained only minor injuries. So far the cause of the scaffolding collapse is unknown. [Statesman] more ›

In the video of the incident, which took place on May 11, Deputy Chris Bieze can be seen and heard calling headquarters as Winkfein stands near her truck, trying at times to get closer to Bieze, who repeatedly yells at her to step back. Later, when Bieze makes a motion to handcuff Winkfein, the grandmother resists, insisting that she's going to get in her truck. more ›

The kids in the above photo broke into a French Place home yesterday morning while both owners were at work—and one of them got to see the whole thing happen online! more ›

On the heels of arguably the most successful Austin Pride yet, the festival's organizing body has found itself entangled in an ugly conflict between its now-former president and the board of directors. more ›

• Two passengers with names linked to Islamic terrorism were on board the crashed Air France flight
• Palau agrees to take up to 17 Chinese Muslim Guantanamo detainees
• If you drive an old gas-guzzler, there's a bill in the works to pay you to buy a new car

Did anyone see any disgruntled legislators fleeing the scene? Hours after announcing to reporters that he intended to call a special legislative session later this summer, Gov. Rick Perry crashed his mountain bike and broke his collarbone. The governor was treated and released from the hospital last night, but has cancelled all of his appointments today. [KVUE] more ›

Today Gov. Perry announced to an unsurprised Capitol Press Corps that there will indeed be a legislative special session, but the schedule for it is still being decided. The special session is likely to deal with the issues the Senate left unresolved at sine die. Whether the session will also include the contentious topic of Voter ID is up in the air. [KVUE: Political Junkie] more ›

Travel + Leisure magazine's annual “America’s Favorite Cities” survey is out and accepting submissions now. Last year, Austin tied with New Orleans for "Live Music/Bands," and took the number two spots for the “Athletic/Active” and “Friendly” categories. This year, the magazine's added five new contenders to the list: Cleveland, Houston, Kansas City, Providence, and St. Louis — the latter, if you recall, having already been compared to Austin earlier this year. Now's your chance to chime in on how Austin stands when it comes to such qualities as "Singles/Bar Scene," "Environmental Awareness," "Intelligent People" and much more. The survey closes July 31. [America's Favorite Cities 2009] more ›

• Guantanamo suspect transported to NY under cover of darkness; will face trial.
• This is an interesting kind of opaque transparency.
• Palin vs. Gingrich - the battle heats up.

Photos of this year's Pride festival, which took place last weekend. more ›

• It’s been a year since the major fire at the Governor’s Mansion. Reconstruction at the historic house is now getting closer to reality.
• Cindy Sheehan will lead an anti-war protest in Dallas this afternoon.
• Volunteers put the smack-down on trash at Lady Bird Lake this weekend.

Obama: full speed ahead on health care overhaul. Taxing health care benefits "on the table" after all? Progressives still fighting to get single-payer in same room as table Obama's overseas charm offensive... could it work? Accused killer Roeder: Expect more anti-abortion violence Stephen Colbert dons cammies, takes his act to Baghdad Where the rich eat their cake: over $1000 apple crates When Republicans tweet... more ›

One Community, One Pride is a fitting theme for this year’s Austin Pride, which takes place this weekend. In previous years, Equality Texas handled the Pride Festival while the Austin Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce handled the Pride Parade. But in 2008 the two groups worked together to host the events on the same day. Further proving the efficiency of the gay community, this year’s combined event was organized by the community via the Pride Coalition, an AGLCC program that includes seven representative LGBT organizations. more ›

Aspiring pop stars and Indieroke champs may be happy to learn that producers of American Idol, who are already gearing up for the next season of the unstoppable series, will be making a stop in Dallas for auditions on June 26. more ›

Kill Bill star found dead in Bangkok. Obama attempts to heal relationship with Muslim world: "America and Islam are not exclusive." New York thief given gifts of compassion by store owner. Trial begins in North Korea for two American journalists. Still no answers for Flight 447. Texas GOP making us proud once again. So much for credit card reform. more ›

Rick Perry makes Rush Limbaugh honorary Texan, saying, "God bless Rush Limbaugh!" A disturbing record: 200 executions under Gov. Perry (so far). 27-year-old Lance Cpl. Matthew G. Reza from Austin was killed in Afghanistan over the weekend. 30-year-old man charged with capital murder in recent death of 17-year-old LBJ High School student. Mother caught on tape at Dell Children's Hospital repeatedly putting feces through her 3-year-old daughter's feeding tube. Teenager smoking in bed starts a fire in South Austin apartment complex. Blanton Museum has a new director: Dr. Ned Rifkin, former undersecretary for art at the Smithsonian Institution. Councilmember Martinez wants you to stop texting while driving. more ›

A recent Nielsen report listed Austin as the fourth least-prepared city in the country for the upcoming DTV transition. In less than two weeks when television stations end their analog transmissions and broadcast only a digital signal, up to 30,000 Central Texas households could lose their television reception. more ›

Over 450,000 Texans voted for the new license plate design, shown above, which features the new 7-character numbering system. The digitally-produced, full color plate depicts the Davis Mountains, Texas' most extensive mountain range, and will be available as soon as the Travis County tax assessor's office exhausts its supply of the current 6-character plates. more ›

• Osama bin Laden threatens Americans in new audio tape
• In Air France crash, deep seas stand between experts and answers
• Hiring practices of Google, Yahoo, Apple and other tech companies under federal scrutiny

At South Austin Marriott hotel, man posed as a cop and sexually assaulted a woman who had placed an ad on Craigslist. A third arrest made for the Spiros violence last week: Wendon Earl Candrick is accused of stabbing a music promoter before the shootings took place. The family of Nathaniel Sanders is suing the City of Austin, as well as the cop who shot Sanders. A community meeting was held last night on the Sanders shooting. A new HR Director for the city. Space Shuttle Atlantis made a pit stop in San Antonio today. DPS has to clarify confusing new booster seat law. more ›

Kemp Properties, an Austin-based developer, has agreed to buy the Starr Building on Sixth just west of Congress. According to the Statesman, Kemp will renovate the 75,000 square-foot building and preserve many of its mid-century modern features, including the Seymour Fogel mural in the lobby. more ›

A great-grandmother from the Hill Country has taken on legal representation after being tasered and jailed for resisting arrest. more ›

Yesterday was Sine Die for the Legislature, but the State Senate skipped out before passing legislation to cover the operations of state transportation and insurance agencies through 2011 (the next legislative session). With this hanging over his head, Gov. Rick Perry will have to come up with some sort of solution. Does this mean a Special Session in the near future? Many suspect that one may have to called to resolve this issue, but neither the Governor nor House Speaker Straus think it necessary. . . yet. [Dallas Morning News] more ›

Brazilian military find signs of the Air France jet. Hey, this is as good a place to spend political capital as any. Burger King doesn't really believe global warming is baloney. Or so it says. This is just really sad: couple commits suicide after the death of their child. Home auto maintenance FAIL. That hot guy from "Terminator," in armor. more ›

Some survivors of WWII’s Bataan Death March got their first in-person apology from Japan's ambassador to the United States, Ichiro Fujisaki. Some surviving POW’s at the San Antonio event were still angry about having been on a “Death March.” Today is the last day of the Texas Legislative session. Chances are they won’t get everything done. Dude who helped finance the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" campaign in the 2004 election is now bringing actual toxic sludge to Texas. Hog wild huntin' in Milam County. Turns out there’s no bag limit or season on the capture of wild hogs. Them’s good eatin’, too. (Don't forget to notify your local game warden if you'll be huntin' hogs at nighttime with spotlights!) BBC Scotland’s political editor compares Texas to Scotland. The Scots in the BBC’s comment section are mostly not amused by this. Conan remembered to visit the Alamo when he was recently in San Antonio. No word if he asked to visit the basement. Hey Austin, wake up and smell the transition to digital TV! A Nielsen report claims that -when it comes to the upcoming analog-to-digital tee-vee switchover--Austin is the fourth least-prepared city in the nation! more ›

If you sell a single-family home in Austin that is more than 10 years old and gets electricity from Austin Energy, then from today onwards you will likely need to get an Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure (ECAD), unless you have recently participated in an Austin Energy residential energy-efficiency program or meet one of the other varied exceptions. Similar requirements are in place for multifamily and commercial properties, but not condos. more ›

Non-surprise du semaine: GM files for bankruptcy Devils and details of GM bankruptcy Sonia Sotomayor: "A passionate but civil activist" Controversial abortion provider shot dead in Kansas church The right-wing resume of abortion doctor's assassin Cali pastor: No wedding for you! Talent phenom Boyle checks into clinic China says "Not" to cocks in pots more ›