News

The footage above was shot outside Daily Juice's parking lot after ACL 2008, where a spontaneous dance party riot broke out before cops shut it down. This year, they're throwing an official dance contest at the Barton Springs location on Saturday at 2 p.m., the winner of which earns a $100 gift card. Bonus points if you outlast one of the hula hoopers you'll see at the festival grounds—they're trained for this stuff. more ›

The Wall Street Journal came out with a ranking today of the best cities for twenty-something professionals to be in when the economy picks up again. Austin came in fifth place, trailing behind Washington, D.C. and Seattle (tied for first), New York City, and Portland. Though some of the panelists questioned weren't sure if Austin would emerge strongly from the downturn, the general consensus was that we've become a "gathering place for tech- and arts-conscious young adults." That, coupled with a relative low cost of living and unemployment rate, makes us, as one panelist described it, "a model for a thriving 21st-century knowledge-based community." [WSJ: The Next Hot Youth-Magnet Cities] more ›

How about a brief quiz to start things off, shall we? 1. Which would cause drivers to be more careful and drive conservatively when passing through an area with a substantial deer population? a. A high-tech flashing sign with animated deer. b. A deer carcass on the side of the road. 2. Which of the following is more effective at causing drivers to slow down as they pass through a neighborhood with lots of children? a. A sign stating ‘Children Playing’. b. A child’s bicycle left on a sidewalk. 3. What bad conduct did a former mayor of Bogota, Colombia successfully modify through the use of behavior mocking mimes in his formerly lawless city? a. Narco-terrorism. b. Traffic violations. 4. Which is more effective at getting you to slow down? a. A ‘Speed Zone’ or ‘Traffic Monitored By Radar’ sign. b. A cop sitting on the side of the road with a radar gun. more ›

• Tsunami hits American Samoa and neighboring islands, claiming at least 113 lives
• Powerful 7.6 magnitude earthquake strikes Indonesia
• Death toll for Typhoon Ketsana rises to more than 300 in Southeast Asia

Governor Perry's campaign has drummed up a creative way for its supporters to profit off its success. more ›

Toyota just issued a massive recall of 3.8 million vehicles, including its luxury Lexus line, after the government issued a warning about the cars' removable floor mats. According to the Transportation Department, the driver's side mats have the potential to force the accelerator to get stuck in a full open position, which could result in, among other negative scenarios, death. For now, says U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, “We strongly urge owners of these vehicles to remove mats or other obstacles that could lead to unintended acceleration.” more ›

Members of Governor Perry's re-election campaign are in a huff after the web video feed broadcasting his live speech was hijacked by hackers. more ›

• Spy vs. spy on the Iranian nukes.
• Businesses leaving US Chamber of Commerce complain about its opposition to climate legislation.
• Polanski tries legal route, asks Swiss to release him.

• Austin just got the sweetest love letter from The New York Times. We’re blushing!
• Horror publication Fangoria covers the Fantastic Fest screening (at the Paramount) of “The Vampire’s Assistant.”
• Some local school districts are now going for "abstinence-plus” sex ed. This isn’t good news for people with jobs as “abstinence contractors.”

The Austin headquarters for Equality Texas, a statewide organization that educates and engages people on policies and their effect on Texans of all sexual orientations, were vandalized this past weekend. Perpetrators smashed the large plate glass window facing the street, but didn't enter the building or remove any of its contents. more ›

Home furnishings store west elm, one of the subsidiaries of the Williams-Sonoma Inc. empire, is opening its first Austin location at 5th and Lamar this Wednesday. more ›

• Reuters: Iran flexes muscle ahead of talks
• Big win, conservative course for Germany's Angela Merkel
• Republicans push for more troops in Afghanistan

It looks like Rue McClanahan got a good deal when she traded an appearance at the annual BCRC Champagne Brunch for a weekend at the ultra-luxe Lake Austin Spa Resort—the place was just ranked the fifth best Destination Spa in Travel + Leisure magazine's 2009 rankings. more ›

Via their Twitter account, Tito's owner Tito Beveridge states, "The discharge in question was wash water, which is just spillage off the bottling line and would be safe to pour down a regular kitchen sink. But, because we are not on the city's sewer line, the county informed us that we need to collect this waste so we have been working with the TCEQ on a new recycling system and are already back in compliance, as we have been since 1995." more ›

• West demands access to Iran's secret underground nuclear site.
• Pittsburgh businesses cleaning up after yesterday's G20 protest.
• Japan launches probe of secret pacts with US.

Like every other newspaper trying to stay solvent in the face of declining advertising sales, the Austin American-Statesman is actively thinking outside the proverbial box, today quietly unveiling its latest revenue stream: Twitter ads. more ›

• No (more) Nukes!
• Hope for an AIDS vaccine.
• Dear Sen. Kent Conrad, France have a public option.

• This morning our friend’s Facebook page included 65 comments about these “cage dancers” who appeared at the Cowboys’ new stadium!
• Junk food at the new Cowboys’ $1.15 billion football arena just isn’t up to snuff.
• Ken Lay’s swanky high-rise Houston condo is on the market for $12.8 million. It has six elevators, two of them for “service.” No, lowly reporters are not allowed in to view the splendor.

Two independent local fashion-related launches on Thursday are daring to buck the dismal trend of retail closures we've seen lately. more ›

• Obama addresses United Nations today: US can't do it alone
• Massive storm in Australia blankets Sydney in a layer of orange dust
• Silence of the Cars: Makers of electric cars propose adding some artificial vroom to alert pedestrians

How about slower traffic, less accidents, safer streets for children and wait for it, No more text messaging while driving? That’s right, in a never ending quest to make our streets safer and more predictable, we may have actually made them more dangerous and so mind numbingly easy to drive that we enable bad behaviors such as texting while driving. Let me reiterate that: The design of our streets may be partially to blame for drivers text messaging. more ›

After failing to negotiate an affordable lease, Second Street's modern design shop Kirk Gallery will be closing in October. more ›

• The uninsured are more likely to have Republican or Blue Dog representatives in Congress.
• The Southeast floods; 8 people lose their lives.
• Obama at the UN to talk about climate today.

• The explains what Saturday’s Longhorn Game really meant in the grand scheme of things.
• Dell Children’s Medical Center has so many flu patients that they are setting up outside tents to deal with the overflow!
• Political Smackdown: Governor Goodhair vs. Senator Goodhair.

Designer Rebekah Rauser's nifty "Redeploy Rug" was selected as one of the semi-finalists in Apartment Therapy's annual Design Showcase competition. The Austinite's creation is a wool/wool-blend piece crafted from military surplus blankets: more ›

• This Week in Obama: Letterman, U.N., Afghanistan
• The healthcare media blitz: Resistance is Futile...
• ... or is it?

The Austonian is a residential skyscraper currently under construction in Austin at the corner of Congress Avenue and Second Street. It is already the tallest building in Austin and upon completion in 2009 will be 683 feet tall with 56 floors. more ›

The FCC is starting to hold field hearings to take public comment on the National Broadband Plan. The first hearing will be held here in Austin on Monday, September 21, from 9am-noon, at the UT Club (2108 Robert Dedman Drive). This field hearing will be led by FCC Commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker and will focus on infrastructure, broadband in rural areas, and other issues affecting broadband deployment in our state. The FCC's National Broadband Plan is supposed to be presented before Congress by February of 2010, so this is a great opportunity to make your voice heard. [Release from the FCC (.pdf)] more ›

• Clashes reported as Iranians hold demonstrations.
• Dismay in Europe as Obama ditches missile defense.
• Sources: NY transportation hub likely target of terror plot.

• This can't be good for our sushi addiction.
• 35% of conservative voters in New Jersey think Obama might be the Anti-Christ. Seriously.
• They know how to party in Ocala.

• Houston financier accused of a $7 billion fraud can’t afford his own lawyer, has a public defender appointed for him. That’s your tax dollars at work.
• An Austin cop was in the movie “Lightning Strikes” that aired on the Syfy channel this past Saturday. He was playing… a cop. Talk about method acting!
• Dallas-area high-school student DJs have their own radio station. Maybe it is just like that station they had on Beverly Hills, 90210...

Former President Jimmy Carter calls outburst during Obama's speech an act "based on racism" more ›

Let's see, you could spend five minutes looking at the most recent inane quizzes your friends have taken on Facebook or you could spend that same time do something that might inspire legions of people to get involved in creating an even better tomorrow for Austin. What d'ya think? more ›

This year's AIA Austin Homes Tour will be held on Saturday and Sunday October 10-11, 2009 from 12-6 p.m each day. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 the weekend of the event. Tickets may be purchased at Cissi’s Market, Zinger Hardware or directly from AIA Austin. Additional information is available from AIA Austin (512.452.4332) or aiaaustin.org. The 24th Annual AIA Austin Homes Tour is a showcase of great design by local architects. This self-guided tour encompasses 14 homes from Central Austin to Lakeway and includes new construction, renovation and preservation projects with traditional and contemporary designs. more ›

After months-long discussions over how to counter an estimated $30 million revenue shortfall, the City Council yesterday voted unanimously to approve the final Fiscal Year 2010 budget. more ›

• Trash Dance: The Forklift Danceworks’ Trash Project performance attracts over 700 people to a “trash truck ballet.”
• The New York Times visits our Guadalupe Mountains, falls into a West Texas cactus.
• Even with the start of this $135 million Texas beach enrichment plan, Austin’s own Okkervil River will still be singing “Lost Coastlines.”

• The next Osama bin Laden?
• Best frenemies forever: China talks smack about U.S. tire duty taxes
• New bin Laden tape surfaces

Currently all lanes of IH35 at mile marker 280 between Jarrell and Salado (at the Bell/Williamson county line) are closed because of flooding. KXAN reports that the access roads have also been closed. This area north of Austin has reportedly received 10 inches of rain since last night. [Statesman on Twitter] more ›

• President Obama spoke at the Pentagon in today's remembrance ceremony.
• New allegations that US Embassy guards took part in sex trafficking.
• Flash flood warnings issued for Central Texas.

Austinite Michelle Deloach was driving up MoPac on Labor Day, headed for a barbecue, when a 5-foot-long tree log smashed into her Honda Civic. more ›

• The big health reform speech was last night, in case you hadn't heard.
• Republicans respond as expected.
• Climate change leads a certain creature to congregate on Alaska's shore (coo coo ca choo).

• Some local students see President Obama’s stay-in-school message. Some don’t.
• “Ike Dike” proposed in Galveston. This Dike would extend Galveston’s seawall by 50 miles and create a job for a Little Dutch Boy who’d save the city in case of malfunction!
• Do you get your own page in the yearbook for this? Would you want one? A 14 year-old Dallas driver led cops on a wrong-way chase.

• Obama to schoolchildren: "You can't drop out of school and just drop into a good job"
• President takes to the airwaves tonight to talk health care
• Kidnapped New York Times journalist freed in Afghan raid

Exuberant Austinite Marc Katz, owner of Katz's Deli, intends to run as the Democratic candidate for Texas' lieutenant governor position next year, he announced over the weekend. more ›

• Unions decry lack of flowers and love songs from President Obama
• Green jobs activist Van Jones resigns
• Another happy story about the economy

Nine years ago, the Damnations played for Intel engineers at a Republic Square groundbreaking. Unfortunately, Intel’s Design Center grew to only a shell of its imagined self. Wednesday, September 2, four U.S. Congressmen tapped deeper pockets and gathered under a white tent with hundreds of federal workers for another groundbreaking ceremony. Three bomb-sniffing dogs patrolled; a dozen or so Austin policemen, including chief Acevedo, watched from the shade of oak trees; four Marines from Camp Mabry’s 1st battalion, 23rd Marines, presented the colors; speeches were given. In the end, eleven shovels turned a patch of powder-dry dirt. And sometime in 2012, with the help of stimulus money, a new Federal courthouse will open. more ›

The Texas Book Festival released this year's author list at a Dallas reception held in Laura Bush's home last night. Some of the authors include: Buzz Aldrin, Luis Urrea (an entertainment machine), Terry Tempest Williams (Finding Beauty in a Broken World; you can find an earlier Austinist review here), Kinky Friedman, Blake Bailey (Cheever, A Life), Margaret Atwood, Jonathan Lethem (a must see), Willard Spiegelman, Jeanette Walls and many Austin authors including Laurence Parent, Belinda Acosta, and Lance Letscher. They are all good. If we overlooked your favorite author, the complete list, and eventually the schedule, can be found here (click on the author's name to reveal the book). more ›

• This holiday weekend will be the first non-refusal weekend since new DWI laws took effect.
• APD targets aggressive drivers.
• Plans still underway for Super Wal-Mart at Northcross.

James Lee Whitehead, who performed in drag as Niki Hunter, was fatally shot by a police officer trying to save him early Sunday morning in San Antonio. Whitehead and a friend were walking home when three men attacked him. One of the attackers began pistol whipping Whitehead on the ground when a passing police officer was flagged down. The attacker refused to put down his gun and advanced toward the officer. The officer fired his gun repeatedly, accidentally shooting Whitehead in the chest. Jesse Ramon, the attacker, survived four gunshot wounds. more ›

Buildings and cities get grouped together in our collective perspective. Planners and architects are often educated in the same school and it is not uncommon for architects to take on the role of planners at some level. But indeed they are very different. Author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert Pirsig, wrote in his later book, LILA, something to the effect that cities are not for people…people are for cities. He observed that people were literally consumed by cities. In a city, there is a dearth of opportunity for people to subsist…and living requires economic engagement. Cities and Economy are essential components of the Human paradigm. more ›

• Louisiana Pastor says Jindal should reimburse taxpayers for his helicopter trips to church.
• President Obama to address Republican attacks on health care.
• Out of work? The government is hiring, maybe.

On behalf of this staff of writers, photographers and section editors, we'd like to offer our heartfelt thanks to you guys for voting us Best of Austin for the fourth year in a row! Like in 2008, our incredible readers voted us 'Best Local Blog' and 'Best Local Entertainment Website' for 2009; we're truly honored, and vow to keep up our daily coverage of what's going on around town. more ›

• Fried butter is coming to the State Fair of Texas. “Big Tex” might just get bigger….
• P.E. requirements reduced by the State of Texas, but you’ll still need them to graduate from the Corpus Christi Independent School District!
• Want to live to be 110? Don’t take a car! (That's actual advice from someone who is 110 years old.)

Fred Cantu and Michelle Valles' early morning news program on KEYE-TV is being canceled, the station announced today. In its place, KEYE will begin broadcasting a live feed from Mix 94.7's JB and Sandy in the Morning radio show. more ›

Kinky Friedman made the rumors official this week when he announced that he plans to run for Governor again, this time as a Democrat. While the Democrats aren't receiving as much attention as Perry and Hutchison, the number of people planning to run in the Dem primary has slowly grown. The list Friedman is joining includes Tom Schieffer, teacher Felix Alvarado, former candidate for Ag Commissioner Hank Gilbert, and former candidate for Railroad Commissioner Mark Thompson. Kinky and his pal Willie Nelson already have a fundraiser planned for mid-September. [Politico] more ›

Harry Ransom Center's annual Research Fellowships in the Humanities, which funds some 50 assorted scholarly endeavors, is now accepting applications for the 2010-2011 academic year. The program provides stipends of up to three months ($3,000 per month), with additional funds provided for travel. Applicants must either be post-dos or "independent scholars with a substantial record of scholarly achievement." For an idea of the vast range of possible topics you might pitch, past topics have included: "The Rise of the British Detective Novel," "Photography on the Border: Picturing and Constructing the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands," and "A True Account of the Design, and Advantages of the South-Sea Trade: Profits, Propaganda, and the Peace Preliminaries of 1711." [Fellowships] more ›

• Government says we should expect "a big influx" of swine flu cases this fall
• 14 people were killed in Indonesia after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Wednesday
• Two American television reporters say they were "violently dragged" into North Korea