News: November 2009 Archives

An Austin man has been charged with fraud as part of a scheme to steal millions from the FCC's Video Relay Service, a government program that is intended to help deaf and hard-of-hearing Americans communicate with hearing persons.

Conservatives can sleep soundly knowing the fight for gay marriage is not returning to Texas shores—at least not entirely. The only Democratic candidate for Texas Attorney General, Barbara Radnofsky, says Texans were so eager to ban gay marriages in 2005 that they banned marriages altogether. Don't understand how? Read on.

Former Austin High School student Hollan Dyer, 18, was riding shotgun in a blue Toyota Prius in Oak Hill when the car came upon the cyclist, Austinite Brad (last name withheld). According to detectives, Dyer allegedly remarked to his fellow passengers something along the lines of, "I hate cyclists on the road!," then, evidently steamed, rolled down his window and fired at the victim.

• World economies grow, but surprisingly, China's economy poised to kick everyone's ass.
• FAA says our state-of-the-art air traffic control system is running smoothly (after a large blip earlier this morning).
• South African runner whose gender was questioned will keep medal.

On October 13th, the Planning Commission (PC) considered the Historic Landmark Commission’s recommendation that Travis House be designated as a historic building. The owner’s lawyer told Planning that the 1945 building was in bad shape and contaminated with lead, mold and asbestos. Susan Villarreal, Senior Planner with the city responded that "It is a distinctive and interesting building" and an "excellent representative of Colonial Revival style." The PC voted 4-2 to deny the historic designation (DMU-H) and recommended DMU zoning. City Council will make the final decision as to whether the building gets historic zoning at its meeting today. UPDATE: City Council denied historic zoning, so the building will likely be demolished.

• Doh! Don’t rob the mayor of a small town! He won’t be happy about it, and he’ll really want the cops to catch you.
• Do you know a real, no-nonsense girl who rides horses, and who is between the ages of 12 and 16? If so, you might want to tell her about this casting call for the lead role in a Coen Brothers movie. Squee!
• Pitchfork covers Fun Fun Fun Fest! (They liked it, they really liked it!)

Emmis Austin is bringing back the "Todd and Don Show" to KLBJ in December, changing the format of the morning talk program to focus on "community history, expectations and cultural sensitivity." The show was canceled in July after co-host Don Pryor used a derogatory racial slur on air nearly three dozen times over the course of a single hour's program. The resulting backlash by the community, as well as threats of a boycott of all station advertisers, turned nasty.

• Pirates attack the US-flagged Maersk Alabama for the second time in seven months
• Hillary Clinton makes surprise visit to Afghanistan for Karzai's inauguration
• Attorney General Holder says world will see Khalid Sheikh Mohammed "for the coward he is"

• Poll says Americans are divided on health care. Yup.
• NY 23 election, two weeks later: Hoffman un-concedes after nudging from Glenn Beck.
• Don't worry, you can still have your raw oysters - bacteria and all!

• President Obama’s China agenda
• Obama’s China Town Hall: Smiley faces and happy thoughts?
• Free Aung San Suu Kyi, Obama tells Myanmar PM

• Alleged Fort Hood shooter paralyzed from waist down, lawyer says.
• Obama's options limited by Afghanistan and Pakistan's less-than-reliable governments.
• Federal drug reform legislation in the Congress.

Transportation for America has ranked Austin-Round Rock as the 19th most dangerous metro area for pedestrians among the 52 largest metro areas in the United States. They calculated that walking in Austin was slightly less dangerous than walking in Texas as a whole, but substantially more dangerous than walking in the rest of the nation as a whole. Texas spends approximately 1% of its federal transportation funds on pedestrian projects, compared to 1.5% nationwide.

CBS journalists must appreciate the University of Texas; the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History already holds papers from the careers of Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather, and today it was announced that Morley Safer is donating his papers to the same Center. Safer says the Center's journalism archive "has no equal. It is a gateway to learning the eyewitness history of who we are, who we were and how we perceived ourselves as a nation."

“This is an administration hell-bent on taking America towards a socialist country,” said Perry in a speech this morning. The video footage, via myWestTexas.com, is reposted after the jump.

• Ft. Hood hero story being questioned.
• Balloon boy's parents to plead guilty, duh.
• Bomb-sniffing dog in Afghanistan returns after being missing for 14 months.

• The BBC's coverage of Obama’s memorial address at Fort Hood on Tuesday. (This story is part of the BBC's extensive coverage of the tragedy.)
• Need a kidney? Make sure you tell your priest about your needs! It worked for this Dallas woman.


• Prison inmates found a stash of weed hidden in a delivery of prison-bound produce. This was after the fruit had already been searched by police officers/pot-sniffing dogs!

• Congress Avenue to be closed until noon for Veteran's Day parade
• DC sniper John Allen Muhammad executed by lethal injection
• Obama honors victims of Fort Hood shooting spree at memorial service

Above is a live stream of the Fort Hood memorial service currently underway, via the Pentagon. If you have trouble pulling that up, we've also posted an audio-only live feed via the White House, after the jump. KXAN and KVUE also have streams on their sites.

• This is the 20th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the event that signaled the end of the Cold War. The “Wall of Change” project at UT marks this historic moment.
• President Obama to attend a memorial service at Fort Hood on Tuesday.
• The New York Times has a detailed story about the background of the Fort Hood shooter. It’s part of their larger package on the tragedy.

• Troubling portrait emerges of Fort Hood shooting suspect.
• Blood donations needed after yesterday's attack at Fort Hood.
• Obama to sign homebuyer, jobless bill assistance.

• Suspected serial killer in Ohio denied bail.
• In case you hadn't heard, the Yankees have won the 2009 World Series.
• Conservatives mock the 72-hour window that requested to review health care legislation.

• Car collector dies… in a car accident.
• Be careful whom you shoot when they are coming into your condo!
• Skip class=find true love.

• Republicans win governors’ races in New Jersey and Virginia
• Maine voters repeal their state's new law allowing same-sex marriage
• Warren Buffett buys a railroad: Berkshire Hathaway acquires Burlington Northern Santa Fe

Authorities have charged 19-year-old Austinite Michelle Lozano with theft after she allegedly looted what sounds like a small weapons depot in an AISD police car.

Councilmember Chris Riley and Mayor Lee Leffingwell are crapping all over a plan by the Cities of Leander and Granite Shoals to discharge treated sewage, or effluent (pronounced "eff-you-uhnt"), into the Highland Lakes, including Lake Travis and Late Austin. Late Austin is currently the sole source of drinking water in Austin and the newly approved water treatment plant will draw from Lake Travis. Other councilmembers will decide on Thursday whether to join them in opposition. The Lower Colorado River Authority and Travis County have already indicated that they are opposed to the new plan. Texas Commission on Environmental Quality rules currently prohibit new treated wastewater effluent discharges into any of the Highland Lakes. LCRA predicts considerable degradation of water quality in the Highland Lakes if new discharges are authorized. Most of the fecal matter is removed from treated wastewater (unless there is a malfunction or it rains), but other contaminants remain - notably pharmaceuticals.

As they've been promising, the Texas Tribune officially launched its site this morning. With the debut comes a plethora of content, including the results of the first-ever University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll (we'll report on this later), almost a dozen downloadable databases of stuff from gubernatorial appointees to Texas campaign expenditures, and a nifty page that lists all elected officials and what party they belong to.

• You might not remember the details from Halloween on 6th Street, but it really happened!
• Be careful what you put on Facebook. That’s especially true if you do super-tacky things!
• Look at the planning for this incredible wedding that was scheduled for Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead.)

Over beers at TRIO last Tuesday, we had a chat with former Texas Monthly president and editor-in-chief Evan Smith about his new nonprofit media project, the Texas Tribune.

• President Obama's latest report card: (still) Incomplete
• Hamid Karzai declared winner of canceled Afghan runoff
• Attorney General Holder asserts state secrets in wiretap suit