News

UT's prestigious LBJ School of Public Affairs found itself in a hairy situation this weekend when the school's commencement booklets were distributed with an hilarious unfortunate error. more ›

"Sophia Evans," the woman who was savagely beaten and left for dead in an abandoned Del Valle house last December, fears that her attacker may never be caught. more ›

A really terrible-looking accident was filmed from the security camera in front of Bikini's off of I-35 and St. John's, with a car flipping right over the barrier. The Digital Texan is reporting that the accident did not result in any fatalities. more ›

The Merrell Oyster Race is the ultimate urban hybrid adventure, sending teams of 3-6 racers out on a mystery course around the city. Heading into its 9th season, Oyster is the longest running “urban adventure race” in the USA. The courses can range from 10-30 miles and 2-6 hours, providing an endurance level to suit all appetites. more ›

Prepare to see "Best City To Break a World Record" in those noxious lists that Austin tops every week. more ›

Ft. Worth bakery manager "Jessica" took her 2002 Mustang into the Wal-Mart on Oakmont for an oil change, and had an unpleasant experience with a technician who she described as "sassy." By the time her auto work was all said and done, "I spent about three hours at that Walmart just for an oil change,” she reminisces of the experience to CBS-DFW. more ›

As you may have heard, the UT System Board of Regents decided to freeze tuition instead of hiking the rate by 2.6 percent, even though the latter measure was recommended by UT President Bill Powers. This divisive issue has made for some strange bedfellows - while supporters of the tuition freeze include Governor Perry, opponents include a large cross-section of groups including Student Government and the Texas Exes. more ›

While the LGBT community may feel that God often taketh away, it seems sometimes He can giveth as well: Pending approval from the July general convention of the Episcopal Church, St David's Episcopal Church of Austin could become one of two Texas churches to begin blessing same sex unions early next year. more ›

As we reported on last June, Isis selected Austin to be one of the first locations to launch their mobile wallet technology. The goal is to condense all your credit cards, debit cards, loyalty reward cards, and cell phone into one easy to use package, and that reality is getting closer. Set to launch in the consumer market this summer, Isis announced today the first set of over 50 merchants that are on board already with the ability to accept payments. more ›

The American Dream: work hard, eat right, and live in the Lake Travis-overlooking, library-including, "In-Home Fitness Center"-boasting mansion of your dreams. For just a few million dollars, are you ready to take the plunge? If so, we've found the place for you. more ›

Depending on which side you were on, Saturday's election was either a sweep in favor of the Formula One-loving, developer-cozying status quo, or a considered decision to stay on a path of calm, proven leadership and prosperity. More concretely, all four incumbents won their races with ease, aided by money, name recognition, and impressively low voter turnout. more ›

There's a reason why swimming in Lady Bird Lake is against city law, one man discovered Sunday evening while playing with friends. After the (as yet unidentified) 20-something male leaped off a platform under the Lamar Blvd bridge into the lake, his foot and leg became impaled on a piece of rebar underwater. more ›

Kaylee Hodnett, all of fourteen years old, began a donation drive a few weeks ago for the Austin Animal Center that has since netted her "5,000 meals of Halo Spot’s Stew" from Free Kibble, "300 pounds of organic pet food" from Castor and Pollux, and much more. She also made "dozens" of rope toys for animals as well. more ›

The big 'winner' who was also the loser in West Virginia's democratic primary election on Tuesday was Keith Judd, a fifty-three year old man currently serving seventeen years for, as NPR puts it, "sending a threatening message to a university." He is incarcerated at FCI Texarkana. more ›

If you live in Austin, there is exactly one appropriate reaction to being told that a quaint French restaurant is coming to your neighborhood: involuntary salivation and a sudden wettening of the panties. If you don't experience this reaction, you may be an awful NIMBY neighborhood zoning crank, and what is wrong with you? What series of events could lead you to this unfortunate state? more ›

There is nothing more frustrating than trying to teach your furry family members how to clearly enunciate their own street address and phone number. An easier solution: take advantage of the city's new free microchip and tag offer. more ›

In an interview with Fox News' Greta Van Susteren yesterday, Governor Perry backed the controversial statement made by Maine's governor Paul Lepage that able bodied people need to "get off the couch and get a yourself a job." Van Susteren asked Perry if the statement seemed insulting to the unemployed, and Perry responded, "you know - there may be some folks that are offended by that. I'm not." more ›

This Men's Health feature on the "Porn Capitals" of the USA came out last month, but it's just now really getting around - possibly thanks to the bottleneck provided by the fact that every day features a new top ten list that Austin somehow breaches. more ›

James Gist was a Galveston County deputy constable to Pam Matranga until last year, when he resigned amid allegations that he was bugging his superior's office. Why resort to such spy tactics? To catch her in the act of sexually harassing him, says Gist. more ›

Texas Senators John Carona and Dan Patrick have had confrontations in the past, but none quite as entertaining as this one. Grab the popcorn, friends. more ›

When we first caught word that a landfill up on Giles Road in Northeast Austin was emanating some kind of strange rumbling after the big storm on Saturday night, we first assumed a trash monster of some kind had been spawned and/or we'd soon be learning about how Sunset Farms - a likely name for an actual farm, a strange one for a landfill - was actually on top of an ancient burial ground and man, were we going to get it this time. We were destined to be disappointed. more ›

Someone in town is putting their money where their anonymous mouth is. A very generous mystery person has pledged one million bucks to benefit Austin arts programs, which comes in the form of an initiative called the "Austin Creative Classroom Fund." more ›

In the on-again, off-again state funding battle for the women's health organization, Planned Parenthood, three appellate judges in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday that Texas must continue to include the provider in Texas' Medicaid program. more ›

The weekend thunderstorms that provided the best light show Austin's seen in weeks, not to mention relief from this spring's early heat, also caused some expensive destruction. more ›

Slammed with an unseasonable influx of hundreds of homeless critters, the City of Austin Animal Services Center is waiving or reducing adoption fees at both its locations. So skip Sixth Street this weekend and find your new best friend here instead. more ›

What looked like to be an epic street-wide foam sword fight was halted when a student - we just know him by Nick his name is Nick Engmann - was hit by a bus. His friends say he's okay, with Gubeom Nam saying "[h]e basically walked to the ambulance. He's fine." more ›

The University of Texas is set to become that much bigger and massively more medical. As explained in a press release sent out today from the university, the Regents have okayed a plan to "allocate up to $30 million a year from the state's Available University Fund to establish a medical school." more ›

And are you tired of politicians who don't have enough sense not to electrocute themselves via urination, as in the metaphor attributed to Will Rogers? If so, you may be able to appreciate the truthy, homespun wisdom of Houston lawyer Roland Sledge, who is running for Texas Railroad Commissioner. more ›

Well done everyone! We drank $55 million worth of alcohol this past March! The state is estimated to have received about $8 million in tax revenue off sales of the sauce which, if Texas lawmakers had a sense of humor, would go towards alcohol education programs. more ›

Thanks to the Dirty Sixth bar name generator, owners can bypass the costly fees of marketing whizzes and get straight to populating their new bar with people who are going to make it smell like whiz. more ›

Hint: If your lookin' for love Craigslist post advertising free rent for companionship earns a unanimous "ew!" you're probably doing it wrong. We present to you, with commentary, the most fascinating and provocative Craigslist post we've seen in weeks. more ›

The verb "droning," as in "my English professor is always droning on about his weird stained-glass collection" is about to change in college parlance, as the FAA confirms that twenty-five universities now have clearance to fly drones in U.S. airspace. The Texas schools approved are: Texas State, Texas A&M (Corpus Christi) and Texas A&M's Engineering Experiment Station. The whole list, which also includes clearances for the City of Houston's police department, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and many more (unsurprising: the FBI, NASA; surprising, maybe: Eastern Gateway Community College) can be seen here thanks to the Electronic Frontier Foundation. more ›

Less than 24 hours after a district judge in Austin stopped a Texas law that bans all state funding of Planned Parenthood, a federal appellate court judge granted Texas an emergency stay lifting the Austin court's order. more ›

In the biggest news of note since Sunday's "Lady sells things on eBay" scoop and the striking "Local band has ambitious future" piece published yesterday, the Daily Texan is now saying that by 2013 the University of Texas may have "gender inclusive" dorms, which actually sounds like a big deal. more ›

With the usual flurry of Austin week and weekend activity (Saturday and Sunday saw Jeff Mangum perform, the Psych Fest launching into the stratosphere, and even Tone Lōc performing at a run), we can forget how big of a deal Fiesta is, particularly to San Antonio. The 27th was a holiday for a number of schools and businesses, and for eleven days every year, Fiesta runs the gamut of creative celebration. There's the Battle of Flowers Parade, tons of street food, and music. And drinking. more ›