Whether Feinstein's motivation for setting a fire that caused over $300,000 in damages truly stemmed from an absurd disagreement over playlists remains to be determined. He now faces up to twenty years in prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted. ...

Tonight’s portion of the see.hear.speak 3 festival is a collection of monologues and one-person performances. Gentleman Brock—or, as he’s formally known, Sir Gentleman Brock LaBorde, Esquire—recently authored a book called The Semi-Complete Guide to Sort of Being a Gentleman, and he’s rather opinionated on the subject of chivalry. ...

Tonight is the “Hear” portion of see.hear.speak, the comedy festival that has been taking place at the Coldtowne Theater since last night. One of the performers in Hear—indeed, a headliner of the festival—is Jill Bernard, a Minnesotan (resident of Minnesota) who has toured the continent performing and teaching improv. She even acted as the coach of an aspiring improviser in an episode of MTV’s Made....

The 3rd annualSee.Hear.Speak comedy festival begins tonight at the Coldtowne Theater. See.Hear.Speak began as a celebration of alternative comedy formats; each night represents a different comedic medium. Tonight’s show features local video sketch troupe the P! Company, who are currently gearing up for their next show, Hanging with Mr. The P! Company. We recently spoke with P!'s Andy Petruzzo and Kyle Sweeney about video sketch and their participation in See.Hear.Speak 3....

For the third time in two years, community based public radio station KOOP 91.7 fm has suffered a studio fire that has put a halt to programming. ...

Young guy, wearing sunglasses inside of Quack's Bakery in the middle of the night, talking to a girl sitting near him:Do you reside here frequently? At I Luv Video on Airport Blvd., a female customer holding a DVD case: Is Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle any good? Dreadlocked Male Employee:Uh, that depends. Do you smoke weed? Female customer: I guess I could make a stop on the way home. DME: There's a......

Photo by Lorrie McClanahan on flickrWarning to today's travelers: if you are flying to DFW today, or stopping there on your way somewhere else, get ready to wait. A software issue this morning blocked communications to the East and West Towers at DFW for about twenty minutes. To deal with that, air traffic controllers increased the space between flights. As a result, your wait to fly out from or land at DFW could be long;......

Photo by deJong MortifiedNovember 16th, 2007Coldtowne Theatre (4803 Airport Blvd.)[info] | [tickets]An obsession with Huey Lewis. The detailed diaries of a nerd molester. A girl's small town love of Nicholas Nickelby. True tales...ripped from the pages of diaries everywhere. Featuring a distinct lineup of local performers reading their own humiliating teenage journal entries, rap lyrics, philosophical musings and fictional shorts, Mortified makes its Austin debut this Friday night. Hailed as a "cultural phenomenon" by Newsweek......

Stay away from the Denver International Airport. Major anti-abortion group endorses that Law & Order guy. Ship spills more than 1.3 million gallons of oil into the Black Sea. As if Russia's environment wasn't effed up enough... New studies show that children who are identified as troubled in kindergarten might end up doing fine in elementary school. So give the kids a chance, okay? Having good friends at work makes you less stressed out.......

Photo by MotherPie on flickr Attorney General Greg Abbott says the rate of foreclosures in Texas is at crisis level; foreclosures in Travis County have gone down since last year, though. Hit-and-run on Airport Blvd. Sunday morning leads to the deaths of a motorcyclist and his passenger. Fredericksburg wants you to be quiet when you visit. State red-light fines that should be going towards medical trauma centers aren't. Del Rio high school student suspended for......

Photo from olganza.comIf all goes as planned, Austinites may soon be able to get out of the country for less than the cost of a cab ride to the airport. Mexico's no-frills airline, vivaAerobus, was recently granted access out of Austin Bergstrom International Airport by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The carrier, which seems to be the Mexican equivalent of UK's wildly popular Ryan Air, claims that it'll begin offering one-way tickets for as low......

The first two of six new commuter rail trains arrived in Austin this week. The diesel-electric trains trains, the last of which should arrive by late spring, were purchased from Swiss manufacturer Stadler Bussnang AG ("We Track Clever Solutions" -- get it?) for $34 million. Cap Metro plans to start testing these cars next month along the rail line from Howard Lane and Mopac down to 47th Street and Airport Boulevard—each will be run......

In terms of the new businesses in the wake of a Navy base closure, ‘revitalization’ is a hard nut to sell. More like 'damage control'. In Alameda, the closure meant the exodus of literally tens of thousands of civilian jobs, not to mention the millions of dollars enlisted Navy personnel poured into the city's economy trying to impress local high school girls....

The Health Alliance For Austin Musicians (or HAAM) provides local artists with low-cost health care and other related services. This year’s HAAM Benefit Day is here (today), and the organization is presenting numerous shows all over town this evening, along with a Telethon on ME Television. One can offer their assistance in funds by donating online as well. The HAAM Benefit Day is presented with support from a number of entities, including Whole Foods......

Seattlest watches as a S.L.U.T. is born and Seattle Flickr users go nuts over a local art installation. A restaurant critic demands a Diner's Bill of Rights over a gnat next to her drink, and, in lieu of a Portlandist, Seattlest debates with itself over the identity of the Northwest's crown jewel. Seattlest also joins the guys from Fantagraphics for an ill-fated gun party in the woods. Bostonist got a crash course in what not......

Many of us have been confronted with the same challenge when trying to get to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport: "How can I save money by bumming a ride off a friend or relative and not have to take a cab or park at the airport?" It's really not that far of a drive, especially when compared to other cities, but still, it'd be nice if there was a cheaper (or free) way to get to the......

Consider Tuesday night another notch in Austin’s bedpost of filmmaking opportunity as the Austin Film Festival debuts its new year-round Conversations in Film series. This first installment “Script to Screen: Making the Short Film” will target the writers among us, but will also be useful to directors and filmmakers who need distribution tips for their shorts. Three Austin area award-winning filmmakers will lead the discussion, as well as screen their most recent/notable shorts:Steve Collins is......

Are you worried about a use of force by APD so great that it warrants a federal investigation? Do you find the rift between the police department and Austin's black community unsettling? Are you satisfied with the choice for Chief? Do you think that APD is doing a great job and has been given a bum rap? Whatever your thoughts, Austin Listening wants to hear from you. The program is looking to get Austinites'......

- If you are one of the many in the South Austin area who feel that downtown is hogging all of the good wine bars, take heart. Central Market's Westgate location has actually opened a wine and cheese bar in the middle of their store. The bar, dubbed A22, will feature a rotating mix of 16 wines by the glass, along with approximately 25 cheeses. Both wine and cheese flights will be available, and......

The following article and interview is by guest contributor Lisa Kaselak, who will be curating a short film series at the Fuse Box Festival tomorrow evening. Check the IST list for details. -- Ed. Note I first met Ron Berry last year, after I finished a short documentary piece and some accompanying prints and was looking for a community space to house the whole exhibit – not necessarily an easy task since this work was......

Jeffrey Willard Smith, a 49-year-old man from Midland, Texas, now faces a felony burglary charge after airport security allegedly caught him stealing a banana from one of the restaurants in the terminal. From the Statesman: According to an arrest affidavit, an airport security guard caught Jeffrey Willard Smith reaching through a locked gate at the Waterloo restaurant inside the terminal. Smith, 49, took the banana, sat down at Gate 10 and ate it, the affidavit......

Let's see. The cast is full of women, including several very funny, award-nominated actresses. The comedy is of the backstage variety. And the play pokes at Anton Chekhov and Texas. That sounds like a recipe for a blast, no? If you're not familiar with Anton in Show Business, here's the gist. A self-centered television starlet, an embittered professional actress, and an enthusiastic ingénue come together for an ill-fated production of Anton Chekhov¹s The Three Sisters......

At tonight's meeting, the Animal Advisory Commission will discuss a proposal to move Town Lake Animal Center to 7201 Levander Loop (near the intersection of 183, Airport Boulevard and East First). We like the current location and it doesn't seem like major repairs are needed (at least to the part where they keep the cute little doggies), but Health & Human Services Department Director David Lurie, who has recommended the new site, says the......

You know that abandoned building on 29th and Guadalupe, just across the street from Taco Shack, in between Ruby's BBQ and Spider House? You know, the one whose east wall has been a graffitti artist's dream for over a year? C'mon! The one where Steaming Wolf Penis played an informal performance during Snake By Snakepit? Alright, well, over the past couple weeks you may have noticed local artist Justin Prince painting a mural of......

Broadway casting group Telsey + Company (Wicked, Hairspray, Rent is looking for hot new male talent--aren't we all?--for an upcoming production entitled Cry Baby. Based on John Water's campy 1990 flick starring Johnny Depp, Ricki Lake, Iggy Pop, and Stephen Baldwin, Cry Baby told the classic tale of a gentle street thug who falls in love with a totally square chick, but then some bad stuff happens along the way that we can't remember.......

Been putting off your Valentine's Day plans because you're just not sure what to do? How about a classy evening of theatre, courtesy of newcomers Mother of Invention Productions? The Mothers are serving up Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet for your viewing pleasure, and it's going down at the newish City Theatre. Congratulations to our winner Stephen! A little romance. A lot of tragedy. Reported to be "amazing" and "a joy to experience," what more......

This week marks the tenth anniversary of National Freedom to Marry week, and to celebrate, local groups Atticus Circle, Equality Texas, and The Right to Marry have organized an "illegal" marriage ceremony at City Hall this Saturday, February 20th. Gay and straight couples can show their support for legalizing gay marriage by participating in the reciting of vows at Austin City Hall. Interested parties can also show up at the Travis County Tax Assessor's Office......

If tragedy + time = comedy gold, then satirization of what is arguably this country's darkest decade was far overdue. Enter Parallelogramophonograph, some of Austin's finest purveyors of genre improvisation. Previously, Austinist has highlighted Pgraph's unusual (and beguiling) combination of lit nerd, geekiness and comedic chops. Their new show, Parallelogramophonograph Presents: The 1930's, draws on this, poking fun at the Great Depression via a completely improvised story set in that era. In this week's show,......

That's right: it's time to heat up your winter nights again, with the 14th season of FronteraFest. The Short Fringe, the Long Fringe, or Mi Casa es su Teatro -- FronteraFest is five weeks of alternative, offbeat, new, and just plain off-the-wall fringe theatre presented by Hyde Park Theatre and Austin Script Works. For complete FronteraFest 2007 information, including times and locations for the Short Fringe, the Long Fringe and Mi Casa es su Teatro,......

On Thursday, City Council will hear a presentation from city staff regarding land banks, land trusts and funding options under the Homestead Preservation Act (HB 525), which was passed in the State Legislature after being filed by East Side state rep Eddie Rodriguez. The details are "complicated," but from what we understand, homeowners in the designated district (Town Lake to Manor Road, and I-35 to Airport Boulevard) would be able to donate or sell......