Fire department lieutenant fired after he told a co-worker in September on the 9/11 anniversary that "he would have wanted to rape a female passenger had he been on a plane used in the attack." Southwest flight from Austin lands in Phoenix with flames coming out of one of the wheel areas. Investigators say that the Governor's mansion fire was likely politically motivated. (Insert sarcastic comment here.) Two state troopers should have been working the night of the fire, but only one was on duty. Rep. Lloyd Doggett proposing a global warming bill....

ATF thinks that someone threw a Molotov cocktail at the Governor's Mansion and the fire started that way. Former Perry chief-of-staff to resign from Secretary of State position; the next one will be the 6th SoS under Perry. The ACLU is suing the Texas youth prison system over strip search, solitary confinement and other practices at a girls' lockup in Brownwood. Pflugerville man arrested for pistol whipping an auto shop worker before robbing the shop....

State fire investigators wondering if the arsonist who set ablaze the Governor's Mansion acted alone. Cedar Park paramedic among those dead after a medical chopper crashes near Huntsville. Three boys may have been exposed to a rabid bat at the Northcross bus stop. CapMetro holding public meetings this week to take comment on proposed fare increases. FBI says crime nationwide has decreased, but in Austin it has increased....

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. ...

Careful stringing up those fake spiderwebs this year. If you haven't been following the bizarre case of the Russian "chessboard serial killer", you should before it becomes a full length feature film. Protestor with painted blood on her hands gets within inches of Condoleeza Rice. Craddick blames trial lawyers for trying to get him out of the House Speaker's office. One of the largest fires in California was sparked by arson. 5 gold championship......

LaGrange, Texas says 'good riddance' to Houston reporter whom they believe responsible for the closing of the infamous Chicken Ranch (aka Best Little Whorehouse in Texas) Austin ranks 13th among office building sales in the US, with transactions totaling $1.44 billion in the first half of 2007 alone Fire Department officials believe the fire at a Dollar General in North Austin was arson The Feds discover another massive marijuana field near Dallas Elsewhere in......

Our favorite posts for the week: James at Coyote Mercury wonders about the arson ban. AustinAction Sanity Island has posted pictures of sediment in a creekbed near the future AMD site. It looks pretty grody, and not very promising. Clay at The Texas Whip ponders Perry’s current ad campaign. Tim has found common words in SxSW band names. We see the New Pornographers in there. Diane at TV Blog reacts to American Idol and Simon’s......