The run-up to the 2058 mayoral election will see Austin’s first competition between two ‘green’ candidates. No, I mean literally. Competition for the mantle of ‘most green’ will compel contenders to start taking a chlorophyll-based diet supplement that gives their skin a greenish pigmentation. On the downside, both candidates will be notoriously unproductive after sunset....

Image from Zilker Park Residences. Sandwich king John Wooley is building a condo for himself and 73 of his closest market-selected friends near the shores of Barton Creek and Lady Bird Lake. Beloved Austin icon Wanfu Too will be displaced. Check this website later for details about the Save Wanfu Too Benefit Concert. In a surprising twist, Wooley appears to have support of the Zilker Neighborhood Association, partly because the project will require no variances......

Chemical spill closed highway in Williamson County for a good part of the day today. Perry defends the expensive rent for his Barton Creek-area temporary home, saying, "Texas ain't Arkansas." Man arrested at the border for a murder committed 13 years ago in Northeast Austin. Shocker: Secretary of State expects low voter turnout for this constitutional amendment election. Supposed chupacabra discovered in Cuero found to be just a coyote. "Get out of Iraq .......

This summer, Austin resident Scott Blackwood received the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Award for his forthcoming novel, We Agreed to Meet Just Here. His collection of short stories, In The Shadow of Our House (2002), received great reviews. In The Shadow of Our House interweaves nine tales of Austin — marriages falling apart, youthful anger erupting into inexplicable violence, sudden tragedy testing family bonds, and adulterers caught between incomplete worlds. Blackwood’s keen sense......

Your tax dollars at work: while the Governor's Mansion is being worked on, the Perrys will be renting a million dollar home in a Barton Creek gated community. 500,000 gallons of wastewater per day could be put into Bear Creek if Belterra developer's permit gets approved. Fifteen people were involved in a multi-car collision on Mopac early this morning. Tx Dept. of Health Services Commissioner tries to convince the feds our state is prepared......

Thanks to yesterday's freak thunderstorms and subsequent flooding, Barton Springs Pool is again closed. Barring another Barton Creek flood, the pool should reopen on Thursday, though we wouldn't bet on it: Austin's extended forecast shows scattered thunderstorms for at least 9 out of the next 10 days. In the meantime, Austin Parks and Recreation Department is keeping Deep Eddy Pool open for extended hours, from 6am-9pm daily. Admission is free between 6am-8am. Photo of Barton......

You can check iPhone availability at local Apple stores before heading out to buy one. Both the Domain and Barton Creek locations in Austin are stocked up--for now--so it's about time to get in line. Bring your sleeping bag--or, better yet, pay someone to wait for you. In case anyone still cares about the iPod, researchers broke down the parts and labor costs by country. Can't go more than 3 hours without checking your......

Proving once again that newfangled technology is truly the province of the very young, Apple will be offering kids-only iMovie workshops in July. If you hurry up and register now, your favorite 'tween can learn digital movie editing skills (no iMovie experience necessary) at either the Barton Creek or Domain Apple stores. The tot may bring along a computer (Mac OS X or higher, please), digital camcorder or pre-recorded footage if you've got'em, but......

Things at Barton Springs have been a little weird lately. And not just in the old-man-wearing- dental-floss-thong- playing-frisbee-with- his-bare-breasted life-partner sort of way. Lately, we've noticed hazier water, increased green algae floating around, and now you can stand at the north end of the pool, where before you had almost twenty feet of depth. Well, the City of Austin noticed it, too, and as of yesterday, Barton Springs will be closed for three weeks. According......

A well placed source in the female sex confirms that the opening of a Sephora in Barton Creek Mall* is a big deal. Apparently there's already one up in the Arboretum? Either way, this place is a little freaky. * Fun fact: Did you know that the official name is Barton Creek Square Mall? Just stumbles off the tongue.......

A young African-American man with Snoop Dog cornrows was selling the tickets for America: From Freedom to Fascism at the Barton Creek AMC today. He was passing them through the circle cut in the window over the book he was reading: The Millionaire Next Door. Another man—white, middle-aged, wearing khakis, and not a theater employee—was handing out xeroxed fliers about the film that had “WAKE UP!” in bold letters. He wasn’t pushing them into anyone’s......

After we announced that NBC's new fall series Friday Night Lights would be shooting in Austin, a few of you wrote in asking us about whether they were still casting for the show. We got in on this rather late, as they're indeed looking for extras today. Two separate casting calls will be held at the 24-Hour Fitness in Round Rock (info), one at 1pm this afternoon and the second at 8:30pm this evening. Update:......

Attention area stomachs: Let’s get ready to rumble. A visit to the soon-to-expand Wheatsville Food Co-Op reminded us that Wheatsville is ground zero for delicious vegetarian Frito-pies. One visit to their deli counter in the back will remind you how you used to let your freak flag fly back in the day, as well as ensure instant sensory gratification in the form of beans, onions, fritos, and the rest of the ingredients in their......

*The views expressed in Truesday are those of the author and do not represent Austinist as a whole. Thank heavens.* -The Editors It wasn’t that long ago that I had a nice, air-conditioned ride with some sort of tinting, a working CD player, and windshield wipers that actually touched the windshield. Oh yes. It was quite functional. Not only was it functional, it was respectable. When I drove it around, with its all-black paint......

For far too long Austin (a burgeoning giant in indie filmmaking) has gotten a bit of the stepchild treatment with regard to indie film releases. Often times it we don't even get films that other towns like Chicago, Washington DC, New York and Los Angeles get. Hell, even Houston gets some films we don't. Houston? WTF?! And it seems like every time we want to see an indie film, that's not being shown during a......

*Post by Rebecca ReedWe found the best new way to enjoy Earth Day Eve in East Austin at the First Annual Down2Earth party. Big Red Sun provided The Nest, which quickly filled before sunset with the other-worldly sounds of Didge Man (www.didgeman.com) and happy revelers dressed in their yippie hippie finest. We were thrilled to discover that they offered a delectable assortment of vegetarian fare and new ways to spike your Daily Juice (www.dailyjuice.org). The......

Come kick off the weekend right with an Earth Day pre-party and benefit at The Nest @ Big Red Sun tonight. The event, presented by TEMPO, LLC and the AVEDA Experience Center of Barton Creek, and in cooperation with a slew of sponsors, will feature a vegetarian happy hour, live percussion, nature-inspired art, global dj sets, and more. down 2 earth Tonight, 6pm-10pm The Nest @ Big Red Sun [map] $5......

This is one of those weekends when were are so grateful to be living in Austin. Don't be surprised if we share this sentiment often. It's one of those weekends when there is so much to do, we feel really guilty for even thinking about staying inside. As usually is the case in Austin, the weather is going to be wonderful to be outside. Yeah, we're sleeping in the hammock tonight, after all of......

When examining this week’s film options, don’t let the cast of Richard Shepard’s new film “The Matador” scare you away. With Pierce Brosnan and Greg Kinnear in the two leads, you could be forgiven for expecting a by-the-numbers heist movie (“After The Sun 2”, anyone?). Thankfully, the first couple of minutes of the film completely dissolve any baggage James Bond brings by way of Brosnan’s character having a bad mustache, a SuperCuts do, and......

Boy, being fashionable is getting more expensive by the day. And more dangerous, it seems. Girl Next Door on Fifth and Lamar became the second store in the past month to be robbed for their designer jeans. (Luxe Apothetique in the Arboretum was robbed for the same product just before Christmas.) And these crooks had taste and apparently a bit of retail knowledge. They didn't go for the sale rack or the scarves, they......

Have some shopping money left over and don't yet have a place to eat your holiday meal? Look no further, for these are just some of the many fine restaurants that will be serving up some dining delights: The Driskill Grill will be serving a prix fixe menu starting at 5:30p both Saturday and Sunday as well as a Christmas Day buffet with seating times from 11a to 2:30p. The Driskill Grill. 604 Brazos......

*Photo from GardKarlsen.com* From Austin’s KVUE. A large portion of Southwest Austin, including Barton Creek Mall, is without power. Austin Energy is aware of the problem and is working on it. Traffic lights around MoPac and 360 are out and you're encouraged to avoid the area. For continuing coverage on this breaking news event, please refer to their site......

Sometimes there just isn't enough time in one's life to have dinner and a movie--at least not if dinner and a movie are in separate places. Did we say dinner and a movie? We mean a movie and dinner. We often catch flicks at the AMC theater at Barton Creek Square Mall or the theaters at Barton Creek Cinema across the road. Somehow we can never figure out what place to eat that will......

The holy union of Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson, which was born in this great city of ours (and celebrated at the fancy Barton Creek Resort) has come to an end. Why? We don't know. Johnny Knoxville perhaps? Did Jessica think her star was rising bigger and better than Lacheys? Or did Lachey just get really tired of always being the "smart one" in the relationship? (It gets old, folks.) And what does all......