Image from SOS Alliance SOS Holiday Party & Silent AuctionFriday, December 7Mercury Hall (615 Cardinal Lane)$10 Suggested Donation, 7pm - Midnight[info]Tonight, the Save Our Springs Alliance will be hosting their annual Holiday Party and Silent Auction at Mercury Hall. In addition to food, drinks and great people, the event will showcase music by two environmentally-conscience local bands, Bill Oliver's Otter Space Band and The Bouldin Creek Bobkats. The Silent Auction features items from over 300......

Photo from ImageAfter Starting today, we'll be publishing a weekly roundup of various arts & entertainment news that we've come across. Most of these developments, whether national or international, have a direct relationship with something local, whether it be an organization, individual, or our collective culture. In any case, it's a nice chance to broaden our world view -- a definite bonus (or necessity, some might argue) for a city that revels in creativity! --......

As you may recall, CWS Capital Partners is trying to build a new residential development in the place of some aging condos on the shore of Lady Bird Lake between the Statesman's offices and East Bouldin Creek (where the hike and bike trail currently dead-ends). The Parks Board has voted to recommend that the Planning Commission deny CWS Capital Partners’ request for a variance that would allow it to build 150 feet from the......

Austin has a love/hate relationship with bikes. Love Lance. Hate the Lance-wannabes cruising FM-1826, slowing down the burnt-orange pickups on their way to the Salt Lick. Love biking the Hike-and-Bike trail. Hate slaloming between kids and dogs on a busy Saturday. Love the idea of bike lanes and bike commuting. Hate actual bikers slowing down traffic and swerving into the street because of cars parked in the bike lanes. Love reducing traffic and pollution......

After years of dormancy and abandonment, the old Treehouse restaurant and nightclub -- a swinging joint back in the 80s, now an eyesore in a prime development location -- will finally be replaced with something new. Construction on the project -- a high-end, luxury condo building called 1155 Barton Springs -- will begin by the end of this year. For over seven years, developers Elisabeth and Steffen Waltz and their partners have butted heads with......

Just minutes ago, South Congress Cafe was again cited by Austin's city code enforcement office, after repeated negotiations with Bouldin Creek residents and businesses went unresolved. As you might recall, the chic SoCo eatery (yeah, we said it) built an enormous deck where their back parking lot used to be, despite several stop-work orders from the city. Given the scarcity of nearby lots, this enraged nearby residents, as diners took to parking on the small......

The freezing thunderstorms and errant tornados of last night have left Central Texas a sopping mess, with heavy flooding leaving people and cars stranded, and over a dozen roads closed. At least one woman is believed to have drowned in Waller Creek, while several homes and industrial buildings San Marcos were damaged by "tornadic winds" that touched down in the early morning. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning in effect......

Zagat's 2007 America's Top Restaurants Survey is out and although the setup on this one begs for an immediate rimshot, it's true - we love eating out. In fact, only Houston residents eat out with more frequency *snicker* than Austinites. Hungry Houstonians are eating out an average of 4.2 meals per week while residents of Austin and Dallas/Ft. Worth eat out an average of 4 times per week. Trailing in weekly eating-out outings are......

If Central Market and Chuy’s haven’t provided you with enough green chile madness, local southwestern trend-o-mat restaurant Z’Tejas presents a special green chile menu with some proceeds benefiting the Sustainable Food Center. The cause is good, and if the ubiquitous Navajo Eggs and requisite Bloody Marys are any barometer (and if you don’t hate trendy southwestern American kitchen fodder) this one is probably worth the effort. Z’Tejas 1110 W. Sixth St and 9400-A Arboretum......

In America, we rock summertime barbeque. Hamburgers, ribs and the sacrosanct tofu pup all roast under our fair dominion. But soups are not quite within the purview. Austin's very own authority on the subject is trying to change that. His name is David Ansel, known to many as The Soup Peddler. He rose to fame locally in 2002 by delivering homemade soup to residents of Bouldin Creek (atop a yellow bicycle, of course, with......

F R I D A Y [ 2 7 ] [music] Explosions in the Sky, Octopus Project and A Hawk and a Hacksaw at Emo's (Sold Out!) [music] Brandi Carlile at Cactus Cafe (9pm) [music] Zilla featuring Michael Travis (String Cheese Incident) at Stubb's [music] Shake Your Ass Record Release Party with Chili Cold Blood, This Damn Town, Possessed By Paul James, Black Joe Lewis & Cool Breeze at Beerland [music] Chant, Exit, and......

Since a fire ravaged their home a few weeks ago, KOOP is moving. Their loss is your gain, as they have to get rid of a ton of stuff in order to lighten the moving load a bit. You know how that goes. First neighbor you see gets the couch, next one gets the VCR, etc. Among the items for sale will be $1 vinyl records, CD's, tapes, books, equipment (some functioning, some needing......

Owing to the fire last week that destroyed most of the building housing KOOP's studios, the member-owned community radio station is being forced to relocate. At the modest downtown offices on Fifth and San Jacinto, built back in the 1930s, KOOP paid a mere $750 a month for rent. Now, strapped for cash and unable to cover relocation costs, they'll be having a slew of benefit events through the end of February. Meanwhile, the......

This weekend, December 9th through the 12th, sixteen shops on South First Street are participating in a Holiday Bazaar. During normal business hours, customers can enjoy special artist's booths, music, and holiday snack and beverages. Notable SoFi businesses participating in the event are: Sinsations, Secret Oktober, Unbridaled, Happiness, Phlox, End of an Ear, Vanilla Girl Designs, Bella Blue, The Opera House, The Stash, I C Gallery, Bouldin Creek Coffeehouse, Vintage Glamour, DJ Dojo, Southside......

On Monday night, we were sitting outside at our home-away-from-home, Bouldin Creek Coffeehouse, and we heard a strange popping noise. For about 20 minutes. We pondered on the noise. It could have been fireworks, a cluster bomb, or the sound of thousands of people slapping mosquitos on their legs...very loudly. So this question has bugged us and we thought we'd leave it up to you to decide what it was. Or maybe a few......

If there is anything that we like, it is for our loudly shouted opinion about something to be confirmed by other blogs in similarly loud terms. Mystery blogger "theAustiniteLife" blogged today at the official SXSW blog about our favorite coffee shop, Bouldin Creek Coffee, and blew a little smoke up our patoot at the same time. Our Uncle Grover always said, "what's good for the locals is good for the tourons who come in flocks......

Bouldin has all three of these necessary components, in spades. Their coffee is delicious and strong, their bagels are large and crusty, and ash trays rain from the sky like honey from giant space bees....