Someone called the cops after spying the Undie Run on campus. Texans like their concealed handguns, it seems. Hope the prom was worth it: two teens try to rob a South Austin tuxedo store. Witnesses call Cedric Benson's arrest "uncalled for." Round Rock water bills are going up. more ›

Brian Thompson seeking an injunction against Dawnna Dukes; her campaign ads say he's never voted. New KXAN statewide poll of Democratic voters has Obama with 50%, Clinton with 47% and 3% undecided. McCain will hold a town hall meeting with Dell employees tomorrow in Round Rock. New City Manager Ott made two appointments today. Someone at Liberty Hill ISD hasn't heard of a shredder. more ›

AT&T Marathon this Sunday morning; watch out for street closures. Early voting starts next week, but you can't vote at Northcross! Bill Clinton will visit Hillary's new Austin campaign headquarters on Saturday night. Ack! 26,000 people so far have entered the raffle for the 100 seats at next week's debate. UT Associate Athletic Director Douglas George Wilson being investigated by Travis County and UT for possible theft of $60,000. more ›

• Scientologists' lawyers are threatening a huge lawsuit against the author of this week's controversial new biography of Tom Cruise, which also exposes many of the sect's most embarrassing secrets.
• Facebook has been asked to remove the Scrabulous game from its website by the makers of Scrabble.
• Although there's been quite a bit of hype about all the changes this year, which promise singers playing real! live! instruments! and fewer guest coaches, the first Idol episode offered only business as usual.

Photo by Payton Chung on flickr
• Two remaining candidates for City Manager: Jelynne Burley of San Antonio and Mike Ott of Ft. Worth.
• City Council approved McCracken's downtown parking proposal at today's meeting.
• Cars who park in marked bike lanes can now be ticketed by a few workers from the Public Works Department Bicycle and Pedestrian Program.

Photo by mybloodyself on flickr
• Paramedic who came to the scene of Erica Smith's accident last month in San Antonio didn't check her pulse; she died after being left for dead for an hour at the site of the accident.
• Wooten Elementary was placed on lockdown this afternoon because police thought someone in a residence nearby was holed up with a weapon; the home was found to be clear.
• At an Academy store in Round Rock, a suspected shoplifter backed over a store clerk who was trying to mark down her license plate number.

Cap Metro bus caught fire on northbound 183 this morning. Ronnie Earle endorses Rosemary Lehmberg, his co-worker, to run for his current position. A case of death, mutilation and possible cannibalism in Tyler over the weekend. more ›

Photo by smellyknee on flickr
• Kucinich left off Texas primary ballot for not signing Dem loyalty oath, sues.
• No Republican is running for Travis County DA.
• How's the City Manager search going?

Bag the Bags Coalition is urging city council to pass an ordinance banning the use of plastic bags by large retailers and instead require those retailers to offer compostable bags. In April, city council passed a resolution directing the City Manager to evaluate and recommend strategies within 90 days for limiting the use of non-compostable plastic bags and promoting the use of compostable plastic bags, recyclable paper bags or reusable checkout bags. 90 days... more ›

Hurricane Humberto leads to one death and Orange, Jefferson, and Galveston counties being declared disaster areas. More trouble for the Longhorns: Senior player arrested for marijuana possession. More trouble in the Texas Youth Commission: the overuse of pepper spray. Austin city council has allocated $40,000 to find a new City Manager, but they're not all very happy about it. Dallas County DA stops inmate's execution scheduled for tonight. Domo arigato, Roboto boy: Richardson inventor... more ›

The Austin City Store hasn't been open for a year yet and has already seen its share of controversy. Besides the charges of nepotism involving the shop, the larger problem the store is having is that it is not making a profit. Perhaps because of the disappointing range of items available for sale? Whatever the reason, current projections show that the shop wouldn't be able to cover its own costs until 2013. more ›

As everyone knows, Iraq is a mess. A big, nasty mess. It's also pretty much common knowledge that the Bush Administration, faced with dwindling patience by Congress on the war, is working double-time in a mad scramble to create some sort of progress and forward movement in the region. A large part of this effort is being directed toward ensuring that local governments in cities throughout Iraq move toward self-sufficiency. As it turns out, the... more ›

City Manager Toby Futrell announced a couple days ago that she will be retiring in May 2008. Ms. Futrell has served as city manager since 2001. She had been expected to retire sometime next year, since the city council recently approved a pretty sweet retirement package for her. Futrell has worked for the city since 1976; her current annual salary is $240,600, and the retirement package ensures her $167,000 per year. During her service... more ›

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The City of Austin has narrowed down the choices for APD chief. The five semi-finalists/candidates remaining include one female, three Texans, and one guy from Naples (Florida, that is). The female candidate is Cathy Ellison, who is currently serving as acting chief for Austin. If chosen to be chief, Ellison (who was the first African-American female police officer in Austin) would be the first African-American female police chief in Austin history. But let's not get ahead of ourselves; there is still another screening phase for these five candidates. more ›

When Laurie Limbacher (pictured above right) of Limbacher & Godfrey Architects stood in front of a skeptical crowd at last Monday's Town Hall Meeting to discuss her firm's renovation plans for Barton Springs, she told a brief story of an old, wooden bathhouse that once sat atop the north hill next to the pool. The bathhouse at Barton Springs Pool was a romantic building, built of iron and wood and outfitted with a bar... more ›

City Manager Toby Futrell sent out notice this morning that the director of the city's convention center department, Bob Hodge, has been fired for violating city policy. It is unknown at this time exactly which city policy he violated, but it seems unrelated to the Center's rumored accounting issues. Hymie Gonzales (currently assistant director) will take over as interim director until a new director can be found. Assistant City Manager Rudy Garza will talk... more ›

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