Walking down Guadalupe past Madam Mam's in the last several months, it may not have been noticeable with the incremental daily changes. But when all that construction is compiled into a time-lapse video, the results are startling. more ›

The Dallas Morning News is reporting that Trader Joe's, the popular grocer based out of California, will finally open three chains in Texas. The first is expected to be in Dallas, and ten more stores will follow. According to spokesperson Alison Mochizuki, Joe's is “actively looking for sites, and we’re anxious to identify some great locations and begin hiring." So where in Austin should Trader Joe's open a store? In an abandoned Borders? East of I-35, perhaps in one of the neglected storefronts on E. 7th Street? Let us know the spots you'd choose in the comments. more ›

Austin is too cool to stay under the radar forever… right? That’s the question that creator Al Letson and the producers of State of the Re:Union, an online and public radio show, are attempting to answer in their latest episode entitled Austin: Growing Pains. more ›

David Kalina worked on big-budget console games for Midway Studios, but after the company cancelled his project and laid off 90 people from its Austin shop, he teamed up with former Electronic Arts developer Randy Smith to found Tiger Style and begin building games for the iPhone. more ›

After a string of local and national accidents involving construction cranes, Austin's City Council will decide tonight if it should ask the city manager to study whether the city should regulate the safety of cranes. Cranes have towered over Austinites in greater numbers these last few years, showing a city in flux with a dramatically altered skyline. The Statesman counts two dozen on a given day. Of late, however, the greatest concern has not been the long-neck steel eyesores, but whether the cranes won't come down on your head, or the lunchroom in your office building. more ›

The UT School of Architecture announced Wednesday that a group of UT students and faculty will be collaborating with their counterparts at the Chinese capital's Tsinghua University to design a system of urban green retreats, or "pocket parks," in central Beijing. more ›

Is a music festival really a festival if no one shows up? Dreary attendance numbers for Saturday's Exit Fest. A man from Pearland drowned over the weekend after an attempt to untangle the anchor of a friend's boat in Lake Travis. Inmate escaped from Gillespie County Jail on Saturday; the outdated facilities may be partly to blame. Roxanne Paltauf has been missing for two years since she walked out of a Budget Inn in North Austin after a fight with her boyfriend. Neighbors feel out of the loop on the purchase of land off Braker for a new Northeast Austin Health Center. more ›

Owner of the Salt Lick going forward with his plans to develop the area surrounding the restaurant, 215 acres of which will remain green space. Shooting at a Decker Lane apartment complex this afternoon leaves one man in the ICU; the shooter is on the run (as of this writing). US District Court in Austin hearing case of a KBR worker found in possession of child porn while in Iraq. Twenty-something who didn't signal his turn was arrested while driving in Melissa over the weekend. more ›

Yes, you can breathe again, Austin. The Villa Muse saga has, at long last, come to its fiery end. Which is fine by us, since we're kind of tired of writing about it. Ha-Ha. Um, but seriously. more ›

This project is a direct response to Austin’s lack of world-class entertainment infrastructure, and it’s a bold attempt to bridge the gap between a mid-level entertainment industry with huge potential (which Austin is) and a mature industry with world-class production facilities and creative professionals (which Austin, says Villa Muse, could be). more ›